28.
There were several reasons why I could be so bold.
The Emperor himself opposed the union between me and Prince Fidelro.
First of all, I had the Mage Tower behind me. And the Mage Tower was obliged to fulfill any request I made.
Fight evil with evil, right?
So, no matter how rude I acted now, the Imperial Family couldn’t persecute me or Lorobante.
After all, Lorobante had already shown their loyalty to the Empire by proceeding with an engagement.
I’m no fool.
I took another step closer to Fidelro.
I was now close enough to see the fine fuzz on his face.
Besides, what could he do about something the Emperor himself hadn’t approved?
And I was the only one who could hear what I was saying, so it’s not like he could go around telling anyone.
“…What? What is this wench saying right now?”
Fidelro’s mouth fell open.
“What am I saying? Just this: Do you know that you’re really ugly? Even if I had known you earlier, I still wouldn’t have agreed to be engaged to you. Is that a problem?”
Hey, I’m just returning what I got. You walked right into this.
“W-what did you say…?”
“I said you’re ugly.”
I growled it in a low voice like a threat.
Only he could hear it.
You’re the first kid I’ve ever met who’s so ugly on the inside!!
“I-I’m ugly?”
“Yup! Really ugly.”
I hammered it in again.
Fidelro’s face turned pale and he started trembling, but I didn’t stop.
Do you even realize how much you messed up the story?
I’ll get rid of you so Ainze and Baldwin can have a brighter future.
It did sting a bit, arguing with a little kid like this, but what could I do? It’s not like I could punish a ten-year-old with anything more.
When I looked back at Baldwin, he gave me a big thumbs-up.
Aw yeah.
My boy approves.
And honestly, what I said wasn’t even that insulting. I hadn’t insulted the Imperial Family.
Was I a little rude? Sure. But the Prince was rude first today—call it even.
And this was Lorobante. The Emperor of Raigos had stood by and let that kid run wild here.
You dare pick a fight with the Duchy of Lorobante?
“I-I’ve never heard that before…”
Prince Fidelro made a horrified expression.
His reddened eyes looked ready to burst into tears.
His nanny began panicking beside him.
“Nanny!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“Why are you just standing there?! Teach that wench a lesson!!”
Prince Fidelro burst into tears as he pointed at me.
Seriously? You’re crying over that?
Wow.
“Total brat…”
“Shhh!”
My mother warned me sharply. Apparently teasing a crying child is off-limits.
SMACK!
Fidelro began throwing a tantrum and started hitting his nanny.
Even a child doing that must’ve hurt, but the nanny couldn’t even flinch.
This is why he’s spoiled rotten.
Since no one else was stopping the Prince, it was up to me again.
You see, I can actually use magic.
I carefully stomped my foot.
It was something I’d seen in a magic book, and even that was enough to make the ground tremble.
The ground right next to Fidelro rose up with a loud boom!
Fidelro fell flat on his butt and sat there stunned.
“That’s what you get for acting ugly. If you keep bullying others like that…”
I crossed my arms and thrust my face right into Fidelro’s.
“A scary man might just come and snatch you away, you know?”
“W-what! Aaaahhh!! Nanny!!!”
“Young Lady, what are you doing?!”
The nanny shoved me hard.
Ugh. That crossed the line.
What had just been harmless bickering between children now turned serious because of the nanny’s interference.
My mother quickly picked me up off the ground and asked in a chilling voice:
“Miss Sylvia. What do you think you’re doing to my child?”
The nanny had forgotten one crucial thing:
If an adult steps in, then we bring in our own adult.
“W-well…!”
The nanny went pale.
Fidelro, panting in her arms, whimpered:
“I-I want to go home…”
His nanny, seizing the opportunity, picked him up and ran off in a flash.
Seriously, what did they come here for?
Of course, I got a proper scolding from my mother afterward.
“What would you have done if something serious happened?!”
Then what, was I supposed to just stand there? Hmph!
Letting Fidelro run wild like that was no different than letting Leviathan defeat Lorobante.
Doesn’t Mom get that if I can’t even protect my family, then what good is the power I have?
I was the one meant to protect Winchester and my family from Leviathan and the Emperor.
I wasn’t just some helpless little kid.
It was just one of those upsetting days.
Fidelro was expected to return from his outing having caused some trouble—but instead, he came back crying.
When asked what had happened, he wouldn’t even tell Empress Caitlyn.
Even the servants who had accompanied him kept their mouths shut.
They said it was because Prince Fidelro told them not to talk.
Empress Caitlyn sighed and tried to comfort her son, who was refusing to eat.
“Fidelro. Prince Fidelro. Are you going to keep breaking your mother’s heart like this?”
After sobbing for a long time, Fidelro finally raised his head.
His small face, buried in his bed, was a mess of tears.
Empress Caitlyn hugged him close.
“What happened?”
“…Mother, am I ugly?”
“What? What did you say?”
The Empress stroked her finest creation.
When Fidelro was born, the midwife had claimed it was like being blinded by light.
She’d said an angel baby had descended to Earth.
From birth until now, Fidelro had never not been beautiful.
So what was this nonsense?
The Empress’s pride cracked slightly.
“Who told you that?”
“Lyla did.”
Prince Fidelro replied gloomily.
Empress Caitlyn let out a laugh.
This was just a squabble between children.
She knew better than to get involved.
Besides, Lyla wasn’t just any noble girl—she was the lady of Lorobante.
That girl had too much at her disposal.
To turn someone like that into an enemy instead of an ally?
Absolutely unwise.
And yet, the insult couldn’t be ignored.
How dare someone say her handsome Fidelro was ugly?
Empress Caitlyn trembled with fury.
She took a deep breath and spoke.
“So you’re upset?”
“Yes, Mother.”
“And are you going to give up just like that?”
She wiped away Fidelro’s tears.
“But didn’t your father disapprove of this union?”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
“And why do you think that is?”
Ah, so this is where the trouble started.
Trying to protect the child’s pride, they hadn’t explained things properly—and now here they were.
Empress Caitlyn gave him a tight smile.
“It’s because we’re weak. Lorobante is strong.”
“But—but I’m royalty!”
“There will always be arrogant people who ignore that, Prince. If you want to pay them back for this insult, you’ll need to overcome it and become strong. Do you understand?”
She kissed his cheek.
Fidelro sniffled indignantly and nodded.
“Yes, Mother.”
“Prince Fidelro, you promised to protect me, remember?”
“I did.”
“Then think carefully before you answer this next one: Are you planning never to return to Lorobante again?”
Prince Fidelro rubbed his reddened eyes and answered.
“No, Mother. I want to go again.”
“Good.”
“I’m going to ask her again if she really thinks I’m ugly.”
“Well done. That’s the spirit.”
“I’ll wear even better clothes. I’ll look more like a true prince when I ask her.”
Fidelro said stubbornly.
Like he was daring her to say it again.
Empress Caitlyn embraced him proudly.
“You can pay back today’s humiliation later. But what’s the most important thing right now?”
“…To win Lorobante’s power. And to take it away from them.”
“So clever, Fidelro.”
Empress Caitlyn whispered sweetly.
She didn’t hesitate for even a second to plant resentment in the child.
All for her own goals.
Later, Camilla invited Baldwin and me to the wedding of the eldest son of the Royster family.
It was finally a day I could see Camilla again after she’d been so busy with wedding preparations.
Building rapport with Camilla was important for my survival.
Plus, she was a great fan-friend to fangirl with.
It was also part of my plan to keep increasing the connection between Baldwin and Camilla, so this invitation wasn’t bad.
There was just one flaw…
“Young Lady Rudella. What do you think of this? The one in the middle is sapphire.”
It was Ainze, showing off her hairpin collection to Baldwin.
Clearly, getting Baldwin and Camilla together at the Knight Academy as soon as possible was the solution.
Ainze hadn’t enrolled there after all.
He needed time to naturally learn Baldwin’s true identity and grow distant from him emotionally.
