Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Translation: godsn
The Queen Dowager's Palace.
Stepping inside the palace adorned with rose-colored lace carved into its stone walls, the dazzling ceiling paintings under the semicircular arches hinted at the immense wealth and power once wielded by its former mistress.
Yet, in stark contrast to the opulent ceiling, the corridor walls were lined with nothing but pale white goddess statues.
The occasional paintings visible were religious icons, and the scent of frankincense—more befitting a stone cathedral—drifted past one's nose.
Since the death of the crown prince, the atmosphere in the Queen Dowager's Palace had grown even more solemn.
'It's been a while since I've been here.'
As a child, Medeia had feared this place.
The goddess statues lining every wall had felt as though they were glaring at her.
When she burst into tears from terror, the Queen Dowager would scold her so harshly that she would bite her lips and choke back her sobs.
She had already learned that no one cared if she cried.
"Grandmother—!"
The moment they entered the chamber where the Queen Dowager awaited, Virna rushed ahead of Medeia and threw herself forward.
She buried her face in the Queen Dowager's lap, acting coy—as if oblivious to the razor-sharp tension hanging in the air.
"Virna, you've come too."
The Queen Dowager's voice softened slightly.
She patted Virna's back briefly before gently pushing her away and turning her head.
Her brows sharpened—her lifelong nemesis now within sight.
"You......."
Medeia slowly walked forward until she stood directly before the Queen Dowager.
With perfect composure, she knelt in a deep bow.
"Medeia pays her respects to her grandmother."
Despite the multitude of eyes upon her, not a trace of timidity could be seen in her demeanor.
The Queen Dowager's face twisted instantly at the sound of her clear voice.
"Kneel properly!"
She barked sharply.
The princess's formal greeting—so measured compared to Virna's unrestrained rush—sounded stiff and distant.
Though Virna had ignored decorum by throwing herself at the Queen Dowager, she wasn't scolded.
Yet Medeia, whose manners and courtesy were impeccable, was met with nothing but a scowl.
It was clear to everyone that the Queen Dowager favored the younger granddaughter.
"Are you deaf? I said kneel and beg for forgiveness!"
The onlookers were stunned.
While it was no secret that the Queen Dowager disliked her eldest granddaughter, this was the first time she had flown into such an outright rage.
'Serves Medeia right for getting scolded, but why is Grandmother acting like this?'
Virna rolled her eyes beside the Queen Dowager.
Catherine, who had been about to step forward to win Medeia's favor, retreated hastily when she saw the unusual fury in her mother-in-law's expression.
'Of course.'
Medeia concealed a sneer at her aunt's cowardice.
Soon, she spotted the Head Maid, Madame Cuisine, standing below the Queen Dowager's dais with a sinister smile.
Their eyes met.
Madame Cuisine curled her lips into a sly grin before bowing her head in greeting.
"I shall do as Grandmother commands."
Medeia stepped forward and knelt properly.
Her posture, bowed with utmost reverence, held not a trace of servility.
"However, I worry that excessive anger may harm your health. If you would tell me the reason, I would like to beg for your forgiveness."
"Do you truly not know why you're being asked? You stir up trouble in this palace yet feign ignorance?"
At her composed granddaughter's words, the Queen Dowager's face turned an even deeper shade of red.
"Do you even remember you're a princess? Are you so devoid of propriety that you flaunt your motherless upbringing like this?"
In an instant, Medeia's eyes turned icy.
"What could possibly warrant such insults—not just toward me, but toward both my parents, Grandmother?"
For the first time, a chilling aura emanated from the ever-obedient princess.
Her voice, cold and detached, starkly contrasted her delicate appearance.
"You insolent—! Do you not even know your own crimes?"
"Forgive my foolishness. I truly do not understand what you mean, Grandmother."
"You dare deny it when I already know everything?"
The Queen Dowager roared.
"The Head Maid has confessed it all! You've been secretly carrying on with a man!"
Gasps filled the room.
Especially from Claudio and his daughter.
"Really, putting on such an innocent act all by herself while secretly meeting a man? The ones pretending not to know are even worse. But who on earth would want to meet such a worthless block of wood?"
Unlike Virna, who barely suppressed her sneer, Catherine's reaction was far more grave.
'No. There are no men around Medeia.'
She could state this with certainty.
Given that the princess's marriage was also meant to be used as a chess piece in their plans, they had been meticulous in ensuring no unnecessary complications arose.
'If that girl had a man in her life, there's no way I wouldn't know.'
Therefore, the head maid's confession was false.
A blatant lie fabricated to corner the princess.
'What on earth was she thinking? Why would she initiate such a critical matter without any discussion?'
Catherine turned her gaze toward Head Maid Cuisine, seeking at least some semblance of an answer, some clue to her intentions.
"My deepest apologies, Your Highness the Queen Dowager."
But Madame Cuisine ignored her entirely, stepping forward instead.
"And I must also beg your forgiveness, Your Highness the Princess. But I can no longer conceal this grave truth."
The head maid raised her voice, addressing Medeia directly.
"After I discovered Your Highness's secret outings, you even spread rumors that I was persecuting you in an attempt to silence me."
She struck her chest and knelt.
"But I, Cuisine, who have devoted my entire being in loyalty to the Valdina Royal Family, could not turn a blind eye to the truth. This matter concerns the very honor of Valdina itself. Yet you feigned ignorance, leaving me no choice."
The head maid's gaze shifted toward another woman.
With a slight nod from her, Mariyu stepped forward.
"I am Mariyu, maid to Her Highness Medeia. My mother was the princess's wet nurse, and I too have served Her Highness all my life."
Mariyu placed a graceful hand over her chest and gave a slight curtsy as she introduced herself.
Her refined demeanor and carefully cultivated appearance resembled that of a noble lady far more than a mere maid.
The Queen Dowager frowned at Mariyu's vanity-laden display but refrained from comment.
"Whenever Her Highness met her lover, she took me along as her companion. I told her this was wrong, that it would tarnish the royal family's honor, but instead, Her Highness banished me to a shabby room and ordered the other maids to torment me as punishment."
Her voice, soft and trembling with apparent fear, rang with sincerity.
"After the passing of the Late King and His Majesty the current King, Her Highness Medeia grew terribly lonely. Though she knew it was wrong, she fell helplessly into this affair... perhaps because of that grief."
Mariyu dabbed at her eyes with the edge of her sleeve. Then, looking at Medeia, she sniffled.
"Forgive me, Your Highness. Sob... Please don't forgive me..."
The head maid bowed her head as well and added, "Your Highness the Princess, do not attempt to conceal the truth any longer with lies and fabrications. As a direct descendant of Valdina, I implore you to set an example."
The two of them appeared like loyal retainers bowing their heads to offer earnest counsel.
Except that beneath their bowed heads, their eyes gleamed with crescent-shaped smiles.
'Heh, you're finished.'
'See? You shouldn't have cast me aside first.'
It was a well-scripted play. The audience, the actors, and even the protagonist—the princess—were all present.
The drama had reached its climax, and now all that remained was the protagonist's downfall.
"Medeia, this is utterly disgraceful!"
The Queen Dowager's roar erupted.
More than the head maid and Mariyu's impassioned confessions, what enraged the Queen Dowager was her granddaughter's behavior—losing all dignity before mere attendants.
'Where in the world does a master get caught and exposed by their own subordinates? And a royal, no less!'
Though the same noble blood of the Late King surely flowed through her veins, how could she be so foolish?
Though born of the same womb as Pelleus, how could she be so pathetic?
'That wretch has not an ounce of awareness that she is a princess!'
Noticing the Queen Dowager's contorted expression, the head maid couldn't suppress a triumphant smile.
'I knew this would happen.'
There was no way the Queen Dowager would tolerate the fact that her granddaughter, not even of age, had been secretly meeting a man.
'Keuk, if she finds out the man in question is none other than Count Etienne, how will the Queen Dowager react?'
Her rage would explode.
She might not just banish the princess from the palace but lock her away in a convent for the rest of her life.
The surging fantasy delighted the head maid immensely.
But the rising haze of her joy silently dissipated at the sound of a calm, composed voice.
"What they say is untrue."
Medeia denied it with utter serenity.