Chapter 11: Betrayal

The "Tears of Beauty" is a family heirloom of the Evington family, worn only by the Evington heirs. Previously owned by Countess Anita, after her passing, her son Caspiel took full authority over the necklace. Whether blinded by love or harboring hidden intentions, he gave the necklace to Celine without informing her of its significance.

The beautiful woman showed a fearful expression when Lady Ivvete accused her of stealing the jewelry she was wearing. Yet, Caspiel himself had given it to her and even put it around her neck. Celine was sure no one would believe her if she said so. Therefore, her gaze remained fixed on Caspiel, who appeared clueless about the situation.

"Lady Ivvete, it seems you misunderstand something. I entered this room with Count Caspiel. If I indeed stole this necklace, it's impossible for him not to notice," Celine said sharply, locking eyes with the woman before her. Lady Ivvete was out of line.

"Oh? Perhaps Count Caspiel didn't notice! Look, he's not saying anything about it now," Lady Ivvete persisted. Seeking validation from her friends, she pointed her fan towards Caspiel.

"This heirloom is precious to the Evington family; it's impossible for Count Caspiel not to notice. Lady Ivvete, it seems you forget that the late Countess Anita herself escorted me here. You overlook the possibility that the late Countess gave me this necklace," Celine retorted.

"On what basis?!" Lady Ivvete exclaimed in frustration, realizing she was losing face.

"His Majesty King Leviathan bestowed upon me the title of Marchioness for curing Caspiel's illness. So, what do you think the late Countess would give to someone who saved her son's life?"

Guests began whispering after witnessing the free spectacle. Some agreed with Celine's statement, but others dismissed it as nonsense. Lady Ivvete growled, showing her frustration. She couldn't respond, of course. Speaking wrongly would only further damage her reputation.

"Lady Ivvete, we've only just met today. I believe I've never wronged you in any way. But I cannot deny that your current behavior truly offends me," Celine declared firmly, maintaining her elegant posture with her hands placed in front of her body.

"What? I-!" With panic, the woman glanced around, realizing people were blaming her. Without saying another word, she fled, stomping her feet. The evening's performance was over. The guests returned to their respective gatherings, though their conversations now centered on what they had just witnessed.

Celine's body trembled. It was the first time she had experienced such humiliation. With all her strength, she walked away from the crowd and toward the balcony. She needed fresh air.

"Nice performance," a familiar voice said to Celine. It was Caspiel, his expression vastly different from the Caspiel she knew. His expression now resembled someone who was intoxicated, unaware of his surroundings.

Celine didn't respond. Tears fell onto the balcony railing as she sobbed. For her, Caspiel intentionally embarrassed her by giving her the necklace and staying silent when Lady Ivvete humiliated her earlier.

"You know, I expected something more than that. But Astarte was impatient to enjoy the evening with me. So, I had to quickly retrieve the necklace I gave you," Caspiel's words made Celine widen her eyes.

Slap!

A loud slap landed on Caspiel's cheek, so hard that blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Celine intended to snap him out of it, but instead, he was completely awakened from the enchantment that had enveloped him all this time—the love spell given by Princess Astarte.

"Ce-Celine? Why are you crying?" Caspiel approached Celine, bewildered. All he remembered was sipping wine before everything turned to ash and fog. When he regained consciousness, he saw a woman he cared about crying after slapping him.

'Am I too drunk?' he wondered.

As Caspiel attempted to embrace the sobbing Celine, another slap landed on his cheek.

"Celine! What's this slap for?" he asked.

"What for? After everything that happened and everything you said, you still ask why I slapped you?!" Her voice rose.

"I- I really don't know what happened. Tell me, Celine, what did I do?"

"Oh? You were too busy making out with your fiancée that you didn't notice I was just humiliated by your noble friend for wearing the necklace you gave me?" Celine clenched her fists. 

Caspiel furrowed his brow. What was this woman talking about? He was making out with who? Who was his noble friend?

"Celine, I don't understand."

"Of course, you don't understand! What does anyone understand? Who still lives with this damned class system?" Celine's anger was escalating. She directed her curses toward the woman who had humiliated her earlier.

"H-Hey, they can hear you," Caspiel tried to calm Celine's anger by attempting to hold her hand. But to no avail, before their hands could touch, Celine already brushed Caspiel's hand away.

"Do I care? Why should I care? Hey Caspiel. Screw your kingdom! Queen, Crown Prince, Princess, or any noble title! I'm from Illuxar, not Craenitus! I don't owe you guys any service or respect! The only one I should respect is President Washington!"

Celine couldn't think straight anymore. All she wanted was to make a living and go back to Illuxar. Why bother adjusting to the culture here? She never intended to stay here. It's just because of that stupid contract that Celine couldn't pass through the portal back to Illuxar.

"I'm sorry for whatever it is. I beg you to stop, Celine, for your own sake." Slowly, Caspiel approached. Celine was cornered and couldn't retreat anymore, with the railing behind her that could make her fall from the second floor. Caspiel was worried about that, so he planned to pull her into his embrace no matter how much she resisted.

"Don't come closer! Or I'll jump!"

"Celine, don't."

"Hah, who do you think you are? I told you, the only one I'll respect is President Washington." The atmosphere heated up even more. Celine, with her hoarse voice, hurled curses that she actually aimed at the woman who humiliated her earlier. It seems Celine's anger couldn't be stopped by the person who caused it. Fortunately, the Crown Prince, who had been watching from inside, decided to intervene in their affairs.

"Count Caspiel. I believe I owe Marchioness Brown an apology for not saying anything when Lady Ivvete insulted her. May I speak with the Marchioness?" the Crown Prince asked.

"No, Your Highness. We are still talking," Caspiel refused without much thought. Celine stopped cursing and looked at the Crown Prince. She thought if Caspiel chose Princess Astarte, she could choose the Crown Prince too.

"Leave me," Celine said.

"With him? No, Celine. I can't trust you with him."

"Ha. I can't trust you either!" Celine pushed Caspiel away, which made him stagger a few steps back. Feeling his head starting to ache, Celine begged Caspiel to leave her alone while holding her temples, which hurt.

Reluctantly, Caspiel left them. He felt he needed to avoid Princess Astarte and meet Arthur to discuss his lost consciousness whenever he was near the Princess.

"Marchioness Celine, if you allow, may I speak to you more casually?" Azoth approached the woman, the moonlight making her tear-stained face gleam.

'Making her more beautiful,' Azoth thought. Even though the woman before him was very much like her, Azoth needed to make sure of a few things before getting closer to Celine. He took out a clean handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Celine.

"Thank you, Your Highness," she said after taking the handkerchief he offered. Azoth had asked some of his guards to stand guard at the balcony door to ensure no one eavesdropped as he did earlier. Azoth smiled, leaning against the railing as he propped his chin. He turned his head to look at the woman who was busy wiping away her tears.

"Don't wipe too hard, your face might hurt."

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness."

"Lady Celine."

"Yes, Your Highness?" Azoth paused, weighing what he should say.

"Selene. Do you remember me?" The woman looked at him confusedly, as if to say her name was Celine, not Selene.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, I think there's a misunderstanding. My name is Celine." Hearing that, Azoth's gaze softened. He chuckled miserably.

"Apologize, Lady. I think I might be a little drunk," he reasoned. The woman seemed a little calmer now. They remained silent for a few minutes, gazing at the beautiful sky adorned with stars and a full moon.

"I don't want this noble title, Your Highness," the woman said suddenly.

"May I ask why?" 

"I know this title comes with responsibilities. I'm given a territory to govern and manage everything there."

"Yes, that's how it should be. Isn't that what many people desire?"

"I'm an exception." Now her sapphire eyes met his. Seeing her serious gaze, Azoth couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm serious, Your Highness! I just want to go home."

"To Illuxar, right?"

"Yes, even though I'm just a jobless person. I prefer to live there."

"Hm? How could you enjoy that?"

"Because even though no one likes me there, no one hates me either." Azoth understood what she meant. It was certain that many enemies would hate Celine for getting the Marchioness title so easily.

If only Celine knew what his father planned, maybe they couldn't chat as casually as this.

"I heard you're being given a territory out west. There's been conflict between Craenitus and barbarian tribes there for years."

"Why...? Isn't that an indirect order to handle that conflict?"

"Yeah, you're right."

Celine chuckled sarcastically.

"Just leave it to me. I'm actually confused as to why Dad chose Caspiel to lead that war. Hasn't he not picked up a sword in 15 years? What skills does he have?" Choosing someone without skills to lead a war is basically suicide. Or maybe that's his father's intention.

"I heard he has decent sword skills even though he's just learning. Like it's natural for him," Celine's response reminded Azoth of stories about the Evington family said to have knightly blood flowing through their veins.

"But that bastard," she clenched her fists. "Hah... I guess I overreacted earlier. Isn't that right, Your Highness?" Suddenly bringing up the recent incident.

The reason Azoth didn't help Celine when Lady Ivvete trapped her was that he wanted to observe Celine's response. When he first saw her, Azoth was immediately intrigued by her. Celine put up an interesting and convincing resistance, showing bravery and intelligence that made Azoth even more curious. By not directly intervening, Azoth wanted to see how strong and clever Celine was in facing difficult situations, perhaps as an unofficial test to see if she was worthy of Azoth's help or support in the future.

"I think your response was reasonable. Caspiel didn't budge at all. I know the late Countess must have given that necklace to her son. It's clear that it was Caspiel who gave you the necklace. As for the reason, I don't know. But he's definitely at fault for not stepping forward to clarify." Yes, Azoth had to side with the woman now. His decision paid off. The woman's face was now alive again.

"Alright, I think I should apologize to Caspiel. In that case, I bid you farewell, Your Highness." The woman bid farewell and left, taking her handkerchief with her. At least that could be an excuse for Azoth to meet her again.

Now another problem he had to deal with was dragging his younger sister back to the palace. He saw his sister playing around with her magic, and Caspiel was the victim. Like that time in the palace garden, if Azoth hadn't helped his childhood friend, he might have been one of his sister's victims.

Meanwhile, Celine searched for Caspiel in the crowd but couldn't find his golden hair anywhere. Now only one place remained unvisited, but Celine hoped she wouldn't find Caspiel there either. Leaving the hall, Celine walked down the deserted corridor. The music grew fainter by the minute. Passing a corner, she heard the sounds of a woman's and a man's moans, presumably playing around in the dark corner. With a flushed face, Celine quickened her pace. She arrived at Caspiel's door. Swallowing her own saliva, nervous to face what was inside, Celine mustered the courage to knock on the door. There was no answer.

'Maybe there's no one inside,' she thought. At least that would be better.

She mustered her courage again to take the next step. Celine slowly opened the door, peeking inside through the small gap formed. Unfortunately, luck once again wasn't on her side. There she saw Caspiel lying shirtless, with Princess Astarte in a similar state on top of him. The dim light made it difficult for Celine to see Caspiel's expression clearly. What was clear was when their faces almost met, Celine closed the door and ran to her room. Wiping away the tears that continued to flood her face, since that moment Celine decided to kill all the feelings she had and focus on getting out of this weird world. Love is not her thing anyway.