– I think it's a fraudulent marriage

When I arrived at the Amoria Palace, I went straight to the greenhouse.

I stood in front of a small tree that seemed to have been just planted.

When I closed my eyes and focused, I could feel the power of light flowing in my body.

When I recalled my memories of being Laontel, the small tree grew significantly.

"Success."

It's not just my body that was restored, my power of light was also as strong as when I was Laontel.

No, it was much more than that.

Plus, I recalled all of my knowledge about this power.

Of course, there was a difference between remembering it and implementing it.

I still felt awkward using my powers but I'd get used to it soon.

Ser apologized and gave me back my blessing and strength.

But where was she now?

Ser was in her original body when I saw her in my dreams.

I couldn't even see any burn scars or spots on her.

So did she abandon her wounded human body and go back to her original body?

I hoped that that was the case. I hope she'd live peacefully and maybe we'd meet again someday.

***

I was about to return to the Forens Palace after implementing a few tricks using my power of light, when I saw Camilla standing in front of the Amoria Palace's entrance.

She didn't come when the servants rushed to me to apologize.

So I assumed that she had already left but there she was.

I looked at her, Camilla also looked back at me.

As a maid, she would never dare to look at the Crown Princess like this. However since she was no longer a maid, she had resumed her status as the daughter of a noble.

Her eyes were filled with jealousy towards me.

"I greet Your Highness, the blessing of the empire."

"Lady Vendrick, are you leaving now?"

I asked her as I glanced at the large leather bag on her hands.

"Yes, can I take one last look at the Amoria Palace?"

"That sounds difficult. This palace wasn't my own."

I flatly refused her as Camilla laughed bitterly.

I knew she would react like this.

"Can we talk for a while?"

"Sure."

We went into the garden outside the Amoria Palace and sat on a gazebo. Then, Camilla opened her mouth.

"For me, Amoria Palace was a dream. I really wanted to go here someday."

She looked at the Amoria Palace with an indescribable expression.

***

"But in the end, it was only a dream.

Camilla recalled her childhood memories.

She had grown up with all sorts of insults hurled at her.

Then one day, when the Crown Prince's curse was lifted, and even the Crown Princess went missing, so her parents entrusted her with the task of getting the Crown Prince's heart.

After educating her with perfect etiquette, they sent her over to the Crown Prince's Palace.

Camilla hated this situation. She was used as a tool for her parent's greed.

But when she met the Crown Prince in the Forens Palace, she changed her mind.

Many people had stories about the Crown Prince, so Camilla naturally knew a lot about him.

She was actually worried about his rumours when she first arrived, but the Crown Prince she met was completely different from the one described in those rumours.

He was not a monster or even someone great who had been chosen by the goddess of light.

He was just a wounded child, like herself.

People around her mocked her, yet they also envied her, for being a maid in the Crown Prince palace. But she felt lonely.

'I'm sure he felt the same way too. He must be lonely like me. He's the same as me.'

Camilla thought.

Blake was an easy master to serve.

He was usually calm and quiet, but sometimes he burst into fits of rage.

"Who is it? Who has been entering my bedroom!?"

Most of those who entered the Crown Prince's Palace had the same purpose as Camilla.

They would often bring gifts to impress him.

Some of them even got rid of the items in the Palace and replaced them with their gifts.

But no gift stood out to him. Blake only cared about and missed the Crown Princess.

The maids were jealous of the Crown Princess and deliberately removed her belongings to erase traces of her.

That was something no servant could do, no matter how jealous they were.

But the children who were born and raised as nobles made that mistake.

"What's going to happen if I throw away that old thing? Besides, my gift is much better."

Whenever that happened, Blake would be furious and the maids were fired immediately.

And because of their mistake, their family would also be dragged down.

However, those kinds of mistakes kept happening.

How can they be so stupid?

Instead of dealing with those troublesome maids, Blake didn't even memorize their names.

Those maids who were hoping to get a little closer to him were soon fired one way or another.

But now, Camilla was also fired.

She thought that she would keep being by his side.

She was the second longest maid to serve the Crown Prince after Melissa. But the Crown Prince still didn't know her name.

Well, it wasn't much of a surprise.

The Crown Prince spent most of his time in the Valley of Chaos and at other times, he stayed in Amoria Palace.

Therefore, Camilla couldn't meet Blake very often.

But she still didn't give up and thought she would stand next to him one day.

She thought that he would surely know the existence of a woman who quietly stayed by his side.

Knowing that they shared a similar pain, it would open up a door to his locked heart.

But now, Camilla couldn't dream of that anymore.

She was eventually fired. The Crown Prince didn't know her name either.

Camilla looked at the woman in front of her.

Rose, no, Ancia Raelle Geracillion.

She was the Crown Princess of the Empire and the woman Blake had been looking for.

"I was in love with the Crown Prince."

Camilla confessed the love she had hidden in her heart for five years.

Of course, everyone knew that, but it was the first time Camilla said it out loud.

"I loved him more than anybody in this world."

Countless people said that they loved Blake, but their love was all fake.

They only liked Blake's beautiful appearance, his status, excellent swordsmanship and other things.

But she was different.

"I wasn't attracted to his identity or ability. I loved him as Blake. My heart wouldn't change even if he was cursed again."

Ancia looked at Camilla dryly.

She had read 'The Beast and Lady.'

Ancia had already known it long back because of the novel.

Camilla desperately confessed her love in the original novel.

Not to Blake, but to Richard.

She loved Richard, so she used abusive words towards Blake and loathed him.

"Why on earth would you keep that monster here? He's a fallen soul! Even though his curse has been lifted, the past didn't change. You need to send him to the Southern Island now"

Of course it wasn't like that now. Now the one she loved was Blake, not Richard.

But even considering that, it was hard to believe Camilla's words.

"I hate you very much Rose. Do you know why?"

Camilla spoke to Rose, not the Crown Princess.

Her words were very rude, but Ancia didn't care.

"I don't know."

"The day you came, he said, 'Chelsea, take good care of Rose.' He hadn't even remembered my name after five years, but he memorized Chelsea's name just because of you."

The Crown Prince who came back from the Valley of Chaos brought along an ugly woman with him from there.

Her words were a direct attack on me but I tried to ignore it.

"I thought he was an indifferent person, but turns out, he just wasn't interested in me. You will never know the misery I felt then."

Camilla envied Ancia, but she didn't hate her.

After all, she was already dead.

She was only a person from the past and couldn't stand next to the Crown Prince again.

When the fake Ancia appeared, everyone was alright with it except for her. The Crown Prince was somehow cold to her.

Could she even get the chance to stand next to the Crown Prince?

She was a little nervous about that.

Then the real Ancia returned. The moment Camilla saw the Crown Prince holding Ancia's hand tightly, her envy turned into hatred.

"You're such a lucky woman. Born as the oldest of the Bellacian family, and then became the Crown Princess. Even though you're older than him, I envy you."

If she wasn't the third daughter, she would've had the chance to become the Crown Princess.

If she was born as the oldest, she would be the one that the Crown Prince loved now.

People praised the Crown Princess for taking care of him even though he was cursed before.

But Camilla didn't agree with them.

"If I was the girl of the blessing, I would get rid of his curse immediately. Isn't it a crime to turn blind eye even though you have the power?"

Camilla thought that Ancia wasn't a tough opponent.

Ancia was only lucky enough to have the power of light to lift his curse.

If Camilla had that power, she would immediately lift his curse. In fact, she was confident that her love for him was greater than that of Ancia.

"Lady Vendrick, I won't allow you to make any more rude remarks."

Ancia said in a low voice.