Chapter 46
Chapter 46
Translation: godsn
'How dazzlingly will the chandelier's light shine upon me?'
All eyes will turn toward me.
"Auntie, I'll take care of explaining things to her, so don't worry. As you said, it would be such a waste to leave it like this. This dress would suit your hair color much better."
"......"
Virna hesitated, caught off guard by this sudden stroke of luck.
"Come on, Virna. It would be better if you wore it."
'Since Medeia offered it to me directly, even Mother won't be able to blame me.'
Virna discreetly picked up the hem of the dress.
Even the slightly rough texture of the diamond dust clinging to her hands felt delightful.
A short while later,
"My goodness, Virna. You look absolutely stunning."
Virna, clad in the diamond-studded dress, was breathtakingly radiant.
The sparkling gemstones nestled between her pink locks, the tiara adorned with diamonds and pearls atop her head—
'More! Even more beautiful! To the point where Medeia looks like nothing but my accessory!'
Though the maids earnestly tried to dissuade her, Virna adorned her neck, ears, and slender arms with diamond jewelry.
The reflection in the mirror was utterly satisfying.
Her mother's warnings had long vanished from her mind.
'I suit it better. Your dress, your position—all of it.'
"How do I look, Sister?"
Virna, brimming with confidence, tilted her chin slightly as she asked. Medeia gently gave her the words she had longed to hear.
"You'll be the star of tonight's banquet. People won't be able to take their eyes off you."
The two girls, now ready, stood before the carriage heading to the banquet hall.
"Wait, Your Highness. You should ride in this carriage. The banquet tonight is being held at the palace."
Medeia's expression darkened slightly.
"The palace? I never received any report about that."
"W-Well, it's a surprise banquet, of course! We worked so hard to prepare it without Your Highness knowing."
Virna offered a clichéd excuse while glancing nervously at Medeia.
When Medeia stared at her intently, Virna grew restless.
If this foolish cousin took offense and declared she wouldn't attend, all the effort she'd put into her appearance would be for nothing.
"Oh, Your Highness, I'm so sorry for not telling you sooner."
She quickly softened her expression.
Then, like a child, she clung to Medeia's arm, putting on an adorable pout.
"I just wanted to see the look of surprise and joy on Your Highness's face. Let's go. You wouldn't leave me to face Mother's scolding, would you?"
Virna tugged at Medeia's hand.
"Let's hurry. The banquet has already started, and everyone is waiting only for Your Highness."
Valdina Royal Palace.
The nobles invited to the banquet began entering the hall one by one.
"Good heavens......"
They were greeted by the dazzling brilliance of the chandeliers.
The attendees' eyes darted busily, taking in the lavish decorations and interiors.
Gilded ice sculptures adorned every pillar, and the hall was filled with the beautiful symphony played by the orchestra.
Golden candelabras illuminated the space, and the banquet hall, decorated with hundreds of fresh flowers, was fragrant with their sweet scent.
At the edges, champagne glasses stacked into crystal towers and delicacies dusted with gold powder were piled high like mountains.
Though most of the guests were high-ranking nobles, there were also quite a few from the Third and Fourth Districts.
"While people freeze and starve to death in the streets...... Fresh flowers and gold dust...... How utterly extravagant."
Someone grumbled under their breath.
Even members of the royal family were taken aback by the excessive scale of the banquet.
The Queen Dowager furrowed her brows.
"Did Medeia request this banquet?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. The Minister of Palace Affairs said as much, but......"
Lady Pinatelli, wearing an unusually troubled expression, glanced at the Queen Dowager.
'Everything is going exactly as planned.'
Catherine inwardly rejoiced at the chilling reactions around her.
"Dear, come here."
Regent Claudio called for his wife. He was accompanied by a sturdy-looking middle-aged man.
"It's been a while, Margrave Montega. Was your journey here peaceful?"
Catherine greeted him with elegant and gracious courtesy.
Margrave Montega's expression was stern.
"Yes, but is there a reason for hosting such a grand banquet?"
The journey from the borderlands to the royal castle was arduous. Having witnessed firsthand the wretched state of the common people along the way, it was only natural for resentment to brew.
At Margrave Montega's question, Catherine let out a sigh.
"This banquet today was not my intention."
Catherine made a sorrowful face, lamenting how difficult it had been to accommodate every single one of the princess's wishes.
"As the Margrave well knows, how could we possibly refuse what someone of such noble blood desires?"
Catherine blinked her eyes.
"Moreover, since Her Majesty the Queen Dowager dotes on the princess, we had no choice but to comply—lest we invite unnecessary misunderstandings."
"Montega, you must understand. Dea is young. She still has a long way to go before she matures."
The Regent patted the Margrave's shoulder, supporting his wife's words.
"With the King's royal seal and her mother's protection, what does Dea have to fear? Still, if we indulge her whims like this, things should remain quiet for a while."
"......"
Margrave Montega remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.
The Regent and his wife exchanged knowing smiles.
"Well, what can we do? Since I took on the duty of caring for the young Majesty, I've steeled myself for moments like this. I always knew such a day would come."
The Regent let out a forced chuckle.
But Claudio didn't realize—the Montega he knew was no longer a sheltered royal.
'Claudio's words and the situation itself seem plausible enough. But... something about those eyes bothers me.'
As a Margrave who had defended the borderlands teeming with magic beasts for over a decade, his instincts had sharpened through countless brushes with death.
'First, I need to see things for myself before deciding.'
He downed his champagne, thinking of the late King.
Just then—
"Her Royal Highness Princess Medeia Kaysi de Valdina and the noble daughter of Duke Virna Robin Claudio are entering!"
At the gatekeeper's booming announcement, people momentarily halted their conversations and turned their gazes.
Beneath the chandelier's glow, two young girls stepped forward.
Virna was the first to catch everyone's attention.
Her lively stride and cascading pink hair, radiant as spring. The diamond-dusted dress shimmered incessantly under the chandelier's light.
Catherine nearly dropped her fan.
'Why is Virna wearing that—!'
Unaware of her mother's horror, Virna lifted her chin at the crowd's stares.
'Everyone's looking at me. They can't take their eyes off me.'
To flaunt her presence, Virna subtly quickened her pace, stepping ahead of Medeia by half a stride.
The spotlight on her, the astonished eyes, the gaping mouths—
Had she not been trained in etiquette, she might have burst into satisfied laughter.
'I belong here more. Not in some ducal estate, but in Valdina's royal palace.'
Watching Virna stride forward with such bravado, Margrave Montega narrowed his brows.
Taking in the painfully dazzling dress, he guessed the girl's identity.
"Your Royal Highness, Princess Medeia. I, Montega, have returned from the borderlands to pay my respects."
"Eh...?"
Virna was bewildered.
Who was this man, suddenly—
"Virna!"
At that moment, Catherine—her face ashen—unconsciously called out her daughter's name.
Margrave Montega turned his body, observing the flustered girl.
He soon realized the girl he had bowed to so respectfully bore a striking resemblance to his sister-in-law, Catherine.
"If this girl is not Her Royal Highness the Princess, then who exactly is the 'Her Highness' you've been referring to all this time?"
Catherine was at a loss.
Everything she had just said now amounted to nothing.
With a deathly pale face, Catherine barely managed to respond.
"This child is my daughter, Virna. Being cousins, she bears quite a resemblance to Her Highness the Princess."
"Hah, resemblance? Is that all?"
Margrave Montega curled his lips in retort.
"Though I've been long absent from the capital, I can see very well just how much my niece Virna wishes to resemble Her Highness the Princess."
At his scathing sarcasm, Catherine's face turned ghostly pale.
"Wh—that was originally Her Highness's dress! Virna, why are you wearing it? Oh dear, now Uncle has misunderstood..."
Her voice, strained between clenched teeth, barely escaped.
Catherine wanted to slap her foolish daughter across the cheek for ruining her plans.
"I... just..."
Virna stammered. Even she could sense something had gone terribly wrong.
"Don't scold her too much, Aunt."
Then, Medeia stepped forward as if shielding her cousin.