Two-Faced Princess

“That’s useless.” Petra glanced at the flowers, took the bouquet, and put it in the trash can next to her. In her life, she had never understood the act of giving flowers as a present. Now, a jewel would be a permanent beauty so why should she be happy to see a flower that withers after a few days?

“Madam, Nisha only wanted to please you.”

Tell him that I am delighted.” Petra said indifferently. She felt no special affection for her sons. They were important successors to the family and deserved to be treated accordingly, but they were not the objects of her affection. Duke Lipper didn’t always agree with her way of thinking but he didn’t strongly oppose it, either. He would just nod and obey her will as usual.

“More than that, madam, we have an unexpected visitor.” The Duke lowered his voice and handed her some papers. “If you look at this report together, I think you’ll understand it quickly.”

As Petra scoured the paper quickly, her eyes widened in shock.

“Princess Apollonia has been kidnapped?”

“They’re quiet, but if you guess the testimonies of some of the palace gatekeepers and maids, there’s no doubt about it.”

“And the kidnapper——-”

When she saw the kidnapper’s name, Petra was at a loss for words. It was unusual for Petra. The Duke nodded and pointed to the parlor.

“It’s hard to believe, but he visited me and asked for a private meeting with you.”

Petra rose from her seat, slowly raising the corners of her mouth as if she found something interesting.

“The father had a frustratingly upright personality, but the son seems to be a madman.” She moved slowly in the direction the duke had pointed.

“Madam, it can be dangerous so please have someone with you———-”

“No. Tell them to wait outside.”

Petra shook his hand away and grabbed the door handle leading to the parlor.

“If you don’t want to hear your mother screaming after I tortured her, don’t do anything rash.” She smiled and held out her hand.

*SNAP*

Inside, a young man with a familiar but unfamiliar face waited for her.

“I finally met you, Duchess.”

Petra stared at the man as he stood up, bowing politely for a few seconds. Her golden eyes flashed like a beast that found an interesting toy.

“You look just like Sid Bayan.” When his father’s name was uttered, the man, Knox Byan, smiled bitterly and nodded. “Whether I like it or not, they say that’s how I look.”

Petra’s eyes twinkled once more. “I heard that the escort knight almost caught you after kidnapping the princess.” Knox’s eyes widened.

“How did you——-”

“Did you think I wouldn’t have that much information? It didn’t make sense that the princess got kidnapped in the first place and that she could completely hide that fact. Seeing that she’s still alive, she must not have reported it to His Majesty.” Knox dropped his head for a moment.

“From what she also did to my father, the princess must have tried hard to make it seem like it never happened.”

“It’s reasonable. After all, she had commanded her lady-in-waiting to steal her fiancés.” Petra replied, offering him a seat. At one point, Apollonia was an eyesore on her nerves, but now she was just a harmless princess with a hideous burn on her arm and away from the imperial throne.

“Did you hate the princess because of what happened to your father?” Petra asked. Knox seemed flustered by the direct question but did not shy away from the answer.

“Yes.”

“Then you must want to kill her.”

“What?”

“Are you going to say such naive nonsense about the rumor that the fire was an accident? I don’t like wasting time.” Petra spoke coldly and glanced at him. Knox took a deep breath and replied. “I don’t believe it. But I don’t want to kill you either, Duchess.”

The two stared at each other for a while and said nothing. “Why? You have no reason to hate me more than the princess.”

“It is natural to punish the enemy, but not being able to protect your subordinates is an ugly thing,”

Petra smirked. Sid Bayan, who was very straightforward, would have wailed in his grave if he had heard this.

“Then did you come to kill me? Because I’m your enemy?”

Knox paused for a moment before speaking again. “When my father was alive, I grew up being told that the Duchess wasn’t a good person. I’ve believed it for a long time but I didn’t realize it until five years after his death.” Knox went on. “There is no such thing as good. The important thing is who is on the winner’s side at the moment of victory or defeat.” He said, looking directly at Petra. “Our once wealthy family is now a mere name. Everyone doesn’t know that name, but it’s hard for me to take care of my sick mother.”

Petra smiled wryly. She was very well aware of his situation because she did that all herself.

“So what?” Knox slowly rose from his chair and approached Petra.

“Only after seeing my mother wander between life and death, I keenly knew my family’s fate against the duchess and that the price of loyalty to the emperor is insignificant.” A tall shadow cast over Petra’s body. She raised her eyebrows but didn’t back down.

“I have come to ask the Duchess not to turn me into an enemy.”

He knelt on one knee at Petra’s feet and her eyes grew bigger.