Chapter 33
‘Is it really a curse that I’m talking while you’re munching on snacks?’
Elisabeth briefly doubted this and shook her head. No way, that would be insane.
“Are you even listening?”
“My ears are open, so go ahead and speak.”
She felt a growing heat, and her breath became rough.
‘Calm down. I’m noble, so I should stay calm.’
“Now that I know you’re a victim of the curse too, I feel like I should take back calling it terrorism. It wasn’t your choice, right?”
“Of course not.”
“……”
‘Stay calm. I’m an educated person. I can stay calm…’
“If I say just one word, I could overlook the mistake you made. How about that? Isn’t it great?”
“Stop beating around the bush and just say it.”
“So I mean that I might be able to forgive you. But there’s a condition…”
“Forgiveness? The one who should be receiving an apology is me!”
“What?”
Hermia’s anger finally erupted beyond its limits.
“I really can’t stand this!”
Elisabeth turned red to her neck, veins bulging in anger.
“Whether it’s because of a curse or whatever, I’ll cancel what I said about arresting you. Just go back home!”
“I don’t want to.”
“Hey!”
“Why!”
The two women stood up simultaneously. At that moment, the reception room door swung open, and Walter stepped in.
“What’s going on…?”
“Get out!”
This time both women shouted fiercely at the same time. Walter quickly returned his long leg to its place and gently closed the door.
Elisabeth glared at Hermia with fiery eyes while huffing in frustration.
“Are you really cursed?”
“I told you I am!”
“You’re not just crazy from the start?”
“No!”
She looked completely insane in every way…!
As she thought of her next words with a flushed face, tears welled up in her eyes. Being born a Princess, this humiliation was truly a first for her.
Throughout her upbringing, even the king had never raised his voice at her, yet how could a mere illegitimate child…
“How dare you say that to me…?”
“And who do you think you are?”
Elisabeth was taken aback and looked up with teary eyes. This situation was terrifying for her as she had never experienced anything like it before.
Who am I? Of course…
“I-I am Elisabeth Müller, the proud Princess of the Müller Kingdom.”
“So what? You just happened to be born a princess.”
In that moment, it felt like everything she knew was collapsing. Being a princess isn’t something that’s just given? How could that be?
As Hermia glanced at the wide-eyed princess with irritation, she clicked her tongue and plopped down heavily.
“Do you think anyone wants to be born as an illegitimate child? If I could choose my bloodline, I would have been born as the emperor of a neighboring country.”
“That’s something only God decides; it’s not up to you…”
“Whether it’s God or whoever else, it means you were lucky enough to be born a Princess.”
“Lucky enough?”
Tears fell from her long eyelashes with every blink. Even amidst the absurdity and ridiculousness of it all, Elisabeth felt confused.
“That’s… that’s…”
“Sit down. My neck hurts.”
Hermia regained her composure first and gestured for Elisabeth to sit down. There was no maid around to wipe away her running nose.
Elisabeth wiped her face with her sleeve while looking somewhat pitifully at Hermia before pushing a handkerchief toward her on the table. This was no way for someone five years old to act.
“You don’t carry a handkerchief since someone wipes your nose for you every time.”
Since this was true, Elisabeth couldn’t respond at all.
“What a clumsy mess.”
“……”
Although she didn’t understand why she should feel embarrassed, she strongly felt that she needed to get a much better silk handkerchief as soon as she returned to the palace.
Her hand trembled as she picked up the handkerchief offered by an illegitimate child.
“I… I got a bit excited there. So what I wanted to say was… what was it again?”
“You were talking about forgiveness and conditions.”
“Oh right.”
Elisabeth answered belatedly and blew her nose loudly. Hermia naturally pulled the plate of macarons toward herself.
“What is it?”
“I’ll forgive what you did if you give up your marriage with the Duke… Hermia should give up on Walter first.”
Her hand reaching for the plate paused briefly before withdrawing.
Instead of snacks, Hermia picked up her teacup and took a sip before continuing.
“Hmmm…”
“If you give up Sir Walter first, I’ll forgive you for what you’ve done to me and… drop out of the Ban.Sa.Yo”
You were part of it too?
Her expression naturally soured. Everyone knew about the royal family trying to marry into the Duke’s house. She had just realized it wasn’t solely for political reasons.
Elisabeth had an expression on her face that clearly showed she was not just a Princess but also a woman in love.
‘She likes the Duke.’
Faced with such an obvious request made Hermia feel bitter again. Setting aside whether or not to forgive her, this issue needed to be taken seriously.
After a moment of silence, she spoke in a lower voice than before.
“Sorry, but I can’t do that. Even if the princess can’t marry, you’ll still remain noble. But I’m not like you.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“If I can’t go through with this marriage, it would be difficult—difficult…”
Please listen! This cursed thing!
“I might end up being sold off to some rich old man! Damn it!”
Finally confessing in frustration, Hermia slammed her hands on the table!
Is there a curse that can make a person more miserable than this?
While I don’t know what kind of curses the other three are under, the fact that I can’t even hide my miserable condition is truly the worst.
“…The Count will likely try to recoup the time and money invested in me by marrying me off to some rich old man, whether through money, connections, or whatever means.”
“That’s ridiculous! How can anyone be so calculating with their own child?”
Hermia smiled wryly at the naive princess who jumped up in shock.
“If my marriage with the Duke falls through, the Count will look for another match. At that point, who would want to marry a woman who has been jilted twice and is rumored to be an evil illegitimate child?”
Elisabeth froze with a shocked expression. Hermia struggled to compose herself and continued.
“For me, this marriage is practically my last chance. So I’m sorry, but I need to survive.”
“…….”
A heavy silence filled the reception room. After staring at Hermia for a while without speaking, Elisabeth hastily took a sip of tea.
“I don’t understand. No matter how much of an illegitimate child you are, how could you think of trading your daughter like that? That’s just…”
“Did your royal siblings all marry for love?”
Elisabeth was about to say that such a thing was unthinkable for nobility but fell silent.
Had all the royal princesses and princes married their loved ones? She didn’t need to think long before realizing she couldn’t answer that.
She knew well that her push for a marriage with Walter wasn’t because she liked him but because he held the title of “Rockford.”
Hermia shrugged as if she had expected this reaction.
“Well, that’s how it is.”
As silence returned once more, the sound of wind and rain outside grew louder. Hermia felt a sudden wave of fatigue and pressed her palms against her eyelids.
“Or!”
Suddenly, Elisabeth clapped her hands as if she had come up with a good idea.
“What if I find you another groom? Not an old ugly man but someone quite decent. It wouldn’t be impossible if I ask my mother!”
“That’s useless.”
Hermia replied immediately, thinking of the ambitious Countess with gleaming eyes as she chuckled.
“To refuse the Duke’s wife,it’d have to be someone on the level of a Prince’s wife. They were pondering who has more money between a Prince and a Duke.”
Elisabeth echoed “A prince’s wife?” and frowned. It seemed she didn’t want her closest brother Gerald to be tied to an illegitimate child either.
Considering money, power, and honor, there was no better groom in the kingdom than Walter. Foreign nobles would have to change their nationality upon marriage, so her mother would surely say no…
As Elisabeth bit her lip in frustration, she muttered as if resigned.
“Can’t you just go live abroad alone? I can give you money.”
“What?”
“Of course, you wouldn’t want that. Forget I said anything.”
Even she knew how ridiculous the suggestion was, so Elisabeth gave an awkward laugh.
“Let’s just pretend I never said that—”
“How much?”
“What?”
In an instant, a flash seemed to strike across Hermia’s blue eyes.
“How much can you give me? Money.”
—
Elisabeth waved her hand sadly out of the large carriage covered with the royal crest.
With a wistful expression on her face, Walter stood still as he saw her off before quickly stepping back inside.
Having walked several steps ahead of the servant holding an umbrella, his head and shoulders were soaked. He didn’t bother shaking off the water and turned toward the guest room where Hermia was.
“Did you get rained on?”
Hermia, in the middle of packing her luggage with Emily, greeted him. Walter’s jaw clenched as he saw the neatly folded clothes inside the suitcase.
“What did the Princess say?”
Walter, staring at the bag, asked. Hermia rolled her eyes and gave a sheepish smile.
“She said she would overlook what happened at the tea party.”
‘Though, there was something far more important that she mentioned.’
“She said she wouldn’t hold me responsible for what I did.”
“That’s it?”
“……”
Opening her mouth here would cause a major incident, so Hermia firmly closed it instead and nodded vigorously.
How could she explain that the Princess had offered support for her to settle down abroad? If that happened, Walter’s inheritance would vanish.
‘I’m sorry.’
If Mel regained her status and they married, it would solve everything; however, she was currently missing.
For Walter to inherit safely now meant he had no choice but to marry her. That’s why Hermia couldn’t accept such an offer right then and there.
‘I have some conscience left; I’ll postpone any decisions until I find Mel. And when she returns, I’ll pretend not to know and quickly take money from the princess to escape.’
The problem was that she couldn’t lie with this disastrous mouth of hers; however, it was fortunate that she wasn’t cursed alone.
Whatever curse it was, both the Duke and the Prince were victims as well. Since they were high-ranking individuals, they could surely capture one author whenever they wanted; did they really need her help?
If they caught the author, surely the curse would lift naturally.
She didn’t want any unwanted fame or scandals anymore. Whatever complicated matters regarding wills or anything else could be handled by them. The evil woman Helen needed to leave this country.
