I Tamed the Monstrous Prince - Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Mercedes couldn’t contain her resentment. How had this happened? She gnawed at her fingernails.
“I never liked her from the start.”
Just a duke’s bastard, clinging to Cesar and wielding undue influence. At least the previous fiancée had a respectable lineage, though even she turned out to be adopted by the Peregrino marquisate as an infant. Still, a distant relative was better than nothing; at least there was noble blood.
Irenea’s face flashed in her mind. A street urchin, she’d heard. A filthy, lowborn creature elevated to the position of Crown Princess overnight. No wonder she was so arrogant and unrestrained.
“That explains her brazen, impertinent behavior!” Her dislike intensified with every step she took, the sharp clicks of her heels against the stone floor a small release for her frustration. But the fleeting satisfaction quickly gave way to a hollow ache.
She stopped, gazing out at the desolate courtyard of the Jade Palace. The barren garden mirrored her own empty feelings, a wave of nausea rising in her throat.
A few more steps, then she stumbled, bracing herself against a pillar. Her breath caught in her chest, and she doubled over, retching into the dry grass. Gasping for air, she wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. She felt so pathetic she could cry.
Her fist clenched, tearing at the withered grass. She couldn’t believe she was allowing herself to be so affected by that girl. Her thoughts tangled like a knotted thread, leaving her dizzy and disoriented.
Everything about Irenea irritated her. From head to toe, there wasn’t a single redeeming quality. That limping cripple, feigning fragility to garner male attention. And that pretty face, no doubt convinced of its own importance. As if a beautiful face was all that mattered.
‘I won’t be requiring your assistance any further.’
The memory of Irenea’s dismissal stung. That lowborn bastard, a worthless scrap of humanity plucked from the streets. She scooped up another handful of dry earth. This desolate garden, another source of resentment.
Cesar’s designated palace had originally been the Amethyst Palace. His demotion to this shabby Jade Palace was entirely Irenea’s fault, a consequence of incurring the Empress’s displeasure.
That insignificant girl, acting like she owned the place now that she was Crown Princess. A bastard with no connections, flaunting her newfound authority. She should be groveling at the Empress’s feet, not making waves.
It was her arrogance that had led to this. Instead of keeping her head down, she’d even dismissed the handmaids assigned by the Empress. Naturally, she’d earned the ire of her superiors.
Mercedes stood there, sobbing uncontrollably. She almost longed for the days when it had just been her and Cesar. The thought made her seethe with renewed anger.
Irenea’s face swam before her eyes. She clawed at the dirt, desperate to erase the image.
“How dare she… to me…”
She was Cesar’s true mother. No one in the palace could deny it. Hadn’t even the former Empress Adelaide acknowledged as much?
‘Cesar was raised entirely by your hand, Mercedes.’
The former Empress, driven mad, had abandoned her own son. She had forfeited her right to be called a mother.
And Cesar, her son, had recognized her devotion.
“Even the Empress couldn’t touch me…”
Not even the new Empress could displace her, the prince’s nanny. The unbreakable bond between mother and son couldn’t be severed.
Though it was justified by the fact that Mercedes was the only one capable of handling Cesar, she conveniently disregarded that truth. It was because she was so precious to him. That was why the new Empress, Cornelia, had also accepted her. That was what she believed.
“How dare she… to my son…”
