Chapter 131
“Your Majesty the Empress, we have brought Lady Aria, the lady-in-waiting.”
Before long, the attendants dragged Aria in. Face showing clear confusion, Aria knelt before the Empress. Cressida looked down at her and spoke coldly.
“Aria, answer truthfully. Did you lure the Crown Princess here with that nonsense about Grizelle Willoughby being pregnant and then miscarrying?”
“…Pardon?”
Aria looked up at the Empress in bewilderment. She parted her lips, hesitated, then pressed them firmly shut. Her cheek twitched, and she opened her mouth again.
“No, I’ve never done such a thing. Grizelle Willoughby becoming pregnant… That’s impossible, Your Majesty.”
“Isn’t it? After all, no one knows better than you just how absurd that story is.”
Cressida spoke with a satisfied expression. At her gentle tone, Aria answered with a proud look.
“Of course. Pregnant, really. Pfft.”
Aria glanced sideways at Grizelle, who stood off to the side alone, and snickered. When even a lady-in-waiting mocked her as if she were ridiculous, Grizelle flushed red and shouted.
“How would you know? I could really have been pregnant.”
“No, it’s impossible.”
Aria cut her off without hesitation. Then she glanced at Cressida. When the Empress gave her a small nod, Aria, now with permission, spoke clearly.
“Remember the medicine I gave you that was supposed to let you receive a man’s love? You came to get a fresh dose every time. But the truth is, it was an infertility d**g. You idiot. That’s why you can never become pregnant. It’s impossible.”
“…Infertility d**g?”
At Aria’s words, Grizelle looked utterly stunned. Confused, she turned to Cressida.
“Y-You said it was a gift…”
“Well yes, it was a gift. A special favor so that someone of your low birth wouldn’t carry the precious seed of the Imperial Family.”
Cressida spoke elegantly and smiled sweetly. Watching her reply so shamelessly, Grizelle’s face turned red and pale by turns. Then hot tears streamed down her cheeks.
Her face crumpled as she threw both hands up. Then she rushed straight at Cressida.
“I won’t let you get away with this!”
“AAHH!”
Cressida let out a short scream and hid behind her son. Arendtert grabbed Grizelle’s wrist and flung her aside.
She crashed onto a table and hit her stomach before collapsing. Tears dripping steadily, Grizelle braced herself against the floor. Then she crawled and clutched at Arendtert’s foot.
“Aren, Aren…!”
“What’s wrong with you!”
Arendtert kicked her without mercy. At his rough behavior, Sylaria sucked in a breath.
Grizelle might be a heartless villain, but she was still Arendtert’s fiancée. Yet he didn’t seem to feel even the slightest affection for the woman he had once shared a bed with.
The way he stomped on her in irritation looked almost demonic. He hit her so hard it hurt to even watch, and there was even a flicker of satisfaction on his face. Sylaria covered her mouth as she watched Arendtert beating Grizelle.
‘Don’t tell me he’s been hitting her this badly all along?’
She had assumed that even if Arendtert struck Grizelle, it wouldn’t have gone beyond slapping her. But this looked as if he didn’t consider Grizelle a human being at all.
It was hard to believe this man, kicking Grizelle relentlessly, was the same one who had been flustered when he accidentally struck Sylaria’s cheek.
“That’s enough, Aren.”
Sylaria finally couldn’t hold back and intervened. At the sight of her shocked expression, he stepped back with an awkward look.
“I went a bit too far. She grabbed me out of nowhere, so I was startled.”
“You were startled a little, and that makes it acceptable to beat someone to that extent? Where did all the knighthood of the Holy Knight Order go?”
At Sylaria’s rebuke, Arendtert flinched. He bit down on his lips and frowned.
“Sillie, don’t you have any sense? After everything this woman has done to you, you’re taking her side?”
“Even if she’s punished, she should still be treated as a human being. She’s still your fiancée.”
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