My head was spinning.
What did toppling the royal family even mean? And why was the princess collaborating in this act of treason?
It hurt my head even more because I hadn’t anticipated that Abel would come up with such a plan. Adelle closed her eyes for a moment.
Let me just think about her question.
“Are you truly on Abel’s side?”
The meaning of the question was simple; would she be willing to collaborate in treason against the royal family?
While it might have been possible to lie to get out of the situation, Adelle didn’t think that would satisfy her.
Most importantly, this meeting was being kept secret.
This late-night meeting, carefully arranged with a disguise carriage, was being meticulously concealed. It was likely that this meeting was set up so painstakingly just to ask her this question.
‘The lie won’t work.’
Her instincts as a reincarnated individual were telling her that – lying here could cost her her life. She hadn’t anticipated that this would be a tiger’s den. Her mental state had grown lax recently since her last death and regression.
“I don’t have much patience.”
The princess spoke with a smirk, but behind the smile, there was an icy chill. This wasn’t the time to be lost in thought and regret. Adelle needed to respond earnestly.
‘What’s my true intention?’
Could she trust Abel enough to be on his side?
She didn’t know him well. A merciless man who viewed others as mere tools for achieving his own goals, yet also somewhat playful, teasing her at every chance.
He had saved her when she was nearly dead and had even reprimanded her. They were engaged, though more by contract, yet he had faithfully aided her.
There had to be a reason for him trying to overthrow the royal family. If she could firmly understand his motives, she would willingly cooperate with Abel.
It wasn’t blind trust. That would be impossible and inappropriate.
But for now, it seemed sufficient.
“It depends on the reason.”
“…Reason?”
The princess tilted her head inquisitively, and Adelle, suppressing the trembling in her hands, continued.
“Yes. If I can understand why he wants to take down the royal family…”
She nodded resolutely.
“I will be on Abel’s side.”
The princess scrutinized Adelle’s face intently, as if trying to peer into her soul. Although Adelle felt uneasy, she didn’t avert her gaze. The princess eventually smirked.
“Not a hundred percent, but…you pass.”
“Pass?”
“If you had told lies…”
The air grew chillingly cold. Around the princess, a chilling aura of malice appeared. Dark blades hovered around her, not quite magic but closer to a curse.
If Adelle had lied, her throat might have been pierced by those blades. The thought made her shiver, and she instinctively wiped her arms.
“Well, it’s fortunate that you weren’t lying.”
“Was it lying?”
“Yes, I dislike lies immensely.”
With a wave of her hand, the dark blades disappeared. Adelle inwardly sighed in relief, confirming her intuition was correct.
The princess rested her chin on her hand and observed Adelle,
“Are you curious why Abel wants to overthrow the royal family?”
“Yes, depending on his reasons, my cooperation will depend on that.”
The princess looked at Adelle with interest. Despite the nervousness, Adelle remained determined to hold her ground. The princess found this audacity intriguing.
“It’s lucky for you. You don’t need to worry.”
Separately, the princess wasn’t concerned about Adelle refusing to cooperate. Once she saw the atrocities the royal family had committed throughout history, she’d surely understand there were countless reasons for the royal family to fall.
“What do you mean?”
“Well…”
The princess smiled mysteriously.
“I won’t tell you. I might be deceiving you with lies to lure you in.”
Essentially, a warning not to trust her. Adelle was puzzled as to why the princess said such things.
“Investigate the reality of the royal family yourself. You can consider this my next test.”
“Understood.”
With that, Adelle stood up.
“Leaving already?”
“Yeah, as you said, I need to investigate myself.”
“A shame. I was looking forward to talking a bit more.”
The princess mumbled thoughtfully.
“Well, are you not curious about Abel?”
“Not particularly…”
Shaking her head, Adelle replied, and the princess grinned.
“For example, his underwear preferences…”
“Nice talking with you.”
Bang!
“Oh, she left.”
Closing the door forcefully and leaving immediately, the princess chuckled. She didn’t expect Adelle to be so easily embarrassed by a simple joke. She seemed innocent in a way that made her easy to tease unlike Abel.
‘Seems like she has some affection.’
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so oversensitive. It was uncertain if Abel reciprocated her feelings, given how difficult it was to imagine him falling in love.
‘This is getting interesting.’
—
Under the soft glow of the moonlight, within the rose garden where white and red hues mingled mysteriously, Adelle sat at a table.
Though the air was cold, she stayed warm thanks to her fur coat. It was her usual solitary tea time.
“Huff…”
She sipped her tea to clear her busy mind. Opening her eyes, she noticed Lily fidgeting beside her.
“Is something wrong, Lily?”
“Um, if you’re worried about something… even if I can’t help, I can at least be here. You can take a moment to breathe.”
“Thank you.”
Adelle weakly smiled and stroked Lily’s hair, which had a silk-like texture. The gentle action seemed to ease her tangled thoughts.
As she relaxed, a presence was felt at the garden’s entrance.
“…Abel?”
“I’ll be going now.”
Lily quickly retreated, whispered “Have a good time” in her ear, and bowed to Abel before hurrying away.
“You seem to have a good relationship with your maid.”
“Yes. She’s a caring child.”
“…Is that so?”
He looked somewhat tired as he slumped into the opposite chair. Crossing his arms and seeming to rest, Abel suddenly spoke.
“You seem troubled.”
“Yes, there’s a lot on my mind.”
‘Thanks to someone…’
Treason against the royal family, the royal family’s secrets, the reasons for Abel’s rebellion, and so on… All this information was swirling in her mind. Abel remained silent, seemingly unaware.
I wanted to ask him directly but decided against it.
Even if I knew little about medieval rules, I understood the dangers of speaking casually about treason against the royal family. Most importantly, Abel hadn’t explicitly told her about his plans.
He probably didn’t trust her enough for that. So, until he mentioned it first, she decided to wait.
“If you need to, you can always talk…”
She was stunned when Abel suddenly fell asleep. He was dozing off, leaning his wrinkled face against the backrest.
Only then did she notice the dark circles under his eyes.
‘He looks exhausted.’
Well, he had been overworking himself recently dealing with a backlog of paperwork. It appeared that fatigue had finally caught up to him, putting him to sleep as soon as he sat down.
And yet, he came to the garden in the middle of the night to comfort her.
He was indeed a confusing man, full of kindness.
With a sigh, Adelle removed her coat and draped it around him. It was a fur coat, so he wouldn’t suffer the cold through the night.
His slightly tense expression relaxed a bit.
‘Now he looks more presentable.’
He was truly a person who was hard to leave unattended.
