Chapter 83
Following Adele’s trail of energy, Jeron returned to where Tia sat alone at the table.
“You’re back already? What about Adele?”
Every time this happened, a bitter taste filled Jeron’s mouth. He could almost tell where Tia’s heart was drifting, yet the truth he had to tell her felt unbearably heavy.
But he also knew that trying to judge such things was arrogance on his part. So he chose to simply report what he’d seen—plainly, without filtering or softening.
“She’s with the young duke. I saw them enter a small room at the end of the corridor that leads to the imperial palace.”
“Ah… I see.”
Tia’s expression darkened for just a moment—so faintly that anyone else would have missed it, but Jeron noticed.
She’d made that same face when she found out that Lady Lewendif’s teacher had been Killian.
As that fleeting shadow passed and she smiled again as if nothing had happened, Jeron felt something twist inside him.
‘Don’t overstep. It’s not your place.’
After silently scolding himself a few times, he asked carefully,
“Will you be staying here, Your Highness?”
Tia tilted her head slightly, searching for the hidden meaning behind his words, then picked up her fork.
“During a debutante ball, status or rank doesn’t matter as much as the fact that one is a debutante participant.”
“Is that so?”
She meant that as a debutante first and crown princess second, she had to stay.
“Shall I bring you something to eat?”
“This is enough. Thank you, Jeron. Don’t worry about me—go on with your duties. I’ll be fine.”
“…Yes, Your Highness.”
Bound to obey her command, he couldn’t insist on staying by her side.
After bowing his head, Jeron disappeared after only a few steps.
* * *
I don’t know what’s gotten into me. It must be the hormones.
I muttered as I washed down the dense, creamy cake in my mouth with water.
“Puberty really isn’t a joke. Was I like this before too? Ugh… back then, I was training every day—I didn’t even have time for puberty.”
I forced down the emotions that wanted to run wild.
At first, I thought it was jealousy. But thinking about it… that didn’t seem right.
Strictly speaking, I didn’t like Killian that way.
Of course, as my favorite character, he made my heart flutter now and then—but that was pure fan admiration! It’s not like I see him as a man. Nope. Definitely not.
Maybe what I’m feeling is a bit of alienation. It’s just… sad, maybe, that Killian and Adele now have memories and moments that I’m not part of.
But I mustn’t get sentimental. I swore I’d become a master of knowing when to step in and when to step out.
Killian and Adele were walking a path far happier than in the original story. That was enough.
I told myself I was just restless because I’d be leaving soon, then finished off the rest of the cake on my plate.
“Ugh, it’s so dry.”
Just then, pfffft— a deflated trumpet sound echoed somewhere.
Huh?
Someone’s arriving? But aside from Dad and me, who else would be blowing trumpets here?
“Her Imperial Majesty the Empress, the Moon of the Empire, is entering! Everyone, rise!”
The attendant’s voice trembled with shock, and I wasn’t any less startled.
The Empress? Now?
In both the original story and after I transmigrated here, the Empress had practically no presence—and now she was making an entrance?
This was a twist among twists.
A chill crept up my spine, and the fork slipped slightly in my weakening grip. My scalp prickled from the tension crawling up my back.
A creeping sense of dread coiled around my heart.
Rising from my seat, I fixed my gaze on the Empress. Her face was pale and drained of color, her cheekbones and brow hollowed out.
She looked like someone terribly ill—and yet, when those empty eyes turned toward me, a strange gleam flickered within them.
I hate to admit it, but… I got scared. She looked like a ghost bride straight out of a horror story.
But I couldn’t back down.
Meeting her gaze with an expression that said, “What are you looking at?”, I stared right back.
The Empress slowly turned her head away.
Hoo…
Her dress was full and elegant, but she was so painfully thin it seemed impossible she could carry its weight. My father merely inclined his head slightly, his expression unchanged—but I could tell.
He was annoyed.
Sir Ain had frozen mid-note with his notebook open, and Oz’s temple vein was pulsing—clearly, they weren’t happy to see her either.
Whether she noticed or didn’t care, the Empress took her seat and cast her gaze around the hall, lips curving into a faint smile.
Ugh. That smile gave me chills.
My thoughts tangled even more.
* * *
“Tia.”
“Adele.”
“If I’d known you were sitting here alone, I’d have come sooner.”
Adele—apparently without Killian—hurried back to my side and sat down.
“N-no, it’s fine. I actually like being alone.”
It hit me again—I really didn’t have any friends. Not that I’d needed any before. But now… things were different.
If I wanted to step aside gracefully between Adele and Killian, I might need new friends of my own. Otherwise… I might get a bit lonely.
Since I was making my debut anyway, maybe it was time to dive into proper socializing. With that thought, I casually asked,
“Hey, Adele.”
“Mm?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“That you came with Jeron.”
“Ugh, was he always that chatty….”
Adele glanced around sharply—probably looking for Jeron, judging by that fierce glare. Her reaction only made me more curious.
“You do remember Jeron’s my bodyguard, right?”
“Oh, right.”
“So why did you suddenly decide to make him your partner?”
“Me? It’s not like I had any special reason. It’d be a headache if I came with some random noble heir—rumors and all that—and I couldn’t just bring anyone. You know how my dad is. So I asked Sir Jeron for help.”
“Hmm…”
“We were just supposed to enter together and then split up, but he already ran to tell you?”
“Well, we danced together. I asked who his partner was, and when he said it was you, I nearly choked! Why keep it secret?”
“It wasn’t a secret, really… Ugh, whatever! Who cares about my partner when my dear Tia is sitting right here?”
Adele smiled sweetly, deflecting the topic.
“You should’ve just gone with Killian. That would’ve looked perfect.”
“Wha—!”
Adele made a strangled noise and shook her head furiously.
“No, no, Tia. That would’ve been… not perfect at all.”
“You two get along so well, though…”
I bit back the pout threatening to show. Adele waved her hands frantically.
“No! I mean—we do get along! Really! But… partner-wise, it’s just… this time… hahaha…”
Adele laughed awkwardly.
I got it. I knew exactly what she meant. Maybe she was even trying to yield Killian to me on purpose.
I swallowed the faint sting in my chest and laughed along with her.
* * *
After the debutante ball, the one person who kept me on edge was the Empress.
Olivia Alberto. The only daughter of Marquis Alberto—and the former lover of Duke Märchen.
Regardless of Duke Märchen’s recent request to Achilles, I had to find out how she’d recovered her health and why she had appeared at the ball.
If she had been moving about freely, I could have approached her under the pretense of curiosity. But since the debutante, she’d shut herself back inside the Empress’s Palace. Impossible to read.
“What on earth is going on…”
I flipped through the original 攻略 guide (strategy book), its pages musty from disuse.
Nowhere—absolutely nowhere—did it mention the Empress.
The fact that she’d suddenly recovered from years of illness just after Duke Märchen’s request… that was too suspicious.
It had to be connected to the child. But why? What was she planning? Even if the child were alive, he couldn’t inherit the throne unless he were my father’s legitimate son.
It was like a math problem with too many extra numbers—no clean solution in sight.
“The only one who could tell Duke Märchen about the child’s existence is Marquis Alberto. But why? What’s his motive? Even if Märchen were looking for the child, isn’t it too late to pass on a succession? And he can’t just expose something that would disgrace the Empress herself…”
I jotted notes into the margins of the book as my thoughts raced—then suddenly, a chill ran through me.
“He’s not… planning to harm Father, is he?”
If Märchen and Alberto joined hands, even that might not be impossible.
Treason.
I didn’t care about the throne, but my father—maybe not by blood, but the only family I had—I couldn’t let anything happen to him.
I called for Jeron. Before long, he appeared.
“You summoned me, Your Highness.”
“Yeah, Jeron. I have a favor to ask.”
“Your command.”
“Why so stiff? It’s not an order, just a favor.”
I’d felt a bit hurt lately—Jeron had been keeping his distance since the debutante. But setting that aside, I explained the hypothesis I’d come up with.
“Think about it. There’s only one reason Marquis Alberto would tell Duke Märchen that the child is alive.”
“What reason?”
“Treason. A coup d’état.”
“…Tre—treason?”
Jeron’s face went pale.
“Is that even possible? Just the two of them? Then what about you, Your Highness—what happens to you?”
He swallowed hard, tension radiating from him. I almost did the same, but no—
I am Celestia Mond.
I don’t crumble in the face of adversity.
So instead, I smiled at him.
