Part 2A Serpent's Mercy

As I was leaving, the Lord Chamberlain, the head of the palace staff, pressed a food box into my hands with a benevolent smile. “His Majesty said you are too thin, my lady. Eat more to build up your strength. On the day you depart, he has a special gift for you.”

I accepted the King’s decree and happily headed out of the inner palace. A cat suddenly darted out in front of me, and I stumbled, spilling soup and broth all over myself.

A woman’s light laugh drifted from nearby. “A peasant from the countryside. Even dressed in fine silks, you still manage to ruin them.”

I looked up. A group of noble ladies were watching me from a distance, but none came forward.

The magical text flared with excitement:

【Ah, the female lead is here! I love a pampered, arrogant noblewoman.】

【I’m voting for the Prince. This kind of forbidden ‘sibling’ romance is the best.】

【How can someone so cruel be the female lead? She should eat something better for her soul.】

The one who had spoken was Lady Jasna.

According to the text, her parents had sacrificed their lives to save the King during an assassination attempt years ago. Taking pity on the orphaned child, the King had brought her to court and raised her as his own daughter. She was the one who had been closest to Drake during his youth.

Jasna’s gaze was contemptuous, like she was assessing livestock. “She has some beauty, I suppose. No wonder she managed to seduce my dear ‘brother’ Drake.”

My thin summer gown was soaked, clinging uncomfortably to my body. I stood there in embarrassment, not knowing what to do.

A handmaiden rushed forward with a cloak, but Jasna stopped her, taking it herself to place around my shoulders.

“Edith, do you truly believe Prince Drake will marry you?” she whispered in my ear, her fingers digging into an old wound on my shoulder. “The whole capital is talking about how you fought with dogs over scraps of food with the Prince. The rumors are everywhere. If I were you, I would have left long ago, instead of shaming His Highness in the capital.”

She thought I had come to the King to demand a royal marriage.

The pain was so sharp that tears welled in my eyes. I couldn't help but push her away. “He wouldn’t!” I snapped. Drake would never think I was a disgrace.

I hadn’t pushed her hard, but Jasna stumbled back dramatically, falling to the ground. A sharp stone on the path cut a long, bloody gash in her arm.

“Lady Jasna!”

The courtiers panicked. Drake arrived just in time to witness the scene.

He rushed to help Jasna up, his eyes blazing with fury. “Edith! You presume upon the debt I owe you to act with such arrogance? Now you dare to harm the Lady Jasna herself!”

“It wasn’t me…” I tried to explain, my voice small.

“Brother, don’t blame Edith,” Jasna said, clutching her bleeding arm as if defending me. “She grew up without guidance. It’s only natural for her to be a bit… savage.”

Drake wrapped an arm around her, his gaze on me turning to ice. “Do you think this is still the wilds of the North? You have no manners, no breeding. What’s the difference between you and a beast?”

“Apologize to Jasna. Or get out of my sight.”

His words struck me like a slap. My eyes stung, and a dull ache spread through my chest. So that’s how he saw me. He was ashamed of me too.

I lowered my head and apologized to Jasna.

Jasna turned away, tugging on Drake’s sleeve. “Brother, please, don’t force her.”

Drake’s brow furrowed in anger. “Is that how you apologize?”

Before we came to the capital, Drake had personally taught me court etiquette. “The capital is full of rules, Edith. You must be careful. You can’t be so carefree.”

At the time, I had been practicing a clumsy curtsy. I grew nervous, wringing my hands. “What if I don’t learn it right? What if I really offend a noble?”

Drake had smiled and gently smoothed my messy bangs. “Then you offend them. You are my savior, Edith. Who would dare to say a word against you?”

Thank goodness I remembered all the rules in the end.

I knelt properly on both knees, my forehead touching the sharp gravel of the path. “My Lady Jasna, this peasant deserves death for her crime. I beg for your mercy.”

The stones were sharp. Soon, my forehead was a bloody mess.

Drake’s expression flickered. “Edith, you don’t have to—”

But Jasna tugged on his arm, crying, “Brother, it hurts.”

And so, he said no more.

The palace path was silent. I tried to be optimistic. The King had told me to keep my departure a secret, especially from Drake. A few bows were a small price to pay. I couldn’t let Drake throw me out. If he did, there would be no one to take me home.

Before I fainted, I saw Drake say something to me. But I was in too much pain to hear.