Would the Duke have been that polite to Princess Veronica? Perhaps. They loved each other to the point of being engaged.
“Aren’t you cold? I’ll pour you some more warm water.”
"Thank you."
Lisa poured more warm water to keep the water from cooling down and also floated some pretty flower petals on it.
The scent was still nice, and the water was pleasantly warm, but somehow, I didn't feel as excited as I had the first time.
“Was it really necessary to go that far?”
Laskan lifted his head slightly from where he was burying his head in the papers.
Cesare made no effort to hide his discontented expression. He replied, putting his quill into the inkwell.
“It is customary to give the most prestigious room in the mansion to visiting royals.”
“...Yes, of course, I know that there is a good chance that she is the real Princess. But there is still that one in ten thousand chance, isn’t there? Until her true identity is revealed, unnecessary misunderstandings will pile up. Misunderstandings that she is the next Duchess.”
“It’s something that can be explained later. But I can’t just let them stay anywhere, right?”
Cesare let out a long breath. Anywhere? It was as if he was offering to give her even a cabin.
If it's Ashkabad's annex, it's a place without a single flaw, even if it were given to a real royal family.
Of course, all sorts of rumors would be going around now, but later on, after the woman's identity was revealed, the issue would naturally die down.
There wasn't much of a problem there. It was a natural course of action, and furthermore, the Duke's official fiancée was still missing, Princess Anastasia.
Although the marriage was unilaterally concluded as soon as the Princess was born...
Still, it was a promise between the royal family and the public family. It was not something that could be easily broken.
Moreover, the imperial family refused to acknowledge the Princess's death.
In the end, even the Emperor reluctantly said that when Princess Kairak came of age, he would call off their previous engagement...
So, although Princess Kairak was treated as the de facto fiancée... in any case, the official engagement was not broken off.
Cesare barely managed to straighten out his thoughts that were drifting absentmindedly.
“Oh, by the way, I’ve contacted Sir Zachary.”
"Yes?"
“He said he was coming this way. He said he would arrive within three days.”
“Did you find the bag the woman said she lost?”
“Yes. There was a report from Lord Enoch. According to the full story, while he was assisting Miss Sasha under the orders of Lord Zachary, she escaped. He said that he would personally present the secured bag to Your Highness as soon as he arrived at the estate. He also said that he would ask about the punishment for hiding something that should have been reported at that time.”
“It will become clear within a few days.”
“The most urgent thing is what you ordered me to do last time...”
“Get a teacher of etiquette first. Time is running out. Even if it’s useless, it’s better to prepare in advance.”
“Yes. As you instructed, I have scheduled classes for the day after tomorrow.”
“Yes. Go out.”
Cesare bowed deeply and stepped back.
Laskan pressed hard against his throbbing eyebrows.
Cesare's advice was right. After some thought, he admitted that he had lost his cool.
In fact, it was an excessive kindness. To have a woman whose identity was not yet confirmed stay in the inner chambers.
Even though nothing has been proven, they already treat her as a Princess.
He could tell from the moment she was wearing that dusty dress that she was quite a beauty.
With Jaina's help, she barely managed to splash some water on her face, but there was a corner that particularly caught his eye.
Pale blonde hair and equally pale blue eyes, just like in his memory...
Whenever he saw the girl's occasional faint smile, it seemed as if he could see a glimpse of Anastasia's face as a child.
Is it entirely an illusion and wishful thinking? Or is it so desperate that even the memories are distorted?
From Ashkabad's perspective, a real Princess would be better than the daughter of the hated Kairak. He knows that this is Ashkabad's long-standing calculation.
But at least Laskan's earnestness was motivated by a bit more sentimental reasons than political calculations.
When he closed his eyes, the faint smile of the young Princess came to mind. The Duke's hydrangea garden, that summer full of lavender flowers.
He dared not name that past, for they were both too young to have feelings for it.
But he never forgot that smile, that memory, not even for a moment. That day was the last time he saw the Princess.
Anastasia went missing on her way back to the palace that day.
At that time, the Crown Princess and her parents, who were her husbands, died instantly in a carriage accident. Only two bodies were found.
Only young Anastasia, she alone, disappeared without a trace.
From that day on, the old Emperor disappeared from all official activities.
The balance of power between the imperial faction and the noble faction, which should have been keeping each other in check, collapsed under the Emperor's unilateral control.
It was Kairak who took advantage of the gap to grow his power, and it was Ashkhabad who tolerated everything with a guilty heart during the difficult days.
Everything had to fall into place before it was too late. Now was the last chance before Princess Veronica's right to the throne was confirmed.
So the woman really had to be Anastasia, and even if she wasn't, she had to live as Anastasia for the time being.
Suddenly, he thought of the woman's clean face, and his throat felt tight as if he was being strangled. Laskan moistened his lips with the cold tea that had been sitting there for some time.
“Greetings again, Young Lady. This is Cesare.”
"Nice to meet you."
I answered, waving the hand I was holding in front of me. Whenever someone older than me bowed gracefully and greeted me, I felt embarrassed and didn't know how to respond.
Cesare pushed up his glasses and spoke in a businesslike voice.
“Have you recovered from the aftereffects a bit?”
“Yes, very much. But what’s going on?”
“I came to inform you that starting tomorrow, we will be providing training in all the basics of etiquette, dance, foreign languages, and other general knowledge required for being a noble.”
"Yes?"
“Excuse me, but how much basic knowledge do you have?”
"...Yes?"
I asked again, dumbfounded.
Undaunted by my dumbfounded expression, Cesare stared sharply at me with a notebook and fountain pen in his hands.
“That’s right. Are you good at reading and writing?”
I answered obediently, pushed by Cesare's gaze.
“I can probably read and write.”
“Maybe... Do you enjoy reading? What kind of books do you read?”
“Just a few novels. Adele and Oretelle, Sonia’s Garden, The Red Princess.”
“They are all children’s storybooks.”
Cesare was evaluated mercilessly. He asked, tapping his notebook with his fountain pen.
“You probably don’t know anything about etiquette, and of course, you don’t know how to dance either. Do you have any special skills?”
“What’s the specialty?”
“Yes. A talent that you can show off to others.”
“...Oh, how about tying a good knot in a rope, whistling a good signal, and opening your pockets without anyone knowing?”
I wasn't a pickpocket, but I was pretty good at picking pockets.
The pickpockets who stayed at Mama Olga's house were real punks, men with the resources, guts, and dexterity to survive on the cruel streets of George.
I learned various pickpocketing techniques from them. Of course, if I had tried it in real life, Olga would have fainted that day, so I only learned it for fun.
“And, oh! I can dance pretty well, too.”
I immediately responded with excitement. I had forgotten how to dance. Dancing was one of the things I was most confident in.
I took the opportunity to roll up the hem of my dress and tried to jump up, flailing about.
Cesare immediately stopped me, his face turning pale.
“Forget all that.”
"But..."
“From now on, Young Lady must never forget for even a moment that you are the Princess. Not only in your physical appearance but also in your mental attitude...”
I interrupted Cesare's speech.
“Wait a minute! Are you sure? There’s still no proof that I’m the Princess!”
“It’s too late to wait for evidence. Even if we start now, the maximum we can earn is three months. Within that time, only an ordinary noble girl would be able to barely establish a confrontational structure with Princess Veronica.”
I clenched my fists and grumbled, but then I heard a familiar name and slowly relaxed my grip.
If you are Princess Veronica...
“Are you talking about the woman who is engaged to the Duke?”
“Yes. She is a distant cousin of Your Highness the Princess, and aside from the Emperor’s direct blood relatives, she is the one who is considered the highest-ranking successor. And the Emperor’s only direct blood relative is currently Princess Anastasia.”
“...”
“The problem is Princess Veronica’s support base. As a potential successor, she had already been influential in court society for a dozen years. Furthermore, when she comes of age, she will be registered as an imperial descendant and take the vacant position of Crown Princess.”
“That means...”
“Being the Emperor’s adopted daughter means that you are on the same level of legitimacy as him. Even if you are not a direct blood relative. Therefore, you must move towards entering the palace within three months without fail.”
Suddenly, I realized something.
What this meant was that, whether I was real or fake, I had to enter the palace and then perform my role as a Princess for the next six months until the test results came out.
Altogether, it was about a year.
“...This is crazy.”
“Yes, I agree with you, but...”
Cesare's expression, which had been indifferent until now, suddenly collapsed.
That face had an expression that was almost like, 'You're really unfortunate,' and I became really upset.
“We have no other choice. Even if the worst comes to the worst, we can delay Princess Veronica’s footsteps. In the meantime, we will do our best to find the real Princess.”
The plan seemed good at first glance if only it contained a definite answer as to what would happen to me once I was no longer useful.
Of course, the Duke had assured me that nothing would come of it to me directly... but I didn’t know. The high-ups were really fickle and capricious.
Feeling human affection for Laskan and trusting him were two separate issues.
“Aren’t you cold? I’ll pour you some more warm water.”
"Thank you."
Lisa poured more warm water to keep the water from cooling down and also floated some pretty flower petals on it.
The scent was still nice, and the water was pleasantly warm, but somehow, I didn't feel as excited as I had the first time.
***
“Was it really necessary to go that far?”
Laskan lifted his head slightly from where he was burying his head in the papers.
Cesare made no effort to hide his discontented expression. He replied, putting his quill into the inkwell.
“It is customary to give the most prestigious room in the mansion to visiting royals.”
“...Yes, of course, I know that there is a good chance that she is the real Princess. But there is still that one in ten thousand chance, isn’t there? Until her true identity is revealed, unnecessary misunderstandings will pile up. Misunderstandings that she is the next Duchess.”
“It’s something that can be explained later. But I can’t just let them stay anywhere, right?”
Cesare let out a long breath. Anywhere? It was as if he was offering to give her even a cabin.
If it's Ashkabad's annex, it's a place without a single flaw, even if it were given to a real royal family.
Of course, all sorts of rumors would be going around now, but later on, after the woman's identity was revealed, the issue would naturally die down.
There wasn't much of a problem there. It was a natural course of action, and furthermore, the Duke's official fiancée was still missing, Princess Anastasia.
Although the marriage was unilaterally concluded as soon as the Princess was born...
Still, it was a promise between the royal family and the public family. It was not something that could be easily broken.
Moreover, the imperial family refused to acknowledge the Princess's death.
In the end, even the Emperor reluctantly said that when Princess Kairak came of age, he would call off their previous engagement...
So, although Princess Kairak was treated as the de facto fiancée... in any case, the official engagement was not broken off.
Cesare barely managed to straighten out his thoughts that were drifting absentmindedly.
“Oh, by the way, I’ve contacted Sir Zachary.”
"Yes?"
“He said he was coming this way. He said he would arrive within three days.”
“Did you find the bag the woman said she lost?”
“Yes. There was a report from Lord Enoch. According to the full story, while he was assisting Miss Sasha under the orders of Lord Zachary, she escaped. He said that he would personally present the secured bag to Your Highness as soon as he arrived at the estate. He also said that he would ask about the punishment for hiding something that should have been reported at that time.”
“It will become clear within a few days.”
“The most urgent thing is what you ordered me to do last time...”
“Get a teacher of etiquette first. Time is running out. Even if it’s useless, it’s better to prepare in advance.”
“Yes. As you instructed, I have scheduled classes for the day after tomorrow.”
“Yes. Go out.”
Cesare bowed deeply and stepped back.
Laskan pressed hard against his throbbing eyebrows.
Cesare's advice was right. After some thought, he admitted that he had lost his cool.
In fact, it was an excessive kindness. To have a woman whose identity was not yet confirmed stay in the inner chambers.
Even though nothing has been proven, they already treat her as a Princess.
He could tell from the moment she was wearing that dusty dress that she was quite a beauty.
With Jaina's help, she barely managed to splash some water on her face, but there was a corner that particularly caught his eye.
Pale blonde hair and equally pale blue eyes, just like in his memory...
Whenever he saw the girl's occasional faint smile, it seemed as if he could see a glimpse of Anastasia's face as a child.
Is it entirely an illusion and wishful thinking? Or is it so desperate that even the memories are distorted?
From Ashkabad's perspective, a real Princess would be better than the daughter of the hated Kairak. He knows that this is Ashkabad's long-standing calculation.
But at least Laskan's earnestness was motivated by a bit more sentimental reasons than political calculations.
When he closed his eyes, the faint smile of the young Princess came to mind. The Duke's hydrangea garden, that summer full of lavender flowers.
He dared not name that past, for they were both too young to have feelings for it.
But he never forgot that smile, that memory, not even for a moment. That day was the last time he saw the Princess.
Anastasia went missing on her way back to the palace that day.
At that time, the Crown Princess and her parents, who were her husbands, died instantly in a carriage accident. Only two bodies were found.
Only young Anastasia, she alone, disappeared without a trace.
From that day on, the old Emperor disappeared from all official activities.
The balance of power between the imperial faction and the noble faction, which should have been keeping each other in check, collapsed under the Emperor's unilateral control.
It was Kairak who took advantage of the gap to grow his power, and it was Ashkhabad who tolerated everything with a guilty heart during the difficult days.
Everything had to fall into place before it was too late. Now was the last chance before Princess Veronica's right to the throne was confirmed.
So the woman really had to be Anastasia, and even if she wasn't, she had to live as Anastasia for the time being.
Suddenly, he thought of the woman's clean face, and his throat felt tight as if he was being strangled. Laskan moistened his lips with the cold tea that had been sitting there for some time.
***
“Greetings again, Young Lady. This is Cesare.”
"Nice to meet you."
I answered, waving the hand I was holding in front of me. Whenever someone older than me bowed gracefully and greeted me, I felt embarrassed and didn't know how to respond.
Cesare pushed up his glasses and spoke in a businesslike voice.
“Have you recovered from the aftereffects a bit?”
“Yes, very much. But what’s going on?”
“I came to inform you that starting tomorrow, we will be providing training in all the basics of etiquette, dance, foreign languages, and other general knowledge required for being a noble.”
"Yes?"
“Excuse me, but how much basic knowledge do you have?”
"...Yes?"
I asked again, dumbfounded.
Undaunted by my dumbfounded expression, Cesare stared sharply at me with a notebook and fountain pen in his hands.
“That’s right. Are you good at reading and writing?”
I answered obediently, pushed by Cesare's gaze.
“I can probably read and write.”
“Maybe... Do you enjoy reading? What kind of books do you read?”
“Just a few novels. Adele and Oretelle, Sonia’s Garden, The Red Princess.”
“They are all children’s storybooks.”
Cesare was evaluated mercilessly. He asked, tapping his notebook with his fountain pen.
“You probably don’t know anything about etiquette, and of course, you don’t know how to dance either. Do you have any special skills?”
“What’s the specialty?”
“Yes. A talent that you can show off to others.”
“...Oh, how about tying a good knot in a rope, whistling a good signal, and opening your pockets without anyone knowing?”
I wasn't a pickpocket, but I was pretty good at picking pockets.
The pickpockets who stayed at Mama Olga's house were real punks, men with the resources, guts, and dexterity to survive on the cruel streets of George.
I learned various pickpocketing techniques from them. Of course, if I had tried it in real life, Olga would have fainted that day, so I only learned it for fun.
“And, oh! I can dance pretty well, too.”
I immediately responded with excitement. I had forgotten how to dance. Dancing was one of the things I was most confident in.
I took the opportunity to roll up the hem of my dress and tried to jump up, flailing about.
Cesare immediately stopped me, his face turning pale.
“Forget all that.”
"But..."
“From now on, Young Lady must never forget for even a moment that you are the Princess. Not only in your physical appearance but also in your mental attitude...”
I interrupted Cesare's speech.
“Wait a minute! Are you sure? There’s still no proof that I’m the Princess!”
“It’s too late to wait for evidence. Even if we start now, the maximum we can earn is three months. Within that time, only an ordinary noble girl would be able to barely establish a confrontational structure with Princess Veronica.”
I clenched my fists and grumbled, but then I heard a familiar name and slowly relaxed my grip.
If you are Princess Veronica...
“Are you talking about the woman who is engaged to the Duke?”
“Yes. She is a distant cousin of Your Highness the Princess, and aside from the Emperor’s direct blood relatives, she is the one who is considered the highest-ranking successor. And the Emperor’s only direct blood relative is currently Princess Anastasia.”
“...”
“The problem is Princess Veronica’s support base. As a potential successor, she had already been influential in court society for a dozen years. Furthermore, when she comes of age, she will be registered as an imperial descendant and take the vacant position of Crown Princess.”
“That means...”
“Being the Emperor’s adopted daughter means that you are on the same level of legitimacy as him. Even if you are not a direct blood relative. Therefore, you must move towards entering the palace within three months without fail.”
Suddenly, I realized something.
What this meant was that, whether I was real or fake, I had to enter the palace and then perform my role as a Princess for the next six months until the test results came out.
Altogether, it was about a year.
“...This is crazy.”
“Yes, I agree with you, but...”
Cesare's expression, which had been indifferent until now, suddenly collapsed.
That face had an expression that was almost like, 'You're really unfortunate,' and I became really upset.
“We have no other choice. Even if the worst comes to the worst, we can delay Princess Veronica’s footsteps. In the meantime, we will do our best to find the real Princess.”
The plan seemed good at first glance if only it contained a definite answer as to what would happen to me once I was no longer useful.
Of course, the Duke had assured me that nothing would come of it to me directly... but I didn’t know. The high-ups were really fickle and capricious.
Feeling human affection for Laskan and trusting him were two separate issues.
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