Chapter 87
Av, as if sensing my distress, gently pecked my finger in comfort.
“Here.”
Just then, Cesar offered me a wriggling earthworm. With his bare hand.
“Thanks.”
As I accepted it with a twig, a sudden chill ran down my spine.
“What’s wrong?” Cesar asked.
“Nothing, just a strange feeling.”
He scanned our surroundings, then abruptly stopped, his gaze fixed on a particular spot. He was staring at the palace’s third-floor corridor.
“What is it?”
I asked, as his gaze remained locked on that spot. He didn’t answer, only continued to stare.
“That’s where the servants’ quarters are.”
Could Delphina be watching us? Intrigued, I followed his line of sight. Something flickered beyond the sun-drenched window. A dark shadow appeared, then quickly vanished.
I blinked, wondering if I’d imagined it. Then, I heard a voice calling us from the distance.
It was Delphina, hurrying towards us. If it was her, then who was the shadow in the window?
“What is it?” I asked, and Delphina explained. Someone was coming to the Emerald Palace. Specifically, a visitor for me.
“A visitor for me?”
I couldn’t think of anyone who would visit me. Just then, a very familiar figure appeared in the distance.
“Giovinetta…?”
I blinked in disbelief. It really was Giovinetta. My half-sister. She was chatting amiably with members of the White Rose Cross Knights.
“Giovinetta… what is she doing here?”
My chest tightened. It felt as though I’d swallowed burning coals. A deep-seated resentment, still unresolved, flared within me.
The pain in my ankle throbbed. The ankle Giovinetta had injured. I gritted my teeth.
Giovinetta spotted me. She waved, a bright smile on her face. Her nonchalance sparked anger within me. I couldn’t stop the corner of my lip from curling into a sneer.
The knights, as always, made way for her. Giovinetta always charmed her way into people’s good graces. With her curved smile, gentle demeanor, and sweet, flattering words, everyone was susceptible to her charms. Especially men. Her striking beauty likely played a part.
Her radiant golden hair, like spun honey, her pale blue eyes that held a delicate sadness, her milky white skin, rosy cheeks, and perfectly formed features evoked a protective instinct in those who saw her. She was the very image of a cherubic angel.
Unless, of course, you noticed the thorns hidden beneath her smile.
Giovinetta gracefully lifted the hem of her skirt, flashed a smile at the knights, and approached us.
“Irenea, we were so worried.”
She beamed.
“What brings you here, unannounced?”
Despite my frosty tone, her smile remained dazzlingly bright. Annoyed, my expression hardened.
“What kind of talk is that between sisters? It’s only natural we’d worry when we haven’t heard from you. That’s why Mother sent me.”
A surge of anger boiled within me. We. To her, “we” was a fence enclosing Celestina and herself, a constant reminder of my exclusion. There had never been a place for me there.
Hadn’t they sent me here to die in the first place? It was customary to contact one’s family after marriage, but when had they ever been my family? The only person I considered family was Annalisa. Naturally, I hadn’t even considered contacting them.
“.…”
I sat silently, looking up at her. My silence prompted her to draw out a fan and shield her face.
“You… haven’t changed, have you?”
Her gaze swept over Cesar and me. We were covered in dirt from searching for worms for Av, a far cry from elegant.
Of all the times for her to visit. I silently bit the inside of my cheek. Seeing my continued silence, Giovinetta pressed on.
“How long do you intend to keep your guest standing out here? You, there.”
She pointed at Cesar. He looked up, pointing at himself.
“Yes, you. Help your mistress up and escort her to the drawing-room.”
I stared at her, dumbfounded. Did Giovinetta actually mistake Cesar for a servant?
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