Only after that, an eerie yet familiar face smiled at me in a way that made my lips barely move.
"Albrecht..."
The man's name is Albrecht.
Although he was of commoner origin, he was skilled in scheming and worked as my father's right-hand man.
'A person who does not come out to the public and moves only in the shadows', his name is not widely known.
That is why he was dangerous.
Being unknown meant that one could move secretly.
So, those who fell into his hands would close their eyes in vain, not even knowing who was after them.
How many lives have been lost that way?
On this clear and sunny day, the sudden appearance of such a terrible man made it seem unreal for a moment.
However...
"Your Highness the Princess... I guess I should call you Your Highness the Grand Duchess now. How have you been?"
The voice flowing from between his pale lips made me realize reality, even though I didn't want to.
"...Why are you here?"
“I came under the royal edict.”
"What imperial edict? I haven't heard of it."
When faced with a dangerous person, sharp words naturally come out.
Albrecht also seemed to frown at my attitude, but as always, an eerie smile hid his true feelings.
"Let me tell you something. Before that..."
He looked at Letie, his words trailing off slowly.
"Would you please step aside, Lady Letie?"
"Are you planning on telling my sister something I shouldn't hear? I'm curious."
“Come on.”
Letie stood up from her seat as if she had decided not to make a fuss this time.
When one of the seats became empty, Albrecht looked around to make sure there was no one there.
After that, he reached out to the empty chair.
If this continues, I'll end up having a face-to-face conversation with this unpleasant person.
I opened my mouth before that happened.
"Who said you can sit wherever you want?"
"..."
"Everyone seems to keep forgetting. I'm not Elonq anymore."
I continued to fire at Albrecht, who had his mouth shut.
"I became the mistress of this estate, not the daughter of His Majesty the Emperor."
"..."
"So I have no obligation to treat you, even if you came under His Majesty's orders."
If I were a Princess, if I were my father's daughter, I would have no right to refuse Albrecht's request.
To reject Albrecht, who had received the imperial order, was, in other words, to disobey my father's orders.
But now I have become a member of the Grand Duke's family, which threatens even the prestige of the Imperial Family.
At least I had the power to kick out my father's limbs.
"I don't want to talk to someone who takes other people's lives without a second thought. So there's no need to sit down."
Albrecht showed no reaction for a moment.
Just standing next to me, staring at me with his purple eyes.
There was a moment when I thought that the color definitely resembled poison.
"When did you become so brazen?"
"Brazen?"
He talked badly as if I was his inferior.
I couldn't just sit still after hearing such blatant disdain.
I stood up from my seat and looked at him even more directly.
"Are you crazy? I'll have to call the guards. If you don't want to leave on your own, I'll have to drag you out."
"I have come on His Majesty's orders."
“Even so, to me..."
"Hie Majesty is very worried about your Highness the Grand Duchess."
I stopped moving for a moment at those words that my father was worried about me.
Albrecht took advantage of the gap and rolled his tongue around.
"That is why I came in person. To follow His Majesty's order to personally guard Your Highness.
"You said to protect me? From what?"
“Of course..."
Albrecht paused for a moment, lowered his head, and whispered something sinister in my ear.
"Of course, from that monster."
It was clear what the monster was talking about without any further thought. I immediately took a step back, putting more distance between myself and Albrecht.
"I don't know if it's being presumptuous or stupid. How dare you call the ruler of this place a monster?"
"What else could I be but a monster? A being who lives in a place teeming with demons, covered in their blood."
It really wasn't something I cared much about whether Kishian was called a monster or not.
It wasn't like I was going to say something like that in front of people.
So, it's something that can just be ignored...
'It's unpleasant'
It was very unpleasant.
I want to strike down that horrible man who insults Kishian so shamelessly.
It feels like a challenge to my authority. It is unpleasant because only the Grand Duke Knight is being insulted, and only the Grand Duke is being insulted.
Having judged this to be the cause of my discomfort, I moved my body to call the guard this time.
I was about to pass Albrecht and head towards the guards.
Crackling.
I felt a sharp pain in my wrist, accompanied by a beeping sound.
He immediately looked back, frowning deeply.
Albrecht was holding my wrist with a strong hand.
Because he had grabbed it with strength that was not human, an eerie sound came from my wrist.
"What are you doing now? How dare you touch my body, the Grand Duchess?"
Looking at the soreness on my wrist from being caught, I knew that I would definitely have a bruise by the end of the day.
That is, Albrecht was violent towards me.
Even after committing such an act, the eerie smile that always seemed to have disappeared from Albrecht's face remained.
At this point, I felt more bewildered than angry.
"I didn't know you were so stupid that you couldn't even figure out the situation."
"It seems that Your Highness the Grand Duchess is the one who did not understand the situation."
Are you planning to talk about the Emperor's orders again?
It seemed like it was something like that, so I raised my hand to lift his cheek.
Now I have the authority to disobey my father's orders, but he doesn't understand what I'm saying, so I'm going to hit him.
The idea was to hit him and bring him to his senses.
But before I could wave my hand, one word he said stopped me.
"Do you think you will be able to remain a Grand Duchess even after your identity is revealed?"
My identity.
"...!"
My heart sank at those words. All the strength left my body, so I quickly reached out and touched the table.
There is water in it for a while while supporting your body on it.
“What do you mean?”
“Haven’t you already understood? You are a clever person.”
Even though ini was frozen helplessly, he did not stop.
The terrible truth was relentlessly carved into me with the blade of words.
"You are not 'Letie'. You are not the savior chosen by God."
"..."
"Isn't he just a replica, lucky enough to be born as his twin?"
Albrecht, who had come close to me while I was still, touched my face with his fingertips.
"This face resembles Letie's face very much... but it is fake, so it lacks the loveliness of the real thing."
"..."
"All I can find on this face is gloom and misery that makes people feel bad... What, that's all?"
He chuckled as if he was enjoying himself in front of me, who was pale.
"Please don't take it too personally. I just wanted to help you because you seemed to have trouble understanding the topic."
"..."
"Everything you have gained as a Grand Duchess was obtained in Letie's name. You must not forget that fact."
I really wanted to refute it.
But I couldn't get a single word out.
Those words hit me exactly with the truth that I had been trying to ignore.
Yes, the reason Kishian brought me as the Grand Duchess was because he knew me as Letier.
'Because he thought I was the savior of the empire, so I lied to him.'
But what if you find out that your bigness is actually just a fake...
"What should I do? Are you planning to reveal the truth to the Grand Duke? But if you do that, not only me but the royal family will be in trouble."
"Ah... For now, I have no intention of saying anything. If you cooperate, I will also..."
His speech did not end.
That was why a large, rough hand suddenly stretched out and grabbed Albrecht by the neck.
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