***
The attendants who followed behind spread a wide silken rug on the flat ground where the grass wasn’t too rough, and prepared tea and refreshments.
While Cheraan oversaw everything, Judith stood alone at the edge of the hill, gazing at the distant mountain peak.
Perhaps because the slope was steeper there, the wind blowing at her feet felt especially cold.
The weather was bright, but the summit was covered in wispy white clouds, making it look beautiful.
However, if one were to climb the mountain, those clouds wouldn’t appear the same as they did from afar; they would become a thick, hazy fog, obstructing one’s path.
Judith felt she was in a similar situation, as though she were standing in that fog.
From a distance, people might see her advancing towards the cloud-covered peak, but it was easy to lose one’s way.
“Your Highness, what are you doing here?
The tea is almost ready,” Marianne, who had run across the meadow, spoke.
It seemed like a rare outing for her, as her previously gloomy expression was much brighter.
Judith gently fixed a few strands of hair that had escaped from under her headband and then, taking Marianne’s hand, said, “Marianne, would you go and call Helen for me?”
“What?
Why?” Marianne immediately pouted with a look of displeasure.
She was already annoyed that Helen kept trying to stay near Judith, so she couldn’t understand why she asked her to go get Helen.
“Because I have something to say to her.
Please go get her.”
“Fine,” Marianne said reluctantly.
Although her expression wasn’t very enthusiastic, Marianne couldn’t win against Judith’s gentle push, so she turned and trudged away.
Judith, now facing the hill, fastened the front hem of her robe, which was fluttering in the wind, and blinked silently.
“You called for me?” Helen’s voice came from right behind her.
She had no choice but to come right away since there were other people around, but she looked as if she had been subjected to a great humiliation.
That was exactly the reaction Judith wanted, so she bowed her head slightly, suppressing a quiet chuckle.
“Your Highness?”
“Are you enjoying the outing?” she asked, her tone casual.
Helen frowned at the unexpected question.
What was this girl trying to do with her?
“Why do you ask?”
“I was just curious.
The weather is beautiful and the breeze is cool, but your expression seems anything but happy.”
Judith’s insistence on addressing Helen with the informal “you” was also a factor in making Helen very uncomfortable.
As the princess and the marchioness, it would naturally be the princess who addressed the other with the informal “you.” However, in cases where someone like Judith, who was younger, was involved, they would usually be mindful and address the older person formally, using “you” only when speaking to close friends or those of lesser rank.
However, Judith had never once addressed Helen respectfully, not even when they first met.
Like Queen Gilsis, she addressed her informally, as if it were natural, and Helen, who secretly looked down upon Judith, found this unexpectedly offensive to her pride.
As a result, Helen’s face reflected a clear sense of hostility.
It was also because she realized that Judith wasn’t as easy to manipulate as she thought.
If recent rumors of disapproval spread among the nobles reached Queen Gilsis’ ears… Helen shuddered at the thought.
She felt even more disgusted when she remembered that Judith was the one who had instigated this situation.
“As I get older, walking itself has become tiring.
Even if you find it unpleasant, I hope you’ll understand,” she said coldly.
“Is that so?
I thought you might be unhappy because I didn’t cling to the queen, begging her for mercy, as you expected.”
A faint smile played on Judith’s lips, as if she didn’t care.
In contrast, Helen’s face turned pale with displeasure.
“Your Highness, what do you mean by that?”
“The fact that I’m still alive after being beaten by the queen, and that, unexpectedly, some nobles are taking my side—this must be surprising to you, no?
It’s not something you would have predicted, is it?
You wouldn’t be happy about it.
I understand.”
“Your Highness!” Helen, whose face had turned ashen with anger, shouted in a loud voice.
Even in her anger, she didn’t realize that Judith had intentionally avoided mentioning Franz’s name.
When she turned to leave, Judith lunged at her and grabbed her wrinkled wrist with surprising force.
“What are you doing?!”
“Why won’t you admit it?
You’ve looked down on me and underestimated me from the very beginning.
You would have been satisfied if I were weak, foolish, and a simpleton who couldn’t even speak properly in front of people.
But marchioness, did you know?”
“Ugh…!”
“You’ve already seen me like that before.”
Helen’s narrow eyes widened in surprise.
She couldn’t understand what she was saying.
She tried to shake her off, but Judith, despite her small frame, didn’t budge.
“I’ve told you before—you’ve already watched me weep, become ill, and wither away.”
“What are you talking about?!”
“Back then, I was too scared to even speak to you, but I’ve always wondered: did it make you happy watching a child, barely seventeen, endure such hardship?
How could a person be so cruel?
I was alone in a strange place overnight, and I had no one to trust but you.”
Judith roughly pulled Helen towards her.
The old woman’s bony body swayed and trembled.
Judith felt the emptiness of the void beneath her feet.
She was standing on the edge of the slope, about to tumble down.
“So don’t blame me.
You’re partly responsible for making me this way.”
“What are you talking about…!”
Just then, as Helen grabbed her shoulder to push her away, she heard a sound like a drop.
Thud.
No, it wasn’t really a sound.
It was more of a sensation.
It was just that the sensation was so clear that it felt like she had heard it with her ears.
Soon, a cracking sound followed.
Crack.
After that, Helen couldn’t do anything to stop it.
“Ah!”
The scream wasn’t loud, but it was enough for people to hear.
Judith tumbled down the slope, like a leaf blown by the wind.
“Your Highness!”
Cheraan, who was the first to hear the scream, rushed towards her, gasping.
Helen, frozen with her mouth agape, stood clutching one of Judith’s robe sleeves, fluttering in the air.
* * *
The nobles who had attended the meeting saw Judith being carried back by a servant.
When they heard that Cheraan had ordered Helen’s imprisonment, they were shocked.
They were speechless when they heard that she had pushed Judith off a hill.
The royal palace was instantly in an uproar.
It was fortunate that it wasn’t a sheer cliff, but the hill Judith fell from was steep and dotted with rocks, making it extremely dangerous.
She had injuries all over, including her head, shoulders, back, which had been injured before, as well as her ankles.
The news reached the queen’s palace in an instant.
She threw the teacup she was holding, shattering it, when she heard that a mere marchioness had dared to order Helen’s imprisonment.
Then, upon hearing that Helen was the one who had injured Judith, she suddenly calmed down.
“That girl is audacious, but she’s still the princess.
To dare to harm a member of the royal family.
She must have gone senile.”
It was something she couldn’t possibly say, considering Helen’s faithful service, like a loyal dog, ever since she had assumed the position of queen.
But Queen Gilsis’ attitude was calm.
Even the other noble ladies-in-waiting, who were at a loss as to what to do with the unexpected news, were trembling, speechless at the queen’s ruthlessness.
It was unclear whether Helen had actually done such a thing, but no one was unaware of her faithful service to the queen.
At this point, when people were already gossiping about the queen’s punishment of the princess, she couldn’t possibly protect Helen.
If she did, the arrows would turn on her.
It was nothing to her if a lady-in-waiting died.
It wouldn’t matter unless Helen’s husband, a marquis, was of great use to her.
But he wasn’t, so Queen Gilsis felt no need to protect her.
* * *
“Your Highness, the princess needs to rest.”
“I’ll just take a quick look at her.
Don’t worry, I won’t make a fuss.”
The healer tried to dissuade him, but Franz insisted on entering the bedroom where Judith was lying.
The smell of medicine, which had barely subsided after she had recovered from the injuries she had sustained from the queen, was now twice, three times as pungent, filling the room.
“Your Highness, Prince Franz.”
Marianne, who had been sitting by Judith’s bedside, weeping uncontrollably, got up and wiped her face.
“Leave for a while.”
Marianne, sniffling, left immediately, leaving the room in silence.
Judith, who was breathing shallowly with her eyes closed, looked even paler and thinner than before.
Her head, shoulders, and limbs were all bandaged, making her look like a corpse.
Franz couldn’t bring himself to speak.
He could do nothing but gently touch her forehead, which was bathed in sweat even while she was unconscious.
Her round forehead, as if hot water had been poured under her thin skin, felt scorching hot.
At that moment, the court physician entered with medicine to reduce her fever.
Franz watched silently as he put the medicine into a cold cloth and placed it on her forehead.
“Will the princess be alright?”
“She has sustained external injuries, but fortunately, her life is not in danger.
She has lost consciousness because her frail body was shocked.
She will wake up in time, so don’t worry too much.”
But how could he not worry?
He stared at Judith, who was motionless, and suddenly, like someone who was angry, turned and left her room.
Outside, Cheraan, her father, Marquis Evelta, and Duke Berzi, who had rushed over as soon as he had heard the news, were standing there with anxious faces.
“Your Highness!”
“How is the princess?”
“…The court physician said that she’s not in danger, Uncle.”
A long sigh, like a groan, escaped Duke Berzi’s lips.
It was fortunate that she was alive, but as soon as he felt reassured, an uncontrollable rage surged within him.