Episode 7: The Fool in Love
Compared to what she wore on the first night, this outfit was much more modest. As Blea helped her into a soft, deep blue slip, she spoke coldly.
“Seeing someone like you acting proud just because you’re the Crown Princess makes my stomach twist all day. Don’t fool yourself into thinking His Highness cherishes you. You’re basically no better than a whore.”
Blea leaned in close to Ranael’s face from behind and sneered. Ranael just stared at their reflection in the mirror without saying a word.
The cruel words Blea hurled at her caused Ranael no pain at all. Blea had noticed that for some time now. That was why she tried even harder to hurt her.
Blea never left marks where others could see them. Whenever they were alone, she never missed the chance to insult Ranael and Erna, tormenting them quietly and carefully.
When brushing her hair, she would deliberately yank it. When washing her, she always poured cold water over her. But that was the extent of it.
Those things were not that hard to endure. What was truly terrifying was knowing that Blea had followed her here as the duke’s eyes, watching her nonstop. It felt as if the duke’s sharp blue gaze was always clinging to her.
If Blea found out that the Crown Prince already knew her true identity, it would be disastrous. Ranael wanted to deal with Blea first. She fell into deep thought, trying to figure out how.
“The Crown Prince is entering.”
The voice of the servant guarding the bedroom rang out. After a brief pause, the door opened.
He was a sincere man. A foolish man who endured pretending to be husband and wife with a fake, all for the woman he loved.
“You’re here.”
With a small gesture, Ranael dismissed Blea. Blea twisted her face in anger, but there was nothing she could do. She bit her lip hard and left the room.
“The servants outside may leave as well.”
At Karsian’s low voice, the door closed. When all signs of presence disappeared, he spoke to Ranael.
“You’ve done quite a lot in just one day.”
“I was busy. Just a moment.”
Ranael hurried over and put out the lamp on the table. The room quickly fell into darkness, lit only by the blue moonlight pouring in through the window.
“Why did you turn off the light? I came to talk.”
“Because this is a secret conversation. You’re the contractor of the Fire Spirit King, right, Your Highness?”
Karsian looked puzzled, and Ranael found his reaction even stranger. Spirit Kings could move anywhere as long as they were not too far from their contractors.
The duke had used that to monitor the duke and duchess as well. Nahar, the Water Spirit King, moved through water. Ash, the Fire Spirit King, moved through fire.
Since Ash could enter through the lamp and listen in, turning off the light felt obvious to Ranael.
“…The Spirit King can spy on our conversation through fire?”
After thinking for a moment, Karsian’s eyes sharpened as he asked. This was the first time he had heard such a thing. In fact, almost no one knew.
The power spirit mages used had no physical form. That was why they could not know how spirits moved.
Only Spirit King contractors knew this. And of course, they kept it hidden. It was a weapon no one else had.
“Ah… I guess that’s not something everyone knows.”
Ranael lowered her eyes awkwardly.
“How do you know that?”
“L, Lady Raphiana told me.”
“Were you close to her?”
“Very close. Like sisters.”
The lie slipped out easily. Only after saying it did she regret that last part. Thinking of Raphiana made her feel as if she were still sinking at the bottom of that freezing lake.
Karsian looked quietly at the fake Crown Princess. In his memories, Rana was always smiling. She had a warm heart, so he believed she would have treated even a bastard kindly.
“I see. I’ve heard the rumors you spread. To show how passionate we are and avoid suspicion, I’ll visit every two days.”
Ranael’s eyes widened as she looked at him. She was surprised that the Crown Prince suddenly used such polite speech with her.
Then she remembered that he was not speaking to Ranael, the bastard’s blood, but to the Crown Princess. Even if she was fake.
After she mentioned her closeness with Raphiana, Karsian’s tone softened noticeably.
“Just as I thought. This man really is a fool. A fool in love.”
Ranael’s expression stiffened even more.
“Yes, do that. And when it’s just the two of us, you can speak more casually.”
It made her uncomfortable. Even kindness she knew was fake was enough to put her on edge. Ranael had grown too empty inside.
“It’s better to get used to it. I planned to cherish my wife more than anyone. She is my first love.”
“Do you really need to go that far for a fake?”
“It’s better this way so I don’t make mistakes in front of others. And since Ash might be listening, all the more.”
Karsian stepped closer and stopped in front of her. His low voice sounded close.
“I heard you met Raynard today.”
The innocent boy’s face flashed through Ranael’s mind.
“Yes. We ran into each other by chance. We only talked briefly.”
“Be careful. The Empress and Raynard…”
It was hard to imagine that gentle looking boy doing anything cruel. But Raphiana’s beautiful yet merciless face came to mind, and Ranael understood.
People were cruel, and this place was hell. Yet she was still naive.
“To soften like this just because Raynard looks like an old friend…”
She swallowed a sigh.
“Don’t hide anything from me. Only then can I protect you.”
Even though she was nothing more than a stand in until Raphiana returned, his words were unexpectedly gentle.
“Yes, I will.”
There was nothing she could truly tell him, but Ranael nodded lightly. Even that answer was a lie.
“From now on, I’ll treat you like the real Crown Princess. That way, we can fool others.”
“What about sleeping arrangements?”
Without changing her expression, Ranael looked down at her own body as she asked. Even if it was fake, he was still a man in his prime. If he demanded her body, she planned to give it without complaint.
At first, the Crown Prince did not seem to understand. Following her gaze, Karsian looked at her half bare body. Then, strangely enough, his face turned red in the moonlight, like a boy’s.
“I, I have no intention of holding any woman other than my wife.”
The man who had tried to kill her on the first day now stammered, his ears burning red. It was hard to believe they were the same person. Seeing him like that made Ranael feel embarrassed too.
“Then I’ll make it look like yesterday on my own.”
The room was dark, and she stood with her back to the window. Ranael was glad he could not see her face. Her face was just as red as his.
“I’ll sleep on the sofa. You sleep on the bed.”
Ranael looked back and forth between the wide bed and the sofa, then nodded. Being found out by this man did not seem entirely bad.
She lay down on the bed, felt her heavy eyelids close on their own, and drifted off. For the first time in a long while, Ranael slept deeply.
When she opened her eyes, the Crown Prince was already gone. After finishing her morning preparations, Helena arrived with two young women.
They were noble ladies who would serve as her maids. Since Blea had been brought from the ducal estate, she inevitably became her personal maid.
Still, Blea’s status did not match the role of serving the Crown Princess. Rumors spread about keeping Blea, the daughter of a fallen baronet family, by her side. People only kept quiet because they heard the Crown Princess favored her.
One of the girls had brown hair and a plain, gentle look. She was Marianne Clifford, the Count’s daughter. She bowed politely.
“It’s an honor to serve you by your side, Your Highness.”
The other was a delicate beauty with platinum blonde hair. She was Selina Felice, the Marquess’s daughter and the niece of Empress Abigail.
“It’s an honor to meet you.”
Selina smiled. Her crescent shaped eyes when she smiled were charming.
Until now, the only noble ladies Ranael had met were Raphiana and Blea. Perhaps because of that, she instinctively felt wary of noble girls her own age.
“I look forward to working with you all.”
She carefully hid her expression.
They decided to take a walk in the rear garden while talking. Roses were blooming everywhere. Selina, walking behind them, spoke up cautiously.
“Your Highness, we met at the ball three years ago. Do you happen to remember?”
Ranael had heard that Raphiana rarely took part in social events in the capital. Caught off guard by Selina’s question, Ranael stopped in her tracks.
