Chapter 24
“Still, if your family formally requested it from the academy, they’d give you as many invitations as you wanted, wouldn’t they?”
Vellia smiled slyly as she took the invitation.
“Well, that’s true… but there’s a complication.”
Sure, she could get an invitation through her family, but then the one person who’d been bothering her most lately might find out.
Varun.
He wasn’t openly meddling, but he had been keeping a close eye on her bag business, constantly trying to interfere in subtle ways. She didn’t want him to know whether or not she would be attending the academy event.
“Complication? Well, then have one of these for now.”
“Chicken skewers?”
When the smoky scent from the charcoal reached her nose, Vellia tilted her head in curiosity.
“Yeah.”
The crown prince strolled casually toward a street stall.
“Your Highness, you eat things like this?”
“Why wouldn’t I? Two of those, please.”
After ordering, Alendo patted at his robe, then glanced at Vellia.
“What?”
“I don’t have any money.”
Vellia gave him a look of disbelief and pulled some coins from her purse.
“Keep the change.”
“Oh, wow—enjoy your food!”
The stall owner, momentarily surprised at the large amount, broke into a wide smile as he handed over the skewers.
“You ordered without any money?”
“I figured you’d have some.”
Alendo spoke shamelessly as he bit into a skewer.
Vellia pouted at the audacity of this crown prince.
After meeting him a few times since their first meal together, she’d realized that Alendo was far more easygoing than one would expect from royalty.
At first, when he kept arranging to meet her, she wondered if he might be interested in her—but every meeting was filled with idle chatter about trivial things.
He acted more like an old friend, and thanks to that, Vellia had grown quite comfortable around him.
‘Is it because he doesn’t have any friends? Well…’
Vellia looked at him with a faint pang of pity as he wandered around, skewer in mouth, taking in the sights.
She remembered what he’d told her before—that he’d lived under the stigma of being cursed, with no one to truly confide in for a long time.
Aside from Carlton and his closest guards, he seemed to have no friends at all. She couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
“What’s with that look?”
“Huh?”
“You’re looking at me kind of strangely.”
“Oh… I was just thinking you seemed to be enjoying the food.”
Avoiding his suspicious gaze, Vellia scratched the back of her head.
“Anyway, Your Highness, can I ask you something?”
“You’re going to ask me anyway, so why ask if you can?”
“…Do you dislike Lady Doltan?”
Alendo paused and looked at her.
“That’s… a pretty blunt question. Why?”
“I was just curious about the reason. Is it because it’s a political engagement?”
Even if it wasn’t publicized, there was no way Alendo wouldn’t know the rumors circulating in high society.
Lately, gossip about her and the crown prince had spread, which in turn had fueled strange rumors about Lady Doltan.
“Why was the crown princess-to-be abandoned?!”
She’d overheard such sensational whispers at a young lady’s tea party recently.
“Well… we’re not in the kind of relationship where I’d say I like or dislike her.”
“What kind of person is Lady Doltan?”
“Why do you ask?”
“No reason.”
Ever since that tea party, Vellia had found herself oddly curious about her.
Alendo glanced at Vellia, then popped the last bite of skewer into his mouth.
“Mm… I’m not really sure.”
“But you’ve known her since you were young, haven’t you?”
“Yes, but we never met of our own will—so we don’t really know each other.”
“You don’t talk when you meet?”
“No. If it’s a meal, we just eat. If it’s tea, we just drink tea. If it’s a walk, we just walk.”
“You don’t talk to her the way you do to me?”
“She never seems to want to talk to me.”
“She doesn’t?”
He nodded.
“I’m not exactly harsh toward young ladies, but she’s cold to me. She… eats my words.”
“…What?”
“She doesn’t answer. It’s not like she looks offended—more like I’m just a bother to her.”
“…I see.”
“Why? Are you worried about the rumors involving her because of our little scandal?”
“You knew about that?”
“It’s hard not to. But why would you care?”
“No reason.”
Vellia’s expression darkened slightly.
When Henri had first mentioned Lady Doltan, she’d simply thought of her as pitiful. But seeing it with her own eyes had been different.
It happened while she was visiting her bag workshop in disguise, wearing a hood to hide her identity.
That day, Henri happened to have business at the salon Lady Doltan used. Since there was still time before going to the workshop, she went with him.
The back area of the salon—usually only accessed by staff—was new to her, and curiosity led her to wander around.
It was quiet that morning, so she peeked through a slightly open door.
“You worthless insect!”
Smack— The reddening cheek that snapped to the side unmistakably belonged to Lady Doltan.
“I’m sorry.”
Despite being struck, her eyes held neither sorrow nor anger. In that moment, Vellia understood exactly why people compared her to a doll.
“Who’s there?”
Startled by a staff member’s voice, Vellia quickly fled the scene with Henri, leaving the salon in haste.
It wasn’t something she could dismiss as trivial—the image of Lady Doltan’s empty face had stayed with her ever since.
Ding—
The chimes from the clock tower in the square rang out the hour.
“It’s already that late? Well, I’ve seen enough. I’ll be off. If you see Carlton, tell him I said hello.”
“Your Highness, you’re not coming to the academy event?”
Alendo nodded, motioning behind him.
His attendants, hidden among the crowd, came forward to join him.
“No, I’m too busy with work. I’ll see you another time. Oh—”
He paused mid-step and looked back.
“If you want to get close to Lady Doltan, then go ahead.”
“…What?”
“She’s not as bad as the rumors say.”
“That’s… sudden.”
“Anyway, I’m off. Next time, maybe I’ll see you with Carlton.”
With that, Alendo disappeared into the crowd with his attendants.
Almost immediately, Vellia’s own family knights emerged from hiding to gather around her.
“My lady, shall we take you to the guild?”
She thought for a moment.
“Yes, let’s go to the guild.”
Thinking over the crown prince’s words, Vellia set off.
In the rattling carriage, Vellia was all smiles.
Bedol, sitting across from her, frowned at the sight.
“And who exactly do you think you are, going to an academy event?”
“Why? Don’t you want me to go? Wouldn’t it be better to go with me than alone?”
She’d only decided to attend because she thought of meeting Carlton—but then she remembered her second brother, Bedol, was also an academy student.
By coincidence, she’d run into him right outside the mansion and insisted on riding with him.
“So, when are you graduating from the academy?”
At her question, Bedol’s face flushed red.
“Why?”
“Well, the academy’s usually a three-year program, right? It’s been five years and I haven’t heard anything…”
“Hey! There’s no end to learning, okay?! I’m just… studying in more depth! That’s all!”
His cheeks reddened as he turned toward the window.
“Studying in depth? Wow, that’s impressive. Then you’ll graduate top of the class, right?”
“Top of the class? Of course! At least in swordsmanship, I’ve got that in the bag!”
Knowing full well that her brother excelled only in swordsmanship and failed all his other courses, Vellia smirked.
“Anyway—what about your bodyguard?”
“My bodyguard?”
She blinked.
“Yeah. Since you’ve already made your debut at sixteen, Father’s been talking about assigning you one.”
“Oh… right.”
She clapped her hands in realization.
This was about the time she was supposed to be assigned one.
“Do you know anyone?”
“Huh?”
“I mean among the knights.”
“Ah…”
At once, she pictured a brown-haired, brown-eyed knight.
Rude.
‘My lady, run!’
When all the other guards had betrayed her, he alone had stayed by her side, trying to protect her until the end.
Even when Varun severed his wrist, he’d smiled and said he was fine.
“You’ve got a lot going on now. Want me to find you a smart one?”
“Huh?”
Snapped from her thoughts, Vellia looked up.
Bedol scratched the back of his neck, looking oddly sheepish.
“I mean, since you’re running that bag business and traveling a lot, wouldn’t it be better to have someone sharp? Someone who knows noble customs too?”
“You’re picking my bodyguard?”
“Hey, even if I haven’t graduated, I’m still the next captain of the Arpedi family’s knights. I train all the candidates for your guard, so I can pick a good one. Someone clever and skilled. Let’s see… I can think of a few…”
Bedol grew unusually serious as he considered it.
“Heh-heh.”
“What’s with the goofy smile?”
“You really think about me a lot, huh?”
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?! You’re about to say something weird again, aren’t you? I’m not listening!”
Vellia chuckled as her brother turned red in the face.
