Vengeance Should Be Grim And Regal - Chapter 1
Translator and Editor: Hue and Tea
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Chapter 1
It was spring in my twenties. The weather was fine.
And days like this,
“Young Lady?”
Were perfect for an accident.
“Sigh…….”
Cecilyn gasped and slammed the door shut. Barely catching her breath, she stood in front of a gorgeous man.
The man who had seen the good in her today.
She wondered if he had just come from the shower………… There was a faint scent of perfumed oil nearby. Cecilyn swallowed unnecessarily. When she looked up, she saw cold eyes.
“Young Lady Brioden.”
Their eyes met.
“What are you doing here?”
Having asked that, Cecilyn’s dizzying plans came together. Ordinarily, she would have slept soundly in the guest quarters of the main palace, not in this place, and returned to the manor in the morning with her work done and with nothing else to do.
But Cecilyn had no intention of going quietly.
‘I can’t go back this way.’
It was a miraculous turnaround.
To avoid the same tragedy, this marriage must be consummated. The First Prince in front of her is the key. If this marriage succeeds, she will be able to bring down her enemy, the Second Prince.
Taking a slow, deep breath, Cecilyn turned to face the stern man. Earlier, he had been at least polite, but now he stood as if he were an intruder.
But how had I gotten this far? I couldn’t just walk away.
“Please take me as your wife.”
“ ……I don’t think you bathed yourself in wine.”
Ludwig, First Prince of the Azellan Empire, pursed his lips. He lowered his gaze to meet Cecilyn.
“If you will marry me, I will give you the position you desire.”
“Young Lady.”
Ludwig took a step forward.
“Do you know what you’re talking about?”
“Yes.”
She was aware. Or rather, she knew it all too well.
“I don’t need the support of House Brioden.”
“Nope. I wasn’t referring to our family.”
Ludwig’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“The Second Prince.”
“……”
“I will kill him.”
Then the owner of the throne would be the First Prince.
In other words,
“I want you to marry me.”
“You’ve already said that a while ago.”
Ludwig’s brows narrowed. As if he’d come all this way just to say that.
But even with such a scathing response, Cecilyn’s lips twitched.
She hadn’t come into this lion’s den unprepared.
“I’ll make you Emperor.”
“ ……Ha!”
Ludwig laughed and reached out his hand. His soft hand eclipsed her calloused one.
“That is a funny thing to say, Princess.”
He laughed for a moment, then took a step forward. The distance between them had narrowed to barely more than a sheet of paper.
Cecilyn swallowed hard as she inhaled the distinctive scent of his perfume. Her inner thighs stiffened with tension. Without taking his eyes off her, Ludwig extended his hand.
He pulled her into a gentle embrace, and she stepped back. Ludwig grabbed the doorknob behind her.
“Why.”
The corners of his mouth curved mischievously, as if he hadn’t expected this.
“If you planned to propose to me on this night and in my bedroom,”
Click.
“You should have been prepared.”
And the door locked.
Winter on her twenty-seventh.
Her younger sibling had died.
“ …….”
Cecilyn pursed her lips and dropped her gaze. Her hands, always calloused, were clad in plain, clunky funeral gloves.
Even this design was luxurious for a woman who had always been forced to dress shabbily.
It wasn’t until she had to stand in front of others that Cecilyn was able to wear anything remotely human.
She could barely afford to dress like a human being.
“Cecilyn Brioden.”
Today, the Duke’s second daughter. It was the funeral of April Brioden, Cecilyn’s half-sister.
She looked up again, remembering the chrysanthemums she’d touched earlier. It was a moonless night. The Duke, his back to the window, spoke.
“She was poisoned.”
“ …….”
“You killed April.”
With that accusation, Cecilyn smiled quietly. She asked him what he intended to say.
She swallowed hard to keep from laughing.
It was such a consistent reaction.
“If you hadn’t done that crazy thing with the Second Prince, April wouldn’t be dead.”
“No, she wouldn’t. If you had accepted her as part of the family in the first place, she might not have died.”
His tone grew increasingly angry. However, the Duke’s vitriol was nothing new; she had heard it all before. Cecilyn had been cast out, after all; she had worn nothing but shabby clothes, and had been confined to her room. Cecilyn was raised in complete neglect.
“Because of you, my daughter is…………!”
“Yeah, she’s dead.”
At this point, she was fed up with defending herself. No one would believe her if she said no.
At first, she was furious, but all she had left was disbelief.
When Cecilyn spewed it out, the Duke looked surprised.
“W-what did you just say?”
“I killed her, April.”
There you go.
Cecilyn smirked and shook her head, as if she was done talking. That was what the Duke, her father, wanted to hear, anyway.
And Cecilyn had been through this many times.
She’d known for a long time how the Duke felt about her, so she could only say certain things.
‘Poor April.’
For the first time, Cecilyn felt sorry for her half-sister. Rising from commoner to noble. It’s a story everyone dreams of, but April’s was a little different, having such a tragic ending.
“I know you want to believe I killed her, Father.”
The Duke wouldn’t believe her anyway.
“What’s the point in caring so much, it’s all the same when you’re dead and the coffin lid is closed.”
“Cecilyn!”
The Duke shouted, unable to listen any longer. His eyes, so gentle only with April, quickly turned feral.
“You’re angry with me because it was April who died, and regardless of how she died, I’m the one you can blame!”
Her voice, once calm, gradually gave way to malice. It was as if something had caught in her throat. Uncomfortable with this foreign sensation, Cecilyn followed her father’s lead and vented her anger.
Everything she had endured to be loved was for naught.
“I won’t stop you anymore, Father.”
Ah, now everything made sense.
April was just as unhappy as she was. Today, for the first time in her life, Cecilyn admitted it.
It was so simple, yet so difficult.
And then she felt relieved, like a lie.
As if nothing had happened.
“It doesn’t matter anymore, so blame me all you want.”
It would be better than trying to soothe him by telling him not to be sad. With a slow squeeze of her eyelids, Cecilyn stared at him in silence.
There was nothing but contempt on the face that was usually so proud and admired.
‘I don’t know when that face ever lit up,’ she thought, and turned away with a smirk.
‘Well. I suppose my stay here is over.’
I won’t be in this mansion after tomorrow.
“I’m sure you’ve heard all you want to hear, so I’ll be leaving.”
She lifted the hem of her black dress lazily. Perhaps this would be her last goodbye. Bowing her head, Cecilyn decided to release all of her lingering emotions right then and there.
The Duke’s reproaches continued to fly, but Cecilyn left the room with a grim face.
But her pale lips quivered like the leaves of an aspen tree.
“Let’s go.”
“……Yes, milady.”
The maid who had been waiting for Cecilyn bowed meekly. But there was something in her voice, something she was holding back. Anger. Yes, that was definitely anger.
Contempt for the toxic master who had driven a good, well-behaved young woman to the brink.
And it lasted all the way back to her room.
“I’m sick of this.”
Once back in her room, Cecilyn removed the cumbersome gloves as soon as the door was closed. Removing the brooch from her chest, she looked down at it.
Before April became the Imperial Princess. It was the pearl brooch she’d given her the day before she’d entered the palace. April, who had professed to be sorry and apologetic until the very end, had not returned.
Cecilyn threw her hand up in the air, holding the brooch. But she didn’t have the strength to throw it to the ground.
Her arm trembled, then relaxed.
“Sulk.”
She hadn’t always disliked her sister. She’d lost her mother to illness. Until her father had suddenly taken her in as her stepmother, Cecilyn hadn’t been on friendly terms with April. In fact, she was part of the group that liked her.
But the fact that her sister was the recipient of all the love she wasn’t allowed, and the attitudes of those around her melted in her presence drove her down.
-Princess April is so sweet. She donated her entire personal fortune last time.
-I thought so too. However, her sister, Cecilyn, was at the salon last time…….
People loved April because she was lovely and sweet. She knew how to receive love and give it fully, which is why the servants treated Cecilyn as a human being in front of the Duke, but mercilessly assaulted and abused her behind his back.
-Hey, is it okay to hit her like this? Just in case the Duke finds out…….
-Well, who cares. She’s an abandoned bitch anyway. I’m sure the Duke would be delighted.
Beginning with the withholding of food, the maids and other servants harassed Cecilyn as if she were some kind of soldier. They would secretly tear her dresses, and even the adornments she was supposed to wear when she went out would be stuffed into their pockets.
Because she was a princess, Cecilyn was occasionally invited to tea parties, but the maids deliberately embarrassed her. Instead of her, they sent April to the tea party.
-You shouldn’t throw tantrums, young lady. That’s not ladylike.
-That’s right, you must be classy, just like Young Lady April. You should be smiling.
Each time, April would tell me about the party, or present me with a dress that she liked so much she bought another one.
Of course, the more April favored me, the more the maids constantly compared the two of us. They demeaned Cecilyn by calling her Young Lady as she retreated to the back room.
Cecilyn grew increasingly resentful of her sister.
She distanced herself from her sister and spoke harshly to April.
It was more painful to be around her.
Soon after, when April announced her engagement to the second prince, Cecilyn exploded.
Not only did she disapprove of the marriage, but she started a rumor that she was having an affair with the Second Prince.
But the rumors grew out of control, leading to accusations that they had spent the night together.
She wanted to set the record straight, but her younger sister had already left the country.
She wanted to go to see him, but the Duke wouldn’t let her. A series of events even led to Cecilyn being placed on probation.
Seven years later, she was reunited with her sister at a funeral.
“Ha, ha, ha……!”
Laughing, Cecilyn looked into the mirror. An unkempt woman stood dumbfounded. Her once brilliant platinum hair and sea-blue eyes had lost their luster.
“Damn.”
Laughing, Cecilyn made her way to the bed, where she sat down, dropped the brooch as if tossing it, and reached for the box she had hidden behind her pillow.
Slowly, she lifted the lid and found a letter inside. It was dated just one day before April’s death. It had been sent secretly via a messenger bird.
But the truth in it broke Cecilyn’s heart in an instant.
〈 I’m so glad you didn’t marry him, 〉 she wrote.
〈 Run away if you can, 〉 she wrote.
〈 He’s conducting horrible experiments. This isn’t abuse……, it’s torture. 〉
The Second Prince’s evil deeds.
All the torture she’d been subjected to.
Also, why she pushed through this marriage, even though she knew Cecilyn would hate it.
〈 I don’t want you to be in pain. 〉
“Ha!”
At first, she thought her sister was lying.
That she was trying to trick her, trying to get rid of her, trying to get herself high on some crazy bullshit. She didn’t mean it, but with her already narrowed perspective, she was unable to see through it.
And so it came to pass today.
April’s death.
“Aaaah! Aah!”
With a tearing grip on the letter, Cecilyn grabbed her hair and ripped it out. She didn’t feel the pain of tearing out her scalp. She cried out, with no tears in her eyes.
It wasn’t until she was laying chrysanthemums at the funeral that she realized the letter was actually the truth. Carefully, she pulled the veil down over her sleeping face.
Needle marks and multiple bruises.
It was exactly as described in the letter. What was more, the Second Prince’s demeanor was decisive: after seven years of marriage, he was the first to leave the funeral home when his wife died.
Behind a plausible façade of grief, Cecilyn followed him.
No, she shouldn’t have gone.
-We failed. If she was in enough pain to kill herself, maybe you should have told us. We wasted a test subject.
At the second prince’s statement, his closest aide bowed.
-I apologize, Your Highness. Next time, I’ll be sure to…….
-Ha, shut it. Princess Cecilyn would have lasted longer.
The second prince pursed his lips.
-For now, find a sturdy replacement. We don’t have much time.
Kill my brother as soon as possible.
The second prince quickly ordered a replacement to be found in order to kill the first prince who was trying to take his place as crown prince.
‘Damn it.’
April’s message was true, and she knew the Second Prince’s true intentions, which was why she had taken the pain that should have been Cecilyn’s.
For the stupid reason that she didn’t want her to be in pain.
“Heuk.”
Guilt. Remorse. Confusion. All sorts of emotions swirled through her.
But the end was clear.
Revenge against the second prince.
Cecilyn lay on the bed in a heap. It was hard to even breathe.
“Friedrich.”
Friedrich de Azellan.
The man who had killed April for ritual purposes.
Biting her lip until it bled, Cecilyn squeezed her eyes shut. Consciousness was fading from her mind. The terrible beast was upon him.
In her fading consciousness, Cecilyn ground her teeth. Blinded by the gaze of others, she didn’t really see her surroundings. She regretted it bitterly.
If only.
If only……,
If she had a second chance,
“April.”
Vainly calling out her departed sister’s name, Cecilyn sank into a deep sleep.
A moment later.
Unable to bear the bright sunlight, Cecilyn opened her eyes. Her blurred vision gradually focused.
But something was wrong.
For someone who had fallen asleep exhausted from crying, her head was very clear, and her body felt unusually light.
Looking around the sunlit room, Cecilyn gasped lightly.
‘This is weird.’
Cecilyn immediately jumped out of bed. Straining her legs, she hurried to the mirror.
The maid, who had just entered the room, was surprised to see her.
“Ah, miss?”
Ignoring the maid’s call, Cecilyn stared at her reflection.
Platinum hair and blue eyes like her mother’s.
A woman a little younger than yesterday, just coming of age, stared back dumbfounded.
“What the…….”
No matter how she looked at it, she appeared just like before.
Cecilyn reached out slowly. Her fingertips touched the cold mirror surface. At the same time, she heard a piercing bellow.
“Cecilyn!”
The Duke, standing in the doorway, was furious.
“I forgot that First Prince Son was visiting today……!”
‘Son?’
Cecilyn furrowed her brow. ‘The First Prince Son?’
That happened years ago…
“!”
Her lips parted.
Cecilyn turned to her desk in a panic, like a person possessed by something.
She looked at the calendar, ignoring the Duke’s outburst.
〈 May 1482, Azellan 〉.
“Ha!”
There it was again.
Seven years before April’s death.
“No way.”
She was back to where it all started.
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tacorae
this is interesting hmhm