Chapter 43. The Protagonist of a Life Turnaround

2023.11.12.

Yuan stared blankly up at his eyes, undulating like waves.

……What did I just hear?

As she tried to sort out her confused thoughts, each word he had chosen and spoken was enough to make Yuan’s face flush.

‘Are you really worried about me?’

Yuan strained to find sincerity in Clade’s pupils.

Was this the same man who had coldly told her not to overstep his boundaries?

The one who let her freely take servants and leave the mansion to bury his dog.

The one who still let her enter his bedroom late—later than their daily promised time—drenched like a wet mouse.

‘Did you let me go so easily today because you thought sharing a bed with me would be difficult? Is that why you’re angry now?’

Yuan stood there, momentarily feeling as if she’d been struck hard on the back of the head.

When Yuan didn’t avert her gaze, this time it was Clade whose face turned red.

Her body still trembled from the lingering cold, but her heart swelled with a warm light.

Yuan grabbed Clade’s arm and led him toward the mirror, which had been hidden behind a large flowerpot.

As she did, she absorbed much of the lingering pain still present on his face.

Though still uneven, his face was far cleaner than when Lancelot had last been startled by it.

Yuan urged his gaze, which had been fixed on the hand she held, toward the mirror.

“Does it disgust Your Highness?”

Instead of the mirror, he stared at Yuan.

Yuan tugged harder on his arm, shaking it.

“Is it really that unbearable to look at? Not nearly as bad as Your Highness thinks?”

Clade hesitated, then slowly turned his eyes toward the mirror.

Suddenly, the body that had passively followed snapped rigid with tension.

Yuan suppressed the pain she had drawn from him and gazed at his reflection.

This was already a decent face—decent enough that one could easily excuse it as just lingering marks from childhood illness.

A few more times, and even if not all suffering could be erased, at least the traces of pain on his face would become clean.

If this scar was truly the greatest reason holding him back, Yuan was more than willing to bear it.

Considering he had nearly been shot to death, pierced by arrows, simply for being connected to her, this pain was certainly bearable.

Pain and screams could be buried deep in the chest, taken out quietly when alone.

That way, guilt would lessen, and his face would grow clean.

And if Clade could just once stand in this beautifully tended garden—in the west wing, now as clean as the scars on his face had been erased—and smile at her…

If things could simply flow that way, then no matter how cold his words might be,

Yuan felt she could live gratefully, thankful for the new family and home she had found.

Even without him endlessly asking ‘why?’, they could simply become family—naturally close.

“I wish Your Highness could live like other people.”

Yuan wanted to live like others.

An imperfect family. Even a household everyone pointed to as desolate.

She wanted it.

Yes, Yuan Pelliese wanted these things.

Not a place where she suffered miserably, exploited by strangers brought in by her uncle.

But here—where even if there was pain, she had chosen it herself, and where she could feel fulfilled if the other person felt even a little happiness.

She wished he would rely on her. Accept her kindness, share his pain, and accept her as family.

Not push her away with a single phrase like “don’t overstep,” leaving her isolated like a lonely island.

She wanted them to be close, sharing warmth—even if it meant sharing some pain.

Not tormenting herself with foolish thoughts like “Does he like me?” or “Is my behavior pleasing?”

She wished he would reveal his original beautiful face under the bright sun, look at her, and smile without hesitation.

“It’s foolish not to rely on me when you can.”

“…….”

“Ordinary people… everyone else lives that way. Whether it’s a trivial medicine or an expensive one, if it stops the pain, they’ll gladly drink it. No matter the side effects.”

“Side effects.”

“To Your Highness, those side effects seem to manifest as doubting me—doubting that I’m truly okay with this.”

“…….”

“It’s far too late into the night, Your Highness.”

If Clade was not to doubt her ability, even if she had already taken today’s share of his pain, she still needed to make him drink tea and touch him in ritual.

“If Your Highness sees yourself as repulsive, what if we pretend I didn’t go wash myself?”

It was a clumsy provocation.

Clade seemed to have many things he wanted to say.

So Yuan opened her mouth first, as if to silence him.

“Let’s live like that.”

“…….”

“Like ordinary people. Like everyone else.”

Yuan handed Clade the medicine bottle she had kept close.

Clade stared at the bottle for a long while, then swallowed it as if drinking poison.

Then he stood still, staring intently into the mirror—at her, looking like a pitiful, drenched mouse.

Yuan glanced at his lips, slightly stained with brown medicine, then slowly wrapped her arms around his back from behind.

By now, Yuan’s warmth—slightly dried and warmed—enveloped his back.

Clade’s eyes blinked slowly.

Yuan continued drawing out a little more pain, watching until the very end as his eyes, straining to resist sleep, finally fluttered shut.

***

“Miss Regina. What is that?”

“Oh, look at me—supposed to have put it away.”

“That wouldn’t happen to be a personal letter from the First Prince, would it?”

Regina pretended to tidy up Bollonico’s greeting letter—one she had intentionally left out—and secretly smiled.

A small stir arose among the young ladies, barely in their twenties.

Regina had recently been hosting tea parties almost daily in preparation for the upcoming debutante ball at the Imperial Palace.

At this moment, rumors were quietly spreading that a young lady, not yet formally debuted into society, had caught the eye of the First Prince, Bollonico.

At first, Regina had felt uneasy, as if she were spreading lies by riding on the First Prince’s favor.

But as if to soothe her unease, the First Prince Bollonico had been quite proactive.

“Is it true, Miss Regina, that the First Prince personally gifted you not only the dress for the debutante ball, but also your shoes and all your hair accessories?”

“I heard you two attend music salons in the capital every week—has something new happened lately?”

The rumors spread quickly and widely.

The First Prince Bollonico didn’t bother sending letters secretly, nor did he react when exaggerated or entirely fabricated stories circulated.

Regina was the same.

“How embarrassing. All I can say is that when friendships form through genuine connection, rumors differing from reality sometimes spread.”

The scandal with the First Prince was a boon for Regina.

Her mother, Priscilla, had originally been the daughter of a merchant family and thus subtly looked down upon in high society.

But the moment the First Prince became linked to her daughter, noble families with previously lofty pride began inviting them to tea parties one after another, leaving her mother ecstatic these days.

Naturally, speculation spread that Regina Pelliese would be the most talked-about debutante at the upcoming Imperial Palace ball.

In short, Regina’s value was skyrocketing, riding on the name of the First Prince Bollonico.

Even Count Pelliese, her father, was managing to get through a difficult period caused by Yuan’s absence.

That, too, was thanks to Bollonico’s influence.

“At this rate, might Her Royal Highness Ariesta be the one to have her engagement broken?”

“Oh, strictly speaking, it wouldn’t be ‘broken,’ would it? They never held an engagement ceremony.”

“They say true love comes late. Perhaps they simply weren’t meant to be.”

Regina, wishing she could sip sweet juice instead of bland tea, strained to catch every word.

‘Princess Ariesta.’

When Igor Euphris became Emperor, the position of Northern Grand Duke he had held was inherited by Count Drietter, now Grand Duke Drietter.

Ariesta was his only daughter—once a count’s lady, she had instantly become a grand duchess, the protagonist of a life turnaround.

For a brief moment, Regina thought her own situation resembled that of Princess Ariesta and chuckled softly.

After all, she herself was also the protagonist of a life turnaround—from commoner to noble lady.

“Perhaps for Princess Ariesta, the First Prince was the true love who arrived late? Originally, the Princess was meant for the Deposed Crown Prince—.”

The moment the Deposed Crown Prince was mentioned, the tea party atmosphere grew heavy.

Regina straightened her back, eyes sparkling with interest.

“Was there something between Princess Ariesta and the Deposed Crown Prince?”

“They were originally engaged—since very long ago. And they got along well.”

“So then what happened? The moment His Highness became Deposed, Princess Ariesta—.”

A young lady fond of gossip lowered her voice further, whispering.

“It’s a famous anecdote—she went to visit him when ill, screamed, and fled from that mansion.”

Sighs of pity and stifled giggles. Regina, excited by this new information, struggled to hide her reaction.

“And immediately after, rumors spread that the Grand Duchess had become the fiancée of His Highness Bollonico, cousin to that man. But in truth, it turned out to be false. Perhaps the First Prince’s true love is someone else entirely—.”

Celestina, a noble lady who had sat primly as if refusing to join the gossip, narrowed her eyes at Regina and spoke.

“Miss Regina, wasn’t it at that ‘Black Mansion’s’ wedding anniversary party that you first met Prince Bollonico?”

The mysterious wedding party held at the Black Mansion had been an exclusive event, allowing only select guests—something that made Regina hold her head higher.

Even the Celestina Dukedom, a close family to the Emperor, had attended, though she’d heard the Duke himself refused to bring his daughter to such a dangerous place as Roxenhardt.

“That’s right.”

“Is the Deposed Crown Prince truly that hideous? And how is the Deposed Crown Princess, your cousin, Miss Regina?”

Regina set down the teacup she had only pretended to drink from and opened her mouth confidently.

“As for the Deposed Crown Prince—.”