Chapter 42

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 42

Chapter Title: Quietly, Beautifully, Harmlessly

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The rumors clung tenaciously to Erna's heels. Even the world outside high society was no exception.

"That's the lady right there. You know, the one who seduced that poisonous mushroom prince."

It didn't take long for the words, starting from someone's mouth, to spread throughout the entire hospital. By the next day, onlookers were peeking around the doorway of Baroness Baden's room.

"Has that prince gone blind now too, or something?"

Those who had come to gawk at the scandalous woman who triumphed over Princess Gladys and successfully seduced that rogue couldn't hide their disappointment. She had a pretty face, sure, but she was a plain little thing, hardly a match for Princess Gladys.

"Wasn't she supposed to be a noble lady? Then what the hell is that getup?"

A worn cotton dress, a gaunt face, and tacky makeup to top it off. She was so unlike the seductive vixen from the rumors buzzing everywhere that it was downright bewildering.

"Is that girl really Erna Hardy?"

By this point, it was no wonder suspicions arose.

Yes, no. If she really was, then why was she here looking like that?

The thorny words, chattering noisily, finally squeezed through the crack in the door and reached Baroness Baden's ears.

"It's all my fault."

After days of torment, that was the conclusion she had reached.

"I shouldn't have sent you away back then. I ruined my only granddaughter just to protect that house. Now I don't have the face to see your grandfather or Anette even after I die."

Tears welled up unbidden in Baroness Baden's blue eyes as she berated herself. At this rate, her barely recovered body would suffer again.

"Don't say that, Grandmother. The prince and I aren't anything to each other."

Erna had already been branded a fallen lady, but she was determined to clarify at least that one point. What tormented her grandmother most was the rumor that her granddaughter had become Prince Biern's lover and ruined her life.

"You're saying there's nothing between you, yet there's all this uproar across the country?"

"Grandmother knows there are plenty of bad people in the world who make up stories about others."

"Even if it's all nonsense, you've gotten tangled up with that prince of all people and soiled your reputation this badly. How could you ever marry now?"

"I just won't marry, then."

Erna smiled brightly, as if it were no big deal.

"Just hold on a little longer. You can be discharged tomorrow, so let's go back to Burford together and live just like before... happily, the two of us. Then everything that happened here will mean nothing. Right?"

The brighter Erna's smile grew, the deeper the worry in Baroness Baden's eyes became.

"Erna, my dear. We can't stay by your side forever. Didn't you learn that when we sent your grandfather off?"

"Why say things like that?"

Erna scowled and gripped her grandmother's frail hand tightly. The feel of the prominent veins and deep wrinkles made her heart start to beat faster.

"Because that's reality. So Erna, you need to marry and start your own family too. A family that will protect you even after we're gone. Walter Hardy gave up being your father, so it's even more important."

"Grandmother."

"But now you're ruining your marriage prospects like this. What are we to do, my dear?"

Baroness Baden's wrinkled eyes reddened again.

"If I could, I'd throw all those wretched things that corrupted you into the fires of hell."

Like Walter Hardy, for instance. Or that awful prince. And everyone with their wicked tongues flapping away.

Swallowing the words she couldn't voice in front of her granddaughter out of minimal decorum, she glared at the corridor, noisy again as if more onlookers had gathered.

How vulgar and heartless cities truly were!

As she fidgeted irritably, Erna hurriedly sat up. At the same moment, a firm knock echoed: rap rap.

The moment the prince knocked on Baroness Baden's door, the hospital director let everything go.

This situation was now an arrow loosed from the bow, a die cast. All he could do was pray that the king would recognize his loyalty in trying his utmost to prevent catastrophe to the end.

Visitors had swarmed since early morning.

The shock of someone barging into his office without an appointment vanished the instant he saw the intruder's face. Prince Biern. The very culprit was smiling at him, unbelievably. He didn't even consider it might be Crown Prince Leonit—such a person would never cause this scene.

"Could you tell me which room Baroness Baden is in?"

Prince Biern's manner was elegant and polite, utterly at odds with his rude intrusion.

Baroness Baden.

Recalling the name the prince had casually dropped, the director paled and swallowed dryly. Why on earth was this prince visiting Erna Hardy's grandmother?

"Ah. Mind if I borrow this?"

While the director hesitated, unsure how to proceed, Biern plucked a rose from the vase on the desk. Red, of all colors. An ominous sign.

"Now, let's go."

The prince, rose in hand, smiled and commanded as the director desperately tried to deflect.

Was he drunk?

He seriously pondered it for a moment. Given the prince's reputation, it was a plausible theory. But even if it was drunken antics, wasn't he Grand Duke of Schwerin, once crown prince and the king's own son?

Finding no escape, the director had no choice but to obey the uninvited guest. There were eyes everywhere. More malicious rumors could spread. If he insisted on visiting, why not summon the baroness to the director's office? His cautious suggestions were all dismissed.

And so, here they were.

Surveying the crowd of onlookers filling the corridor in excitement over the prince's arrival, the director sighed in resignation. Just then, the door opened, and a pale-faced woman appeared. The prince silently signaled it was time for him to leave.

"...Your Highness?"

Seeing the scene before her, Erna flinched and stepped back. She blinked several times, wondering if it was a hallucination, but nothing changed.

He, who hadn't come before, now appeared where he shouldn't.

While Erna stood stunned, Biern strode into the room. The gazes of Baroness Baden, propped against the bedhead, and Mrs. Greve beside her snapped to him. Their reactions weren't much different from Erna's.

Biern advanced slowly under the breathless stares of the three women. The room was deathly silent, making his steady footsteps toward the bed all the more pronounced.

"No way..."

Baroness Baden's eyes widened as she scrutinized his face. Biern gently restrained her as she startled and tried to rise, instead bowing deeply in greeting. It was a concise, graceful gesture, unhurried.

"My apologies for the late introduction. I've caused you much worry in many ways, Baroness."

His soft-toned voice seeped into the room's stillness.

Erna staggered to Biern's side. She had no idea what was happening, but it certainly wasn't a dream.

Was he here to shove money at her for the debt she couldn't pay that day? Out of pity for the poor girl?

The thought made something hot and lump-like surge from deep in her chest.

She hated this prince coming here to pity her. She hated her own situation, forcing her to face him like this.

How could he trample her heart so miserably in front of her grandmother?

No matter how grateful she was to him, she couldn't forgive this. He should have never come. Then she could have cherished him as a benefactor, a good memory, and let him go.

But why, go this far...

"My apologies to Miss Hardy as well."

Gazing down at Erna as her lips parted, Biern said something utterly unexpected.

Go away.

Swallowing the words she couldn't voice, Erna tilted her head slightly.

"I'm sorry."

"Pardon...?"

"For being so late. For making you wait. I'm sorry."

Biern whispered low, the corner of his mouth quirking up in a smile. Unlike his calm, deep gaze, it carried a hint of playfulness, making it captivating.

Erna, unable to comprehend the cryptic words, shrank back warily. That's when she noticed the rose in his hand. A fresh, red bloom.

As she frowned in question, Biern smiled again. Then, calmly, he dropped to one knee before her.

"Miss Erna Hardy."

His voice calling the dazed woman's name was remarkably steady for the situation.

He would marry.

And send her away with a stake.

The moment he tossed the chip, Biern had resolved to accept whatever came. And now, he was following through.

He knew she was a woman who wouldn't bring him gains.

A modest family, complicated background, and a troublesome father to boot. She wouldn't be welcomed in the royal court or society. She likely couldn't fulfill the role of grand duchess properly.

But that wasn't a major issue.

What Biern wanted from his second wife wasn't vast national benefits or honor. He just wanted someone to fill the grand duchess position and bring peace to his life, and this woman fit that role perfectly.

He knew she was a woman who wouldn't bring harm either.

Of course, like Gladys, she might hide thorns behind that kind, innocent face. But even then, this frail woman's thorns couldn't pierce him deeply. That was enough.

All Biern wanted was for Erna to live like the bouquet she had made herself. Quietly. Beautifully. Harmlessly.

"Miss Erna Hardy, will you marry me?"

Biern slowly extended the flower toward Erna, who trembled, barely breathing.

Erna opened her tightly shut eyes, denying reality. But Biern was still there before her, on one knee.

The prince was proposing.

The realization made her head spin even more. Her vision swirled, but she clearly saw her grandmother's face, misty-eyed with emotion.

How could this be?

Erna looked at Biern with questioning eyes.

Without love. To a nobody. How?

The question slowly turned to resentment, but Biern remained consistently relaxed, smiling as if he already knew all the answers.

Erna reached out a trembling hand toward the rose. She should push it away. It was absurd. But as her fingertips brushed the stem, Biern's words made her hesitate.

I'm sorry.

That gentle whisper eroded her fading consciousness.

It was a brazen apology without a shred of regret, yet it made her happy. That he had come. Too late, but still, he had come.

In the moment she hated herself for it, Erna blacked out. Clutching the proposal rose tightly.

Biern reflexively caught the collapsing Erna. Baroness Baden's scream calling for a doctor rang out, and the door burst open as the director rushed in. The onlookers, alert to the drama, watched too.

Prince Biern proposed to the lady of House Hardy.

The shocking rumor, starting from the royal hospital ward, spread through the city in an instant. Erna Hardy had fainted from sheer joy, they said.

The romance novel beloved by the readers of Rechen came to an end. A decidedly tragic finale where the villain triumphed.