Beneath the Surviving Princess's Joyful Facade - Chapter 149

Recently, Miesa had been visiting Grand Duke Hagail, who was staying at the Damac Palace next to the Central Palace. The secret passage Eirik had discovered through Count Sellas’s court had been a great help to Miesa, who feared birds. Today, she was speaking with Grand Duke Hagail once again.

“Grand Duke, how are your meals? Do they suit your taste?”

“I’m just eating whatever the doctor tells me to. What do I care for taste?”

Grand Duke Hagail replied gruffly, gesturing toward Gella with his chin. Hearing this, Miesa’s eyes once again filled with tears.

“It’s fine. My eyes have been acting up lately, so this happens sometimes.”

As Miesa tried to brush off her tears, the Grand Duke clicked his tongue and muttered, “Well, I doubt Your Majesty is in perfect health either.”

Still, after nearly six months of treatment, Grand Duke Hagail had regained much of his former self. While his complexion remained pale, the gaunt, twisted form of his body had filled out into that of a reasonably normal adult male.

“Grand Duke, are you feeling comfortable here?”

“Well, more or less. But what on earth are those strange things hanging outside the Central Palace?”

Miesa glanced out the window. Below the windows of the Central Palace, just beneath her office window, something was hanging.

“Oh, that… It must have been Eirik. You know I’m afraid of birds.”

The straw cats and wild animals, drenched and frozen by the winter snow, had long since faded under the spring winds and summer sun. She had no idea when Eirik had put them up there.

“That was the Margrave’s doing? Is it working?”

“…Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen a bird near the Central Palace. I’ve only spotted one or two while riding in the carriage.”

Even when he wasn’t by her side, he was always protecting her. Realizing this, Miesa’s tears fell once again.

Watching her, Grand Duke Hagail seemed to consider something before speaking slowly, “Your Majesty, I know you were likely married without much information, but the Cladnier family is quite a ruthless lot.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Don’t look so stern. Just listen to me for a moment.”

Grand Duke Hagail frowned even more deeply than she did as he continued, “They are fiercely loyal to their own, but as for traitors? They’ll skin them alive. I suppose that makes sense, given how closely they’ve had to stick together on the frontier.”

Miesa shook her head. She was already part of the Cladnier family, so she felt no fear—only a greater sense of belonging.

“What of it? Vermel did those things even without traitors.”

“Well, that’s why I’m saying I don’t regard the Cladnier family as scum, just that they’re quite ruthless.”

At this point, Gella, who had been quietly sitting nearby, chimed in, “Skin them alive? I grew up in Cladis, but I’ve never heard of the Cladnier family doing anything like that.”

“They did, up until three generations ago.” Grand Duke Hagail sighed. “Enough. Neither of you understand. This conversation is going nowhere.”

At least the Grand Duke now knew Gella’s name. Though frowning, Miesa couldn’t help but ask the question that had suddenly piqued her curiosity.

“By the way, are you alright discussing such things? The part about skinning people, I mean.”

“Well, I can’t go into a fit over every little thing, can I?”

It was curious. She had heard reports that Grand Duke Hagail still occasionally cried out at night. The servants had told her that sending Gella to the Damac Palace calmed him down somewhat.

“Gella…”

Miesa glanced between the two of them as she tried to ask, Do you like Gella that much?

Once, they had seemed like father and daughter, but now, Grand Duke Hagail and Gella appeared more like an uncle and niece, or even a couple with a significant age difference.

With his gray hair and blue eyes, Grand Duke Hagail, who had once been severely gaunt, was slowly regaining his refined features.

Of course, Miesa wasn’t the only one who had noticed the Grand Duke’s gradual transformation.

“Was Grand Duke Hagail always this handsome?”

On the way back to the Central Palace through the underground passage, Gella cautiously asked the question, causing Miesa to tilt her head in curiosity.

“The Grand Duke used to look just like Vermel.”

“Oh…”

Gella couldn’t bring herself to say more, but Miesa continued without a second thought, “Honestly, all of us look pretty similar. If that’s the case, then the Grand Duke must be as beautiful as me.”

Miesa was confident. If Eirik thought she was that beautiful, surely others would find her just as stunning.

Gella giggled, but she didn’t forget to nod enthusiastically. “Of course, Your Majesty is far more beautiful.”

“So, now that the Grand Duke has grown more handsome, do you fancy him?”

“If I say yes, you’re not going to pull something out of my mouth with a skewer, are you?” Gella teased.

In the privacy of the underground passage, the two women felt freer to talk without worrying about prying eyes. When alone with Gella, Miesa could momentarily forget her longing for Eirik.

“To be honest, Your Majesty, the Grand Duke treats me very well.”

“What’s the point of that? His way of speaking is all wrong.”

Miesa dismissed the notion, but the expression on Gella’s face, lit by the flickering torchlight, clearly showed disagreement.

“But, Your Majesty, he’s different when it’s just the two of us.”

Gella began to speak slowly. The Grand Duke had been diligent in taking his medicine, cutting back on alcohol as she suggested, and even quitting his strong tobacco.

And, whenever he had a late-night seizure, he would stop, hug her tightly, and…

“…we even kissed once.”

“What?! You kissed him?!”

This time, Miesa couldn’t hold back. Startled, she slapped Gella’s back, causing the torch to flicker wildly.

“You must be out of your mind! Completely mad!”

“But now, whenever the Grand Duke sees me, he just smiles.”

“Why is he smiling? He’s gone mad, obviously.”

“It’s strange, really. He’s such a fierce, angry man, but he only smiles when he sees me. The same man who has no qualms about saying anything to Your Majesty can’t stop smiling at me.”

For a moment, Miesa couldn’t think of a response. She was used to being treated with indifference, so she had never found Grand Duke Hagail’s rude behavior particularly offensive.

Well, she was the ruler of this country, after all. The fact that he acted so insolently towards her seemed impressive in Gella’s eyes.

Finding the entire situation absurd, Miesa asked again, “So, you like that madman? Since when?”

“As you know, at first, I was only pretending to like him to get Your Majesty’s attention… but now he’s lost a lot of weight, and his arms and legs are thicker than mine. And, his face has become quite handsome.”

It seemed Gella was more concerned with appearances than Miesa had thought. But Miesa still had her concerns.

“What if the Grand Duke doesn’t live long?”

“I’ll make sure he’s well-treated so he can live a long life.”

“That’s not the point. He’s only showing interest in you because of his late lover. I can’t accept that.”

“I’m fine with it.”

“What if he asks you to mimic her? What if he wants you to act and look exactly like her? Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl.” Miesa stopped walking and shuddered.

Gella smiled faintly. “The Grand Duke knows I’m not capable of impersonating anyone. He’s never even suggested it.”

“Still, it’s unsettling.”

Seeing Miesa’s discomfort, Gella remained silent.

Even if the Grand Duke did want someone to take the place of his deceased lover, most women wouldn’t feel the slightest hesitation in doing so. The promise of royal favor and wealth in exchange for such a minor task? Who would refuse?

But Gella, having genuinely developed feelings for the Grand Duke, kept her thoughts to herself. She worried that the queen, protective as she was, might bring in someone who resembled the Grand Duke’s former lover.

“Wait a minute.”

Miesa suddenly stopped again, grabbing Gella’s arm in shock.

“You kissed him? Were you both fully dressed?”

“At first, we were…”

Gella grinned sheepishly, causing Miesa to tremble.