In a private corner of the room, Mercedes knelt, her hands clasped in prayer. She recited the rosary beads one by one, muttering Bible verses.
"The Lord is my refuge. He is my shepherd, he watches over me, so I will lack nothing."
God sent an angel to us. He came to earth and gave us the strength to defeat our eternal enemy.
“He gave me the power to trample on snakes and centipedes and overcome all the powers of the enemy… Heh.”
An uncontrollable laugh burst out. Even though she tried to close her mouth tightly, the corners of her lips kept curling up to her ears. Hai gò má đỏ bừng lên vì phấn khích. No matter how hard I tried to hold back my laughter, I couldn't stop it.
That's right. Lady Giovinetta herself came to her. It's Lady Giovinetta herself!
'Lady Aronzo, because I was so worried about my sister, I took the liberty to tell you this.'
“Cuối cùng thì……”
She heard from Lady Giovinetta that the Princess was doing unstable things. That's good news, that that promiscuous brat is finally causing trouble. What shocking news indeed.
'I heard that every night Irenea sneaks out of the palace to do shady things, but I can't verify, can you help me find out what it is?'
What made her even more grateful was the fact that Lady Giovinetta had personally come to ask for help. Surely the lady trusts her very much.
She felt a great destiny, as if all of this was divine revelation.
“Heh, heh, heh…….”
Because she was trying to suppress her laughter, her throat kept making strange "croaking" sounds like a frog's croaking. She had to shake her head vigorously to regain some reason.
Finally, what should we do? Thoughts keep spinning. The joy was so great that her mind felt like a burning furnace, and her heart beat as hard as if she had just sprinted.
“She obviously said that brat goes out every night, right?”
The moment that Giovinetta advised has come. She said that every night the Prince goes out at this time. She looked through the lattice window that she had looked at a hundred times before.
“Ah!”
She exclaimed happily. Lady Giovinetta's words are true. From afar, Princess Irenea could be seen walking out.
In the middle of this dark, late night, her hair was disheveled, wearing only a thin nightgown, holding a suspicious bundle in her hand, walking unsteadily. Just by looking at her, she looks like a crazy woman.
"Depraved thing! How could someone like that be with His Highness Cesar!"
That's absurd. Unacceptable. Looking at her face and limp gait, her anger flared up again. How flawed and useless it is.
That woman is truly an eyesore. That's right, like a stain on a pristine white page. She exists only to tarnish your perfect Cesar.
What should I do to remove this? Must be cut off. No, if possible, it's best to burn it all without leaving a trace. Only then will my beloved Cesar be complete. Therefore, everything that happens to that woman in the future is inevitable. Dirty things should naturally be eliminated.
Soon, Mercedes quietly followed behind Irenea. Even though he kept a safe distance to avoid being detected, the other person kept walking slowly, looking straight ahead, not paying any attention to his surroundings.
Just like someone possessed by a ghost. She mumbled to nothing as she walked, occasionally stopping and hanging her head.
Doesn't that look like a crazy person?
“Just what the hell are you doing?”
Mercedes' eyes were filled with resentment. Being given an opportunity like this is destiny. It is the will of the Gods.
In front of the door of Truong Thach Moon Palace, a maid was struggling with the guards. That is Delfina, the maid of the Luc Jade Palace.
"Please. I have something extremely important to report to Her Majesty the Queen."
"I told you it's not okay at this hour. How can you suddenly come here without a summons? It's not okay, girl."
The captain of the Cung Nguyet Truong Thach guard awkwardly stopped the maid. Even if your identity is clear, you can't just let someone in who is panicking and calling for something big to come in.
"This is the residence of Her Majesty the Queen. What is all that noise so late at night?"
At that time, Countess Elvira came out to check the situation. Delfina immediately knelt down in front of her.
“Dear Countess Elvira, please save our Royal Highness the Prince.”
The Countess bent down and calmly looked at the maid kneeling on the ground.
“Just what is it that you're making such a fuss about?”
Delfina bowed her head and sobbed for a long time, her appearance so pitiful that it made people smack their lips in sympathy.
“Our royal concubine… it seems like you have a problem.”
Her small body trembled. The Countess had already heard reports about the Prince wandering around every night. However, she pretended not to know and silently listened to see what this servant was going to say.
“What do you mean there is a problem?”
“I-It seems… Your Royal Highness is planning to do something foolish.”
Countess Elvira frowned. According to what she had observed for a long time, although Princess Irenea had a meek appearance, she was not that weak on the inside.
Dare to assert himself in front of the Queen, conquer the Luc Ngoc Palace servants appointed by the Queen, and even chase away the Prince's nanny. Putting it all together, he is a person with quite a resilient personality. Could it be that she saw it wrong?
There is something unsatisfactory.
"What is this foolish thing? What is it? Please say it clearly."
The Countess asked. Seeing that, Delfina clung tightly to her dress and cried.
"Please, ma'am. Please save our Highness."
The maid began to beg pitifully. The situation seems serious. Perhaps because the maid's face was so soft, she didn't think she was acting.
“So where is your master?”
“……You've been wandering around every night lately, but now you're going out again.”
“Prince concubine?”
Delfina nodded silently.
"What a terrible thing. Do you know where he went?"
“You go to that lake every day, you're probably there now.”
The Countess signaled to the surrounding knights.
“Quickly lead the way.”
She still couldn't dispel the feeling of doubt in her heart. But there was no other way than to confirm the situation with my own eyes. They let the maid take the lead and headed towards the lake shore.
Mercedes slowly adjusted her breathing. Just close her eyes, she can always imagine Cesar's smile for her. That radiant smile always flickered before her eyes. Truly a precious child, if you hold it in your hands you're afraid it will break, if you hold it in your mouth you're afraid it will melt.
Cesar is her only son in this world. So she and Cesar certainly always had telepathy, sharing the same heartbeat.
“My son…….”
She took a deep breath, recalling old memories. Each olfactory cell seemed to awaken. She remembered the scent on that child's body.
Cesar always smells like the midday summer sunlight. The smell of linen sheets drying crisply, the smell of weeds and morning dew, and the rich scent of baby milk.
Yet from one day, Cesar's body lingered with the smell of women's makeup. What a disgusting scent. How dare anyone even think about it? She cannot give it to anyone. Anyone can't. Cesar is her own child.
“We have to feed it quickly.”
Compared to his childhood intelligence, Cesar was weaned quite late. It's all because nanny Mercedes took care of her and pampered her too much. Whenever the child cried, instead of giving a strict lesson, she would lift her shirt and stuff her dry breast into the child's mouth.
“My Highness is looking for me so earnestly.”
Only when she penetrated the emptiness and melancholy of the child did she find some comfort in her lonely life. There were times when she intentionally left the boy alone for several hours. Because only by doing that, the innocent little Prince knew how to be afraid and snuggled deeply into his mother's arms, refusing to leave even half a step.
In fact, Mercedes was one of the happiest people when Cesar got sick. On the outside she looked sad, but inside her heart was completely different.
‘If only there were two people like this forever…….’
Every time he lost his reason and wandered off, his thinking degenerated like a child, or screaming in pain, she would secretly cheer in her heart.
‘My Highness Cesar, I will take care of you for the rest of your life.’
Her son Cesar has become a forever child who never leaves her arms. Even if it's a little distorted or twisted, it's okay. You are his mother. As a mother, you must accept and love every appearance of your child.
She was madly in love with Cesar. To keep her only son in her arms, she can do anything. Even if it means changing your life, or doing things that make the world spit on you.
“Yes, if it is something that stands in Cesar's path, then whatever it is I will destroy it.”