Chapter 153: Decision
Aria noticed a bouquet of flowers being held by a maid and quickly called out to her. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“Where did you get those flowers?”
The maid stopped in surprise.
“Yes? Oh, Prince Sigren ordered me to throw them away, Your Highness.”
“Are these the flowers he personally received?”
The maid wasn’t sure why the princess was asking these questions and stammered in response.
“Oh, no, Your Highness. These are the flowers that Lady Heilon received.”
So her brother had instructed the maid to discard the flowers that Lady Fiona had received. Aria had a rough idea of what that meant.
“Are you going to throw them away now?”
“Yes? Actually… I think it’s such a waste to throw away these pretty flowers. I was going to put them in a vase for a few days…”
The maid was clearly afraid of being punished. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“Give me that bouquet.”
Aria examined the flowers closely as the maid handed them over.
“You know what?”
“Yes?”
“You shouldn’t carry this around recklessly.”
The maid trembled, wondering if the flowers were indeed that precious.
Aria murmured, “Ah, and you also shouldn’t burn them…”
She suddenly became curious. Did her brother know what kind of flowers these were and still told the maid to throw them away?
‘No, if he had known, wouldn’t he have tried to kill the man who gave the flowers immediately?’
Aria’s biological mother had been well-versed in plants, and she had grown herbs herself. It was the only hobby her mother could pursue while living under the empress’s pressure. Because of that, Aria had learned a lot about plants as well.
‘This can’t be burned, and it would be a waste to just throw it away.’
In the end, Aria decided to handle the bouquet herself.
“I’ll take this.”
The maid bowed her head.
“I understand, Your Highness.”
Suddenly, Aria became curious about who had given the flowers to Lady Fiona.
‘That sister is going through a lot of hardships too.’
The average person might not know, but this particular flower was a type of plant that could be used to create certain drugs. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
**
I received a letter from Princess Aria.
“Drug…”
What kind of madman gave me a bouquet like that?! I tried to recall the face of the person who had given me the flowers, but honestly, it was all a blur. I hadn’t been very interested at the time.
What was his intention? Was it a mockery? It would be too easy to assume he gave it without knowing its significance. Rumors had been circulating in secret that I had ruined the Green family, my original family. Quite a few people were talking about that. So, that assumption was out the window.
If I caught that person, I wouldn’t let him go.
Right now, I didn’t have the bouquet in my hands, and time had passed, so there was nothing I could do about it. I wanted to tell Sigren about the flowers, but it had been hard to see him these days.
“In the past, he came to see me every day…”
I wanted to go see him, but I received a reply saying not to come because he was busy. Was it really impossible to see his face at all?
“Celine, how should I interpret it when a guy who used to visit me often suddenly replies that he’s busy and doesn’t have time to meet?” I asked, feeling sullen. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“It could be that he’s really busy,” Celine replied calmly.
“Any other reasons?”
She gently stroked my hair. “Lady, there are many men in the world.”
It would have been better if she just answered me directly!
Has his interest cooled down?
I realized I still had a modem way of thinking about these things.
“Even if he tells me not to come, why shouldn’t we go see each other?”
Celine asked seriously, “Do you feel something strange about Prince Sigren now?”
I nodded earnestly.
I didn’t want to be so persistent, but I truly felt that Sigren’s behavior was odd. I wondered if something had happened.
“Yes.”
Celine nodded.
“Then you should go. Sometimes, a woman’s intuition cannot be ignored.” Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
***
Good behavior was both my strength and weakness. When I visited the palace, Sigren was nowhere to be seen. It was the knights on the training ground who greeted me.
“Greetings, my lady. Please go in and wait.”
“Is this okay?”
The knights, whose faces were now quite familiar, grinned.
“It’s Lady Fiona; what’s the problem?”
It seemed that everyone didn’t care because Sigren had skipped all the formalities when I arrived. At the same time, they silently agreed since their training time would be reduced while Sigren spent time with me. Those nobles…
However, while walking through the corridors of the palace, I ran into Sigren.
“Fiona?”
Sigren looked perplexed.
“What’s the matter? I’m busy…”
Sir Kane Erez, who was escorting me with a bored expression, interjected. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“Your Highness? What are you talking about? Didn’t you say we have to let Lady Heilon in no matter what when she comes?”
I widened my eyes at the unexpected response.
“Your Highness, what’s the matter—”
Only then did I notice a woman behind Sigren. She was a very pretty woman with black hair and looked familiar. She was the woman who had sung at the ballroom the other day.
Ah, so they were together… What could I do now? I couldn’t think of a good reason for a woman to be at the imperial palace.
I forced a smile, though it wasn’t genuine.
“Looks like something happened.”
Kane saw my face and let out a gasp, stepping back. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
Sigren said calmly, “Lady Fiona, wait.”
He grabbed my arm, and I obediently followed him into an empty room.
I crossed my arms. “You said you were busy?”
Sigren avoided my gaze. Why was he avoiding me?
“I was busy.”
“Sure.”
“…”
“How long has that lady been in the palace?” If she had just come by or it was merely a coincidence, I could let it slide. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
Regrettably, Sigren was honest. “Three days.”
I couldn’t believe that a very pretty lady had stayed at the imperial palace for three days. Wasn’t this the end of the game?
Sigren had given me a grand promise that he was changing the nature of our relationship. So was it a harem after all?
I narrowed my eyes. “Do you have anything to say to me?”
“First of all, it’s a misunderstanding.”
This was disappointing, but I knew that under these circumstances, all lovers in this world would make excuses.
“Then tell me what the misunderstanding is.”
Sigren roughly brushed his hair. “The empress brought that woman.”
“I know.”
“And she tried to shove her into the emperor’s bedchamber. But we know what happens to the commoner women who serve in the emperor’s bed, right?”
“She will die.”
I could roughly figure out why. A powerless woman’s life was at stake. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“Then why did you lie to me and hide her?”
The most disappointing thing was that you lied.
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