***
Franz’s face was filled with suspicion, but Judith couldn’t bring herself to say anything to him.
It was something she had experienced before.
All she could do was awkwardly laugh it off.
She took out her handkerchief and tried to wipe the bloodstains off Franz’s cheek.
But before she could, Franz grabbed her wrist.
“Your Highness,” she faltered.
“I asked how you knew the carriage was going to be ambushed.”
“Your Highness, you seem to be mistaken.
How could I have known that?
As I mentioned earlier, I simply judged that something was wrong with the carriage at that moment.
It’s not that I’m brave, but I simply judged that your safety was more important than mine at that moment.”
Countless thoughts raced through Franz’s mind.
It didn’t seem like she was lying.
But it didn’t seem like she was telling the whole truth either.
She was hiding something, but he had no idea what it was.
If she knew the bandits were going to attack the carriage, it meant she was in cahoots with them.
But that didn’t make sense in light of her actions, where she had protected Franz without regard for her own safety.
“Your Highness,” Judith whispered.
Franz frowned, and she glanced at her wrist, still tightly gripped in his hand.
“Please let go of my wrist.”
He slowly loosened his grip on her thin wrist.
Seeing the red mark left on her delicate skin made Franz feel uneasy.
But Judith simply rubbed her sore wrist a few times, not crying out or complaining about the pain.
“Let me wipe the blood for you,” she said.
Judith carefully pressed the handkerchief to his cheek.
After carefully wiping away the bloodstained area, she said, “It’s a good thing the wound isn’t serious.
But since you were grazed by a piece of wood, it could still leave a scar.
You should have someone apply medicine on it once you get back to the palace.”
“…,” Franz was silent.
He remained expressionless, only slightly furrowing his brow as the handkerchief brushed against the wound.
After wiping his cheek clean, Judith wrapped the stained handkerchief in her hand.
She could clearly feel her pulse pounding at her fingertips, wrapped in the small piece of cloth.
Her heart, which had started pounding wildly when she saw Franz’s back as he stood in the door of the carriage, slashing at the bandits who were rushing toward him, showed no signs of calming down.
‘He protected me,’ Judith thought.
Her cheeks flushed bright red as she glanced up at the corner of the ceiling that Franz had torn off.
* * *
“Your Highness, you must maintain your composure now that you are about to meet Her Majesty.
Her Majesty expects you to be modest and dignified above all else.”
The noblewoman, whose stiff posture seemed out of place for her age, didn’t even try to hide the fussy expression on her face as she gave Judith unsolicited advice.
Judith had arrived in Lotheir the previous night.
Even though she knew this, she had woken her before sunrise, likely due to the queen’s orders.
As Marianne brushed her hair, Judith remained silent, staring intently at her reflection in the mirror.
“His Majesty is indisposed and will not be able to meet with you.
Therefore, Your Highness will only be seeing Her Majesty.”
‘Yes, of course,’ Judith thought, slowly rolling her tongue in her mouth.
The King of Lotheir had been bedridden for a long time.
As far as Judith could remember, Franz had been in poor health since he was ten years old, and for the past seven or eight years, he had been unable to regain consciousness.
It was Queen Gilsis who had stepped in, taking control of Lotheir’s power, and now she was the one Judith was about to meet.
“Helen, was it?”
The old woman’s wrinkled eyebrows twitched at Judith’s words.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“You’re a marchioness, are you not?
Your title is high, and judging from your demeanor, I believe Her Majesty favors you greatly.
Can you tell me what I should be careful of?”
Helen’s expression became even more unpleasant at her soft, deliberate tone.
She had heard that Judith was seventeen years old, but she didn’t even look that old.
Despite being a crown princess, she was far too calm and collected for her age.
‘Her Majesty said she was a crybaby…,’ Helen thought.
Helen, a close confidante of Queen Gilsis, had a very low opinion of this foreign princess who had practically been sold to them in exchange for money.
The way she had become the crown princess was hardly respectable, and when she actually saw Judith in person, her plain appearance made it even harder to believe she was a princess.
It struck her as strange that Judith wasn’t cowering.
“Her Majesty is a kind woman, so as long as you maintain your manners, there should be no problem.”
Judith smiled slightly at Helen’s answer.
Her answer and attitude were no different from what she remembered, and the smile slipped out involuntarily.
If Helen had been more considerate of Judith’s situation—or at least thought about it—she wouldn’t have said something like that.
The memory of being humiliated early in the morning because she had taken her words at face value made Judith feel a sense of calm settle in her chest.
Nothing had changed.
Lotheir was still her battlefield.
A place where people lurked, ready to tear her down and mock her at every turn.
“…I understand.
Thank you for the advice.”
“Not at all.”
“Your Highness, everything is ready.
How do you like it?
Should I change the jewelry to something else?”
Marianne’s cheerful voice broke through the awkward, heavy atmosphere, pulling Judith from her thoughts.
Yes, Marianne was here now.
while the cold ruthlessness of Lotheir had not changed, some things had, and it was all thanks to Judith’s own efforts.
“This is fine.
You’ve done a great job.”
“Oh, it’s nothing.
I wanted to put some pearl powder on you to make your complexion look a little brighter, but I know you hate wearing heavy makeup…”
“Ahem.”
Helen’s disapproving cough cut Marianne’s words short.
Judith gave Marianne’s hand a reassuring pat before standing up.
“I’ll be back soon, so get some rest, Marianne.”
“Yes, Your Highness.
Be careful.”
As Judith rose, the hem of her dress, which was slightly too large for her frame, draped loosely and trailed on the floor.
Helen watched her, clearly mocking her, but Judith acted as if she didn’t notice and calmly took the lead.
“Lead the way to Her Majesty.”
Helen, with her nose twitching in disdain, followed Judith without a word.
Even though she had prepared herself mentally, Judith had to make an effort to calm her churning stomach.
Lotheir, a wealthy nation, had decorations that were less ostentatious than those of Tien, but they had an understated elegance.
The fragrance of flowers wafted from every corner, and the beautiful tapestries and draperies were harmoniously arranged—nothing like the gaudy decorations of Tien.
However, Judith didn’t even glance at any of the decorations and sculptures.
She remembered walking down this corridor when she first arrived here, feeling bewildered and intimidated.
The memory stirred such anger in her that she had to try to control it.
Helen thought Judith’s calm attitude was strange.
She had expected a princess who had been practically sold in exchange for money to immediately start showering the Lotheir royal palace with flattery and praise.
‘What a conceited little girl.’ Helen thought.
As a Lotheir noblewoman by birth, she had no desire to respect a plain-looking princess from a foreign country.
Judith’s lack of flattery, however, grated on Helen’s nerves.
Helen lifted her chin, wanting to find fault with something.
“I suppose the difference in social classes isn’t that clear in Tien,” she remarked.
Judith raised an eyebrow slightly, as if she didn’t understand what she meant.
Helen continued, “Your Highness is only second to Queen Gilsis in Lotheir.
If others see you being so familiar with a maid, it will reflect poorly on you, Your Highness.”
“Marianne has been with me as my attendant in Tien for as long as I can remember.
We’ve practically grown up together.
It’s only natural that I treat her differently from the other maids, don’t you think?”
“That might be acceptable in Tien, but Her Majesty dislikes it when her subordinates act presumptuously.
You should learn the proper way to conduct yourself here in Lotheir.”
“I appreciate your advice, but even though Marianne is familiar with me, she’s not an impolite child.
You said Her Majesty is a kind woman, did you not?
If she understands that Marianne treats me with respect, I’m sure she’ll see no problem with it.
Don’t you think so?”
Helen’s face froze, speechless.
It suddenly dawned on her that Judith hadn’t looked her directly in the eye once.
Her face flushed red with embarrassment.
The realization of being ignored by this little girl was so overwhelming that, for a moment, Helen had forgotten that she was the crown princess.
“Of course, that’s what I said, but what I meant was…”
“I appreciate your concern, but I’ll take care of my own behavior.”
Helen’s eyes narrowed as the wrinkles around them deepened.
No matter how she thought about it, she was completely different from what she had heard.
How could the queen not be aware of this?
Had her brother lied to the queen and taken a huge sum of money for himself?
When the rumor spread that Queen Gilsis had chosen a Tien princess to be the crown prince’s wife, all the nobles who knew about it had gossiped that the princess must have been mentally deficient or physically unattractive.
It was natural to assume that the queen wouldn’t choose a normal woman to be Franz’s wife.
But what was going on here?
Helen looked down at Judith’s small frame walking ahead of her and was overwhelmed with suspicion.
Unlike what the queen had said, this crown princess was too bold, and she didn’t seem stupid either.
‘Her Majesty will be very upset.’
Helen knew that Queen Gilsis would make a scene when she found out that the crown princess was different from what she had expected.
And, of course, Helen could already picture how the queen would mercilessly torment Judith.
‘But no matter what, in the end, she’ll end up kneeling before Her Majesty, crying, ha!’
Helen forced a small laugh and suppressed the strange feeling of unease that had settled in her chest.