The Princess’s Final Wish Before Her Time Runs Out - Chapter 76

“I’m sorry. I’m not usually like this…”

After crying for a long while, Emily finally managed to speak again. Her face was red and puffy, eyes swollen from the tears.

“No need to apologize. Would you like some water?”

Tericia spoke gently, offering her a glass. Emily took it without protest, sipped slowly, then set it down.

“…Could you… call me by my name too? I mean… I’m the only one you still speak so formally with.”

Her words came out in halting breaths, still choked with lingering tears. Tericia glanced toward Josephine. She looked at Tericia, visibly baffled—and when their eyes met, Tericia almost heard the unspoken scolding.

“Seriously? That’s what she was worried about?”

With a soft smile, Tericia let out a quiet laugh.

“All right, Emily.”

When Tericia said her name with that bright, reassuring smile, Emily finally smiled back. Her makeup was smudged, and her hair disheveled from crying, but her expression was light—relieved.

It seemed Emily had just now realized what had been bothering her most. That subtle distance Tericia kept between her and Josephine—it had hurt more than she realized.

Seeing that Emily had calmed down a bit, Tericia gently took her hand.

“What made you cry like that?”

She had apologized over and over again—clearly, something had weighed heavily on her heart.

But Emily didn’t answer right away. She looked down, lips parting and closing as if struggling to speak.

Tericia patiently waited.

And after a long hesitation, Emily finally began to speak.

“I swear… I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

“…What do you mean?”

Tericia tilted her head slightly, confused.

“I did feel jealous. I was rude, and I had some resentment in my heart. That part’s true. But I never… ever wanted to hurt you. I never once thought of doing something like that.”

And Tericia believed her.

Emily was a bit spoiled, maybe a little naïve, but she had always been raised with love. She wasn’t malicious—just unaware of the weight her actions carried.

“It was… that man.”

Emily lifted her head and looked Tericia in the eye. Her voice was still trembling, but her gaze held firm—like someone who had finally made up her mind.

“I was the one who brought them in.”

“What?”

“That man… the Duke’s uncle. And the priest. I’m the one who brought them.”

Tericia froze. She hadn’t seen that coming. Sensing her expression tighten, Emily quickly added:

“Not on purpose! I swear, I didn’t know who they really were!”

That much made sense. A noble lady like Emily wouldn’t know every face and title in the Empire.

Tericia nodded slightly, urging her to go on.

“At the time… it didn’t feel like me. I was the one speaking, but it wasn’t my voice. It was like I had blacked out… but later, I remembered everything. I remembered what I said and did, but I couldn’t understand why. I don’t know how I could’ve done it.”

“……”

“It was my body… but it felt like someone else was moving it.”

As if someone had taken over her will.

A chill ran down Tericia’s spine. Her face slowly drained of color.

A thought flashed across her mind—unbidden, but eerily familiar.

Could it be…?

That thing. That presence she couldn’t explain. The eerie white being that showed itself before something terrible happened.

A warning. A harbinger.

“Please, believe me. It wasn’t really me. I can’t speak like that—I’m not that clever,” Emily said desperately, her eyes pleading for understanding.

Tericia smiled gently, masking the unease rising inside her. She reached for Emily’s hand and held it warmly.

“I believe you, Emily. I know you’re not the kind of person who’d do something like that.”

“Lady Tericia…”

Emily’s expression brightened. Tericia, trying to ease the tension, glanced at the table.

“The tea’s gone cold. Let me have Mandy bring a fresh pot.”

She called for Mandy to reset the table with warm tea and treats.

Soon, the table was re-set, and a much lighter, more cheerful atmosphere returned. With her confession off her chest, Emily seemed visibly relieved, her face lighter, her smile brighter.

To keep Emily from dwelling on the guilt, Tericia gently steered the conversation elsewhere. For the first time, the three of them talked in an open, comfortable way—just like real friends.

And then, as if suddenly remembering something, Emily spoke again.

“Oh… Lady Tericia. There were three people I met.”

“Three?”

“Yes. That count, the priest… and one more. Someone who brought them in.”

Tericia pressed her lips together tightly.

Now that she thought about it, Count Clu was never the type to act alone. He was the kind of man who needed someone to escort and flatter him into making a move. That someone couldn’t have been the priest.

“There were only two people who appeared at the ball, right? The Count and the priest. So then… what happened to the third?”

To hide the slight trembling in her hands, Tericia clenched her fists tightly. A faint ember of unease had begun to flicker in her chest.

＊＊＊

When the Hespelt carriage arrived at the Crown Prince’s palace, a chamberlain came out to greet them.

As Duke Rashid Hespelt stepped down from the carriage, the chamberlain bowed and conveyed the prince’s message.

“His Highness is waiting for you in the training hall.”

“The training hall?”

“Yes, he said he would go on ahead.”

Rashid’s brows twitched slightly.

Considering everything that had happened recently at the Crown Prince’s palace, he didn’t feel entirely comfortable turning down the invitation.

“Shouldn’t you go?”

Sensing his hesitation, a soft, clear voice floated from inside the carriage. It was Tericia, joining him on an outing for the first time in a long while.

“I suppose so.”

Rashid helped her down from the carriage.

She stood at his side, draped in a pale silver-blue dress that shimmered with a faint hint of moonlight.

“It’s a bit of a walk.”

“That’s fine. I like walking.”

At her cheerful response, Rashid smiled, just faintly. Then he leaned down slightly, whispering into her ear.

“If your feet hurt, let me know. I’ll carry you.”

“Rashid!”

Tericia’s face turned a shade pinker, clearly caught off guard. Rashid let out a laugh—a rare sight—and several palace attendants turned to look at them. But the two paid them no mind.

“Shall we?”

“…Yes.”

Tericia rested her hand on Rashid’s arm and began walking beside him, her face still lightly flushed.

Everyone in the palace had heard whispers about the scandal that had erupted at the Hespelt ball.

It had spread like wildfire: how the reclusive noble lady, thought to be the Hespelt heiress, had in fact never been officially recorded in the family registry. Society had erupted with rumors.

And when the Duke stormed the Crown Prince’s palace to demand her return—and the Crown Prince later issued a formal complaint—everyone assumed the alliance between Rashid and the heir to the throne would collapse.

But it hadn’t.

In fact, seeing the Duke now arriving at the palace with Tericia by his side, many speculated the two were even closer than before.

The Crown Prince had invited Rashid to the private training hall—a place not just anyone was allowed. And Rashid had accepted without hesitation.

“If we go to the training hall, does that mean I get to see you duel with His Highness?”

“Would you like to?”

Rashid looked down at her, curious.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you fight before.”

In either this life or the one before, she had never seen Rashid cross swords with anyone. She had seen him wearing armor and carrying a blade—but never in battle.

In truth, she had always turned away from the sight of him in full gear. To her, his armor had always symbolized a farewell. A parting she couldn’t bear.

“I didn’t want to see it.”

Her voice was small as she mumbled her confession, lost in the memories of a life long past.

“Why not?”

“Because when you pick up your sword… it means you’re going to war. And war means goodbye.”

She spoke so calmly, so plainly—as if it were just a matter of fact. Rashid turned his head and simply stared at her.

Sometimes, he truly didn’t understand her.

She behaved as if everything had already been decided. As if their fate had already been written. As if parting from him was inevitable—and she had resigned herself to it.

‘Just like this last time…’

Rashid swallowed a bitter laugh.

‘So what if your name wasn’t in the registry?’

Of course, the rumors would swirl. There were always those looking for weakness in the Hespelt name. But the duchy was not so fragile that it would fall over a scandal.

The same went for enemies within. With blood ties came ambition—but Rashid was no stranger to purging those who threatened the house from the inside.

‘At least Count Clu was useful in one regard.’

Though he hadn’t told Tericia, Rashid had taken this opportunity to completely clear out the troublesome collateral branches of the family.

He’d stripped their titles, seized their assets, and downsized their houses—leaving only those who bent their knee and swore loyalty.

Count Clu’s “revelation” had provided the perfect opening.

She may not have officially been recorded as part of the family, but now there was nothing standing in the way of welcoming her as his duchess.

“Would you like to watch the duel?” Rashid asked, breaking the silence.

“Huh? You mean I can?”

“Of course. Though I’ll win, naturally. His Highness always challenges me to a duel when we meet.”

Tericia’s expression brightened.

“I really have never seen you fight.”

Her voice lifted just slightly higher than usual—and Rashid caught it, his smile growing wider.

“Then I’ll make sure you see me at my absolute best.”

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