"Or! Were you indirectly telling me to die by His Majesty the Emperor's hand? If that is the case, then I must have failed to grasp your grand intentions."
Slap! A sharp sound echoed through the air. Silence lasted for a few seconds. Sylvia, who had been breathing heavily with her head turned, slowly moved her hand to cup her rapidly swelling cheek.
As if his anger had not subsided even after slapping his daughter's cheek, Duke Joubert took a deep breath with a face full of rage. Then, he shouted as if exploding.
"Who dared to tell you to make such a judgment? You just have to do as I say. I never once asked for your opinion!"
"Ha..."
"You are my property anyway. Don't be presumptuous and think of yourself as nothing more than a worthless fledgling who wouldn't have been born into this world in the first place or lived a life of enjoyment like this if it weren't for me."
The sound of teeth grinding mixed with the clenched voice. Silvya, who had been looking down at the ground while swallowing a hollow laugh, suddenly lifted her head sharply with piercing blue eyes.
"I am sorry, but I don't think I can do that. It seems your judgment has become quite clouded, Father. To order that I take the poison and crawl into the bedroom... The moment I attempt that, I am as good as dead. Even if I were lucky enough to succeed, I would eventually be beaten to death anyway."
“Sylvia!”
"Ah. My noble Father, I suppose my life doesn't matter to you at all. But what about the family you were so proud of crumbling completely? The moment I get caught, even you won't be able to escape."
Unlike Duke Joubert, who had lost his composure, Sylvia delivered a sharp rebuke in a cold tone.
"Even I know just how much the Emperor dislikes my father."
A cold smile crept across Sylvia's lips. It was an obvious mockery. Duke Joubert was seething with rage at Sylvia's attitude, which was audaciously mocking and completely devoid of the obedient, doll-like demeanor she had shown until now. He was so enraged that his mind went completely blank.
His face contorted miserably with rage, and he swung his hands wildly again.
"... You ungrateful bitch! How dare you run away?"
Sylvia stepped back without hesitation, as if there were no second chances. Then, she snapped around and walked unhesitatingly into the bushes. Just then, voices began to grow closer, as if someone were coming out for some fresh air.
“Hey...!”
Fortunately, thanks to that, Duke Joubert, who had been about to chase after Sylvia with the intent to grab her by the hair at any moment, regained some of his reason. With a look of dying rage, he gritted his teeth and glared menacingly in the direction Sylvia had disappeared, before turning toward the hall.
And Elisha, who was watching the two of them from a distance, had her lips stiffen.
***
I glared repulsively in the direction where Duke Joubert had disappeared.
'...You want your daughter to pounce on Thierry? And use drugs for that? Are you crazy?'
I couldn't hear all the conversation because of the distance, but I could get a good sense of the situation from the occasional sounds I could hear.
It seems he went too far because he was anxious about 'Pochi,' but I was dumbfounded by how despicable his method was. I wondered why Sylvia was the villain in the original story, but given that she grew up under parents like that, it was entirely understandable. It was a relief that, perhaps because the current situation unfolded differently from the original, Sylvia did not meekly follow Duke Joubert's will but instead rebelled against him.
'At that point, wouldn't Sylvia try to break away from the Duke too?'
They say yesterday's enemy becomes today's ally. How can I... Sylvia...
"Princess, what are you doing there?"
At the sudden sound of a voice, I sprang up and straightened my crouched body.
"Gasp, Your Majesty! Argh!"
“Princess! Are you okay?”
"Everything. The legs..."
"What's wrong with your leg? Were you doing that because you hurt it?"
Thierry urgently closed the distance. He caught me with amazing agility just as I was about to collapse back down, and supported my waist with his sturdy arm.
“Ugh. My legs..."
My vision went white for a moment, so I didn't have time to realize the situation. Unaware that my body was trapped in Thierry's arms, I instead leaned against him, desperately clutching his chest.
"It's numb... Sob."
A fleeting look of disdain crossed Thierry's eyes. His gaze, which I had forgotten about because of his kindness—the look that said "you're doing all sorts of things"—swept over my legs.
"...Sit here."
He knelt on one knee on the floor, raised the other, and sat me on it. Having plopped down onto his thigh in a daze, I finally looked at his profile with a bewildered expression.
I almost gasped involuntarily at the handsome face right in front of me. As I curled my lips inward and rolled my eyes, I felt a hand carefully grasping my calf and gently massaging it.
"Oh, Your Majesty! I'm fine!"
“Stay still.”
At this point, I was so disoriented that I couldn't even think about the pain anymore. His thighs were so stable that it was no use struggling to break free. As if that were nothing more than mere childish tantrums to him, he gripped my waist and calves tightly and pressed his body even closer.
My heart felt like it was going to burst. It was to the point where I wondered if Thierry might hear the sound of my heartbeat.
"I'm really fine now..."
I trailed off, glancing at him. However, my gaze was soon drawn to his delicate eyelashes, which moved languidly while half-closed. Unlike his solid body, the touch of his hands massaging my calves was incredibly soft, and his body pressed close to me was warm, instantly melting away the chill.
"..."
It was around the time I was staring blankly at his sculpted profile before I knew it.
"How is it?"
His low question pierced my ears like thunder.
“Wow, I really like it!”
I sprang up from my seat as if having a seizure. The arm that had been tightly wrapped around my waist just moments ago let go of me unexpectedly easily.
'What kind of position is that? Isn't that too lewd? You're crazy, seriously! Why are you just sitting there like that?!'
While I was fuming inwardly, Thierry maintained his posture and stared intently at the spot where I had been sitting just moments ago.
Perhaps it was just my imagination, but his eyes seemed to hold a lingering sense of regret. I couldn't take my eyes off him, wanting to see his gaze a little longer, which made my heart flutter strangely. However, as soon as he clenched and unclenched the hand wrapped around my waist and stood up, I quickly looked up at the sky, pretending I hadn't seen him.
"Your body was so cold. Weren't you outside for too long?"
"Oh... really? I just came out for a bit because it felt a bit stuffy inside, but I lost track of time."
I crossed my arms and slowly rubbed my forearms while rolling my eyes. I glanced at him briefly, then subtly averted my gaze whenever our eyes were about to meet. For some reason, I felt that if we made eye contact, I would get that strange feeling again, just like before. It couldn't be helped, even if he looked at me suspiciously.
"Princess"
"Yes?"
“Why aren’t you looking at me?”
"Ah. I was just looking around because the sky was pretty... Haha, the weather is really nice today."
I suddenly looked up at the sky, having been looking at the garden just moments ago.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but his voice sounded a bit subdued. Right, I couldn't keep avoiding him forever. Thinking this, I slowly lowered my gaze to look at him.
'Ah. Why do I keep acting like this? Please stop...!'
His red eyes, scanning my awkwardly smiling face, looked complex. As if mixed with various emotions.
Seeing his thoughtful aura, I forgot I had been avoiding him all this time and gazed at him intently.
"You don't have to keep guarding the post. If you want to return to the palace, just tell me."
He tilted his head slightly and muttered softly.
“Is that okay?”
“Yes. Let’s go together.”
I immediately brightened up at the unexpected and welcome news, but the reply that came back made the corners of my mouth stiffen again.
"Ah... together? Your Majesty, are you leaving already?"
"Yes."
The response was so quick that I could even sense a firmness that made it seem like not a single drop of blood would come out even if you pricked him.
'No. That's a bit...'
If I slipped out of the party with Thierry like this, strange rumors would surely follow me.
Even now, I am trembling with fear that people might see us out on the terrace together, but for the Emperor to disappear from the hall after escorting the Princess? No matter what rumors circulated, it was obvious without even looking that it would be the worst.
'Haha. Damn it...'
I looked at him with hazy eyes, raising the corners of my mouth wistfully.
"...Come to think of it, it's a debutante, so I think we can stay a little longer."
“Do it.”
"Ah. I just wanted to walk. I've been staying in one spot the whole time..."
"Are you avoiding me again?"
A sigh joined his low voice as he cut me off. His slightly cracking voice sounded strangely hurt, and for a moment, all my thoughts froze.
I stared blankly at him, unable to even think of closing my mouth, which had gaped open in shock. He stared at me intently without even blinking, and belatedly reached out his hand.
"...Am I bothering you?"
A languid hand swept the disheveled hair down the shoulder.
"Yes. You? How dare I, Your Majesty? There is no way!"
I was flustered for a moment and almost blurted out my true feelings without realizing it. Fortunately, my last shred of reason held me back from blurting out unorganized, raw words, and I managed to pull myself together just in the nick of time, but I couldn't help feeling anxious.
'Did he sense it? Why is he just staring nervously?'
I kept getting distracted by his hand loosely gripping the ends of my hair. The sound of the wind tickling the bushes and the sweet music coming from the hall beyond the door barely filled the silence between us.
"At this point, I wish you would say something, anything..."
Just as I was rolling my eyes, feeling like I couldn't breathe, Thierry opened his mouth.
"I don't know what to do."
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