Translator: Wawaa
Editor: WilsonWilson
One day, a letter arrived addressed to Sidhar Hautean. At first, he thought it was just an ordinary love letter. Because he was a popular Prince. But as soon as he opened the envelope, he noticed that the letter was cast with secrecy magic.
It was a letter from the black sorcerers. Sidhar Hautean had been closely related to the black sorcerers for quite some time. It was his plan to hold a riverside banquet and reveal Sonnet’s position to the black sorcerer. He also guided them to Sonnet’s palace for the raid.
‘That persistent thing.’
Sonnet had neither died nor kneeled down to him. He knew she was stubborn, but he did not know how brave she would become.
‘This is all because of father.’
It was years ago at a banquet that he had realized that the King was planning to hand down the throne to Sonnet. Up until that point, he firmly believed that there was no one else better suited to be King in this country except him, so that day had clearly stuck in his mind and was never to be forgotten.
Was it at the end of the year or the beginning of the year? It was a big banquet hosted by the royal family. There were many nobles and there were many women beside him. Then, a man said in a sarcastic voice, as if for him to hear. He said that, as a member of the royal family, all the Prince had was his face, just because he was popular with women did not mean that he would be the King. He added that all the influential people in the Kingdom were bowing to young Princess Sonnet.
It was beyond belief. He thought of it as mere jealousy of a loser who lost his woman to him. So he held his fiancee in his arms and danced in front of him on purpose.
He knew before the banquet ended that the guy was right. The most accomplished scholar in Hautean was following Sonnet like her shadow and was whispering in secret. The most outstanding knight in Hautean swore allegiance to Sonnet and protected the Princess. The most prestigious nobles in Hautean hovered around Sonnet.
As soon as he realized all that, Prince Sidhar felt the chills as if someone rubbed a blade against the back of his neck. The throne, which he naturally thought was his, moved further away. It was just unbearably insulting for him. And of all people, to that young girl.
From then on, Sidhar made a secret plan.
He brought the family of the scholar who was Sonnet’s master to ruin. He framed the knight who swore to protect Sonnet. He joined hands with the husband of the woman who handed out donations in Sonnet’s name and attracted the black sorcerers.
The Prince was a cunning man. He knew that holding hands with the black sorcerers could be a big problem should someone betray him, so he shared the crime with the temple. The net was tightly woven so that no one dared to betray.
Those sitting in the dirtiest and highest chairs in the Temple of Glory joined hands with the Prince. He secretly gave land and opened the way for the black sorcerers—who were ostracized wherever they went—so they could hide in Western Hautean.
Had the dumb Marquess of Bailey not fallen, he could have approached the throne more easily.
“What are the saintesses doing?”
“They’re memorizing the prayer.”
“Were they good?”
“My apologies. The daughter of the nobleman lacks concentration and the farmer’s wife does not know much about writing…”
“So worthless.”
Prince Sidhar handed the letter to his old aide. His aide, who was akin to his hands and feet, glanced at the letter sent by the black sorcerers.
“So, they were asking if they could make more fake saintess.”
“That’s like increasing the amount of trash that needs to be disposed of. There are a lot of good pawns to use, but I can’t believe they chose those kinds of women.”
“Because they didn’t have enough time. It was probably because they were greedy so they tried to find women that were easy to manage.”
“It was a great opportunity to get rid of Sonnet… Tsk.”
It would have been nice if she died with the other women, but Sonnet survived persistently. If it’s not this time, there may not be another chance to kill her without suspicion.
“Your Highness, it seems true that a saintess has appeared in Hautean, so I think we still need to keep an eye on her.”
“It’s not Sonnet.”
Sonnet was not the saintess. At first, he was a little nervous because he thought she was, but the black sorcerers were mistaken.
“Those dimwits.”
They said the demon delivered these words to them.
‘A woman who woke up after stepping on death.’
‘Experiencing the miracle of God.’
‘The one who will save the world.’
Who is the saintess? What are those vague criteria? Why does God say nothing? Do we really have to be afraid of God who does not punish us even when we are putting out the fake saintesses?
“How’s the preparation going?”
Sidhar asked. The old aide bowed deeply to him.
“It takes a lot of money to gather troops. It will be good if we have a good cause, but we’re doing this in secret… It’s still not enough, even after gathering all the assets that we have.”
“What about the nobles?”
“I have recruited those who can hold their tongues, but it’s still not enough.”
“If it’s about money, we can just take it away.”
It was hard to take away reputation or trust. But it was not hard to take away money or home. The Prince was not married yet, and he had heard that the daughter of the richest woman in Hautean had just become an adult.
“Did you say it was Laviore? I never thought I’d have to approach that kind of woman. I feel like a male escort.”
“Your Highness!”
“Go through everything about the daughter of Isadora.”
The position as the Princess Consort should be a good deal for her entire asset. Sidhar was confident
The weather was neither hot nor cold. It was too chilly to be wearing summer clothes, but it was still too hot during the day to be wearing long sleeves.
“So when I took out the thin robe, it was suddenly really windy today. The hem of my clothes was flapping so much that it made me annoyed. It felt like I had become a human flag.”
“So?”
“Let’s go buy new clothes.”
In Lara’s view, that was just an excuse. It seemed that Ximena wanted to buy new clothes regardless of her current ones. Lara just decided to think so. After turning the carriage in the direction of a shopping mall where the dress boutique fathered, Lara first asked Ximena.
“Ximena.”
“What?”
“What prodigal and bad things should be done for a woman to be regarded as totally hopeless by anyone?”
“Are you talking about really bad things? There are lots; Stealing from others, insulting good people, beating the weak, destroying others’ lives…”
“It’s better if there would be no victims.”
“What a difficult question.”
After thinking about it, Ximena asked Eunice.
“What do you think about that?”
“Just drink.”
“What the…”
“Why? There will be no victims, people will shun you, saying you’re a drunkard and addicted, and those who sell liquor will make money.”
That would work to some extent, but what Lara wanted was something that would give her more powerful notoriety. Something akin to a rascal who was profligate and extravagant.
Rumors about her have also subsided over time and have now become less of a topic in society.
“Why did you ask?”
Eunice asked. Ximena was looking at Lara as she was also curious.
‘It’s fine to tell them, right?’
Lara let out a big sigh and confessed.
“Prince Sidhar’s aide began to approach mother. They asked if my mother wanted to make me the Princess Consort. They also secretly asked for donations.”
“What?”
“Crazy…”
“Prince Sidhar’s men will be investigating my surroundings─whether I’m true to the rumors or not. You know that my notoriety is a bit waning these days. I’m just worried.”
“That’s shitty, seriously.”
Eunice and Ximena uttered loud swear words in the carriage. They knew well how much Lara hated Prince Sidhar.
“Hey.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing much. Just get married.”
“What?”
“I’m sure he won’t be flirting with a married woman.”
“With whom?”
Eunice shut her mouth. She could not ask Lara to marry any man, so it was probably hard to be married right now. This time, Ximena said.
“Just decline him straightforwardly. Every time he meets you, ignore him, ridicule him, and quietly insult him.”
“Then, what if I’m executed for lèse-majesté1?”
“Insult him just enough for it to not be lèse-majesté. Just enough so that when the Prince gets angry, he looks narrow-minded, but if he does not, it would offend him.”
“Is that going to be okay?”
“It will be good for you because you will get to resolve your pent-up anger, you know, because of your father. Even just hating and declining the Prince that everyone likes will be enough to build your notoriety. I think that’s fair enough.”
That made sense. Eunice also nodded, saying that it was a good idea, and even added her opinion to Ximena’s remarks.
“Do you know what’s really annoying about this? It’s not that big of a deal to others. But it will drive the person directly involved crazy.”
How great it would be to have such a small rejection pile up and break the prince’s mask.
“The Prince is human after all. Teasing him makes him irritated, provoking him makes him angry. Lara, you’re overestimating the Prince. He’s good at managing his reputation, but he won’t be that perfect.”
“Then, what should I do?”
“First of all…”
With a mean face, Ximena told Lara a lot of things. Eunice came up close to overhear them and giggled.
“That sounds like a lot of fun.”
“I’m not sure if it’s going to work.”
Lara was skeptical.
Footnote:
1. a French term meaning “to do wrong to majesty”↩
