Chapter 25
<Prince Luans must fall for you. My dear.>
Anne kept insisting that she should capture Luans’ heart. Even without saying it, Ilina wanted most of all to be the one to capture his heart.
“Ilina, shall I tell you a funny story?”
<Prince Luans. Are you telling me to call the person who hit Lorencia in the clinic ‘mother’?>
But Luans only cared about himself. Even knowing this, Ilina had given him her heart.
“This is a very funny story that Prince Luans told me.”
<If Madam Anne gets one more bad review, will her reputation be further tarnished, Ilina?>
Even though Ilina had given him her whole heart, she knew that Luans met and spent time with many women, including Lorencia.
She forced herself to accept that having a consort or mistress was common among royalty and nobility.
“Are you curious why Prince Luans pays attention to me?”
“Don’t get the wrong idea, Lorencia. Even monsters like you are useful sometimes, so don’t think he’s paying attention to you for your sake.”
“That’s right. Prince Luans finally said I have a purpose. And the story I’m about to tell is very funny and related to that.”
In truth, Ilina couldn’t understand why Luans paid so much attention to Lorencia. Watching him value time with Lorencia more than the time he spent with her was painful. She complained to him in tears. But he calmly replied:
<What you should care about, Ilina, is how to maintain the flower of society. Don’t forget that. The reason I meet you is because you are a flower of society. Nurture it so it doesn’t wither—especially if you wish to become my princess.>
She had always existed solely to be a valuable flower of society for Luans, investing countless hours to maintain that image. Meanwhile, Luans enjoyed his time with Lorencia.
Although her efforts sometimes felt futile, whenever Luans whispered kind words in her ear, that emptiness would be filled.
Ilina was jealous of Lorencia. She tormented her severely after Luans left, but her anger never fully dissipated—it only made her feel hollow.
“Prince Luans knew that Lord Lollyrolls would become my dance instructor in society.”
“How would Prince Luans know that? Only my mother and I knew.”
“That’s not the point. What matters is that Prince Luans knew the private conversation between you and Madam Anne.”
Ilina’s anger surged. It was absurd.
“Prince Luans told me to develop a romantic relationship with Lord Lollyrolls.”
“What? Don’t lie.”
For the first time, Ilina felt she shouldn’t be listening to Lorencia’s story.
“I did as I was told and became romantically involved with Lord Lollyrolls. You wouldn’t know how much Prince Luans praised me, Ilina.”
Ilina wanted to cover her ears with both hands. She felt she was about to learn a truth she didn’t want to know.
“Prince Luans followed the plan and handed the white gloves to Lord Lollyrolls. The rumors spread poorly, but look now. Both the citizens and noblewomen, even young ladies, praise you and Prince Luans as a noble and royal who helped an abused illegitimate child.”
Ilina’s pupils trembled violently.
“Prince Luans said he needed a villainess since he used Lord Lollyrolls as a villain. He wondered whom to use as the villainess. Do you know who was chosen, Ilina? Madam Anne.”
“Stop talking. Don’t drive a wedge between me and Prince Luans.”
Muttering softly, Ilina began to tremble.
“You said Madam Anne was going to a convent because of me. That’s not true. Prince Luans wanted her to go.”
“I told you to shut up!”
<Ilina continues her social activities even though her mother is going to a convent.>
Even knowing Anne was going to the convent, Ilina continued her social life to maintain her position as a flower of society, just as Luans wanted.
<Before Madam Anne goes to the convent, it would be nice for you two to travel and make good memories, Ilina.>
Luans told her to make good memories with Anne before she entered the convent. Tears streamed down Ilina’s face.
“That’s right. Prince Luans also said this.”
“Don’t say it.”
“He said it would be perfect if Madam Anne ended her life at the convent herself.”
“Stop! Aaah!”
Ilina screamed and collapsed to the floor.
“The most interesting part is coming, but you refuse to listen?”
“I don’t want to! How many times must I tell you to shut up!”
“Are you afraid to accept the truth you once believed? But you need to know.”
“Please don’t tell me. I beg you.”
“You’re acting unlike yourself, Ilina. Could it be that you refuse to hear about plans concerning Prince Luans because you want to become his princess?”
Finally, Ilina covered her ears with both hands, tightly closed her eyes, and tears flowed down her cheeks.
“Ilina, do you want to marry a man who sent his own mother to a convent? I’m sorry, but Prince Luans already has a chosen princess. And it’s not you.”
“Don’t drive a wedge! Don’t lie! I… am a flower of society… and of the House of Count Paul Heredian… sob sob.”
Lorencia smiled bitterly as she watched Ilina.
“Prince Luans said he doesn’t need you anymore, just like Madam Anne.”
Ilina opened her eyes and met Lorencia’s violet gaze. Wiping away her tears, she stood up.
“That’s impossible.”
“When you wrote the letter to Lord Lollyrolls… you sent it, right? Remember?”
Ilina’s face went pale. Her heart sank violently. Only then did she realize she had fallen into a trap.
“How did you know that?”
“Prince Luans told me. He said everyone’s handwriting is unique, and yours is unmistakably yours. That alone could serve as evidence later. But aren’t you curious, Ilina?”
Lorencia tilted her head slightly to the right with a faint smile. Ilina could see her left cheek was red from being slapped.
“Do you wonder who has your letter to Lord Lollyrolls?”
“No way…”
Lorencia, using the future revealed by her amethyst necklace, had cornered the rats effectively.
Whether the cat wanted the rats or not didn’t matter. From the rats’ perspective, they were trapped by the cat. A cornered rat bites the cat. And if the rat bites the cat, what will the cat do?
“Impossible. Prince Luans wouldn’t… have that letter…”
He does have it.
Humbled and defeated, Ilina’s heart crumbled.
“That’s exactly right, Ilina.”
Writing the letter must have been fun, but that fleeting joy had cost her everything. Even if she knew, it didn’t matter to Lorencia; she could take everything from Ilina by other means. Lorencia looked down at Ilina coldly, a crooked smile forming.
When Lorencia left the parlor, Marquis Teishar began pacing nervously.
“This is unsettling, Marquis Teishar.”
“It is worrying, Princess Charlotte. I think we must go get her.”
Teishar felt anxious even before knowing what this young sapling would face. The thought that Lorencia had endured abuse at Count Paul Heredian’s house, suppressing her instincts to survive, left him devastated. He blamed himself for not acting sooner.
Yet, the family that abused her had taken her away. Waves of despair and worry crashed over him.
“Marquis Teishar, calm yourself and sit. We are in the palace. Surely the flower of society, Ilina, wouldn’t raise a hand against Miss Lorencia?”
“Princess Charlotte, I am uneasy as if I cannot digest this.”
“Why are you so concerned about Lorencia? I didn’t expect you to even wait on her yourself.”
Teishar, who had been pacing, finally sat on the sofa.
“She is extremely precious and important to me.”
“Important? Please explain what you mean.”
Teishar sighed deeply, forgetting proper decorum before royalty.
“She is the last person our family must protect.”
“Explain in detail.”
“Miss Lorencia is the child of Goddess Ella, whom my father searched for tirelessly.”
Charlotte was surprised. One of the frequent topics in conversations between former Marquis Spencer and the Queen of the Poloid Empire was the child of Goddess Ella. The queen always sighed heavily.
“You mean Musila, the child of Goddess Ella who disappeared 20 years ago?”
“Yes.”
“Could it be… that Miss Lorencia is Musila?”
“She didn’t know she was the child of Goddess Ella. The features my father described for Musila are dark blue eyes, but Lorencia’s are violet. She must be Musila’s daughter.”
“Even with different features, how did you recognize her as the child of Goddess Ella?”
“I will explain in detail later.”
Only the red eyes of the Spencer family could identify the child of Goddess Ella. The former Marquis Spencer had given his title early to his son Teishar and searched the former empire, but could not find even a strand of Musila’s hair.
