Reborn After Betrayal: The Frail True Princess Decides to Give Up-Chapter 49 : Her Majesty Queen Marianne

The paper fragments were torn very small and had absorbed the dew from the ground, making the writing blurry. Even if they could be arranged back in order, it would be difficult to decipher them.
But coincidentally, this wasn't much of a challenge for Celitia.
Back in the day, to help Kassy learn the long-lost spatial magic, Celitia had collected many ancient texts.
Most of those ancient texts were either damaged or scattered, making their restoration much more difficult than reassembling this shredded speech.
For this purpose, Celitia had diligently researched and developed an unorthodox magic called "Restoration Magic."
Strictly speaking, this was an application of time-system magic. The closer to the date of damage, the easier it was to restore completely.
The spell formula wouldn't be a problem, and she had picked up most of the speech fragments. The only issue was that time attribute magic crystals, as one of the three conceptual elements, weren't easy to find.
In fact, forget time attribute magic crystals—Celitia didn't have any magic crystals at all right now, being completely broke.
But Sophia was a princess, unlike a pauper like herself. Perhaps she might have some?
With this thought, Celitia wrapped the paper fragments in her outer garment and hurried toward the auditorium.
Arriving outside the auditorium doors, Celitia saw two rows of people lined up at the entrance, creating a pathway to welcome another group's arrival.
Celitia managed to squeeze to the front row but didn't dare rush in front of those people, so she had to stop.
This arriving group consisted all of women. The woman at the front had rare silver-gray long curly hair, a gentle and beautiful face, and a slightly delicate figure. She was smiling and waving to people nearby.
Seeing the golden crown on the woman's head, Celitia immediately guessed her identity—she was Queen Marianne of Lansca, Sophia's mother.
Queen Marianne's story was considered a legend often discussed among people. With her astonishing beauty, she had attracted the young King Gorman.
Gorman had defied all opposition, forcibly canceled his previous engagement, and married the humble-born Marianne, making her his queen.
In the history of the Kingdom of Lansca, this was the first time a commoner had been made queen.
Celitia had naturally heard Marianne's story and guessed her identity from her rare silver-gray hair and beauty.
Marianne was nearly forty, but beneath her mature charm, she retained a girl-like playfulness. She curiously followed Celitia's gaze and looked back at her, her eyes lingering on her for a long time.
As she looked, Marianne was unconsciously stunned.
She beckoned to Celitia: "Child, come here for a moment."
Celitia clearly saw that on Marianne's left ring finger, she wore a ring set with a huge light blue-gray gemstone.
If she wasn't mistaken, that should be a natural Paraei gemstone containing time attribute magic, which was much more precious than time attribute magic crystals...
Because she was so engrossed in thinking about the gemstone, Celitia only came to her senses when Marianne called her for the third time, after being nudged by people around her.
"The Queen is calling you, what are you daydreaming about?"
The surrounding people pushed Celitia out, shoving her in front of Marianne.
Celitia stumbled forward a couple of steps, nearly bumping into Marianne.
Not only did Marianne not mind Celitia's rudeness, but she also gently steadied her: "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Celitia, clutching a pocket full of paper fragments, awkwardly curtsied to Marianne. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
A contemptuous snort came from behind. Celitia looked back and saw Charlotte.
"How dare you be so rude to Her Majesty Queen Marianne!"
Charlotte obviously found Celitia extremely offensive. "Your Majesty, let's go inside. There's no need to waste time on her."
Celitia had no interest in arguing with Charlotte and silently moved aside to clear the path.
However, Marianne suddenly reached out, one hand grasping Celitia's wrist, while the other involuntarily approached her cheek, gently lifting the girl's light ashen-gray curls.
"Looking at you, I feel like I know you... What's your name?"
Celitia greatly disliked such contact with strangers. She stepped back, avoiding Marianne's hand reaching for her face, but couldn't shake off the hand gripping her wrist.
To be precise, Celitia didn't dare make any large movements. If she offended Queen Marianne in public, there would likely be many troubles afterward.
"Celitia Herbert," Celitia answered patiently.
"So you're Charles's daughter," Marianne's voice grew increasingly gentle, "I held you when you were small. I can't believe in the blink of an eye, you've grown so much."
"That was my honor," Celitia replied distantly but politely, only the latter half of her sentence revealing her impatience, "May I ask Your Majesty to release me now?"
Charlotte also urged from the side: "Your Majesty, the ceremony is about to begin. We should hurry inside."
Marianne gazed deeply at Celitia, her azure eyes showing indescribable disappointment.
She pressed her lips slightly, finally slowly releasing Celitia's hand.
Celitia quickly stepped aside, making way for Marianne and her entourage.
As Charlotte passed by Celitia, she deliberately gave her a contemptuous look, but Celitia happened to be looking up at the clock above the auditorium doors.
Having her glare ignored, Charlotte gritted her teeth in anger and turned back to glare fiercely at Celitia once more before following Marianne inside.
It wasn't that Celitia hadn't noticed; she simply wasn't in the mood to play childish games with Charlotte.
With nearly twenty minutes until the ceremony began, she needed to find Sophia quickly.
After Queen Marianne's entourage entered the auditorium, the congested traffic outside the door finally returned to normal.
A few people who had seen Celitia receive the Queen's favor tried to approach and strike up a conversation, but Celitia ignored them, blending into the crowd and entering the auditorium.
After searching inside for a while, even checking each of the back rest rooms, Celitia still couldn't find Sophia.
"Oh, if it isn't Celitia," a leisurely voice came from behind, "Are you looking for someone?"
Celitia turned around and found it was Colton: "Dean, have you seen Sophia?"
"You mean Princess Sophia?" Colton adjusted his glasses, a smile curling at his lips, "It seems you and the Princess have reconciled again, how gratifying... Unfortunately, I don't know where Her Highness has gone."
Asking him was as good as not asking at all.
Celitia sighed and turned to leave.
Colton's voice followed right after: "However, since the Queen has arrived, Princess Sophia might have gone to see her... What do you think?"