Chapter 26

However, it lasted only for a moment. Not wanting to frown in such a pleasant setting, Mother’s expression quickly returned to normal as she let out a small breath.

Watching Mother regain her composure in a mere fraction of a second, I felt a faint sense of admiration.

‘She’s truly something else.’

In a way, Mother had just been publicly embarrassed by Yul in front of all these people. Even if Yul hadn’t been told to speak from the start, she had specifically been told not to, yet she had boldly defied that order because she couldn’t let it go.

Despite that, she didn’t look particularly flustered, nor did she fly into a rage.

“If you’re going to make such a fuss, it must be a truly important matter. Go ahead and show me.”

“Yes.”

Finally, Yul received Mother’s permission.

It made me marvel at her nerve.

And the moment everyone’s gazes focused on Yul, she reached her hand into her chest pocket.

Wait, wasn’t that the exact place where Yul took pictures of me and stored them?

Why on earth was she reaching in there under these circumstances?

It seemed I wasn’t the only one panicked by the sudden turn of events. A few of the nobles quickly prepared to step forward, likely thinking Yul might try to assassinate Mother.

Of course, I knew for a fact that whatever came out of there wouldn’t be a hidden weapon.

“First of all, please take a look at this.”

Sure enough, what came out of Yul’s embrace was hundreds of photographs. No matter how many times I saw it, I still couldn’t fathom how such a massive stack of pictures could possibly fit into that tiny pocket.

“What is that?”

At Mother’s question, Yul replied.

“It is the truth about what happened yesterday.”

No way?! Something like that actually existed?

Instead of wondering why she was pulling it out only now, my affection for Yul skyrocketed. Finally, I would be able to escape this absurd misunderstanding.

Thank you, Yul. As expected, you’re my number one maid.

“Hmm, so those photographs are the truth. Let’s see them.”

Mother must have been curious herself, as she urged Yul on while pretending she wasn’t. At Mother’s words, Yul began laying out the photographs one by one, slowly, as if rolling a motion picture film. In an instant, a complete story took shape.

The photos even included captions, making it feel like watching snippets of a movie.

Curious about the pictures myself, I examined them, only to wear a bewildered expression a moment later.

‘No matter how I look at it, this is wrong.’

Judging by the photos Yul laid out, the story unfolded like this:

A drunken me and Fren burst through the door, barging in roughly. Then, Fren grabbed me by the shoulders and shouted fiercely.

[Damn it, what do you mean you don’t love me anymore! I can’t accept this. I love you! Armienne.]

As you might expect, Fren was definitely not the type of guy to ever say such lines to me.

And what made it even more ridiculous was my own response that followed.

Looking like a fragile maiden shedding a single tear and turning my head away, I was the spitting image of a Hollywood actress. The Armienne in those photos looked capable of running out onto the streets naked and still winning the sympathy of every man, living comfortably for the rest of her days.

[Sob! Fren, I’m sorry. I’ve found a new love. I don’t love you anymore. Just let me go.]

While those might technically be words, something felt deeply wrong. Even if I were drunk out of my mind or if the world were ending, I didn’t think I’d ever utter such dialogue.

A single word popped into my head. Wasn’t something already strange about having captions on photographs in the first place?

‘Photoshopped.’

Yet what truly amazed me was how she managed to whip something like this up in such a short amount of time.

Judging by the sheer number of remaining photos, the story was only just beginning.

[No, Armienne. You still love me. You must love me.]

Prince Fren forced me into an embrace as he spoke those words.

Led weakly by his hand and held in his arms, I let a single tear trickle down.

[I don’t even feel my heart race anymore when I’m held in your arms like this. We’re over, Fren.]

[Damn it, how did things turn out like this?]

[Fren.]

Me calling Prince Fren’s name with a look of sorrow, and Fren gazing back at me with a burning intensity.

Many photos followed after that, and the story skipped ahead to conclude with the crucial final two pictures.

Fren dropped to his knees and begged me.

[Then just for a day, even just a single day would be fine, could we sleep together?]

[How can you say something like that?]

[Please, Armienne. Who knows, maybe once we sleep together, you’ll know for sure how you really feel about me. I promise I’ll just hold your hand while we sleep.]

And the story ended with a picture of us genuinely just holding hands and sleeping.

“……………”

What on earth was this?

It felt like watching a complete scam. Looking purely at the narrative, I came across as a butterfly fluttering away in search of a new love because I no longer loved Fren, while Prince Fren appeared as a pathetic spider unable to let go of that butterfly.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one feeling dizzy; Fren, who was supporting me as I swayed, stared at me with a bewildered expression, too. Yet the way he bit down hard on his lips suggested that as long as he could somehow escape this situation, he didn’t care what happened next.

If he hated it that much, he should have answered properly earlier. This was why people needed to seize opportunities when they came.

After looking through every single photo, Mother turned to Yul with trembling hands and asked.

“I-Is this the truth?”

“That is correct. It is the absolute truth, without a single lie. And who in this world could possibly fail to love Lady Armienne, who is more beautiful and kind-hearted than anyone else?”

Could Yul actually talk this smoothly? To be honest, the ratio of people who disliked me compared to those who liked me was overwhelmingly lopsided. The people here were probably only acting nice because they were standing in front of Mother and me, but in reality, the vast majority of them undoubtedly despised me.

“That’s right. Our Armienne possesses a fatal charm, after all.”

Mother nodded in agreement with Yul’s statement as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. I was starting to feel dizzy from sheer embarrassment. Stop it. Please, stop.

Yet Yul spun the tale as effortlessly as a fish meeting water. Her behavior was so utterly unlike her usual self that I half-wondered if a dragon had used Polymorph to take her form.

“However, when I went to visit the young lady this morning, it seemed she had already completely cast aside her love for Prince Fren. The Prince appeared unable to accept it, but knowing he couldn’t stay forever, he asked for a final send-off. And out of her boundless kindness and good nature, our Lady Armienne simply couldn’t refuse and granted his request.”

Mother, whose face had been growing steadily stiffer at Yul’s words, picked up the thread.

“And when we opened the door and walked out, we were the ones waiting there under a misunderstanding.”

“That is correct.”

Mother let out a heavy sigh at Yul’s words, glanced up at the sky, blinked her eyes, and then spoke to me.

“I am sorry, Armienne. Mother has… gone and made a fuss over nothing.”

Seeing her apologize to me as if she had suffered the greater hurt myself, I instinctively shook off Fren—who was still holding onto me—and threw myself toward Mother.

“It’s fine, Mother. If anything, I’m just glad to realize how deeply you love me. Thinking about how hard it must have been for you to contact everyone since early this morning makes my heart ache.”

Honestly, shouldn’t I consider going into acting?

Startled by how smoothly the words rolled off my tongue—to my own surprise—I buried my face in Mother’s fragrant embrace.

“Oh, Armienne. My lovely daughter, whom I wouldn’t regret giving my everything to.”

Mother whispered, stroking my hair as she held me, looking deeply moved. Then she slowly raised her head and cast her gaze toward Fren, who was swallowing hard and looking over with a tense, nervous expression.

Sensing that I would have probably wet myself if I were in his shoes, I quickly looked away.

I’m sorry. You should’ve tried being born as my mother’s child, too.

“Your Highness.”

Just hearing her call his name made the entire world feel like it was freezing over.

“You lied to me.”

Strictly speaking, Mother had told him to behave and he had simply agreed to it, but from Mother’s perspective… well, she might see it that way.

Realizing I might actually need to pray for Fren’s soul today, I offered a silent prayer.

“……………”

Watching Fren tremble like a mouse that had eaten rat poison right in front of a giant snake about to ascend to heaven, I couldn’t help but feel a shred of pity. Wondering if there was any way I could bail him out, Yul seemed to read my mind and expressionlessly gave me a thumbs-up.

I had no idea what that meant, but I nodded anyway. The moment I did, Yul stepped back in front of Mother once more.

“Um…”

It was the same as before, but perhaps because she thought of Yul as a helper now, Mother didn’t react with the same sharp hostility. Instead, she waited for Yul to speak first.

“I sincerely apologize for blocking Her Grace’s path twice.”

It wasn’t a particularly grand line, but the words sounded remarkably pleasant to the ear. Who knew Yul had a hidden talent for this?

“When I think of how the Prince deceived Her Grace, my heart aches as well. I live entirely for the young lady and think only of her, so I witnessed firsthand the sorrowful expression she wore when she realized Her Grace had been deceived. Of course, I took pictures of that, too, so I can bring them to you later.”

When on earth did she take that? And that wasn’t a sorrowful expression; it was the face of someone who knew they were completely screwed.

Yul continued without missing a beat.

“However, I believe we must also understand the Prince’s perspective. Up until now, he operated under the firm belief that Lady Armienne was utterly devoted to him and that her feelings would never change, allowing him to be complacent—until the young lady’s heart suddenly shifted. The young lady bears no fault in this. Even if it were me, if someone I cared for refused to look my way after all my efforts, I would want to give up. Of course, even if the young lady never looked my way, I would be fine with it. I am simply the young lady’s maid.”

She’s insane.

Even knowing full well that it was all a pack of lies, listening to Yul talk made my head nod in agreement entirely on its own.

“The Prince was in a state of shock, and he must have viewed the situation as his final chance. He must have felt like a drowning man clutching at a straw, thinking he would resort to any lie if it meant winning Lady Armienne’s heart.”

At Yul’s words, Mother’s expression softened noticeably compared to before.

“I see. The Prince must have suffered greatly in his heart as well.”

The moment her words trailed off, everyone in the vicinity nodded in unison. Then they began exchanging whispers among themselves, and strangely enough, their words carried clearly to my ears.

“I always thought Lady Armienne was the one chasing after His Highness the Prince, but it turns out it was the exact opposite.”

“They say you shouldn’t trust rumors in this world. Lady Armienne isn’t just beautiful on the outside; she has a truly beautiful heart.”

“His Highness the Prince must have had a rough time of it, too, with all those malicious rumors circulating about the woman he loved.”

What truly blew my mind was that among the crowd were definitely nobles who had witnessed Armienne’s past misdeeds firsthand, yet every single one of them had swallowed Yul’s narrative hook, line, and sinker, completely swept up in the mood.

It was terrifying. Was this the true extent of Yul’s capabilities when she applied herself? Without anyone noticing, I flashed a thumbs-up toward Yul, and Yul—who kept her absolute focus on me at all times—caught it instantly.

Yul, thank you. I probably would have had zero future left without you.

Just as I was pouring out an infinite ocean of gratitude toward her, Yul raised her middle finger right back at me.

At that sight, a memory surfaced of the meaning behind that gesture which I had supposedly taught Yul long ago.

‘May infinite blessings be upon you.’

Is that really what it means, Yul?