Chapter 107 …..
“Huh? Why? Why do you think that?”
Saffron asked, his eyes wide with what looked like genuine concern.
“Why? Because she almost got poisoned inside the Imperial Palace of all places, and your mother—the Duchess—is being suspected as the one behind the assassin.”
“Th… that’s true, I guess?”
“So of course she wouldn’t want to meet you. If I were the Princess, I wouldn’t want anything to do with the son of someone like that either.”
“That might be true right now… but once the investigation is over, they’ll find out it was all a misunderstanding. Once the misunderstanding is cleared up, everything will be fine, right?”
Hmm. A misunderstanding, huh.
Well, the Imperial Family will judge that themselves.
Even as he thought that, Fennel was in the middle of turning the secret conversation he overheard in Hestia—between Lady Perkin and the three maids—into a public notice.
To draw more attention, he subtly slipped in the Viscount Perkin’s real estate fraud case and the scandalous private life of his son as well.
In truth, this was also part of his effort to curry favor with Investor L.
Judging from the letters they had exchanged so far, Investor L had always made choices favorable to the Imperial Palace.
Most likely, Lord L is someone who was helped by the Emperor back when he was still a knight during the war, or a rising noble. If not that, then at the very least someone close to the Imperial Family.
In any case, it was certain that L supported the palace, so Fennel planned to make good use of this opportunity to win even more of his favor.
So that Investor L would recognize the author, Fennel even signed the beginning and end of the notice with the name “Minari.”
Well… he did have at least a tiny desire to prevent his friend’s mother from becoming a traitor.
Anyway, if I gain a bit more favor, I might finally get to see Lord L in person. What kind of person could he be? Surely a rational and wise adult.
Aside from the slightly crooked handwriting that looked like a child’s, Investor L was the very model of the proper adult Fennel admired.
Unlike his own father, who blindly believed in foolish superstitions, wandered the entire country searching for his surely-dead eldest daughter, and gave his children nothing but money.
Just the thought of meeting the Investor he admired made his mood lift.
He was already imagining receiving L’s investment, building up his own merchant company, and even rescuing his older sister Florence from the family’s insane traditions.
“Fennel, you just smiled, didn’t you? I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen you smile for real. Not counting the fake ones you make in front of Florence!”
Fennel twisted his expression toward Saffron, who had interrupted his thoughts, but the boy only remained endlessly bright.
“So you smiled because you think that once the misunderstanding is cleared up, the Princess and I can become close, right?”
Close with her?
How on earth did I end up becoming friends with this guy?
“I smiled because your simple way of thinking is astonishing. How can you be so sure the Duchess is innocent?”
“I have to be sure! Mother might be strict, but she’s incredibly kind to children.”
Kind?
Fennel rolled the word around briefly—it suited Duchess Ivy Lipchik not at all—then shrugged.
“Maybe with other children, but the Princess is different. To the Duchess, the suddenly-appeared Princess must be a huge thorn in her side.”
“Why? The Princess is super cute. Mother pretends otherwise, but she actually loves cute things. So she’s definitely going to like the Princess. I’m sure of it. And if she doesn’t, I’ll make her like her!”
“…What?”
“I’ll invite the Princess to the mansion so we can eat delicious desserts together! Mother absolutely loves strawberry shortcake. I wonder if the Princess likes strawberries? Just in case, I should prepare lots of other desserts too! Fennel, do you want to come?”
“……”
Put kindly, he was unpretentious. Honestly speaking, he was excessively optimistic.
That personality was definitely inherited from his father, the Duke of Lipchik.
Even now, the Duke was defending the maid who had been falsely accused in this incident, calling her his son’s benefactor.
If things go wrong, he might clear the maid’s name only for his own wife to take the blame. Does the Duke also believe the Duchess could never have done it?
It seemed the Lipchik father and son had no such emotions as suspicion, worry, or tension in their brains.
Otherwise, their endlessly positive and complacent attitude was impossible to explain.
…Is this really the greatest noble house in the Eastern Empire?
Clicking his tongue inwardly, Fennel shot a sharp glare at Saffron, who was still gently petting the cat even in this situation.
“This isn’t about cute or not. The Princess is His Majesty’s only child. You understand what that means, right?”
“Hmm… Yeah, I get it! The Princess is His Majesty’s adorable only daughter?”
Ah, I really want to flick his forehead. Just once. Seriously.
Thinking of the bond he had shared with Saffron since birth—and the intertwined interests of the Lipchik and Pressure families—Fennel forcibly restrained his trembling fingers.
“It means that even without a supporting faction, the Princess ranks higher than you in the line of succession. The Duchess has no choice but to be wary of her.”
Listening carefully, Saffron’s expression finally turned serious for the first time.
“…That could be true. Mother does want me to become Emperor after His Majesty Zeuscia.”
At least he’s not completely hopeless.
Internally relieved, Fennel continued in a gentler, coaxing tone.
“Right. Since you understand, think carefully about how you should treat the Princess. She may be an obstacle to you and the Duchess, but to our family that supports the Lipchiks—and to the Grand Duke Cyan’s house—she’s also an irrit—”
Before he could finish, Saffron’s eyes suddenly sparkled and he clenched his fist with determination.
“Then I definitely need to become friends with the Princess as soon as possible!”
Damn it, how did you reach that conclusion?!
If he had listened properly, that was absolutely not a takeaway he should have reached.
“…Why suddenly friends?”
At Fennel’s strained question, Saffron replied with a flawlessly bright smile.
“If the Princess becomes my friend, Mother won’t be wary of Her Highness anymore!”
“…Saffron, the entire Empire knows you’re serious about making friends, but now is not the time for that. Becoming friends with the Princess and the future where you and she compete for the throne are completely separate matters.”
“That’s not true, Fennel. If the Princess and I just become friends, we won’t fight over the throne. Friendship is more important than the throne.”
The throne… ‘just’…?
Fennel genuinely wanted to peek inside Saffron’s head.
His simple, sunny mindset had gone beyond curious—it was practically miraculous.
“Before that… have you ever considered that if she becomes your friend, the Duchess might dislike the Princess even more?”
At Fennel’s question, Saffron tilted his head as if he didn’t understand at all.
“Not at all. Mother likes me. So she’ll like the friends I like too. Just like you, Fennel!”
Staring into those flawlessly bright blue eyes, Fennel finally squeezed his own shut.
…Ah, I really don’t get along with this guy.
The flower-garden-like contents of his only friend’s head were simply too much for him.
Feeling even a slight dizziness, Fennel pressed firmly at his temple.
Endure it. Fighting a wall you can’t reason with only hurts you.
But despite his tremendous effort at patience, perhaps from being worn down by Saffron for so long, a sarcastic remark slipped from Fennel’s lips before he could swallow it back.
“Friends, my foot. It would be more convincing to say you’d get engaged to the Princess and make her give up the throne in exchange for promising her the Empress’s seat.”
“Engaged?”
It wasn’t a suggestion—it was sarcasm.
Yet for some reason, Saffron’s eyes lit up.
“No, I was just talking to myself. Ign—”
Fennel waved his hands, trying to take the words back—
But—
“Why didn’t I think of that? If I become family with the Princess, everything will be solved! Thanks for the advice, Fennel!”
