22.
“Hm? It looks like something good is written in that letter.”
Brilliant, who had been flipping through a catalog of new accessories perfect for spring, smiled along with me.
I folded the letter neatly and replied in a cheerful voice.
“I’m meeting a friend today! Right now!”
“A friend? Right now?”
“Yup! They’re in the imperial palace!”
“Really? Who is it?”
I jumped up and teased her playfully.
“Guess who~! Try guessing~.”
“Princess, you have so many friends, it’s hard to tell.”
Brilliant laughed, looking a bit troubled.
Meanwhile, I changed into the outfit I had prepared in advance and glanced sideways at Agasa.
‘Too bad, Agasa.’
That I can’t just leave your peace alone.
I turned my gaze away from her and slipped on the gloves a maid handed me, finishing my outfit.
“I’ll tell you when I get back~! I’m just stepping out for a bit, so finish what you were doing here, okay?”
“The imperial palace, right? Will you be back soon?”
“Maybe?”
“In that case… okay. I’ll keep browsing the catalog here.”
“Okay! See you!”
After answering energetically, I turned to the maids.
“Let’s go, girls!”
“Yes, Princess.”
They followed politely behind me.
Of course, among them was Agasa, who had no idea she was walking into a trap.
The carriage stopped in front of a palace even I wasn’t very familiar with.
The grand entrance of the white marble palace stood wide open.
As I stepped inside, I entered a spacious lobby, and a woman came running down the central staircase.
“Oh my, Princess Neroli~!”
Calling out my name, she ran up and hugged me tightly.
“I can’t believe you came right away! I’m so happy!”
“Of course I would! Welcome to the Imperial Palace!”
I hugged her back with a bright smile.
“Lady Evwa! At last, the Crown Princess’ Palace has a proper owner again!”
“It’s all thanks to His Majesty’s generous favor!”
Yes, today was the day Evwa moved into the Crown Princess’ Palace.
‘It’s less than two weeks until Gobard and Evwa’s wedding.’
Evwa had requested to move in early so she could prepare for the wedding more efficiently.
The Emperor agreed to her request.
Of course, that idea had come from me in the first place.
“This way, Princess! The place is still a bit empty since I just moved in today, but the drawing room is all set up!”
“Wow, nice! I even brought some snacks for us to enjoy together!”
I looked toward Agasa, who was holding the snack basket.
Evwa’s gaze naturally followed mine.
In that instant, Evwa and Agasa’s eyes met in midair.
Agasa quickly lowered her head.
And Evwa…
“How kind of you.”
She said nothing more and led me to the drawing room.
I watched Agasa closely until we sat down.
She clearly hadn’t known where we were going, but she must’ve realized everything from the conversation just now.
Her previously calm face had vanished, her complexion pale.
‘She’s finally come face-to-face with her lover’s fiancée.’
“I used my favorite tea sets for today, and I even brought some special tea leaves from our estate!”
“Wonderful! I brought our palace chef’s special cookies! Hehe, I helped make them a bit, too.”
“Oh my, I get to taste cookies made by the Princess herself? I’m honored!”
Evwa’s eyes sparkled.
With a shy smile, I pointed to Agasa, who was still holding the basket.
“Agasa, let’s take out the cookies!”
“…”
“Agasa?”
“Ah, y-yes!”
Still trembling, Agasa hurried over.
She began clumsily placing the cookies from the basket onto the plate with tongs.
And then—
“Ah!”
A sharp shatter echoed through the room.
Crash!
In her panic, Agasa had dropped a teacup on the table.
Of course, I saw it.
Evwa had deliberately nudged her teacup toward Agasa’s forearm.
‘She did it on purpose.’
Evwa must’ve figured it out, too.
‘Who Gobard’s real lover is.’
Evwa had been attending various social gatherings as the Crown Princess-to-be.
At one of those, she must have met Hidia, the finance minister’s daughter, who recognized Agasa’s eyes.
‘So, naturally, it would’ve reached Evwa’s ears.’
Just as I planned.
While I thought that, Agasa dropped to her knees and began gathering the broken pieces.
“I-I’m so sorry! I’m sorry!”
I opened my mouth, pretending to be moderately surprised.
“Oh no! Don’t pick that up with your bare hands! You’ll hurt yourself!”
“Leave it, Princess.”
“I’m sorry, Evwa. My maid has committed a grave offense. I apologize on her behalf.”
“You’re too kind, Princess Neroli.”
Evwa looked at me with a sympathetic expression, as if she truly meant it.
Then her expression turned cold as she looked down at Agasa.
“To protect a girl like that…”
Agasa flinched hard at her words.
Evwa didn’t stop. She extended her foot and stepped on Agasa’s hand as she picked up the glass shards.
“Ah?!”
Agasa gasped, dropping the pieces.
Evwa pressed her foot down harder.
Agasa clenched her hand and quickly lifted her head.
“E-Excuse me—!”
“Oh my! You finally look up at me!”
Evwa’s voice rose.
“Your eyes are really pink, aren’t they?”
She waved her left hand proudly.
A ring on her finger sparkled under the light.
“Just like my pink diamond.”
“!”
Agasa’s eyes widened.
Only after seeing her stunned expression did Evwa lift her foot.
But still angry, she picked up another teacup from the table.
“Do you want what’s mine that badly? You broke my favorite teacup, and now you’re staring at my wedding ring like that.”
“Ah…”
“What, did you think that ring would be yours?”
Agasa stood frozen, mouth slightly open.
Evwa dropped the teacup right in front of her eyes.
Crash!
Another sharp shatter echoed across the marble floor.
“Do you feel good now? After ruining what’s mine? Huh?”
I watched the whole thing coldly.
‘So she managed to get the ring.’
Who helped Evwa get the pink diamond ring?
That was me, of course.
Evwa had sent me a letter after hearing about the ring.
“Princess, did you hear about the pink diamond ring His Highness purchased? He bought it for me, right?”
Sensing her anxiety, I replied:
“Of course, Lady Evwa. It’s definitely your wedding ring! Oh, should we tell His Majesty in advance? If he prepares another ring without knowing, that might cause trouble!”
In other words, I told her to make sure the Emperor acknowledged it as her wedding ring.
The Emperor must’ve already heard the rumors going around the palace.
‘And they must’ve made him quite uncomfortable.’
Naturally.
It would be disgraceful for the Crown Prince to be involved in such rumors before marriage.
And the Bobonsher family could easily use it against him.
‘After last time, they’re no longer staying silent.’
So Evwa boldly claiming the pink diamond ring helped the Emperor resolve the issue more easily.
From there, the rest was predictable.
Evwa brought up the ring, and the Emperor pressured Gobard to hand it over.
‘What else could he do? He had to obey.’
I smirked inwardly.
‘A breakup, Gobard?’
Why did you say that to Agasa and give her false hope?
You never intended to break off your engagement.
‘At most, you were thinking of divorce later.’
He had to marry Evwa at least once.
Otherwise, how could he compensate for that massive dowry?
‘If he only had to return 17 warships, maybe he’d take the risk.’
But I had already told the Bobonsher family about a fun little precedent.
If they used that, returning the dowry would become a messy legal battle.
There’s no way the proud Emperor would let that happen.
‘A poor move, Gobard.’
Maybe if he were the Emperor’s only child, things would be different.
But the truth is—there are plenty of replacements for the Crown Prince.
‘The Second Prince, Derian, who resembles the Emperor, and the Third Prince, Brindel, who’s quietly ambitious.’
Gobard told Agasa he’d break off the engagement just to appease her, but there was no real way he could follow through.
‘So now, let’s move to Act 2 of this boring play.’
I blinked rapidly and spoke with a confused tone.
“W-Wait! What are you talking about?”
First, I turned to Evwa.
“You’re saying my maid coveted your things?”
Then to Agasa.
“Agasa, did you do something disrespectful to Lady Evwa behind my back?”
As I spoke with a trembling voice, tears welled up in Agasa’s eyes.
“P-Princess—”
“Princess Neroli!”
Evwa cut her off.
“You don’t know what kind of vile person she is, do you? Let me tell you everything!”
“No!”
Their voices tangled together.
“I-I’ll explain!”
“How dare you interrupt me?!”
“At least let me tell the Princess—!”
“She’s actually—!”
“Please! Please—!”
“She’s the secret lover Prince Gobard was hiding!”
With that final cry, an eerie silence spread through the room.
I put on a shocked expression and whispered quietly.
“…That’s a lie.”
My whisper rang loud in the silence.
I turned my gaze to Agasa.
“Agasa… the worry you had back then.”
Our eyes met.
“It was you, wasn’t it?”
Flushed with shame, Agasa shot to her feet—and ran out.
