Chapter 02. Mercedes Was Always a Possession

It had been about a month and a half since the night of the banquet when Mercedes fainted. Her husband, Crown Prince Richard, finally summoned her.

Late at night.

‘…Is he planning to consummate the marriage now, after all this time?’

Mercedes felt a bit anxious.

Richard’s torment didn’t stop at humiliation, he had also refused to consummate their marriage for two years. As a result, Mercedes became the object of ridicule among the count and countless nobles.

‘What could it be this time?’

Since there was no mention of consummation, Mercedes dressed in a modest gown and headed to Richard’s chambers. The maids had no interest in her, so no one urged her to prepare anything special.

Standing before Richard’s door, Mercedes took a deep breath and stepped through the open doorway.

“…You called for me, Your Highness.”

Inside Richard’s room were numerous women. They played instruments, danced, and flirted by his side.

They were low-born dancers. Mercedes gazed at the scene with an emotionless expression.

Richard lounged on a long sofa and beckoned her lazily with a flick of his hand.

“Come here.”

Mercedes walked through the center of the room. The strong scent of perfume and alcohol might have been overwhelming, but as always, her face remained calm and pale.

No change in expression, a doll-like demeanor.

Richard clicked his tongue.

“I’m having such an enjoyable evening, it wouldn’t do to leave my wife out of it, would it?”

“…Yes, Your Highness.”

“Since it’s such a lovely night, how about pouring everyone a drink? Start from the dancer at the far end and pour for each one, carefully. Oh, and be extra attentive to the ones sitting near me, they’re my favorites.”

A sly grin tugged at Richard’s lips.

He seemed delighted as he handed a wine bottle to his noble Crown Princess.

Without even glancing at him, Mercedes took the bottle.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Mercedes calmly stood and walked toward the dancer at the far end.

“…Is this… really…?”

“Is this okay…?”

The dancers murmured among themselves, voices hushed beneath the music, stunned by the sight.

The Crown Princess pouring drinks for low-born women, it was unthinkable.

Yet Mercedes continued down the row, pouring drinks for each dancer. Her movements were poised and graceful.

Richard couldn’t take his eyes off her. What was this woman?

It was a situation that should have provoked outrage, and yet she remained unaffected, truly pouring drinks for those low-born dancers.

“…Hmm. It seems you’re enjoying this as well. Then how about performing a solo dance to liven the mood? Didn’t the Count’s house teach you anything of the sort?”

Biting his lip in frustration, Richard asked in a feigned cheerful tone. It was clear he only wished to humiliate Mercedes even further.

“I must apologize, but noblewomen are forbidden from learning dances meant for entertainment. If Your Highness were to dance with me, I could perform a formal ballroom dance.”

Mercedes replied calmly.

“A textbook answer.”

“I apologize.”

It was true. Richard knew that as well. He had only asked to see if he could provoke even the slightest reaction from her, any expression at all. But, once again, nothing.

“You look like a corpse today too. I wonder if you even breathe.”

“I’m sorry.”

Mercedes offered yet another apology and poured Richard’s favored dancers their drinks with even more care.

Then she stood quietly, as if waiting for his next command.

Suddenly, tension filled the room. Richard’s expression had twisted.

“Ha… And how do you plan to make this right? You really have no sense or talent for pleasing your husband. You’re so dull, you’ve ruined my good mood.”

“I apologize, Your Highness.”

Mercedes bowed her head in apology. It was done with perfect grace and formality.

“Haha. I see. You only wanted my brother, didn’t you?”

“…Your Highness. That is not true.”

“No, no, Mercedes. I know it well. You and my brother looked so lovely together. Is that it?”

“That’s not.”

“I saved you when you were destined to grow old and die alone. And instead of treating me like your savior, you see me as a fool, don’t you? That’s why you’re so cold.”

Richard laughed like a madman, cornering Mercedes with his words.

It was true, Richard had not been Mercedes’s original fiancé.

When she was fourteen, she had been betrothed to the former Crown Prince, Elmond, who died two years ago in an accident.

They said he slipped off a cliff while out hunting.

With her fiancé dead, the engagement was naturally nullified, and Mercedes had to once again suffer a brutal beating at the hands of the Cromwell family.

Even Elmond’s accidental death was blamed on Mercedes.

She was eighteen at the time.

And then, all of a sudden, this happened.

Richard, Elmond’s younger brother who succeeded him as Crown Prince, expressed his desire to marry her.

“You think a substitute Crown Prince like me is lacking too, don’t you?”

Richard had always been compared to Elmond. As a prince, he fell far short of his older brother in ability.

He had been compared to him since childhood.

No one liked the idea of such an inadequate prince taking the Crown Prince’s seat, let alone pursuing his dead brother’s fiancée.

Public opinion was against him.

But Richard pretended to be noble. He claimed that since a once-betrothed woman would have difficulty receiving another proposal, he would take responsibility for Mercedes.

At the time, Richard’s reputation soared. The new Crown Prince was seen as a kind man who cared for a pitiful woman.

She was eighteen, an appropriate age for a royal marriage, and the wedding took place immediately.

But from the very first night, Richard made it clear.

He didn’t want her.

“Like a corpse. Were you like this with my brother too? Ah, that’s right. You kept your virginity. Good, I’d hate to touch a filthy body.”

“She must be a frigid woman.”

“Your eyes! That arrogant look! Is it because I’m not him? Huh? Do you find me that unworthy?”

One image had always been seared into Richard’s mind, his brother and Mercedes, looking like a picture-perfect couple.

Every time they appeared at social gatherings, Elmond was affectionate, and Mercedes looked shy.

But the current Mercedes showed no shyness. Only indifference, as if she were dismissing him.

In truth, Mercedes had treated both brothers the same. But both Richard and Elmond, as if possessed, were enraged just by looking at her. One had to wonder if blood ties made people so alike.

Was forcing one’s partner to serve drinks to dancers a family tradition?

“You’re mistaken. I—”

“Enough. Things have been noisy lately, because of you.”

“…”

Richard brought up the rumors. Even though he was the one who had created and fueled them, he shamelessly blamed Mercedes once more.

“At a time when we should be calming things down and pretending to be on good terms, you ruin the mood?”

“I apologize.”

In truth, Mercedes had no idea why Richard had married her, his brother’s former fiancée, or what it was he even wanted from her.

So she gave the most reasonable answer she could think of.

And Richard’s brow furrowed even more.

He felt foolish for always trying to provoke a reaction from her. Why was it that he hurled the insults, yet he was the one who felt humiliated?

‘Damn it.’

Richard was always the only one struggling.

“Get out. Get out of my sight this instant. I can’t stand to look at a woman like you.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

In the end, Richard couldn’t contain his anger and shouted. Mercedes, as if it were only natural, calmly stepped back and left the room.

Crash!

The sound of glass shattering rang out as soon as Mercedes exited. It was Richard lashing out in frustration.

At first, he had thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in high society. That was why he desired her. He wanted her seated beside him as Crown Princess.

But his brother had chosen her first.

He had spent his whole life being compared, and now even the woman he wanted was taken by his brother.

Richard’s heart boiled endlessly.

Then, fortune came to him. His brother died in an accident, and he rose to the position he had long desired.

A four-year crush didn’t fade easily.

Of course, he took Mercedes. But what landed in his hands was defective.

A haughty woman with the same expression at all times, lifeless eyes.

Was she like that even next to his brother? No, she wasn’t.

“Damn woman.”

Mercedes didn’t cling to him. She left with the same face as always, cold, indifferent.

“She’s making that same expression again, like none of this means anything…”

She was a woman who should belong to him, the future king, and yet she acted as if she didn’t even realize it, always cold. Every time. Every time!

All this trouble he was going through, it was her fault.

The dancers watched him cautiously. His favored ones hurried to cling to him, trying to please him.

“Oh, Your Highness. Please enjoy yourself with us tonight. It’s a lovely evening.”

“Get away!”

As they clung to him, Richard lashed out even more. He couldn’t be satisfied with them. He felt parched.

That woman, this is how she should be. So why did she ignore him? Why was she always like that…

His anger swelled. When she collapsed at the royal wedding anniversary, he thought it was perfect. With such an incident, it became much easier to apply pressure.

He was sure that under pressure, she would come to him first, flatter him, and weep in apology.

But for a month and a half, she didn’t come, until he summoned her himself. And even then, she looked so unbothered.

“So, it’s still not enough?”

The atmosphere in the room chilled as Richard, overwhelmed by rage, fell deep into thought. The dancers stopped playing and stayed silent, watching his mood.

Meanwhile, the attendants rushed in to clean up the shards of glass, and Richard drank again.