NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Young Aelia couldn’t see the forest for the trees. Even the trees in front of her were too tall for her to see further. She was so focused on what was in front of her that she didn’t know how to see farther. So she always got lost.
“Your Highness… How can I…”
Aelia stared unimpressed at the Handmaiden’s flushed cheeks. The look of embarrassment on her face was unfamiliar. In her previous life, she had always been busy laughing at Aelia.
Kyle’s face went blank for a moment, then quickly hardened. There was a hint of anger in his voice, as if she’d expected it.
“You are the reason the Empire is not happy.”
Aelia shrugged at Kyle’s conviction. They’d never been on the best of terms, but she hadn’t been worried when he’d vomited up blood in front of her. But it wasn’t like it was anything new for him to say. Funny, really. It was funny how they looked at each other with such plasticity.
“That’s it, I don’t want to hear your excuses anymore.”
Kyle looked at Aelia with pathetic eyes and stormed out of the room. His steps were cold, as if the current situation had nothing to do with her.
She must have mistaken him for her brother-in-law. The handmaiden bowed her head and fell flat on her face.
“No matter what I’ve done wrong, you shouldn’t have done this in front of His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Her posture was low, but her voice was full of conviction. Even though she knew full well that Kyle shouldn’t be this surprised. It was clear she was trying to use Kyle because she didn’t like the way Aelia had slapped him. Young Aelia had always wanted her brother’s affection, and in the past, she might have believed the Handmaiden was right.
“As usual. It’s not the first time I’ve been capricious and domineering.”
Aelia’s expression hardened, and she leaned down and grabbed the Handmaiden’s face. This was the woman who had been a constant source of sweet poison in her ears in her previous life, and she remembered why she had so firmly believed she was on her side then.
“Show me, you said, how high I am. You were the one who told me that I shouldn’t hold back, that I should show it to get attention.”
The betrayal she felt when she realized later that she was the mouthpiece of some noble family was indescribable. She can’t tell how many days she cried when she realized she was the one poisoning her meals. It was so sad to know once again that the world was not on his side.
“Kanna.”
Kanna looked up at Aelia’s call. The hem of Aelia’s robe was stained red and the corner of her mouth was smeared with blood. She looked familiar, but facing Qing’an, it was as if she had never seen him before.
“It’s my last consideration not to ask you about your sins now.”
“What, what-.”
“Your disposition will belong to your master, who will hear that you have been cast out from me.”
“No! The person I serve is the Empress and… I have done nothing wrong, why are you doing this to me!”
The cold voice made Kanna shake her head urgently. This was different. The aura emanating from Aelia, the cold tone. She didn’t seem like the young princess who had been playing on her palm.
“Which is true, the poisoning of my cup, or the attempt to subject me to the tastes of the nobility all this time?”
Kanna fell silent at Aelia’s question, and with a heavy sigh, Aelia slowly pushed herself to her feet. There was no time to waste on this; there was much to think about if she was to avoid repeating the past again.
“You are now the Handmaiden of this palace.”
Aelia pointed to the calm-faced one of the handmaidens who’d been drawn into the commotion. It was a girl she had disliked in a previous life for saying the right thing.
For a moment, the handmaiden was confused, then she bowed her head. It was a sign of compliance with unexplained behavior.
“This is Renee, Your Majesty, and I will prepare some warm water for you to wash.”
“Your Majesty, I can explain everything. I’ll die if I’m thrown out of here! They won’t leave me alone…!”
Kanna cried out desperately. She didn’t know what the High Ones were thinking, but she would surely die the moment she left this place. Easily, for the sole reason that she might one day become poison to them.
Aelia looked down at Kanna. Her eyes as cold as frost. Kanna bit her lip tightly, overwhelmed by the atmosphere.
“I’m sorry if you thought you’d be fooled by excuses again, because I won’t disappoint.”
Aelia straightened her bowed waist and looked back at Renee. Unlike the other handmaidens, she didn’t look too bad.
“Renee. I want you to send out all the children who have been close to Kanna and bring in new ones.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I want someone quiet, someone who doesn’t have any useless excuses.”
Without hesitation, Aelia turned and walked away. She ignored the chatter among the maids.
***
Aelia soaked in the warm water and let out a long breath. She was tired already. As if to remind her of the hell she’d been through, she was overwhelmed by the situation she’d woken up in.
“Aelia, Risperio…”
Perhaps it was because she’d always been called Han Seah, but her name felt strange. Even though she had never forgotten it. The name that came out of her mouth reminded her more vividly of her life as Seah.
Aelia blinked, still, and then lifted herself out of the tub. In her previous life, she’d been so foolishly taken advantage of. She was too busy swaying with the wind, too busy bending because she didn’t know how to bend.
It’s not going to happen now
What had not yet happened was the past to her. She had no intention of reliving the past, and so she refused to accept Kyle’s outburst and sent for a maid of honour to attend to the troublesome business.
After her bath, Aelia left her damp hair in Renee’s hands; she needed to get busy if she was going to go out immediately. Her plans required a meeting with the Emperor.
Deon R. Lysperio, current Emperor of the Lysperio Empire. He originally had only two children. Kyle, the crown prince, and Aelia, the accident princess. They were the last of the bloodline born to the Empress, whom he had taken in a marriage of convenience. Until the illegitimate daughter, Velita, came along.
She was the child of the only woman the Emperor had ever loved. The Emperor’s death left him with less to worry about, but that changed with the Empress’s death.
To perfect his imperial power, the Emperor dreamed of unifying the continent. This dream might have been fulfilled if a rebellious nobleman hadn’t discovered the existence of his departed love, Belita, and tipped off the Emperor.
It was a fitting narrative for a novel. A commoner, lonely and big at the hands of her mother, turns out to be a princess who will be loved by the emperor.
For Aelia, who had never been taught anything but flaws by the Emperor and Empress, to see Velita was shocking. That she could do anything and still be loved. Jealousy, which exceeded envy, engulfed young Aelia.
“We’ll eat after we go out.”
Renee bowed her head at Aelia’s words. “I’ll have it ready.” She nodded at the monotonous words. Unlike before, she didn’t mind the silence of the palace. Aelia stared at her reflection in the mirror for a moment, then started walking slowly. It had been a long time since she had gone to the Imperial Palace unannounced.
On the way to the Emperor’s Palace was Velita’s Palace. The Emperor wanted to be closer to her than anyone else. Aelia gazed at the other, more ornate palace, similar to her’s palace. She had hated, disliked, and loathed Velita, but now she had nothing left to feel for her.
She wasn’t going to let them get to her anymore, and she wasn’t going to let anyone else control her. She was going to live for herself.
Just then, a clear voice reached Aelia’s ears.
“Come with me, Adrian!”
Brown hair ruffled in the wind. Velita Herrine. The heroine of the novel, gentle and kind to all. Smiling brightly, she stopped walking when she saw Aelia. Her behavior was obviously uncomfortable.
They hadn’t been on good terms ever since Velita had arrived at the palace. She was always on guard when they met, and she was always hiding, afraid that Aelia would take anything away from her.
Aelia approached, slowly closing the distance. Velita’s eyes fluttered uneasily, as if she might do anything. She could see why. Aelia was busy glaring at her whenever she saw her, and occasionally sneakily pushing her over when she didn’t mean to.
She should be thankful it’s still that way. She didn’t want to think about the things she’d done when she’d fallen under the nobles’ spell and become their puppet.
It was only one step. The man with her, Adrian, followed closely behind as if to keep an eye on Aelia. As befits a heroine of this world, the man walking with Velitha was the Empire’s youngest Master of the Order.
Adrian’s gaze was sharp as he looked at Aelia, for he knew that Aelia wanted to send Velita to Harven to replace her, and didn’t care how it ended, she doesn’t feel guilty.
“Your Majesty, please step back.”
“It’s okay, Adrian.”
He clearly saw her as a danger. As a demon lord, she might be a bit of a nosy bastard, but as a princess, this was her attitude. Aelia was ridiculous.
If she really did something, she might get hit with an attack spell. It was a lighthearted thought, but not something to be joked about, not with Velita’s current position, and Aelia was well aware that she was in the exact opposite position from her.
“Hi, Aelia. Um…. What, do you have something to say?”
Aelia took a deep breath at Velita’s question. God, this was making her so nervous. After a long exhale, Aelia held out her hand.
“I’m sorry.”
It was the first step toward a happy life, the first step away from being the villainess in a novel.