Chapter 877 – Day 99 – What Decision Does the Princess Make?
The princess hated the Royal Mistress.
Just as when you ask a person why she hates cockroaches, she answers ‘because they’re gross’, the reason the princess hates the Royal Mistress is also similar.
I just don’t like it. I don’t understand the words and actions. It’s so cruel.
She said, ‘I thought the Royal Mistress was an evil and vicious seductress who could sit around and talk endlessly about bad things…’
A being like that is ashamed of being treated like a mother by Hedone?
Feeling like she had experienced something impossible, the princess took her last steps and arrived at a new floor.
“It’s not perfect, but it’s still what I expected.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look at the artwork on display in the hallway, stupid princess.”
Unlike the extremely nervous princess, Hedone was relaxed.
‘It’s not someone else’s but Hedone’s words… Let’s see if we can stay calm.’
As Hedone said, the princess looks at the artwork hanging in the hallway.
Although she did not have great knowledge, the princess was able to at least recognize right away that the ‘frame’ was a very expensive one. She was a frame made of ‘gold’ to begin with, so she didn’t need much knowledge.
“Aren’t the paintings hanging here and there ultimately not much different from the paintings in the room we came up to?”
“Yes, that’s right, Princess Heojeop. As you said, the paintings in that room and the paintings here are the same.”
“Hmm… Then what on earth did Hedone expect? Aren’t there pictures of Abama or the Royal Mistress everywhere you look?”
The princess narrowed her eyes and looked at her painting.
“The paint looks quite expensive, but…”
The princess naturally furrowed her eyebrows, knowing full well that Hedone would never say something like this.
“Look at the picture itself, Princess Heojeop.”
“Ugh, even if you say so. Aren’t all the pictures here… Forgeries?”
The princess was so cruel and simple, she knew from the beginning.
Even Ceres, who was standing behind her, nodded her head.
“That’s right. I copied a famous work of art that no one knows about in the Empire where the sun never sets, and changed the characters to Emperor Jupiter and the Royal Mistress herself.”
“That’s why I didn’t feel it was worth looking at closely.”
“But think the other way around, stupid princess.”
Hedone smiled and pointed to a picture.
“What do you think of this picture?”
“If you ask me how it is, isn’t it just Abama and the Royal Mistress walking in an ordinary beautiful garden?”
“Is that right? The picture here is of us having dinner together. How does it look from here?”
“No matter what they look like? Aren’t they just Abama and Royal Mistress enjoying a normal swim?”
After speaking, the princess naturally tilted her head.
“Wait a minute…”
At this point, Ceres also began to understand the Royal Mistress’s mental state.
“Princess, all the paintings here…”
“A good time between lovers… A fun date… A happy family… Isn’t that the theme?”
The princess looked at Hedone with an expression of uncertainty.
“Royal Mistress, no way! Does she really ‘like’ these things and hang them here?”
“Yes, she is a woman who would go on a cruel ‘concubine hunt’ for Emperor Jupiter, but what she wanted was neither gold nor silver treasures nor the fame of being a cruel woman who would set the whole world on fire.”
“Really… No, seriously…”
The princess sighs deeply, pressing her forehead with her right hand.
“There’s no way that could happen…”
“The princess…”
“Abama, that is. Her biological child… Of course, there is a possibility that she is not, but in any case, she is someone who has not given me proper love even to myself.”
The princess had a very bitter expression.
“Did you want someone like that to have such a peaceful, ordinary family and the love that could come from a husband? Did you do such cruel things as if it were natural for someone who wanted that kind of love?”
The Princess could not say that she understood the Royal Mistress perfectly.
However, as she was suffering, she walked all the way and the moment she entered the room at the end of the hallway, she was even more at a loss for words.
Unlike the hallways and rooms on the first floor, the ‘Emperor’s Concubines’ were not on display here.
“These are good books.”
The princess, in a strange mood, carefully placed her hand on her densely lined bookshelf.
“From an ordinary love story to a soft fairy tale. You won’t find cruel and scary stories anywhere.”
“I see. Ah, princess. Have you read this book? It is a book that contains rules of etiquette that must never be violated in the imperial palace.”
“Oh, is that annoying guy here too?! When I was attending the academy, Ceres scolded me to memorize everything!”
As the princess spoke with a smile, Ceres cleared her throat for a moment.
“Princess. I think you should look at this balcony.”
At Ceres’ cautious words, the princess nodded and headed to her balcony, holding her hand with Hedone.
“Wow. I thought I went up from the 1st floor to the 2nd floor, but it looks like it’s actually about the 3rd floor.”
There was a pink will and table.
A white steaming kettle, cakes, and snacks were prepared so that you could enjoy the tea party at any time.
─♬
The moment the princess and Hedone arrived at the balcony, a beautiful singing voice was heard from the space overlooking the balcony.
“Isn’t this the sound of a violin?”
“Oh my… I don’t think the violin is important, princess.”
There were ’emperor’s concubines’ under the balcony.
They were dancing like puppets to the sound of the violin.
In the center of a huge space that felt empty, there was a Royal Mistress playing the violin with a calm expression and slightly tilted head.
“If it’s strange, it’s strange…”
“This is how they were making concubines for the emperor.”
The beautiful sound of the violin did not easily stop. Did Mistress not know of the possibility that the princess and Hedone would come up here?
The two briefly heard the song played by Mistress.
‘That’s hilarious. When I quietly listen to this song, I feel sad. Doesn’t the magic of this song have the power to make people not human?’
How does the emperor’s concubine die in the end?
The princess, who knew that better than anyone else, smiled bitterly.
“Ah.”
The moment the violin performance ended, Hedone and Mistress made eye contact.
─Ji, Jijijing!
The Royal Mistress, who instantly moved to the balcony without even tearing the space, looked down at the princess and Hedone.
“I thought you went back, but why did you come up here?”
“Our story was never over in the first place, right?”
The princess shrugged her shoulders and lightly patted Hedone on the back.
“Hedone still has something to say to you.”
“… I invited you as an honored guest, but it’s okay now.”
The Royal Mistress stepped back and spoke.
“If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out.”
Resignation and sadness.
The Royal Mistress had feelings she shouldn’t have.
‘If you feel strange about the subject of a mountain of unforgivable sins…’
The princess had a headache and rubbed her face with her hands.
‘What on earth are you thinking now! Venus!’
Unlike the confused princess, Hedone was calmly seating the Royal Mistress in her chair.
“You did a great job preparing the tea party, right? As an honored guest, I can’t help but enjoy this.”
“… Are you sincere?”
“What girl doesn’t like fragrant tea and delicious desserts?”
The princess crossed her arms as she watched Hedone faithfully and politely give the Royal Mistress a ‘chance’.
‘What if…’
Looking at the evil and vicious Mistress, the princess falls into endless agony.
‘If we should never give the Royal Mistress a single chance just because she is evil and has accumulated unforgivable sins…’
The princess glanced at Ceres who pulled out her chair and sat down in her seat.
She ended up enjoying the tea party prepared by the Mistress, but the princess didn’t pay attention to the tea and dessert.
‘What do you do with Ceres? Even though she was cursed by Evethera, she didn’t do anything wrong, did she? Also, what about Eve Terra? If you don’t even need to give them a chance because they’re evil, then what about the women I’ve forgiven so far?’
If you defeat her emperor, the princess becomes emperor.
She becomes the most omnipotent being in the empire where the sun never sets, and can accomplish countless tasks with just a snap of her fingers.
That’s why.
The princess did not want to make any exceptions to the path she was taking.
‘… Let’s think calmly, Venus! Think and think again! Is there any difference between the Royal Mistress, who turned countless girls into works of art and puppets to become the emperor’s concubines, and the countless girls I have forgiven so far?!’
The princess takes a deep breath as she sees the sweet, warm scent of tea in front of her.
The princess clenched her fists as she looked at herself reflected in the clear teacup that had not even burned her milk.
‘Why is Ceres okay but Royal Mistress not?’
The princess is in agony.
‘Why do you think you can hug Eve Terra but never hug the Royal Mistress?’
The princess hopes that there will be no darkness on her path.
‘Even though she was brainwashed by demons, is it true that she used the lives of her people as meat shields?’
After much thought, the princess came to her conclusion.
‘I still hate the Royal Mistress.’
That was an obvious fact.
As for the princess, she still feels uncomfortable being the Royal Mistress.
She didn’t want to get involved.
“Royal Mistress.”
“… Yes, Crown Princess Venus Holympia.”
It was Mistress who was enjoying the tea party suggested by Hedone in a very awkward way.
“I am willing to forgive you for your sins at any time if you admit your sins and free the girls imprisoned in this castle.”
“?”
“Don’t look at me with such strange eyes. I’m speaking from the heart. Didn’t you also choose this twisted path because you didn’t receive Abama’s love? I’ll fill in that part for you. So please…”
The princess, who hated hot tea, said as she poured the ice that Ceres had made with her magic into her cup.
“Cooperate with me. Admit your sins. I will try my best to persuade the other nobles in the Dukedom of Altema. Even if you have committed sins so far, there is no law against committing sins in the future, right? Let’s atone together. Kuna.”
The princess smiled and spoke with a heart full of light.
“You’re saying something strange.”
Unlike the princess, the Royal Mistress swirled her spoon to make the tea full of milk and drank it without a smile.
“I haven’t committed any sins. Do I need to atone or admit my sins? Crown Princess Venus Holympia?”
There was no malice or sarcasm on the face of the Royal Mistress as she answered.
