Chapter 12
Was it because I had talked about the Crown Prince with Mother before falling asleep during the day?
That night, I had a dream about the Crown Prince.
“Miela, will you marry me?”
In the dream, the Crown Prince, holding a huge bouquet of roses, smiled at me with an oily expression as he proposed.
“No? Why would I? I don’t want to!”
I shook my head firmly in refusal, as if someone I had only met twice had suddenly asked me to co-sign a loan.
Then instinctively, a thought crossed my mind.
Wait… he’s the Crown Prince. Is it okay to react like this?
Well, whatever. It’s just a dream.
Huh?
Right. A dream.
At that moment, I realized this was nothing more than a nightmare.
As soon as I became aware of it, the scene in the dream began to change, bouncing away like a rubber ball.
It was the late dawn, just before morning.
I was in my bedroom at the ducal residence.
A loud commotion could be heard outside, and I staggered out of bed and headed toward the noise.
There, I saw Father hurriedly preparing to leave the house at this early hour.
“Father, where are you going?”
I asked with a yawn.
Father, who had been speaking with the Chief Chamberlain of the Imperial Palace with a grave expression, turned to look at me.
“Miela, you’re awake.”
My father—who was usually hopelessly doting on his daughter—didn’t even smile when he saw me.
That alone made it clear that something very serious had happened.
Wait… If the Chief Chamberlain secretly came from the Imperial Palace and Father left in such a hurry…
There was only one day that fit that description.
“What happened?”
Just like on that day long ago, the me in the dream asked seriously.
Father hesitated for a moment before answering.
“His Majesty the Emperor has passed away.”
At that time, the Emperor had already fallen into a coma for several weeks due to a sudden heart attack.
There had been no sign of recovery.
Still, he had been relatively healthy before the incident, so his death was considered sudden.
After offering the chamberlain my condolences for the deceased, I asked cautiously,
“Shall I wake Leon?”
Father exchanged a glance with the chamberlain before quietly shaking his head.
“It would be better if His Highness the Prince does not go.”
“Why?”
The relationship between the Emperor and Leonhart might not have been good, but he was still Leonhart’s father.
At my question, both Father and the chamberlain fell silent with heavy expressions.
Only then did I notice the chamberlain’s face, pale—no, almost bluish.
When our eyes met, the chamberlain hesitated for a long time, his lips trembling before he finally spoke carefully.
“It would be better for His Highness the Prince to remain somewhere safe. After all… he is now the Empire’s only remaining successor.”
The chamberlain suddenly stopped speaking, startled as if he had just revealed far more than he should have in his agitation.
But I had already understood what had happened to the Emperor.
If Leon would be in danger at the Imperial Palace…
And if Leon is the only remaining successor… then that means…
It meant that the Crown Prince was no longer qualified to inherit the throne.
There were only a few reasons why the legitimate heir to an empire would lose their right of succession.
Among them, the most common—
was patricide.
Because I had been plagued by nightmares for several days in a row, I felt terrible.
In the carriage heading to the Imperial Palace, I leaned my chin on my hand and stared blankly out the window, grumbling just like Lester had the other day.
“Why is the weather so nice? Of all days…”
I had been in a bad mood since yesterday because I didn’t want to go to the Crown Prince’s palace.
But I couldn’t refuse the invitation.
Pretending not to hear my grumbling, my nursemaid tried to cheer me up.
“My lady, you know the pastry shop Lunamoon that you love so much? The head pâtissier of the Crown Prince’s palace studied under Lunamoon’s founder. Isn’t that exciting?”
“Mm, I’m excited.”
I replied in a voice that clearly sounded anything but excited.
I had been forbidden from eating snacks for two whole weeks now.
Even though I was suffering from severe snack withdrawal, I still reacted indifferently to the mention of desserts.
My nursemaid began to worry.
“Oh my… Our young lady reacting like this to desserts…”
After studying my expression carefully, she lowered her voice as if making a decision.
“Then… shall we say you suddenly developed a fever and return to the ducal estate? I can make an excuse.”
Did my nursemaid really just say that?
Pretending not to notice a fake illness was rare enough.
But actually suggesting that I fake one?
This was the first time in both my first and second life.
“Is that okay?”
My true feelings slipped out for a moment, but fortunately I suddenly remembered the rabbit bag hidden beneath the carriage floor at just the right time.
My face, which had brightened at the thought of going back, darkened again.
“No, it’s fine. Refusing an invitation would be improper for a lady.”
After reassuring my nursemaid with the words of a well-behaved child, I straightened my posture as if I had never been slouching in the first place.
The nursemaid clapped her hands in praise.
“Our young lady is so dignified.”
I sighed inwardly.
I don’t want to be dignified. Sigh.
When I looked out the window again, the Imperial Palace was already right before us.
“I greet the Empire’s little sun.”
Lifting the hem of my dress, I curtsied.
The Crown Prince smiled kindly and returned my greeting.
“Hello, Lady Rodrigue.”
Honey-colored blond hair.
Vivid blue eyes.
Combined with a gentle appearance and seemingly kind personality, the Crown Prince possessed more than enough qualities to win the favor of children.
Of course, that didn’t work on me, who knew his true nature.
Ugh. Disgusting. How can that lunatic’s nickname be ‘Angel’? The heavens and hell must have switched places.
With seven years of experience in high society, I maintained a bright social smile while cursing him inwardly.
The Crown Prince seemed convinced that he had successfully made a good first impression.
“Now then, adorable lady. Your hand.”
Uttering that nauseating line, the Crown Prince approached me.
It seemed he intended to guide me somewhere while pretending to escort me.
Ugh. Stay away.
Actually letting our hands touch had never been part of the plan.
Just imagining the Crown Prince touching my hand made me want to turn around and run away immediately.
But the Crown Prince had an extremely strong sense of pride.
He could not tolerate being rejected, no matter how trivial the matter.
At this point in time, despite being born with a diamond spoon in his mouth, he was known not as arrogant but as a kind and gentle boy.
If I made an enemy of him now, I would be the one at a disadvantage.
My head understood that.
But my instinctive disgust toward him was stronger.
After a brief but fierce internal debate, I hid behind my nursemaid like a shy child.
To perfect the act, I grabbed the hem of her skirt, peeked out briefly, then quickly hid again.
Small laughter rippled among the attendants.
“A cute and shy little lady.”
Andrew, the Crown Prince’s chamberlain, remarked jokingly.
My nursemaid hurriedly composed her delighted expression and said,
“She is still very young… Our young lady is rather shy. Please be understanding, Your Highness.”
“His Highness the Crown Prince is a kind and considerate person. I’m sure he will understand a young lady.”
The adults continued chatting amicably among themselves.
The Crown Prince allowed them to lavish him with praise before finally speaking.
“Then I suppose the escort will have to wait until we become better acquainted.”
With a smile, the Crown Prince withdrew his hand.
Success.
I let out a silent sigh of relief.
At just the right moment, the chamberlain stepped in and guided us toward the garden.
The Crown Prince’s palace garden was, to put it nicely, orderly.
To be honest, it felt rather bleak.
It feels like decorative objects simply arranged without any life.
Even the overgrown garden of the abandoned palace—untouched by human hands—felt better.
Glancing around casually, I hopped onto a pretty but adult-sized chair.
The Crown Prince, who had been approaching to pull the chair out for me, paused.
“What a spirited young lady.”
After that compliment—which didn’t sound like praise at all—the Crown Prince sat across from me and asked while looking at my dangling legs beneath the chair,
“The chair seems a little tall. Shall I have someone bring a footrest?”
You should have prepared one beforehand. Don’t pretend to care now.
“No, it’s fine.”
While replying half-heartedly outwardly and sulking inwardly, a maid arrived carrying desserts.
“Wow! Miela loves financiers!”
Ignoring the Crown Prince, who had been about to speak, I focused only on the maid.
Unused to being ignored, the Crown Prince smiled with just his lips and said teasingly,
“Lady Rodrigue, you’re still just a baby, aren’t you?”
