The Extra Saved the Terminally Ill Princess and Ran Away - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Triang Village (5)

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Sins and mistakes can be atoned for. Repentance is possible through reflection.

And then, all that remains is to ask for forgiveness.

While this might be a common sentiment, it wasn't a universal truth.

At least, not for Lilisiana.

Could sins and mistakes be so easily absolved by mere reflection and repentance? Was forgiveness an automatic right?

Reflection doesn't gather spilled water.

Repentance isn't the perpetrator's right, but a grace bestowed by the victim's forgiveness.

Unlike Grace, whose worldview was rooted in inherent goodness, Lilisiana, having experienced the bitter consequences of her own foolishness, believed differently.

Yet, she had to apologize.

If she revealed everything, Grace would have been the one to apologize. But Lilisiana couldn't bring herself to mention Finn's death.

So, instead of explaining herself and justifying her outburst, she apologized curtly.

Without explaining her anger, her behavior would simply be seen as a childish tantrum.

"Sorry. Forget what I just said."

"N-No… I apologize for my presumptuous remark."

Both girls apologized, but their actions were different.

Lilisiana averted her gaze, while Grace closed her eyes and bowed her head slightly.

Silence fell between them, but Grace's mind was anything but quiet.

She couldn't even think about continuing the conversation.

She was too preoccupied with the Princess's words.

Someone she couldn't ask for forgiveness from? Or… someone who wouldn't forgive her?

Impossible.

Who would dare treat the Imperial Princess that way?

'Unless… it's the reason for the Emperor's newfound power…?'

Grace flinched.

A possibility struck her like lightning.

'What if… it's the Emperor's Shadow?'

It was plausible.

The Emperor, once considered a walking corpse, had suddenly gained immense power.

And it was all thanks to the mysterious figure known as the Emperor's Shadow.

The Emperor's Shadow, who unearthed and exposed countless scandals and conspiracies, bringing down noble families one by one, leading them to ruin and death.

She wasn't sure if the Princess's fiancé was the Emperor's Shadow themselves, or someone they served, but,

If there was a connection, even the Imperial Princess wouldn't be able to act against them.

Grace pondered their conversation.

If only I had the ability to see through lies… the Princess had said.

A single scenario, fulfilling all the conditions, emerged in Grace's mind.

'He… approached Her Highness in secret.'

Grace imagined their first encounter wasn't a pleasant one.

After the Empress's death, the Princess had collapsed from grief, and the Emperor, true to his reputation as a devoted husband, was inconsolable, rumors claiming he was on the verge of death himself.

The Imperial family was doomed.

Or so everyone thought. But then, the Princess suddenly recovered, and,

One by one, the noble families who had pressured the now-powerless Emperor met their downfall.

The timing suggested that the Princess's recovery and the Emperor's rise to power were connected.

Grace's speculation was only possible because she didn't know the full story.

The Emperor, wanting to protect the boy, had made the announcement discreetly, within the palace walls.

And the nobles, celebrating the Empress's death and the perceived weakening of the Emperor's power, hadn't paid much attention to the boy.

So, no one suspected that the Princess's sudden recovery, her rage-fueled resurgence,

Was connected to the attendant, the Emperor's Shadow.

But Grace, unaware of the details, yet able to sense the Princess's emotions, could make such a deduction.

He had approached the Princess in secret, and she had rejected him.

'Perhaps… she didn't want to be indebted to someone she was attracted to.'

It was a thought born of Grace's inherent goodness.

That he was helping the Imperial family without expecting anything in return, purely out of affection for the Princess.

But the Princess, young and grieving, had lashed out at him, unable to control her emotions.

And later, for some reason, she learned his true identity, but by then, it was too late to apologize… or perhaps, he refused to forgive her.

So, he disappeared, heartbroken by her rejection.

But the Princess, unable to forget him, announced her engagement, cherishing his memory… that was Grace's theory.

Her eyes lit up, convinced of her deduction.

The fact that the Princess's fiancé's identity remained a secret supported her theory.

Some speculated that the doting Emperor didn't want to marry his precious daughter off.

Others claimed it was a ruse by the Princess herself, disgusted by the nobles' actions, a way to ascend to the throne as Empress without a husband.

But no one dared to question the Emperor, his power now absolute.

And the theory of a secret benefactor connected to the Emperor's Shadow didn't hold much weight.

Firstly, someone with that level of information and power couldn't be a single individual, people reasoned.

It had to be a group, but no such group existed within the Empire.

If it did, they would have acted sooner, and for a hastily assembled group to possess such extensive information was too far-fetched.

It couldn't be a foreign power either.

A powerful nation would have openly offered their support, and for a secret organization to possess such information… was, as mentioned before, too improbable.

Even ignoring the details of their identity, their motives were unclear.

The Emperor's Shadow had vanished as soon as the Emperor gained absolute power.

It didn't fit the profile of a single individual, and,

It was too selfless for a group.

So, people whispered a single word.

The word Finn had written every time he punished a corrupt noble. Because humans tend to attribute inexplicable events to divine intervention.

Retribution.

The nobles had been punished by heaven, people said.

It was a safer assumption.

Prying into the identity of the Emperor's Shadow might invite divine wrath, just like the nobles who had lost their heads.

So, the initial curiosity faded, and,

No one dared to question the Emperor, assuming there was a good reason for his secrecy.

And this…

This was a thought only those unaware of the Princess's true feelings, those who didn't know the full story, could entertain.

Grace took a step forward, a step in the wrong direction.

A step ahead of everyone else.

She believed in the inherent goodness of humanity, that selfless love alone could motivate someone to help the Princess.

Unlike those who couldn't imagine a connection between the bullied attendant and the Emperor's Shadow,

Grace, unaware of the truth,

Deduced that the Princess, having learned the truth after the Emperor's Shadow disappeared, had announced her engagement to honor his memory.

A conclusion based on a mixture of facts she knew, and facts she didn't.

'So, Your Highness is in love with someone she can't be with?'

Grace looked up at the Princess, her eyes filled with an immeasurable sadness.

"…."

Grace was speechless, stunned.

A boy, in love with a princess who couldn't reciprocate his feelings. A princess, in love with a man she could never be with. A heartbreaking reality.

And from this day forward,

Grace's path, already slightly skewed, deviated completely from the original story.

Not a girl seeking solace in a world of malice,

But a spectator, watching a tragedy unfold, hoping for a happy ending.

And so, Grace met her unexpected fate.

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