Chapter 63
“You’re the one who should stop, Keira.”
Three people had to fall into the fountain. That meant they had to be nearby.
Pretending to chat, I slowly walked toward the fountain. Sure enough, an impatient Keira followed behind me.
Damn it, I don’t want to fall in! But I guess if it’s necessary, I’ll have to.
It’s all Adrian’s fault for draining my energy! That sly guy! Just thinking about it makes me embarrassed—I can’t even breathe!
“Was it from that moment? Approaching Adrian and trying to drive a wedge between us?”
“I didn’t drive a wedge. Adrian got tired of you, so he came to me. How is that my fault?”
I’m not lying; that’s exactly what Adrian said. Of course, you might not believe it since it was said in bed, but it felt genuine, not like the kind of lie a nervous person would tell.
“Even so… my fiancé—!”
“Weren’t you also trying to play games with Clayton?”
Gotcha.
When my sister publicly rejected Clayton’s proposal, she was smiling. It was obvious something shameful had happened that Clayton didn’t want me to know. Otherwise, he would have told me. That idiot would answer anything I asked.
And then there were misunderstandings layered on top of that.
“Stop trying to get close to Clayton. Don’t you feel sorry for him?”
“W-what…!”
“Why don’t you try getting along with Adviser Graham instead?”
“And you! You’re sleeping with a bedslave and talking?”
“Why bring up Joshua here? What did he do wrong?”
It wasn’t entirely unrelated, but it was still upsetting. Joshua was definitely hiding something, but he didn’t deserve this treatment—being forced to eat spoiled food, food laced with salt, threatened with the kingdom…
“You were the one who approached Duke de Le Beau first…”
“Clayton dislikes even hearing about you. If he hated you that much, would he go that far? Just leave him alone. Do you really want to cling to a man who doesn’t want you? Pathetic.”
“You!”
I regretted saying that immediately. The day Clayton goes to my sister, it feels like it would all come back.
Maybe that’s why my heart sank when my sister charged at me.
“Ugh!”
—Splash!
“Your Highness!”
“Your Highness!”
“My goodness!”
“Kya!”
About twenty people were watching.
I got thrown into the fountain by my hair in front of twenty people—this story is definitely going to spread.
One more person needed to fall. Who would it be?
“Your Highness, are you okay?!”
My little dog came first.
“Your Highness!”
“Ouch! Stop! That hurts!”
“Do you think you can get away with this when Her Majesty wakes up?!”
“Ugh!”
“Why someone like you! Why ruin all my plans! Why! Take what’s mine!”
Keira was sobbing and pulling at her hair. Forget the pain, she might go bald at this rate. I couldn’t let that happen—I had to look pretty tomorrow.
—Whack!
“Kya!”
“You started it first.”
—Whack! Whack!
I’m not terrible at fighting. It’s just that my body is weak. Having gotten into frequent fights as a child, I’m fairly skilled at scrapping. I hit her temples and philtrum until she let go of my hair. After two hits, she released me.
“Hngh!”
“Your Highness!”
Leonil Graham didn’t step into the fountain, just watched from the edge.
“What are you doing, Adviser Graham? Watching your mistress get beaten from outside?”
“Your Highness…”
Francis grabbed my fist and hid me behind himself.
“If you come any closer, even if she is the First Princess, I won’t stand idly by.”
Peeking from behind Francis, I saw my sister bleeding from her nose. After a few seconds, she seemed to regain composure and paled.
“Stop this.”
The first to speak was an elderly lady. She looked like the matriarch of the Ronan Marquis family. Her attire and badge confirmed it. A big name in the social scene, not aligned with the aristocratic or imperial factions.
She probably didn’t summon her based on my sister, maybe the Empress?
“Ah, now I see.”
“Long time no see, Second Princess.”
The deep wrinkles around her mouth showed she forced herself to smile often.
“Lady Ronan, Countess Effinberg, Viscountess Levenfelt, Marchioness Envier. Your husbands are among those who attend court meetings with me.”
“Ah…”
Everyone avoided my gaze and lowered their heads.
“Recently, the Ronan Marquis’s trade ship, borrowed under the imperial name, was wrecked, and they were held accountable. Count Effinberg conducted illegal slave trade and was fined. Ah! Viscount Levenfelt was also involved! And Marchioness Envier?”
“….”
“They exchanged secret messages with Encelos and had their knight orders confiscated!”
“T-That’s false!”
“That’s not my concern.”
She deliberately criticized only the aristocrats. The Ronan family wasn’t in any faction, but here, they were the most powerful.
“Shall we revisit past issues at the upcoming court meeting?”
“No, that’s impossible!”
“Then line up properly. Don’t cling to where the rope breaks.”
“Hahaha… hahahaha!”
The matriarch of the Ronan Marquis laughed heartily, her smile matched her age.
“You’ve returned, Second Princess.”
“What’s that about?”
“Yes, well.”
“This old lady feels as if her lifelong wish has been fulfilled.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Quest Complete! Truth or Lie I!
Reward: You can check the affection level of a character of your choice.
My clothes were soaked, but there was nothing to be done.
“I will visit the Princess in person soon.”
“Yes, I’ll look forward to it.”
“Gracie!”
The tea party was ruined, the quest cleared, so I thought I should leave. I turned my back, but my sister called out in a voice that could shatter eardrums.
“You’ve always been kind to me. Please, just stop now!”
“Ugh, seriously. Annoying.”
I looked at Leonil Graham, hoping he’d stop her, but the idiot was staring at me, paying more attention to my right shoulder.
What is he, some kind of pervert?
Ah, right. There was a long scar on my right shoulder.
Damn. If he could see that, he could see Adrian’s marks too.
Feeling embarrassed, I curled up slightly. Francis’s cloak wrapped around me, giving me a little courage to speak boldly.
“You enjoy tea and playing with ladies. I’ll be discussing the future of Father and Bastian.”
Damn.
It was fine that I got out, but now it started raining.
Already exhausted, now I had to stand in the rain. Pain from the rain, my sister, and Adrian…
Still, it felt good to have roughed up my sister a bit.
“My room is nearby.”
I looked at Francis carefully, trying to guess his meaning. No, I must be reading too much into it.
He genuinely looked clueless as he tried to shield me from the rain.
“Can I wash up if I go?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Is there a bathtub?”
“No bathtub, only a bath tub.”
“I see.”
Even after saying that, he seemed to not understand—he must really be empty-headed.
I held the cloak tightly and followed him.
“Nearby” was accurate. We arrived quickly. Deciding to come here had been a good choice. The moment we reached the entrance, thunder crashed and lightning flashed.
“Eek…!”
“Your Highness.”
He gently hugged me over the cloak. I stayed still, embarrassed by my fear of thunder.
“You’re still afraid of thunder.”
“Am I afraid of thunder?”
“Yes.”
I see. I’m scared too, and so is Princess Gracie.
I’ve noticed that Gracie shares a lot of similarities with me.
Feeling a bit better, I entered his room. What a sight.
If Adrian is the peak of cleanliness and perfect order, this place is organized but chaotic.
Clothes were neatly hung, swords in place, yet swords and books were together, and a plant was beside the clothes.
Not a pretty little plant, but a large one.
The swords were even on top of books or mounted on the wall, some high quality.
“But I’m all wet… Won’t the floor get soaked?”
“Ah, it’s fine. I’ll take care of it.”
Ignoring the water dripping from my hair, I entered the bathroom.
The room smelled strongly of freesia—the scent from Francis.
“Can I use whatever is here?”
“Yes.”
I thought I heard his voice tremble slightly beyond the door… or maybe it was my imagination.
