***
A week after Judith arrived at the Lotheir Royal Palace, rumors spread like wildfire that the wedding between Franz and Judith would be skipped.
The shocking news that the crown prince, the heir to the throne, had welcomed his crown princess but wouldn’t be holding a wedding ceremony left most nobles stunned.
However, Queen Gilsis, who orchestrated the situation, was nonchalant, as if it were nothing unusual.
“His Majesty is still bedridden, isn’t he?
How can we hold a loud, festive wedding when the king, the pillar of our kingdom, is unwell?
We shall hold the ceremony without delay once His Majesty recovers.”
It had been a long time since Lotheir’s king had taken to his bed, and Queen Gilsis, who was running the government in his stead, held private parties almost daily, not to mention the grand festivals she held every year.
The nobles knew this, and though they found the queen’s excuse laughable, they couldn’t dare defy her.
They understood that by withholding the wedding, she was trying to crush Prince Franz’s spirit.
“Even so, this isn’t some private agreement between commoners.
How can they possibly…”
“Be quiet.
Do you want someone to hear you?
Don’t you know that you’ll be wishing you had ten lives if Her Majesty the queen were to hear you speak like that?”
“The crown princess will be the one to suffer.”
“She was sold for money, so I’m sure she’s prepared for this kind of treatment.”
The nobles who came and went from the palace whispered incessantly.
Despite their gossip, Judith was unfazed when she heard the news about the wedding.
Marianne was furious, asking how such a thing could happen, but Judith silenced her with a single word, “Quiet.”
“His Majesty is ill, so there’s nothing we can do.
As Her Majesty said, the wedding can be held anytime, right?”
“But!”
“Marianne, stop it.
I’m fine with it.”
Marianne, with a look on her face as though she were about to burst into tears, grabbed a cloth and went out, claiming she would clean the windowsill.
Judith, left alone, rested her elbows on the table and let out a soft sigh.
She wasn’t completely unfazed when she first heard the news.
It was something that hadn’t happened in her previous life.
Back then, they had held a wedding ceremony, albeit a meager one, with one excuse or another, but they never outright skipped it.
‘I must have said something that upset her this much.’
Although surprised, she was able to remain composed because she knew the queen was capable of doing something this outrageous.
After all, she had dared to mention the crown prince in her presence, so this was probably her way of teaching her a lesson.
While everyone else believed the queen was trying to crush Franz’s spirit, Judith alone saw through Queen Gilsis’ true intentions.
It wasn’t about Franz—it was about making her miserable.
However, she had no intention of crying and complaining as the queen might have expected.
In fact, she was almost grateful for being spared the tedious, meaningless wedding process.
For a week, Judith played the role of the dejected and subdued crown princess, carefully observing the nobles in the palace.
Since she had not yet attended any official events, there were limits to the information she could obtain, but even so, she managed to glean a few important things.
One of the most significant pieces of information was the news of the newly established Imperial Academy in the Empire of the Eastern Continent.
The Lotheir Kingdom, which bordered the sea, had long been actively involved in trade and cultural exchange with its neighboring nations.
This interaction wasn’t just limited to trade; new academic fields and cultural ideas were also exchanged.
It was one of the main reasons Lotheir had been so prosperous compared to other kingdoms on the continent.
The Empire of the Eastern Continent, which maintained a very friendly relationship with Lotheir, was known for its powerful military might and high cultural standards.
It was from this Empire that Judith first heard about the establishment of an academy for the Imperial Family and the children of noble families.
The academy was open to both domestic students and foreign nobles who met the entrance requirements.
It seemed that many nobles from Lotheir were sending their children to study there.
Upon hearing this news, Judith saw this as a golden opportunity for Franz.
Franz had started showing signs of extreme depression around the age of twenty-one, eventually losing his sanity due to Queen Gilsis’ abuse.
Since his symptoms began to manifest around that time, he probably hadn’t been completely normal even before then.
Franz needed to be separated from Queen Gilsis as soon as possible.
Judith began to think of ways to send him to the Imperial Academy.
It would take at least four years to graduate from the academy.
While four years was short compared to the time Franz had already suffered, it would still be a great help to him if he could escape the queen’s eyes for even a few years.
‘The problem is that the queen won’t want to send him.
She’ll try to keep him in the kingdom by any means.
How can I make her powerless…?’
That was her biggest concern.
Duke Berzi, Franz’s uncle and the younger brother of the late queen, was the first person who came to mind, but even he didn’t have the authority to send a prince abroad without approval.
With the king’s condition unclear, only the queen had the authority to grant permission for Franz to leave the country.
However, there was no way she would willingly let him go.
‘Should I forge documents?
No, that’s too risky.’
Her head ached.
She had often suffered from headaches in the past, but this was the first time she felt such a heavy, throbbing pain.
“Marianne.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Marianne, who was cleaning the windowsill, tossed the cloth aside and ran over.
The queen should have sent maids and servants to attend to the new crown princess, but she pretended not to know and delayed it, leaving Marianne to handle everything on her own.
It was a good thing the annex was small.
“I’m sorry, but my head hurts terribly.
Could you please ask the kitchen to prepare some tea that will help with my headache?”
“I will, Your Highness.
I’ll be right back.”
“The chef is going to hate me.
I’m sorry, I dragged you here and now you’re the one suffering.”
“What are you talking about?
I’m not suffering at all.
I could beat that weakling chef with one hand!”
Marianne proudly flexed her arm and giggled as she ran out.
Marianne’s cheerful personality was the only thing that could bring a smile to Judith’s face.
* * *
“How could this happen!”
A man’s indignant voice echoed loudly through the silent corridor.
“Duke, calm down.
It’s already decided, there’s nothing we can do.”
“This is not something to be taken lightly, Your Highness!
Who dares to dictate the terms of the crown prince’s marriage, the king’s own heir!”
The middle-aged man, his fists clenched as if he could no longer contain his anger, had auburn hair similar to Franz’s.
His handsome face, aging gracefully, made it easy to imagine how handsome he must have been in his youth.
Despite trembling with anger, his firm lips remained impressively strong and resolute.
“I cannot stand for this.
I will…”
“Uncle.”
Franz’s tired voice made the duke stop abruptly, his body, which seemed ready to burst, freezing in place.
Franz’s uncle, Duke Berzi, stood before him.
As the younger brother of the late queen and the head of the most powerful ducal house in the kingdom, he looked at his nephew with a troubled expression as he smiled sadly.
“Your Highness, a wedding is of the utmost importance.
It’s not just about you; it’s directly tied to the honor of the newly arrived crown princess.
We cannot simply overlook it like this.
Even Queen Gilsis…”
“Uncle, haven’t you been through this for hours already?
She will never allow it.
Give up.”
“Your Highness!”
“I’m fine.
The crown princess might think differently, though.”
“Have you discussed this matter with the princess?”
Franz, who had been looking down at the floor with narrowed eyes, shook his head.
A heavy sigh escaped Duke Berzi’s lips.
“If His Majesty were to regain consciousness for even a moment, I would immediately go to him and plead with him about this.
I will bring back His Majesty’s command to hold a grand wedding ceremony for Your Highness.
Even Queen Gilsis would have no choice but to obey.”
“It’s a pointless conversation.
It’s been a long time since His Majesty took to his bed.
Perhaps he will…”
“Don’t say such things!”
Franz’s mouth shut tightly at Duke Berzi’s low rebuke.
However, even the duke couldn’t hide his unease about the king’s condition, which seemed to be beyond hope.
King Jedekair’s illness was a disease of the heart.
Duke Berzi vividly remembered when the healthy king began to fall ill so frequently.
It was after the death of Franz’s mother, his own sister, the queen.
The king and queen had been a very loving couple.
They trusted, relied on, and most importantly, loved each other.
King Jedekair’s grief over losing his wife overnight was so deep and horrific that it was unbearable to watch.
It was this grief that caused him to develop an unknown illness, leaving him bedridden like a living corpse.
“His Majesty will recover, Your Highness.
Didn’t he regain consciousness a few months ago and handle some government affairs for a short while?”
“It was only for a few days.”
“Even a few days are enough.
If His Majesty regains consciousness, I will do whatever it takes to denounce that wicked woman’s tyranny and have her deposed.”
“Don’t speak so carelessly.
It will endanger you too, Uncle.”
“I will live to see the day you wear the crown of King of Lotheir.
So, Your Highness, steel your heart.
For my sake, don’t waver.”
Duke Berzi’s firm hand gripped Franz’s shoulder.
Although he had grown up admirably despite his mother’s absence, the duke could not ignore how he was slowly withering away without even being granted the title of crown prince.
Every time he saw him, it stirred a strong desire in the duke to tear Queen Gilsis’ throat out.
“Please comfort Her Highness the crown princess.
I hear she is calm and strong, which gives me some relief, but isn’t it pitiful for her to come to a foreign country with no one to rely on and suffer such humiliation?”
“What’s so happy about being comforted by a husband in name only?”
“No, Your Highness.
Don’t you know that Her Highness has no one but you now?
Perhaps you should take her for a walk sometime.”
“…I will.”
Franz’s nod seemed somehow unenthusiastic.
Duke Berzi patted his back a few more times before leaving, saying he had other matters to attend to.
Franz watched his uncle’s retreating figure, his head slowly drooping.
His uncle’s words, ‘Please comfort Her Highness the crown princess.’ echoed in his ears, but he couldn’t bring himself to go to the annex.
‘I wonder just how much she resents me.’
He had told her long ago that he couldn’t protect her, but even she couldn’t have imagined enduring something like this.
The thought of her beautiful sky-blue eyes filled with disappointment and contempt made him unable to face Judith at the annex.