Chapter 68

In Yennit’s case, rather than being uncomfortable in this place, she got so comfortable that she felt herself starting to gain weight.

During today’s luncheon as well, Ophelia served a big meal for Yennit and Cornelli.

The main dishes were roasted rockfish basted in champagne and crustacean mousse.

For Yennit, who didn’t like seafood, she was served some grilled lamb chops with asparagus and plum sauce. The appetizers include Milescet’s eastern fish dumplings and, with the fragrant aroma of red wine, gravlax salmon and clam chowder that are both dishes served in the temple.

In addition, the most satisfying thing for Yennit was that fresh vegetables and three different salads were placed on the table.

Beet caprese in citron dressing with small pieces of bacon as a topping, another salad with minced onion, garlic and a dressing made with lemon and oil, and lastly, a salad with seasonal fruits.

It wasn’t easy for Yennit to access fresh and diverse vegetables while staying in the north, so this was truly a wonderful selection of dishes.

She could already bet that when she’d return to Ronen later, this meal would be the first thing she’d think of.

So, with her heart full of regrets, Yennit opened her lips.

“I’ve come here to say—”

Just when she was trying to get out the words, ‘to say goodbye’,

“Ophelia Milescet!”

A commotion suddenly erupted outside, and the door of Ophelia’s previously tranquil office burst open as a high-pitched voice rang.

Standing at the door was a person Yennit was meeting for the first time.

Decked out from head to toe, with even her fingertips perfectly decorated, it was a noblewoman who seemed to have a fairly high social status.

It wasn’t that difficult to guess who she was.

It’s already been talked about everyday since a few days ago that Ophelia’s younger half-sister, Cadelia Milescet, had decided to come visit Ladeen.

Besides that, the two sisters had quite a resemblance, so it wouldn’t be surprising to think that they were related.

The issue lay elsewhere.

‘I wonder what’s her problem?’

It was that Cadelia looked absolutely livid, from head to toe.

Cadelia was breathing so hard here, not even thinking of organizing her supposed meticulously combed blonde hair that was now all messed up.

Maybe it was because she ran here as soon as she got off the carriage.

But Yennit couldn’t even think to ask the question.

The woman strode across the room right then.

She pushed Yennit, who was standing in front of Ophelia, out of the way, then— slapped Ophelia on the face.

“You vixen!”

Along with the loud sound of the slap, Ophelia’s head turned to the side.

At that moment, the air inside the room dropped into an abysmal temperature.

Sante, of course, but also Yennit stared at Cadelia with a cold expression.

These faces were not visible to Cadelia, but could be seen by Ophelia.

‘I can win Yennit over with this.’

She was a little worried about what she needed to do to hold onto the mage if she would really say that she’s leaving.

Fortunately, this timing was impeccable.

Ophelia laughed inwardly.

She truly was confident in gaining another person’s favor.

Of course, it was also the same with buying malice.

* * *

Cadelia was absolutely livid.

She tried to calm down during the entire trip to Ladeen, but no matter how much she thought about it, she really couldn’t calm down.

“Ophelia Milescet!”

It was because of her half-sister, who had nothing to boast other than being born a few years earlier than herself.

Everything in Cadelia’s life was naturally easy.

This was the case for her, until a letter came from her loyal, devoted spy.

“What? Grand Duke Ronen got shipwrecked at Ladeen?”

The contents of Lilith’s letter shocked her.

But despite her disbelief, there was a seal at the bottom of her letter that only the master of Ronen could have.

It was the seal of the ring that was worn by the master of Ronen. In other words, Grand Duke Ronen.

This alone proved that Lilith wasn’t bluffing or blowing hot air.

Grand Duke Ronen, who left with his back coldly turned to her, was now back in Milescet!

“How can he be so romantic!”

The naïve Cadelia’s head was up in the clouds with notions of romance.

She was indifferent to what problems Ian might have suffered when he got shipwrecked.

Just the mention of him drifting back into Milescet felt so romantic to her. She was excited—this was definitely a path to fate.

It was a terribly foolish and lackadaisical idea, yet this was natural for Cadelia. She was the type of person who’d think that if there was no bread, she could just eat cake.

This was because, while her other fifteen-year-old peers were thinking that these kinds of acts were self-centered and that they should be stopped, Cadelia was a princess who grew up with flowers in her head and continued to act in the same way.

“Ophelia can’t possibly be his destiny. It’s me. He came back to be with me!”

However, she couldn’t just lean back and relax.

‘I have to go see His Grace as soon as possible.’

Otherwise, that vixen Ophelia might block her path with another trick up her sleeve.

And even if she didn’t Cadelia had been suffering the whole time after Ophelia had left for Ladeen.

The start of it all was that rude mage who stopped her when she had come to meet Ophelia.

Cadelia had to wander around the imperial palace for more than two hours that day. That mage, who had nothing to show for except his face, had teleported her to some random place in the palace.

She had been so angry that it felt like she’d go crazy, but the most frustrating part of it all was that no one seemed to even know who that mage was.

No, not just that. No one believed what Cadelia said!

“A male mage teleported Your Highness to some place else? There are only two people in this empire capable of such a high-level of magic.”

“Then it’s either of those two. Capture them right away!”

“That’s impossible, Your Highness. Above all, one is not in the capital due to some issues with the trade, and the other one is a woman.”

This was what the supervisor for the mages in the imperial palace said while glancing at Cadelia several times.

It was to see if she was mistaken.

And Cadelia took this as an insult.

“It really happened to me! It wasn’t a hallucination!”

“B-But Your Highness, there’s not one mage in the palace right now who could do that…!”

It’s not just the supervising officer of the mages who answered like this. No matter who she visited, they gave her the same answer.

It was the same with her father, the emperor, who cared for Cadelia very much.

“Did you really hallucinate? Don’t cause a ruckus inside the palace and just watch yourself!”

When she heard this from the father she had trusted, she cried from all these feelings of sadness and unfairness.

“How old are you now for you to still cry like this. Tsk. Ophelia’s birth was like that but she’s still useful, and yet you. How come you just keep getting more immature by the day! Is there even a place I can send you off to!”

“…Father, what do you mean, send?”

“You’re already the right age to marry, but how long are you planning to stay in the imperial palace? Shouldn’t you find a place for yourself? One that would benefit both Milescet and you.”

It was clear what the emperor was saying here. It meant that she could be sent off in a political marriage.

A sense of betrayal hit Cadelia like a wave.

In the past, he definitely said that he would let her marry whoever she wanted. That was what he promised.

But why was he changing his words now?

“Father, didn’t you promise me before? Surely, to me—”

“Cadelia. Don’t you already know that those who carry the imperial family’s name cannot marry for such frivolous reasons? How long are you going to be such a child?”

As the emperor said this, he looked down at her so coldly. His eyes were no longer a father’s.

They were the eyes of a monarch.

At that time, what Ophelia had said before she left for Ladeen passed through her mind.

—Think about it, Cadelia. It’s true that Father cares about you now, but if he runs into an inevitable situation, what do you think Father will choose? His daughter or his country?

—I don’t think it’ll be you. Don’t cry about it later.

The moment she realized the truth behind Ophelia’s words, which she thought back then were nothing but absurd, Cadelia became utterly, unbearably miserable.

It was shameful.

If she really was going to get married according to the emperor’s command, this sense of humiliation would only grow bigger.

‘That can’t happen.’

Just as the emperor said before, members of the imperial family could not act as though they were being swept away by personal emotions.

That’s why, for someone from the imperial family, a marriage of love itself was proof of that person’s power.

This would mean that she was favored by the emperor enough for having allowed it, and that she had a big enough of a support behind her.

‘But I already said to everyone that I’m going to get married for love.’

If she was going to be thrown into a political marriage like this, she was going to look so ridiculously miserable.

There’s no other way to avoid it, so what should she do here?

On the day the emperor turned his back on her, Cadelia burst into tears.

And she’s been drowning for days.

That’s why when she heard that Ian was shipwrecked and drifted into the coast of Ladeen, the news was like a welcome rain after a drought.