“You all fail to understand the princess because you look at her with such biased eyes. You’re oblivious to her beauty, her charm, her virtues.”
Bainty snorted disdainfully, her lips twitching as though about to add something more.
Meiana spoke.
“Say one more bad word about the princess in my presence, and I’ll report every word to the Count immediately. Understood?”
Bainty glared at Meiana with disdain.
“Acting coy won’t get you anything. The Count could not care less.”
For a moment, an image of Sedilroy’s indifferent face flashed through Meiana’s mind. Seeing Arianate’s twisted ankle and saying, ‘Since you’re hurt, be good for a while’…
Though it was an old grievance, recalling it ignited her anger anew.
‘I should sit my parents down for a lesson.’
Meiana thought. However, the problem at hand wasn’t Sedilroy. A far more pressing issue was right in front of her… It was Grete.
Even when Grete brought her buttons, Meiana never doubted her. She only thought that Bainty had maliciously tormented Arianate.
But Bainty’s reaction… and her growing suspicion of the evasive Grete slowly redirected her thoughts.
Perhaps Bainty was merely a pawn in this, unaware that she was being used… Then the most likely culprit who locked Arianate in the storage was none other than Grete.
Summoning Bainty here today was to confirm that suspicion.
Having gathered her thoughts, Meiana looked at Bainty, whose lips were tightly pursed and cheeks puffed out.
“If what you say is true, Bainty.”
Bainty turned her scrawny face.
“Listen carefully from now on. This is really important. Whatever you’ve thought of the princess up to this point, you better start cooperating with me. Otherwise…”
Meiana’s voice dropped ominously, and Bainty seemed to swallow her fear. The eerie atmosphere of the forest on the west side intensified Meiana’s words.
“Otherwise, what!”
Meiana opened her eyes wide as if saying, ‘Don’t you understand?’
“If not, I will report every petty scheme you’ve hatched against the princess and every disrespectful thing you’ve done to the Count. Without omitting a single word. You understand? Even if no one in this household sides with the young princess, I’ll find a way to drive you out. Trust me on that.”
Bainty’s face turned red, then paled. It wasn’t just because Meiana, a newcomer, was being audacious. She sensed that Meiana could really do it… at least based on her recent actions.
People with temper recognize others of the same kind.
Bainty spoke.
“What do you want? You have to tell me properly what you want me to cooperate with!”
“Lower your voice. And remember exactly what I’m telling you.”
Meiana’s hand firmly grasped Bainty’s shoulder. For a brief moment, Bainty’s eyes widened and narrowed in succession.
And above their heads, through the dark window, a face pale as lime appeared briefly before vanishing.
“Where were you last night?”
Arianate, who had woken up early, looked at Meiana bringing the wash water and grumbled with an irritable tone.
When she had returned from her talk with Bainty, Arianate had been lying down, already asleep. She’d taken comfort in the girl’s soft snores as she put away her sewing, but she was certain Arianate had woken up at least once.
“Last night… um, I briefly went for a walk. Were you worried because I was gone?”
“No!”
Ariante blurted out before Meiana could even finish her sentence.
‘I did worry…’
Meiana thought.
She meticulously wiped Ariante’s face with a moist, soft cloth. Then she used a finely ground powder made of petals, pearls, and something resembling grain husks to help her wash her face.
While washing her face, Ariante obediently kept her eyes closed. However, after wiping away the moisture, she pursed her lips as if it was not over yet.
“You should have woken me up if you were going for a walk.”
“How could I wake you, your Highness, when you were asleep? Especially to go for a midnight stroll.”
“That’s still unfair! Going out alone.”
Meiana smiled helplessly as she organized the towels, basin, and various bottles filled with powder.
“Shall we go for a midnight stroll together next time? We could look at the stars.”
“Today? Are we going today?”
“No, not today.”
“Then when!”
Children can’t wait. If they want something, they want it decided immediately, right then and there. What could you expect from a stubborn child like Ariante?
However, Meiana already had another carrot to dangle.
“We’ll go for a night stroll later. For now, I have another place for us to go today.”
Ariante looked at Meiana skeptically but couldn’t completely suppress her curiosity.
“Where are we going? Huh? Where?”
Meiana smiled and affectionately patted Ariante’s cheek.
“Today, we are going for a carriage ride to have some fun. We’ll go toward the village, do some sightseeing, and have lunch.”
The territory of the Duke of Valterminster was large, mostly dedicated to wheat farming.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
