Episode 100. Dirty Rumors
“Hmm.”
“The negotiations with Agael regarding the iron ore have already been concluded, and all the smelters have moved to the land of Tagar. You may criticize His Highness Grayon for his recklessness, but no one can ignore the achievements he has made. Rather, the people will admire his decisiveness and courage.”
“...”
“The hero of the Battle of Amata continued to fight heroically even after returning.”
I stared at him and asked.
“How is it? Are you going to step down from me at this point?”
Prince Kydel squinted his eyes so much that his pupils were invisible and stared at me, drooling.
The longer his silence continued, the more certain I became of my victory.
The fact that he had pretended to seduce me and fought the pirates was all for His Highness Grayon.
My offer was a chance to make His Highness Grayon stand out once again in the silent contest that was about to begin. So he wouldn’t be able to refuse.
He stood up and opened his mouth with a stern face. His eyes were blazing with fear.
“I accept your offer. The fake seduction of you is over today.”
Phew. I let out a sigh of relief, shaking my shoulders.
“But I told you before. I have a bit of an obsession.”
“My... lord?”
“When this competition is over, your fate is mine, so you know that.”
“Wait a minute, lord?”
But lord Kydel suddenly turned around and left, raising a cold wind.
“Haa.”
I relaxed and sat down on the bench. I laughed out loud, feeling like I had been cheated.
A gentle breeze, a clear sky. The cheerful chirping of birds.
Only the human world was full of dirty plots.
As I trudged back to my room, Eria announced that Her Highness the Princess had called.
I took a deep breath in the hallway to sort out my expression. I finally got lord Kydel off, but I didn’t feel refreshed at all.
“Have you called, Your Highness?”
She glared at me from the corner of her eye as she sat on the sofa. I hadn’t seen that expression since our recent relationship had become closer, so I was a little nervous.
When I noticed her, she said,
“You look tired?”
“No, Your Highness. It’s fine.”
“If you’ve been to your parents’ house for personal reasons, you should be working hard. What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry, Your Highness.”
I tried to think of what I had done wrong, but nothing came to mind right away. But in this situation, it was easier to just apologize and move on.
“So, how was Misha Loire’s coming-of-age ceremony?”
“It was grand. Misha even played the violin.”
“Oh, really? But why was Misha angry that you didn’t come to her coming-of-age ceremony?”
“...!”
Her Highness Milliora threw the Loire family’s envelope in front of me.
When I opened it, there was a letter full of Misha’s anger at Prince Kydel and me for not coming to the coming-of-age ceremony.
Along with the accusations that she taught me to dance for this purpose, she also questioned my mental health, asking how the guests would react if the two of us did not attend together. Her Highness Milliora spoke with a trembling voice.
“Prince Locard? What did you two do when you lied and left the palace together? We rode together in a carriage!”
“Well, since we were going to the same destination, it was to save supplies...”
“Lorisha!”
I panicked and stared into space.
I was just happy that I had defeated Ankart and taken Prince Kydel away from me, but Misha threw a bomb!
Suddenly, I thought of my mother.
I quickly shook my head and said,
“Your Highness, you misunderstood. The circumstances are complicated...”
“Tell me more, the complicated circumstances.”
“...”
I kept my mouth shut at Her Highness’s sharp questioning.
The incident where Prince Kydel defeated the remnants of the pirates on the outskirts of the capital would soon be covered in the newspapers.
But I couldn’t say that I was there.
If I mentioned that I was involved in what Prince Kydel had done, His Highness Grayon would send the assassin he was planning to send to Kalin Ankart to me!
And I had no idea how Her Highness the Princess would react.
It seemed I would have to endure the suspicion that I had enjoyed a one-night rendezvous with Prince Kydel.
“Do you know about the rumors going around about you?”
“...!”
“I looked into it because I was curious, and do you know how messed up it was? It was so much worse than I can even describe. The reason you didn’t attend Misha Loire’s coming of age ceremony was because you seduced him to ruin the coming of age ceremony for the legitimate daughter?”
“Me?”
I was dumbfounded, and Her Highness the Princess was cynical.
“I never believed that you could seduce Prince Kydel, Lorisha. You and I were as different as heaven and earth. But now I don’t know.”
I was so aggrieved that tears welled up in my eyes without me knowing.
“Those rumors aren’t true. And they won’t spread anymore. I promise! Your Highness, the Princess.”
“It doesn’t matter. I can’t have a maid who caused such a scandal by my side. People will look down on you and me together, so why should I be treated like that because of you?”
“...!”
“But I won’t kick you out of the palace. If I do, Her Majesty the Empress will think that I gave up the competition.”
“Your Highness...”
“So you just stay still. Take as many vacation days as you want. Just don’t show up in front of me until the competition is over.”
The words stuck in my throat would never come out. I left there weakly.
As I left, I heard the Princess calling Eria and ordering her to call the tea party members.
I went to the backyard feeling suffocated. Sir Rond was swinging his wooden sword there.
‘It seems you’ve really recovered.’
I admired the large knight training, and suddenly realized that I had failed to keep my promise to him.
The promise to stay by Her Highness Milliora’s side.
I quietly went to the bench and sat down, but Sir Rond focused on his wooden sword as if he hadn’t seen me.
As I watched him, I fervently resented Prince Kydel.
In the end, the Princess abandoned me!
But at the same time, I wondered if I had the right to resent him.
How many times had he saved my life? Three times? I can’t even remember. It was nothing short of life-saving help.
The Princess seemed to be keeping me in the palace as a maid in name only until the competition was over, so it seemed like there would be no problem in getting me a tutor position.
There were strange rumors about Prince Kydel, but those would be forgotten as soon as he met another woman.
Scandals are always present tense.
In that sense, the only real harm he had done to me was my emotional disappointment and the loss of my honor, which I didn’t really need.
But I felt incredibly uneasy.
“Haa...”
I realized that I would never truly hate him. Perhaps it was because I had memories of my coming-of-age birthday.
I muttered out loud without realizing it.
“Lorisha Loire. How pathetic.”
“What did you say?”
Lord Rond turned to me, sweat dripping from his chin.
“Huh? What did I say?”
“I asked.”
“Ah... I’m sorry. Please continue practicing. I’ll just sit back and get some fresh air.”
But he put his wooden sword down on the bench and wiped his face with a towel.
“Tell me, maid.”
“...”
I rolled my eyes and avoided eye contact, but in reality, I needed to talk, too.
“Her Highness is angry with me and has put me on probation. She’s told me not to show my face until the competition is over.”
“What happened?”
Sir Rond’s voice cracked, and I flinched.
“That...”
Damn it. I had no words to explain. Other than, “That bastard Locard Kydel!”
“That’s probably because, in my opinion, the competition will continue to be sluggish. So you don’t have to worry about it, Sir Rond.”
“That’s not the issue right now.”
I looked at him, puzzled.
What could be more important to Her Highness than the competition?
“It’s bad for her to spend her time having tea parties. It may be a temporary consolation, but how long can Her Highness continue like that?”
“Ah...”
“I thought she’d changed since you came, but how did that happen?”
I was sure that Lord Rond would hate Prince Kydel even more if I mentioned him.
But I didn’t want to lie to him, who had cared so much for me since I came to the palace.
So I put it as concisely as I could.
“Since I’m the only female attendant at the competition, I think the way I talk to Prince Kydel has caused a misunderstanding in society.”
“Tch. That was just yesterday!”
Lord Rond muttered angrily, and I looked at him strangely.
Then he said,
“A few years ago, there was a woman who was the secret fiancée of Prince Kydel, who was committing fraud in the social circles. Of course, you only saw her after you arrested her.”
“Oh, my. Being handsome is not always a good thing.”
I felt like I was bothering Lord Rond too much with my work, so I straightened my expression and said,
“What can I do now that things have come to this? I have no choice but to ask you to take care of the Princess.”
“What is Her Highness doing now?”
“Tea party...”
Lord Rond’s face crumpled.
Yes, I am the sinner.
I was looking at the distant mountains for no reason, and suddenly I became curious. It was a good question to change the subject.
“By the way, how did you become close to the Princess?”
“Hmm.”
“The negotiations with Agael regarding the iron ore have already been concluded, and all the smelters have moved to the land of Tagar. You may criticize His Highness Grayon for his recklessness, but no one can ignore the achievements he has made. Rather, the people will admire his decisiveness and courage.”
“...”
“The hero of the Battle of Amata continued to fight heroically even after returning.”
I stared at him and asked.
“How is it? Are you going to step down from me at this point?”
Prince Kydel squinted his eyes so much that his pupils were invisible and stared at me, drooling.
The longer his silence continued, the more certain I became of my victory.
The fact that he had pretended to seduce me and fought the pirates was all for His Highness Grayon.
My offer was a chance to make His Highness Grayon stand out once again in the silent contest that was about to begin. So he wouldn’t be able to refuse.
He stood up and opened his mouth with a stern face. His eyes were blazing with fear.
“I accept your offer. The fake seduction of you is over today.”
Phew. I let out a sigh of relief, shaking my shoulders.
“But I told you before. I have a bit of an obsession.”
“My... lord?”
“When this competition is over, your fate is mine, so you know that.”
“Wait a minute, lord?”
But lord Kydel suddenly turned around and left, raising a cold wind.
“Haa.”
I relaxed and sat down on the bench. I laughed out loud, feeling like I had been cheated.
A gentle breeze, a clear sky. The cheerful chirping of birds.
Only the human world was full of dirty plots.
***
As I trudged back to my room, Eria announced that Her Highness the Princess had called.
I took a deep breath in the hallway to sort out my expression. I finally got lord Kydel off, but I didn’t feel refreshed at all.
“Have you called, Your Highness?”
She glared at me from the corner of her eye as she sat on the sofa. I hadn’t seen that expression since our recent relationship had become closer, so I was a little nervous.
When I noticed her, she said,
“You look tired?”
“No, Your Highness. It’s fine.”
“If you’ve been to your parents’ house for personal reasons, you should be working hard. What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry, Your Highness.”
I tried to think of what I had done wrong, but nothing came to mind right away. But in this situation, it was easier to just apologize and move on.
“So, how was Misha Loire’s coming-of-age ceremony?”
“It was grand. Misha even played the violin.”
“Oh, really? But why was Misha angry that you didn’t come to her coming-of-age ceremony?”
“...!”
Her Highness Milliora threw the Loire family’s envelope in front of me.
When I opened it, there was a letter full of Misha’s anger at Prince Kydel and me for not coming to the coming-of-age ceremony.
Along with the accusations that she taught me to dance for this purpose, she also questioned my mental health, asking how the guests would react if the two of us did not attend together. Her Highness Milliora spoke with a trembling voice.
“Prince Locard? What did you two do when you lied and left the palace together? We rode together in a carriage!”
“Well, since we were going to the same destination, it was to save supplies...”
“Lorisha!”
I panicked and stared into space.
I was just happy that I had defeated Ankart and taken Prince Kydel away from me, but Misha threw a bomb!
Suddenly, I thought of my mother.
I quickly shook my head and said,
“Your Highness, you misunderstood. The circumstances are complicated...”
“Tell me more, the complicated circumstances.”
“...”
I kept my mouth shut at Her Highness’s sharp questioning.
The incident where Prince Kydel defeated the remnants of the pirates on the outskirts of the capital would soon be covered in the newspapers.
But I couldn’t say that I was there.
If I mentioned that I was involved in what Prince Kydel had done, His Highness Grayon would send the assassin he was planning to send to Kalin Ankart to me!
And I had no idea how Her Highness the Princess would react.
It seemed I would have to endure the suspicion that I had enjoyed a one-night rendezvous with Prince Kydel.
“Do you know about the rumors going around about you?”
“...!”
“I looked into it because I was curious, and do you know how messed up it was? It was so much worse than I can even describe. The reason you didn’t attend Misha Loire’s coming of age ceremony was because you seduced him to ruin the coming of age ceremony for the legitimate daughter?”
“Me?”
I was dumbfounded, and Her Highness the Princess was cynical.
“I never believed that you could seduce Prince Kydel, Lorisha. You and I were as different as heaven and earth. But now I don’t know.”
I was so aggrieved that tears welled up in my eyes without me knowing.
“Those rumors aren’t true. And they won’t spread anymore. I promise! Your Highness, the Princess.”
“It doesn’t matter. I can’t have a maid who caused such a scandal by my side. People will look down on you and me together, so why should I be treated like that because of you?”
“...!”
“But I won’t kick you out of the palace. If I do, Her Majesty the Empress will think that I gave up the competition.”
“Your Highness...”
“So you just stay still. Take as many vacation days as you want. Just don’t show up in front of me until the competition is over.”
The words stuck in my throat would never come out. I left there weakly.
As I left, I heard the Princess calling Eria and ordering her to call the tea party members.
***
I went to the backyard feeling suffocated. Sir Rond was swinging his wooden sword there.
‘It seems you’ve really recovered.’
I admired the large knight training, and suddenly realized that I had failed to keep my promise to him.
The promise to stay by Her Highness Milliora’s side.
I quietly went to the bench and sat down, but Sir Rond focused on his wooden sword as if he hadn’t seen me.
As I watched him, I fervently resented Prince Kydel.
In the end, the Princess abandoned me!
But at the same time, I wondered if I had the right to resent him.
How many times had he saved my life? Three times? I can’t even remember. It was nothing short of life-saving help.
The Princess seemed to be keeping me in the palace as a maid in name only until the competition was over, so it seemed like there would be no problem in getting me a tutor position.
There were strange rumors about Prince Kydel, but those would be forgotten as soon as he met another woman.
Scandals are always present tense.
In that sense, the only real harm he had done to me was my emotional disappointment and the loss of my honor, which I didn’t really need.
But I felt incredibly uneasy.
“Haa...”
I realized that I would never truly hate him. Perhaps it was because I had memories of my coming-of-age birthday.
I muttered out loud without realizing it.
“Lorisha Loire. How pathetic.”
“What did you say?”
Lord Rond turned to me, sweat dripping from his chin.
“Huh? What did I say?”
“I asked.”
“Ah... I’m sorry. Please continue practicing. I’ll just sit back and get some fresh air.”
But he put his wooden sword down on the bench and wiped his face with a towel.
“Tell me, maid.”
“...”
I rolled my eyes and avoided eye contact, but in reality, I needed to talk, too.
“Her Highness is angry with me and has put me on probation. She’s told me not to show my face until the competition is over.”
“What happened?”
Sir Rond’s voice cracked, and I flinched.
“That...”
Damn it. I had no words to explain. Other than, “That bastard Locard Kydel!”
“That’s probably because, in my opinion, the competition will continue to be sluggish. So you don’t have to worry about it, Sir Rond.”
“That’s not the issue right now.”
I looked at him, puzzled.
What could be more important to Her Highness than the competition?
“It’s bad for her to spend her time having tea parties. It may be a temporary consolation, but how long can Her Highness continue like that?”
“Ah...”
“I thought she’d changed since you came, but how did that happen?”
I was sure that Lord Rond would hate Prince Kydel even more if I mentioned him.
But I didn’t want to lie to him, who had cared so much for me since I came to the palace.
So I put it as concisely as I could.
“Since I’m the only female attendant at the competition, I think the way I talk to Prince Kydel has caused a misunderstanding in society.”
“Tch. That was just yesterday!”
Lord Rond muttered angrily, and I looked at him strangely.
Then he said,
“A few years ago, there was a woman who was the secret fiancée of Prince Kydel, who was committing fraud in the social circles. Of course, you only saw her after you arrested her.”
“Oh, my. Being handsome is not always a good thing.”
I felt like I was bothering Lord Rond too much with my work, so I straightened my expression and said,
“What can I do now that things have come to this? I have no choice but to ask you to take care of the Princess.”
“What is Her Highness doing now?”
“Tea party...”
Lord Rond’s face crumpled.
Yes, I am the sinner.
I was looking at the distant mountains for no reason, and suddenly I became curious. It was a good question to change the subject.
“By the way, how did you become close to the Princess?”
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment