CH 14

I felt like my body was sinking down.

I only felt this familiar sense when I had lucid dreams of peeping into the future, so I gradually opened my eyes.

What appeared as soon as I opened my eyes was a confrontation between Liliana and Viola.

‘Why am I here?’

The atmosphere between the two was unusual.

“I’ve decided to get engaged to the First Prince.”

Viola waited for Liliana’s words with a disapproving expression.

“For the time being, I think I will be receiving education as a princess in the Imperial family.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Even so, I have no intention of giving up the Duchy. I can’t give you too much work.”

“Oh? Rather, I think it’ll be too much work for you.”

Liliana shook her head at Viola’s sarcastic remark.

“I’ve done enough so far, and it’s what I have to do in the future.”

“Too much greed is poison, Liliana.”

The ensuing war of nerves between the two people made me look around and slipped out of the spot.

I didn’t want to suffer from those two even in my dream.

‘But why did Viola look so upset? Is it such a big deal that Liliana doesn’t give up the dukedom? She obviously doesn’t seem interested in the duchy…’

Fearing that sparks would fly, I left my seat, but I never thought that this situation would turn into a big discord.

Unlike with me, they were twin sisters who got along well.

I opened the door like that and came out, and suddenly the surroundings began to change drastically.

I came out of an ordinary room, but the place that unfolded before me was the lobby.

Bang, the sound of the door opening violently rang through the mansion.

As I headed to the lobby at the loud sound, people who gathered there after hearing the commotion were restless.

“Do you know what rumors are circulating outside right now because of your rash behavior?”

In the center of the lobby stood a very angry Viola, clutching Liliana by the collar.

“What rumors? Are you talking about rumors that the Duke of Liviatan supports the First Prince?”

“You know very well that Liviatan is a family that must be loyal to the Imperial family, don’t you? But you’re recklessly messing with the prince when the crown prince hasn’t even been decided yet?”

Viola broke her usual expressionless face and was openly angry.

Liliana listened quietly to Viola’s words, and when she calmed down, she continued speaking in a calm tone.

“The First Prince wants the support of our family. And I’ve only dabbled in the social world a little bit to help him.”

“Are you asking me to agree with this arbitrary choice?”

“It’s no problem if the poor prince becomes the crown prince. What the hell are you so unhappy about?”

Viola responded to Liliana’s words in a tone of derision.

“Are you telling me to just watch and see you acting arrogantly as if you’ve already received the Duke’s title?”

“This is a right I should enjoy proudly! It’s a choice I can make as the next duke!”

Liliana continued her conversation calmly but eventually began to raise her voice as if she couldn’t control her emotions.

“Do you think I wouldn’t know that you are doing this because you are blinded by love?”

Liliana shut her mouth tightly at Viola’s words.

But soon, she shouted without hesitation.

“It’s true that I love Ronald, but I’m not saying that I’m going to choose someone who has nothing as the Crown Prince! I made this decision because he has the qualifications and ability to become the Crown Prince!”

“You want me to believe your selfish words?”

“Why are you so against it in the first place? There’s no one better suited to be Crown Prince than Ronald.”

“You don’t know that.”

Viola’s short answer brought a look of astonishment to Liliana’s face.

Her expression twisted and she pushed away Viola who grabbed her by the collar.

“Don’t tell me…!”

Thinking that there would be trouble if they continued like this, I hurriedly went down the stairs and intervened among them.

“Please stop it. I think you’re both too emotional. There are many eyes to see.”

When I separated the two of them, they seemed to have calmed down a bit and started a war of nerves, glaring at each other fiercely.

There were no more voices, but their gazes were still fierce, so my shoulders naturally shrunk.

“Determine if you are in a position to intervene or interrupt.”

After stopping them, Liliana raised her voice as if taking out her anger on me.

“Sounds like love. Anyone can see that you’re being used.”

The atmosphere in the lobby flared up again as Viola laughed at Liliana.

I sighed at the messy lobby atmosphere, then I saw my parents walking in behind the open door.

As soon as Father returned, he saw Liliana and Viola and began to scold Liliana in a cold voice.

“Liliana, from now on, refrain from making statements that openly support the First Prince.”

Liliana couldn’t hide her resentment at Father’s words of rebuke.

She bit her lips violently and couldn’t hold back her anger and spoke to Father in a desperate tone.

“Father. Ronald really fits the position of the crown prince. He is someone who knows how to see the truth, not the appearance. This is a piece of advice for the development of the Imperial family! There is no one more devoted to the imperial family than he is!”

“It’s probably because you care about your reputation that you make him sit in the Crown Prince’s seat.”

Liliana glared fiercely at Viola’s sarcasm.

When the atmosphere between Liliana and Viola turned violent again, Father personally tried to stop them.

But Viola did not stop being sarcastic.

Liliana’s patience seemed to have reached its limit, too.

“You don’t even care about reputation, do you? Why don’t you try to raise your ruined honor a little and covet the duchy?”

Viola glared sharply at Liliana’s sarcasm.

“I don’t think it’s something to bring up in this situation.”

“Not really.”

Liliana approached Viola with her arms crossed and contemptuous eyes.

“For the sake of the family, for the sake of the Imperial family, please put in some effort, will you? I said it because I’m embarrassed.”

Liliana raised her eyes fiercely and warned Viola.

I noticed the bloody words coming and going, watching over them.

Of course, Viola didn’t put up with it.

“Aren’t you saying that to hide the fools in love?”

“At least I have a cause for doing this. What do you have left? Your petty pride?”

“Watch your language.”

“It’s true.”

Viola’s sharp words crossed the line.

“I don’t think  I should hear it from you who can’t do anything without relying on the prince’s love.”

Liliana’s eyes widened in shock, but Viola seemed unwilling to back down.

Rather, once it exploded, she poured out abusive words without hesitation.

“You must be happy that you can aim for the empress position with just a pretty face without any effort, right?”

“I think the way you see it is no different from them. Don’t you think so?”

“Is it wrong? Is there anything special about you besides your looks? Aren’t you just a bit smarter than others? There are people who are better than you in the Empire.”

Viola’s cruel words pierced Liliana’s heart.

‘What should I do?’

Father, who had been watching the messy atmosphere, opened his mouth.

“Stop it. How far are you going to show your ugliness in front of your little sister?”

Liliana’s gaze turned to me at Father’s sharp words.

She looked at me with bloodshot eyes dyed red with contempt.

‘Is Liliana crying?’

Shocked more by the tears in her eyes than the anger towards me, she said to Father as I was unable to say anything.

“Father doesn’t deny Viola’s words either.”

“It’s not like that.”

“No, I guess I was only a pretty daughter in Father’s eyes.”

Liliana spoke to everyone, holding back her sadness.

“But Ronald is different. He cheers for what I want, what I can do, and the future I will cultivate, not my appearance.”

She suppressed the rising emotions and bared her teeth at everyone as she spoke.

“He recognizes my true self, even when my family doesn’t. Is it a sin to support the only person who acknowledges my inner self?”

Liliana roughly swept her hair and immediately stepped forward.

“I won’t give up on my opinion. Even if I lose my family, I will make him sit in the Crown Prince’s seat. By any means.”

As soon as she finished those words, the world suddenly began to turn upside down, and soon a strange place appeared in front of my eyes.

There, Liliana was kneeling in front of the First Prince Ronald, crying.

“I loved you and everything is now ruined. I shouldn’t have loved you.”

Above the bitter resentment, regret, and resignation, there was anger in her eyes.

As soon as I met Liliana’s eyes, I woke up from the dream as if I hadn’t been allowed here.

“Cough-!”

When I opened my eyes with heavy breath, what I saw was not the place where Liliana and the First Prince were, but my familiar room.