Chapter : 9
“Se—…”
Elfreda turned around in disbelief.
“Serina-sama.”
“It’s been a while, Elfreda.”
Serina Makaeri, the true princess of Makaeri—the one who was originally supposed to be wearing the wedding dress Elfreda was wearing now—walked toward her with a bright smile.
“It’s nice to see you here. Have you been well?”
Even though she was clearly her older sister, Serina spoke without any sense of formality. Elfreda quickly motioned for her guards to step back to avoid trouble. But Serina didn’t seem to care at all and asked casually,
“You’ve lost a lot of weight. Doesn’t the food here suit you?”
“How are you here…? I was told the ship carrying the envoy was wrecked.”
“No matter what, it’s a royal wedding. How could I not come? I set sail immediately after hearing the news.”
“Ah…”
“You don’t need to be too grateful. You’re going to do something very important, after all. This much is only natural.”
While Elfreda frowned at Serina’s incomprehensible words, Serina continued quickly,
“I couldn’t attend the wedding, but I’m sure it was beautiful. You take after your mother—you’ve got a pretty face. Use that face to charm the king here. Thanks to you, it looks like we’ll take Machi without shedding a drop of blood.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Oh my, look at you. Are you pretending not to know? Or do you really not know?”
Serina laughed as she looked at Elfreda’s confused expression.
“You really didn’t know? Did you think Father sent you here just because of some spice? You’re more naive than I thought.”
“…So you’re saying I—”
Finally realizing the truth behind the political marriage, Elfreda asked in shock,
“Was the plan to use the child I bear with the king to turn Machi into a vassal state?”
“Oh my, you only realized that now?”
“Princess!”
“Anyway, once you give birth to the king’s child, that child will become the ruler here. Since you are from Makaeri, it won’t be hard to manipulate your own son into doing as we wish.”
To use blood ties to force her into betraying her homeland…
To make her live her entire life, even after death, as a traitor cursed by her own people…
To use the child she would bear as a mother?
Elfreda trembled in disgust at Serina’s calm cruelty.
“So you came here to remind me of my duty.”
“I thought you would already know, but I see I was wrong. You really need everything spoon-fed to you, don’t you, Elfreda?”
Serina smiled coldly.
“Listen carefully. Don’t try anything unnecessary. If you cause even the slightest loss to us, I will reveal your origin immediately. Then what do you think Machi will do with a fake princess from an enemy nation with no value left? They might strip you naked in the central square and stone you to boost morale. Or something even worse.”
It wasn’t surprising. Elfreda had already guessed as much.
She stared back at Serina calmly.
Serina continued mockingly,
“So behave wisely, Elfreda. Ah, and my mother sends her regards. She congratulates your marriage and hopes you become a fine queen in Machi.”
Elfreda flinched.
Serina laughed as she noticed her reaction.
“What, you still like my mother that much? How pathetic. How long did she even raise you?”
“….”
“You were abandoned, yet you still follow her around like a lost dog.”
To Serina, Elfreda’s feelings were incomprehensible because Serina had been born properly as an empress’s daughter and raised with full love.
Elfreda, who had been abandoned at birth and left alone, had only received brief affection from the Empress. Even if that affection had now turned cold, it could not erase what she once felt.
And without the Empress, Elfreda had nowhere else to place her desire to be loved.
Even she sometimes thought it was foolish—but there was no one else to give that feeling to.
Serina continued,
“Anyway, I’ll hold my coming-of-age ceremony in Makaeri before getting married. Mother is very happy about it.”
“…I see.”
Elfreda swallowed her bitterness.
“I hope you’re happy in my place.”
“Excuse me?”
In an instant, Serina’s expression twisted.
Slap!
She struck Elfreda across the cheek.
Elfreda’s head snapped to the side from the force. She held her burning cheek and looked at Serina in shock.
Serina glared at her coldly.
“How arrogant. Anyone would think you came here on some noble sacrifice.”
“I was just—”
“Yes, you should think like that. I will live happily in Makaeri with a good husband. And I hope you do the same. Receiving plenty of love from the nephew of the man your grandfather killed.”
With those final cruel words, Serina left.
Elfreda stood there, holding her cheek in a daze.
Maybe I shouldn’t have come alone…
But she quickly shook her head. It was probably better this way. Even if guards had been present, Serina would not have restrained herself. So it was fortunate she had sent them away.
…It’s just this much. Nothing new.
Still, a sense of emptiness filled her. Even as queen, she remained in such a position.
Elfreda bit her lip slightly and walked forward as if nothing had happened.
“Ah—!”
She tried to move—but suddenly, someone grabbed her hand.
Startled, she turned around.
Ainar stood there, his expression tightening as his gaze landed on her face.
Elfreda quickly covered her swollen cheek.
“…This is—”
“It’s nothing.”
Elfreda hurriedly lied.
“I was sleepy, so I just… hit myself to wake up.”
Even saying such a foolish excuse made her eyes sting, but she had no choice.
She couldn’t tell the truth.
If her identity was exposed, not just Serina, but all of Machi would turn against her.
She forced a smile.
“It’s a bit much, so I should go back now.”
“You expect me to believe that? Clearly—”
“You don’t have to believe it.”
Ainar looked stunned by her bold answer.
After a pause, he muttered coldly,
“Fine. It’s not my concern anyway.”
Elfreda flinched at his tone.
She regretted it immediately. She should have spoken more gently.
“Go back and get treated. It looks unpleasant.”
“…Yes.”
Elfreda lowered her head and quickly left.
I thought he was still at the banquet hall… why did I have to run into him here?
His cold gaze lingered in her mind.
Perhaps from embarrassment, her cheek hurt even more.
Soon, tears welled up in her eyes.
A single tear rolled down her cheek, making the pain worse.
But the tears would not stop.
They continued until she reached the Sol Palace, her new residence.
The Sol Palace was even more grand and beautiful than Thames Palace, befitting the queen’s residence. But Elfreda had no heart to admire it.
The maids were startled when she entered, but said nothing. They cleaned her wound silently without asking questions.
It was cold treatment—but Elfreda preferred it that way.
She pressed an ice cloth to her cheek to reduce the swelling.
By the time Marchioness Magnum returned, the swelling had mostly gone down.
But even then, the Marchioness only glanced at her and said indifferently,
“His Majesty will not be coming tonight.”
Elfreda already knew.
She remembered Ainar’s cold gaze from earlier, and her cheek throbbed again.
Perhaps it was better that way.
The marriage had not been for love or alliance, but a plan involving a child to take over Machi.
Knowing that, she no longer had confidence to face him normally.
Maybe it was better to be a queen who was coldly neglected from the beginning.
At least then, she could feel less guilty toward him.
As she was lost in thought—
“Now, girls, help the queen undress her wed—”
“Head maid!”
A voice that made Elfreda doubt her ears interrupted.
“The king has arrived.”
