Beneath the Surviving Princess's Joyful Facade - Chapter 74

Night had fallen.

As usual, Gella had returned to her quarters to prepare the medicine for Miesa for the next day. Despite lying in bed for quite some time, Miesa couldn’t fall asleep.

She quietly got up and pulled out a box from under her bed. Inside were the bag of sweets she had bought during her outing, a silver coin covered in scratches from her hands, and a pouch filled with money, carefully hidden away.

Miesa now had her own treasure box. She carefully took out the pouch, which jingled with its heavy contents.

She planned to spread it out on the table and admire it. Feeling slightly excited, she held the pouch with both hands and headed towards the table, but she tripped on the rug and fell.

With a loud clatter, the pouch hit the edge of the table, and its contents spilled noisily onto the floor. Miesa watched in dismay as gold, silver, and copper coins rolled across the floor, their loud clinking echoing in the room.

At that moment, she heard a knock on the door, followed by Cullen’s voice.

“Young madam, are you alright? May I come in?”

Cullen didn’t wait for a response and opened the door abruptly. He saw the scattered coins on the floor and Miesa sitting amidst them.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, assessing the situation.

Seeing no immediate danger, Cullen firmly secured the open door to prevent any misunderstandings before walking over to Miesa.

Miesa instinctively shrank back, lowering her head. Seeing this, Cullen stepped back a pace. The room’s surroundings suggested she wasn’t seriously injured.

With that settled, Cullen decided there was no need to worry further about her. He bent down and began sweeping the coins back into the pouch.

“…….”

Without a word, Cullen filled the pouch and placed it on the table.

“If you need anything, call for me,” he said politely before turning to leave. Miesa slowly stood up but noticed the door wasn’t closing.

She held her breath, crouched low. Why isn’t he leaving?

Then, suddenly, she remembered something about Margravine Cladnier. Her body tensed as her eyes darted around the room, scanning for objects. Fortunately, she could see Cullen’s reflection in the silver teapot on the bedside table.

The distance and curvature prevented her from seeing his expression, but it was clear he was facing her. Why? Miesa froze, unable to breathe.

“Young madam, excuse me for a moment,” Cullen said.

He began to approach. If he means harm, I’ll run to the balcony and jump.

Bracing herself to break a leg from the three-story fall, she watched as Cullen stopped three steps away.

“This height… ah, here,” he muttered, measuring something with his hand.

Realizing she wasn’t moving, he said, “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. It’s just hard to find someone the same height.”

With those cryptic words, Cullen left. Only after the bedroom door closed completely did Miesa slide down to the floor.

Cullen felt a deep pity for the young madam. She had once been so lively, causing trouble everywhere, yet now she seemed frightened just being alone with a man at night. It was clear that the commander had done something to terrify her when they were alone. He had once seemed to favor her greatly, so why the sudden harsh treatment?

Standing in the hallway, gazing out at the dark garden, Cullen’s imagination ran wild.

It’s common for men to neglect their wives when they find a new woman. Could it be…?

There were no other women around the commander, Cullen knew this well. Gella, of course, didn’t count, leaving only one suspect: the young madam’s stand-in.

Cullen took a deep breath. The commander having a mistress was akin to finding out one’s superior was a drunkard—disappointing but not entirely condemnable. However, mistreating a mentally unstable wife and preying on an innocent girl were entirely different matters.

While Cullen felt there was little he could do for the young madam, he was determined to protect the seventeen-year-old country girl from the commander. Just then, as if on cue, the commander appeared at the far end of the dark hallway with his brother, Vallek.

“It’s time to swap shifts now,” the commander said.

“Yes, sir,” Cullen replied.

With those words, the commander headed straight for the bedroom. Vallek approached his brother with a broad grin.

“The commander is now officially the Margrave. He made the announcement at the vassals’ meeting.”

“…I see,” Cullen responded.

“And things will get serious now. I’ll explain everything when we get back to our quarters in the morning,” Vallek added.

But Cullen wasn’t listening to his brother. His eyes were fixed on the bedroom door.

“What’s wrong?” Vallek asked.

“You know, if…” Cullen hesitated, pondering whether to warn his brother to intervene if the commander mistreated his wife. After a moment, he shook his head. “Never mind. But if you hear anything unusual…”

Vallek’s face turned bright red. “What are you talking about? I’m not moving from this spot. Don’t even suggest such a thing.”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

“Wow, really… I can’t believe my own brother is prying into the commander’s marital affairs…”

Looking at Cullen with disdain, Vallek gave him a hard shove. “Get married yourself. Then you’ll be too busy with your own wife to worry about anyone else’s.”

Cullen’s anger boiled over. Grabbing his brother by the collar, he growled, “Shut up and listen. If the commander is abusing his wife, you need to intervene.”

He whispered fiercely into Vallek’s ear, but his brother only scoffed.

“Don’t give me that crap. Haven’t you seen how the commander dotes on his wife? Even old men don’t treat their youngest daughters that way.”

“That’s not it…”

“Stop making noise and go wash up and get some sleep.”

Defeated, Cullen trudged back to his quarters, his steps heavy with frustration and anger.

“Ask Cullen if he noticed anything,” Miesa urged, her voice trembling with urgency.

“…I’m back…,” Eirik’s greeting was interrupted by Miesa’s anxious questioning.

“Right now? You want me to ask Cullen now?” Eirik raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Yes. No, no, not now. If you ask him now, he’ll definitely get suspicious… Why am I like this? Whenever I get flustered, my brain just freezes,” Miesa said, tapping her head in frustration. Eirik, alarmed, grabbed her hands to stop her, reminded of Grand Duke Hagail’s troubling behavior.

“It’s natural for anyone to blank out when they’re flustered. And hitting your head won’t help you think better, so stop that,” Eirik advised gently.

“Please ask him tomorrow. Find out exactly what he thinks, in detail. If he noticed, why and how he did,” Miesa pleaded, trying to explain her confusion.

“Miesa, calm down. Cullen was in a position to notice everything. This decision was made with that in mind, wasn’t it?” Eirik reassured her.

“I understand how Maleca figured it out. And Margravine Cladnier too. So I know what to be careful about with them. But Cullen seemed completely unaware. Not at all,” Miesa explained, trying to make sense of her thoughts.

“Gella was with you…”

“Gella was so natural that day, she even called me ‘miss’ effortlessly,” Miesa said, a hint of frustration in her voice.

Eirik decided not to let the comment bother him, focusing instead on Miesa’s serious expression.

“Anyway, it scares me how things are growing beyond my control. Like how my skin changes when I get goosebumps…” Miesa continued, her voice trembling.

“I understand. I’ll ask him tomorrow if he noticed anything and why. I’ll let you know in detail,” Eirik promised.

Miesa nodded, then suddenly widened her eyes. “By the way, you said you couldn’t come today, but you’re here?”

Eirik smiled, seeing how touched she was. “So, I thought I might stay the night. What do you think?”

“Really?” Miesa blinked, then asked cautiously, “Were you planning to stay over, or are you doing this because I was scared?”

“Well…” Eirik replied, trailing off.

Sometimes, the best answer to a teenage girl’s question is to be a bit vague. He remembered the advice from Baron Bahrain, who had mentioned this during one of their recent consultations.

“I’m very, very grateful. What should I do… I’m really grateful,” Miesa said, her hands trembling as she hugged his neck.

Baron Bahrain had apologized for the late advice, but Eirik decided he deserved some kind of reward. Seeing Miesa’s hands trembling as she hugged him, he was sure of it.

“For just this? I’ve done much more for you before—”

“…I was so scared. I almost hid under the blanket until morning again,” Miesa confessed.

Eirik’s smile faded, and he silently held her tightly.

“And now I understand how much you’ve done for me,” Miesa whispered in his ear, repeatedly murmuring her thanks.