PRKE 71

CHAPTER 71…………………………………………………………

I listened with one ear and let it slide out the other, nodding my head half-heartedly.

The dampness that had soaked even my underwear made me uncomfortable, and I wanted to wash immediately.

Madame Emerent didn’t let me go willingly.

“What is that appearance? A member of the great Laurent family looking so sloppy. What would people think if they saw you?”

I saw mischief filling her eyes. She had clearly decided to torment me.

Ever since Aris’s rampage incident, she had been waiting for any chance to hassle me.

Did I even need to endure this?

Given how bad my mood was today, maybe this was for the best.

“Sigh.”

I let out a breath without hiding it, and anger flickered across Madame Emerent’s face.

“How dare you show such a reaction in front of me! Your arrogance reaches the heavens!”

With a snap, she closed her fan and called her servants. Their clothes were soaked in sweat as they ran over carrying stones. There were four of them.

“Make that one kneel.”

One of the servants, ready to rush in with a tired expression, froze when Eden realized that ‘that one’ was me.

“You’re working hard.”

I muttered sincerely, and his expression softened.

Even with a raised salary and job security, it seemed he couldn’t avoid being drafted for Madame Emerent’s pointless labor.

“What are you standing there for?”

Madame Emerent said coldly.

Everyone except the servants who had accompanied me approached.

“Don’t touch me.”

I said it to the hesitant servants, then turned to Madame Emerent.

The situation—facing off with her with a servant between us—felt familiar.

Seeing that, Madame Emerent’s face stiffened.

“You two are fired.”

The servants who couldn’t approach me twisted their expressions. I didn’t take my eyes off Madame Emerent and spoke.

“I’ll rehire them.”

Huh? I smiled faintly at her stunned expression.

“If you don’t approve, I’ll pay out of my own pocket.”

“You…”

Her voice cracked with anger, and she twisted her mouth as if suppressing her fury.

“I don’t understand your audacity to act so insolent in front of me. Do you think you’re the head of this family now?”

“……”

“Follow me to my room.”

Turning sharply, Madame Emerent instructed a servant to bend low as if to avoid sparks flying in my direction.

“Prepare my belt.”

I chuckled softly.

She often used a belt to emphasize her chest and slim waist, and according to Jenny, she also used it when punishing servants.

Though she considered using violence shameful, I hadn’t seen it firsthand—but apparently it was true.

“Do you want to hit me?”

“You’d better shut your mouth and follow.”

“Why me?”

I answered quietly without moving a step, and finally, Madame Emerent stopped.

Her gaze, glancing at me, was filled with killing intent.

“I won’t dirty my hands lightly, but to maintain the family’s discipline, it can’t be helped.”

“If it’s necessary for you, Madame, then it can’t be helped. But—”

“……”

“If it’s such an important matter, shouldn’t it be reported to the Count first?”

“Hah! You think private discipline of you is an important matter?”

“Perhaps you’ll think so, but many eyes are watching me right now.”

“……”

“I’ve been promoting the family’s name recently. Why this attitude? Isn’t it also what you wanted, Madame?”

She had pushed me into a fake princess role that clearly made me a sacrificial pawn for the family’s prestige.

Reading my intent, Madame Emerent’s face went pale. She was furious, but not able to release it freely—no wonder she was so tense.

Miraculously not fainting, she said:

“Fine… the head of the family is the Count, so it is right to report to him.”

Her eyes gleamed—I suspected she was restraining herself for now, possibly imagining hitting me with the jewel-studded belt.

I spoke as she went to fetch a servant to go see Hubert.

“I reported last month’s expenses to the Count recently. He was quite surprised.”

She snorted.

“Are you scared that I’ll really go to the Count? If you’re thinking of threatening me, forget it. He has never interfered with my hobbies. How dare he? I am his father’s wife.”

“That’s enough.”

Short as it was, that sentence was enough to halt Madame Emerent’s steps.

Everyone has a line that cannot be crossed. Madame Emerent’s was this.

I slowly approached her.

Watching her expression, as if wondering what I was saying, I whispered:

“It’s true the Count supports your hobbies. But he probably didn’t know that the monthly expenses equal a year’s living cost for a family of four commoners.”

“……”

“This month’s spending was quite large, wasn’t it?”

Speaking gently, I met her gaze.

“Perhaps you should restrain yourself.”

“……”

“As a member of the great Laurent family, it would be disgraceful if word got out that you are not frugal. Especially now, when the damage from the heavy rains is enormous.”

Madame Emerent’s lips twitched.

“It sounds like you’re deliberately spreading rumors.”

“You misunderstand. I am also a member of the family. Would I do anything that harms it?”

“……”

“You wouldn’t…”

I stepped back from her trembling body.

“Then I’ll go tidy up my shabby appearance first.”

Turning away, I snorted in disdain.

Back in my room, I immediately took off my soaked clothes and put on fresh ones.

“Where did you get so wet? I’ll prepare hot water!” Jenny exclaimed, rushing to the bathroom.

I watched Giovanni’s blanket being taken by her and turned to the window.

Madame Emerent was still there. The cultivated elegance she so emphasized was gone—wielding a large shovel snatched from a servant, swinging it around like a madwoman.

Haah, haah. Her rough breathing cast a shadow over her sturdy frame.

‘See, why did you start a quarrel?’

I smiled faintly, watching the scene as if it were a work of art I had made.

In the quiet, peaceful room, the worry from the forest seemed like a distant dream.

The plan for today had roughly succeeded. Despite complications, the imperial spy was caught.

‘Though Princess Laratou seems to have grown more dislike for me.’

Thinking of that made the back of my neck tense.

After a long while, Madame Emerent’s shadow disappeared inside.

I stared at the empty ground, thinking:

‘It was a relationship destined to end anyway.’

Tairin wanted me to absorb all the scattered spirit fragments across the kingdom.

Princess Laratou, a cleric, was one of them.

Tairin’s demands and Laratou’s network were concepts that could not align.

I closed my eyes. When I opened them, the blue eyes filling my vision made me catch my breath.

“What are you so shocked about?”

The blunt voice made me flush with anger.

“You’re staring so closely—how can I not be surprised?”

“Hmph.”

Suuush.

Tairin hovered in the air, looking down at me. His expression was serious.

“What’s wrong?”

“I smelled Leo on that woman.”

“What?”

At first, I didn’t understand. Only after a stunned sound did it click in my mind.

My face hardened.

“You mean Princess Laratou?”

“Yes. I thought she was gone, but some fragments remained.”

“……”

“If I absorb her power, I might be able to communicate with Leo even through fragments.”

Tairin’s excited words grew faster.

“This is your chance to ask if she knows you are Hilda!”

“……”

“Why? Why aren’t you happy? Weren’t you looking for Leo?”

“I am. More than words can express.”

“……”

“I’m so happy I can’t stop smiling.”

Strange, indeed.

Princess Laratou, raised in a happy home with abundant love, was the complete opposite of me.

Even when she acted intimately toward me, she subtly showed pity for my origins and bloodline, stirring conflicting feelings.

They say Leo’s remaining power resides within that princess.

‘That… I can’t ignore.’

Even apart from misunderstandings with Giovanni, I clearly could not get along with her.

‘Unless she were an enemy.’

A wave of melancholy passed over me.

Even if Princess Laratou occasionally annoyed me, her innocent smile, unaware of the world’s filth, had always been endearing.

Thinking of her cold, betrayed face, a sigh escaped me.

A dark night, relying on dim moonlight.

“What the hell happened?!”

Her lowered voice sliced sharply through the night’s silence.

Jacques remained silent. Aris, worried that others might see, had even summoned a supporter but still pressed him, unable to hide her anger.

“Igraine returned safely! And saved the princess! Do you know how shocked I was watching that through the window? What happened? Why handle things like that? You told me to trust you!”

Jacques only looked at her silently.

Still handsome, his sleek face couldn’t calm Aris’s anger.

“Are you mute? I need to get inside immediately. Explain yourself!”

“Why?”

“Huh?”

“Why do you need to hurry inside? Is there someone in the room?”

Chills ran down Aris’s spine. She instinctively took a small step back.

The faint moonlight illuminating the darkness made her uneasy. A gut feeling of danger.

Jacques, who had been silently watching her, suddenly chuckled—a rough laugh she had never seen before.

Only then did she realize he was in a very bad mood.

“Impossible. The lady who claimed to love me wouldn’t let anyone into the room, would she?”

Aris swallowed hard.

‘Could it be that he knows something?’