Episode 4

The young man observes the young blonde woman, it seemed strange to him that this girl had asked to see him, being the fiancee of the crown prince.

"I appreciate that your highness has accepted to see me, even though you have an invitation."

"What does the beloved fiancee of the prince want from me? I don't remember meeting her before."

The young man gestures for her to take a seat and the maid present serves them some tea.

"I just wanted to meet you, I must say that I am your most fervent admirer, because unlike the crown prince, you train to protect the country." Katerina takes a sip of tea.

"I am flattered, but I don't think you only came to see me for that. To be honest, I don't care if I am admired by the crown prince's fiancee or not," he mentions with annoyance.

"Very wise, your highness, I wouldn't trust someone close to my rival either. But this is not the case, on the contrary, if I am looking for an ally, you would be my best option," Katerina assures.

"Why is that? I don't think I've proven myself trustworthy."

Katerina can see that the boy is alert to her.

"But I know better than anyone that neither the emperors nor the crown prince are trustworthy, you know that too, and I know that's why you prefer to stay away from them."

At these words, the second prince keeps his gaze fixed on the blonde and she also keeps her gaze fixed on the young man.

"Your highness, I don't want to marry the crown prince, but I want the throne, I imagine you know what I'm getting at."

"Yes, but if you have the throne secured with the crown prince, why look for me?"

"Because the crown prince is not to be trusted, I know that at any moment he will betray me and before that happens, I will betray him..." Katerina shows a malicious smile.

The second prince is attentive to her reactions and it does not seem that she is lying, on the contrary, she seems very sure of what she says, and it is just as she says, you cannot trust the emperors and the crown prince, but neither can he trust that young woman in front of him, she is the acclaimed saint and fiancee of the crown prince.

"But, if you want me on your side, what do I gain? You want the throne, so I deduce that you do not want me to retain the position of emperor, so I would have no gain."

"Why not? I would take away from you what your uncles cherish so much and for which your parents died... I suspect, don't I? That the emperor murdered his parents."

The young man stands up abruptly, slamming his palms on the table as he looks at Katerina in annoyance, though she remains calm. It is good to remember the details of the true story, since the crown prince's father was not as holy as he claims to be, because during the story, the second prince always suspected about the death of his parents, since, although it was his mother who carried the title of princess being the emperor's sister, with the current laws, she could also fight for the throne if she proved that her brother, was not fit to inherit.

"What do you know about that? Did the empress send you to find out how much I know?" he asks annoyed.

"No, I would never do anything for that woman. Think about it, Your Highness, we must help each other and I will prove to you that I am trustworthy."

Katerina stands up and says goodbye with a curtsy before leaving the place. Katerina is escorted back and upon arriving outside the training ground, the empress and the marquise have seen her, so the marquise approaches quickly grabbing Katerina's arm.

"What were you doing in that place? What do you want them to think of you? Going to a place full of men, when we get home I'll give you discipline." The marquise holds her arm tighter.

"Mother, let me go, you're hurting me..."

"Madam, you're hurting her, please calm down." Katerina's guard asks.

It was annoying to see how the marquise exaggerated when trying to correct her daughter, but she cannot force her to let her go or they could blame her for going against her mistress.

"Don't interfere, you dirty commoner." the marquise yells.

"Lady Katerina, your behavior is not that of a decent young lady. Marquise, I hope this does not happen again," the empress mentions annoyed.

"Don't worry your majesty, I will give her the necessary discipline."

"I hope so, I'm not going to marry a woman who seeks to surround herself with men," adds the prince.

"No, Your Highness, I assure you that she will improve her behavior, she will be a worthy and helpful wife," assures the marquise.

The empress continues on her way being followed by the prince, when suddenly, a loud scream is heard and when they both turn to see Katerina lying on the floor crying and complaining of pain in her arm, the marquis approaches quickly and seeing what happens, immediately begins to yell at the marquise.

"You've broken her arm! What's next? Are you going to kill her?" The marquis carries Katerina and orders the carriage to be prepared.

"W-wait...husband...I didn't do anything..."

"Then how do you explain the broken arm? Did she do it to herself?" he asks furiously.

The marquise did not know what to say, since everyone who passed by, including the knights who were on the training ground, looked at her with disapproval, they witnessed how she held Katerina.

"I swear it wasn't me...you!" she points to the guard. "Tell him I didn't hurt her."

"Marquis, the lady kept pulling on Lady Rosesky's arm, I asked her to stop, but she didn't," she replies.

"Liar! You're fired, get out of my house," she yells furiously.

"Enough, Jane is only doing her job and the next time you see the marquise assaulting my daughter, break her arm," the marquis orders, looking at the marquise in annoyance.

Jane agrees to the marquis' order, while the marquise is speechless upon hearing the marquis' order and seeing his furious gaze made her tremble. The marquis walks away carrying Katerina and Jane follows them. The marquise looks at everyone again and decides to run out of the place, while the empress and the prince only look at each other.

Not far away, the second prince has watched everything and could see the moment when Katerina moved forcefully to dislocate her shoulder, allowing the marquise to receive the scolding. The boy just smiles.

"Jack, investigate Lady Rosesky thoroughly," he orders the man who had guided Katerina before.

...

***This work has been signed with NovelToon, and piracy such as reprinting without permission is strictly prohibited.***

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***