CH 16

The crown prince’s face lit up with a fresh smile.

When you’re in a bad mood, it’s best to cleanse your eyes with something this pretty.

I stood watching the snow curl into fine shapes and it made me thirst for something different.

“I think I’ll go back home for no—huh?”

I was about to say goodbye to him when suddenly a butterfly fluttered down and landed on my shoulder.

“What a butterfly—.”

Swish, swish.

I flicked my hand to shoo it away, and it flew up again, this time landing on my head.

“Come here.” Seeing me wrestling with the butterfly, the crown prince stretched out his hand. A long cob grazed my bangs and then fell away.

“Good boy.” Speaking softly to the butterfly that had landed on his finger, the crown prince waved his hand to send it flying away.

“Iris, it seems the butterfly likes your scent.”

“Did the butterfly tell you?”

Apparently elementalists can speak to butterflies. I learned something new. Just then, a light breeze whispered past my ear.

“The spirit likes your scent, as well.”

The prince said in a pleasant voice as he watched my hair flutter in the air. I wondered what the heck I smelled like, but I didn’t ask.

Just because spirits and butterflies like it doesn’t mean it’s a good scent.

⚘

“You fool!”

“Uh, uh, uh, uh,”

Pavel stammered, pale-faced at the Empress’s anger. He’d expected to be scolded for telling her what he’d been doing outside, but he was horrified at how angry she was.

“You’re supposed to be studying in the palace, not going out and causing trouble.”

The Empress was furious. “I’m already having a headache because nothing is going right these days, and to think that my son would cause such an unnecessary accident it’s driving me crazy.”

“I was wrong.”

Pavel quickly bowed his head. The Empress was normally the most compassionate and loving of mothers, but when she was angry, she was terrifying.

“Where the hell do you put your eyes, you can’t even recognize your own ex-fiancé’s face!” She said.

But he was sure that the Empress wouldn’t be able to tell Young Viscountess Sabrina from Young Lady Bright if she saw her in person. They were so alike from head to toe so how was he supposed to know?

“Not only did I not recognize her, but so did Eris!”

“What kind of excuse is that!”

The furious Empress shouted. “If only—Ugh!” the Empress said wearily, pressing her temples together. She had already been briefed twice about Viscountess Sabrina. She had also heard of some of the disturbances that had occurred over the past few days due to her striking resemblance to the Young Lady Bright, but she hadn’t realized until just a moment ago that her presence would pose a great threat to her.

In fact, the Empress didn’t mind the Young Viscountess’ presence at all, which was to be expected. She may not realize it, but even though she is also a member of the Bright family, she is legally a stranger.

She hadn’t interacted with the Bright family before now, so there was no family connection between them, and with the Young Lady Bright missing, the Duke and Marquis couldn’t afford to take care of her, so she thought she’d let her make a fuss for a while.

But her ugly son changed the situation. She’d already warned him to watch out for beggars, but the silly child had to bump into the Young Viscountess Sabrina while he was playing around outside.

“Iris Sabrina, you say?”

“Yes, your Majesty.” At the Empress’s gesture, the chief maid politely handed over the report she was carrying. What was written on the report was nothing more than a recitation of what she had already heard a few days ago.

“Is this all you got?

“I’m so sorry there was no news in the capital and she only stayed inside the manor…”

At the empress’s reprimand, the chief maid bowed her head with a guilty expression. The empress clicked her tongue and threw the report on the table.

“Has anyone caught a whiff of it?”

“It seems to be making the rounds a bit, but… many people have criticized the newspaper’s overzealous coverage of Marquis Bright’s disappearance, so it seems they’re still keeping a low profile.”

‘Hmph‘

Rose-red eyes turned to the newspaper on the table. Thanks to the captain of the guard’s orders, the papers hadn’t made much of Viscountess Sabrina yet, though a few had reported that Young Lady Bright had already returned to the capital, or that she’d caused a ruckus at the Imperial Knights’ reception desk. Perhaps the reporters also mistook the Young Viscountess Sabrina for Young Lady Bright.

In any case, because of the article, the Bright family had been the talk of the town in recent days. The Empress was not very pleased with the situation.

“How could I bury this…” she muttered nervously. It was quiet now, but at the time of Pavel’s breaking off his engagement with the Young Lady Bright, there was no shortage of gossip.

He was, after all, a member of the royal family. The gossips were busy speculating among themselves about the reason for their break-up.

Among them was the rumor that the prince had an affair with a young lady of the Olette family. A few reporters even broke the story. The rumors, which were spread without sound, reached the emperor’s ears.

‘Are the rumors circulating in the capital true?’

The emperor was a man who hated gossip. He was a military lord, not a father, and he would not allow his honor to be tarnished, even by his own children.

‘Absolutely not. Your Majesty.’

‘Whether it’s true or not, you’ll have to take responsibility for it.’

‘Yes, Your Majesty.’

The Empress joined hands with Count Olette to try to repair the situation. It was a good thing that the Young Lady Bright was already branded as a villainess by the people.

The Empress attended a banquet and slipped the word that the Young Lady Bright was to blame for the breakup, while Count Olette spent money to buy a reporter.

With this sensationalized account of the Young Lady Bright’s suicide attempt on the central square, attention naturally turned on her.

The Duke of Bright, who had gone on a rampage shortly after this divorce, quieted down after her suicide. A few months ago, when the child ran away from home and was never found, it became noisy once again, but that too soon subsided.

It was not good to hear of the prince’s breakup again at a time when people were gradually forgetting about it. The empress clucked her tongue slightly.

Newspapers were good to use because of their ability to obscure the true nature of events and sway public opinion, but they could also be poison in the wrong hands.

“What can I do?”

She didn’t think she’d be able to keep the reason for this divorce a secret, but she hadn’t expected things to come to this because of her beloved son. If the Young Viscountess Sabrina told the Duke and Marquis of Bright what she’d found out, things would spiral out of control, not to mention worsen their already bad relationship.

“The Duke of Bright’s personality won’t allow it.”

Pavel’s shoulders slumped and trembled at the Empress’s muttering. He clenched and unclenched his fists with a terrified look on his face. He still broke out in a cold sweat at the thought of being thrashed by the Duke of Bright.

“This is not a good time.”

Recently, the Emperor had been in poor health and had been gradually handing over his duties to the Crown Prince. The last thing they needed was for the affair to come to light now, not before his son became crown prince.

If it did, her son wouldn’t stand a chance against the crown prince, even if she could overthrow him.

That wasn’t the only problem. The Empress was uneasy about the Crown Prince escorting the Young Viscountess Sabrina. Even without her sudden appearance around him, he was already a force to be reckoned with.

“What is the relationship between him and Young Viscountess Sabrina?”

“The person in charge of the Imperial Knights Order selection test asked the Crown Prince, and it seems that they only met when Viscountess Sabrina was trying to take the examination…”

The chief maid’s words made the empress blush in anger. Her eyes immediately narrowed.

“Did the crown prince decide to bring in the Bright family?”

“Perhaps not.” the chief maid replied cautiously. The Young Lady Bright’s misconduct had tarnished the reputation of the House of Bright, but it didn’t mean that they had lost any power.

The Duke of Bright was still alive and well, and the Marquis of Bright was the Chancellor of State, and the Empress and the House of Bright had already crossed the river of no return.

For a crown prince who lacks a base of support, the power of the family to stand up to the empress is an attractive prospect.

“It’s always him.”

The empress gritted her teeth, after thinking about the prince. At first she thought she’d be able to get rid of him easily, but he proved to be more difficult than she had expected.

“You should restrain yourself for a while. You are not allowed to leave the palace for private matters.”

“Then Eris…”

“Do you still care about that now?! You’re not even allowed to see Countess Olette separately, except when attending banquets!”

The Empress, was furious at her immature son’s words,

Snap.

She turned her head away as if she didn’t want to talk anymore. “I don’t even want to see you, so get the hell out of here!”

“…I’ll leave you to it.” Pavel pursed his lips in a fierce curse, then bowed his head.

⚘

“Damn it!”

Pavel paced nervously as he stepped out into the hallway. He’d only gone out for some fresh air because he was feeling stuffy in the palace, but he hadn’t expected things to turn out this way.

“What am I going to do…” Pavel nervously bit his lower lip. He felt uneasy about doing nothing, as the Empress would surely know, but he couldn’t think of anything else to do.

“Pavel.”

“Brother.”

As Pavel exited the Empress’s palace, he stopped in his tracks at the soft voice calling out to him. Vasil was approaching, it was clearly the same man he had met earlier in the day.

Judging by his attire, he had just returned to the palace.

“You’re back now?” Pavel couldn’t hide his discomfort. But he couldn’t help it. He’d been uncomfortable with his half-brother for a long time.

“You must have gone on your way to see the Empress.”

He said, and Pavel’s heart leapt into his throat at the sound of it, it was still soft and sweet as honey.

But Even though the voice was as sweet and pleasant as usual, it somehow sent a chill down his spine.