CH 24

Shatrin Ortega, the King's only daughter, was very angry.

To the point that she burst into tears in front of the King, and requested that the Marquis of Marjoram and his son be brought to kneel before her.

For the first time in her life, Shatrin, a member of the royal family, felt as if she would go crazy from shame because of Vasily. There was nothing the Princess couldn't do in order to take revenge on Vasily.

In front of so many aristocrats, he dared to reject Shatrin, who reached out first, and talk about breaking off the engagement.

It was clear that Vasily Marjoram didn't care about his life.

She realized that all of this wasn't Yulia's fault after hitting her. Yulia had completely fallen out of love with Vasily.

"I said that I didn't want to go through with this marriage from the start. But father told me to be patient, so I was. Because you said that it was the duty of those who are born into royalty and who live a noble life!"

"Shatrin."

"But look what happened. Not only did Vasily Marjoram not do his duty, he threw the honor of the royal family into the gutter! And that in front of everyone!"

"Shatrin, calm down."

"Please, bring the Marquis of Marjoram and his son here, and have them kneel before me. Give back my honor, to me who has become a laughing stock. I did what father told me to do, and things ended up like this!"

The wrinkles on the King's face were deep. He was still in his fifties, but his complexion was unusually greyish and his wrinkles deep, making him look like he was in his sixties.

Even in his eyes, Shatrin's anger was justified. If Vasily had been a mere nobleman, he would have arrested both father and son as his daughter wanted, made them kneel, and order them to apologize ten or twenty times. Actually, they might have been subjected to an even worse punishment.

But Vasily was Marjoram's heir.

Ortega's greatest aristocrat, whom even the King could not punish.

"You know very well that it is not that simple. Vasily will apologize to you. The Marquis also promised to rectify the situation."

"Rectify. Rectify? I suffered such humiliation, and you are going to marry me to this man whose face I don't even want to see?"

Sparks flickered through Shatrin's eyes. She remembered the words of the commoner maid of honor. Those bright green eyes that asked if she would forgive Vasily, saying that unlike her, she was a princess.

"Shatrin, Marjoram is a friend of the royal family. Reconciling is the right thing to do."

"No. I refuse. I might cut off Vasily Marjoram's head, but I will never reconcile with that man."

"Shatrin!"

"Father is the King of this country!"

Princess Shatrin screamed. She would have to be confined in the palace for a while as punishment for confronting the King, but she felt like she had to do it anyway.

"You are Ortega's King. And I am your only daughter! But why do you ask for reconciliation with a nobleman who threw my honor to the ground? Why should I! Why! Tell me!"

The King put his hand on his head. The place where Shatrin came and caused a commotion was the King's bedroom. There, Lewicia's biological mother, the King's concubine, was also staying with him.

As the King groaned and covered his head, his concubine came over and massaged his forehead and shoulders gently. Shatrin glared at the scene with cold eyes, then turned around.

"I apologize for bothering you. I will accept any punishment. But I won't change my mind."

The story reached Coco and Yulia's ears through Prince Lewicia, who had gone to the King's bedroom to meet his mother.

Lewicia returned to his palace with a refreshing smile, and said.

"I'm sorry to Yulia, but I don't really hate Shatrin. Because she doesn't look like the King."

"What?"

As Coco narrowed her eyes, he added, as if making excuses.

"Of course, the Marquis of Marjoram will not bring Vasily, and make him kneel in front of Shatrin. At the very least, they have earned an enemy amongst the heirs to the throne. Shatrin's resentment is as wide as the southern coast. The Marquis won’t be able to ignore it either."

"It's not one person, but two."

"Oh, as you know, I am not one of the candidates to the throne."

"These words again."

Coco sighed. Somehow feeling like she was going to nag at him, Lewicia raised both hands to show his surrender, and looked at Yulia.

"I am sorry. I thought you would be safe in my palace... I never imagined that a member of the royal family would come here, and hit you. However, Yulia, I am not a great person who can run to the King's precious daughter, and declare I am going to get revenge because you got slapped on the cheek."

"Your Highness, it's okay."

"If I hit Shatrin, I will be punished worse than Vasily."

"I didn't hope for something like that. I am really fine."

"Really?"

"It's something I have been prepared for since the day I decided to enter the palace. I wouldn’t have resented Your Highness even if I had been flogged instead of slapped."

Lewicia looked at Yulia with a doubtful expression. It seemed like he was trying to find out if she was sincere.

However, he did not have the talent of mind reading, so he couldn't look into Yulia's inner thoughts.

"It's really fascinating."

"What?"

"Yulia didn't actually do anything. The reason they broke up was because Vasily acted like an asshole."

"That's right."

"This bastard clung to her, begged her, deluded himself, and caused trouble all on his own... And even made Shatrin his enemy. It feels like the palace has been swept by three storms."

Yulia just smiled. It was the same smile that made Carus believe that she was plotting something when he saw it.

"When I first accepted you as a maid of honor, after making fun of Vasily a few times, I was going to give you some money and have you leave the palace..."

Lewicia rested his chin on his hand, and looked at Yulia.

"Yulia, how long are you planning to stay in my palace?"

"Until I get kicked out."

"What if I don’t kick you out?"

"Then, I won't leave."

"Not bad."

Lewicia opened a bottle, suggesting that they should have a toast today.

At night. Lewicia, who had been drinking until late, went back to his room, leaving Coco and Yulia behind.

Yulia was looking in the mirror. Perhaps thanks to diligently using ice packs, the swelling had completely subsided. The wound on the inside of her lip wasn't too painful either.

"Hey."

Coco suddenly spoke.

"Is this what you wanted?"

"What are you talking about?"

Yulia raised her head, and looked at Coco. Coco, her eyes half-opened, lifted her lips from the glass and asked.

"The feud between Marjoram and the royal family."

"Coco."

"In order to kill a two-headed snake, you have to make the two heads fight each other... It's an old story."

Coco muttered in a heavy tone. It seemed she had found the answer to Yulia's question.

"Yulia, I hate Marjoram. I loathe them. The Kingdom of Ortega is rotting from the root. It is Marjoram who made it that way. But it's not for that grandiose reason that I hate them."

Thanks to her mother, who was friends with the King's concubine, Coco grew up going in and out of the palace from an early age. After becoming an adult, she became Lewicia's maid of honor.

"I remember His Highness Lewicia's childhood. A newborn baby lies in a white cradle and cries, but the King doesn't come. He was too busy trying not to upset the Queen."

Even Lewicia's mother had to be by the King's side, so she couldn't raise her son herself.

"I don't know how many times the nanny changed. The Prince learned loneliness before he knew what love was. As he started to toddle around, he began to be conscious of other people."

Coco said Lewicia was quick-witted, that is, he was gifted with a certain sensitivity. From a young age, he was sensitive to the gaze of others.

That would have been the most useful skill for a prince who lived in the palace as the son of a concubine.

"There was no such thing as an adolescent crisis. Because for that, he would have needed someone to complain to. As he grew up, he only thought about leaving the palace every day."

"Why didn't he leave?"

"Because of his mother."

Lewicia loved his mother. He loved her very much. And hated his father just as much.

Aside from that, there was a decisive reason why Coco hated Marjoram, but she didn't say any more.

There is no need to wrap it with difficult words. So, Yulia, what you are trying to do in the palace..."

"I am driving a wedge between them."

Yulia neatly gave the definition. Coco smiled, and nodded.

"Will the royal family and Marjoram grow apart just because Princess Shatrin comes to hate Vasily? They've been one entity for a long time. To the point where I don't know who is the head and who is the body."

"It's not enough. I know."

That's why you have to put in firewood so that the fire won't go out.

Coco, who was silent for a moment, asked Yulia.

"What do you think will happen if Vasily finds out that Princess Shatrin came to see you, and slapped you?"

"He won't apologize to the Princess. Or, even if he goes to apologize, he will point out the Princess's faults."

"You think so?"

"He won't do it for me... But, since he was driven into a corner, he will try to get out by using the Princess's shortcomings."

"Then, we have to do it like this."

Yulia raised her head, asking what she was talking about. Before she knew it, Coco, who had put down her drink, was getting up from her seat, adjusting her skirt.

"I am going out. You, stay here. I will be late, so don't wait for me."

"Where are you going?"

"A place where nocturnal nobles gather and play all night."