Never Saved You

hapter 80

Translator: Yonnee

—

At Verlan’s suggestion, Cadelia clapped her hands together in delight.

“What a great idea! I forgot that the temple has a suppression tool like that! But Verlan, what if Ophelia tries to interfere?”

That scoundrel and Ophelia seem to be close, Cadelia explained.

At the capital, Cadelia always kept her nose up high, but ever since she came to Ladeen, it felt like her status did not have the same effects it had as before.

“I brought my ladies-in-waiting, but I didn’t bring any of my knights with me.”

“Your Highness came here without a personal escort?”

“There wasn’t any room left for them! I need three ladies-in-waiting at least just to put my makeup on properly!”

The purpose of her visit to Ladeen was to snatch up Grand Duke Ian Ronen, so she couldn’t possibly sacrifice space for people who were in charge of dressing her up.

At Cadelia’s outcry Verlan could only look at her as if he had been rendered speechless. But truly, it was a natural choice for Cadelia.

“But the ladies-in-waiting won’t be helpful. My sister commands everyone in this place with just one wave of her hand!”

“Please do not fret. Isn’t that why us priests are here? We will do everything in our power to protect Your Highness from any threats.”

“Still, it’s like I’m just hindering…”

“If Your Highness is truly worried, then there’s something that only you can do.”

“What is it?”

“To distract Her Highness Ophelia. While her eyes are turned away, we will condemn that mage.”

At Verlan’s words, Cadelia’s eyes glinted peculiarly.

“Right, if it’s that, then I can do it. I’m glad you brought it up, since I hate seeing how she keeps wagging her tail at His Grace the Grand Duke.”

She could just tie up those two and throw them far away!

Cadelia’s outcry turned into a burst of cheer.

“Once His Grace also comes to know just how terrible Ophelia is, I’m sure that he’ll be disgusted by her.”

And it’s only natural that he would choose Cadelia over such a woman.

The words that the emperor imparted to her before she left for Ladeen lingered in Cadelia’s mind.

—I will take this opportunity to make sure that Grand Duke Ronen will be tied to Milescet. Regarding who it’ll be that becomes his tether, it’ll be up to your efforts. Don’t leave it up to luck.

As much as he cherished Cadelia, the emperor was quite generous to her.

Not only did he say kind words to his beloved daughter, but he also gave her a hint.

—Of course, I don’t want to send my beloved daughter off to be that old king’s second wife.

Cadelia was slow-witted, that’s for sure, but she was nevertheless just as knowledgeable as Ophelia when it came to the main figures of the Maynard continent. After all, she had been out in high society for a long time.

Therefore, it was impossible for her not to understand what the emperor meant just then.

Of course, there was only one king in this entire continent who was looking to take in a second wife, and that was none other than King Kschent.

A marriage proposal had come from that old king.

The emperor had his two daughters out on the cutting board, trying to see which one of them would weigh more so that he could pick the right one to put into which pot.

‘Being the second wife of that old king—it’s terrible just imagining it.’

She had absolutely no plans of becoming that.

But that’s why, rather, this just might be a good thing.

This incident would make it so that Ian would choose Cadelia over Ophelia. It’s much easier than making him fall in love with her.

“I won’t give up on either method…”

Cadelia murmured with determination.

She would condemn that mage, and at the same time, she would ship Ophelia off to Kschent.

She would be able to prove to the world that she hadn’t imagined things at that time. And with this, her father’s promise not to marry her off for convenience would also still be valid.

Also, her tarnished reputation would also be restored.

Cadelia contemplated for a moment, then she opened her lips.

“Verlan, I know the times when Ophelia’s away.”

Right before she arrived at Ladeen, she received a letter from a carrier bird informing her about Ophelia’s nightly rendezvous with Ian at the coast.

If they could just aim for that time, then this plan would surely succeed.

Cadelia’s expression shone with resolve.

* * *

Around that same time, Ophelia was talking to Sante.

It was about the surprising news that Sante had brought back.

“Sante, did the conversation with Ariel go well?”

“To be exact, I had a good conversation with Ariel’s older sisters.”

Smirking, Sante shrugged. He seemed quite proud of what he had accomplished.

“Seems like Ariel has always been a handful under the sea. Everyone knows that this behavior of hers wouldn’t be solved from just a bit of pressure on her.”

At Sante’s remark, Ophelia nodded slightly.

She also knew that there were not many things that could be solved through force.

When Ophelia didn’t reply, Sante continued explaining without a hitch.

“At first, my intention was to go out there and see Ariel, but I was quite surprised to see other mermaids instead.”

Back then, Sante thought about whether he should just run away or approach them as he was told, but then fortunately, the incident that made him lose feathers and want to run away didn’t happen again.

—Head of the sirens.

—If you have any sympathy in you, please help us.

—We are not turning our backs on the sirens.

—We only want to protect our sisters…

The mermaids murmured one at a time as if they were singing. Eventually, they couldn’t suppress their overwhelming emotions and even shed their tears.

—That child is not allowed to come back ashore.

—Ariel belongs in the sea!

—But it looks like that child’s persistence cannot be broken…

—If it’s you, we thought that you could do it, so we’re here to meet you.

The mermaids continued, saying that while Ariel was putting up a fight against her sisters, she hadn’t eaten anything during the past few days.

—She said that she wouldn’t even have a bite of seaweed if we didn’t set her free.

Even so, Ariel had snuck out of the cracks in the reef and went out to meet Sante for short periods at a time.

So, when Ariel told Sante that her sisters gave her permission to meet the siren, it was a pure lie.

Now knowing what was going on inside Ariel’s mind at the time, Sante smiled at how ridiculous it was that Ariel didn’t even blink when she told that lie.

But that smile soon turned bitter.

No wonder. He now understood why she seemed to be getting more and more gaunt every time they met.

Why on earth did these two red-haired women bother him in so many ways?

‘How troublesome.’

In fact, whether Ariel starved or not, it wasn’t his business. But that wasn’t the case for Ophelia.

It’s clear that once this story would reach Ophelia’s ears, she would pay considerable attention to it.

The way Ophelia talked about Ariel was as if she had committed some great sin against the mermaid.

So, Sante told everything to Ophelia—except that part.

He told her that Ariel was being so stubborn that her older sisters eventually came to meet Sante themselves.

“…Well, they seem to believe that I can appease Ariel. While she was being so stubborn and not talking to anyone else, I was the only one she’s been meeting.”

The mermaids didn’t know what was truly going on, so they were worried about what Ariel might be feeling for Sante.

“They asked me to do only one thing, and that’s to coax Ariel into not going back ashore. In return, they wouldn’t mind who else would meet Ariel.”

“You’ve gotten a good opportunity as a result.”

Ophelia replied.

Still, however, she still felt that there’s something amiss.

The reason was simple—because, like a thorn under one’s fingernail, there was something that kept bothering Ophelia.

‘I think I was too cold when I sent him back.’

It kept bothering her how poorly she had treated Alei at the door.

If it had been any other time, this wouldn’t have worried her so. But then, he had been avoiding Ophelia so openly, to the extent that everyone had noticed.

But then, after avoiding her like that, he was the one who knocked on Ophelia’s door first.

Ophelia, however, turned him away.

Of course, Ophelia was being held up by some circumstances, so it was inevitable that she had to make that choice. But from the other person’s point of view, it was easy enough to interpret this as her resentment.

And the furthest thing Ophelia wanted was for Alei to misunderstand.

That’s why, shortly after Verlan left, Ophelia hurried down the steps of the castle.

She went straight to Alei’s bedroom and knocked on his door, then she went to find him in his study.

She also went all the way to the treatment center at the castle gates to ask Cornelli where Alei was.

—Lord Alejandro? He’s not here though?

Wherever else she tried to find him, Alei was nowhere to be found.