Episode 13: It’s not battle rations? (2)
* * *
“Your Highness.”
Aristine sighed a little when she saw Rosalyn enter the room with a triumphant smile on her face.
‘Just when I thought I could finally go out.’
She wanted to hurry up, get ready and leave but things kept happening. It hadn’t been long since those knights with broken eggs left but there was already another uninvited guest.
Not knowing how Aristine was feeling, Rosalyn drew closer with glee written all over her face.
“When they heard that the knights were leaving, the maids were turned upside down.”
With a smile that revealed how much she relished in their misfortune, she whispered in Aristine’s ear.
“They were practically crying about whether they should run back to their mother’s arms. Those cowards.”
Aristine slowly tilted her head, “So?”
Rosalyn who was whispering excitedly, paused, and glanced at Aristine’s face.
“What can you do for me?” Her indifferent purple eyes gazed at Rosalyn.
‘Wait, why?!’
Rosalyn didn’t know what to do when Aristine’s reaction was completely different from what she expected. She thought Aristine would naturally be happy about this and join her to gloat. And while doing so, she could make Aristine open her heart to her and become less vigilant…
“Even a toothless old dog can bark as loud as a dog barking in the distance.”
Aristine slowly straightened up on the sofa.
“Rosalyn, I believe I have said this.”
As the distance between them shortened, Aristine’s purple eyes peered into Rosalyn. Rosalyn broke out in cold sweat, feeling the intense pressure from those eyes.
Aristine raised a hand, and scratched under Rosalyn’s chin. In a gentle and kind manner, like she was a cherished pet dog.
“All I want is a hunting dog.”
Her voice felt unimaginably soft, like velvet. But the meaning behind her words struck Rosalyn fiercely like a whip.
“Uk…”
However, Rosalyn couldn’t shake off Aristine’s hand. She simply couldn’t. It felt like her entire body was being crushed by Aristine’s authority.
Rosalyn turned pale and her palms turned sweaty as she accepted Aristine’s touch.
Aristine wasn’t just using Rosalyn to keep the handmaids in check. If it was just that, then the court ladies were enough. She didn’t plan on keeping the handmaids by her side forever, so she asked Rosalyn to become a hunting dog.
“Rosalyn?”
“Ye, Yes?”
Rosalyn replied, startled by Aristine’s gentle voice.
“Do you know what happens to a hunting dog when it becomes useless?”
Rosalyn stared vacantly at Aristine.
‘A hunting dog that becomes useless—.’
Aristine, who was caringly scratching Rosalyn’s chin, had a benevolent look on her face.
When their eyes met, Aristine flashed a sweet mile.
‘—it’s eaten.’
Rosalyn’s fingertips grew cold. She trembled, unable to look away.
“Of course, I love dogs a lot.”
Aristine said softly and took her hand away. Despite that, Rosalyn remained frozen stiff in the same position.
Aristine rose from the sofa. Right then, the court ladies who had just gone to get gifts, entered the room.
“Princess Consort, we brought it.”
“We were very careful with it.”
“Wow, really?”
Aristine beamed and walked up to the court ladies.
“Shall we go now, then?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The court ladies shot Rosalyn a vigilant look, then they turned around and followed Aristine.
If someone saw this, they might mistake the court ladies as the true maiden-home maids and Rosalyn as a maid from the in-laws that was acting out.
Rosalyn stared at the gradually receding backs of Aristine and the court ladies. She could see the hem of Aristine’s skirt flutter lightly with every step she took.
“Hah.”
Rosalyn huffed in disbelief.
Her chest burned with anger after the crushing sense of pressure was gone. She clenched her fists tight.
‘Sure, I will be a hunting dog like you want!’
Not just a dog that growls and barks but a real hunting dog that rip people to death with its jaws.
The plan was very easy to think of.
With a delicious bait called Tarkan, it couldn’t possibly be difficult.
‘After I finish ending those b*tches…’
Rosalyn’s eyes turned to the area where Aristine had walked through. A light flashed through her dark green eyes.
‘…you will be the last supper.’
* * *
A long corridor stretched through the center of the milky-white intersecting vault.
The pillars were embedded with opal-laced agate, and it shone brilliantly in the sunlight. The corridor alone boasted elegant moderation, but a glance inside told of its luxury.
‘As expected of a prestigious family that produces generals.’
The architectural style of Irugo was distinctly different from that of Silvanus.
If Silvanus showed the epitome of beauty by adorning the ceilings with organized paintings, then Irugo tended to preserve the beauty of the space and its naturally drooping corners.
Even though it was called the beauty of the space, in Irugo, it was never that simple. This was because expensive jewelry was hung from a chain to create a blank space and allow the light to pass through the jewel, causing everything to sparkle.
It wasn’t just the architecture, the clothing also imbued that characteristic quite well.
A Silvanian dress emphasized style with a heavy dropping skirt and an exaggerated petticoat. On the other hand, an Irugoian dress was made of light fabric wrapped around the body, displaying the curve while swaying freely in the wind.
The hem of the Irugoian dress that Aristine was wearing fluttered alongside her steps and the caress of the spring breeze. And each time it happened, the servants of the mansion sighed together.
‘It’s really the Princess Consort…’
‘My goodness, isn’t she more beautiful than she looks in the pictures?’
‘I didn’t know anyone’s shoulder line could be so slender.’
‘She is so precious!’
‘What a fairy!’
Everyone’s eyes were twinkling, regardless of their gender.
Seeing this, the court ladies who were following Aristine stood a little prouder.
Sure enough, their princess consort was the best.
Not knowing how the court ladies were acting, the servants continued whispering among themselves.
‘Come to think of it, what did the young master say when he saw the Princess Consort?’
‘Fairy?’
‘Angel?’
‘Goddess?’
‘He didn’t say any of those.’
‘You guys, stop saying what you think.’
As the employees whispered, they began to rack their brains. He definitely said something, but they couldn’t remember what.
Right then, the young master appeared from the other side of the corridor.
In front of someone like their Young Master who was considered a mountain among Irugo people, the Princess Consort seemed even smaller.
Seeing this sight, the employees went ‘ah!’ as their memories were refreshed and they exclaimed:
‘Thumb Princess!’
To be more precise, it was ‘a tiny, little thumb-sized princess who looks like she was just born’, but that useless rhetoric was erased from the minds of the servants.
‘…Thumb Princess?’
The court ladies, whose ears were sharpened to pick up what the servants were saying about their princess consort, heard those words.
‘Thumb Princess…!’
The eyes of the court ladies fell on Aristine who was ahead of them.
‘Oh my god, everyone needs to hear this!’
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