Momo The Labyrinth of Marielle Clarac

1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-7183-2248-6
Verlag: J-Novel Heart
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 250 Seiten

Reihe: The Tales of Marielle Clarac

The time has finally come for Princess Henriette to marry the devious Prince Liberto! Marielle and Simeon join the royal entourage accompanying her to Lavia, but right as they reach the capital, their carriage is redirected to a disused, inferior palace. After much confusion, the culprit behind this snub is revealed to be Grand Duchess Arabella of Lavia-Princess Henriette's future mother-in-law! Tension is brewing before the wedding even begins, and when the dastardly Lutin appears on the scene, Marielle knows that an insidious plot is afoot. A shadow lurks among the historical ruins of Lavia's capital city, threatening to darken Princess Henriette's big day. Can Marielle shield the princess from sinister actors both inside and outside of Lavia's royal family? This is the twelfth volume in the adventures of the now-happily-married fangirl!

Autoren/Hrsg.

Momo, Haruka

Weitere Mitwirkende

Maro

Thairintr, Jasmin

Leseproben

Chapter One

As I opened the window, a light breeze brushed past my face. The sunrays beaming down shone with a bright intensity. Flowers were blooming en masse, their green leaves happily outstretched.

Girls of all ages were fond of this time of the year, when spring was transitioning into summer, since it brought the promise of a wonderful future when they’d take their first steps as new brides. Her Highness Princess Henriette, the youngest princess of our kingdom, Lagrange, would soon be married, and her wedding would certainly be festooned with those blessed fluttering feelings.

Or at least, we had thought it would be, until just a little while ago.

“This place...”

After disembarking from the carriage, we all gazed up in confusion at the building in front of us. Though the land it sat upon had a long history, the building itself was of a newer design, with fancy construction techniques and decorations that were popular just two hundred years ago. Thick, elliptical pillars lined the front, and the windows and roof were adorned with engravings. Above one of the third-floor windows was a smaller window—perhaps an attic?

The most striking things were the giant statues along the front facade. The majestic appearances of legendary deities greeted all those who visited. These were incredible works of art that looked like they could come to life at any second.

This was one of the many tourist locations in this city, so I’d known of it prior to my visit. The building was named the Parche Palace. It was on a smaller scale for a palace—about the size of a normal mansion. As one would expect, it once served as the residence for a noble named Parche. However, it was only called a palace because of how elegant the building was, and no actual emperor had ever lived in it.

At present, it belonged to the grand duke’s family, so the name was a bit more fitting now, but that family resided in the larger Casterna Palace, which was nearby—they most likely didn’t even use Parche Palace as a vacation home. It was also vaguely unfit to be a guest house, as it was smack-dab in the middle of the city. There were no walls or fences surrounding it, only a mere plaza that led straight to the road. The neighborhood was filled with shops, hotels, and apartment buildings, and an appetizing scent wafted by, making my stomach growl after the long journey. This area was bustling with locals and tourists alike.

At present, people were gathered to catch a glimpse of the bride from the neighboring kingdom who had just arrived. Royal knights accompanied her as her guards, and they did their best to prevent the crowd from getting near her. These foreign knights garnered attention as well, not only because their white uniforms were both practical and appealing, but also because they had been assigned to this mission with their looks in mind—they were all very attractive.

Their leader in particular was a beautiful man who drew every eye, and the women in the crowd all cheered for him. This man, my capable husband, boasted both ability and an impeccable appearance.

After retraining my focus onto the building in front of us, I turned to the person behind me, who was stepping down from the carriage. “I wonder why we’re at Parche Palace. I thought we were supposed to head straight to Casterna. Was this detour planned?”

“I didn’t hear anything about this either.” The black-haired princess shook her head, and her confused expression mirrored my own.

We’d been traveling by land for several days. Just when we’d thought that the princess would finally be meeting with her beloved, we’d found ourselves taken to this place. Our entire entourage had no idea why, so I asked one of the officials from Lavia who was with us. “Pardon me, but why have we been taken here? This appears to be different from what we’d planned beforehand.”

This man had greeted us at the border of our two kingdoms and accompanied us from there. He was only in his thirties, but he seemed to be quite coolheaded. He answered me with an insincere smile plastered on his face.

“Her Highness and you all will be residing here until the wedding ceremony.”

“We...were not informed of any such thing,” I replied.

“Is that so? I cannot say why that is, but we merely guided you here per our orders. Parche Palace will be your place of residence for the time being.”

The official did not appear to be surprised or bothered in the least, which led me to believe that he’d known about this from the start.

I walked back over to Princess Henriette and told her what I’d just heard. Lord Simeon came over with a similarly puzzled look.

“Was there some sort of miscommunication?” he asked.

“I don’t believe so.” I quietly gestured toward the man from earlier. “That official knew we’d be confused. They seem to have made this decision without discussing it with us first.”

Princess Henriette raised her eyebrows. “Prince Liberto ordered such a thing?”

“We don’t yet know whether these were his orders or not,” I said. Though something like this would fall perfectly in line with the prince’s blackhearted nature, right now, we couldn’t say anything for sure. What we know was that we probably wouldn’t be able to get any information out of the official.

My husband promptly made the first decision. “Then I suppose we have no choice. Let us go inside. Debating about it here will only make things more complicated. We’ll confirm with the grand duke’s palace staff after winding down for a moment.”

I nodded. “Agreed. It would be dangerous for the crowd to get any larger.”

An ever-growing number of onlookers were staring at Princess Henriette. There were so many that carriages couldn’t pass on the road anymore. Things were starting to get perilous, not only because of the carriages but also because people were beginning to shove one another. There could even be people plotting immoral things in the midst of the fuss, and the knights we had on guard wouldn’t be able to handle it if the mob began to push forward. I felt that Lavia’s side could have predicted something like this happening and taken measures to prevent it, such as placing guards here beforehand.

Left with no other choice, we had the official lead us. Princess Henriette waved farewell to the crowd as she followed him to the side of the building. The entrance there was plain, in contrast to the splendorous design of the front facade. That small door was intended to be hidden behind the grand statues.

Once inside, we stepped into a small hall. At the end of this hall was a corridor leading deeper inside the palace, as well as a staircase to the upper floors. The ceiling, pillars, and handrails along the stairs were all gorgeously decorated in an old-fashioned style. That was fine, but...

Everyone’s faces, including mine, stiffened as we peered around. Our doubts and suspicions only grew as we went farther in. The inside of the palace was dim and silent. Though the season was warm, I wondered if the chill here was because of the stone walls. That much was easy to deal with, but why was the air filled with the stench of mold and dust? One could tell that this place was not used regularly—that was just the kind of place it was. But couldn’t they have aired it out before welcoming their own prince’s bride, the princess of another kingdom?

Our party exchanged glances as the official led us to the second floor. White dust covered my fingers as I trailed them along the handrail.

It’s been a year since I married the person I love and began living as the young wife of an earl. I, Marielle Clarac—turned Marielle Flaubert—believe I have become a proper adult woman, as I turned twenty just the other day!

My appearance...hasn’t changed, admittedly. But I do believe people have been telling me that I look less and less like a child these days. Of course they would, because I’m twenty now! Even my bespectacled face, which has no defining features at all, has surely become a bit more mature and intelligent-looking.

As an author, I’ve accomplished many things and have gradually gotten my name out there. Before, I was only known and supported by a certain sphere of fanatics, but nowadays, I receive letters from the general public as well. Being given a regular column in a newspaper also seems to be having a big effect. But naturally, I’m still lacking in many areas, so I shouldn’t get complacent and think that I’m perfect. I have to put forth more energy and do my best!

Unfortunately, my feelings tend to become flippant in the spring. The weather is nice, flowers bloom, and just taking a walk makes me feel like something good is going to happen. My beloved husband Lord Simeon only becomes more and more handsome; his beauty and brutal, blackhearted flavor gets more polished by the day! I’d thought that I would fangirl over him less once we got married, but I was sorely mistaken. I’ve only been discovering new things about him one after another, and not a single day passes that I don’t fangirl over his increasingly adult charms. There lies a spark specific to our marriage, one...