CH 102

The maid’s eyes shook as if she was greatly embarrassed by my words. She hesitated to speak. 

“I apologize, Princess.” 

“Huh?”

“She said she’s a very close friend of yours so I had already shown her to the drawing-room. She also showed a Lagrange card.”  

Falls.

In the middle of speaking, the maid fell down on her face in front of me. I bent down surprised at the sight of her trembling on her knees. 

“How could I ever atone for this crime? I deeply apologize!” 

The maid’s face turned pale as she imagined the severe punishment I would lay on her. 

“No, I don’t mean to be angry.” 

Feeling a bit bitter, I scratched my cheek and Lancel stepped forward, raising her up. 

“Lucy! I already told you that this isn’t the same Lagrange as before!” 

“Pardon? But you clearly told us that if the princess looked like she hated you it would be difficult to work in the castle —” 

“That’s correct, but our lady has a golden heart.” 

I swallowed the words I was about to say at Lancel’s hyperbole. He shook Lucy’s shoulders with an exasperated face.

“I’m telling you that you don’t have to tremble as if you’ve met a villain.”

“Is, is that so? But my cousin’s tongue had been cut off while he was working in Nature!” 

Lagrange had originally been harsh toward the servants. There was an unwritten rule not to kill them, but thanks to the successor game which involved children and adults alike, everyone was standing on edge. 

‘I don’t even have to think about how a trash like Derek had treated them.’

“What’s the point of cutting off your tongue? How disgusting. At any rate, that guest is currently in the drawing-room, right?”

“Yes, Princess. Shall I send out the knights?” 

It was a tempting offer, but if I did that, it would just be made into an excuse for Hermann to step forward saying his friend, Charlotte, had been treated unkindly. 

‘I haven’t made any plans yet, so it there was already trouble it would be problematic.’ 

With complicated feelings, I got up from my seat after rubbing my hand on my face. I had already expected Charlotte to follow us to Lagrange anytime soon, so seeing her arrive at our doorstep wasn’t surprising. 

‘Since she’s so stubborn, there’s no way she wouldn’t use being a royal guest as an excuse.’

Because she was a responsible saint who had to fulfill the prophecy of God. 

“No. I’ll go to the drawing-room.”

“Yes, Princess!”

The aura of the maid that answered was filled with green color, feeling moved. I walked out of the greenhouse with a smiling sigh. 

My private drawing-room, which Lancel – I wondered if there was a corner in the castle which he hasn’t touched upon –  put special effort into, was characterized by marble columns crafted with beautiful roses, and beyond the columns, I could see a beautiful woman more gorgeous than sculptures of flowers. 

“Anissa!”

She greeted me with a beaming face, having no doubts that I would welcome her.

‘Does she have amnesia?’ 

I wondered what the hell she was thinking as she was smiling like that when she had told the emperor and the nobles that I was the culprit who had harmed Dorothea. I couldn’t help but let out a wry laugh. 

Charlotte got up from the sofa with a bewildered face when I stopped at the threshold of the drawing-room without coming close to her. 

“Anissa? It’s me. Charlotte.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Why are you just standing there?”

“Charl, there’s something I want to ask.” 

I beckoned the maid who had been following me for a tea and approached her. 

“Do you perhaps enjoy eating crow meat?”

“Excuse me?!” 

Charlotte’s face was painted with shock as if I had said some terrible curse words. She shook her head, jumping out of her skin. 

“No! I don’t eat meat as much as I can.” 

For saying that, you sure had eaten a lot of mince pie during the hunting competition, was what I wanted to say but that wasn’t important. I let out a long sigh. 

“I’m saying it because you seemed to have forgotten what you’ve done so easily.”

“What did I do?”

“Charl, don’t you remember pushing me to be the culprit who had harmed Countess Dorothea?” 

“Anissa.” 

Charlotte turned pale at my question and grabbed my hand.

‘Crying again?’

I looked down unimpressed at the hot tears dripping down the back of my hand. 

“Anissa, it seems you’re really hurt. I’m sorry.”

“The problem isn’t me being hurt–”

It’s that your audacity is so astounding! 

However, Charlotte interrupted me and continued. 

“But, I can’t lie. I’m Vallandia’s saintess. I can’t hide the fact that you summoned a demon.” 

“It was also you who claimed that there were traces of darkness left by the bears, Charl.” 

Of course, the culprits who had organized the matter must have been the Duke and Duchess of Euclid. Whether Charl had intended it or not, it was clear that she had helped them. 

“That was also the truth, you know? I’m a saint whose lips could only pronounce the truth. It was inevitable, Anissa.”

“Saintess, my butt.” 

If it were me, I wouldn’t be that saint. I glanced hatefully at the restless Charlotte with the face of being unfairly accused. 

“Nevermind. What did you come to Lagrange for?”

“I came here to fulfill the obligation I swore with His Grace. I want to take care of the people of the North.” 

The moment Charlotte said she would fulfill her noble obligation, her fair face looked really holy. 

I took a half-step back because I felt that she was even touching my aura. 

“Are you saying you’re going to find a member of the Solis Church in the territory?”

“Yes.”

“Do whatever you want. However, I don’t want you to look for me or Dietrich again.” 

Lagrange territory was a vast territory occupying half of the northern region, and I didn’t have any intentions to leave the castle anytime soon. 

‘If we don’t meet with each other, there’s no reason for us to be at war with each other.’ 

I felt at ease and shook off the hand that she was still holding.

“Anissa, I already explained the situation but it seems you’re still upset. Are you disappointed in me?” 

“Disappointment only happens when there is expectation.” 

I replied coldly and placed my lips on the teacup that the maid had brought. Not long after talking with Charl, the tea was already hot. 

“All right. I understand Anissa has some negative feelings toward me. But what right do you have to tell me that I shouldn’t see His Grace?” 

Charl followed me and sipped her tea, and showed a rare frown. I watched indifferently her white aura flicker slightly. 

“Why do you want to meet Dietrich?”

“Anissa, you don’t understand. He and I are —” 

She clamped her lips as if to contemplate rather than talk. I silently watch her plump lips twitch. 

I already knew that Dietrich and Charlotte were connected by prophecy. 

I knew, so I had been watching everything closely. Dietrich was precious to me, and I believed that Charlotte would save him later. It was the original setting.

‘But do I have to stick to the original myself?’

Many things have already changed ever since I was born as Anissa. 

The triplets hadn’t died, and Dietrich already knows that I’m not his real sister but he’s still warm-hearted as ever. 

‘We won’t need Charlotte if he doesn’t get sealed in the first place.’

It won’t be easy to reverse a victory or a defeat, but I couldn’t trust the female protagonist of ‘Their War of Roses’ anymore. 

I wasn’t certain that the salvation Charlotte was talking about was really a salvation for Dietrich. Her definitions of good and evil were much too different from mine. 

“Dietrich and I are destined, Anissa.”

“I’m sorry, Charlotte, but I don’t believe in destiny.” 

I once believed it, but not anymore. At my words, Charlotte bit her lips to the point that they bled. 

“I’m saying this for your sake, Anissa. If you come in between us, something bad will happen to you. It is rebellion against the path that God has guided.”

“Something bad?”  

As I murmured softly, Charl nodded and opened her bloodstained lips. As if determined, her low voice seized me. 

“Yes. Something really terrible might happen to you. Hera’s immeasurable power is enough even to frighten me.” 

No matter how much she put on a terrifying expression, she still appeared gentle so I wasn’t particularly scared. But Charlotte did her best and began to scare me. 

“Even your shadow demons are useless in the face of Hera’s wrath. Even worse, Lagrange could be destroyed!”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

“Yes! I don’t want to see you suffer, Anissa. Even now when I close my eyes, I can see Anissa’s terrible future! Kyaa!” 

I jumped out of my seat, startled at Charlotte’s scream while in the middle of speaking. Her hair, floating in the air, shook my side to side as if someone had seized it. 

‘Wind…?’

A strong wind was coming through from the open window of the drawing-room. 

“Veronica!” 

The source of the wind that didn’t match the warm weather was the flapping of the griffin’s wings. 

“Who is this to say that your future is terrible?” 

After stepping on the horned demon’s face and stepping down into the drawing-room, Veronica became very temperamental. 

“You sure say that with a large mouth. Do you want to die? Who are you?”

“Kyaa! Ughhh!” 

Veronica grabbed Charlotte’s hair and shook it wildly. At her rough movements, Charlotte was dragged around with a feeble scream. 

“Sister!”

“Yeah? This crazy bitch! Who are you to tell my pretty little sister that her future is terrible, huh?!” 

“S-sister! Please let go of her hair first!” 

‘The sister with the supporting role is going to kill the female protagonist!’ 

I ran to her in astonishment.