Chapter 72

Chapter 72 – Prisons (2)

Translator: Lunarise

Editor: Larkspur

As Ivan looked around and whispered in his ear, Lustian was instantly alert. Of course, if Viola continued to hide her true face and pretend to be an ugly girl, it was obvious that the royals would lose interest in her very quickly.

However, Viola had a strange charm. He himself had taken notice of her before even seeing her true face… There was no telling whether other men wouldn’t feel the same.

“What you see isn’t everything. It’s possible for inner beauty to be revealed even if one tries to hide it. I think it’s a good thing that the other men don’t have the eyes to see it.”

As if thirsty, Lustian looked around for water. Downing it rapidly, he drank with such urgent need that some water ran down the sides of his mouth. He then threw the empty water vessel to the ground and loosened his shoulders from side to side, getting into a swordsmanship stance.

The swordsman he would fight against was not any of the Blood Army, but Ivan. The second prince had also come here to train.

Ivan grinned and pulled out his sword. The sword, which resonated with a sharp sound, was powerful enough to make every swordsman’s hairs stand on end.

“It’s been quite a while. Shall we begin?”

♛

Anne herself introduced the new arrival to the others. Viola lightly greeted each of the princesses she was introduced to. There were exactly five princesses that were captured in this palace as hostages. If the missing Guinev were added, there would be six.

Among them, she spotted a familiar face. Way back when they were still children, she had seen her when attending a major event in the Kingdom of Koronis. Though she wasn’t the queen’s daughter, she had met this girl back when she still had a half-royal status. Of course, this status had disappeared with her mother’s death…

The girl, impressively enough, seemed to remember her. She said, “It’s been over 13 years, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, it seems it has.”

“There was a rumor at one point that you were both dead.”

“Understandably so.”

At that time, the only person who died in the accident was their mother, but rumors circulated that all three of them had perished in the fire. Her mother had sacrificed herself to protect her two children from the fire. Even as her whole body melted in the fire, she kept her siblings safe until the end. One of those surviving children died in a bloody battle, and only one… Only Viola was left.

Emotions rose to her throat and choked her. Even though she was recalling events from long ago, retelling an old story from the past, she felt a needle in her throat. Viola looked at the princesses who were comfortably chatting together, different from herself. They were brought here as hostages but seemed pretty comfortable. To be fair, no matter how much they dwelled upon their fate, the only thing it could bring was depression. Instead, each of them enjoyed pleasure in this splendid prison. Though there were also princesses who didn’t do so…

Anne smiled as she looked at Viola. When the two pairs of eyes met in the air, their eyes automatically folded. At that moment, Viola’s gaze landed on the male attendants. They were obviously quite strong, and there were several of them.

“By the way, is it possible to have male servants in the Concubines’ Palace?”

“Ah, those are the attendants who help out the concubines. But really, rather than helping, what they do is watch us closely. If the concubines make a mistake, they are the ones that will be punished.” Anne explained.

“And that is—”

“They’ll be struck in our place. They may face harsh torture or even be killed. So, they don’t stop watching us. If we make a wrong move here, it’s their job to report it immediately.”

“I see.”

“Although that’s happened a few times in the past, we don’t make any wrong moves around here, so there won’t be any need for them to be punished. Don’t look so scared. As long as you’re not trying to escape, you’re free to do as you please. Hohoho.”

It was a matter of life or death, but she spoke of it so calmly.

“By the way, it’s been said that there are no volunteers willing to monitor the new concubine… In any case, I don’t know who’s going to apply, but I hope the servant overseeing you is a handsome one.”

It was just at that moment that the head maid, in charge of the goings-on here, approached Viola. The new overseer who had volunteered to watch Viola was standing next to her, and when Anne saw his face, she was shocked.

“Oh my! How can he be so handsome? Was there a knight that looked like this?”

It was Paul. How did Paul end up volunteering here? To have the position of watching over the princesses, shouldn’t it be one of the knights?

But after listening to the ladies a little more, Viola found out that even a servant with an insignificant status could volunteer to work here for a few gold coins. Paul’s and Viola’s eyes met in the air.

This is good. Paul… . It will be easier to move together.

Even though there was not a word exchanged, each could understand the other’s thoughts. At that moment, one of the princesses smiled and grabbed Viola’s hand.

“Tonight, we should have Princess Viola’s welcoming party. How does that sound? We can also invite the princes.”

“What?”

“Yes! That’s a great idea!”

“Definitely! Of course, we shall!”

Everyone cheered in approval at the idea of a welcoming party. But in Viola’s mind, the word ‘party’ reminded her of the orgy she had witnessed not long ago. Goosebumps ran down her spine. She didn’t want to see such a scene from her very first day at the Concubines’ Palace. Her eyes trembled. Then Anne, who was sitting next to her, whispered quietly to Viola.

“You should attend, even if you don’t want to. They won’t force you to do anything you don’t want.”

♛♛♛