“Why would I lie? I knew that the person the Duke was looking for was Sasha, but I didn’t know that you suspected that it was the Crown Princess. I’m sorry that I approached you intentionally out of curiosity.”
“...”
“But when I met you in person, I realized that you didn’t know anything, and I thought it was too much to use someone like you politically. That’s why I wanted to help you.”
It sounded plausible. Zachary had told me to find him when I got to the capital. He would help me escape, even if it meant crossing the border.
But when I thought about it, it was strange. He had no reason to help a commoner woman he had just met.
“Believe me, I only found out when I got here. My brother was almost certain that Young Lady would be the Crown Princess.”
“That’s what he said, he said.”
I ended up biting my tongue because my thoughts couldn't keep up with my words.
Despite my mistake, Zachary smiled warmly, just like when he saved me from the pile of vegetables.
“Does Miss Sasha want to become Her Highness the Princess?”
“...I don’t know.”
This was my honest feeling. If I become the Princess, I can save Enoch and have whatever I want.
But I was only a nineteen-year-old girl. Could I possibly become the perfect Princess that everyone expected?
“If you want, I can let you escape right now. Difficult politics and governance... Those things will inevitably follow you as a Princess, and they will be a heavy burden for Miss Sasha.”
“...”
“Duty is too complicated for people like us. I will take care of it so that you can live your whole life abroad wearing nice clothes and eating good food without such things.”
I stared blankly into Zachary's eyes. Even though I was wearing an expensive dress and had the grace and manners of a courtier, to him, I still looked like a poor orphan girl wandering the streets of Saxony.
That girl didn't know anything and was just swept away by her surroundings.
But there was something he didn't know. Among the street children, no one truly trusted others, no matter how young and innocent they may seem. That was the nature of people like us.
When I didn't answer, Zachary urged me gently.
“If Sasha enters the palace, it will be even more difficult to let go of those duties.”
“...I’ll think about it.”
“When you have made up your mind, please send me a message. I will wait for you once I have made all the preparations.”
I always felt uneasy because Zachary's kindnesses to me seemed to be for no reason, but now I can guess why he does them.
If I were truly the Princess, there would be only one person who would benefit from my disappearance.
“Zachary.”
I called out to him as he passed me by. I pretended to look completely innocent.
“If I am recognized as the Princess, Princess Veronica will not be able to become the Empress. Everyone says that I should surpass her and ascend to the throne.”
Zachary's eyes widened for a moment. It was a very small change, so slight that I wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't been a back-alley rat who studied other people's faces.
“If that’s the way it should be, then it will be so.”
I looked at Zachary's back as he greeted me gracefully and walked away.
Did he love Princess Veronica? Or did he pity her? Either way, one thing was certain.
He was never on my side.
Laskan leaned against the window and looked out over the garden. It was a picturesque sight. Flowers in full bloom, low-growing trees, maids, Isabella, and...
He had no difficulty in finding a woman among the crowd.
Light blond hair, furrowed brows, a pulled-in chin, and a somewhat stiff expression... Even though it was three stories high, if you looked closely, you could see right through it as if it were right in front of your nose.
After a few posture adjustments, the woman with the book on her head began to walk. Even a baby duck that has just started walking could walk better than that.
Her body, which had been walking precariously in time with Isabella's clapping, began to stumble, then she collapsed and burst into loud laughter.
It all seemed like a beautiful landscape painting, almost like a dream.
"...older brother."
Laskan turned his head askew, his lips hardening as he smiled involuntarily. Before he knew it, Zachary was standing askew in the doorway.
His eyes were narrow, as if the light behind him was blinding him.
“You said you found me.”
"Yes."
“Why on earth...”
“Let me ask you something first.”
“What.”
“You came to me just to hear excuses from your mouth, Zachary.”
“...”
“You should have known that I wasn’t telling you to go around and poke around for no reason.”
It was a cold remark, as if it took a great deal of patience.
Zachary clicked his tongue silently. It seemed he had figured it out in that short time.
After all, it was Cesare, Ashkabad's loyal dog who had been guarding the woman, that made it even more suspicious that Laskan didn't know that he had stirred things up.
Zachary laughed ferociously.
“You already guessed why I did that.”
“Because you are my only cousin.”
It was a suffocating and stifling answer. Zachary knew that the hidden meaning in those words was a warning.
The intention is to warn him to be on guard by hearing his true feelings while guessing everything and to warn him that he wouldn't have even had that chance if it weren't for his cousin.
In the end, he was telling him to figure out his topic better now. Zachary gritted his teeth and bowed.
“...I just felt bad for that girl.”
“Believe it.”
Laskan's golden eyes narrowed slightly.
“Are you going to open your mouth only if you are punished by military law?”
“...”
“If you had just looked at that woman as a pitiful woman, you would never have dared to think of betraying your own flesh and blood to take her away. Since when did you become so sure?”
Zachary chewed on the curse word in his mouth.
“What was the great confidence that that woman gave you that you had to get rid of it in front of me?”
“It was a gut feeling. You know. I have some shitty gut feelings.”
“...”
“I don’t know about you, brother.”
Zachary carefully studied Laskan's face.
A face as sharp as the slight wrinkle between his eyebrows, holding back the curtains blowing in the wind as if it were annoyance.
If you think about it, Laskan had always made an exception for that stubborn temper that he had never hidden from even his mother, only to one person in the world.
Princess Anastasia, who was his fiancée, and now, surprisingly, only to the lowly woman below. Perhaps it was instinct.
If you think about it, his respect for the Princess was unusual since he was young. He was unusually gentle when dealing with a political marriage partner and strict when dealing with a lover. Even as a child, Zachary found the gap quite interesting.
At one time, he suspected that this reverence was due to the inferiority complex of the previous Duchess's bloodline. As a Princess, her bloodline was perfect.
But in this world where he reigns as a noble among nobles, with strict moderation, no one would dare to call him the 'son of a commoner Duchess' to his handsome face, and yet his cousin still follows the shadow of the Princess.
Was it really love from that moment on? Zachary shuddered at the thought that suddenly occurred to him. No. That cold-blooded man wouldn't do that.
At that moment, a loud laugh was heard through the half-open window. Zachary absentmindedly glanced out the window. It was a scene that clearly showed what Laskan had been looking at.
He came up to Laskan and leaned against the window. Zachary gestured at the woman with his chin.
“What about you, brother? How can you be so sure that ‘that’ is real? How can you be so sure that you even think of showing it to His Majesty?”
“I’ve never been sure. The evidence is perfect, though.”
A woman who appeared at the perfect time, as if she had been planned out. There was no evidence to refute the fact that the woman was not the Princess, and there was an abundance of evidence to prove that she was the Princess.
The age, the necklace, the clothes, the time it was found, the childhood without memories... It was so perfect that it almost seemed fake.
Even her light blond hair and blue eyes were so uncannily similar to the Emperor that he had a strange feeling whenever he saw her, as if she had deliberately sought out a woman who resembled her.
"Then."
“It’s too clean to be someone who brought it in on purpose. If you want, there’s no reason you couldn’t make it.”
“..."
Zachary blinked as if he had heard something he shouldn't have heard.
“You’re going to manipulate the results of the temple?”
“If that woman is really the Princess, then there will be no problem. If she says no, then we can just send her away.”
“You can’t do it that easily...”
“How can I catch you if you say no?”
How sincere you are after coming this far... Zachary touched his pale face with his dry hand.
“So, what if that woman becomes real? No, what if she really wants to become a Princess?”
“...”
“...Brother, right now. So, if that girl of unknown origins becomes the Princess, do you realize that she will become your fiancée? You’ll even take the risk of getting married? Are you in your right mind?”
“What makes marriage with Princess Veronica different?”
Zachary chewed his lips and turned white again.
Even if he treats something as important as his life lightly, it may be nothing in the face of this shock.
“Yes, let’s say that’s all true. When that woman becomes the real Princess, what guarantee is there that she’ll choose you? How can you watch her end up in someone else’s hands after all the effort you put into making her look so delicious?”
“I just have to be the best among her choices.”
Laskan was now looking out the window again without even looking this way.
Zachary glared at him with a stunned expression, then swallowed his breath at the faint smile on his lips.
Maybe, Zachary thought with breathless shock. Maybe it could be true love.
Looking at the way he talks about other people's marriages like that, even if he hasn't realized it yet, he will soon notice it when there's an opportunity...
But there was still a problem.
“Brother, you have seizures periodically. Does she know about it?”
“...”
“But when I met you in person, I realized that you didn’t know anything, and I thought it was too much to use someone like you politically. That’s why I wanted to help you.”
It sounded plausible. Zachary had told me to find him when I got to the capital. He would help me escape, even if it meant crossing the border.
But when I thought about it, it was strange. He had no reason to help a commoner woman he had just met.
“Believe me, I only found out when I got here. My brother was almost certain that Young Lady would be the Crown Princess.”
“That’s what he said, he said.”
I ended up biting my tongue because my thoughts couldn't keep up with my words.
Despite my mistake, Zachary smiled warmly, just like when he saved me from the pile of vegetables.
“Does Miss Sasha want to become Her Highness the Princess?”
“...I don’t know.”
This was my honest feeling. If I become the Princess, I can save Enoch and have whatever I want.
But I was only a nineteen-year-old girl. Could I possibly become the perfect Princess that everyone expected?
“If you want, I can let you escape right now. Difficult politics and governance... Those things will inevitably follow you as a Princess, and they will be a heavy burden for Miss Sasha.”
“...”
“Duty is too complicated for people like us. I will take care of it so that you can live your whole life abroad wearing nice clothes and eating good food without such things.”
I stared blankly into Zachary's eyes. Even though I was wearing an expensive dress and had the grace and manners of a courtier, to him, I still looked like a poor orphan girl wandering the streets of Saxony.
That girl didn't know anything and was just swept away by her surroundings.
But there was something he didn't know. Among the street children, no one truly trusted others, no matter how young and innocent they may seem. That was the nature of people like us.
When I didn't answer, Zachary urged me gently.
“If Sasha enters the palace, it will be even more difficult to let go of those duties.”
“...I’ll think about it.”
“When you have made up your mind, please send me a message. I will wait for you once I have made all the preparations.”
I always felt uneasy because Zachary's kindnesses to me seemed to be for no reason, but now I can guess why he does them.
If I were truly the Princess, there would be only one person who would benefit from my disappearance.
“Zachary.”
I called out to him as he passed me by. I pretended to look completely innocent.
“If I am recognized as the Princess, Princess Veronica will not be able to become the Empress. Everyone says that I should surpass her and ascend to the throne.”
Zachary's eyes widened for a moment. It was a very small change, so slight that I wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't been a back-alley rat who studied other people's faces.
“If that’s the way it should be, then it will be so.”
I looked at Zachary's back as he greeted me gracefully and walked away.
Did he love Princess Veronica? Or did he pity her? Either way, one thing was certain.
He was never on my side.
***
Laskan leaned against the window and looked out over the garden. It was a picturesque sight. Flowers in full bloom, low-growing trees, maids, Isabella, and...
He had no difficulty in finding a woman among the crowd.
Light blond hair, furrowed brows, a pulled-in chin, and a somewhat stiff expression... Even though it was three stories high, if you looked closely, you could see right through it as if it were right in front of your nose.
After a few posture adjustments, the woman with the book on her head began to walk. Even a baby duck that has just started walking could walk better than that.
Her body, which had been walking precariously in time with Isabella's clapping, began to stumble, then she collapsed and burst into loud laughter.
It all seemed like a beautiful landscape painting, almost like a dream.
"...older brother."
Laskan turned his head askew, his lips hardening as he smiled involuntarily. Before he knew it, Zachary was standing askew in the doorway.
His eyes were narrow, as if the light behind him was blinding him.
“You said you found me.”
"Yes."
“Why on earth...”
“Let me ask you something first.”
“What.”
“You came to me just to hear excuses from your mouth, Zachary.”
“...”
“You should have known that I wasn’t telling you to go around and poke around for no reason.”
It was a cold remark, as if it took a great deal of patience.
Zachary clicked his tongue silently. It seemed he had figured it out in that short time.
After all, it was Cesare, Ashkabad's loyal dog who had been guarding the woman, that made it even more suspicious that Laskan didn't know that he had stirred things up.
Zachary laughed ferociously.
“You already guessed why I did that.”
“Because you are my only cousin.”
It was a suffocating and stifling answer. Zachary knew that the hidden meaning in those words was a warning.
The intention is to warn him to be on guard by hearing his true feelings while guessing everything and to warn him that he wouldn't have even had that chance if it weren't for his cousin.
In the end, he was telling him to figure out his topic better now. Zachary gritted his teeth and bowed.
“...I just felt bad for that girl.”
“Believe it.”
Laskan's golden eyes narrowed slightly.
“Are you going to open your mouth only if you are punished by military law?”
“...”
“If you had just looked at that woman as a pitiful woman, you would never have dared to think of betraying your own flesh and blood to take her away. Since when did you become so sure?”
Zachary chewed on the curse word in his mouth.
“What was the great confidence that that woman gave you that you had to get rid of it in front of me?”
“It was a gut feeling. You know. I have some shitty gut feelings.”
“...”
“I don’t know about you, brother.”
Zachary carefully studied Laskan's face.
A face as sharp as the slight wrinkle between his eyebrows, holding back the curtains blowing in the wind as if it were annoyance.
If you think about it, Laskan had always made an exception for that stubborn temper that he had never hidden from even his mother, only to one person in the world.
Princess Anastasia, who was his fiancée, and now, surprisingly, only to the lowly woman below. Perhaps it was instinct.
If you think about it, his respect for the Princess was unusual since he was young. He was unusually gentle when dealing with a political marriage partner and strict when dealing with a lover. Even as a child, Zachary found the gap quite interesting.
At one time, he suspected that this reverence was due to the inferiority complex of the previous Duchess's bloodline. As a Princess, her bloodline was perfect.
But in this world where he reigns as a noble among nobles, with strict moderation, no one would dare to call him the 'son of a commoner Duchess' to his handsome face, and yet his cousin still follows the shadow of the Princess.
Was it really love from that moment on? Zachary shuddered at the thought that suddenly occurred to him. No. That cold-blooded man wouldn't do that.
At that moment, a loud laugh was heard through the half-open window. Zachary absentmindedly glanced out the window. It was a scene that clearly showed what Laskan had been looking at.
He came up to Laskan and leaned against the window. Zachary gestured at the woman with his chin.
“What about you, brother? How can you be so sure that ‘that’ is real? How can you be so sure that you even think of showing it to His Majesty?”
“I’ve never been sure. The evidence is perfect, though.”
A woman who appeared at the perfect time, as if she had been planned out. There was no evidence to refute the fact that the woman was not the Princess, and there was an abundance of evidence to prove that she was the Princess.
The age, the necklace, the clothes, the time it was found, the childhood without memories... It was so perfect that it almost seemed fake.
Even her light blond hair and blue eyes were so uncannily similar to the Emperor that he had a strange feeling whenever he saw her, as if she had deliberately sought out a woman who resembled her.
"Then."
“It’s too clean to be someone who brought it in on purpose. If you want, there’s no reason you couldn’t make it.”
“..."
Zachary blinked as if he had heard something he shouldn't have heard.
“You’re going to manipulate the results of the temple?”
“If that woman is really the Princess, then there will be no problem. If she says no, then we can just send her away.”
“You can’t do it that easily...”
“How can I catch you if you say no?”
How sincere you are after coming this far... Zachary touched his pale face with his dry hand.
“So, what if that woman becomes real? No, what if she really wants to become a Princess?”
“...”
“...Brother, right now. So, if that girl of unknown origins becomes the Princess, do you realize that she will become your fiancée? You’ll even take the risk of getting married? Are you in your right mind?”
“What makes marriage with Princess Veronica different?”
Zachary chewed his lips and turned white again.
Even if he treats something as important as his life lightly, it may be nothing in the face of this shock.
“Yes, let’s say that’s all true. When that woman becomes the real Princess, what guarantee is there that she’ll choose you? How can you watch her end up in someone else’s hands after all the effort you put into making her look so delicious?”
“I just have to be the best among her choices.”
Laskan was now looking out the window again without even looking this way.
Zachary glared at him with a stunned expression, then swallowed his breath at the faint smile on his lips.
Maybe, Zachary thought with breathless shock. Maybe it could be true love.
Looking at the way he talks about other people's marriages like that, even if he hasn't realized it yet, he will soon notice it when there's an opportunity...
But there was still a problem.
“Brother, you have seizures periodically. Does she know about it?”
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