Throne of Silk and Smoke

Father and the empress were siblings, so our statuses were unmatched in nobility. Meanwhile, Maurice was born after a palace maid climbed into the emperor's bed while he was drunk.

In my past life, Maurice probably wouldn't even have been able to hold on to his title as prince if not for the backing of Father and me, let alone live out a happy life with Camilla.

The empress, or my Aunt Melanie, was happy to know that I had come to my senses and was no longer blinded by love. She held my hand, urging His Majesty to bring my marriage forward because she feared I would regret this.

His Majesty looked pleased, too. He and my husband-to-be, Gideon Swain, were blood brothers. Naturally, the bond between them was stronger than others.

I knew little about Gideon, even in my past life. All I knew was that he had a reputation for being a devil incarnate. He was stationed with the army in Morbeck with the task of guarding the nation's borders and rarely returned to the capital. That was why none of the noble ladies in the capital wanted to marry him.

His Majesty was delighted to learn that I was willing to do it. He said, "Don't worry, Gigi. I've already issued a marriage decree to Gid. I've ordered him to return to the capital immediately so that you two can get married as soon as possible."

I thanked him and Aunt Melanie. Then, I left the imperial study. That was when I saw Maurice standing not too far away. This time, he had Camilla by his side. When he saw me, he hurried forward and grabbed my arm, dragging me to a more hidden spot.

He demanded, "Did you do what I told you to do?"

My arm hurt from how tightly he was gripping me, so I shook him off angrily. I asked in displeasure, "What did you want me to do?"

"To speak to Father and Her Majesty about my marriage to Camilla! Did you do it or not?"

Maurice looked at me expectantly. All that did was make my stomach turn. I gave him an icy look. "What does your marriage to Camilla have to do with me? Why should I speak to them on your behalf?"

That upset him. He pointed at me and snapped, "How can you be so shameless, Giselle? I don't even like you! Do you think stopping me from being with Cami means I'll give you the time of day? Dream on!"

Camilla hurried forward to pacify him. "Don't be like this, Mo. Whatever it is, Giselle is still the Chapman family's legitimate daughter. I'm just an adoptive daughter—I could never compare to her."

Camilla was the daughter of my mother's faithful handmaiden. She'd somehow gotten pregnant out of wedlock, and out of years of master-servant affection, Mother had adopted Camilla and treated her as her own.

Who would've known that Camilla would turn out to be so ambitious? She was determined to climb the social ladder and had gotten involved with Maurice behind my back.

"Shut your mouth if you know you're unworthy!" I didn't show Camilla the patience I had in my past life.

Maurice shoved me against the wall when he heard me snap at her. "Who the hell do you think you are, Giselle? How dare you speak to Cami like that! Apologize to her now, or I'll never marry you!"

My back hurt from the impact. I looked at him frostily and said, "I finally understand why you like her so much, Maurice. It's because you're both the children of lowly servants."

In the next second, he raised his hand to slap me.