Chapter 19

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 19

Chapter Title: Returned Jewels

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"Eh? Where?"

"In the garden."

"The garden?"

Medea paused.

The palace of the Baldina royal family came with a small garden attached.

Accessible only from inside, it could be called a private space belonging solely to the palace's owner.

"No invitation, so what brings her here?"

Catherine had come and gone from the Princess Palace as she pleased under Medea's trust, but she had always stayed within bounds that wouldn't invite criticism from others.

"Auntie wouldn't forget her manners."

So the reason she was sitting in the garden now was...

"Even accounting for rudeness, she needs to be seen outside."

To show that the princess and the ducal house were still on such close terms that even the princess's private space was freely accessible.

Medea silently turned her head toward the maid. The maid flinched in surprise.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. I naturally assumed you had summoned her..."

The new maid looked on the verge of tears.

Even she thought the ducal house's rudeness had gone too far.

"No audience request, of course?"

"N-no..."

By palace rules, only direct royals could reside in the palaces.

And anyone wishing to see them had to submit an audience request in advance.

The maid bit her lip.

"Your Highness, shall I go tell her now?"

"No. Leave her."

"Let her strut around as she pleases."

Until their overflowing freedom ignited the fuse.

Medea entered the garden.

The moment she spotted the princess, Catherine shot to her feet.

"You've arrived, Your Highness."

"Sis!"

Far off, playing, Birna spotted the princess and came running innocently.

Behind her fluttering dress hem, broken flowers scattered like raindrops.

She must have picked them freely from the garden; the grass where she'd been was messily uprooted.

"What brings you here, Auntie?"

Medea spared a glance at the discarded flowers before nodding.

"Birna, you've come too."

The princess's response was as cold as ever. Catherine swallowed hard.

"She's still angry."

She'd thought time had passed since the princess stormed off in a rage last time, so her anger might have subsided a bit. Apparently not.

"Your Highness, please forgive my unworthy family."

Catherine approached Medea with a face so sorrowful her eyebrows curved downward.

"To think how hurt you must have been, with your deep consideration... It tears my heart every time I imagine it."

Tears welled in her eyes as she gestured to the maid behind her.

"I simply couldn't bear it, so I searched far and wide."

For what?

The signaled maid brought over a large velvet box.

"Wow..."

"Oh my..."

As Catherine's maid opened the box, gasps rose around them.

Ruby bracelets and earrings. Emerald necklaces... The jewels Medea had handed to her maids and sent away were gathered together, gleaming splendidly.

"You must have been so upset. Don't worry. I've brought them all back. As long as this auntie is around, Your Highness will never have cause for sorrow in your life."

Her tone carried weight.

The solemn declaration from the beautiful noblewoman rang more true than ever.

"..."

"Your Highness?"

"Why isn't Medea reacting?"

Catherine grew anxious inside.

She had paid premiums to buy back the jewels the maids had resold and scattered everywhere.

Rumors had long spread, so she even had to deal with stubborn merchants refusing to sell unless at a profit.

Retrieving Medea's sold jewels had eaten into the secret funds earmarked for the rebels.

"I have to remake that money and send it... My head hurts."

The plans were all derailed. But there was no choice.

"They're still gossiping that the princess is so destitute she's selling jewels."

Worse, the rumors were starting to target the ducal house.

What had the Claudio Ducal House been doing while their niece was suffering?

To soothe the princess and show the house's 'sincerity,' those damned jewels had to be returned.

"..."

A faint smile played on the princess's face as she looked down at the jewel box.

"...Thank you for your kind heart, Auntie."

But that was it.

Normally, she would have wept in gratitude or thrown herself into Catherine's arms. Unexpectedly, the princess was utterly serene.

As if receiving back what was rightfully hers.

Even Birna, watching from the side, grew furious.

"Who does she think she is, reacting like that? She should be bawling in thanks!"

Not that I would ever wear such tacky jewels, but they were too good for Medea anyway!

"...!"

Birna opened her mouth to speak but shut it at her mother's glaring look.

Her lips pursed in a pout. Birna yanked petulantly at her dress.

"Keep it safe here. It's Auntie's gift."

Ignoring the stares from the Claudio mother and daughter, Medea calmly handed the jewel box to her maid.

Though stung, Catherine couldn't point it out in their position, so she swallowed her bitterness and tried to humor the princess.

"Your Highness, trust this auntie. Claudio is always on our princess's side."

"..."

In that moment, a faint mockery flashed in Medea's deep green eyes, but no one noticed.

"I will. So, Auntie."

The princess nodded.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"You mustn't betray my trust."

A strange fervor burned in the princess's eyes as she met Catherine's gaze. Catherine flinched involuntarily.

"O-of course not."

In that instant, unaware that her grip on her dress had wrinkled it severely in her hidden tension.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Then, hurried footsteps approached. A Princess Palace maid came and whispered to Medea.

"Who?"

She seemed to ask briefly, then raised her eyebrows.

Followed by resolute footsteps, someone entered the garden.

"I greet Your Highness the Princess."

Catherine recognized the man in blue formal robes, standing ramrod straight without a hair out of place.

She had no time to feel annoyed at the interruption of her private audience with the princess.

"That man..."

"I bring a message from Her Highness the Queen Dowager."

He was a close attendant serving the Queen Dowager.

"Princess Medea, you are summoned to the Queen Dowager Palace at once."

Only after delivering the message did the attendant turn.

"Lady Duchess Claudio and Lady Birna are here as well."

He offered only a cursory bow.

"Your Highness, please prepare quickly."

Medea nodded calmly.

Catherine, with a worried expression, quietly asked the attendant.

"Why does Her Highness the Queen Dowager summon our princess?"

The Queen Dowager normally didn't care if Medea lived or died.

Unable to fathom the sudden summons, Catherine was understandably flustered.

"..."

As the Queen Dowager's attendant kept silent, she subtly slipped him a small pouch of gold coins.

"I couldn't possibly."

He tried to refuse, but at Catherine's insistence, he accepted the pouch and whispered a hint.

"Head Maid Lady Quizin visited Her Highness the Queen Dowager. It was an accusation against Your Highness Medea, so the Queen Dowager is in a very foul mood."

Catherine and Birna's faces showed opposite reactions upon hearing this.

Birna inwardly cheered.

"The head maid to Grandma? Haha, Medea's getting scolded again! You're in for a real cry today."

Meanwhile, Catherine paled in confusion.

"The head maid?"

"I told her to wait for the right moment."

Reporting straight to the Queen Dowager meant bypassing her and the ducal house.

"I explained it so clearly."

And this mess had arisen while cleaning up the problem the head maid had caused in the first place. If more trouble brewed, her husband would be even angrier.

Her own influence would shrink too.

"Quizin, what are you thinking?"

Irritation flickered over her refined features.

"Your Highness the Princess. Hurry and prepare. Her Highness the Queen Dowager has already waited long."

The attendant urged Medea.

"I'll come along too. I can't bear to send a young princess alone."

The attendant nodded at Catherine's words. His duty was to bring the princess, after all.

"Your Highness. I'll shield you from Mother's scolding. Trust only this auntie."

Assuming Medea's silence meant fear, Catherine patted her back affectionately.

"..."

Medea merely nodded indifferently.