Queen of Revenge - Chapter 7

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 7
A man of unwavering principle—one who would bow respectfully even to a criminal who threatened his lord’s position.
I chose him based on the belief that someone with such convictions would at least refrain from assaulting me or attempting assassination without cause.
Moreover, the Black Eagle Knights were composed solely of the Royal Family’s finest warriors, a unit under the direct command of The King.
The current commander of the Black Eagle Knights was approaching retirement, so within the next few years, the man before me was destined to assume the position of commander.
In other words, Lucian was Elovis’s greatest knight—a formidable figure who would soon wield the immense responsibility and authority of safeguarding the entire Royal Family.
Moreover, he was widely praised as the very model of a knight, renowned for his characteristic steadfast loyalty.
“I know you’re reluctant, but I’m counting on you, Perein.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
When Iolet extended her hand, Lucian obediently brought it to his lips.
Yet there was not a trace of goodwill in his gaze directed toward her.
But truthfully, no one in the Royal Palace harbored any affection for Iolet. The reality weighed heavily on my heart.
* * *
Iolet returned to her quarters with Lucian.
Lucian appeared somewhat startled by the desolate interior of the Tower. The Tower’s only attendant was a single Butler.
“You have no Maidservant?”
“I did, but not anymore. I sent her away today.”
The matter was far more serious than her casual tone suggested.
Even from a cursory glance through the doorway, Iolet’s Bedroom was unimaginable as a princess’s quarters.
Gloomy stone walls, aged furniture, and a floor emanating bitter cold. The fireplace remained unlit. It was merely a small chamber with no distinction between living space and sleeping quarters.
The only redeeming feature was an elaborate wedding dress hanging on a rack in the corner—though even it looked absurd in this shabby room.
“Your chamber is on the lower floor. Gather whatever you need to get by yourself. I apologize, but there are no servants or attendants here to wait upon you.”
Then what exactly is here?
Lucian was bewildered.
“Then who will attend to Your Highness’s needs…?”
Iolet, who had already walked into the Bedroom, stared directly at Lucian.
Lucian was doubly flustered by her gaze.
Who—surely not me?
Iolet answered matter-of-factly.
“I told you. The only person who did such work was the one I sent away today.”
“The only one? You mean to say you have no other servants?”
“That’s right. All you need to do is light the fireplace and heat my bathwater. I’ll handle the rest.”
“…A Guard Knight freely entering and exiting a princess’s quarters would invite considerable misunderstanding.”
Lucian’s tone became rigid.
Though Iolet was unaware, rumors had been quietly circulating among the Royal Palace’s servants since last year that she engaged in immoral conduct in the Tower.
The prevailing theory was that her sudden broken engagement with The Duke Valer, and the Crown Princess’s deliberate arrangement of her marriage to the nearly elderly Count Castlane, were both consequences of the princess’s misconduct.
Queen Charlotte herself, Iolet’s own mother, had been expelled from the Royal Palace due to scandal involving a Guard Knight. For this reason, no knight in the palace wished to become entangled with Princess Iolet.
“There’s no one to spread rumors, so it doesn’t matter. The Butler comes and goes as he pleases anyway. Benedix always….”
Iolet’s monotone response trailed off. An unnecessary memory had surfaced.
An awkward silence fell between them. It was not a silence that favored Iolet.
Lucian’s tone grew sharply more aggressive.
“Indulging Your Highness’s personal curiosity falls outside the scope of my guard duties. I have no wish to tarnish the Crown Princess’s dignity, nor do I intend to diminish the honor of the Knights. If you truly insist, I shall summon a servant from the Main Palace.”
“Personal curiosity? Are you afraid I’ll drag you into bed?”
Lucian answered by refusing to answer.
Iolet let out a hollow laugh at his silence.
Ah, Catherine.
‘This wretched woman….’
She steals another woman’s betrothed, and yet she dares cast such vile rumors upon me?
The nobility who frequented the Royal Palace surely knew of this baseless gossip—it had simply not yet reached the King’s ears. My blood began to boil.
“How old are you, Perein?”
“Twenty-five, Your Highness.”
“I’m eighteen. I haven’t had my birthday yet.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
“Are you so shameless as to regard an underage princess as a woman?”
Lucian found himself at a rare loss for words. The princess was looking at him as though he were garbage rolling in the gutter.
“Believe it or not, I have no desire to be entangled with anyone in such a vulgar manner.”
“Vulgar….”
“Besides, if I had engaged in such depravity in this cold, cramped chamber, would that have been of my own volition? My Elder Sister wouldn’t even allow servants to enter without permission. If anything happened here, it would have been something done to me, not by me.”
“Your Highness, what do you mean by——”
“Perein. Are you the same sort of pervert or deviant as those others? Have I misjudged you?”
Pervert. Deviant——.
Lucian struggled to find a response, his mind reeling.
Born into a noble house and raised as an elite knight, he had never experienced—nor even heard of—such treatment. His composure was utterly shattered.
But what did she mean by “done to me”? Surely she didn’t mean——.
Whether Lucian’s silence was interpreted as an answer or not, the princess swept past him with long strides and exited into the corridor. There was no time to stop her.
“Fine. I’ll go to the Main Palace at once and request that Mother replace you as my guard. It seems Perein is far more vulgar than his reputation suggests——.”
“Your Highness!”
Lucian hastily cut off the princess’s words.
The moment he spoke, he realized he had fallen into her trap. But it was too late to take it back.
“I…misspoke. Please forgive me. I shall accept whatever punishment you deem fit.”
The princess fell silent for a moment.
What thoughts were turning in that small head of hers, Lucian could scarcely guess.
Before long, Iolet’s shoulders drooped as she muttered darkly.
“Then light the fireplace for me. I won’t ask for anything more.”
“Yes. I shall prepare your bath at once.”
“…Yes, thank you.”
Iolet returned to the chamber and sank into the worn armchair. As she buried herself in the deflated cushions of its backrest, her form nearly disappeared from view.
Lucian found his gaze lingering on that weary silhouette.
‘She was eighteen….’
A bitter taste filled his mouth.
He realized he had said things to a girl not yet of age that he shouldn’t have.
Born with an innate sense of justice, he was infinitely weak toward the vulnerable—a strength and weakness all at once.
After hesitating for some time, Lucian finally crossed the threshold of the door.
* * *
As the Crown Princess’s Guard Knight, there was little for me to do.
When the sun rose, I would knock on the Crown Princess’s Bedroom door, enter to check the fireplace, and leave quietly.
The hearth fire must have gone out sometime during the night, yet it seemed the Crown Princess was relighting it herself—something that would shock the Maidservants of the Main Palace if they ever saw it.
Princess Iolet spent most of her time within her Chamber, except when dining in the Dining Room below the Tower. During those hours, I kept watch outside her Bedroom.
“There’s no need to exert yourself so, Vice-Commander. That princess has nothing to do and nothing she knows how to do anyway. She doesn’t speak a word all day.”
The Butler yawned widely and cast a sidelong glance at the Bedroom door. His lingering gaze near the princess’s Chamber irritated me.
“Do you have business with the Crown Princess? I will relay your message.”
“Ah, well, it’s nothing much. I was thinking of bringing her some refreshments. The Duke Valer used to bring her snacks regularly, but since the engagement was broken off, he’s been rather scarce.”
“I will bring them in. Please prepare them.”
“My goodness, I’ll report to the Crown Princess myself, so why don’t you step outside for some fresh air—”
It seemed the Butler was one of the Crown Princess’s people.
When I remained unmoved, the Butler clicked his tongue.
As I watched the Butler disappear down the stairs with his grumbling, I fell into thought.
‘So no one visits except the Duke Valer, and even he hasn’t come in a long time. Then why has the rumor of the princess being promiscuous spread? It couldn’t have happened without someone deliberately spreading it…’
Just before I came to the Tower, Crown Princess Catherine had summoned me and issued a command.
“While you guard Iolet, observe her every move carefully. Watch whether she does anything suspicious, whether she tries to meet with anyone, whether she writes letters to anyone. And the moment your duty as Guard Knight ends, report everything directly to me.”
I had thought it was an order to manage the reputation of her beloved younger sister, but everything that happened in this Tower had been under the Crown Princess’s permission and tacit approval from the start.
The princess had described everything that happened here as something she “endured.”
Then could something have occurred that shouldn’t have…?
Had she been assaulted, or at least lived under such danger?
Had the Crown Princess allowed such a situation to continue all this time?
An unholy suspicion reared its head.
I clenched my jaw tightly.
I needed to understand the situation carefully over the next week.
At the very least, I could not allow such unseemly incidents to occur while I stood guard. Never.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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