Beneath the Surviving Princess's Joyful Facade - Chapter 120

“Answer my question,” Miesa demanded.

But Anika didn’t respond easily. She muttered ominously under her breath, and Eirik and the Emmanes brothers’ names seemed to slip from her lips.

Seeing Anika’s inexplicable behavior, Miesa spoke gently, “If you satisfy my curiosity, I’ll grant you what you wish. It will be my first promise as queen.”

At Miesa’s words, Anika lifted her head, her eyes gleaming with madness. “Really?”

“I promise to keep my word,” Miesa replied, meeting her gaze.

Anika’s gaunt face broke into a satisfied smile. “Fine. What could a monkey possibly be curious about?”

“Bring Anika a chair,” Miesa ordered.

The conversation would be lengthy. At her command, a guard brought a chair for Anika, helping her into it as she stumbled, while the vice-captain stood behind her.

“Anika, did you know I was sane?” Miesa asked.

She asked because Anika hadn’t seemed shocked when Miesa returned to the palace and began weeding out the maids. Anika’s response was immediate.

“After you two visited the palace to pay your respects after the wedding, Vermel started mimicking you. It was strange, seeing someone who couldn’t utter a word and only laughed like a beast suddenly start saying, ‘It hurts, it hurts,’ in broken words. Isn’t that odd?”

“Oh…”

So, that’s when she found out. But Anika’s answer only deepened Miesa’s curiosity. She pressed further, “Why didn’t you tell Vermel when you noticed?”

“……”

“I’ll only keep my promise if you answer fully.”

Anika’s eyes darted around as if calculating something, then she spoke. “I thought you’d die soon anyway, so why bother?”

“Why did you think I’d die?”

“Fine, I’ll tell you everything, but you must keep your promise.”

At that moment, Eirik intervened, cautioning, “Your Majesty, it might be wise to confirm what she desires even now.”

Miesa assumed Anika would ask for her life, but Anika’s response was unexpected.

“No! Kill me. Just kill me swiftly,” Anika cried, her eyes red with desperation. “And burn my body here. Never, ever send me back to Sidate.”

“Is that all?” Miesa asked.

Anika nodded. That much wasn’t difficult, so Miesa pressed on, “All right. Now answer my previous question.”

“I don’t remember what you asked, so I’ll just tell you everything. What stories could a monkey possibly want to hear?” Anika took a deep breath and began.

“I was the one who suggested sending you to the Cladnier family because their mistress was known for handling people so cleanly.”

Was it Anika, not the goddess, who had led her to Eirik? Miesa rubbed her temples, realizing that the goddess seemed to have done nothing for her. Meanwhile, Anika continued.

“Vermel was amused at the thought of pairing you with the Cladnier heir. He had fits at the mere mention of their name as the war dragged on. Oh, and it was also my idea when Count Sellas proposed sending a woman to the former Margrave.”

Miesa knew Eirik had struggled to uncover the person behind the woman at the time.

“The woman sent to the former Margrave was one of yours?” Miesa asked.

“No, but many Sidate people live near the border. I wrote a letter.”

“And what does it matter if the woman was from Sidate?” Miesa questioned further.

“Even in my current state, I’m still the daughter of a prominent family in Sidate,” Anika replied with a trace of bitterness.

At that, Eirik’s face faintly twisted. Miesa noticed and turned to him, asking, “Margrave Cladnier, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

After a brief pause, Eirik shook his head. “No, Your Majesty. I have none.”

“Very well. Then continue, Anika. What did you plan to do with the woman?”

“That’s where Conselor Sellas took over. I wasn’t involved,” Anika replied without hesitation.

“Were you the one who wanted to poison me when I lived at the Cladnier estate?”

“Hardly. That childish game? I suggested throwing you from a height. When they ignored me, I heard Maleca’s corpse came back instead of yours.”

“Why? Why were you so determined to kill me?” Miesa rose from the throne, unable to contain her anger. “Vermel did everything to me, but he let me live, so I endured, believing that even this hell would end. But you, you made me uneasy. Why did you hate me so much, and what did I do to you to make you want me dead?”

“What?” Anika replied incredulously. “You wanted to live through that?”

Miesa’s face was filled with confusion at Anika’s response. “What do you mean?”

“I wouldn’t have wanted to live like that. I would have wanted to die!” Anika shouted, rising from her chair.

“It was obvious that I’d end up like you someday—being mocked and scorned while out of my mind, like a beast. I just wanted to put you at ease as quickly as possible.”

Miesa was taken aback, rendered speechless.

Here sat a woman who had survived so tenaciously upon the throne, while the one who had tried so desperately to kill her sat bruised and battered, facing her. Only the sunlight streaming through the glass window illuminated them both equally.

After a long silence, Miesa spoke in a subdued voice, “I hated you for a long time. I struggled to survive, while you wanted me dead. Yet, you were the only one who treated me like a person in this palace.”

There was a hint of emptiness in Miesa’s tone. “In any case, Vermel was the root of it all. You only made me uneasy for a few years. Anika, if you want to live, I’ll let you. You’ll get treatment.”

At that moment, Anika, who had been quietly sitting, suddenly stood up in a fit and shouted, “Kill me, kill me! You promised to grant my wish!”

“You just need to live!” Miesa also stood up and shouted back. “Death is easy. But no matter how dirty and miserable life is, there will come a day when you can live properly.”

“Are you satisfied with the outcome of your lucky survival, Miesa Esquillir, and do you think you can force that on others?”

Anika’s words, shouted as if spitting blood, left Miesa momentarily speechless. She had once felt that her mother’s words to survive were a curse binding her.

Anika, who had been sobbing, looked up with bloodshot eyes and muttered, “I suppose you sleep well at night. I had to watch the dreadful morning sun rise every day with sleepless eyes. I was terrified, terrified of another day beginning…”

As Anika mumbled, she stared out at the sunlight streaming through the glass wall. Then, as if possessed, she suddenly dashed toward the outside.

“……!”

Before Miesa could even call Anika’s name in surprise, Eirik turned quickly to catch her, but Anika had already hurled herself at the glass wall.

With a crash, the glass shattered into pieces. Everyone thought she was running toward the glass wall to escape. But Anika picked up a shard without hesitation and stabbed her own neck.

As Anika’s body staggered and collapsed, Eirik rushed over to check her condition. However, even to the naked eye, it was clear that it would be difficult to save her life.

“My body, burn it here…”

Her rasping breath didn’t last long. Eirik gently laid Anika’s body on the floor and quietly shook his head at Miesa to signify her death.

A long silence ensued. It was Miesa who finally broke it.

“You should have stopped Anika!” As soon as she recovered from the shock, Miesa shouted at the deputy commander of the guard in frustration.

“Weren’t you standing right behind Anika? Did you think I put you there just to watch?”

Panting with anger, Miesa called for Tilberg. He came running, still shaken from hiding in his quarters, and Miesa glared at him fiercely.

“What punishment can be given to him?”

Tilberg quickly assessed the situation and stated the rules. “The heaviest punishment for a deputy commander is flogging.”

“What’s flogging? Speak clearly, so I don’t have to ask twice.”

At her sharp tone, Tilberg bowed deeply. “I’m sorry. It’s a punishment of fifty lashes with a cane.”

“Administer it immediately. In front of me.”

Miesa then looked at Eirik with eyes still filled with anger. “If you have anything to say, say it now, Margrave.”

If he had any objections to her punishment, she wanted him to voice them. But Eirik shook his head. “I have no objections to the appropriate punishment.”

Miesa took a deep breath. Even as she watched the deputy commander being flogged, her anger did not subside.

“I’m going to the office, and you, Margrave, do not follow me.”

After the punishment ended, she disappeared somewhere with Tilberg in tow. Duke Salachez, who had been standing outside the central hall, blinked as he watched the scene unfold.