Chapter 40

Episode 40

If there was one thing Lydia had overlooked, it was the fact that she was wearing a very heavy dress.

Although she had already judged that the water wasn’t very deep, as her toes touched the bottom, the hem of her dress proved more cumbersome than expected underwater, making it difficult to move through.

Splash—

But soon, as she heard the sound of someone else falling into the water, she felt a hand wrap around her waist almost simultaneously.

Even with her slightly blurred vision, Lydia recognized the distinct blond hair and was horrified upon realizing who it was.

“Marquis?!”

As expected, in urgent moments, familiar titles came first.

He, who was dragging her out, had a frighteningly hardened expression and didn’t say a word.

Being led by him, Lydia finally felt her feet touch solid ground and her upper body rise completely out of the water, bringing her a sense of relief.

Immediately, Ilian, still holding her closely, stopped walking, brushed the tangled hair off her face, and checked her expression.

After confirming that she was breathing fine, he let out what sounded more like a suppressed exhale than a sigh and said,

“Have you lost your mind? Why would you jump in?”

Correction.

It was closer to a shout delivered with a rough breath than a sigh.

Holding her hand again, he turned forward and began striding out of the water with incredible irritation.

“I measured the depth before jumping. And it’s spring… I thought it would be okay.”

“What part of that is okay?”

“I thought… this would be the fastest way.”

“The fastest way to what?”

“I thought… if I created an incident, I could neatly get Princess Madeline kicked out of the palace.”

Seeing the water dripping from her hair, Lydia let go of Ilian’s hand and began gathering her hair to wring it out.

The maids might be horrified to see their masterpiece ruined. One of her earrings was nowhere to be found.

As she sighed, she thought maybe she should have taken off the earrings before jumping.

“Do I seem that incompetent to you?”

“…What?”

She was startled by the strong force that suddenly pulled her up so easily as he said,

“Did I seem so negligent that you thought you had to handle Madeline yourself?”

“Marquis— Ilian, that’s not it…”

Lydia realized her voice was trembling and tried to steady it, but now her entire body began to shake.

The water hadn’t seemed so cold, yet the chill that pierced her as she came out was unexpectedly overwhelming.

“Why did you jump in, then?”

Just then, Ilian, seemingly unaffected, hurriedly received a thick blanket from an approaching attendant and wrapped it tightly around Lydia’s shoulders.

His tone was noticeably softer than before.

His arm around her shoulders held her more tightly than usual.

“…This is absurd…”

“Just the witnesses…”

“…That’s…”

Right then, as Prince Alec was having a fast-paced conversation, Madeline noticed them and stormed over, pointing at Lydia and shouting,

“She fell in on her own!”

“Do you think anyone would do that without being insane?”

Only Lydia was left speechless by Ilian’s calm reply, echoing her own earlier words.

Yes, even she had to admit now that it had been a bit reckless.

“I’m telling you, she provoked me— she provoked me and then…”

“I repeat, unfortunately, the Grand Lady’s words are hard to believe.”

Trailing slightly behind, Prince Alec’s face was now tinged with fatigue.

“I don’t understand what this nonsense is. Bring Her Majesty the Queen. One of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting must have witnessed this too.”

“Marchioness. Did you come here at Her Majesty the Queen’s summons?”

Prince Alec’s eyes gleamed strangely. His dragging tone almost sounded like a plea.

He must have suspected Lydia’s intentions in this whole situation.

Being Ilian’s wife, he may have thought she was playing a clever trick, or perhaps Ilian had given her a signal before jumping in.

Regardless, his request was clear. If they were going to work together to get rid of Madeline, he wanted to keep his mother, the Queen, out of the narrative.

‘That should be fine.’

The Queen wasn’t Lydia’s target anyway. What good would it do to drag the Queen into this? She likely hadn’t expected things to escalate this far either.

Considering Alec’s unwavering stance, the Queen and Princess Yulina likely wouldn’t cause further problems once Madeline was gone.

Remembering their lack of reaction immediately after the wedding only confirmed it.

Having calmly organized her thoughts, Lydia spoke with a consistently pitiful expression. Honestly, the cold night air biting at her skin made that effort unnecessary.

“No. I just thought I left something behind and was heading back to the banquet hall, when I lost my way and ran into Princess Madeline by chance.”

If they dragged the Queen in, it would truly become an uncontrollable scandal. The Queen wouldn’t have anticipated this either.

Still, thanks to his intervention, it seemed unlikely they’d see Madeline in the capital of the Kingdom of Cronon again after today— wasn’t that mission accomplished?

“Lies! Don’t lie. You know. You were fooled too. Why is it only me?!”

With the three of them now aligned, Princess Madeline was inevitably pushed into a corner.

Around them were only attendants and maids watching and waiting for the right moment to spread this juicy scandal.

“So, are you saying I should take responsibility for this?”

“Of course not. Neither of us wants a bigger scandal, so please return to the Kingdom of Ines.”

“I can’t go. I said I can’t go! I’m Madeline Esteban— why should I go back?!”

“Isn’t it time to stop?”

At that moment, Ilian, who had remained unusually silent, finally began to speak.

“Do you think I left you alone all this time out of concern for Esteban’s safety?”

His voice was so cold and angry that even Lydia, who was still in his arms, felt a chill down her spine. As if he truly intended to destroy Madeline Ines completely.

“The only reason was because you’re Ethan’s mother.”

“Because of Ethan? And now you say that? How hypocritical.”

“I wonder if I could ever be as hypocritical as you.”

“Then tell the world! Say what happened that day before the accident! What did Ethan hear from you that made him run out without looking and get hit by that carriage? Let’s talk about that day. You’re staying silent because you know you’re not free from suspicion or blame, Ilian Esteban.”

So this was the true story behind the incident Ilian had spoken of so boldly to Lydia— the one where he’d said he had practically killed Ethan.

Even if Ilian had said something harsh to Ethan, that alone couldn’t be directly responsible for his death. Lydia didn’t believe Ilian would ever say something cruel to him.

In Ethan’s countless diaries, the opposite was shown. When he was distressed by Madeline’s harsh words, it was Ilian who stayed by his side, saying it wasn’t true.

“If I reveal that, your most shameful past— one that would strip you of your precious title as Grand Lady of House Esteban— would come to light. Shall I bring the witnesses and evidence?”

Madeline’s face turned even paler than Lydia’s, who had just come out of the water and was trembling. As if her darkest secrets had truly been exposed.

“…How do you know that?”

“Because that day, Ethan hid in my wardrobe to surprise me— and what he overheard was the result of that investigation. From the start, I’ve always been suspicious of you, Madeline Ines.”

“You shouldn’t know that. I handled it well— They said I handled it well…”

Ilian had finally decided to let go of what he’d struggled with for so long.

It had been his own lingering attachment. He had used Ethan’s final wish— not to be hated— as an excuse to leave Madeline alone.

Deep down, he just wanted to preserve the memories of Ethan, the beloved youngest son of House Esteban.

If he revealed the truth, it would mean the boy who died young would learn that some impostor child, not his brother Ethan, had lived in luxury imitating Esteban. That was something he couldn’t bear.

“Ethan wasn’t even your child. He wasn’t my father’s child either. He was a stranger. Completely, a stranger.”

But he had to admit it now. By letting Madeline be, he had failed to let go of his hatred.

He had simply stored it, letting it fester like poison. He had been foolishly complacent, blind to just how long he had kept turning away.

<You’re kind of a fool sometimes, you know that?>

Ethan’s words, often grumbled like a scolding, echoed like a hallucination. Then and now, Ethan had been right.