Francis
–
Francis laughed at Christine, who was smiling confidently.
“If I ascend the throne, Killian will die.
Why would you cooperate?”
“To save His Highness Killian.”
Francis smiled cruelly.
“You cooperate with me and I will spare Killian’s life…”
“Yes.
If you spare him, we will go to Bertino and live a life of peace without going to Austern forever.
He will never desire His Highness's seat.
If you are nervous, you can maim him anywhere.”
“Do you want him, even if he is mutilated?”
Christine responded to Francis' cold words: "If I can't have him in a normal state, I must have him in this condition."
Francis clicked his tongue at Christine, who was still smiling.
“I feel sorry for you.
I thought your personality would fit me very well.”
Christine bowed her head gently at Francis's unassuming compliment.
‘There is a saying, geminiphobia, fear of people like you.
You and I will never be in the same boat.’
* * * * *
At the time that Simone was heading to Bertino to look for her niece's replacement, Maribel was going to Lebatum to prepare the body to deceive Marquise Anais.
Because she had to perform in person for a long time and it was something that had to be done in secret, she entrusted the theater work to the deputy director for the time being, under the excuse of being sick in bed.
She was worried about people whispering about her being missing for two months, the vice director's movements, and the seduction of actresses by rival theaters, but Maribel decided it was important enough to go directly to the Kingdom of Lebatum at all risks.
Maribel was able to plan things with her excellent head, quick judgment of the situation, her own eloquence, and just her efforts.
Born in a small town in a poor northern kingdom, she tearfully came to Dublin, the capital of Austern, with dreams of becoming an actress.
However, her beauty and singing ability, which were always praised, were merely average compared to the countless aspiring actresses in the big city.
Maribel didn't want to die doing chores at the theater one day in the hope of going on stage and quickly gave up on her dream.
She managed to attract a wealthy elderly aristocrat into marriage and took over the Eileen Theatre, which had been ruined, with the wealth she had received as her share after her husband's death.
Grayson, a low-ranking aristocrat with no territory.
Then an opportunity finally came to her, because of a child met with her instant compassion.
Giving her virginity to an ugly old man with a smelly, rotten-looking body, Maribel decided to shut out all emotions and just do it.
The only person she loved during her thirty-seven years was Juliet.
Even if the affection was small in another man's eyes, it was the same as a mountain to the cold-hearted Maribel.
Maribel went directly to Lebatum for this affection, and for her and Juliet's future.
Maribel disembarked at a port in the Southern Kingdom.
Lebatum, and boarded a carriage to go to Rotesam, where ‘Under the Wings of Angels’ was located in the amusement area.
In the words of Maribel, who was looking for a shabby street that was incomparably worse than other kingdoms, a young man sitting in front of her replied bitterly: "The king's drinking, womanizing, and gambling are getting worse and worse, and the result is coming to the street."
“Did you have any sudden compassion?” Maribel smiled at a man who had been wearing an unpleasant face the entire way to Lebatum.
“Raphael, you know how difficult it is to get my affection and sympathy.
Yes, talking about the King of Lebatum reminds me of your father.
Is Count Caden healthy?”
Raphael looked out the window again and replied, “He still has girls in good spirits, like the King of Lebatum.”
“He hasn’t been to the theater recently, he must have found somewhere else.”
“He must have been embarrassed to keep asking my maternal grandmother to get a wife.”
Maribel laughed at the words 'maternal grandmother' he said uncomfortably.
“I'm happy that the child who wants to hide his relationship with me calls me that.”When her old husband died soon after she got married, there were only Maribel and an old stepdaughter in the mansion, who was shy and only liked books.
Maribel, who was only seventeen, and her stepdaughter, who was twenty-five, were not that interested in each other and never bumped into each other.
While the two never met face to face, Maribel took over the Eileen Theater and moved into the theater, and had no interaction with her stepdaughter for several years.
Then one day, her stepdaughter's maid came to see Maribel.
The request was to help her prepare for the wedding, as she was pregnant.
She wondered when and where the girl met a man and became pregnant, but that was all.
He sent his stepdaughter's maid back under the pretext that she was busy and didn't want to get involved, but she couldn't ignore it.
A few days later, Maribel reluctantly went to the mansion to prepare for her eldest stepdaughter's wedding, and saw her stepdaughter who cried and had a swollen face, let alone preparing for the wedding.
When she pressed her to ask how she got pregnant, she said she went to the library and got intimate with a lady.
Then she went to a party at the invitation of a nearby lady, and she met Count Caden there and fell into his temptation and had sex.
The stepdaughter, who firmly believed she would marry him, told Earl Caden the good news of her pregnancy, but the reply returned was that he could not marry the lesser noblewoman.
Maribel calculated the impact of her stepdaughter's pregnancy on her.
There was no way she could marry another man with a child, and she couldn't sit still when she thought she might have to stay with her and her child for life.
By then, Maribel was working to connect actresses with high-ranking aristocrats to further enhance the unresolved theater.
Through such acquaintances, she was able to convince Earl Caden to marry her stepdaughter, and although he was not a high-ranking aristocrat, she could now reach out to the Earl's long-standing family as in-laws.
There was only one thing she had asked her stepdaughter, and she was grateful for it.
If the child she gave birth to was a son, let her see him twice a year.
Of course, it wasn't out of affection for the child that she asked for such a condition.
What kind of affection did she have for a child who didn't have a single drop of blood?
It was because she calculated that there would be no harm in getting closer to the future Count Caden, who was entangled in her family record.
Maribel realized it was time to harvest the harvest she had been waiting for twenty years.
“Don’t you wonder why I brought you here?”
“Well, how can I know its deeper meaning?”
“The place we are going to visit today is a very secret place, known only to high-ranking aristocrats through some acquaintances.
It is a place where not everyone can enter or leave.
I'm also visiting for the first time and I brought you here because I don't think it's bad if you know.”
“You mean I might have to visit here again?”
“Well, I don't know about that.
But maybe one day you’ll need it, won’t you?”
“Does this have to do with my going to Tília’s territory?”
Maribel laughed at Raphael's sharp question.
“It is time for us to break out of an ordinary noble family and emerge as a high-ranking noble.
Of course, not now, but it will be after you become Count Caden.”
"What are you up to?"
“I'll tell you later.
It’s not time yet.”
Maribel thought about what would happen after Duke Kiellini made Juliet a replacement.
It might take a few months for Juliet to act like Princess Kiellini.
The Duke was to force Juliet to return to Tília's territory once she had established herself in a suitable place in society and solidified her position as heir.
That way, he could get his daughter's seat back.
Sa-chan
Sa-chan
Thanks for reading.
^-^