Chapter 3

## **Summary**

Regef orders his aid Jannon Evans to reinvestigate Kayena's poisoning, and asks him to find out who among the ruined nobles are in line for the guillotine, especially the ones who need money and have a family. He also orders him to place more guards around Kayena and report her every activity to him, and finally asks him to find out more about Olivia Grace. This leaves Jannon pondering over Regef's unusual orders, and he takes his leave. The room becomes quiet, and Regef ponders about Kayena's new attitude and wonders if she's still his poor marionette or if he has been her marionette all this time, but quickly brushes it off thinking she isn't that smart, and asks himself if someone had given her some sort of advice to make her behave like that.

He suspects the Hamels, but brushes it off too since they have no reason to do so. He then recalls how Archduke Easter Heinrich turned the tables in the fight for the throne by suddenly emerging with a new force and blackmailing the Emperor into granting his House succession rights by taking his mistress Catherine hostage, and sighs that he wouldn't have to use Kayena to keep Easter in check if only he had military. He then kisses the same spot on his hand where Kayena had kissed him, and asks himself what he should do with his poor marionette. Meanwhile, Henberton Gillian is shown to be bound in chains by the palace guards for trespassing into the palace, and he's shown to be shouting angrily at the guards that even death wouldn't stifle his feelings for Princess Kayena, making the guards wonder if there was such a man at the banquet.

Kayena gets ready, and Vera asks if she wants to see the execution of the man who tried to assassinate her which was to be held that day. Kayena turns it down, and recalls how Regef really did what she told him to do two weeks ago, and that how she had to keep quiet for a while since she knew he kept an eye on her. Since rumors spread that Regef had quickly caught and executed the culprit, many nobles agreed that he should quickly ascend the throne because of his outstanding performance, and this put Archduke Easter Heinrich in a precarious position. While the nobles supporting Easter plotted schemes to stop Regef from gaining support and draw attention elsewhere, Easter only becomes more and more anxious when rumors about his dwindling position spread even more. Luckily, rumors about Kayena's beauty heat up after an article about Kayena gets released in a gossip magazine.

Vera asks if Duke Raffaello Kidrey would be a good match since Kayena would be engaged soon after her coming-of-age ceremony, but Kayena says it isn't since her father opposes it and that there wouldn't be balance in power if Duke Raffaello became the Emperor's son-in-law. She gives that answer since there're many spies around her, and thus her answer will ultimately reach the ears of Regef and her father. Vera is shocked at her answer, but thinks to herself that it's for the best after recalling the problems Kayena caused to everyone including Raffaello because of her love. Kayena says that she's ashamed to have disdained her father's will by being stubborn until now, and decides to meet her father later to make amends for not acting like a Princess. Finally, the day of her coming-of-age ceremony arrives, and all the noble ladies compliment her with their honeyed words to which Kayena barely reacts. Vera stands in a lone corner and wonders why Princess Kayena who loved such praises is now barely reacting to it, and feels that though others are happy that the Princess has become gentler, she's the only one who has noticed that the Princess has completely changed after being poisoned.

Kayena notices this, and feels that Vera is the only good lady-in-waiting out of the current lot because of her sensible and perceptive nature. Since the other ladies-in-waiting are girls from powerful families employed by Regef, she decides to give Vera a chance to judge correctly and see if she's a good mistress for her, and she decides to do since the other ladies would turn their back on her at any moment if they could win Regef's favor. She recalls how she believed that everything belonged to her in her past life and lived a delusional life without even knowing whose power she was holding in her hands, and decides not to repeat the same mistake twice. Thus, she again declares to herself that she'll live the life she wants this time, and that she'll collect resources of any form to gain power to live her way.

## **Characters in Order of Appearance**

* Jannon Evans
* Kayena Hill
* Olivia Grace (mentioned)
* Archduke Henrich (cameo)
* Easter Heinrich (cameo)
* Catherine Lindberg (cameo)
* Henberton Gillian (cameo)
* Vera Lexton
* Esteban Hill (cameo)