CH 14

"Really? Hmm… Okay."

Lewicia thought that it would be fun if the three of them had dinner like that, but he decided to listen to Yulia for now.

He thought that he shouldn’t push Vasily too hard on the first day. Otherwise, he might never come back. He had to watch this fun spectacle for a long time.

"I am thinking of eating dinner together today as a way of welcoming you, so quickly kick him out and come to the dining room."

Lewicia let go of Yulia’s hand and turned away from Vasily. Vasily bowed his head to greet Lewicia, but Lewicia wouldn’t accept his greeting.

As soon as Lewicia left the drawing room, Vasily walked up to Yulia with rough movements.

"What exactly are you doing?"

"What?"

"You know how much I hate the Second Prince. Our parents too, even Kristin, our relationship with the Prince is really bad."

"You already know."

"What?"

"You already know why I came here. So why do you ask?"

Yulia looked annoyed. Having experienced Vasily's attitude multiples times before, she just wished that this moment would pass quickly.

Of course, Vasily, who was completely unaware of that fact, was confused as if Yulia had become a different person overnight.

"Why are you doing this to me? It’s the butler who hired the hyenas to hurt you, not me. Yulia, my Lady. Had I known this, I wouldn’t have stayed put."

"You can stay put."

"Yulia!"

"And stop calling me ‘my Lady’. Because it’s gross and disgusting. And stop coming to me and saying the same things over and over again. I am sick of it."

Vasily didn’t know what to do. The Yulia he knew always spoke kindly to others. And no matter how tired she was, she would always smile at him who was her lover.

"Yulia, it’s my fault. I’ll make it up to you. I’ll buy you a house in a place unknown by my parents. I’ll let you keep studying, like you wanted to. No, should I send you to study abroad in the Empire of Baikan? You can go there and cool off your head for a year or two…"

"Vasily."

Yulia cut off Vasily’s words.

If she could, she wanted to tell him how much she had suffered under Marjoram’s hands in her past eight lives. However, knowing that it would do nothing to help her revenge plan, she decided to tell Vasily just one truth.

"You’re not in love with me. You’re just mistaking it for love."

"What are you saying? Do you know how long I’ve been…"

"You’ve been deceiving yourself for a long time."

Yulia’s intense green eyes penetrated through Vasily.

"I was the defective girl who rejoiced and felt saved when receiving a piece of bread. One gold coin, that was nothing to you, was the light that could carry on my life. As you threw these things at me one by one, you must have felt like a god."

"No. It’s not like that."

"’How smart would an orphan be?’. You met me with this kind of curiosity. And every time I saw you and looked up to you as if you were an angel, you must have been so happy. Am I wrong?"

Vasily denied Yulia’s words. Het got angry, saying that it wasn’t like that at all and that she must be mistaken.

However, Yulia knew Vasily better than himself.

"The noble aristocrat who had a fateful love with a commoner orphan. People must have complimented you for being such a good and romantic young master. You must have deluded yourself into believing it was love and didn’t know you were using me because you were intoxicated with this version of yourself."

"I understand that you’re angry at me, but don’t talk like that when you don’t know anything. Do you know how much I wanted you… Did you forget that I said I would throw away my family and live together with you?"

"But you threw me away and chose your family instead."

"I was locked up!"

Vasily roared.

"I was locked up! Because I tried to go to you! I told you my dad locked me up to stop me from going anywhere. Please, try to understand me. Yulia, let’s leave. Let’s get out of here right now. Prince Lewicia is not a good person. After using you and wearing you down like a tool, he will eventually throw you away."

"Good. That’s what I want."

"Yulia!"

"If you have time to make such lousy excuses, go back to your amazing family and ask the butler. What he said when he hired the hyenas to kill me."

"What?"

"’That arrogant commoner didn’t know her place and seduced the young master, so after ruining her wicked face, cut off her head and bring it to me.’"

Yulia’s voice was cold. It was cold to the point of being painful like being cut through by a piece of ice.

At a loss as to what to do, Vasily rubbed his face and swept up his hair several times.

"I will… find out. There’s no way the butler would have said that, but still."

Yulia wondered whether to tell him that it was the Marquis of Marjoram’s order, but stayed silent.

In the past, whenever she saw Vasily suffering like this, her insides felt refreshed like swallowing a cold glass of water in the middle of summer, but after becoming insensitive, it wasn’t as pleasant as before.

She didn’t need a farewell speech. She didn’t want to wish him well.

"I love you."

Those were Vasily’s last words as she turned away coldly. It was a sorrowful voice. His eyes were red.

Yulia stared blankly at Vasily for a while.

Then, after bursting into a brief, despondent laugh, she said to him.

"Then break off the engagement."

"….What?"

"Your engagement to the Princess will soon be announced. Break off the engagement. Shouldn’t you be able to do that much for the woman you sincerely love?"

Of course, he won’t be able to.

*****

At the thought that she had kept the Prince waiting as the conversation with Vasily got longer, Yulia hurried to the dining room and was met with an unexpected scene.

"You’re here?"

Prince Lewicia and Coco, stuck to the window, were watching Vasily leave.

"What are both of you doing?"

"Eavesdropping and peeping."

Lewicia seemed to be in a good mood. He was already like that in front of Vasily earlier, but he seemed to look even happier now.

Perhaps ashamed of being caught peeping, Coco sat back in her seat with a coy face.

"Sit down, Yulia Arte. I’ll treat you to dinner as a way to welcome you to my palace."

"Thank you."

"Since you gave me a good show of that bastard Vasily leaving with his tail between his legs, should I buy you a dress tomorrow? Coco knows a lot of good clothing stores."

"It’s fine, your Highness."

"No, it’s not fine. I have to give you a reward so that you will keep showing me this kind of spectacle in the future. If you don’t want a dress, what about money? If there’s anything you want, tell me."

Lewicia seemed to dislike Vasily much more than she had expected. Yulia, who was thinking for a moment, glanced at Coco and told the Prince.

"Your Highness, I would like you to take me to the palace contest."

"Hey."

Coco responded in Lewicia’s stead.

"Are you crazy? How can you go there? Do you even know what the palace contest is?"

"I heard that it is a place where children of royal families and leading noble families gather to be evaluated for their skills and character. So that future leaders can attain higher accomplishments through fair competition…."

"Bullshit."

"What?"

"That’s where future leaders learn to fight each other."

‘It’s a small battlefield.’ Coco said with a sarcastic smile on her face.

"It means that if you, a commoner maid of honor, recklessly interferes, you will be crushed into powder."

"Coco."

"Don’t come back in tears after foolishly going to such a place. I can’t stand the sound of crying."

Agreeing with Coco’s words, Lewicia nodded his head a couple of times.

Yulia looked at them and said calmly.

"Don’t you think it would be more fun to drag down Marjoram in front of everyone at the palace contest rather than slap him on the cheek while coincidentally passing by him?"

Yulia didn’t raise her voice. She just remained calm as if she was predicting something that was bound to happen.

"Hey."

Coco sharply raised her red eyes and muttered while pointing her finger at Yulia.

"You… I need to make myself clearer. Do you think the palace is a leisurely place? If you act so cocky, you might suddenly die and disappear without a trace."

"I’m only going to attend quietly to the Prince. It’s weird if a new maid comes in and the Prince doesn’t bring her anywhere. My mere presence will bother Vasily and he won’t know what to do, and that alone will help Your Highness."

As Coco snorted and tried to respond, Lewicia stealthily cut in.

"Yulia."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Kristin Marjoram is also expected to participate in this palace contest. Now that she has graduated from the Academy, she can finally attend. You’re already aware, I suppose?"

Yulia smiled shortly.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"I won’t protect you. I've always thought that there was nothing more unsightly than a grown prince going around with a maid stuck to his side at all times."

"I know."

"Ok, let’s go to the first contest."

"Your Highness!"

Coco shouted sharply. With a bright smile on his face, Lewicia leaned back in his chair and unfolded a napkin.

"No other than the owner of the Brewe medal… The only person that Kristin Marjoram couldn’t beat. I am sure you will do the same at the palace contest, right?"

"Of course."

Yulia answered confidently. Lewicia casually smiled at her.

"You can’t let me down. Otherwise, you will be kicked out of here. Although being appointed as a royal’s maid of honor is an honorable matter, you will be ridiculed for life if you get kicked out as soon as you come in."

"I will keep that in mind."

The meal started along with a ruthless warning. As expected of a welcoming dinner at a royal palace, the table was filled with all kinds of delicacies.

Ortega had complicated dinner etiquette, but Yulia’s attitude as she began to eat was as natural as the flowing motion of water.

Coco, who was looking at her anxiously, quickly blinked her scarlet eyes and secretly sighed.