Celebratory Banquet

The celebration banquet held at the Rose Palace took place the day after the enfeoffment ceremony. The Chrysanthemum Palace, as an apology for Padrentia-nim’s absence from the ceremony, sent red jewels to the Rose Palace ahead of time via Supanita, the day before. The jewels, as red as a cat’s blood and as glossy as if they had been oiled, were quite treasured by Padrentia-nim.

Mirabilis-ssi was indifferent to whether Padrentia-nim attended or not, but she couldn’t be indifferent to the jewel gift. After all, they were the only two Princesses in the country. Whatever their personal relationship, they shouldn’t give the world cause to mock them for public discord. Despite never having explicitly agreed on this, they both implicitly consented.

The jewel gift from Padrentia-nim was nothing less than a declaration of, ‘I will maintain a smooth relationship externally.’ Mirabilis-ssi and Mullaba-ssi, taking this into account, decided to send a return gift. Although it wouldn’t be as much as the jewels Padrentia-nim sent, it had to be worthy as a Princess younger sister’s return gift to her Princess older sister.

Almost everyone who received an invitation, regardless of gender or age, accepted it, intending to form a connection with Mirabilis-ssi, or at least not to form a bad one. Since Mirabilis-ssi became the owner of the Rose Palace, it had never been so bustling with visitors. The previous head maid of the Rose Palace, before Mullaba-ssi took the position, lamented the lack of guests even after an owner finally appeared. The palace staff were frantically scrambling because of the guest-welcoming event, which was a first for them since entering the palace.

Mirabilis-ssi, who was greeting the guests, and Serina-ssi, who was serving as a maid, couldn’t rest either, but the maids and cooks of the Rose Palace were even busier, working themselves to the bone. Mullaba-ssi worked energetically, seemingly without fatigue, but she was sure to collapse after the event ended.

Although Mirabilis-ssi’s personality was said to have changed, she still had her prickly side. To the maids and nannies who had long suffered under Mirabilis-ssi in the Rose Palace, this was like the end of winter and the blowing of spring breezes, but to others, it was still like early winter. Serina-ssi had to intervene in Mirabilis-ssi’s prickly behavior using the keyword, “Although I am a maid, I am afraid to say.”

‘I still have to keep an eye on her.’

Serina-ssi grumbled inwardly. But thanks to intervening with the keyword, Mirabilis-ssi always accepted her words. Serina-ssi felt like her workload had doubled. Still, it was fortunate that Mirabilis-ssi’s appearance was so outstanding that, as long as she didn’t cross the line too much, the other party wouldn’t be offended.

“I humbly congratulate you on your enfeoffment. My daughter wanted to meet the Princess-nim, so I brought her along. Please be generous and look kindly upon her. Pay your respects, this is Princess Mirabilis-nim, who was enfeoffed this time.”

(진알進謁: Visiting a high-ranking person)

Lower-ranking noble fathers who had daughters of a similar age to Mirabilis-ssi, or a little younger, wanted to attach their daughters to Mirabilis-ssi. Although Padrentia-nim was more popular, considering the age difference and other factors, it was a bit burdensome to attach young children to her. So, they thought it would be better to attach them to Mirabilis-ssi, who had newly become a Princess-nim, these lower-ranking nobles who were ignorant of the situation inside the palace.

“Thank you for coming to my celebration event.”

The young ladies, seeing Mirabilis-ssi dressed in formal attire as a Princess-nim and smiling radiantly, initially gaped. Mirabilis-ssi wore a black outer garment over a white tunic dress. Instead of the usual belt, she fastened the collar with a string to prevent it from opening, which emphasized her full breasts a little more.

At the ends of the outer garment’s long sleeves, vine patterns embroidered with gold thread wriggled powerfully as if alive, giving a sense of taut vitality. When Mirabilis-ssi moved, the long sleeves, a blend of black and gold, fluttered in the air, blooming flowers in the void.

Her slender waist was elegant, and her thin limbs were smooth and straight. The blue chalcedony shining from the center of the circlet on her forehead, her smooth, snow-white skin, and the black fabric of her clothes revealed an enchanting and seductive figure. When her eyes sparkled, shedding a bright light green hue, the young lady momentarily lost her soul. The image of the Princess-nim, which she couldn’t even imagine, seemed to have manifested seductively as a human being made of flesh and blood.

“What’s your name?”

When the other party couldn’t say anything and just stared blankly, Mirabilis-ssi spoke first. Originally, the subordinate should introduce themselves and greet first. It was a breach of etiquette, and the fathers standing next to them were embarrassed, but generously overlooking such things was also the magnanimity of someone who had become a Princess-nim. In such cases, the young ladies would be flustered and hastily state their names.

“I am Setiana Madley, Princess-nim!”

It was worth it that Serina-ssi intervened whenever Mirabilis-ssi’s attitude was prickly. Even though she didn’t know it herself, the fledgling Princess-nim was gradually changing into someone who could be generous and show kindness to others.

The Princess-nim’s enfeoffment was a personal matter for the Princess-nim, but it was also an official matter for the Imperial Palace. Therefore, it was possible to set up banquet tables in areas beyond the Rose Palace to celebrate. It was winter now, but if it was midday, it was still possible to hold outdoor events. It was the last time people could gather outside the palace. Now that the weather was getting colder and snow would fall, events would only be held inside buildings until spring, when the snow melted and greenery sprouted.

All the banquet tools in the Rose Palace’s warehouse were dragged out, and cooks from other palaces were even called in to prepare the food. It had only been a month since the Health Preservation Festival ended, but because the matter was important and it was a one-day event, none of the Rose Palace staff complained. Thanks to the rumor that Mirabilis-ssi would give generous rewards, the palace staff even enjoyed their work.

Fat pigs were caught, roasted, and placed on the table. Cheese with a savory smell and all sorts of red and blue fruits obtained at the end of autumn made people forget that it was now ‘winter.’ Wine barrels came out of the warehouse and emptied all the wine they contained.

People dressed in formal attire, regardless of gender or age, gathered to eat and drink. Even the nannies, though not at the center of the banquet table, were allowed to gather separately and eat and drink food that was the same in taste, though not decorated. They just couldn’t drink alcohol because they had to work. The sky was clear without a single cloud.

****************

“Amitale-ssi, was the cat’s blood stone sent?”

Cat’s blood stone, Sanguen Cattosjo. That was the name of the jewel Padrentia-nim sent to Mirabilis-ssi. Cat’s blood stones of such quality were ‘quite’ difficult to obtain, if not ‘very’ difficult. It was a jewel that was quite high on Padrentia-nim’s possession list, so she felt quite a pang in her heart while taking it out and sending it, but she couldn’t help it.

“It has been sent. And in return, the Rose Palace sent a bolt of fabric that Mirabilis-nim was going to use to make clothes, and a pair of chalcedony earrings. They are not as much as the cat’s blood stone you sent, but they are quite valuable.”

Padrentia-nim nodded.

“And, what about that child, Serina-ssi’s room?”

As the Princess-nim moved the question to the tip of her lips, the Chrysanthemum Palace’s old head maid’s face darkened greatly. She tried to act natural, but she couldn’t help but let her worried expression show in her tone.

“I have done as you commanded… Princess-nim, is this really the only way? Is this really the only way? Why do you take such meaningless risks?”

The Chrysanthemum Palace’s head maid opened her mouth as if lamenting in a formal tone, but Padrentia-nim’s face was still firm. Amitale-ssi heavily lowered her head.

“Even if things go wrong, the Lantalum family is nothing to worry about. However, you will irrevocably become enemies with Mirabilis-nim, and the generous image that you have built up until now will be greatly undermined. Moreover, involving Supanita and a member of Changwei may cause problems in the future.”

There was a bone in the old woman’s sorrowful tone. Padrentia-nim didn’t say anything and closed her eyes for a moment. Amitale-ssi also stopped speaking for a moment, but a worried expression flickered across her face. The chirping of birds outside the window mercilessly cracked the silence of the Chrysanthemum Palace’s Main Chamber. In front of the painting of the warrior, Padrentia-nim listened silently to the head maid’s words in an upright posture.

“Thirty years ago, when Feidemia-nim was the owner of the Rose Palace, there was a maid in the Rose Palace. She was Mullaba-ssi’s immediate senior, and she had a relationship with me, who had not been in the palace for long. In my immature days when I was not yet familiar with the Chrysanthemum Palace, a maid in another palace was someone I could talk to comfortably.”

Padrentia-nim recalled a story she had vaguely heard in the past. But the Chrysanthemum Palace’s head maid always glossed over the backstory, and now she was finally revealing it.

“He was a gentle and kind person who liked flowers and small birds. He even shed tears in front of me when a bird he was feeding was caught by an eagle. But when a bloody storm blew through the Rose Palace, saying that there was a group of rebels, that gentle maid was also dragged away and interrogated.

In the end, he was released, but he was not the same person I knew. He was alive, but he had put half of his body inside the gates of the afterlife, no different from a breathing corpse. I will never forget the sight of him staring blankly with empty eyes in a room full of the smell of rotting flesh.

Mullaba-ssi is the only palace person who was involved and survived at that time, so she must be reminded of that incident. Princess-nim, please listen. The putrid smell of blood emanating from the bodies of the dying is a trace and manifestation of pain that touches evil.”

The old woman’s long sigh, etching the past, was filled with the twists and turns of time and faded pain, vanishing like a sigh.

“Both she and I are growing old together. That’s why I… hope that such a thing never happens again.”

Padrentia-nim grimaced with her eyes closed. She hesitated, not knowing what to say, but eventually opened her eyes. A calm but clear color rippled in her brown eyes.

“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t miss this opportunity that the magician informed me of. I don’t think there will be another opportunity as good as this in the future.”

But Amitale-ssi didn’t easily agree either. The head maid’s voice, arguing in front of her master, was cautious, but her words clearly expressed her intention.

“From ancient times, the crime of violating prohibited magic laws has been the crime with the most unjust blood, excluding treason.”

범금주율죄, The crime of violating prohibited magic laws, a crime of violating the laws that prohibit magic. It is a strict crime that constitutes a crime simply by using magic or unauthorized magic, regardless of whether there is any damage. Moreover, if the target of the prohibited magic is a member of the Imperial Family, not only the death penalty but also the family to which the criminal belongs can be punished.

“I never knew that your hatred was so deep. I have been watching you since you were a baby, and I am surprised, so no one else can guess.”

“That’s right. That’s why I had to talk to Amitale-ssi.”

Padrentia-nim tapped the table with her finger, then got up and brewed tea herself. The Princess-nim carefully carried out a series of processes, boiling water in the brazier, putting tea leaves in the teapot, and extracting the tea water. It was something she could have asked Amitale-ssi to do, but she deliberately moved her body to organize her thoughts.

It took some time to pour tea for Amitale-ssi as well, but the two stubbornly didn’t open their mouths easily. The subtle tea fragrance wafted up, but the heavy silence settled in the Main Chamber.

“Was I wrong?”

Padrentia-nim sat down and opened her mouth first. Although she had maintained a consistently firm attitude, she briefly revealed her inner regret and anxiety in the face of the old head maid’s firm intention. Amitale-ssi briefly raised her eyes and looked at the sky visible through the window. The winter sky was so blue that it was chilling to look at with old eyes.

“As time passes, love fades and hatred also fades. This is what an old man is saying, but please don’t think of it as meddling. The hatred you have for Mirabilis-nim is so incomprehensible to me. I thought that your feelings had calmed down to some extent as time passed and you came to your senses, but…”

As Amitale-ssi trailed off, a bitter smile crossed Padrentia-nim’s lips.

“You would say it was a miscalculation.”

“That’s right.”

Amitale-ssi tapped the table a little with her finger. It was originally an action that should not be done in front of one’s master, but the two were close enough to overlook such impropriety.

“Just as a painter repaints when the colors of a mural fade, there must be an opportunity to constantly recall the resentment for hatred to remain strong over time. Princess-nim, what on earth was the opportunity?”

Padrentia-nim enjoyed the tea fragrance and took a sip of tea. In fact, the Princess-nim’s mouth felt parched. If she couldn’t persuade Amitale-ssi here, her own intentions might be shaken. Appeasing the Chrysanthemum Palace’s head maid was the same as persuading herself.

“From a young age, probably quite early, I realized that I had to hide my feelings as a Princess-nim. The feelings I have, whether good or bad, become political pretexts for someone. So, I have covered my face even when I feel like my insides are twisted. There are few people I can express my feelings in front of.”

Amitale-ssi also drank tea, but she couldn’t swallow more than a few sips. How could she not know that she was one of the few people the Princess-nim revealed her inner thoughts to? The old head maid’s eyes faintly trembled. Padrentia-nim felt a little sorry that her face looked even older, but there was nothing she could do.

“I have also hidden the malice I have for that child… but that’s why it has rotted even more. I can’t stand it. If only Her Majesty the current Empress had passed away… my feelings might have been resolved because we are all in the same situation. Every time I see Her Majesty the Empress, I ruminate on my unrequited hatred.”

Quite disrespectful stories flowed out as examples, but neither of them paid any attention to it.

“Still, thanks to Mirabilis-ssi not properly using the advantages of her noble status as a Princess-nim, I didn’t feel the need to attack that child. There was no reason to raise thorns or strike the nape of a Princess-nim who had lost popularity and was stuck in the Rose Palace as an outcast. I occasionally rubbed salt in her wounds, but that was all. But now it’s different, because of just one maid.”

Padrentia-nim deliberately didn’t mention the fact that she had instigated the attack on Mirabilis-ssi because Amitale-ssi didn’t know about it either. If she had known, she would have surely retorted, ‘It’s your own fault, Princess-nim. Isn’t that why you weren’t enfeoffed?’

“I understand why Amitale-ssi said that I am ‘taking meaningless risks.’ But what about me then? What about my heart? I tried not to be looked down upon as a Princess-nim without a Royal Mother, a daughter without a mother. If Mirabilis-ssi, who has lived like a recluse, catches up with my efforts over the years just because her personality has changed a little, I might be so dumbfounded that I hang myself in a spider web.”

The old head maid shook her head.

“Even if innocent children shed blood? It’s like a toad under a rock being kicked for no reason. If it fails, it will only increase Mirabilis-nim’s popularity. You say you don’t want to lose to Mirabilis-nim, so why do you abandon the clean and safe path and choose a corrupt and dangerous method?”

Strange anger and fierce determination coldly settled on the Princess-nim’s face. Facing an expression she had rarely seen while serving Padrentia-nim for a long time, the Chrysanthemum Palace’s head maid cast a sorrowful shadow over her face.

“If I listen to Amitale-ssi and give up here, I will surely regret it later, thinking, ‘I should have tried it then.’ If that’s the case, I’ll try something anyway. Of course, unjust blood will flow. But that’s something you have to be prepared for when serving the Imperial Family. It’s their fault for going under Mirabilis-ssi’s wings.”

The young lady’s face, who had revealed her emotions in front of the old woman, gradually lost its color and became like a dry paper mask. The Princess-nim rudely gulped down the tea she had brewed and sighed deeply. The color gradually returned to Padrentia-nim’s face.

“The arrow has already left the bowstring, so I can’t stop it either. Please follow me.”

Padrentia-nim’s voice was resentful and sad. Amitale-ssi realized that she couldn’t break the Princess-nim’s will and lowered her head with a worried face.