Chapter 4
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Hard Work Pretending to Be Human Today Too
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Maid Emma of the annex palace instinctively sensed that the atmosphere had changed.
The faces of the servants, who usually showed such lax attitudes, were all uniformly stiff.
Most of them had been dispatched from the main palace. Knowing their true purpose, Emma quickly grasped the reason for this mood.
'Assassination. Someone's finally made up their mind.'
There were plenty who wanted Deyna dead.
The emperor who called her a shameful stain, her siblings who placed great value on imperial honor, high nobles looking to exploit her death—any number of them.
One had finally given the order, it seemed, and some of the servants were moving to carry it out.
'So even this life comes to an end.'
Emma found herself swept up in a strange mood.
She had once harbored special expectations for Deyna, but those had long since turned to disappointment.
Because Deyna, contrary to her prediction that the girl would endure, was a foolish royal simply biding her time until death.
A loser who had given up even on struggling and quietly accepted poison.
To Emma, Deyna was nothing more or less than a convenient base of operations for moving freely about the palace.
Which was why she had no intention whatsoever of stopping the spies if they went through with the assassination.
But now that she sensed Deyna's death was imminent, strange emotions welled up.
Was it pity? Or self-reproach for not being able to stop it? She couldn't tell.
At the very least, she thought, she should place a single flower on her grave after she was gone—as she prepared for her final duties with such thoughts in mind.
"Head Maid! Her Highness is calling for you!"
New maid Liribel came rushing up to her.
'Did the assassination... fail?'
An incompetent assassin who couldn't even kill Deyna, who couldn't get out of bed on her own? The very idea was absurd.
Her fluster lasted only a moment. Emma headed to the bedroom as Liribel directed.
She had a pretty good idea why she'd been summoned.
'She wants protection.'
Deyna had clearly spotted the assassin and was asking for safeguarding. Among the annex servants, Emma was the only one remotely trustworthy.
Pondering how best to refuse as she opened the bedroom door—
"Sit, Head Maid Emma. I have something to tell you."
The moment she saw Deyna, she froze.
Deyna was dressed neatly and seated in a chair by the window, gazing her way.
With the rising sunlight at her back, her presence was utterly different from yesterday.
Her limbs were still as gaunt as ever, but her eerily gleaming golden eyes and relaxed posture exuded a strange dignity.
"......Have you recovered, Your Highness?"
"Something like that. You haven't seen me looking this hale before, have you?"
The first time Emma had laid eyes on Deyna, the princess had already been too feeble to move about, so this was the first time she'd seen color in her cheeks.
Emma struggled to hide her surprise and offered congratulations on the recovery.
'How on earth did she regain her health? There's no way she detoxed overnight. Was she faking it all this time? Or did she really resort to some evil sorcery?'
Suddenly, she recalled the rumors of Deyna being a devil that had circulated through the palace.
No, that couldn't be. Emma dismissed the foolish notion from her mind.
'Then... what did she call me for......'
As she tried to read Deyna's intentions, the princess cut straight to the point, as if she'd only been waiting.
"Head Maid, the truth is, I nearly got assassinated today."
And the conversation Emma had expected unfolded.
She feigned disinterest. Even if she called someone else, she couldn't help—that was the nuance she conveyed. Deyna nodded nonchalantly.
"Fine. Pretend you didn't hear that. I'll find the evidence myself. Instead, I need you to head to the main palace."
"What sort of errand is it?"
Deyna claimed it was just delivering a simple letter, but there was clearly more to it. As Emma shot her a suspicious look, the princess beamed.
"I want to place an ad for a fiancé. I don't actually want to get married, but I need a husband now."
"......?"
The utterly out-of-left-field remark left her mind blank.
But Emma was no stranger to palace politics. She quickly grasped the intent.
"You're planning to make your debut in high society?"
"Exactly. As expected of you, Emma."
Deyna tilted her head as if in admiration.
That air of leisure made Emma feel like she was facing someone other than Princess Deyna.
The voice and manner of speaking were unmistakably hers, yet something was different. It felt like confronting someone who transcended power itself......
'No pointless suspicions. Better to think about her reason for entering society.'
First off, the mention of a fiancé had to be tied to her societal debut.
In the empire, regardless of family circumstances, children were obligated to debut in high society and seek marriage partners. It was due to that stuffy old tradition viewing marriage as a noble's duty.
And naturally, this tradition weighed even heavier on royals.
'The emperor once forced Princess Deyna into society. Her health was so poor and bad luck dogged her that it fell through, though.'
She'd even heard that a massive chandelier had come crashing down during her debutante ball—an incident that was apparently the biggest reason the emperor had abandoned her.
Yet now, suddenly healthy, Deyna was using the pretext of finding a fiancé to reenter society. The reason was obvious.
'For her freedom.'
It was the emperor who had confined her to the annex for shirking her royal duties. So if she declared herself recovered and ready to fulfill those duties, he had no grounds to stop her.
"......But doesn't that require a willing partner......?"
The question slipped out unbidden, and Deyna nodded.
"Don't worry. Even if there's no suitable match, they'll line up candidates on their end."
"Their end being...?"
"The Noble Council. Plenty of them want to get their hands on my hair and eyes."
'......Indeed.'
A short but sufficient answer.
To the Noble Council, which opposed the emperor, Deyna was a mouthwatering potential ally. Her features opposing those of the royals, her unclear origins, her position against the emperor... there was much to exploit.
In other words, she was requesting permission to return to society while making it clear she had no intention of joining hands with the emperor.
'Sharp.'
Excessively so.
It was judgment beyond anything she could imagine from the Deyna who'd meekly accepted poison just yesterday.
As she pondered the cause of this change, a thought flashed through Emma's mind.
'Hold on—health recovery aside, what about the assassination? The assassin must have come.'
She hurriedly scanned the surroundings. No sign of the assassin. Instead, she spotted a crumpled carpet.
The assassination had clearly failed. Which meant the fate of the assassin was...
Cold sweat trickled down her spine. In that instant, the Deyna before her began to feel less like a sickly princess and more like a mysterious wielder of power.
'She definitely has some extraordinary secret.'
Emma clenched her fist without realizing it.
It occurred to her that Deyna might deliver the opportunity she'd long hoped for.
And the first step toward that might lie in this letter.
She swallowed silently and spoke cautiously.
"......I understand your intent, Your Highness. I'll deliver the letter. But may I ask one more thing?"
"Go ahead."
"What is your goal, Your Highness? Freedom, entering the political fray—what is it you truly want?"
The question seemed unexpected; for a moment, Deyna hesitated to reply.
"......Why are you curious?"
"Just a bit of idle curiosity."
"Will your attitude change based on my answer?"
"Probably."
A long while later, Deyna spoke again.
"Emma, do you know the joy of your legs moving?"
"What do you mean?"
"I, Emma... as a child, I lost sensation in my lower body. By adulthood, I couldn't even lift a heavy cup."
Everyone in the palace knew of Deyna's misfortunes and disabilities.
Deyna reached out and grasped Emma's hand.
"That's why this sensation brings me joy."
"......?"
"Feeling another person's body heat, walking on my own feet, speaking without my throat hurting—it's all so joyful. Joyful enough that tears are welling up even now."
Deyna's hand, always cold before, was warm today. That painful sincerity was enough to shake even her steely composure; as Emma opened her mouth to voice some pity—
"That's why I don't want this happiness taken away. To protect it, I can do anything."
Deyna's atmosphere shifted.
"Just surviving isn't enough. I want a guaranteed future, safety, peace. And for that...... some measure of revenge will be necessary."
In that moment, an unnatural aura stirred around Deyna. The dignity, almost like killing intent, made Emma tremble.
It felt like standing before a massive beast—one that might tear out her throat at any second.
'She's not Princess Deyna.'
And she knew it instinctively.
At the very least, the woman before her was a different existence from the Deyna of yesterday.
Mind changed, grown, or finally revealing her true self up till now... it didn't matter. What was important to Emma now was that Deyna had changed.
She had become not a loser resigned to death, but a successor determined to change everything.
That was the ideal superior Emma had always wanted.
Forcing down the smile tugging at her lips, Emma made a vow.
'I'll grant her request.'
She would stay by the changed Deyna's side and watch.
And place her hopes once more on this being who might fulfill her own wishes.