Rewriting the Trash Ending - Chapter 4

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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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4.

***

A few days later.
The three attendants knelt before her with tense expressions.
Lumiere let out a soft laugh.
What they had brought as “sincerity” fell woefully short of her expectations.
“Surely I told you to show some sincerity?”
Attendant One offered an apologetic excuse.
“Your Highness, we would never make light of your words. Only, the funds we could gather on short notice were rather limited…….”
“That’s your problem, not mine.”
Years of skimmed wages they must have saved, yet they scraped together barely a month’s pay?
‘And all three brought exactly the same amount—as if they’d rehearsed it.’
They’d thought she’d release all three if they played along, but collusion crumbles the moment one party breaks their word.
Lumiere set down the jingling purse and addressed Attendant One.
“Of the three, your sincerity is the most… convincing.”
“I beg your pardon……?”
“Even if it’s not what I hoped for, I spoke it aloud, so I can’t very well take it back.”
“I’m not sure I understand, Your Highness…….”
“You may remain at the Imperial Palace. But the other two—I’ll be taking them to the Grand Duchy, so pack what you need.”
In that moment, the air in the room shifted subtly.
Attendant Two’s gaze drifted slowly toward Attendant One.
But they’d brought the same amount, hadn’t they?
Attendant Three, too, cast a sideways glance at One with a hardened expression.
Attendant One herself merely moved her lips wordlessly, as if lost.
“Your Highness, I think there may be some misunderstanding. Our three contributions were surely similar…….”
“How would I know whether your sincerity matches or differs? Unless you three arranged it beforehand?”
“……!”
As Attendant One fell silent, frozen, Attendants Two and Three—who had been reading the room—suddenly prostrated themselves in panic.
“Your Highness, please! We’ll scrape together the difference by whatever means necessary!”
“Your Highness, I—I sent word to my family, just give us a few more days……!”
Collusion, promises, loyalty—all dissolved into a scramble for survival.
‘To think I suffered humiliation at the hands of such creatures.’
She laughed quietly and withdrew into her bedchamber.
Click.
The moment the door closed, she pressed her ear against it and caught the sound of the three quarreling outside.
“How much more did you slip in?”
“I don’t know. I swear I gave exactly what we agreed on.”
“You expect me to believe that now?”
“Then what—should we ask Her Highness to settle it? See whose story holds?”
“You really……!”
As she’d anticipated, the bond that had seemed so solid until moments ago had fractured.
‘Now I simply wait.’
The three, driven by desperate competition, would bring her money in a frenzy.
She gazed at the thought of a swelling purse, and a satisfied smile curved her lips.

***

In the Wizier Empire, within the Emperor’s study.
Golden hair and blue eyes, a tall frame—yet the man’s expression was contemptible.
Tenner Von Wizier let out a bitter laugh.
“The Grand Duke is arriving in the Capital soon?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“To think that barbarian would take personal action to fetch her—this is beyond ridiculous.”
“Surely it’s because the Princess is anxious she might flee?”
“They say women bolt like rabbits once a betrothal is announced. Tsk, tsk.”
The Princess herself had even attempted poison rather than marry a savage, so he’d come to collect her in person—that much was understandable.

‘When the black hawk of the Northern Region spreads its wings, a shadow shall fall upon the sun.’

That Ominous Prophecy came to mind, and the mixture of barbarian blood with Imperial blood left an unpleasant taste, but it could not be helped.
No one had been willing to take her away because of the scandal she had caused.
“What of that woman? She’s not threatening to kill herself again, is she?”
“No, Your Majesty. Since awakening, she has remained quiet.”
“Fortunate.”
Having brought shame upon the Imperial Family, she ought to pay the price.
It would be troublesome if she died before proving her worth.
“See that this matter is kept strictly confidential so the princess cannot meddle, and when the Grand Duke arrives, bring her at once to the Grand Hall.”
“It shall be done.”
“Oh, and summon Trobytan to the Imperial Palace that day.”
“Yes…?”
Summon him when the princess’s situation was so dire?
The attendant’s eyes wavered with confusion, and the Emperor’s lips twisted.
“Though she is a disgrace to the Imperial Family, she is still my only sister. I should grant her the chance to meet her first love one last time. Don’t you think?”
“A most gracious sentiment, Your Majesty. The princess will surely be grateful for your magnanimous heart.”
“Indeed, it must be so.”
In the Emperor’s blue eyes, a low, petty malice glimmered.
The Ominous Prophecy uttered by that base dancer still grew like mold in the shadows, spoken through the lips of those who questioned his ability and merit.
So that wretch must pay the price of her mother’s sins for all her days.
Just as he himself must carry that ill-fated prophecy like a shadow all his life.
And yet—to grant her the chance to exchange a final word with her beloved first love.
What merciful clemency that was.
The Emperor smiled thinly, as if dreaming of the princess broken and collapsed in despair.
***

A month had passed since the Regression.
The shallow bonds among the attendants shattered completely with that single wedge of discord.
The three women, now sworn enemies, vied with each other to offer not only their wealth but also new dresses and jewels to ensure they alone survived, and they informed on each other.
How much money had been embezzled.
What slanders had been spoken. And so on.
‘These girls are ridiculous, I tell you.’
How could it not be amusing to watch identical creatures tearing at each other for their own survival?
In any case, after a month of squeezing stress out of them, her face had taken on a healthy glow.
“Your Highness, the delegation from the Grand Duchy has arrived at the city gates!”
The news she had been waiting for finally came.
Whether because the Grand Duke had arrived or because it was the day she would leave the Imperial Palace, her heart raced with anticipation.
“I must make ready to depart at once.”
With her first meeting with her betrothed husband ahead, not a moment could be wasted.
Lumiere completed her preparations with the attendants’ assistance.
‘A month of carefully gaining weight was worth the effort.’
Hair white as snow, lustrous from the oil she’d applied and now composed.
Pale but clear and smooth skin.
Beautiful, deep-set eyes and full, reddened lips.
In the mirror stood a beauty with a melancholic air as if burdened by deep secrets, clothed in an elegant dress.
Perhaps it was thanks to intensive care of a body long neglected.
Though she had done nothing artful, she could see the shadow of her mother—a dancer who had once captured the Emperor’s heart with nothing but her station.
She turned from the mirror and checked her Purse of Gold.
Within it, gold coins and jewels taken from the attendants over time gleamed brightly.
The amount was considerable, as if she had scraped away even their souls.
“Your Highness, but whom do you intend to take with you to the Northern Region…?”
She shook her head at the question from Attendant One, who had watched her nervously all this while.
“Never mind that. Taking anyone would only be a burden, if I’m fortunate.”
At those words, the attendants’ faces brightened with relief.
‘They shouldn’t be so pleased.’
Would that vulgar Emperor truly remain silent when faced with someone as presentable as herself?
No.
He would surely find someone to take his anger out on.
And with high probability, those people would be the handmaids of the Princess Palace who had so diligently tended to her health.
‘…Well, not that it matters to me either way.’
She tucked the weighty Purse of Gold carefully into her bodice and smoothed her appearance.
How long had she waited?
At last, 1-ho announced the arrival of an attendant.
“Your Highness, an attendant sent by His Majesty has arrived. He commands that you come to the Grand Hall at once.”
She stepped through the door, leaving behind the handmaids—flushed with excitement, oblivious to what was about to unfold.
At last, the moment to leave had come.
This suffocating, dreadful Imperial Palace.

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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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