Milliora bit his lip.
“If a child has passed a test that even my servant, Viscount Rene, could not pass, then I should tolerate minor flaws. Do you think you can have a servant better than that?”
“...”
“Don’t you think that you need more than a girl who eats sweets by your side? I’m worried that you don’t seem to have any thoughts about the competition. His Majesty will be disappointed.”
Tears welled up in Milliora’s eyes. The competition came later, and it was unfair that the Tea Party members were insulted.
“Brother, they are all children of noble families and my friends!”
“The third lion is more useful to His Majesty than all of them combined. Don’t burden him unnecessarily.”
“The burden is on me. Don’t you know how dangerous it is to have an illegitimate child who doesn’t even know how to disgrace his father’s face and pokes her head into the palace? I’m so miserable! Please send me another child, Brother Orl.”
“The lower the human race, the more grateful they are for even the smallest things and follow orders, but you can’t handle even one of them. Is that illegitimate child too much for you, Milliora?”
“...”
Milliora read in her brother’s smile the question of why she was better than an illegitimate child.
Too much? Is an illegitimate child too much?
Milliora bit her lip again as usual to hold back the tears that were welling up in her eyes. She tasted the taste of metal in her bleeding mouth.
She couldn’t bear Orl’s gaze at her with the same eyes she had at an illegitimate child, so she turned around and ran away.
She turned slightly as she headed for the door, elbowing the porcelain on the pedestal against the wall as she passed.
At the sound of the bang, the knights guarding the door rushed in to check on Orl’s safety. There was no one guarding the Princess as she left.
As she left the First Prince’s Palace, a knight as big as a mountain blocked her path.
Rond knew that appearing in front of her at this moment was no different from self-destruction, but he didn’t care.
He had thicker muscles than anyone else, and he knew enough about wounds.
The moment Milliora discovered him, she was conflicted.
Should she yell, “What have you been doing, and now you’re here!” or curse, “Who told you to show up here!”
And she immediately hated him for making her worry like this.
She walked so fast that the hem of her dress flew as she spoke.
“Orl’s knights would rush in as if a war had broken even if a piece of porcelain broke, but what about my knights!”
However, Rond simply followed her silently.
Upon arriving at the Princess’ Palace, Milliora suddenly turned to him.
Rond, who had been following her, unintentionally stood right next to her. In front of his huge body, Miliora looked like a child.
“Why!”
“...?”
“Why don’t you ask?”
“What do you mean, Your Highness?”
“Why don’t you ask why I’m angry?”
Rond’s deep gray eyes looked down closely at Miliora’s moist eyes.
“Would you be angry if I asked you?”
Miliora flinched at his question. It was the gesture of a small animal that felt fear.
But she spoke fiercely.
“There’s no way you know. Useless! How come there are only useless people around me!”
Rond’s eyes wavered slightly at those words. Miliora opened her mouth in surprise, realizing that she had just insulted a knight whose ambition had been thwarted by an injury.
“Sir, I didn't mean that...”
“If a child has passed a test that even my servant, Viscount Rene, could not pass, then I should tolerate minor flaws. Do you think you can have a servant better than that?”
“...”
“Don’t you think that you need more than a girl who eats sweets by your side? I’m worried that you don’t seem to have any thoughts about the competition. His Majesty will be disappointed.”
Tears welled up in Milliora’s eyes. The competition came later, and it was unfair that the Tea Party members were insulted.
“Brother, they are all children of noble families and my friends!”
“The third lion is more useful to His Majesty than all of them combined. Don’t burden him unnecessarily.”
“The burden is on me. Don’t you know how dangerous it is to have an illegitimate child who doesn’t even know how to disgrace his father’s face and pokes her head into the palace? I’m so miserable! Please send me another child, Brother Orl.”
“The lower the human race, the more grateful they are for even the smallest things and follow orders, but you can’t handle even one of them. Is that illegitimate child too much for you, Milliora?”
“...”
Milliora read in her brother’s smile the question of why she was better than an illegitimate child.
Too much? Is an illegitimate child too much?
Milliora bit her lip again as usual to hold back the tears that were welling up in her eyes. She tasted the taste of metal in her bleeding mouth.
She couldn’t bear Orl’s gaze at her with the same eyes she had at an illegitimate child, so she turned around and ran away.
She turned slightly as she headed for the door, elbowing the porcelain on the pedestal against the wall as she passed.
At the sound of the bang, the knights guarding the door rushed in to check on Orl’s safety. There was no one guarding the Princess as she left.
As she left the First Prince’s Palace, a knight as big as a mountain blocked her path.
Rond knew that appearing in front of her at this moment was no different from self-destruction, but he didn’t care.
He had thicker muscles than anyone else, and he knew enough about wounds.
The moment Milliora discovered him, she was conflicted.
Should she yell, “What have you been doing, and now you’re here!” or curse, “Who told you to show up here!”
And she immediately hated him for making her worry like this.
She walked so fast that the hem of her dress flew as she spoke.
“Orl’s knights would rush in as if a war had broken even if a piece of porcelain broke, but what about my knights!”
However, Rond simply followed her silently.
Upon arriving at the Princess’ Palace, Milliora suddenly turned to him.
Rond, who had been following her, unintentionally stood right next to her. In front of his huge body, Miliora looked like a child.
“Why!”
“...?”
“Why don’t you ask?”
“What do you mean, Your Highness?”
“Why don’t you ask why I’m angry?”
Rond’s deep gray eyes looked down closely at Miliora’s moist eyes.
“Would you be angry if I asked you?”
Miliora flinched at his question. It was the gesture of a small animal that felt fear.
But she spoke fiercely.
“There’s no way you know. Useless! How come there are only useless people around me!”
Rond’s eyes wavered slightly at those words. Miliora opened her mouth in surprise, realizing that she had just insulted a knight whose ambition had been thwarted by an injury.
“Sir, I didn't mean that...”
But Rond raised his head and pointed ahead.
“Go in, Your Highness.”
Because of the height difference, Miliora couldn’t see his gaze. Whether he was angry at her or not.
She felt despair again at the fact that she couldn’t confirm, and she walked ahead with tears welling up in her eyes. The taste of iron was once again.
***
I sat quietly in the room, not knowing if the soldiers would come and drag me out at any moment. It felt so quiet everywhere. I thought that if I was dragged off to prison for insulting the royal family, I should say that my name was Lorisha Loba, not Lorisha Loire, but then a feeling of resentment rose up inside me.
Why did the Count send me to a place like this? A place where I didn’t belong and where I didn’t fit in?
At least Misha wouldn’t have acted this way. When I was dragged off to prison, I should have told him that I hadn’t lived with the Count for many years, that I had been a worthless bitch since I was little, and that no one could do anything about it.
That the Count’s affection and education had done nothing to reform me...
“That sounds really horrible.”
I became depressed at the excuse I had made.
At that moment, the window creaked lightly.
“Ah, surprise!”
I barely swallowed back a curse and ran to the window.
There was no way soldiers would come in through the window...
“Oh, shit...”
I ended up cursing. The person who was tapping on my window was Prince Kydel.
I opened my mouth in surprise, and Prince Kydel frowned and told me to open it quickly.
I had no choice but to open the window as if I were possessed.
“...Ha.”
Prince Kydel entered through the window with great elegance and closed the door.
He shook out his clothes and straightened his appearance. I thought that even if he stole, he would look like that. Those damn nobles.
He turned around and smiled at me.
“Miss Loire.”
“Do I need to be greeted?”
I crossed my arms and said crookedly.
“Who would have thought that the son of the first lion would climb out of a woman’s room window?”
“Stop whining. I came because I was worried about you.”
“That...”
I was about to say something, but I suddenly couldn’t think of anything. Damn it.
“No, no... Why are you worrying about me, Your Excellency?”
“Who would cause trouble? It’s just annoying.”
What was this idiot saying?
I was so shocked that I couldn’t speak again. At the same time, I realized that I had dragged a man into my room in the Princess’s palace.
For a moment, my blood ran cold.
‘If the soldiers come rushing in...!’
I unconsciously gritted my teeth and pointed my finger at the window through which Prince Kydel had come in.
“Get out!”
This time, Prince Kydel crossed his arms. He was the first to show his irritation at having trespassed in a woman’s room.
“You ruined the Princess’s tea party? Rumors are spreading throughout the palace.”
“T, that’s... Aren’t you busy, Your Excellency? Are you just playing around during vacation? If you want to continue to be the top student in the academy, you should study hard during vacation! Even Misha studies.”
The wrinkles on his forehead grew fiercer at the word top student.
But he immediately smiled brightly and said as if he was doing me a favor.
“I came because I was curious about what you were thinking. Don’t worry, I have no intention of interfering with or helping you. I’m just purely curious.”
“...”
I had a hard time understanding the situation. I was the one who put my head in the gutter, and it couldn’t have caused any harm to His Highness the Second Prince.
But what's the point of Kydel's ramblings?
I had a hard time understanding the situation. I was the one who put my head in the gutter, and it couldn’t have caused any harm to His Highness the Second Prince.
But what's the point of Kydel's ramblings?
“Don’t you think about the Count’s position?”
This kid really, just pokes at the sore spot...
“Excuse me, Prince. The soldiers will storm into this room at any moment to arrest me for insulting the royal family. Wouldn’t it be better for you to leave before that happens?”
“Answer.”
I looked at his shameless face and realized one more thing.
The soldiers weren’t a big problem for him. The son of the First Lion, the Second Prince’s attendant, and the head of the academy. If the soldiers saw him, they would apologize for interfering and arrest me.
That was the fundamental difference between the two of us. The world rearranged itself for him, and I had a hard time following the world’s order.
As I thought about it, I slowly felt unpleasant.
I knew that I couldn’t say that it was his fault that he had such great power and freedom, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t be offended.
From the first time we met until now, there have been bad relationships like this.
In the meantime, he sat on the sofa as if it were his own home. His elegant and relaxed side profile, with his long legs lightly crossed, couldn’t have been so unlucky.
Anyway, I had to get this poor bastard out of the way quickly so as not to add unnecessary charges.
But then a strange thought occurred to me. No matter how powerful he was, this was the Princess’s palace, which strictly prohibited the entry of outside men...
“Aren’t the soldiers coming?”
He arched his eyebrows slightly, as if he was annoyed by my quick wit.
I suddenly relaxed and sat down across from him. When I glared at him while waiting for an explanation, he smiled uneasily.
“I was going to make you confess that you wrote that letter by preventing you from being arrested, but it’s going to be difficult.”
I was genuinely surprised that he broke into the Princess’s palace because of a prank letter.
“Wow... that’s some serious obsession.”
But he shrugged his shoulders without any shame.
“I consider myself not one to miss an opportunity.”
“Ah. An opportunity.”
This time, I asked.
“Why aren’t the soldiers coming?”
“You tell me.”
It was a little strange. His speech seemed more formal than before, but it was also a little sharper than before.
I’ve never been particularly close to him, but I felt a little disappointed because I couldn’t feel the easygoing charm that had naturally flowed from him until now.
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