The Dancer of the Square (2)
“My home is quite humble. I hope it won’t cause you any discomfort.”
Calling Karina’s house humble was an understatement. It looked as though the ceiling might collapse at any moment and bury us both. I frowned and stepped inside.
“Meow?”
A cat’s cry made me turn my head. A black cat with bright yellow eyes was watching me.
“Her name is Shasha. She’s my cat.”
Her eyes, glowing like pumpkins, were strikingly beautiful yet oddly unsettling. I walked over to the worn table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
The black cat padded after me and began rubbing its head against the hem of my dress. I thought it would soon lose interest, but instead it curled up right at my feet.
“Oh my. It seems Shasha has taken quite a liking to the Duchess.”
What might have seemed endearing to her owner only irritated me. A sigh escaped me at the sight of black fur clinging to my dress. Molly was allergic to cats… I would have to change the moment I returned to the Imperial Palace.
“I’m not sure if the tea will suit your taste.”
Karina brought over a steaming cup of pale green tea, but I didn’t even touch the cup.
“You and I aren’t exactly on terms to sit and chat over tea.”
“No. I only brought it out for appearances. Please don’t mind it.”
She accepted my words with ease and took a sip of her own tea.
“You have more tricks up your sleeve than I expected. Well-versed in herbs, mimicking noble speech, and that dance you performed in the square…”
“It may seem like mere tricks to you, Duchess, but His Majesty called it talent.”
“Is that so? Then did you use that talent to seduce His Majesty?”
“Not seduce. I prefer to say His Majesty simply recognized my abilities.”
“Still as bold as ever.”
“I’ve never been one to endure things quietly.”
Karina smiled over the rim of her cup, her eyes crinkling. Her talent for getting under people’s skin hadn’t changed at all.
“That aside… I doubt you came all this way without a reason. What brings you here, dear Duchess?”
Karina rested her chin on her hand and regarded me with a slanted gaze. Perhaps because we were in her own space, all pretense of courtesy had vanished from her demeanor.
“That’s what I wanted to ask you. You didn’t come to see me that day without a reason either.”
Back then, I had thought her nothing more than a pitiful child. I never imagined things would come to this.
“What is your purpose in entering the Imperial Palace?”
It was a question I should have asked clearly the very first time we met.
She had knelt before me and begged only for a job. A poor woman with nowhere else to turn. She had acted so desperate that she would risk death just to see me.
Looking back now, what a brilliant performance it had been. She had deceived me completely and even managed to approach His Majesty. But now it was time to uncover her true intentions.
“Purpose… purpose…”
Karina repeated the word in a clear voice, then smiled brightly at me.
“There is only one thing worth risking your life for—revenge.”
As expected, her answer didn’t stray from my guess.
She came to me to avenge her dead family? Even with the Emperor’s favor, it was a reckless and absurd notion. Yet her next words caught me off guard.
“You didn’t think I came to take revenge on you, did you, Duchess?”
“You didn’t?”
“I knew it…”
Karina sighed softly and pressed a hand to her forehead, looking as though she couldn’t understand me at all.
“Dear Duchess, do you know what I’ve realized after watching you these past few months in the palace?”
“……”
“From head to toe, you are utterly, completely aristocratic.”
Aristocratic? What did that even mean? It was an expression I had never heard before. When I stared at her blankly, Karina shook her head.
“Look around you. This shabby, rundown room is what I call home. Living in a place like this, do you really think I would dream of taking revenge on the Duchess?”
“……”
“Besides, I never even met my late grandfather. I’m not reckless enough to stake my life on family I’ve never even seen.”
“……”
“And yet you assumed I entered the palace to avenge my family… How noble, how proud, how thoroughly aristocratic of you.”
“……”
“My circumstances were so dire that I never had the luxury to worry about my ancestors. I’m sorry, ancestors.”
She didn’t laugh out loud, but the corner of her mouth curled upward in a strange smile.
So the word “aristocratic” could be turned into such mockery. My pride stung, yet I had no rebuttal.
Just as she said, being thoroughly aristocratic, I could think of nothing but family revenge. If not that, then what else could possibly drive someone to enter the palace and make an enemy of me?
“Then whose revenge are you after?”
I spoke again in a calm voice.
“Who exactly are you trying to take revenge on?”
“There is only one person who truly matters in my life.”
Karina rose from her seat and walked over to the old bed. She reached underneath and pulled out a faded paper envelope.
Autopsy Report: Esmeralda
She placed the envelope on the table.
“This is my sister’s autopsy report. I scraped together every last coin to have it notarized by a renowned physician.”
I had heard that Karina’s sister had been found dead several years ago. I assumed it was a simple accident… but was there enough suspicion to warrant an autopsy?
“My sister was murdered by a noble. Not just any noble—a central noble living here in the capital. That’s why I wanted revenge for her.”
“A central noble?”
“Yes. But what could someone like me possibly do? I could throw my life away to kill that one noble, but I want to destroy his entire house.”
Karina let out a low chuckle, her smile bitter.
“To do that, I needed power stronger than his. In the end, the only options were the Regentra ducal house or the imperial family. Of course, I couldn’t exactly seduce Duke Zar Regentra, could I? Hahaha.”
She meant it as a joke, but it left a distinctly unpleasant taste in my mouth.
My brother Zar only had eyes for his new wife, Silvia. No matter how peerlessly beautiful the seductress, he would never betray Silvia.
Yet what unsettled me more was the way Karina placed herself on equal footing with me.
We shared blood. That was an undeniable fact, and at the same time, a truth I wished to deny.
Even with shared blood, she and I could never stand in the same place. Still, she subtly treated us as equals. That was deeply irritating.
“Then who is the noble who killed your sister?”
“Hmm, I can’t tell you that.”
Karina lowered her eyebrows and put on a deliberately regretful expression.
“If I told you, you would warn that noble, wouldn’t you? Revenge is best when it strikes without warning.”
I was acquainted with nearly every central noble house. Some were closer than others, but there was none I wished ill upon. If I were in Karina’s position, I wouldn’t reveal the name either.
‘One house is about to be swept up in bloodshed.’
Though the empire was divided by class and status, murder was different. No matter how highborn, anyone who committed murder faced severe punishment under imperial law. Nothing had even happened yet, but my head was already throbbing.
“Now that your questions are finished, perhaps you could answer mine.”
Karina continued as though she had been waiting for this.
“Why did you come to see me?”
It was infuriating how she asked even though she already knew the answer.
“I’ll send the knight commander tomorrow morning. Return to the palace.”
“Pardon? Is that true? You’re allowing me back into the palace?”
Her voice was overly surprised, her gestures exaggerated. Karina widened her golden eyes and pressed again.
“Are you serious, Duchess? You’re really letting me return to the Imperial Palace?”
Don’t get drawn in. This girl is no ordinary person. Don’t get drawn in. After repeating the warning to myself, I gave a short nod.
“Revenge? Fine. Do whatever revenge you desire and then live quietly. In return, I’ll turn a blind eye to whatever you do. As if you don’t exist.”
It was a generous offer on my part. I wouldn’t interfere with her revenge, nor would I stop her from using His Majesty to achieve it.
“Thank you, Duchess.”
Karina blinked her silver lashes and smiled prettily. That smile was thick with the satisfaction of victory.
“By the way, Duchess, may I ask one more thing?”
“Speak.”
“Actually, I’ve been curious since the day we first met. Why did you allow me to stay in the palace? Was it simply pity?”
At first I wondered if she was mocking me. Or perhaps she had already decided on an answer and was only asking to hear it from me.
But when I looked into her eyes, I understood. Unlike the times she toyed with people behind an innocent face, her eyes now held genuine curiosity about my reply.
“You want confirmation of what you mean to me. Then I’ll tell you clearly.”
I answered her in a voice sharp as a blade.
“I place no great importance on you. You are not someone significant enough for me to treat with caution or deep consideration. Does that answer your question?”