「I never loved you.」
Estel, the fiancée of the Crown Prince of Luminara, suddenly found herself in a troubling position.
“Your Highness…”
Tonight was the grand celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Kingdom’s founding. Hence, the castle had been transformed into a breathtaking spectacle of opulence and magnificence, a fitting embodiment of the Kingdom’s vast wealth and prestige. Nobility from every corner of the continent gathered in the royal capital to witness the observance ceremony, gracing the ballroom floor in their finest silk and velvet. The soft strains of violins, cellos and harpsichords filled the air, encouraging everyone to dance and setting the mood for an unforgettable night.
But now, the air buzzed with the hum of stunned gasps and whispered scandals instead.
“Did you hear what His Highness said just now?!”
“I was expecting His Highness to publicly announce their engagement tonight, why did he change his mind so suddenly?”
“No way, could it be that all of those terrible accusations against Lady Estel are true…”
Estel’s heart pounded in her chest as her gaze flickered up to the dias where Prince Adrien, resplendent in his royal regalia, stood tall and proud.
“And the aforementioned are the reasons why, honoured guests, beloved subjects of Luminara,” he began, the weight of his words hanging heavily in the air. “It is with a saddened heart and a sense of duty that I must announce the annulment of my engagement to Estel, Duchess of Livroche.”
Her fingers trembled as she clutched the delicate ce of her gown, the sting of a thousand eyes upon her threatening to break her mask of stoic grace.
“S-so, you couldn’t have spoken about this matter to me in private first?” she whispered in a fragile, almost pleading voice. “Why must you do such a thing, Your Highness?”
The Crown Prince only offered a cynical smile. “This is to ensure that you shall not have a chance to spread further mistruths to defend your reprehensible disposition—all thanks to Miss Seraphina’s excellent suggestion.”
“…I beg your pardon, who?”
A ripple of shock spread through the ballroom as he turned around and extended his hand towards a strikingly beautiful woman who stood behind the dias. She gracefully stepped forward, her silken golden hair cascading down a modest brown kirtle, framing a face that seemed sculpted by the heavens themselves.
“His Highness addressed the dy as ‘Miss’, didn’t he?” someone whispered a little too loudly.
“Look at the dress she is wearing, it’s clear that she’s just a commoner!” another protested, also a little too loudly.
“I thought she was one of the maidservants serving food, to be frank,” the first voice spoke again. “But I have to admit, Miss Seraphina is certainly a charming woman…”
Estel shot a gnce in the direction where the loudest voices were coming from.
Viscount Revent and Count Vegelow, those two gossipers again. Why am I not surprised…
Adrien paused, allowing the initial reaction to subside before continuing.
“This decision, though difficult, is made in the best interest of our kingdom. Allow me to introduce Miss Seraphina—” he gently yet firmly took her hand in his “—she has captured my heart and possesses the qualities we seek in a future queen. It is with her by my side that I envision a prosperous and harmonious future for Luminara.”
Each word that the Crown Prince spoke tightened the knot of dread in Estel’s stomach. The crowd hesitated, their facial expressions betraying the bewilderment inside of them.
“Your Highness, if I may interject your proposal with a question…” A voice among the conflicted nobles finally spoke. “Though we aren’t privy to the details of your retionship with the Duchess, wouldn’t it be more proper to conduct a fair investigation and decide if the Duchess is still fit to be Queen rather than finding a new partner in such a rash manner? The Duchess has been by Your Highness’ side since adolescenthood, after all.”
“And if I may add on to Lord Schaf’s inquiry,” another voice quickly chimed in. “Does His Majesty have knowledge about your proposal? Our kingdom has never had a morganatic marriage before, I fear that our political standing with other countries may be adversely affected—”
“Silence!” Adrien interrupted, raising his arm in front of Miss Seraphina in a protective gesture. “As you all know very well, my father is currently bedridden due to his prolonged illness. Yet despite her commoner status, Miss Seraphina was able to create a potion that no doctor in the entire kingdom could make and successfully treated my father with her medicine, while also providing unwavering support to me and my brother throughout the entire process.”
The murmurs of dissent instantly died down.
“On the other hand, not only has Estel never bothered to check in on His Majesty, she is nescient of the pain and suffering that I have to go through every day!” he procimed. “If she is unable to take care of the King now, how can I trust her to look after me and the kingdom after she ascends to the throne?”
As his words of condemnation echoed off the ballroom walls, Estel felt a visceral surge of emotion tear through her body. The world around her blurred with unshed tears. She felt exposed, vulnerable, as if every eye in the room was upon her, witnessing her moment of deepest despair.
And her whole body was cold with fear. A real, raw, paralysing fear like no other she had experienced.
“H-how…”
She forced herself to stand before the new couple, enduring the sharp pain in her chest. Just thinking of the words she was going to say made her shattered heart ache.
“How could you accuse me of being ignorant of His Majesty’s condition…when you were the one who ordered me to not disturb the King when he was resting?” she uttered in a weak voice. “And you requested me to settle the kingdom’s internal affairs in His Majesty’s stead, so I have been occupied with the duties you assigned to me…to the point of neglecting my own health—”
“Enough with your excuses.”
“!”
His rebuke stung like a sp in the face. Estel faltered, her breath catching in her lungs as her gaze momentarily flicked to the woman whose hand Adrian’s csped tightly.
There was no hint of remorse or hesitation in Seraphina’s icy blue eyes.
“You…”
The pain, the humiliation, the betrayal—all of it surged through her veins in that excruciating moment.
“…just who do you think you are?!”
Estel suddenly found herself moving up onto the dais, her hand shooting up in a primal instinct to sh out and recim her dignity. But before her palm could make contact with Seraphina’s cheek, a vice-like grip seized her wrist with startling swiftness.
“I said, enough.”
His fingers digging into her skin with a force that made her wince, the Crown Prince nodded at the guards standing at the corners of the ballroom. Seraphina stood just beyond him, her expression one of composed surprise, as if she had not anticipated such a direct confrontation. Her eyes flickered with a brief glimmer of something—fear, perhaps, or maybe just the thrill of victory—before she quickly masked it with a serene, almost pitying look.
“Guards, please escort the Duchess back to her home. She will not disgrace herself any further in my presence.”
“There’s. No. Need. For. That.”
Choking back hot tears that threatened to spill, Estel wrenched her arm free and turned on her heel, each step echoing loudly in the stunned silence of the ballroom.
“I pray you will not regret your decision tonight, Your Highness.”
-
“And so, you went back home bearing the news of your engagement being annulled, endured your father’s reproval, and drank yourself silly,” the Witch said. “After sobering up, you decided to take a night walk into the woods to clear your mind and figure out how you are going to exact revenge, then realised you were lost and walked aimlessly until you stumbled upon my adobe. Did I sum up your circumstances correctly?”
Estel, who was fascinated by the shelves on the rough-hewn walls cluttered with dusty jars and mysterious artefacts, blinked in surprise at the unexpected deduction. She hesitantly returned her gaze to the bck-haired woman sitting across the table.
“I suppose you can say that,” she mumbled, feeling her cheeks redden with embarrassment. “Sorry, I must seem so pathetic…losing my beloved over a mere commoner who I’ve never met before.”
“Hmm, I see.”
The Witch cpped her hands together and approached a door at the back of the sitting room. “Please wait here for a moment, I have to retrieve something from the repository. If you like, you can get yourself a cup of coffee from that bck machine on the table—just pressing the white button at the front will do.”
“Uhm, thank you…”
Curious, Estel studied the contraption that the Witch pointed out after she left the room. It was about the size of a jewellery chest, with a tray at the bottom for an empty cup to sit on; above the cup was a nozzle connected to a box. And on the box itself was a single white button—the one that she was supposed to press, she deduced.
“Eh?”
Once she pressed the button, the strange box suddenly emitted a whirring noise, as if something inside was being shifted and grinded. A cloud of steam puffed out from the nozzle, followed by a steady stream of brown liquid that quickly filled the cup.
“Woah…is this a product of witchcraft?”
“Well, it’s a product of technology to be exact, but you won’t understand what I mean by that anyway.” The Witch returned with a small tin box and set it on the table. “Go on, take the cup and drink it.”
Estel gingerly held the cup in her hands as the Witch pried open the box and took out a rectangur bar the size of her palm.
“It’s been some time since I st charged it, I hope there’s still some battery left inside…”
She gnced up and asked, “one question about your business, Estel, or there’s no use continuing. The Crown Prince…how far are you willing to go to take your revenge?”
“You’re missing the honorific of Lady,” she muttered, clutching her cup close to her. “And I…I will go as far as necessary. You don’t understand—because of him, my family’s reputation is now completely ruined. They even took my father in for questioning—as if they have the…the…”
“You want to add the word ‘fucking’ in there?” the Witch suggested softly.
“The f-fucking right to trample over a Duke’s honour and standing!” Estel screamed. “And how dare that bitch prince shamelessly cast everything that I’ve done for him aside! Never offering a single word of encouragement or acknowledgment of my efforts, but so swift to decry me just because of some stupid commoner girl…ugh, seriously, screw that asshole bastard! Did he inherit the wrong fucking genes from his father?”
She inhaled deeply, realising that she had just spoken her inner thoughts aloud in the most unbefitting manner, and hastily drank the coffee in one big gulp.
“B-bitter!”
“Sorry, I forgot to ask if you would like sugar with that.”
The Witch crossed her arms over her chest. “Did you mistreat your servants and maids in the past?”
“Sorry?”
“Just answer it truthfully.”
“Of course not…am I really that horrible of a person to you?”
“But you are Estel, are you not?” The Witch frowned. “Are you aware of any ill will or animosity between you and the court dies? Or the nobility in general?”
“I don’t think so, but what are you—”
“Oh, right, has His Highness sentenced you to death yet?”
Estel snapped her head up. “What did you say?”
“It’s supposed to happen soon after the public announcement of His Highness and Miss Seraphina engagement,” the Witch said, scrolling her finger on the peculiar bar. “Chapter twenty-six, to be exact.”
“What is that?”
“This?” The Witch tapped her finger on the glowing surface. “It’s my precious smartphone, the pinnacle of technology.”
“A smart…what?” Estel couldn’t comprehend the meaning of the word ‘phone’.
“All you need to know is that it is my ‘crystal ball’ of sorts,” she said, reading lines of incomprehensible text on the glowing surface. “You are supposed to be the viliness, so I was half-expecting you to come here to seek my help sooner or ter…but this is definitely too early for that. And it seems that your character development has deviated from the plot too…maybe the story has changed irreversibly, after all.”
She opened her mouth to ask what she meant, but realised that she wouldn’t understand the answer anyway, so she stopped herself.
“Never mind, if that is the case, I shall help you become one!” The Witch smiled. “That way, you can definitely get your revenge on the ML~”
Estel could only tilt her head in bewilderment.
“???”
