Episode 6
“I can help you, My Lady. Please, tell me the truth.”
It was a proposal I had heard once before in my previous life. For a brief moment, I felt a twinge of pity for the Leonhard who sat before me, yet I was equally disappointed in him.
“It really wasn’t me! Why would I poison my own sister’s wine?”
“…Speak honestly. Only then can I help you.”
In my past life, Josephina had consumed poison at the birthday banquet, and just as she had orchestrated, the bottle containing Euros was found in my bedroom. Because everyone suspected and hounded me, I had been driven by terror to make a foolish choice.
“If you tell me the truth now, I will help you—on my title as a Prince.”
Back then, I had been so desperate for help I would have sold my soul to a devil. I felt that if I were framed and Edwin broke off our engagement, I wouldn’t be able to go on living. So, I lied. Blinded by love, I claimed a crime I never committed.
“T-the truth is… it was me. I thought Sister had stolen my place, so I hated her… that’s why I poisoned her! So please, help me. Testify that I didn’t do it!”
“Ha…”
As if he had been waiting for that exact answer, Leonhard had sneered at me with eyes full of contempt.
“I knew it. I expected as much.”
“Prince, I—I…”
“I gave my word, so I shall help you this time. Regardless, My Lady, you truly have no shame. I could understand you playing the role of Pipi’s substitute since that wasn’t your choice… but for a fake to dare covet the real one’s position…”
“Your Highness, what do you mean by that…”
“There will not be a second time. If you harm Pipi again, I will not stand by.”
“Ah… I, I really…”
“I am disappointed in you, My Lady.”
Leonhard had left me with nothing but despair as he turned away coldly. Of course, he kept his promise. Thanks to him, I wasn’t branded as the culprit of the Euros poisoning, and my engagement to Edwin remained intact.
The present was clearly different from the past. The Euros had been swapped for an emetic, and the ones who collapsed vomiting blood after drinking the wine were Edwin and myself. And yet, he was acting exactly the same way.
“You are being incredibly rude. It seems that no matter what I say, Your Highness has no intention of listening to anything that isn’t the answer you want.”
It was absurd. I met his gaze, my eyes sharp with the indignation of someone insulted, my tone icy. Leonhard leaned back against the sofa, watching me. He tried to maintain an air of composure, but the flush creeping into his ears suggested he wasn’t entirely unaware of how forced his logic was.
“…Then explain why this was in Pipi’s room.”
“I believe that is a question you should be directing toward my sister, not me, Your Highness.”
At my retort, Leonhard fell silent as if struck. Yet, he soon shook his head shamelessly, coming to Josephina’s defense.
“But Pipi isn’t that kind of person.”
“So Your Highness is insisting that I am that kind of person? Even though I was the one who coughed up blood alongside Edwin?”
If it were Edwin, he would have shouted his agreement, but I knew Leonhard was not the type to speak without thinking. I waited quietly for his response.
Eventually, he sighed. “Since My Lady claims innocence, I will ask no further. However, do not let your guard down. I still believe you are the one who caused this mess. You might have escaped notice this time, but the next will be dangerous.”
Leonhard’s warning was so laughable I almost let it slide, but I changed my mind.
“Let us assume, as you claim, that I did poison the wine. Not with the emetic the maid supposedly added by mistake, but with the poison you’ve presented to me. If so, why would I give it to Edwin? Setting aside the fact that I drank it myself.”
“…”
“Furthermore, that wine was originally intended for my sister’s seat. Does that not make her more suspicious than me?”
He must have known that I loved Edwin more than my own life.
“What if the poison from Sister’s room was actually the one intended for the wine? And if you recall… Sister was the one who didn’t want Edwin to drink it.”
Though those feelings were now entirely useless to me, I knew that in his eyes, I still appeared to be that same woman.
“And the one who acted to hush up this disgraceful incident was Sister. Are you saying she doesn’t seem suspicious to you?”
“That is…”
“Yet you repeatedly point to me as the culprit. It is truly cruel of you, especially when the sight of Edwin collapsing and vomiting blood is still so vivid in my mind!”
I deliberately clenched my fists, my eyes welling with tears as if I were overcome by the injustice of it all. His lips parted and closed repeatedly as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.
I had no desire to listen to any more of Leonhard’s nonsense. I stood up, walked to the door, and opened it before turning back to face him.
“Since it seems you have nothing left to say, I ask that you leave, Your Highness. It would be a scandal for both of us if you stayed any longer.”
“How impolite. To turn out a Prince like this.”
“Do you wish for rumors to spread that you had a long, private meeting with your brother’s fiancée? No matter how we may eventually be bound as family, I am not yet officially married to Edwin. And once I am, I must be all the more careful not to engage in behavior others might misinterpret.”
As I spoke, the flush on his face drained away, leaving him pale. My calm reprimand left him looking aghast and wan. However, he quickly gathered his expression and stood up.
“My Lady is correct.”
“Not at all. Thank you for your understanding.”
“Then…”
He glanced around the room several times before finally stepping out. He didn’t even meet my eyes; perhaps my room was a strange sight to him.
As the sound of Leonhard’s footsteps faded, I closed the door and looked around my quarters. My room was frozen in time—stuck in the shades of green that had been the trend three years ago. It made sense that Leonhard found it odd.
In the year Josephina returned, an epidemic had broken out that turned its victims’ faces a sickly green before they died. Since then, green had become a shunned color. Looking at my room now, it almost felt as though my adoptive parents and Josephina had intentionally gathered the remnants of that plague here.
Though, in truth, it was likely just pure indifference.
I didn’t want to think about anything else. My body was already exhausted from the poisoning, and Leonhard had only added to the fatigue. I sighed and lay back down on the bed.
I wanted to quell the boiling rage in my heart as quickly as possible through my revenge. I wanted to break free from every shackle that bound me to the past and find true freedom.
His Majesty the Emperor had granted me a week-long stay at the Elvine Marquisate to celebrate my birthday. During that time, I was expected to visit the imperial dress salon to try on designs I liked.
Various incidents had prevented me from doing so until now. Originally, the tailor would have brought everything to the Imperial Palace, but back then, I had persuaded the Emperor because I wanted an excuse to spend time with Edwin outside the palace walls.
Of course, entirely new dresses would be made for the wedding itself. Several had already been prepared in advance for the Crown Princess’s ceremony. In the past, Josephina had secretly interfered with the wedding dress designs, turning my stomach in knots. Thus, even though it was a chore, I had to visit the salon separately.
I left the Marquisate with Edwin and boarded the waiting carriage. Naturally, there was no escort. As I listened to the servant announce our departure, the Emperor’s words from before we arrived came back to me.
“Reina, as you know, once you officially take your place as Crown Princess, it will be difficult to visit your private residence. Since you mentioned wanting to see the dresses at the salon yourself, why not take this chance to clear the air?”
“Pardon? Your Majesty’s grace is more than I deserve. But how could I possibly…”
“I have heard rumors that things have been strained between you two lately. There are many eyes in the palace, so there is much to be mindful of. I thought if your heart were at ease, you would be better to the Crown Prince. Our Ed may be clumsy, but he is a very fine boy.”
“Your Majesty…”
“So, you must be the one to understand more and give more of your heart. If he says one word, you must endure ten; if he says ten, endure a hundred. That is the virtue required of a Crown Princess.”
The Emperor trusted his son, Edwin, implicitly. And why wouldn’t he? Edwin was only a villain to me; to everyone else, including Josephina, he was the perfect male lead.
I looked at him sitting on the opposite side of the carriage. He kept his gaze fixed out the window as if being alone with me was repulsive, yet even that silhouette was as ethereal and beautiful as an angel in a masterpiece.
But trash is trash. Even a beautiful piece of non-recyclable waste is still just garbage destined for the incinerator.
Sensing my gaze, Edwin turned his head, his brow furrowed. “What are you looking at?”
“I am always looking at you, Edwin. You are always so perfectly handsome, after all. I think I lose myself every time I see you.”
When I marveled at him so blatantly, he clicked his tongue and turned away, looking even more displeased. Edwin loathed compliments on his appearance. It was because of a young lady named Bariel, who had been my rival in the past.
“Your Highness! You are truly as beautiful as an angel descended from the heavens!” “Your Highness! Just looking at you makes my heart feel purified!”
Bariel had incessantly praised Edwin, following him like a shadow. She didn’t just follow him; she attended every ball he went to and shamelessly interrupted any conversation he had. Since she always ended her encounters with a confession of love, Edwin’s social dignity had naturally plummeted.
In the past, I would have resented Bariel, but now I was simply grateful to her for teaching me how to annoy Edwin.
“You are as thoughtless and inconsiderate as ever.”
“Did I happen to offend you? I was merely expressing my sincere feelings upon seeing you…”
Edwin glared at me with a sneer. I deliberately smiled brightly as if I had no idea what the problem was. He let out a sharp “Ha!” and issued a warning.
“After we finish with the dress fitting today, do not even dream of following me around.”
“Yes, I understand. I actually feel much more at ease when Your Highness isn’t around.”
“What? What did you just say?”
As Edwin’s voice rose and his brow tightened, I looked away with feigned shyness and whispered, “I meant that when Your Highness is with me, my heart flutters so much that it’s difficult to focus on anything else.”
“Ha.”
Edwin looked as if my response was beneath contempt. He scowled deeply and returned his gaze to the window. We didn’t exchange another word until we reached the salon. It was a quite satisfactory result for me, as I wanted to avoid any unnecessary conversation with him.
As soon as the carriage stopped, he stood up with a weary sigh and stepped out first. I followed him. Again, there was no hand offered to escort me.
From the moment Josephina returned, Edwin had blatantly ignored and acted inconvenienced by me. He forgot my birthday, stopped giving me gifts personally, threw away things I sent him, and at balls, he would leave me behind to search only for Josephina. Each time, my heart had been shattered and ground into dust.
But now, it didn’t matter. Back then, it hurt because I loved him, but now he was nothing more than a passing stranger to me. If a stranger isn’t kind, it doesn’t leave a wound—even if it is unpleasant.
Even if Josephina was his first love, I was the one who had been by his side for a long time. How could a person change so completely, as easily as flipping a hand?
‘Come to think of it, even if Edwin is like that, why did my adoptive father and Leonhard try so hard to cover this up? No matter how much they love Sister, they aren’t people so devoid of discernment…’
Suddenly, I remembered the moment I had lost consciousness right after Josephina touched her ring. If my ability to neutralize magic caused me to faint after clashing with it, then perhaps…
My train of thought was cut short as the salon doors swung wide the moment I stepped off the carriage. An unexpected figure came running out. I narrowed my eyes slightly, staring at the person before me.
“Ed!”
It was Josephina. I thought I had escaped the suffocating atmosphere of the Marquisate for a moment, but my mood soured seeing her the second I stepped out.
But something was strange. In my previous life, I had run into her on the path just before reaching the salon, not here. Had changing the Euros poisoning incident affected the future?
“Pipi! How did you know to come here?”
“Because I heard Reina was here! My sister is choosing the dress she’ll wear for her wedding—how could I not come to help?”
“Oh, I’m so delighted.”
Whether I was lost in thought or not, Edwin was beaming the moment he saw Josephina. In my past life, this would have been a miserable and humiliating situation, but now I felt nothing. I had no intention of marrying Edwin anyway. Choosing a dress I would never wear was simply a tiring and tedious chore. And since Josephina was bound to pick one for me anyway, her appearance was actually somewhat welcome.
“Shall we go inside?”
“Yes.”
He escorted Josephina naturally. I was left to watch their backs as they walked inside, their shoulders almost touching.
“Kya!”
“Are you alright, Pipi?”
“Yes, thank you. You’re the best, Ed.”
They must have been too busy gazing into each other’s eyes to notice the ground; Josephina had tripped over a stone. However, because Edwin had quickly pulled her into his arms, she was, unfortunately, perfectly fine.
“Kya!” “What are you doing? You are to be the Crown Princess soon. How can you be so clumsy?” “Ah, Edwin… my leg hurts. Please… could you help me up?” “You really are a handful. And there’s blood on your hand. It’s dirty, so move it away.” “Ah…”
Suddenly, a memory of the past surfaced—the time I had fallen and Edwin had coldly ignored me. It felt truly regrettable that the two of them hadn’t actually taken a tumble just now.
“Reina, aren’t you coming in? You need to get your dress fitted!”
Josephina called out, urging me from the doorway. I nodded half-heartedly and followed them into the salon. I intended to let her choose, just like before.
But then, something was very strange.
“Sister, would you truly like me to wear this dress?”
“Yes! I think it would suit you perfectly. Isn’t it pretty?”
The dress she had “chosen for me” was vastly different from the one I remembered. The previous one had been so suffocatingly ornate that it was practically dripping with lace and jewels.
“Do you really think this suits me…?”
The current dress looked like a design from fifty years ago—hopelessly out of style.
“Yes! It really suits you! It makes your face look so much brighter. Right, Ed?”
Even Edwin seemed taken aback by her choice this time, his lips parting as if he couldn’t find a way to agree. Yet, he didn’t disagree either.
“Very well, then. I will go with this dress, as Sister suggests.”
I nodded at her with a soft smile. It didn’t matter. The person who would eventually end up wearing this dress wasn’t me—it was her.
