Translator and Editor: nieye

Chapter 58

“Stop wasting my time and properly explain yourself.”

“W-With this bracelet… I only tried to tame her a little!”

Count Mussieux shouted, holding out the thread bracelet on his arm to Verkley.

Verkley roughly ripped the bracelet off of Count Mussieux.

The moment the bracelet was removed from Count Mussieux, Eliana collapsed.

“Lili…?” 

Witnessing Eliana suddenly faint made Verkley’s face go stiff.

He turned to fiercely glare at Count Mussieux.

Count Mussieux explained, sensing his gaze could tear him apart at any moment.

“The effect was l-lifted, so she’ll lose consciousness for a while! It’s not l-life-threatening…!”

“Shut it. You only respond to the questions I ask.”

Hearing Verkley’s deadly command, Count Mussieux sealed his mouth shut.

Verkley held Eliana with one arm and slipped off his overcoat.

Then, he laid the overcoat on the ground and carefully placed Eliana on top of it.

Count Mussieux watched silently, holding his breath.

Verkley removed the shimmering thread bracelet from Eliana’s wrist.

The bracelet, which hadn’t come off no matter how hard Eliana tried, broke effortlessly in his hands.

Holding both bracelets, Verkley approached Count Mussieux.

Then he knelt in front of the fallen Jack and jingled the bracelets as he asked,

“What is this bracelet?'”

“I-It’s a bracelet made from mermaid scales. Anyone who wears the bracelet can’t d-disobey someone else who’s wearing the other m-matching bracelet. They can’t even remove the bracelet themselves.”

“Hah!” 

Upon hearing the bracelet’s functionality, Verkley let out a chuckle.

Who on earth had come up with such a thing?

Verkley suppressed his surging anger and asked coldly, 

“What were you planning to do with it?”

“W-Well, just as a means of disciplining my daughter…”

“Discipline, you say?”

“I-I never had any intention of harming my daughter!”

“Is it not harming her to control her as you see fit?”

“…R-Regardless, she’s my daughter! Does Your Majesty involve himself in family matters?”

Count Mussieux responded defensively.

Verkley laughed sarcastically and then placed the bracelet Eliana had been wearing onto Count Mussieux’s wrist.

“No, don’t…!”

Count Mussieux panicked and resisted, but something unknown held him firmly in place.

“If it’s as you say, that this involves family matters, then I’ll leave your fate up to Eliana.”

“Ah, ahh!”

Count Mussieux screamed in distress, his face pale. 

He understood Verkley’s intentions.

With a cold sneer, Verkley spoke,

“If you want to remove the bracelet, come to the palace yourself. But if you try to pull anything before that, I’ll not only take your life but also your wealth and title.”

“P-Please spare me! I’ve committed the crime of- the crime of death!”

Count Mussieux clung to the unyielding bracelet, sobbing.

The other bracelet remained in Verkley’s grasp.

Verkley responded coldly.

“You should be begging Eliana for forgiveness, not me.”

“…”

Ignoring the trembling Count Mussieux, Verkley pulled out a pocket watch.

A considerable amount of time had passed since the ceremony was supposed to take place.

Verkley clicked his tongue briefly and then ordered Jack,

“Handle the ceremony on your own terms. Don’t tell anyone what you saw today.”

“Y-Yes, u-understood!”

Verkley leered at Jack, who was bowing his head submissively.

“When you return, beg and grovel to Eliana. Only then might she consider releasing the bracelet for you.”

“Ugh.” 

Count Mussieux exhaled an irritated breath.

It was difficult for him to raise his head due to the humiliation. His face turned red with embarrassment.

Ignoring him, Verkley approached Eliana.

Then, he put the bracelet that Jack had worn onto her wrist.

At that moment, Count Mussieux collapsed powerlessly, like a battery-depleted toy.

Verkley held Eliana’s unconscious body in his arms and gazed at the collapsed Count Mussieux.

“Weak fool.”

He spoke with resentment, then shoved Count Mussieux back before smoothly leaving the Mussieux Estate.

* * *

Mary had an intuitive feeling that Verkley might not come to the square.

When Verkley’s eyes turned red, he seemed to transform into a different person. 

Moreover, he acted without restraint.

‘I need to handle this on my own. It mustn’t reach my mother’s ears…’

Respecting Mary’s orders, Fin, the most genuine of the maids, didn’t say a word when questioned by the other maids about Verkley.

Instead, Mary began to sort out the situation.

“Actually… yesterday, I accidentally spilled tea on my dress, you see.”

“Tea?” 

The curious maid said, and Mary quickly nodded, presenting her dress that had become slightly stained with tea to the maids.

“Oh my…”

The maids sighed softly as they looked at the ruined dress.

Cherdi, who was nearby, spoke with a particularly regretful tone,

“How can this be? The princess worked diligently on creating this embroidery…”

“So, I asked His Majesty this morning if he could postpone the ceremony for me.”

Mary smoothly lied.

After telling a massive lie earlier, this small lie felt light in comparison.

Just as she had lied for her mother’s sake, this time it was for her brother’s.

Sophia, who was also nearby, asked with narrowed eyes,

“Then where is His Majesty at the moment?”

“Oh, well…”

Mary stumbled over her next words, but Fin, who was beside her, interjected. 

A harsh voice echoed through the room.

“Since Count Mussieux is in charge of this event, he went to the Mussieux Estate himself to ask for understanding!”

“His Majesty went there personally?”

“Yes, that’s right. Even though there was no need for it, he insisted on going himself, and he took Miss Eliana with him.”

After Fin nonchalantly finished speaking, the maids exchanged glances and shrugged their shoulders.

“Haa... Why does he always act without saying anything?”

Sophia sighed in frustration with an annoyed expression. 

Then, she seemed to decide not to pursue the matter further.

Mary discreetly observed the situation, trying to hide her racing heart. 

Fortunately, it seemed that no one was suspicious.

Sophia responded in a businesslike tone,

“Please inform me as soon as he arrives.”

“Y-Yes!”

“Princess, let’s find a way to restore your dress together.”

Cherdi sighed as she looked at the ruined dress.

In truth, Mary felt disheartened about the ruined dress as well. 

It was especially distressing because she had worked so hard on it.

But she believed that it was better for the dress she made to be ruined than for her brother’s ceremony to be ruined.

Clothes could be remade, but her brother’s reputation had already sunk to a low point, and Mary didn’t want it to sink any lower.

“Yeah!”

Awkwardly, Mary smiled and nodded vigorously.

“Ugh, what a waste… Anyway, let’s go, Princess.”

“Yes, let’s go.”

Cherdi continued to release mournful sighs by her side.

As they left, Mary glanced back at Fin. 

When their eyes met, she quietly pressed her finger to her lips, signaling that Fin should keep their secret.

Understanding the gesture, Fin nodded subtly, tapping her finger against her lips just the same.

* * *

Her body felt heavy like cotton submerged in water.

Since encountering Count Mussieux, Eliana’s entire body felt heavy, and her head had been throbbing.

As if she had forgotten how to think on her own, repeating memorized phrases like a parrot, Eliana walked, ate, and fell asleep.

And then, the next morning.

Eliana felt a little scared.

Her body didn’t move as she wanted it to.

Where was she?

Whenever she tried to focus on her thoughts, her body felt sluggish, as if she had taken sleeping pills.

‘You don’t need to think.’

‘Just do as you’re told.’

Only foolish thoughts kept recurring in her mind.

And strangely, Eliana followed the instructions mindlessly.

She did exactly as the count instructed.

Until a familiar face approached her.

“What’s the matter with you?”

Black hair. Red eyes. Kind gaze.

Eliana stared blankly at a man who looked at her with a concerned expression. 

Who was this guy?

Eliana’s mind struggled to grasp his identity.

But due to the haziness returning, it was difficult to hold onto her thoughts.

Eliana became annoyed with the man who was touching her cheek and swatted his hand away.

He looked sad.

But Eliana was already fed up with everything and didn’t pay any attention to him.

Then, the man grabbed the count by the collar with a fierce expression.

‘You must always be on your father’s side.’

The command echoed in her mind as if it had been branded there—clear and vivid. Not the count, but her father’s command.

Without hesitation, Eliana used magic on the man in front of her.

The man was quick. Sensing that moment, he pulled back just in time, so only her fingertips brushed against him.

Prickle.

Strange. The man was the one who should be hurt, yet why did her fingertips tingle?

The man looked at her fingers.

Upon closer inspection, she noticed that the man’s hand that touched her cheek was quite cold. 

Despite him being a stranger, his touch felt familiar.

‘Stop, don’t think any further.’

Eliana grew tired again and stopped thinking.

At that moment, her father appeared in the air. An unknown force was strangling him.

Mechanically, Eliana ran to him, trying to pull him down.

As her father struggled, her fingertips kept brushing against his kicking feet.

But Eliana paid no attention and fought against the intangible force to save her father.

The force seemed to sharpen as if it aimed to harm Eliana as well. 

And just as she started to feel some pain, she found herself enveloped in someone’s embrace.