YOUR MAJESTY, PRINCESS MEDEA HAS ARRIVED.
GREETINGS, GRANDMOTHER.
YOU...!
KNEEL!
DID YOU NOT HEAR ME?! I SAID TO KNEEL AND BEG FOR FORGIVENESS AT ONCE!
AS YOU WISH, GRANDMOTHER.
BUT MAY I ASK WHAT THE REASON FOR THIS IS?
I FEAR SUCH AGITATION MAY BE HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH.
EVEN NOW, YOU DARE TO ACT INNOCENT...?
THE HEAD MAID HAS TOLD ME EVERYTHING!
YOU'VE BEEN SECRETLY INVOLVED WITH A MAN!
THAT CAN'T BE TRUE. I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT MEDEA ISN'T INVOLVED WITH ANY MAN.
A PRINCESS'S HAND IN MARRIAGE IS FAR TOO VALUABLE A POLITICAL MOVE TO BE WASTED,
SO I'VE MADE SURE TO KEEP ANY UNWORTHY SUITORS WELL AWAY FROM HER.
IF I HAD TO GUESS,
QUEZIN MUST HAVE ACTED ON HER OWN...
WHAT IN THE WORLD IS SHE THINKING?!
Episode 10
PLEASE FORGIVE ME, YOUR MAJESTY.
AFTER I LEARNED OF THE PRINCESS'S SECRET OUTINGS,
SHE TRIED TO SILENCE ME.
SHE EVEN WENT SO FAR AS TO SPREAD RUMORS THAT I HAD MISTREATED HER.
BUT AS A LOYAL SERVANT OF BALDINA, I SIMPLY COULDN'T IGNORE THE MATTER.
THIS MAID CAN ATTEST TO THAT.
I AM MARIEU, ONE OF PRINCESS MEDEA'S MAIDS.
HER HIGHNESS HAD ME ACCOMPANY HER WHENEVER SHE WENT TO MEET HER LOVER,
BUT WHEN I TOLD HER IT WAS WRONG, SHE DISMISSED ME.
I'M SORRY, YOUR HIGHNESS. I WON'T ASK YOU TO FORGIVE ME.
HAVE YOU NO SHAME, MEDEA?!
THE OLD BAT IS ABSOLUTELY LIVID! THEN AGAIN, THIS IS COUNT ETIENNE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
AT THIS RATE,
SHE MIGHT JUST LOCK THE PRINCESS AWAY IN A CONVENT FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE!
THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR ABANDONING ME, YOUR HIGHNESS.
IF I'M TRULY GUILTY, I'LL GLADLY ACCEPT WHATEVER PUNISHMENT YOU DEEM FIT.
BUT STILL, IT'S RATHER PECULIAR.
THESE ACCUSATIONS COME FROM MADAM QUEZIN, WHOM I RECENTLY DISCIPLINED FOR VIOLATING A ROYAL LAW,
AND MARIEU, A MAID I DISMISSED FOR NEGLIGENCE AND REPEATED MISCONDUCT.
ARE YOU CERTAIN THEIR WORDS CAN BE TRUSTED, GRANDMOTHER?
HA!
THE EVIDENCE IS IRREFUTABLE, AND YET YOU STILL DENY IT?!
THIS MAID HERE CAN CONFIRM IT!
TH-THAT'S RIGHT! THE HANDKERCHIEF! HER HIGHNESS ALWAYS KEPT IT CLOSE, SAYING IT WAS A TOKEN FROM HER LOVER!!
ENOUGH. I'VE ALREADY ORDERED A SEARCH OF THE PRINCESS'S CHAMBERS.
BRING PINATELLI.
YOUR MAJESTY,
I HAVE FULFILLED YOUR ORDERS AND RETURNED TO REPORT MY FINDINGS.
BARONESS PINATELLI, THE QUEEN DOWAGER'S MOST TRUSTED MAID
WELL DONE, PINATELLI.
I ONLY DID AS YOU INSTRUCTED, YOUR MAJESTY.
SO, DID YOU FIND THE EVIDENCE?
YES, YOUR MAJESTY.
I FOUND A HANDKERCHIEF BELONGING TO COUNT LARQUE ETIENNE, THE MINISTER OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS.
HOWEVER, IT WAS NOT IN THE PRINCESS'S CHAMBERS.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN?
I FOUND IT IN THAT MAID'S ROOM.
?!!
W-WHAT?! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!
DENY IT ALL YOU WANT, MARIEU,
BUT BARONESS PINATELLI WILL NOT DO AS YOU WISH.
A FEW DAYS AGO, EARLY IN THE MORNING
DO YOU... TRULY MEAN THAT, YOUR HIGHNESS?
EVERY WORD.
I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FATHER.
HELP ME, AND I WILL USE THE ROYAL SEAL TO CLEAR HIS NAME.
THE BARONESS'S MAIDEN NAME WAS SACHIN.
HER FATHER, THE FORMER MINISTER OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS, WAS FALSELY ACCUSED AND EXECUTED.
AND THE ONE WHO FRAMED HIM WAS NONE OTHER THAN THE LORD PROTECTOR HIMSELF,
WHICH IS WHY ALL HIS ATTEMPTS TO WIN HER LOYALTY ULTIMATELY FAILED.
ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS ISN'T YOURS?
H-HOW DO YOU HAVE THAT...?
SO YOU DO RECOGNIZE THIS BRACELET.
YOUR MAJESTY, I'M CERTAIN THIS BRACELET BELONGS TO THAT MAID.
SEVERAL MAIDS HAVE SEEN HER WEARING IT AROUND THE PALACE.
GO ON.
AND SEEING HOW IT WAS FOUND WRAPPED IN THE HANDKERCHIEF,
I BELIEVE THE COUNT GAVE THIS BRACELET TO HER AS A GIFT.
N-NO!
TH-THE MINISTER WASN'T THE ONE WHO GAVE ME THAT BRACELET!
THEN WHO GAVE IT TO YOU?
DO NOT LIE AND SAY YOU BOUGHT IT YOURSELF.
A PALACE MAID COULD NEVER AFFORD SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
S-SOMEONE ELSE GAVE IT TO ME...
SOMEONE ELSE? WHO?
THIS TRUMPET DESIGN IS RESERVED FOR HIGH-RANKING NOBILITY.
N-NO...
SAMON'S MOTHER IS RIGHT HERE IN THIS ROOM.
IF SHE FINDS OUT THAT I'M INVOLVED WITH HER SON, SHE'LL COME AFTER ME...!
TELL THE TRUTH AT ONCE!
I-I...!
IT WOULD SEEM...
...THE MINISTER'S SECRET ROMANCE WASN'T WITH ME AFTER ALL.
ISN'T THAT RIGHT, MARIEU?
WHY IS SHE SO CALM?!
IS SHE BEHIND THIS?!
GRANDMOTHER, SEEING HOW SHE COULDN'T HIDE HER LONGING EVEN WHILE SERVING ME,
IT SEEMS THEIR LOVE MUST RUN VERY DEEP.
PLEASE GRANT MARIEU YOUR BLESSING TO MARRY COUNT ETIENNE.
Princess Medea is summoned before her grandmother, the Queen Mother, and accused of secretly meeting with a man. Head lady-in-waiting Quezin and the dismissed maid Marieu slander her, presenting a handkerchief belonging to Count Etienne as evidence. However, Medea remains calm, and Baroness Pinatelli's search reveals that the handkerchief and an expensive bracelet were found in Marieu's room. The accusation backfires, and Medea asks that Marieu and Count Etienne be allowed to marry.
