Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Fortunately, he wasn’t holding a sword, though he was holding onto something else that seemed to have come from off my shoulders .

“This…”

“Ah…”

When did these get on me .

He looked at me strangely as he held the small bits of what appeared to be wood shavings the beavers had gnawed off, in his palm .

Hah! Unlike Lania, who smirked at me with a knowing smile, the emperor’s expression slightly shifted .

“The Duchess must really have a lot to show me . ”

“…Your Majesty . ”

Are you being sarcastic or what .

His blood red eyes were unfathomable, but honestly, I didn’t want to know what he was thinking, at all .

All I needed to do was to hold onto him for a moment and hand Haniel over .

In other words, I just needed to close my eyes tightly and be shameless for a day .

“Of course . After spending time in the vast world of nature, you’d discover phenomena that are both mysterious and mind-blowing . I am certain that Your Majesty will not regret visiting the lake . ”

“And if I don’t end up feeling that way?”

“…… . ”

Well . I hadn’t thought about that, so .

Since I’d kept my mouth shut and smiled a beat late, I must have looked stupid .

But I couldn’t help feeling it was ironic with the emperor looking extremely satisfied with himself, a smug expression on his face .

“…Alright then . Let’s do it based on what I decide . ”

◇ ◆ ◇

“You! What exactly are you up to?”

Bam .

As soon as the door of the study closed, Lania wildly pointed her finger at me, pushing me towards the fireplace in the room .

Right after the emperor and his brothers went into the smoking salon, she’d grabbed me, trembling with fury, and dragged me away .

“How dare you, where do you think this place is! Tell me immediately!”

“Ahh, you’re going to wrinkle my dress . I don’t have many of these . ”

“Catherine!”

Lania’s voice rose to a higher pitch as I straightened my dress with a sigh .

Read this on littleajummas or you can be a lania . >:

Hopefully her voice would be covered by the loud music in the banquet hall downstairs .

“Don’t you think it’ll be better to lower your voice a little? Though, of course, it doesn’t matter to me either way . ”

“I told you to tell me what you’re planning . Don’t you know who he is, how dare you speak to him!”

“What do you mean? He’s the emperor . ”

And also our little cygnet’s older brother .

The me who’d suffered to the point of getting my veil pushed aside smiled with my eyes . Lania’s face obviously got darker at that .

“…Catherine, there’s nothing good that can come from doing this . ”

“It’s the same for you as well, though?”

“What?”

“There’s no need to worry that I’ll say something I shouldn’t . I’m not planning on saying anything about the curse anyway . ”

“Curse? Hah, so you were using that to do all this?”

In contrast to her wry smile, the incredulous expression in her glistening eyes showed that she thought what I said was ridiculous .

“I’ve told you since the beginning, there’s no point in you telling anyone . Whatever you say, you’re already the Witch of the North . Who would believe the likes of you?”

“…”

“You stupid thing . You should know that other than you, no one else can return to being a human . You think that counts as evidence? No matter how much you hold onto the cursed ones and deny the rumors, you’ll still be a witch . No, you’ll become a witch who’s lost her mind!”

Seeming to be satisfied at the thought, Lania’s lip twisted upwards even more .

Approaching me step by step, her blackish red shadow fluttered up to the fireplace .

“Think about it . You’d be blabbering without a shred of evidence…”

“Why do I need evidence? My body is proof . ”

“…What?”

“As you said, who would believe me? I’m a nobody who came from a fallen noble family that sold off their own daughter . ”

Before Lania could walk up to me face to face, I extended a foot forward .

Though I couldn’t see a mirror, I knew that my mocking face didn’t lose to Lania’s .

“Thanks to a certain someone, it seems I’ve become an evil witch who devoured her own husband, so who would believe me . ”

“…You know that, so then why . ”

“Can’t you tell?”

“Because I have nothing to lose . ”

Our shadows mingled for an instant as we stood across from each other .

Turns out, I was even taller than her .

Lania closed her eyes as she lowered her head .

“Trying wouldn’t hurt . All the evil in the North is going to be blamed on me anyway, so why would I care about the repercussions? It’ll just be like throwing a mere match into the fireball of hell . ”

“Catherine, I don’t know what you’ve put your faith in to act like this but there’s a limit to calling your antics cute and letting things slide . No matter what you do, you’ll still be in the palm of my hand . Don’t overestimate yourself . No matter what lengths you go to, I can deal with whatever you have planned . And nothing will change for me if a witch dies . ”

“What do you mean nothing will change? At the least, you won’t be able to become the empress . ”

“…What?”

Lania’s expression, which hadn’t lost its haughty demeanor this whole time, now sharply shook .

She wasn’t able to control herself as her grip on my arm tightened .

“Speak clearly! What did you hear from others!”

“It isn’t something you have to hear from other people to know . ”

“…”

“The reason for a lady like yourself, who could get married tomorrow if she so much as extended her finger, to postpone her marriage for so long by using a widow like me…is what I wondered about . ”

To be honest, I thought something was weird from the start . For a person like Lania, who had money, power, and a noble title, to still be single, there were only two possible reasons .

Either she hated men in general, or there was a bridegroom she already had in mind and needed time to marry .

‘Why didn’t I know this sooner . ’

Up till now, I hated even thinking about Lania, and there were very few occasions for us to meet .

But after the female protagonist Haniel was thrust into my life, this all became a different story .

To be precise, I got a hint of this the day when I saw her brightened face as she stared across the lit Winter Palace .

“…”

Eyes that seemed to be dreaming of something, cheeks flushed red .

Well, isn’t that the very facial expression of a fan when their favorite idol’s show is broadcasted .

To think I could see such an expression on a person like Lania, I certainly lived a long life .

But a rival was still a rival, so, just to be sure, I went to Lady Melloe .

「What does Your Ladyship wish to ask me about?」

“I’m curious as to why His Majesty the Emperor has yet to be married . And I wonder if there are other rules or steps involved . ”

「We are still honoring the national mourning period for the late Emperor and Empress . It is customary for royal weddings and all such national occasions to be prohibited for 3 years, especially for the emperor . That’s why the Emperor’s younger siblings married first instead . Of course, the mourning period is almost over now…but why is Your Ladyship smiling like that?」

What do you mean why .

I just realized that luck exists for me, too .

I thought this life was doomed from the start, but it seems that it wasn’t really the case .

Of course, Lania still held my lifeline in her hands, but at least one thing had changed .

“You don’t know what that means? If I’m a witch, that means you’re a witch’s daughter, Lania . ”

Now I knew this bitch had a weakness .

“Sure, known for being a witch from planted rumors is different from actually being a witch . But would it be proper for the daughter of a witch, who suddenly died a tragic death, to join the royal family?”

“Catherine!”

“Lower your voice . ”

*Shhh . * She loosened her tight grip and I pulled my arm away .

I gently pushed on her shoulder with a slightly trembling finger .

“We know enough about each other, so we should consider each other’s perspectives at this point . ”

“…What do you want to say . ”

“I surprisingly have no qualms with the way I’m living right now, so you just need to fulfill your ambitions as best as you can . I have no interest in ruining your plans like you fear, so stop pushing and picking fights with people . I can understand that you’re afraid of being backstabbed, as long as you don’t bother me, we can live peacefully together . Our eldest daughter only needs to continue sticking to her bridal lessons, and nothing else, is all I’m saying . ”

Deal?

Beaming, I fixed a ribbon where my finger had been on Lania’s shoulder .

“So would the eldest daughter please get out of my way? Before my feathers fly out in front of the Emperor . ”

◇ ◆ ◇

As I took a step outside, the air was fresher than I could ever imagine .

I didn’t particularly approve of people exploiting their opponent’s weakness, using it to threaten them, but doing it myself made me feel as sweet as honey .

‘That’s why you should have been a little more lenient with me . ’

Thinking about Lania, who couldn’t even say a word as her eyes quivered with raging flames, made my originally stuffy heart thump with excitement .

But I couldn’t stay drunk on these feelings .

Though I felt victorious for that one moment, I couldn’t forget the fact that I hadn’t decisively won the whole war .

In other words, if I didn’t want to get strangled acting like a know-it-all, I had to tread carefully .

Lania wasn’t your average villainess .

She wasn’t the type of woman to stay trembling for long .

‘Well, who cares . Anyway, I just have to return Haniel and my duties for today are done . ’

“…”

As soon as I saw the sunset’s glow start to reflect off the lake, my mind jolted awake and rippled like the surface of water .

It’s really time to say goodbye .

Seeing that was my first thought instead of fear of facing the tyrant Emperor alone, it seemed that my mind was set .