Chapter 28

Chapter 28 : Of Traitors and Sorcerers, and Troublemakers (3)

Through Johan’s proper intervention, Legina returned to her room without a drop of blood on her. She was then pushed into the bathroom by a pale-faced Selma. There, she let the warm water and calming aromatherapy oils soothe her entire body. Afterwards, Legina exited the bathroom, changed her clothes, and the first news she heard was that Annetta was waiting to see her. Was she here to add more fatigue to Legina, who was already exhausted enough by Hermann killing the assassin? Legina suppressed a sigh and walked to the drawing-room where Annetta was waiting.

“Your Highness Legina, I greet you.”

“What brings you to seek me out?”

“I heard there was a major incident.”

“And so?”

“I brought some herbs that help calm the mind.”

Annetta quietly bowed and spoke, after Legina, seated in the place of honor, gestured for her to sit down. As small, carefully prepared bundles of herbs appeared on the table, Legina gestured to Selma, who meticulously gathered them.

“Thank you, my lord. Is that all your business?”

“Actually… I heard the culprit died…”

“He must have died in the meantime, then.”

“Yes? Ah, yes. From excessive bleeding…”

Though she had considered it beneficial for him to die, hearing that he actually had made her spirits sink. Even if it wasn’t as heavy as the death of an ally, the death of an enemy still left a long shadow on her heart. Those who survived had to bear that death and endure. Otherwise, they would be consumed by the weight of death pressing down on their shoulders. That was a life worse than death. Legina, who had barely endured that weight and survived before her regression, felt a wave of melancholy remembering the deaths of those who were now safe.

Did Annetta perhaps sense her mood? As if to change the atmosphere, Annetta blinked her large eyes and quickly continued, “As you know, Your Highness, I came to the Imperial Palace to make a truth serum. But since the culprit died…”

“The truth serum has become useless.”

“Yes, His Majesty hasn’t said anything else yet, but I will soon… have to leave the palace.”

“Did you come to bid farewell, my lord?”

“Ah, no! Your Highness seems to have misunderstood something, and I wish to clarify it…! And if possible, I’d like to become a little closer to Your Highness!”

If others had seen her, with her eyes cast down mournfully and her voice trailing off, they would have found her heartbreakingly beautiful. However, Legina remembered how many lives that sorceress’s beautiful lips had ruined. So, she had to endure, lest she grind her teeth at that abominable sight.

Ah, I left Titi behind again!

She wanted to touch the handle of her club, Titi, which, though only recently made by the artisan and put into her hands, gave her a sense of stability as if she had possessed it her whole life. Legina mentally envisioned the beautiful form of the club, now absent from her hands, and began to try her best to put on the most gentle expression possible.

“I’ll think about becoming closer later, but what misunderstanding do I have that makes you look like you’re about to cry?”

“Although people are saying many things about my relationship with Lord Hermann… we truly are nothing more than friends.”

“Really?”

“Lord Hermann simply regards poor me as a younger sister! It’s just people who misunderstood that who are fabricating all sorts of rumors!”

She even clenched her fists, trying to prove her innocence, which was so adorable yet so abominable that Legina let out a hollow laugh. It was likely a lie to prevent the annulment, but to Legina, who knew Hermann and Annetta’s relationship better than anyone, it was an absurd scene to witness. How pitiful did he consider her to use the power of a child he regarded as his younger sister to kill people? And their ultimate goal was rebellion.

Is she expecting praise for ruining the country with such brotherly-sisterly love?

As Legina’s gaze inadvertently grew twisted, Annetta’s beautiful pink eyes began to moisten.

“We truly are…!”

“I’ll believe that you and the young Duke of Slyveig are like true siblings.”

“Th-Then the annulment…!”

“That’s a separate matter, my lord. I will annul the engagement no matter what.”

“Wh-Why? Why on earth?!”

Now, seeing Annetta question her with a tearful face, Legina felt irritation surge. So Legina smiled. Just as she had in front of Hermann, she used every muscle in her face to beam.

“I don’t particularly feel the need to explain it to you, but if you’re curious, I’ll tell you. The truth is, I’ve fallen in love.”

“…What?”

That abominable face finally became worth seeing. Legina was quite pleased with Annetta’s suddenly dumbfounded expression.

“Just thinking of that person makes my heart pound like crazy, and I feel like I’ll lose my mind.”

“What?”

“I’ve never felt this way in my life.”

“Your Highness Legina?”

Good. From now on, she would become a troublemaker madly in love. It was a shame that Annetta was her only audience, but Legina resolved to give her best performance.

“Do you know the saying, ‘one feels full without eating’?”

“Um, Your Highness?”

“That’s me. Just looking at his face makes me feel like I’ve gained the entire world, so I don’t even feel hungry.”

Since her target was Aaron, it wasn’t entirely a lie. It was true that just looking at his face made her feel happy.

“Though it’s still unrequited love, it’s alright if he doesn’t love me.”

“What…?”

“Just his existence alone makes my world shine beautifully, as if it’s been blessed!”

This was a line from a romance novel she had recently read. The fact that it was a line spoken by the second female lead, who was in unrequited love with the male lead, was a minor concern, but since Legina’s setting was that she loved Aaron unrequitedly, no line suited her better.

“I can’t even remember my life before I knew him. Would you understand if I said I feel like I’ve been reborn because of him?”

“…”

“I, my lord, can do anything for that person.”

“…”

“I was clearly born to meet that person!”

This was what Johan often said, thinking of Selma. Seeing Annetta’s pink eyes wildly shaking, she felt she should give Johan a gift soon for lending her such wonderful lines.

“Annetta.”

“…Yes.”

“Have you ever experienced such love?”

“…”

“My lord, love is beautiful. I feel so sorry for you, who don’t know the beauty of this kind of love.”

Seeing Annetta, who momentarily lost control of her expression and revealed her distorted face, Legina felt a refreshing sensation, as if a small stone that had been pressing down heavily on her chest had disappeared. How much frustration had she accumulated to feel happiness at just this much? Legina, recalling her past, which still made her feel bitter even upon reconsideration, looked at Annetta with the happiest expression she could muster and delivered her final prepared line.

“I truly hope you, too, experience this kind of love.”

Annetta, having left Legina’s room, confirmed that no one was around, then removed the mask she was wearing. Of course, it wasn’t a real mask. Her face, now devoid of the beautiful, elegant, and pitiful expression she had worn moments before, bore an eerie glow.

“Love? That man’s descendant speaking of love in front of me?”

Annetta clenched her fists, recalling Legina’s face confessing her love for someone, with black hair and violet eyes resembling that man. Her sharp fingernails dug into her palm, and blood began to flow, but her rage was greater than the pain.

“Indeed, he is that man’s descendant. He talks of love and ruins everything, even while unable to see an inch ahead.”

Annetta ground her teeth, recalling the face of a man that still appeared vividly in her mind. She should have killed that man, the beginning of all her misfortunes, with her own hands. She should have killed him again and again, tearing him apart until not even his soul remained.

“I never imagined he would cling to that so-called ‘God.’”

The man’s laughter seemed to echo in her ears. If others had heard it, it would have been a hallucination that would make them lose control of their rising anger and commit some act, but Annetta, instead, took a deep breath, unclenched her fists, and looked at her palms. Her palms were stained with crimson blood, but there was no wound anywhere.

“There’s not much time left now. Love? Yes, go ahead and love to your heart’s content. I’m just so curious if you’ll still be able to speak of love while shedding tears of blood in front of me in the end.”

Annetta, wearing her beautiful mask again, rummaged in her pocket and pulled out a small pouch. She opened the mouth of the pouch and confirmed the crimson pill inside, then clicked her tongue briefly, as if disappointed.

“I went to all the trouble of making medicine, but I can’t use it.”

It was a red pill made with Bimardi root as its main ingredient. It was a poison that allowed the recipient to die leaving the will desired by the concocter. She had intended to use this to sow discord between the Imperial Family and the Ducal House of Vestein, but Hermann killing the foolish assassin had rendered it useless.

“Why are my suggestions being broken so often lately? Is it related to the pain in my heart?”

Annetta conjured black mist with her fingertips, but quickly made it vanish as her heart began to ache again. She had only gained two hounds after entering the Imperial Palace. It was far too few, but she couldn’t risk losing more by trying to increase their number.

“The place will also be perfectly prepared soon. Once that happens, it will be enough to shake this place, even if I don’t exert power for a while.”

Annetta, closing the pouch and putting it back inside her clothes, began to walk down the quiet corridor again. A shadow, darker than the night, followed behind her.

– Mochinuna.