The Story Is Not Over Yet - Chapter 142

Chapter 142

“Please eat. I have prepared things that are hard to find for the Princess.”

The table in the parlor was so full that it was difficult to even put a fork on it. As Livia scanned the table with a calm gaze, a laugh leaked out at the shallow trick that was obvious in her eyes.

“Countess.”

“Yes, Princess.”

“You are trying to seduce me with these things again.”

“It is a disappointing misunderstanding.”

At those words, Sylvia laughed as she poked the strawberry on the cake with a fork and put it in her mouth. It was an obvious mockery.

“I just prepared it because I think it will be a rare opportunity for the Princess to eat something like this.”

Her gaze then went to the sleeve of Livia’s dress. The sleeves were short and frayed because they didn’t even fit her length. She could tell just by looking at it, so how could she still dare have pride in her condition?

Sylvia said with a smile as though she was treating a child.

“Don’t be proud of yourself and eat. No one can say anything just because the Princess eats it.”

She then took a big bite of the cake. Maybe it was time when the baby in her stomach was growing up, but she has had a good appetite lately.

“…Proud?”

As Livia lifted the fork in front of her with a sneer and dropped it to the ground, Sylvia frowned at her action, which reflected her intention not to eat anything.

Obviously, the last time they met, she was proud though Sylvia remembered that it was funny that she got flustered for her age. But this time, she was completely different. Livia’s red eyes made her look bloody, and it was overflowing with a sense of intimidation.

“Countess.”

“….”

“I can fully understand that you are excited about becoming a noble, but… I guess no one ever taught me to tell the difference between places to show off and places not to.”

“Prin, Princess.”

“That is true. I am only sixteen years old. I like these desserts but can’t eat them, and I am known as the ‘poor girl’ in your group.”

When Livia raised her hand and let the cake fall to the floor, the fallen cake was beautifully crushed.

“I am the Princess of this empire. If I were to take you here and now for insulting the Imperial Family, would there be anyone who would stop me?”

Sylvia shook her head with a whitened face at the intimidation Livia radiated.

“I, I made a slip of the tongue. I just—”

“I will not listen to excuses. When I am showing you respect, do something worthy of respect.”

Sylvia was speechless at Livia’s displeasure. She just stayed calm, even holding the sound of her exhaling.

“I don’t care about showing off what you have, but I want you to stop belittling others and enjoying the suffering of others, because it looks ugly.”

“….!”

Her eyes widened from the remark that she was ugly. In her eyes, there was both shame and anger towards Livia. Ugly. She was so pretty, how could she be ugly?! Sylvia held her hands tightly at the words she had never heard before.

“You must be in a bad mood.”

“N…no.”

“If I offend Madam, will you send an assassin to me as you did to Miss Vellista?”

“….!”

Sylvia’s eyes shook at those words. She gulped and slowly lifted her lowered gaze.

Still, Livia’s eyes were fixed on her, unmoving.

“Madam, since you proposed to kill Miss Vellista, you wouldn’t ask me a low-level question like, ‘How did you know?’”

“….”

“You don’t have to be so surprised because only I know what you did.”

Sylvia let out a sigh of relief hearing that. However, she soon looked at Livia again with an uneasy gaze. Then, what was the purpose of saying this?

“What, what do you want?”

Was it money, or was it the jewels she had? Conceivably she would ask for something much bigger than the last time she offered her. That was why she didn’t even pay attention to the dessert. Livia laughed at Sylvia’s trembling voice, who was lost in thoughts.

“As expected, you can only see what meets the eye. It was all correct. What do you think I’ll ask for like you? No, before that…”

“….”

“Do you think there is something I would like to have among the things you have? You are conceited.”

“That, then—”

“I’m here to warn you.”

Livia’s gaze, with a calm expression, turned to Sylvia’s stomach. As the rumors of her pregnancy were not false, her stomach was now quite swollen, reminding even those who saw her for the first time about her pregnancy.

“Miss Vellista almost died.”

‘Almost died’ meant that she was alive after all. Sylvia clicked her tongue inside.

“Are you regretting that she didn’t die in your heart right now?”

“N, no.”

“You should be grateful that she didn’t die. If she died, it would have been the devil who came looking for you, not me.”

The devil?

Sylvia tilted her head at Livia’s words, but there was no further explanation. She wondered if it was a figurative meaning that if Azela died would come back again as a devil though she gave up her thoughts when Livia continued speaking.

“Actually, I stopped the devil from visiting you this time and came here, so you should thank me.”

“…Yes? Princess, what are you talking about right now?”

“Just… are you having good dreams lately?”

“….!”

She was startled by Livia’s gaze, which seemed to see through everything, and involuntarily raised her body from the sofa she was sitting on.

“…Ho, how?”

“Yes, Madam, that nightmare you’ve been having lately…”

As she smiled viciously at Sylvia, there seemed to be a smell of blood somewhere.

“…Because I cursed you.”

“…I beg your pardon?”

“Sylvia Todd.”

Livia called her by name. When she added the surname ‘Todd’ to Sylvia’s name, which had no last name, it felt strange.

Sylvia looked at Livia with a puzzled face.

“Trying to ruin a person’s life, and not enough, mocking and even trying to kill her…”

“….!”

“You weren’t trying to make the rest of her life easier, were you?”

“What, what.”

“People don’t know, but I can actually do many things. It means I can make you see the things you hate the most in your dreams every day.”

Was her dream a curse from the Princess? She couldn’t believe it. At first, she wondered if that was possible.

Livia smiled sweetly again as Sylvia looked at her in disbelief.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to believe it if you don’t want to believe it. I didn’t say it for you to believe anyway? I just said it because I thought it would be more painful for you to know. I originally intended to bring you death or suffering as a sin, but it seemed too light.”

“….”

“I thought that if you bullied others, it would be right for you to suffer as much for the rest of your life… Yes, you can call it a childish idea. So, every time you fall asleep in the future, you will meet the situation you hate the most as a dream. People call it a ‘nightmare’.”

Pausing her words for a moment, Livia slowly lifted her finger and pointed at Sylvia.

The second she saw it, the finger reminded her of the nightmares she had, and Sylvia was suffocated for a moment. It was as if that finger had turned into a sword, like in the dream, and stabbed her in the heart.

“You will never sleep comfortably for the rest of your life. This is the punishment for bullying my first friend.”

“….!”

“But remember… that if Miss Vellista were to die, you would experience a greater fear than that dream.”

Livia returned to the palace with light steps.

Sylvia didn’t seem to believe it at first, but in the end, she clung to her, begging her to break the curse. While Livia didn’t know what kind of nightmare she was having, it seemed pretty terrible. She even thought it was a good thing she had read a book about ancient magic for this.

‘I have to tell her when Miss Vellista wakes up.’

The sixteen-year-old Princess smiled happily and opened the door to her bedroom. However, the moment she looked up, the smile on her face vanished.

It was like coming back from a dream into reality.

“…Crown Prince.”

—