“You are offering it to the Emperor?”
“Then the bills issued by the merchants would become the responsibility of the royal family, the exclusive distribution rights held by Baron Gisborne would become useless, and Baron Lotte could even aim for a rise in his title.”
“...”
“Since the only money he had right now was the mining rights, it would have been difficult for him to readily consider the option of giving them away for free. But if he had met Your Highness.”
Veronica paused for a moment and took a sip of her wine.
“The outcome would have been different. Even the most foolish person would have figured out the right choice in the end.”
“...”
“So, if Your Highness had been just a little bit faster, you wouldn’t have been the best choice for Baron Lotte.”
...Yes. Now I get it. This was a fight that was in my favor from the start. If only I had found Baron Lotte before Veronica, I would have won this contest.
I slowly opened my hands, which had turned white from clenching them so tightly. My lips were so stiff that I felt like I was moving a dead body.
“So, why are you saying all these things in front of me now?”
“Prince Reston. Would you please step aside for a moment?”
Out of nowhere, lightning struck Jacqueline. Jacqueline, who was eating well, blinked without even being able to swallow the food in his mouth.
He looked back and forth between my face and Veronica's face, then seemed to have quickly assessed the situation.
“Yeah.”
Jacqueline wiped his lips with a napkin and stood up. He took my hand, bowed gracefully, and walked out the door.
The silence was terrible. What on earth was she trying to say? The speculations kept going in terrible directions.
Just when I thought I couldn't bear this silence any longer, Veronica spoke again.
“I have been thinking about it. What on earth does Your Highness gain from this competition?”
Veronica said, scooping out the cooked sea bass fillet and placing it on her plate.
I held out until she emptied half her plate, then finally gave in and said,
“...If I win, I will become Emperor.”
"No."
Unlike me, who was frozen, Veronica continued eating gracefully. I couldn't take my eyes off the sea bass flesh that was being gently crushed under her fork.
“Your Highness, you have no interest in the throne.”
“How can you be so sure?”
I asked nervously, like a gambler who has been caught cheating. I knew that this would only reassure Veronica, but I had no time to think about anything else.
“I thought about it from Your Highness's perspective. If I had no memories of my childhood, had been suddenly summoned to the imperial palace, and had not yet received the results of my bloodline test. How would I feel then?”
“...”
“Are you sure that you are the rightful owner of the throne? No matter how many times I asked myself, my answer was always ‘no.’”
I felt really dizzy.
“A person who lacks even the slightest confidence is desperately competing for the throne? If I didn’t know Your Highness’s personality, I wouldn’t have thought so, but now I know it’s nonsense.”
“...”
“So the first hypothesis that came to mind was that Your Highness was exploited by Duke Ashkhabad.”
It wasn't true at all, but it was sharp enough that it wasn't complete nonsense. My mouth went dry.
“That, that’s, what the heck is that...”
“Yes. At first, I thought it was a strong possibility, but considering the Duke’s recent attitude toward Your Highness... at least for now, it’s likely not.”
Veronica narrowed her eyes. The gaze of a beast, measuring my breathing, slowly tightened around my neck.
“So the second thing. Your Highness is pretending to do your best for some purpose.”
“...”
“For example, is it possible that you are bound by some kind of contract?”
I held the fork tightly in my hand, afraid that if I let my guard down even a little, my hand would start shaking.
It was only after hearing Veronica's words that I realized how much the people around me had been looking out for me.
It was even stranger that a girl from a back alley with little education and no common sense could easily fool people who had lived like this all their lives, even though she had only studied hard for six months.
I gritted my teeth and said.
“...Is the nonsense over?”
“Just a little more.”
She shrugged. It was the most expressionless face I'd ever seen on Veronica.
“The throne is just one of the means to achieve my goal. If it can go to someone worthy, wouldn’t it be okay to give the mining rights? I pondered this until just before I met Your Highness again.”
“...”
“But seeing Your Highness’s reaction today confirmed my suspicions. So I made up my mind.”
I bit my lip. Was it just a flirtation? Was I caught in it? I felt my toes getting wet little by little.
Maybe it wasn't too late. I could say something plausible, and divert her suspicions...
But before I could even gather my thoughts, Veronica's voice pierced me like a knife.
“If you are going to approach it with such a shallow attitude, I should take the throne.”
“...”
“Your Highness, this time, and the next competition, I will win.”
Our eyes met head-on. I took a deep breath and clenched my fists again. The trembling subsided little by little. Then I could read Veronica’s expression again.
Although she spoke with confidence, her gaze was still secretly watching me. If I showed even the slightest sign of wavering here, her suspicions would really become certain.
The more cornered a rat is, the more daring it becomes. When it comes to lies and boasting, I'm as good as any other slum pickpocket.
I pretended to be leisurely and gently cut the cooling veal dish with a knife.
I elegantly picked up the bloody meat with my fork and chewed it with my teeth. I pretended to be calm, to not be nervous at all.
I finished my plate and wiped my lips with a napkin.
“I have heard the hypothesis well, Princess.”
“...”
“But I never doubted for a moment that I was a Princess. So let’s just leave it at that if it’s nonsense.”
“...”
“I’m going to bite you again for letting my guard down this time.”
After that, everything went to shit. I didn't feel like continuing to eat, but I held back and even had dessert. If I left here, it would be like admitting all of Veronica's nonsense.
All the dishes that came out in order looked delicious, but I only touched them about five times. I left the black tea, which was the last dish, and eventually got up.
“Are you coming out already?”
As soon as I left the inn, Jacqueline, who was leaning against the doorway, asked me. Looking at his surprised face, I could tell how messed up my expression was.
I quickly passed him and climbed into the carriage. As soon as Jacqueline closed the carriage door, I gave the order to the driver to start.
Where should we go? Let's just run. Jacqueline asked, bewildered.
“No, what on earth were you talking about in that short time...”
“We have to find a way to win.”
I cut Jacqueline off sharply and said, Jacqueline looked dumbfounded.
“How can we win? Since Princess Veronica has the mining rights, what else can we do here?”
“I know. I know that, but... If I win, that nonsense is just nonsense, it will prove that I am very desperate and sincere, and the match will go back to square one, and I can try again somehow!”
Jacqueline grabbed my rambling arm and sat me back down.
“Your Highness. First of all, please calm down.”
“We have to find a way to win.”
I said, grabbing Jacqueline's forearms. He looked a little worn out by my force.
I, who had been hesitating, buried my head in my hands as if sighing. I muttered softly.
“Why on earth did you say you would serve His Majesty as your lord... Your eyes were really crooked...”
“I can hear everything.”
“I want you to listen to this.”
I took the note out of my bosom. The markings looked so damned complicated, no matter how many times I looked at them.
I held the note in my hands, trying to find any clues I might have missed, but there was no way it would show up if it hadn't been there for several days.
“Is there any other way to interpret the letters written in front? You said it was the name of a village.”
“If you go and ask someone who knows, they might know...”
“You said this was a sign used by pirates?”
Jacqueline looked increasingly anxious again. He looked like he wanted to back away, but even so, he was in a moving carriage. Realizing that he couldn't move an inch, he quickly gave up and answered.
“...That’s right.”
“You said that the woman you were chasing was a pirate.”
“...Surely not, Your Highness.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t plan on going out so fast that I’ll ask that woman to take me.”
Jacqueline let out a short sigh of relief. But soon, she seemed to feel anxious. It was an animalistic feeling.
“But I believe there must be at least one pirate who knows. I think you have that level of ability.”
“No, Your Highness. I don’t have that ability. You know that.”
“If you do this, I will unconditionally take you out of the East whenever you want, even if the Admiral objects.”
“...”
“I promise on the Princess’s name.”
Jacqueline slumped his shoulders. He sighed several times and washed his face dry dozens of times before finally making up his mind.
“Then let’s start by separating the knights who are following behind.”
The negotiations with Enoch went better than expected. The five knights assigned by the Emperor decided to wait near the inn, and only Enoch and Jacqueline would accompany me.
Jacqueline repeatedly insisted on keeping the secret and demanded that no one report or search the town, no matter what happened. Enoch even had to swear an oath on his family and ancestors.
After about three hours of driving, we arrived at a small town. I felt very dizzy from the unpaved road.
I hadn't eaten much, but as soon as I got off the carriage, I felt nauseous. Enoch patted me on the back.
“Are you okay?”
“Then the bills issued by the merchants would become the responsibility of the royal family, the exclusive distribution rights held by Baron Gisborne would become useless, and Baron Lotte could even aim for a rise in his title.”
“...”
“Since the only money he had right now was the mining rights, it would have been difficult for him to readily consider the option of giving them away for free. But if he had met Your Highness.”
Veronica paused for a moment and took a sip of her wine.
“The outcome would have been different. Even the most foolish person would have figured out the right choice in the end.”
“...”
“So, if Your Highness had been just a little bit faster, you wouldn’t have been the best choice for Baron Lotte.”
...Yes. Now I get it. This was a fight that was in my favor from the start. If only I had found Baron Lotte before Veronica, I would have won this contest.
I slowly opened my hands, which had turned white from clenching them so tightly. My lips were so stiff that I felt like I was moving a dead body.
“So, why are you saying all these things in front of me now?”
“Prince Reston. Would you please step aside for a moment?”
Out of nowhere, lightning struck Jacqueline. Jacqueline, who was eating well, blinked without even being able to swallow the food in his mouth.
He looked back and forth between my face and Veronica's face, then seemed to have quickly assessed the situation.
“Yeah.”
Jacqueline wiped his lips with a napkin and stood up. He took my hand, bowed gracefully, and walked out the door.
The silence was terrible. What on earth was she trying to say? The speculations kept going in terrible directions.
Just when I thought I couldn't bear this silence any longer, Veronica spoke again.
“I have been thinking about it. What on earth does Your Highness gain from this competition?”
Veronica said, scooping out the cooked sea bass fillet and placing it on her plate.
I held out until she emptied half her plate, then finally gave in and said,
“...If I win, I will become Emperor.”
"No."
Unlike me, who was frozen, Veronica continued eating gracefully. I couldn't take my eyes off the sea bass flesh that was being gently crushed under her fork.
“Your Highness, you have no interest in the throne.”
“How can you be so sure?”
I asked nervously, like a gambler who has been caught cheating. I knew that this would only reassure Veronica, but I had no time to think about anything else.
“I thought about it from Your Highness's perspective. If I had no memories of my childhood, had been suddenly summoned to the imperial palace, and had not yet received the results of my bloodline test. How would I feel then?”
“...”
“Are you sure that you are the rightful owner of the throne? No matter how many times I asked myself, my answer was always ‘no.’”
I felt really dizzy.
“A person who lacks even the slightest confidence is desperately competing for the throne? If I didn’t know Your Highness’s personality, I wouldn’t have thought so, but now I know it’s nonsense.”
“...”
“So the first hypothesis that came to mind was that Your Highness was exploited by Duke Ashkhabad.”
It wasn't true at all, but it was sharp enough that it wasn't complete nonsense. My mouth went dry.
“That, that’s, what the heck is that...”
“Yes. At first, I thought it was a strong possibility, but considering the Duke’s recent attitude toward Your Highness... at least for now, it’s likely not.”
Veronica narrowed her eyes. The gaze of a beast, measuring my breathing, slowly tightened around my neck.
“So the second thing. Your Highness is pretending to do your best for some purpose.”
“...”
“For example, is it possible that you are bound by some kind of contract?”
I held the fork tightly in my hand, afraid that if I let my guard down even a little, my hand would start shaking.
It was only after hearing Veronica's words that I realized how much the people around me had been looking out for me.
It was even stranger that a girl from a back alley with little education and no common sense could easily fool people who had lived like this all their lives, even though she had only studied hard for six months.
I gritted my teeth and said.
“...Is the nonsense over?”
“Just a little more.”
She shrugged. It was the most expressionless face I'd ever seen on Veronica.
“The throne is just one of the means to achieve my goal. If it can go to someone worthy, wouldn’t it be okay to give the mining rights? I pondered this until just before I met Your Highness again.”
“...”
“But seeing Your Highness’s reaction today confirmed my suspicions. So I made up my mind.”
I bit my lip. Was it just a flirtation? Was I caught in it? I felt my toes getting wet little by little.
Maybe it wasn't too late. I could say something plausible, and divert her suspicions...
But before I could even gather my thoughts, Veronica's voice pierced me like a knife.
“If you are going to approach it with such a shallow attitude, I should take the throne.”
“...”
“Your Highness, this time, and the next competition, I will win.”
Our eyes met head-on. I took a deep breath and clenched my fists again. The trembling subsided little by little. Then I could read Veronica’s expression again.
Although she spoke with confidence, her gaze was still secretly watching me. If I showed even the slightest sign of wavering here, her suspicions would really become certain.
The more cornered a rat is, the more daring it becomes. When it comes to lies and boasting, I'm as good as any other slum pickpocket.
I pretended to be leisurely and gently cut the cooling veal dish with a knife.
I elegantly picked up the bloody meat with my fork and chewed it with my teeth. I pretended to be calm, to not be nervous at all.
I finished my plate and wiped my lips with a napkin.
“I have heard the hypothesis well, Princess.”
“...”
“But I never doubted for a moment that I was a Princess. So let’s just leave it at that if it’s nonsense.”
“...”
“I’m going to bite you again for letting my guard down this time.”
***
After that, everything went to shit. I didn't feel like continuing to eat, but I held back and even had dessert. If I left here, it would be like admitting all of Veronica's nonsense.
All the dishes that came out in order looked delicious, but I only touched them about five times. I left the black tea, which was the last dish, and eventually got up.
“Are you coming out already?”
As soon as I left the inn, Jacqueline, who was leaning against the doorway, asked me. Looking at his surprised face, I could tell how messed up my expression was.
I quickly passed him and climbed into the carriage. As soon as Jacqueline closed the carriage door, I gave the order to the driver to start.
Where should we go? Let's just run. Jacqueline asked, bewildered.
“No, what on earth were you talking about in that short time...”
“We have to find a way to win.”
I cut Jacqueline off sharply and said, Jacqueline looked dumbfounded.
“How can we win? Since Princess Veronica has the mining rights, what else can we do here?”
“I know. I know that, but... If I win, that nonsense is just nonsense, it will prove that I am very desperate and sincere, and the match will go back to square one, and I can try again somehow!”
Jacqueline grabbed my rambling arm and sat me back down.
“Your Highness. First of all, please calm down.”
“We have to find a way to win.”
I said, grabbing Jacqueline's forearms. He looked a little worn out by my force.
I, who had been hesitating, buried my head in my hands as if sighing. I muttered softly.
“Why on earth did you say you would serve His Majesty as your lord... Your eyes were really crooked...”
“I can hear everything.”
“I want you to listen to this.”
I took the note out of my bosom. The markings looked so damned complicated, no matter how many times I looked at them.
I held the note in my hands, trying to find any clues I might have missed, but there was no way it would show up if it hadn't been there for several days.
“Is there any other way to interpret the letters written in front? You said it was the name of a village.”
“If you go and ask someone who knows, they might know...”
“You said this was a sign used by pirates?”
Jacqueline looked increasingly anxious again. He looked like he wanted to back away, but even so, he was in a moving carriage. Realizing that he couldn't move an inch, he quickly gave up and answered.
“...That’s right.”
“You said that the woman you were chasing was a pirate.”
“...Surely not, Your Highness.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t plan on going out so fast that I’ll ask that woman to take me.”
Jacqueline let out a short sigh of relief. But soon, she seemed to feel anxious. It was an animalistic feeling.
“But I believe there must be at least one pirate who knows. I think you have that level of ability.”
“No, Your Highness. I don’t have that ability. You know that.”
“If you do this, I will unconditionally take you out of the East whenever you want, even if the Admiral objects.”
“...”
“I promise on the Princess’s name.”
Jacqueline slumped his shoulders. He sighed several times and washed his face dry dozens of times before finally making up his mind.
“Then let’s start by separating the knights who are following behind.”
***
The negotiations with Enoch went better than expected. The five knights assigned by the Emperor decided to wait near the inn, and only Enoch and Jacqueline would accompany me.
Jacqueline repeatedly insisted on keeping the secret and demanded that no one report or search the town, no matter what happened. Enoch even had to swear an oath on his family and ancestors.
After about three hours of driving, we arrived at a small town. I felt very dizzy from the unpaved road.
I hadn't eaten much, but as soon as I got off the carriage, I felt nauseous. Enoch patted me on the back.
“Are you okay?”
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment