The Villainess is a Marionette

Translator: thursdays PR: scarcecrow

“Lord Raphael is on his way, so wait just a moment.”

Annie gulped.

It was usually Jeremy, Raphael’s right-hand man, who came to this room for the reports. But why was Raphael coming today?

Soon, the door opened, and an elegant silhouette could be seen through the translucent sides of the marquee.

She bowed straight away.

“Greetings, Lord Kedrey.”

“Sit down.”

He sat in a chair and beckoned for her to do the same.

Ordinarily, the reports from the princess’s palace were useless.

The planting of a spy in the princess’s palace was for thoroughness, not because there would be a lot of high-quality information.

However, since a while ago, urgent reports came often from the princess’s palace. Furthermore, Cayena recognized the duchy’s spy as competent and now regarded her as a close friend. Thanks to this, Raphael obtained information faster and more accurately than anyone else in the capital.

Raphael opened his mouth.

“What happened?”

Annie revealed everything that happened in the imperial palace today: Olivia Grace arrived one day earlier than expected, the incident in the central kitchen, Mrs. Helier’s crimes, and the Emperor’s reaction—she conveyed all of these events in detail.

The spy planted with the knights also delivered similar news as what Annie told the duchy.

Princess Cayena put out an imperial order to seize the Helier family’s possessions and to search for a traitor’s seal.

There was an old story about the symbol of a treacherous family, but barely anyone in the capital was aware of the tale because of its age. A young lady like Cayena would not have had much reason to come across it before.

The princess seemed to possess a lot of strange information. There were some things that she might have learned by paying careful attention.

However, Raphael knew that Cayena’s environment was not supportive of such things.

‘Exactly how did she learn all this?’

Today, he had received confirmation that Rita Brukin suffered from madness, just as Cayena had said. There was news that it might even be genetic. Also, Olivia Grace entered the imperial palace.

Raphael did not have to lift a hand. He had seen neither head nor tail of the three ladies whom his mother tried to marry off. Had his perfectionist mother’s plan ever gone so completely wrong?

As far as he knew, this was the first time.

“Are there any other unusual movements?”

In response to his question, Annie pondered over Cayena’s recent actions.

“Nothing else is notable, except that she has been reading travelogues of each region.”

“Travelogues?”

Come to think of it, he did come across her at the imperial library.

‘What’s the reasoning behind this?’

Annie told him what she had overheard.

“She said that she would read up on summer vacation spots.”

Every summer, Cayena took a month-long vacation to the southern beaches. But a member of the imperial family had cut off connections with the place where they had stayed two years ago after a disagreement.

“You mentioned her old nanny. Is that the wife of Baron Elivan?”

“Yes, it is. Baroness Elivan hasn’t replied yet, but I will relay the information to you as soon as she contacts the princess.”

Raphael nodded.

Looking at the situation, if Baroness Elivan entered the palace, there was a large possibility that she would become the head maid.

‘I have to put a person there, too, to keep an eye out.‘

Annie brought up another important report.

“And last night, the prince went to Her Highness’s chambers.”

“Shouldn’t he be under house arrest?”

“Yes. There seems to be a secret passage in the princess’s bedroom.”

It was natural for each bedroom in the castle to have a secret passage.

“There briefly were some loud noises coming from the room.”

At that, Raphael frowned. It didn’t seem like a pleasant situation. No, he was sure that Rezef went to Cayena with a grudge.

‘But there was not a single rumor about it. Rather, the prince’s palace has been quiet.’

Raphael thought that Cayena must have placated Rezef. But what she may have said to Rezef, he didn’t know.

He could only assume it had something to do with political power.

‘More things that I need to learn about.’

Whenever Cayena made a move, things became noisy, like the wind blowing over a reed field.

Her level of influence had grown to a level that could not be ignored. At least, that was what Raphael thought.

He asked Annie a question he had never asked before.

“What do you think of the princess these days?”

Annie was briefly unsettled by the perplexing question. But since she was quick-witted and sharp, she quickly found a proper answer.

“She is just and wise.”

A just and wise princess. It didn’t make sense. But oddly, Raphael believed it.

“Oh, and…”

Raphael curiously looked at Annie.

Annie hesitated for a moment and then spoke. “I heard her say that she hopes Lord Kedrey would get along well with Lady Grace.

He frowned slightly.

‘Lady Grace again.‘

Since that meeting a while ago, Cayena repeatedly brought up Olivia Grace.

What kind of trick did she have in mind?

Raphael acknowledged her words with a nod and handed over a purse to Jeremy.

Jeremy crossed the marquee and gave the purse to Annie. She gratefully received the payment and again followed the servant out of the room.

No matter how many puzzle pieces he picked up about Cayena, Raphael couldn’t figure out the big picture. It confused him. It was like the pieces belonged to different puzzles.

‘It’s doubtful that she’s moving to support Rezef as the emperor, but it doesn’t seem like she’s trying to gain power for herself.’

And the strangest part of all this was himself.

Raphael kept paying attention to Cayena’s actions and wondering about them. He couldn’t ignore her. She was like a thorn on his finger.

Raphael even felt frustrated because he couldn’t make an appointment to meet her. Right now, he was only the heir, not the duke.

He deliberately hadn’t succeeded his father yet and was isolating himself.

‘But it would be nice if I had the authority to talk with her more often…’

Raphael left the annex and entered the ornate Kedrey villa.

He seemed lost in thought throughout the walk. Then, he asked Jeremy, “Is there any way to meet the princess casually?”

To obtain the right answer, one had to face the problem.

***

As the next day dawned, Cayena stopped her inspection as if nothing had happened.

However, everyone in the palace was terrified of ending up like the head chef or Mrs. Helier. They cowered back, but at the same time, they had to move more efficiently than they had in years as they had to take on the work of those who were imprisoned.

Due to the personnel reassignments in the morning, the arrival of the princess’s new ladies-in-waiting drew less attention.

Julia Evans and Susan Lepore watched as a servant hurriedly went to the princess’s palace to announce their arrival.

She didn’t expect a lot, but Julia was a little disappointed at the cold reception.

“Things seem a little messy…”

Julia had been excited to come to Alquiem.

The capital city! The romance and thrill of it could not be expressed in words.

Julia was a lively lady bored by the standards of the men in the east. They were ugly, and they weren’t stylish at all. For Julia, those facts were more painful than anything.

When she was chosen as a court lady in the princess’s palace, she was so thrilled that she screamed. Finally, she would be able to get out of the dull old countryside!

‘Tea parties! Balls! Dresses!‘

She entered the imperial palace anticipating a world of elegance and style. However, the mood in the imperial palace was a bit strange. Julia, the jewel of the Evans family, was being treated like cold leftovers.

She glanced at Susan Lepore, who stood next to her with an apathetic face.

‘She seems harsh.’

Susan’s chocolate brown hair, deep purplish eyes, and haughty expression made her look like a sleek jaguar.

Even though Julia smiled and tried to talk with her, Susan only responded with brief answers.

‘Well, at least she’s kind of pretty.‘

Julia concealed her prideful feelings by combing through her curly gold hair with her fingers. Her own beauty was considerably greater. She was often called the most beautiful woman in the east.

‘Even in the capital, I haven’t seen anyone prettier than me.‘

How beautiful would Princess Cayena, who was known as the greatest beauty of the empire, be?

At that moment, the servant returned with a senior lady-in-waiting.

~~~