That evening, after Rebecca returned to the Mansion of Darkness—
Cedric and Bianca started dinner a little late. Whether it was because she was back home after such a long time, or because of the surprising conversation she'd had with Rebecca, Bianca looked more relaxed and hummed a tune throughout her meal.
"Bianca, you seem to be in a good mood today. But you still have to finish eating, all right?"
"Oh, yes!"
She'd barely picked up her fork, but Bianca only stared at Cedric's face, not at the food in front of her.
"Um... Brother."
"Hmm?"
"...Was what Her Highness said to me sincere?"
"What words?"
Bianca blushed with an embarrassed expression at Cedric's gentle question.
"That I'm a child worthy of love..."
"Those words."
As Cedric looked at Bianca, a deep sense of pity gradually seeped into his eyes.
"...Of course."
"Really?"
Cedric looked at Bianca, who seemed genuinely happy, and slowly raised the corner of his mouth.
"I have never seen a child as lovely as our Bianca."
"That's only because Your Highness the Grand Duke is my brother."
Bianca gave her brother a light scolding, but the corners of her eyes curved upward as if she were in a good mood. Cedric's feelings as he looked at her became more complicated. Even after being treated so harshly, she was a child who immediately smiled at a kind word.
Cedric wondered how hungry she must have been for the warm embrace of her family. He felt his heart sink even more.
"...The Grand Duchess has changed a lot recently. So from now on, you can stay here in peace."
The words were meant to reassure Bianca, but they weren't completely out of line with Cedric's recent thoughts. Cedric eventually had no choice but to admit it—that Rebecca had really changed into a different person. And after acknowledging that, there was only one question that came to mind.
What on earth made Rebecca change so much?
It was a moment when Cedric was about to fall into light contemplation when Bianca nodded her head vigorously, as if agreeing with his idea.
"That's right! I think Her Highness has really changed a lot. I could feel it just by looking at her expression!"
"She looked so much more comfortable than before—and so happy!"
By the past, she means before Rebecca divorced me. Why did those words immediately bring to mind the image of Rebecca smiling next to Adrian?
Soon, Cedric's eyebrows slowly furrowed.
What does that have to do with me?
He changed the subject, trying to shake off his thoughts.
"I heard that in a few days, young ladies from noble families who were close to you will be visiting from the capital."
"Oh, yes... I heard that too."
For some reason, Bianca's voice—which had been very excited just a moment ago—slowly calmed down.
"They're good friends, aren't they?"
"Um... yes. They're very nice friends!"
At those words, Cedric nodded indifferently and continued eating again.
As soon as his gaze left her, Bianca's face—which had been trying to smile—gradually darkened.
A few days later, a letter arrived from Camilla, the villainess of the original story and my former maid, informing me that she would soon return to the North.
With that news, I immediately called Adrian over.
"Adrian, how is it going with my request to dispose of the additional artwork?"
"We'll make offers to a few more stores and deal with the one that offers the highest price."
"Good. Please proceed as quickly as possible."
The fact that it was time for Camilla to return meant that it was also time for that item to appear in the futures market.
As soon as Lobelia's husband, Henry, returns from his affair with Camilla, he hits the jackpot in the futures market.
He'd used that windfall to show off his power and later mistreated Lobelia.
I was planning to somehow steal that fortune from Henry, the cheating bastard. To win the bidding competition with him, it was essential to have sufficient cash on hand.
So I'd decided to stockpile more cash by selling additional works of art I owned.
While I was talking with Adrian, Mina entered the living room holding a large box.
"Your Highness, the toys you ordered have arrived! Would you like to check them?"
When Mina opened the box, there were four cute dolls inside.
"They're pretty—probably because they were custom-made. The children will like them, don't you think?"
"Of course! Perhaps Princess Bianca will be moved to tears when she finds out Your Highness the Grand Duchess personally prepared them?"
After Bianca returned to the North, Mina had learned that I was trying to restore my relationship with Bianca, so I'd asked her for various information about the princess. One piece of news was that Bianca's aristocratic friends from the capital would soon be visiting.
I'd ordered the dolls as gifts for Bianca and her friends right away. And today was the day to deliver them.
"When I checked earlier, I heard that all of her friends had arrived and were enjoying a tea party."
Cute children gathered together. It felt good just to imagine it.
Of course, out of all of them, Bianca is the cutest, right?
The corners of my mouth rose as I imagined Bianca's shoulders rising proudly in front of her friends after receiving her gift.
"Let's go now. Where is everyone?"
"They'll be at the Orangery!"
At the same time, at the Orangery.
Despite the cold weather in the North, a warm breeze blew around the hexagonal glass conservatory, and various spring flowers were in full bloom. In front of a white table in the middle, the daughters of the capital's dukedoms—all about eight or nine years old—were gathered together, looking around with curious eyes.
"It's really amazing! If you have magical power, even cold weather can instantly become warm!"
"Exactly! It's the middle of winter just a few steps away, but it's so warm here!"
Erica, Mary, and Judith—each of them looked at the petals falling from the trees with excited expressions. Bianca smiled awkwardly as she looked at her friends.
"I'm so glad everyone likes it..."
Her voice was small and weak compared to her friends'. Judith looked at Bianca blankly.
"Bianca, why are you so quiet? Aren't you glad we're here?"
"Huh? N-no, of course I am..."
Judith, the daughter of the Duke of Montran, was a pretty but somewhat obnoxious little girl. As Judith's gaze continued to focus on her, Bianca's head dropped as if it would pierce the ground.
Afterward, the rest of the children also added their words with displeased expressions.
"Really? But Bianca is naturally timid."
"That's right! It's nothing special."
Judith looked thoughtful at the children's words and tapped her chin with her finger.
"No, it's not that. Bianca looks particularly lethargic today... Ah! I know why!"
The children's attention was drawn to Judith's dramatic attitude.
"What? What is it?"
"I'm curious, Judith!"
Then the corners of Judith's mouth gently curved upward.
"Bianca is displeased with leaving the civilized capital and returning to this barbaric North!"
"Huh? Really?"
The children's eyes immediately turned to Bianca. Bianca was already familiar with the subtle disregard and ridicule from the noble daughters of the capital. However, it was difficult for her to bear the fact that even her hometown—where she and her family were born and raised—became a source of mockery.
Bianca, who was tightly grasping the hem of her skirt with her small hands, soon squeezed her eyes shut and raised her voice.
"Th-that's not true! There are a lot of really good things in the North...!"
However, the words she'd finally gathered the courage to say couldn't continue—because her friends weren't listening to Bianca's story.
"But! Judith has a point! The North does feel somewhat underdeveloped."
"Underdeveloped? But all the technologies that are now famous in the capital were developed in the North..."
"It would have been better if the technology in the capital and the southern region had lagged behind, but the opposite is true in the North..."
Although she spoke without confidence, Bianca conveyed her meaning clearly. Judith and her friends' chattering stopped for a moment as those words hit the mark.
There was silence for a while. The children, noticing Judith's discomfort, rushed to speak.
"Well, what does it matter! The North is close to the demon world!"
"That's right! There's something eerie about being close to the demon world!"
Bianca's face, embarrassed by the sight of the children ganging up on her, suddenly hardened. On the other hand, Judith—having regained her composure—blinked her eyes exaggeratedly, like an actor on a stage.
"Mary! Do you think Bianca is afraid of the demon world?"
Then she pushed her own blonde hair behind her shoulder.
"Bianca is a mixed-blood demon. She's not a human like us who were born with God's protection..."
After speaking that far, Judith hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand.
"Oh! I'm sorry, Princess Bianca."
She seemed apologetic for her mistake, but it was exaggerated and insincere. Bianca just bit her lip and held back tears. The children exchanged glances with each other as the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
"Princess Judith simply made a mistake, Bianca."
"Yes, that's right. If you don't move on, you'll only seem narrow-minded."
"And to be honest... Judith didn't say anything wrong."
"That's true... My mother often says that too."
Words that Bianca's friends would never normally say poured out of their mouths. The fact that the children maintained a superficial friendship with Bianca was the result of their parents encouraging them to do so.
The intention was to leave a good impression on the Emperor and Cedric. Because of that, it was difficult to find pure hearts of caring for each other among the children.
On the stage of the play called Friendship, there were only the Queen Bee, the handmaidens, and the victim.
"To be honest... isn't the reason Her Highness the Grand Duchess hates Bianca because Bianca is a mixed-blood demon?"
"I think so too. As a human, it's more difficult than you think to treat mixed-blood demons without prejudice."
Bianca's arms tightened as she hugged her stuffed rabbit.
"N-no... Her Highness clearly said I'm a lovely child..."
Bianca, who was trying to explain, soon bit her lower lip.
But really... has Her Highness been displeased with me because I'm a mixed-blood demon?
That was when Bianca lowered her head with a sullen expression. A soft voice suddenly pierced the children's ears.
"Oh my! Our princesses really enjoy what you're saying, don't you?"
The moment they inadvertently turned their heads toward the sound, the children's faces began to turn pale in an instant.
"Your Highness!"
"...Oh my god! Cough, cough!"
The surprised children saw Rebecca slowly approaching them. She clearly had a smile on her face. However, there was a subtle coldness in Rebecca's eyes—like that of a predator about to strike.
She drew closer and slowly wrapped her arms around Judith and Mary's shoulders.
"From what I heard earlier, there was quite an interesting conversation going on, wasn't there?"
The children even felt an inexplicable sense of intimidation from Rebecca, who was smiling softly. It was at that moment that the tips of the frozen princesses' lips began to tremble.
"Now, then... would one of you care to tell me who dared make our Bianca cry?"