‘……Prince Cheston, Your Highness.’

Though he looked nothing like Prince Karl, just his aura alone revealed that he was indeed a prince. Even without the golden hair, I would have recognized him instantly.

With his gentle eyes and calm expression, unwavering even in this situation, Whitney felt overcome with guilt.

She should have desperately denied it when he shook his head at her then. If she had asked for paper, she wouldn’t be trapped in a place like this.

‘It’s because of me. Someone like him shouldn’t be in a place like this…’

Whitney couldn’t look him directly in the face. She lowered her head and pulled her knees to her chest.

“It’s not your fault, so erase it from your memory. There’s no need to feel guilty. I’m just sorry for dragging you into this mess.”

At those words, tears burst forth. Whitney shook her head and sobbed.

“…Are you crying? You’re the first person to cry for me.”

Whitney turned her head to look at Cheston. He leaned against the wall, blinking slowly as he stared at her intently. Seeing the smile spreading across his lips, Whitney felt a pang in her heart.

It felt like she was looking at herself. His expression, devoid of hope as if he had given up, made Whitney press her lips tightly together.

“Just nod if you’ve seen me. That’s all you need to do to get out of here. Well, it seems you’re in a similar situation as me. If you do get out, I hope you survive.”

As soon as Cheston finished speaking, he raised his hand to call the guard.

“This woman has confessed to seeing me, so let her go.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes, she won’t take it back, so don’t worry.”

Whitney shook her head. It didn’t feel right to leave like this. Even as she was dragged away by the knights, she kept her gaze fixed on Cheston.

For some reason, the welling tears wouldn’t stop.

And so, Whitney returned to the duke’s residence.

A few days later, Whitney received news that Cheston de Clifton, the Second Prince, had died.

[This is the timeline separator]

Please! Please……!

Whitney clutched her throat and wailed silently. If only her voice had come out, she might have been able to prevent Prince Cheston’s death.

His gentle voice, telling her it was alright and not to worry, still echoed clearly in her ears.

She couldn’t stop crying. She felt chilled to the bone by what she had done. She shouldn’t have believed those words. If she had insisted on his innocence until the end, he might have lived.

Prince Cheston’s death was her fault.

Whitney writhed in agony, clutching her throat. Why had her voice suddenly disappeared? No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand the cause.

No matter how hard she tried to shout or how much effort she put in, her voice simply wouldn’t come out.

‘…It’s because of me. *Sob* If only I had spoken properly…!’

A silent cry burst forth. She collapsed flat on the floor, convulsing with sobs and shedding tears.

Whitney couldn’t believe the tragedy that had occurred because of her. With her face streaked with tears, she staggered to her feet.

‘I must meet Prince Karl. I have to tell him to set things right. Surely His Highness will listen to me.’

Hadn’t he said he knew it was she, not Melissa, who had saved him? So if she asked him to clear Prince Cheston’s dishonor, he might help.

She hadn’t believed what he said because she thought Karl could never love someone as worthless as her, who had caused her father’s death.

Whitney, covered in misfortune and with nothing special about her. You must live with guilt for the rest of your life, they said, and that seeing her smile made them shudder as it reminded them of her dead father. She couldn’t even smile properly after that.

After her father died because of her, her life fell apart.

She could only nod along as her stepmother hurled abuse at her daily, saying everything was her fault. In this place where no one was on her side, there was no one Whitney could trust.

Even when she said it was just an accident, people only looked at her with cold eyes. They pointed fingers, calling her a terrible child who had jumped in front of the carriage out of jealousy.

But Karl had said he believed she had saved him, despite Melissa’s lies. So perhaps he would give her a chance to set things right.

Unlike others, he was the only one who had reached out to her.

Whitney opened the door and came out. As she headed straight for Melissa’s room, a maid blocked her way.

“Lady Whitney. Please come back later. Lady Melissa is with a guest. She’s not even in her room right now.”

She shook her head. If not now, it would be too late. She needed to go to the palace and meet the prince as soon as possible.

‘If it’s Melissa, it would be easier to meet Prince Karl, so I should go with her…’

Publicly, it was known that Melissa had saved Prince Karl, so she wanted to go with her.

[Tell my sister I have somewhere to go with her.]

“That’s not possible. I told you earlier, didn’t I? She’s not in her room right now and is with a guest. How could I interrupt such precious time?”

Whitney bit her lip. The maid’s dismissive tone and expression were clear. After her father passed away, no one in the Orlean duchy was on her side. Whitney quickly wrote on her notepad.

[Rael, it’s urgent. It’s a very important matter, so please tell her when the guest leaves.]

“Can’t you see I’m busy too? I’m taking the opportunity to clean while Lady Melissa is out.”

[I won’t leave until you pass on the message.]

Faced with Whitney’s firm attitude, Rael sighed heavily and took her note. Showing clear annoyance, Rael glanced at Whitney and said,

“I’ll pass it on, so please wait in your room. Don’t go looking for Lady Melissa and cause a disturbance. You don’t even know how important the guest is.”

Whitney watched the maid Rael’s retreating back and then stared at Melissa’s closed door for a moment.

‘An important guest? Come to think of it, she mentioned precious time earlier too…’

Many people visited Melissa. She was popular in social circles and always at the center of attention. It was Whitney who couldn’t approach people and always remained on the fringes.

“Stay away from the people I’m close to. Do you want to endanger them with your greed like you did with Father? That’s your problem. Why do you always covet what’s mine?”

“Everyone avoids you because they say becoming friends with you brings misfortune. It’s not that I’m stopping them, they avoid you because they dislike you. You should realize that. Why blame me for your own shortcomings? Poor Whitney. That’s why you’re alone.”

Everything was her fault.

This time too, if only she had spoken properly, if only she had testified to the end that it wasn’t true, Prince Cheston wouldn’t have died so miserably.

Whitney decided to return to her room and wait for Melissa as Rael had said.

The more she remained in a daze, the more anxious she became. She opened the window to catch her breath. At that moment, she noticed two people strolling in the garden.

‘……Prince Karl?’

Their eyes were full of love as they gazed at each other. Karl was gently caressing Melissa’s cheek and whispering something in her ear.

Tee-hee. Melissa’s laughter reached Whitney’s ears from beyond the window.

Every time Whitney saw Melissa’s smile, she was reminded of that day. Melissa was smiling beautifully, like a rose in full bloom in the garden.

‘When did His Highness arrive? If he came, why didn’t he look for me? More importantly, those two…’

She gripped the windowsill tightly as she took in the sight of the two. They looked so close that if anyone else saw, they would believe them to be lovers.

‘No, it can’t be what I’m thinking. Prince Karl said he loves me, not Melissa. He even kissed me… So this must be for show.’

Whitney felt a sharp pain in her heart. Unable to shake off an inexplicable uneasiness, she couldn’t take her eyes off the two.

The two, their laughter unceasing, finally faced each other. Karl caressed Melissa’s cheek and closed the distance between them. Then he kissed her.

She instinctively knew. That what Karl had done to her wasn’t a kiss filled with genuine feelings.

Melissa’s hands naturally wrapped around Karl’s neck. The two shared a deep kiss before entering the greenhouse. Whitney’s hands began to tremble.

‘It can’t be. He couldn’t have deceived me.’

Whitney lightly brushed her own lips with her hand. Then she immediately burst out of the room and headed for the greenhouse. She had to see with her own eyes.

Her steps towards the greenhouse grew faster and faster. Her breath quickened, and as she drew closer to where the two were, she became frightened. He was the only one who had ever reached out to her.

Finally reaching the back door of the greenhouse, she carefully grasped the handle and opened it.

The figures of the two appeared and disappeared repeatedly in the beautiful greenhouse full of blooming flowers.

Whitney’s steps halted abruptly at the sound of giggling laughter and breathless panting.

“Your Highness, did you really kiss Whitney?”

“I had to in order to make her take the drug. Thanks to you, Melissa, it was easy.”

“Mmm. But she won’t be voiceless forever. Your Highness, that tickles!”

“I don’t leave loose ends. Now that Mother has finally regained her smile, I must finish this. I need to safely become the heir so that you can be my consort.”

“Prince Karl…… mmm.”

Tears fell from Whitney’s eyes, drop by drop. All of this had been a plot to kill Prince Cheston. And she had been nothing more than a pawn in their plan.

She covered her mouth with her hand. Her voice still wouldn’t come out, and her chest felt like it was burning with pain.

She shook her head and stepped backwards. As the couple’s rough breathing filled the greenhouse, she tried to cover her ears and leave. She felt suffocated. All she wanted was to escape this place quickly.

The entangled figures of the two looked like monsters, and Whitney was terrified.

Her mind was filled with the thought that she must flee before they saw her.