Chapter 21

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: A Friend's Warning
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Otherwise, there was no way she would have reacted like that. From a certain point on, Malena became singularly focused on surprising Aileen, searching high and low not just in the capital but even abroad for new snacks to buy.
But after failing time and time again, no matter what she brought, she finally erupted in frustration.
“What dessert haven’t you tried?!”
As she flared up, Aileen, who had been eating fruit pudding, widened her eyes.
“Ah, well… an acquaintance of mine often gives me these kinds of gifts…”
He must be some ridiculously rich bastard. Then again, she was rumored to be a skilled pharmacist, so it wouldn't be strange for her to have a wealthy client or two.
Malena snorted with a ‘hmph’ and began shoveling the fruit pudding into her mouth. Then, she suddenly realized.
“…”
The month had long since passed.
Slowly, she set down her spoon and looked at Aileen. Aileen smiled with a dazed expression and said,
“Still, he doesn’t bring them as often as you do, Lena. Thanks to you, I’ve been so happy lately.”
Looking at that pure face, she felt her heart boil. Overcome by an indescribable emotion, Malena shot up from her seat. Then, she plopped back down into the chair.
Only after the month had passed did she truly understand her own heart. She didn’t want to die. She wanted to live.
“…How foolish.”
Muttering to herself, she shoved the pudding into her mouth, then snatched Aileen’s pudding and devoured it as well. She barked at the teary-eyed Aileen that it was punishment for lying, and then left. Of course, she returned a few days later with more snacks.
Aileen and Malena became friends who would occasionally meet up to eat dessert and chat. They never spoke about their personal lives, which paradoxically allowed them to be more comfortable with each other.
Then one day, Malena was seized by the desire to get rid of Aileen’s stuffy bangs and glasses.
“Hold still for a moment.”
Her hair color was unique and quite nice, but the problem was that she didn't style it at all. She would look much better if Malena took off her glasses and trimmed her bangs with scissors. But when Malena brought the scissors near, Aileen began to tremble uncontrollably.
“Ah, no, you can’t, Lena…”
She was trembling so pitifully that Malena had no choice but to put down the scissors and simply sweep her bangs aside with a pin…
“Aileen. From now on, never show your face. Understood?”
Malena had never seen anyone so beautiful in her entire life. She had an enchanting face, like a forest fairy. And those eyes of such a mesmerizing color… But she couldn't bring herself to feel happy. A cold sweat trickled down her spine.
For a poor and powerless woman, beautiful looks were a curse.
And Malena had experienced that curse more painfully than anyone. She pleaded with Aileen to never, ever show her face, no matter what.
Since she didn't seem to know how beautiful she was, it would be far better for her to live her life tending to the plants she loved. Fortunately, Aileen obediently followed Malena’s advice.
But a few days ago, she had seen Aileen in a tavern on Fiore Street. Aileen, with her face fully revealed.
The moment she saw the Grand Duke of Erzet seated beside her, she knew something terrible had happened. If Aileen had given Malena a new reason to live, Cesare had given Malena a chance for revenge.
Working under Cesare, Malena had come to know just how fearsome a man he was.
For that Grand Duke to be involved with Aileen…
What business could an ordinary pharmacist possibly have with a Grand Duke? Her face must have been discovered, and now she was being used. Aileen must have been deceived by Cesare’s glamorous exterior and dragged here.
Worried that Aileen might be forced to work at the tavern, she couldn't concentrate throughout her performance. As soon as it ended, she rushed to request a meeting with Cesare. But there was no way a mere dancer could meet with the Grand Duke whenever she pleased.
Malena begged, prepared to die. She even threatened to expose the tasks Cesare had ordered her to do if he refused to see her.
Fortunately, Cesare magnanimously granted her an audience. His subordinate delivered the Grand Duke’s permission, along with a newspaper. It was the one carrying the article about Aileen and the Grand Duke’s marriage.
“…So that’s why I came.”
After hearing Malena’s story, Aileen nodded, feeling a little dazed. She had never imagined that Malena was someone who worked for Cesare. As she took it all in, a thought suddenly struck her.
*‘He must know about my lie, then.’*
She had told Cesare she didn’t know Malena, but now Malena had come to see her. She worried about what he would think of her. There was no way to take back a lie already told, so Aileen could only fret inwardly.
“Aileen.”
Malena said, her gaze serious.
“Tell me honestly. How did this happen? If there was any coercion involved…”
Biting her full lip with her even teeth, she looked up, her piercing blue eyes filled with determination, and declared,
“I’ll find a way to help you.”
Even as she said it, they both knew it was impossible. There was no one in the Traon Empire who could stand against Cesare.
The nobles of the council were the closest to opposing him, but their momentum had been broken by the approval of the Triumphal Arch and the bloody banquet incident.
No one could help Aileen. It was an impossible task.
Besides, Aileen had already promised Cesare she would become the Grand Duchess.
“His Excellency saved my life. I committed a crime, and he protected me, and I had… a debt, which he also took care of. Then, as it happened, His Excellency needed a Grand Duchess, so he made me an offer…”
She swallowed her shame and explained the situation honestly. Aileen gave an awkward smile and said,
“I was the one who chose to become the Grand Duchess.”
But Malena was not convinced at all. If anything, Aileen’s explanation only made her angrier.
“Someone as naive as you wouldn’t understand.”
Malena’s breathing grew ragged. Her perfectly curled and fixed eyelashes trembled.
“Do you really think that was a choice you made entirely on your own? No, it’s merely a result engineered according to his will.”
The fear in her blue eyes was palpable.
“I’ve seen how His Excellency deals with his political enemies. He may hide his true nature in front of you, but Aileen, that man…”
Malena whispered slowly.
“He doesn’t have a human heart.”
Aileen couldn’t help but laugh. It was a listless, deflated laugh as she replied.
“I know.”
“Then why!”
“I like him.”
A throbbing pain clenched her chest. For the first time, she voiced the foolish feelings she had kept locked away.
“I know everything… and I still like him.”
Aileen dropped her gaze. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Malena as she spoke. Fidgeting with her fingertips, she murmured,
“If I don’t become the Grand Duchess, my circumstances will force me to go abroad. Then I wouldn’t be able to see His Excellency anymore, and I didn’t want that, so that’s another reason I chose to marry him.”
“…”
“I’m sorry, Malena.”
Malena didn’t answer. She was silent for a long time. She opened and closed her mouth several times as if to speak, but in the end, she just let out a hollow laugh.
“What can I say? The heart doesn’t listen to reason. Turns out you’re the type who values looks over personality, Aileen.”
Malena gently cupped Aileen’s cheek with her hand. After gazing at her for a moment, she whispered grimly,
“He knows you’ll be unhappy, yet he’s still doing this to you. What a cruel man.”
Would she be unhappy? It seemed likely. An unwanted marriage, an unsuitable partner. A man as high as the sun in the sky, and herself, less than a weed on a wall.
As Grand Duchess, she would have to enter high society and would be swept up in political disputes, and there was no way someone as ignorant as her could handle it well.
But all that unhappiness combined was still less than the unhappiness of not being able to see Cesare.
“If you change your mind, tell me anytime. I think I can do something about it, at least once.”
Aileen nodded meekly. Malena’s expression softened slightly as she pulled Aileen into a hug. They held each other for a moment, feeling the warmth, when a knock came from the front door.
“I’ve returned with the groceries.”
At the sound of Michele’s voice, Malena slowly released her. She grasped Aileen’s hand one last time.
“But you have to make him buy you a ring. One with the most expensive jewel in the Empire—no, on the continent.”
Malena declared, almost growling.
“Right now!”