Chapter 33
“Oh my, Young Master Mezny is very experienced at dealing with these kinds of nasty rumors, isn’t he?”
At the young lady’s elegant words as she unfolded her folding fan, the young master standing before her chimed in agreeably. I kept watching for a moment to interrupt, but it was hard to find a proper opening.
“He’s practically a professional now. He’s been in and out of court over malicious rumors more than twenty times.”
“Oh dear, you must have suffered greatly.”
“I’ve heard the Marquis is also handling many lawsuits lately. If there’s anything I can help with, I’ll gladly do so, Lady.”
“Ha ha…”
“Oh my, really! That’s an excellent idea, Young Master.”
“The most important thing is that there must be absolutely no leniency.”
The murmured conversation went on and on, constantly circling around me even though I hadn’t said a single word. It felt like this would continue endlessly unless I left my seat.
They’re doing this because they like Roselita so much, I told myself.
Even when I awkwardly tugged my lips into a smile, this place—where I had no idea how to react—was as uncomfortable as sitting on a bed of thorns.
It’s overwhelming.
Compared to these people, the black hulking beasts that had charged at me back in Chellenica were far easier to deal with. You just glared at them and kicked them away. But with people who smiled brightly and openly expressed how much they liked me, I had no idea how I was supposed to respond.
“You look like you’re enjoying yourself, Roselita.”
Benjamin, who had been watching from afar, was suddenly close beside me. The tightness in my chest seemed to loosen all at once. When our eyes met, Benjamin smiled gently.
Why did you take so long!
I couldn’t exactly shout that, so I only lightly grabbed the edge of Benjamin’s collar. From the surrounding young ladies’ eyes, silent sparks flew.
“It’s been a while, Young Master.”
“I heard you led a delegation all the way to Osman.”
“They say His Majesty personally summoned you and gave you his command.”
“You haven’t even succeeded yet, but you’re already being used as His Majesty’s right hand—how impressive.”
“It seems your experience running various charitable projects in Derman proved useful.”
“Ah, yes, Derman’s charities are famous. Truly, every time we hear stories about you, Young Master, we can’t help but admire you.”
Benjamin responded warmly, stepping half a pace forward so that attention naturally shifted toward him.
“They say that during your time at the academy, you never once lost first place after enrolling.”
“Oh my—four whole years?”
Even as these embarrassing praises poured over him, Benjamin looked perfectly calm.
How can he be so unfazed?
Already tired of just listening, I clicked my tongue inwardly.
“Don’t you know the famous anecdote, Lady Hollen?”
“At Solan Academy, there was a notoriously strict professor, and yet he couldn’t get a single word in during a debate.”
“Surely you don’t mean Professor Sloave? Is that even possible?”
The wide-eyed young ladies and gentlemen stared at Benjamin, mouths agape.
“It just so happened that Professor Sloave and I shared the same opinion.”
“Goodness, even so, that eccentric man isn’t someone who would simply concede.”
“The beauty of trigonometric functions is enough to move anyone.”
“Trigonometric… what? What is that?”
“Trigonometric functions originated in astronomy. Since you can’t measure the distance between stars with a ruler, people used the angles of triangles formed by two stars—that’s how trigonometry began. Isn’t it romantic that it started with the stars?”
“Ah, astronomy. I see. To think it began with glittering stars—how sweet.”
“And the form using the notation f(x) is also utterly perfect. It’s almost a shame how concisely sin, cos, and tan are expressed.”
“……”
“I even spent two nights discussing it with Professor Sloave, and the identity e to the power of i pi equals minus one is simply beautiful.”
I stared blankly at Benjamin. His eyes sparkled with life as he spoke excitedly.
What on earth is he talking about?
It was definitely the imperial language, but I couldn’t understand half of it. Judging by her equally dazed nodding, the young lady he’d been speaking to wasn’t any better off.
“I see.”
“And this formula is…”
As Benjamin continued his solo rampage, the young ladies and gentlemen who couldn’t keep up gradually fell silent.
“Young Master, please excuse me for a moment—over there, I see a relative of mine.”
“I also must beg your pardon. It looks like the banquet is about to begin, and I should go to my father…”
The crowd that had surrounded me hurriedly offered their farewells and moved away. Seeing Benjamin extend his arm to me with a satisfied look in the suddenly empty space, I let out a hollow laugh. Benjamin smiled back, and I took his arm as we moved to a more secluded spot. With an uncharacteristically mischievous expression, Benjamin tilted his head and asked,
“You’re not enjoying yourself more?”
“I think I held out pretty well just by not running away.”
“I didn’t know you could joke like that, Jelly.”
Benjamin chuckled softly, then positioned himself beside me in a shadowed corner so we wouldn’t be visible from outside. Just as I’d thought it was getting noisy, a man was standing on the dais holding up a glass.
“To the sun of the Empire—His Majesty.”
With that toast, the banquet began, almost as if pushed along, even though the emperor—the guest of honor—had not yet appeared. The orchestra’s gentle music turned lively.
“Is that His Highness the Crown Prince?”
On the dais were four chairs prepared for the imperial family. In the center stood the imperial throne, upholstered in red and embroidered with gold thread. To the left were two red chairs. To the right was a chair embroidered with a different pattern than the throne. The man who had given the toast stood before the left chair. Beside him stood a boy who looked about six years old, holding the man’s hand.
Benjamin lightly shook his head and whispered by my ear,
“That is Duke Bernard Vermino, the Prince Consort. People usually call him Duke Bernard.”
I tilted my head, not quite understanding.
“His name is Vermino, but he’s called Duke Bernard?”
“He’s the younger brother of Duke Herol Vermino, the current head of the Vermino family.”
Seeing that I still didn’t quite get it, Benjamin added,
“When one becomes a Prince Consort, they’re usually granted the title of duke. That would give him the same form of address as Duke Herol Vermino, so they distinguish him that way.”
I nodded slowly and turned my gaze to the child holding Duke Bernard’s hand.
“Then the one beside him is…”
“His Highness Prince Miles, the Second Prince. He is His Majesty’s son with Duke Bernard.”
Duke Bernard greeted those who approached him with a hearty laugh, while Prince Miles sat on the prepared chair with a bored expression, swinging his legs back and forth.
Why weren’t the emperor and the crown prince visible?
There was no one who could reasonably be suspected to be Leah, either. As I craned my neck looking for someone who might be the crown prince, Benjamin spoke again in a low voice.
“Before you lost your memories, a proposal came from the imperial family.”
Only then did I turn to look at Benjamin. I already knew this from Chloe. Wasn’t forming an in-law relationship with the imperial family a good thing? Yet Benjamin gazed at Duke Bernard with a face clouded by concern.
“It was likely to keep the Vermino family in check. There are more people than you’d think who harbor vain hopes for that young prince.”
“Even with a grown Crown Prince, they’d go that far?”
Benjamin raised a hand to my ear as if sharing a secret and lowered his voice further.
“The First Prince—the Crown Prince—was a child His Majesty suddenly brought back one day. No one knows who his father is. He is not the son of Duke Bernard.”
“Ah…”
“He was born of His Majesty’s body, so there’s no question of legitimacy—but for those who want to make an issue of it, it becomes one nonetheless…”
“I see.”
Right—this was the kind of backstory befitting the imperial family! A scarred Crown Prince with many enemies, and factions seeking to pull him down for their own gain. I examined Duke Bernard as if listening to an intriguing summary of palace intrigue. His slick, well-oiled appearance contrasted with a face that seemed layered with malice—at a glance, he looked full of ulterior motives.
“His Majesty is exceedingly affectionate toward the Second Prince, while his relationship with the Crown Prince is distant. That’s why such misunderstandings spread.”
“Then shouldn’t His Majesty simply be more affectionate toward the Crown Prince?”
“If only it were that easy.”
Benjamin lightly pinched my cheek and let out a faint sigh mixed with a smile.
“If we accept the proposal and announce that you, Jelly, will become the Crown Princess, no one will be left who misunderstands His Majesty’s intentions.”
It would clearly mean attaching a powerful maternal family to support a Crown Prince who lacked a solid base, standing against the Vermino family. At Benjamin’s words, my imagination ran wild.
A love that begins with a political marriage—at first they bicker, but gradually confirm their feelings for each other. That’s not bad, but… my taste leans more toward falling in love first, then marrying.
“But I still hope you’ll reconsider.”
“Is there a reason, Brother?”
“The Crown Prince’s personality is one thing, and the imperial palace isn’t as elegant as it appears.”
What was wrong with the Crown Prince’s personality? I perked up my ears, waiting for more, but instead Benjamin changed the subject.
“Father is deeply loyal and thinks it would be good for you as well, but I don’t. I simply want you to marry someone you love.”
“What is the Crown Prince’s personality like, exactly?”
Benjamin frowned slightly, then closed his mouth altogether.
Why stop there? That just makes me more curious.
As I was about to press him again, the atmosphere in the banquet hall shifted. Servants bustled about, and the orchestra lowered into a heavy, subdued melody. The nobles straightened their attire, and Duke Bernard hurried across the hall. From the door to the front dais, a red carpet was laid out, and the nobles bowed deeply, stepping back.
“His Majesty enters.”
With the attendant’s announcement, the doors opened and the emperor entered. Duke Bernard, who had been waiting by the door, attempted to escort him, but the emperor declined and entered alone.
“We greet the sun of the Empire.”
Following his steps, the nobles bowed in unison.
Emperor Owenu.
Even in the long history of the Empire, he was a figure who stood out distinctly. Among his many achievements, three were most often cited: the overall advancement of knowledge, the development of magitech, and the strengthening of imperial authority that followed.
He was also the one who transformed the Empire’s image—from “mere barbarians with vast lands” into that of a nation of intellectuals.
Yet the emperor himself seemed far from the grandeur of those accomplishments. He was short and slight, with dark circles under his eyes and a pale complexion that even makeup couldn’t hide. He looked sickly. And yet his posture was upright, his gaze firm.
The Crown Prince, who one would have expected to appear alongside him, was nowhere to be seen.
Strangely, few seemed to find this odd. It was as though everyone had expected it.
