Chapter 44

The Beauty and the Troublemaker (4)

Legina, who had arrived at the terrace first, leaned against the railing, which reached below her waist, and looked down at the Vestein Ducal Garden. The garden, cultivated for the Duchess, who had a keen interest in horticulture, revealed its beauty under the lights that illuminated it brightly for today.

“The Vestein garden is beautiful.”

“I wish you would quickly get to the point, my lord.”

Hermann smiled faintly at her sarcastic tone and simply observed her in silence. Legina, annoyed by his murky eyes scrutinizing her from top to bottom and then bottom to top, was about to say something when Hermann spoke.

“I heard you recently experienced a major incident.”

“Rumors travel fast, my lord.”

“It’s those who don’t know what happened in the middle of the capital who have problems.”

“I almost experienced it; I didn’t actually experience it.”

“Yes, and for that, I truly feel fortunate.”

“If you say so, my lord, then it must be.”

How brazen. The attackers who ambushed her and Aaron recently were clearly operating under this traitor’s instigation. The fact that, with the exception of the one whose neck she personally slit, all of them showed only blind, unfocused actions with hazy eyes, was proof. Consumables that could be used by anyone with a commanding mind. Unlike others who were subtly controlled, unaware that they were under a spell, the traitor had cast a spell on them, intending to use them once and discard them. Legina gritted her teeth, glaring at Hermann, furious at such a malicious method that treated humans as less than human.

“Is that all the business you requested my time for, my lord?”

“No. That was merely a greeting. The main point is separate.”

“What is it?”

“Why have you changed?”

Hermann asked, his face now expressionless as if wearing a mask, having erased the smile that had been on his face. Legina, briefly flustered by the sudden change, opened her fan and covered her mouth, hiding her agitation.

“I don’t know what you mean, my lord.”

“I am curious as to what changed Your Highness.”

Did he know something? Legina narrowed her eyes and scrutinized Hermann, who stood before her.

“My lord, I am…”

“Yes.”

“I am simply in love.”

At this point, she could have tried to provoke Hermann or feigned leaking information, but Legina decided to stick to her concept. Revealing that she knew something might serve as a temporary warning, but if it made Slyveig wary of her, the losses would outweigh the gains.

“Love…?”

“Yes. Love.”

She didn’t believe that he, having begun to suspect, would trust her words now. However, nothing would change if he didn’t believe her. Soon, the documents announcing the annulment and the ownership of the sapphire mine, designated as alimony, would be delivered to Slyveig. Then it would truly be over. It meant it was none of Hermann’s business whether Legina had changed due to being madly in love or had some other ulterior motive.

“I apologize to you, my lord. I didn’t dislike you. But my feelings for someone else grew so strong that I couldn’t bear it any longer.”

Yes. She didn’t dislike him. How could she possibly summarize her feelings for Hermann with a mere ‘dislike’? If she could, she wanted to break every single one of his bones, then diligently grind and stomp them with the heel of her shoe, burying him in the deepest pits of hell. Of course, she didn’t make such a clumsy move that would reveal her true feelings.

“I feel like I’ve been reborn lately. My world completely changed before and after I fell in love. Do you know this feeling?”

“…”

Legina, who had decided to perform the performance of a lifetime once again, just as she had in front of Annetta, excessively sparkled her eyes and clasped her hands together. Just thinking of striking the man before her made the corners of her lips spontaneously twitch upwards, refusing to come down.

“When I first realized that such a sensation existed in the world, I was shocked, as if struck by lightning.”

What did she say to Annetta then? Legina recalled that memory and continued speaking.

“Just looking at his face makes me feel like I’ve gained the entire world, so much so that I don’t even feel hungry. Just the fact that he exists makes this world shine as if it’s overflowing with blessings!”

The parts she didn’t quite remember, she pulled from the lines of the romance novels she had devoured for this very moment, slightly altering them.

“But I know too. That this is my unrequited love alone…”

Faint memory, what faint memories are there? Here, a slight moistening of the eyes would be effective… Legina recalled the Imperial vault that her pushover brother had emptied before her regression, and drew her clasped hands closer to her chest, slightly lowering her eyes. Thinking of the empty vault and her brother, who laughed brightly and spoke infuriating nonsense, brought back the feeling of helplessness she had felt then, and tears naturally welled up.

“I know that this isn’t a heart I can gain by annulling my engagement with you. Still, I intend to do my best to remain by his side.”

She had to remain. Not just remain, but make him her ally and then cleanly sever his neck. Legina looked at Hermann with a firm resolve.

“…Are you that certain in your feelings?”

“No matter what others say, it is a feeling I experience and a certainty I hold. I don’t care how others see it.”

Ideally, she would like to be seen as a troublemaker so madly in love that she’d ruin the country, but for now, she was willing to settle for being a troublemaker so blinded by love that she abandoned her fiancé and clung to another.

“I also told Annetta this, by the way.”

“…Yes.”

“I pity you all who do not know the beauty of such love. You may consider my words arrogant, or curse me as unlucky. But, my lord…”

Good, it’s the finale. Annetta also twisted her face when she heard this. Legina, remembering that very small sense of satisfaction then, forced the corners of her eyes down and, with a face full of pity, said to Hermann:

“My lord… I truly hope you experience this kind of love. Even if it hurts, just once…”

She added one more word than she had before and then scrutinized Hermann’s face. Unlike Annetta, Hermann stared with wide eyes, completely dazed, as if he had been struck hard in the back of his head, which thrilled her. It was too weak to just call it thrilling; it felt like a flash of electrifying satisfaction had struck her entire body, as if she had been hit by lightning. Remembering his murky sky-blue eyes, which had looked down at her with an indifferent expression on the day she died, doubled the pleasure. Legina quickly covered her mouth with both hands to hide her rising lips and turned to take in the beautiful garden.

“…The reason I changed. Has that answered your question now?”

Her voice trembled terribly, trying to suppress her laughter. Trying desperately to hide her laughter, her body now began to tremble faintly. If she continued like this, she might be found out. Thinking so, Legina took a deep breath, wiped the tears that had gathered in her eyes from holding back her laughter, and turned her head.

“My lord?”

“…You were serious.”

“Huh?”

“I merely thought you were looking for an excuse to annul the engagement.”

…This is why she disliked perceptive men. If not for this conversation today, his suspicions would have deepened. And he would have interfered with Legina’s plans! She sighed inwardly and smiled gently.

“How could I make up such an excuse for something His Majesty decided? My suppressed feelings just burst.”

Legina, who had lied without even moistening her lips, continued to Hermann, who was somehow deep in thought.

“My lord, if you have nothing further to say, may I move first? It’s his birthday…”

“Thank you for relinquishing Your Highness’s precious time.”

“Yes, then…”

“I wish to inform Your Highness of something, as a token of my gratitude.”

“…Huh?”

Legina, who had been about to quickly leave the terrace, stopped at Hermann’s words from behind her and turned around. A crow, she knew not when it had arrived, sat on Hermann’s outstretched arm, preening its wing feathers.

“I heard many crows are gathering at the Imperial Palace.”

“Yes, and it’s making the gardener deeply concerned.”

“They fly day and night, don’t they?”

“But… why?”

“No crows fly at night, Your Highness.”

Legina’s gaze darted to the crow perched on Hermann’s arm. And she noticed its eyes, which were pink, unlike those of ordinary crows. Almost like Annetta’s eye color… At that moment, the crow took flight into the night sky. And it flew directly towards the Imperial Palace, soon disappearing into the darkness.

A sudden ominous feeling washed over her, and Legina turned her gaze to Hermann, and for a very brief moment, she felt as if his sky-blue eyes were shining clearly. However, whether it was a trick of her mind, Hermann, still with hazy sky-blue eyes, threw one more word at Legina.

“Think about what is in the Imperial Palace.”

Leaving those riddle-like words behind, Hermann left, and Legina, who had been momentarily lost in thought, turned around urgently. It seemed she had to return to the Imperial Palace quickly. Thinking so, just as she moved, Legina, encountering Aaron who was standing in front of the terrace, spoke urgently.

“My lord, I’m sorry. I think I need to go back first.”

“Is that so?”

“Happy, happy birthday! Please tell the Duke that something urgent came up and I had to return!”

Legina, without waiting for Aaron’s reply, crossed the hall and exited the mansion. She ordered Johan, who followed, to return to the Imperial Palace at the fastest possible speed and got into the carriage. The wheels of the carriage rolled noisily on the well-paved road.

“What on earth are they thinking?”

Hermann’s words, the crow with eyes resembling Annetta’s pink eyes, and something in the Imperial Palace. Legina’s mind began to unravel in a complicated mess.

– Mochinuna.