Dewin, who had been following closely behind, was startled and almost leaped forward.
“Your Highness…! Are you alright?”
It wasn’t a wine baptism, but perhaps because I was often subjected to water dousings, I inadvertently responded as if it were nothing.
“Ah… I’m fine…”
Then, noticing the wine dripping from my hand onto the grass, I came to my senses.
The high-quality sky-blue dress was now hopelessly stained with wine and ruined beyond wear.
I remembered that I was here as the Duchess and quickly changed my expression.
“I’m just a bit… startled.”
Not sure how to interpret my flustered expression, Dewin nervously produced a handkerchief from his pocket. He then turned to address the perpetrator of the mishap.
Before Dewin could even speak, the instigator began shedding tears pitifully.
This left Dewin in an awkward situation, having done nothing wrong.
I stared at the trembling woman, her hands shaking.
“I’m so sorry, Your Highness… I’ve made a terrible mistake…”
The woman standing before me with a pale face as if she was the one drenched in wine was, unbelievably, Veronica.
Veronica was not one to make such a ludicrous mistake. Leaving aside the story in the novel, just recalling what I had observed of her was enough.
So, the current incident seemed to be a deliberate act of malice by Veronica, much like the repeated harassment she inflicted on Iris in the original story.
Between Casien’s lingering gaze and Veronica’s sudden behavior…
For a moment, I thought something was seriously wrong.
‘Does Casien still think he has feelings for me?’
Even if Casien hadn’t lost interest in me, there was no love in that attention. It was affection that never existed in the first place.
But such a ridiculous misunderstanding seemed to be the result of my choices affecting not only Casien but also Veronica.
It seemed to be one of the consequences I would have to accept, whether I liked it or not.
Casien’s lack of affection for me would become apparent over time…
‘Let’s quickly send her away before she causes more trouble.’
Recognizing that this was a consequence I had to face did not mean I wanted to be entangled with a malicious Veronica.
“I’m so sorry, Your Highness. I’ve made a terrible mistake.”
“Don’t cry, Lady Flona. I’m fine.”
“But, Your Highness’s dress…”
“It was a mistake. It’s okay…”
“But…! I can’t leave like this, feeling so…”
“Lady Flona. You may leave now. Really.”
Despite my repeated rejections, Veronica hesitated to leave. Then suddenly, she stepped closer to me.
“Your Highness… allow me to make amends for my mistake-.”
However, the quick-witted Dewin firmly blocked Veronica, who was trying to approach further.
“Lady Flona…! Leave the matter to me and return to the banquet hall.”
“Yes, you should go back now, Veronica. I’m really fine.”
“…If that is Your Highness’s wish, I will leave.”
Reluctantly bowing her head, Veronica looked pitiful. But for a brief moment when our eyes met, I flinched.
The emotion briefly crossing Veronica’s eyes was unmistakably malice.
After successfully sending Veronica away, I went with Dewin to the guest lounge on the second floor of the Britian Palace, designated for VIPs.
Fortunately, the lounge was empty. Dewin left to find a dress for me to change into.
I approached the window and looked out at the lake, its borders blurred due to the dark sky.
Iris, delivering her thanks to the people from the stage set up over the lake, came into view.
She stood on the stage, surrounded by her trusted servants and knights, unaware that it was all a carefully laid trap by the Empress.
Soon, when Iris lights the candle, the stage will collapse immediately, and she will fall into the lake.
I clenched and unclenched my hands in anxiety.
‘I know, but there’s nothing I can do…’
After this incident, a significant change comes over Iris, who had been naively optimistic about her first entry into the palace.
This event was meant to awaken the protagonist, but the problem was that there was no one at the banquet hall to save Iris.
The knights guarding the hall and the servants standing by were virtually the possessions of the Empress. And to expect the nobles to rescue her?
That was out of the question. The guests invited were either nobles of the Empress’s faction, carefully selected by her for this day, or nobles from insignificant families with little influence.
That’s why Casien was so necessary today.
‘Where on earth is Casien at a time like this…!’
I wasn’t looking for him just because that’s what happened in the original.
The only person not on the Empress’s guest list at this banquet hall. A noble not part of the Empress’s faction, powerful enough not to fear the Empress’s hatred.
In fact, one of those who would thwart the Empress’s plans.
Casien was the only one who fit all these criteria at this banquet hall.
I pressed my face to the window, searching the crowd for a man with black hair and red eyes, but…
No matter where I looked in the banquet hall, Casien was nowhere to be seen.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
