Chapter 64
“Do I have to say the same thing twice? And there’s no need for you to come to my palace anymore. Miss Irene is no longer my lady-in-waiting.”
Even with the sudden dismissal, Irene couldn’t say anything at the order to shut up and could only open and close her mouth.
Tsk, Elisabeth clicked her tongue and plopped down next to Hermia with Gerald.
“Wh-What is this?”
Hermia, who had set off a bomb and was bewildered and slumped, was pulled up by Gerald.
“You did well. My heart feels refreshed.”
Elizabeth turned to the onlookers, her expression cold as she sternly declared,
“Miss Hermia is absolutely right! Ignoring her when she was just a Count’s daughter and fawning over her now, aren’t you ashamed? You’re tarnishing the dignity of nobles with such behavior, truly awful! You should all reflect on your behavior!”
Eyes that were watching the princess defend the illegitimate child and the prince who stood like a loyal dog beside her flickered with confusion.
‘She was the one who made the most fuss during the tea party…’
While some young ladies were thinking that, Elisabeth continued in a clear voice.
“Gentlemen, listen especially well. As a princess of this country, I believe that the woman who will lead the new era should be someone like Miss Hermia. I plan to support whatever she does. Miss Hermia will definitely be the best wife!”
As she spun around, she gave a proud smile towards Hermia, who was as surprised as the others.
‘I did great, right? You’re overwhelmed with gratitude, aren’t you? So now, just let Walter go and pick any other man from this room.’
Elisabeth, who conveyed her true feelings with a deep gaze, even smoothed out Hermia’s crumpled skirt herself.
“Princess…”
“Speak. My ears are always wide open.”
“You don’t have to do this.”
Hermia said dryly. She knew why Elisabeth had bothered to take her side. She probably needed to look good after proposing that she leave.
The dark intention was so obvious it was almost transparent. The way she changed her attitude like flipping her palm was so pathetic to watch.
“Actually, I have something to tell you…”
“Wait! First, how about enjoying the ball first? Isn’t this your first time in a place like this? Eat lots of delicious things! Oh my, look over there. There’s a chocolate fountain over there!”
Elisabeth suddenly changed the subject, closing her ears that had been said to be wide open. She had instinctively sensed something ominous in Hermia’s expression.
She grabbed Hermia’s hand and dragged her to the dessert table, asking her only ally, her brother, for help with her eyes.
Gerald, whose teamwork with her was perfect only in times like these, snapped his fingers at the orchestra, and the conductor waved his baton with an elegant gesture.
Music began to flow again in the noisy hall. Now Hermia was surrounded only by the prince and princess and men who were approaching, seeing it as an opportunity.
Irene, standing blankly and watching the scene, suddenly realized that there was no one around her and hurriedly ran towards a familiar face.
“M-Miss Rosaline.”
However, even with her extremely groveling attitude, all she received was a prickly, sharp response.
“I’m sorry, but could you please not talk to me? If possible, forever.”
“……”
“Cowardly,” Irene muttered quietly and turned around without regret before spotting the group that had claimed to be her left and right arms at the charity exhibition and running towards them again.
She took a deep breath and stepped forward with a nonchalant expression.
“Guys, isn’t it really funny? That even Princess Elisabeth has fallen for that villain’s scheme…”
“Ha. She actually came.”
The two people who turned around stood side by side, blocking her path. They were physically building a wall to prevent Irene from joining the group.
“Miss Irene, have you already forgotten the Princess told you to shut up?”
“Oh…? Why are you suddenly using honorifics…”
“Instead of this, please remove our names from that Ban.Sa.Yo or whatever it is right away.”
“Why, why are you doing this? We were just talking about recruiting second-generation members…”
Irene raised the corners of her mouth as if she couldn’t believe it. However, the two people openly scoffed.
“That’s only until Miss Hermia dressed up and attended the ball.”
“The Duke, who never showed his face at events like this, brought his fiancée, no less. Don’t you know what that means? He’s going to marry her!”
“The marriage is unavoidable because of the inheritance… That’s right! In a year, in just a year, they’ll get divorced. That’s for sure!”
Even knowing it was a pathetic excuse, Irene chose to insist on it until the end. The two people, frustrated by that, put their hands on their hips and thumped their chests.
“Miss Irene, do you have no eyes? Didn’t you see just now? Unlike in the novel, the Duke is head over heels for Helen, not Belle!”
“His Highness is friendly with the Duke. And now even the Princess has turned her back? We’ll stop here. We can’t do this anymore.”
Irene was dumbfounded. The fact that the people who had vowed to not betray each other even if the sky fell had turned their backs on her in an instant was more absurd than angering.
She asked one last time as if to confirm.
“We said we wouldn’t bow our heads in cowardice, that we would fight against injustice. That’s our Ban.Sa.Yo’s creed.”
“Believing Miss Irene’s words without even checking and turning the royal family into enemies? Are you out of your mind?”
“……”
“We were stupid to believe the words of a daughter from a vulgar family from the start.”
“If I were you, I would go apologize to Miss Hermia instead of lurking around here.”
Irene slowly turned her body. Soon, she heard the sound of people continuing their conversation behind her as if they had completely forgotten about her.
‘Should we go apologize too? What should we say?’ It was a spineless remark. She clenched her fists tightly and began to move her angry steps towards the wine table in the distance.
* * *
Light leaked from the Queen’s study on the 3rd floor of the Bridgette Palace.
“I don’t know if you remember, but when you were nine or ten years old, you played chess with our eldest and won three games in a row. At that time, our crown prince was fifteen.”
The King moved his pawn, reminiscing about happy memories.
“I apologize.”
Walter apologized and moved his pawn as well.
“I know you’re not sorry.”
“……”
The King, who moved his pawn again, gazed at Walter, who was moving his chess pieces without hesitation, and asked.
“Do you remember?”
At his gaze, Walter raised his head and answered. The King, whose turn it was, carefully looked down at the chessboard and continued his questions.
“…Are you sure it was ten years old?”
“It was eight years old.”
“Hmph.” What to do with this frustrating guy who can’t even lie?
The King looked at Walter with disapproving eyes before moving his queen. He intended to crush his momentum early on.
“If I win this game… will you grant me a favor?”
Although he had made a bold move, Walter responded silently without any particular reaction. This time again, it was the pawn, the lowest-ranking piece.
“If it’s not a favor but an order, I will comply.”
“Then marry my daughter instead of Miss Vansen. It’s an order.”
“…….”
The King chuckled and said, “Just kidding, just kidding,” before moving his queen again. His red eyes were shining keenly.
“That’s tyranny. It is tyranny indeed…”
“Is there a reason you called me separately?”
“Hmm?”
“It seemed like you had something to say. If not, I apologize.”
As Walter spoke with a serious face and lowered his head, the King straightened his back, groaned, and took a sip of brandy.
“Well, think of it as resentment for rejecting my daughter. If Duke Leonard had been alive, you would’ve had no trouble becoming my son-in-law… Oh! The left side is wide open.”
The King’s words, which boldly dug in to take care of the rook, boldly penetrated the enemy lines. It was a move befitting his straightforward personality.
As the King ransacked Walter’s defenses, he naturally called him.
“Walter.”
It was the first time the King had called him by his name instead of his title or position since Duke Leonard’s funeral. Walter paused for a moment before answering.
“…Yes.”
“Are you still unable to forgive your grandfather?”
Walter frowned slightly before straightening his posture.
“I…”
“It might be because Duke Leonard was the one who sent the you to the east.”
It wasn’t like that.
It wasn’t just for that reason, and he wasn’t a child. Without knowing that the discrimination, disregard, and insults he had witnessed towards his father for years had piled up and caused him to feel revulsion, the King was speaking recklessly.
Walter was annoyed by the words that were uttered arbitrarily without knowing anything. Even if the subject was the king of this country, his mood was upset.
“…….”
“Walter, don’t think that what you know is everything. More than you think, Leo…”
“Checkmate.”
The King, who was speaking, widened his eyes in surprise and examined the board. He was sure he was winning, but what suddenly happened?
The King gaped at the opponent’s pieces surrounding his ‘King’. At some point, all sides were blocked, and there was nowhere to go.
“Huh.”
“What will you do?”
To acknowledge defeat here, the King had to knock down the King himself. Disloyally, Walter was waiting for him to do so.
“…I lost.”
The King, who flicked his chess piece with his finger and knocked it down, could only laugh in absurdity.
He stood up and looked at Walter, who was putting on his jacket at will, with curious eyes before bursting into laughter again.
“I thought you would move the knight and I was diligently marking only that. When you were a kid, that was always your favorite piece to use.”
Walter replied calmly as he fastened his cuffs.
“I simply used the forces available to me.”
“You’re such an inflexible guy. Well, are you happy to have beaten an old man?”
The King, leaning deeply on the sofa, grumbled as he held a glass of brandy. Only at the very end did Walter smile very faintly and turn around.
“I apologize. My fiancée is alone right now.”
