Chapter 276: Those Who Have Limits Are Bound to Reveal the Rock-bottom (2)
My options were limited.
Fortunately, among the misfortunes, Marlin Young-ae recovered her body somehow, but she still had to rest.
In fact, the expression “fortunate among misfortunes” also did not fit well with the current situation.
Duchess Catherine was busy shaking in anger, and Countess Elise was also wearing a blank expression, as if the shock had not dissipated yet.
I also had a bitter taste in my mouth.
I hadn’t been paying much attention to Marlin Young-ae, but it wasn’t a good feeling to see her hurt as we often met each other.
Even in this situation, the thought still in my head was how to solve this problem.
‘What can you solve? Fuck…’
This was a problem with no answer.
In the first place, she was one of the members who were deciding about entering Charlia’s camp, and they would prove to be an indispensable force.
They were the real deal. They were on the border with the Republic, the central force of the Eastern aristocracy, and had powerful military power.
They were different from the old men who were just trying to reap benefits from Charlia.
She was not only rude to such a customer, but poured hot water on her, so there was no way to find a resolution.
On the surface, they might have bad feelings for me, who urged them to soak in Charlia’s camp.
It would make no sense to reconcile them.
I, too, had to choose between Charlia and Duchess Catherine.
Marlin Young-ae, who was asleep, was still holding my hand tight.
It was then that Duchess Catherine’s heavy mouth opened.
At first, it seems like she was saying words of consolation to me after reading my apologetic face.
“There is no need for Honorary Bishop Lee Kiyoung to be sorry.”
“I’m really sorry.”
“No. You haven’t done anything wrong. Even if I were the Honorary Bishop, I wouldn’t have expected this to happen.”
“I’m deeply ashamed.”
“No. Really. But…”
“Yes.”
“I understand what Honorary Bishop Lee Kiyoung is thinking and in what direction you are trying to move, but I think it’ll be difficult for us to be together in that direction.”
‘Damn…’
This was an obvious result.
If they said they would be with us despite this situation, I would call them saints, not nobles.
“I know you’ve been caring about us, you’ve made room for us, and you’ve helped us in many ways, but…”
“I can understand. Duchess Catherine, Count Elise.”
“Of course, considering Honorary Bishop Lee Kiyoung, we will not join the forces of the Second Princess. But…”
There was no way to end this situation just by not participating in the forces of the Second Princess. I knew their anger would not be relieved so easily.
It didn’t matter if she was a member of the imperial family. There was indeed a limit.
If today’s affairs spread to the aristocratic society right now, Charlia would surely be attacked. Even the filthy old men on her side would probably run away from her.
Who would want to serve as Empress who harms them?
After a brief sigh, Duchess Catherine spoke once more.
“However, I cannot help but ask Her Majesty to take responsibility for this matter. We will formally report this matter to the Emperor, and we will ensure that the First Princess faces a fair penalty.”
“I fully understand. I, too… I will do my best to ensure that the First Princess is punished.”
I also had to make this choice.
If I didn’t join the other side right now, I might be considered an enemy as well.
It was enough to be thankful just to maintain neutrality.
As if she liked my answer, Duchess Catherine nodded again. It wasn’t a simple factional fight. It was sincere advice.
“I know that Honorary Bishop Lee Kiyoung is smart, but I will say a word from an older perspective. Being with her will not benefit the Honorary Bishop either. You’d better take off your feet when you can. I also thought about whether she changed, but I realize that people don’t change so easily. She is inherently violent and unable to hold in her anger. I believe that Honorary Bishop Lee Kiyoung will make a wise choice.”
“I’ll be sure to take it into account, Duchess Catherine.”
There was nothing I could say other than that.
‘Damn. Damn.’
Marilyn Young-ae’s accident would get into Count Castle Rock’s ears very quickly. Of course, I was also worried about what Count Castle Rock, who cares for his daughter, will do.
I was also concerned about the Emperor’s reactions, who would once again think Charlia was hopeless, and Charlotte, who would take advantage of this chance.
‘All she needed to do was follow along blindly.’
Instead, she blew the opportunity I had given for her.
‘This stupid bitch! Scum!’
This was what one would call real trash.
“We will be protecting Marlin Young-ae, Honorary Bishop. You can go back and…”
“No.”
“No. You don’t need to worry… the Princess was left alone in the parlor. She will need someone to take charge of the situation and sort it out. We honestly don’t have the courage to see her face again. Please.”
“Fine, alright.”
Finally, after holding Marlin Young-ae’s hand tight, I said goodbye and returned to the site where the accident took place.
The sights along the way were certainly a mess.
The decorations were broken apart, and an empty potion bottle could be seen lying on the floor.
As I got there, Charlia’s maids also looked the same as before…
Maid Alice’s cheeks were already swollen red.
Seeing her cleaning up outside with tears in her eyes, it looked like Charlia, who couldn’t stand her anger over what happened, had returned to doing her bullshit.
“Maid Alice.”
“Honorary Bishop Lee Kiyoung-nim!”
“Your face…”
“It’s nothing. Rather, Honorary Bishop… t-the Princess is looking for you urgently.”
“Before that, the first thing to do is to get treatment. If you have the potion, you’ll get a little better.”
“H-How dare I drink this precious thing…”
“It’s fine. This is in return for helping me quickly. The Princess is now…”
“Ah… Err… S-she seems very angry. I think it was a shock that the Honorary Bishop ran out, leaving the Princess alone… She ordered us to bring you as soon as possible, but perhaps you haven’t met the other maids.”
“Oh. I haven’t. It seems like I missed them.”
“You have to go in quickly. She is very sad.”
Translation – the bitch had gone crazy.
As I continued to hand out the potion, Maid Alice felt burdened, but nevertheless, swallowed the potion in her mouth.
Her cheeks swelled up, and the wound in her mouth has healed.
“I can’t be like this. I’ll take you there.”
“No, it’s okay, Maid Alice. I’ll go alone.”
“But…”
“You can clean up here with others. I’ll comfort her well.”
“Oh… Okay.”
In fact, I didn’t know how to soothe her.
It would be appropriate to say that I didn’t have the slightest idea. I think I knew what the situation was.
While I was away for a moment, they would have started talking about me, and as usual, Marlin Young-ae would have gotten excited and chatted about me.
I didn’t know what Young-ae had said, but there was a possibility that she had brought up the previous story about the possibility of us having an engagement.
Perhaps she talked about the letter that we had exchanged or the things we did in Castle Rock.
Although she didn’t show on the surface, Marlin Young-ae’s behavior was very similar to a teenage girl’s fan behavior following a singer. Obviously, Charlia had been unable to reign in her anger.
That would be the end of the case. It was unlikely that Marlin Young-ae had provoked her. She was not that type of person.
As I strode and pushed the door wide open, Charlia looked at me as if she had been waiting. She looked as if she had found this entire situation absurd.
Then, she opened her mouth.
If I could, I would’ve thrown the Dragon Breath potion right in her face.
“Lee Kiyoung-nim! You are here now.”
“… …”
“Have you heard about what happened from Duchess Catherine or Countess Elise? I-I don’t know what you heard, but… that stupid Marlin keeps saying weird stuff…”
“… …”
“She kept saying nonsense that she might get engaged to the Honorary Bishop. It’s ridiculous. She said that you’d exchanged a lot of letters, but I couldn’t stand listening. I thought that I should protect your honor, so my hand moved automatically.”
“… …”
“I didn’t expect things to get this big, but she deserves more. She is only the daughter of a Count… How dare she doesn’t know her place…”
“She’s not just the Count’s daughter, Charlia-nim.”
“It’s okay. I understand what you’re worried about. However, just because we won’t get a little aristocrat’s power on the outskirts doesn’t mean that the ship that Lee Kiyoung and I are together is sinking. We have already gathered many forces…”
It had already sunk to the mantle.
To be in a boat with this woman was more dangerous than to be with Jung Hayan.
I had realized it a little late, but I could be sure of it now.
“She’s not a small noble. Count Castle Rock is one of the loyalists who have defended the Empire from the Republic’s threats for over a decade, and Marlin Young-ae is Count Castle Rock’s most cherished daughter. Although small in size, it is hard to imagine the symbolism of the Castle Rock family and the trust that the imperialists send them, Princess.”
“I-It’s okay. No matter how it is, just because of one crazy bitch…”
She was completely wrong.
She didn’t do it accidentally, and not only was this deliberate, but she had no awareness of what she had done.
Seeing the rush to make excuses after releasing her anger, I felt pathetic when I thought of how I had struggled to make this an Empress.
It’s embarrassing just to imagine how funny Princess Charlotte would have looked at me.
“The same goes for the Duchess of Castle Rock, and so is Countess Elise. They were more valuable people than those who are gathered in the camp.”
“Ah… but… then, if we find a flaw…”
“They are not stupid, either. They will formally protest this matter to the Emperor, and he will also discipline Charlia. It doesn’t matter that they are descendants of the imperial family. Nobles devoted to the Empire cannot be treated this way. It’s not just a matter of joining our side or not. I’m talking about turning her back on the Princess at all.”
“W-We’ve done well so far, so somehow…”
“You must’ve had done something so far to be able to fix it. What is easily stacked will easily fall apart. The Princess has not accomplished anything great. You were just starting to step off the starting line, and you broke down the tower you could keep building in the future. This time…”
“D-Didn’t I tell you that it’s fine?”
“What?”
“I-I definitely told you that it was fine. When I become Empress, I can solve everything!”
I was surprised to see that she had started screaming.
It felt like she was saying that she didn’t want to hear any more nagging, so I almost laughed in perplexity.