“Your Highness has instructed not to let anyone inside…”
Delfina looked around fearfully, trying her best to stand in front of the door, but Giovinetta didn't bother to listen and blatantly rushed forward to order Marta to open the door.
As soon as the door opened, the scene inside was so pathetic that it was unsightly. Even though it was midday outside, because the curtains were tightly covered, not a single ray of sunlight could penetrate, leaving the room in darkness and gloom.
Giovinetta frowned. The figure lying on the bed with a pale face stirred slightly. It's Irenea.
"Delfina? I told you not to let anyone in..."
Irenea also just noticed Giovinetta's presence.
“What, why did you come here?”
A sharp voice immediately burst out.
At that moment, following Giovinetta's instructions, Marta quickly ran to the window and yanked the curtain aside. Light flooded in, fully revealing the miserable chaos in the room. Broken furniture was scattered everywhere, beads were lying around, dishes were broken in half, and even dry porridge stains stuck to the wall. What a true battlefield.
And in the midst of that scene, people saw an extremely scared Irenea, pulling the blanket up to her chin. Even Giovinetta witnessed her such a devastated appearance for the first time.
Just by looking at it, Irenea's condition is extremely bad. Her face was haggard, her eyes were dark and purple, like someone who had not slept for many days in a row.
Giovinetta raised her chin triumphantly.
“You should be grateful, I came here to visit you to see how you are doing.”
Hearing that, Irenea shouted in a broken voice like a moan:
“How… how can you come here wearing that outfit?”
“Ah, this?”
Seeing that the other person immediately realized his intentions, Giovinetta was extremely satisfied. She smiled brightly, lifted her skirt, and bowed sarcastically in greeting.
"I heard rumors that you are seriously ill. What if my trip is not to visit a sick person but instead to attend a funeral?"
Anyone who looked at her could see that her outfit was definitely a mourning outfit. A head-to-toe jet black velvet dress, black hat, and pinned on a black veil were Asphodel flowers, cypresses, and chrysanthemums. All are flowers that symbolize condolences and mourning.
It seemed like Irenea's thread of reason was broken right at that moment.
"Get out of here! Get out of here right now!"
Irenea's face turned red, then turned purple, and in the blink of an eye became as gray as ashes. She screamed madly, even grabbed a pillow on the bed and threw it straight at Giovinetta.
"There's no need to chase me away. Seeing as you still have the strength to throw things like that, there's probably nothing wrong with your health."
In the end, Giovinetta left the Emerald Palace without gaining any significant benefits, but with extreme joy and happiness in her heart.
That night, Celestina and Giovinetta had dinner together, enjoying the intimate mother-child relationship after a long time. Seeing that her daughter had always appeared happy since returning from the Royal Palace, Celestina couldn't help but be curious:
“So, how's that little Irenea doing?”
Giovinetta smiled wryly as if just thinking about it made her feel crazy happy.
"Don't mention it again, Mom. It's completely turned into a living corpse that's about to die."
In contrast to Giovinetta's excitement, Celestina found it difficult to immediately believe it. The Irenea she knew was not the type to break down that easily.
"I still find it hard to believe. Why did that naturally fierce child suddenly become like that?"
Giovinetta's neck was still stiff from the intoxication of victory and arrogance.
"Anyway, it has nowhere else to turn to, other than slowly dying, what other choice is there?"
“Life in the Royal Palace is not easy… but I still find that girl very suspicious.”
“Mom, you always worry too much.”
However, Celestina still could not hide her expression full of concern and doubt. She is sometimes haunted by such excessive suspicion. It's also because of her sharp nature that breaks her divinity.
“If you're so worried, I'll pay closer attention every time you enter the palace, and then install more people to monitor it, right?”
“Can I do that for mom?”
"It's nothing difficult. As long as it helps mom reduce her anxiety, I can do anything."
"My daughter, since the day she became the confidant of Her Majesty the Queen, her thinking has become much more mature."
Celestina looked at her daughter with eyes filled with love, as if she were the most adorable treasure in the world.
Mother and daughter looked at each other and smiled brightly after many days of separation.
After that, the person who was installed to monitor Irenea sent the news back.
“His Royal Highness the Royal Highness goes to the priest to hear confession every day, then spends hours in the prayer room.”
“What's the point of talking about those boring things, is there nothing else?”
The supervisor glanced around and then smirked. The information he gave was truly astonishing.
"Do you do that every night? Without a guard accompanying you?"
“Yes, that's right.”
The supervisor nodded repeatedly, happily accepting the silver coin that Marta, Giovinetta's maid, threw to him.
The information he revealed was that Irenea secretly went out alone every night and loitered in the Royal Palace in a mysterious way.
“From what this coward sees, it seems like every night His Royal Highness the Royal Highness goes out to perform some kind of ritual.”
The vague answer made Giovinetta angry:
“What do you do in the end?”
Being questioned harshly by Giovinetta, the supervisor brazenly laughed and continued to spread his hands.
“That… even this coward doesn't really understand…”
When he smiled, showing his yellow teeth, a foul smell arose. Giovinetta quickly covered her mouth with her handkerchief and signaled Marta. Only when Marta threw a few more Rosentaria silver coins to him did he open his mouth again.
“It's a bit insulting to say this, but according to this coward, it seems like it's a superstitious act.”
“Superstitious?”
This information pleased Giovinetta so much that his voice immediately rose. The man smiled again and continued:
"Yes, my hair is loose, every night I go alone to the lakeside to burn some kind of paper. On the paper are drawn strange symbols that look like they are related to the devil. Burning those things can only be the work of witches."
“Is that so, is that so?”
Giovinetta had to calm herself so her voice wouldn't tremble with joy. The corners of her mouth were raised up to her ears, her breathing became increasingly rapid. Finally caught it. She herself will corner that damn bastard.
A truly disgusting woman. Irenea's thorn suddenly burst into her life, stealing all attention. Just remembering that face was enough to make her frown in discomfort.
That pretty but cold face is so hateful. That bitch is always like that. No matter how he was bullied or punished, he remained indifferent, indifferent and stubborn as if he didn't care about life at all. That attitude angered her even more.
At first, she didn't intend to hate it. When she first met, she really intended to treat him well. It was pure compassion.
Because Irenea on the first day we met looked dirty, ugly, and skinny like a rat running freely in a sewage ditch.
Even though they have different mothers, when she heard that she was her sister, she naturally felt interested. Suddenly brought to this strange place, she even found it pitiful. Thinking back, her kindness and pity back then were truly amazing.
She was taught that giving compassion to those below her was a noble quality and duty. That's why she showed goodwill. Until that brat doesn't know his own identity and acts recklessly.
At first she thought he was just a lowly person not worthy of carrying her shoes. Just a poor, pitiful child, but at some point he gradually threatened her position.
Being able to speak ancient or foreign languages more fluently than her, being praised by the tutor, having high test scores that caught my father's attention, and being praised by the dance teacher for his graceful dance moves...
Big and bold, he really doesn't know his own strength.
Then one day, he dared to wear her clothes and act like a noble lady. It looked like it suited her better than her, which made her mad. Dare to compete with you for glory. That pathetic little rat-looking thing. It's true that the country is easy to change, its nature is hard to change, rats are always just trying to steal the granary.
That's why she decided to scare it a little. Just intending to gently push his back to startle him, but who knew that stupid kid would roll down the stairs on his own.
“It's really not my fault.”
Giovinetta gritted her teeth. That's right, if there's a mistake, it's Irenea's fault.
Who told him to endure it alone? Who told him to stay quiet in the corner of the room without saying anything? The illness gets worse due to its own doing. Yet he dares to blame her, it's absolutely ridiculous.
But now it's all over. It seems that Irenea could not stand the life of the Royal Palace and went crazy. At this rate, maybe she'll see a good drama.
“No, wait?”
At that moment, an even more interesting idea flashed through her mind. A ray of light flashed full of evil. That crazy woman, what's her name?
"Marta, Marta! Where is Lady Mercedes Aronzo?"
“Yes, ma'am, I'll go now!”
Seeing Marta waddling away from afar, Giovinetta silently cursed. Useless slow maid. If she had the chance, she would peel its skin off to be satisfied.
Giovinetta's cheeks were now pink with excitement and full of vitality. She looked fresh and radiantly beautiful, like a flower budding in the spring sky.