Chapter – 03
“Mi—Milady, are you alright?”
“I’m fine. There’s no need to visit the Duke.”
“But…”
Seeing her in such a haggard state made Anna’s heart drop.
Her cheeks, once like blank sheets of paper, were reddened and blotchy from crying.
Psyche adjusted her fallen gown and said,
“I want to take a bath to refresh myself. You all prepare the bath, and Anna, make some soup. I need a light meal.”
“…Yes, Milady.”
The maids dispersed cautiously, keeping an eye on her.
Anna hurried to the kitchen as well.
After finishing a bowl of creamy soup and taking a bath, Psyche changed into a sky-blue muslin dress she had brought from the kingdom.
She applied powder over her chafed skin, slightly covering the irritation.
Compared to life in the royal palace, this attire felt light and free.
Yet Psyche didn’t seem pleased at all; she simply stared blankly at the mirror.
“Your Highness, shall I put on these bracelets?”
“…Do as you like, Anna.”
Anna called her that unconsciously, as she had in the palace days. Psyche didn’t seem to care.
Anna finished dressing her thoroughly.
“Do you have any plans today?”
“I just want to walk in the garden a bit. My head is cluttered.”
Anna watched her, concerned, but spoke loudly and cheerfully.
“Good idea. I heard the Duke’s estate has three gardens. The scent of flowers will surely lift your spirits.”
“I suppose so.”
“Oh! While walking in the garden, you might even meet the Duke. Since you’re so beautifully dressed, he’ll surely compliment you.”
Psyche quietly lifted her gaze at that.
“Do you really think so?”
“Huh?”
Anna flinched slightly as her empty brown eyes met Psyche’s.
“That man would never call me beautiful, even as a lie.”
“….”
“Meeting the Duke is fine. But now… I just want to rest.”
She stared at the mirror with a blank expression, like a marionette whose strings had come loose.
Anna looked at her, bewildered.
The Dmioses Duke estate had three named gardens.
These gardens were created long before Ikali adopted this house, even before he was born, inspired by the three goddesses of the empire.
In the faintly perfumed study, Ikali was handling documents with impeccable posture.
Clothes neatly pressed, quill and ink spotless, papers perfectly arranged without any help—everything reflected his meticulous nature.
“So, she hasn’t come out for three days?”
He asked evenly while signing a document.
Hans, standing opposite him, nodded.
“Yes. I heard she hasn’t been eating properly either…”
“I see.”
Hans fell silent.
Only the sound of scratching pen on paper occasionally broke the heavy silence.
After going through all the urgent documents, Ikali finally looked up.
“Food… she’ll eat if she’s hungry. She’s no child.”
“That’s true, but…”
Hans glanced at his master uneasily.
After racing to reach the newlywed bride, ignoring her for three days while attending only to paperwork would naturally reflect poorly on her.
“Wouldn’t it be better to at least see the princess’s face?”
“Not necessary. Why bother.”
“….”
“Make sure the food is ready at regular intervals. If she needs anything, handle it at your discretion without consulting me.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now leave.”
“….”
Hans hesitated, then gathered the processed documents, separated them, and put them into envelopes.
Meanwhile, Ikali rose from his desk and sat on a wine-colored sofa to rest.
He tilted his head back, slowly opening and closing his eyes.
He took a cigar from its case, cut the tip, and lit it; the pungent smoke filled the study.
Rubbing his sore eyelids, he moved to the window.
Through the curtains, one of the estate’s gardens came into view.
Sunlight streamed through the dusky window, illuminating his pale face.
The garden, full of pink hazel roses and ranunculus, was a perfect spring scene.
Standing near the window, he squinted slightly in the afternoon sun and murmured while gazing at a certain spot.
“She’s out.”
“Huh?”
Hans, about to leave with the signed documents, asked.
Ikali looked at Psyche, strolling through the rose bushes, and repeated,
“She’s in the garden, Psyche.”
“Oh, I see. Milady must be regaining her strength. That’s a relief.”
Hans sighed in relief, but Ikali’s expression remained impassive.
He continued watching the princess walk slowly through the garden without any destination, then drew all the curtains.
After crying for three days and nights, a warm bowl of soup had somewhat revived Psyche.
She strolled through the garden slowly with Anna.
The scent of roses and the blue-green bushes reminded her that she had truly returned to the springtime four years ago at the Duke’s estate.
Garden trends had changed, and three years before her regression, glass gardens had been installed, replacing the rose bushes.
She gently observed the roses in each bush.
“Truly… I’m back.”
Walking along the lush bushes and the high walls, she reached the main gate.
A carriage was parked beyond the gate, and a struggle was happening between the gatekeeper and someone on the other side.
Psyche soon realized who the carriage belonged to.
The gatekeeper said to a lady standing across,
“Madam, the Duke has said you may not enter until he permits. Absolutely no exceptions!”
“This insolent wretch. Have you forgotten that my husband is the Duke? The entire empire knows that Ikali took the place of my husband and my son!”
“No matter, madam…”
Her green eyes glinted with rage, but the gatekeeper remained firm.
The lady, glaring maliciously at Psyche through the bars, noticed a figure standing at a distance.
“Princess Psyche!”
It was Lady Tilly, the former Duchess, Ikali’s predecessor’s wife, who had been ousted.
Had Ikali not beheaded her husband, Psyche would have been betrothed to the former Duke’s son, Warren Dmioses, and become his bride.
“Well, what a coincidence, Princess Psyche. Enjoying the games of the Duchess, I see?”
Tilly’s twisted expression bore a victorious sneer.
Psyche calmly greeted her.
“Lady Tilly, long time no see. How have you been?”
“You hardly look well, and I need to speak with Ikali immediately. Open this gate now.”
Tilly was clearly displeased to even converse through the bars.
Anna, standing behind Psyche, spoke indignantly, pointing out Tilly’s rudeness.
“How rude, madam. This is Princess Psyche of the Doson Kingdom, and now the current Duchess of Dmioses. Please watch your words.”
Tilly laughed mockingly.
“A mere arranged marriage, yet she still acts as if she’s some noble princess?”
She glanced down at Psyche with disdain.
“Princess Psyche. If your royal family hadn’t bowed to Ikali, you would have been marrying my son Warren. Don’t you remember?”
Tilly’s voice trembled with rage.
“Your royal family handed my hands off, and that orphan snatched your house from you!”
“….”
“After all, a failing kingdom wouldn’t care whether you were sold to a real prince or to an orphan who killed a guardian, as long as they got money. And now your family has the audacity to give their daughter to the murderer who killed her adoptive father!”
Psyche’s face turned pale as she met Tilly’s eyes.
But Tilly was not wrong. Psyche’s true fiancé had been Warren Dmioses, the former Duke’s legitimate son.
Originally, it was he who had offered to pay the royal family’s debts in exchange for marrying the princess.
Tilly smiled, triumphant.
“An honorable princess wouldn’t leave me standing out here. Open the gate now. Quickly.”
The cunning Lady Tilly knew Psyche was weak.
Weak girls could be bullied harshly yet easily cajoled if approached sweetly.
For Tilly, Psyche was the perfect prey.
Psyche hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
