Chapter 6 - I Want You To Be The Princess

Chapter 6 – I Want You To Be The Princess

After finishing my meal, I went straight up to Martina’s room, which was next to my own. I knocked carefully on the door.

“Knock knock, Princess Martina. Are you asleep?” I thought it was a bit cringe-worthy, but I couldn’t help it. This kind of childish facade was most effective for people who were upset.

However, the room was quiet, and there was no reply. I waited for a few more seconds, then raised my hand to knock again when I became bored with the silence. Just then, a voice came from inside.

“…Is that you, sister?”

“Yes, Martina, it’s me,” I replied immediately. A moment later, the door opened with a creaking sound, and Martina’s face peeked through the gap. She gestured for me to come in, and I entered the room with a smile.

Compared to Maristella’s neat and sparsely decorated room, Martina’s room was an explosion of pink lace and frills, just like one from a fairy tale princess’ imagination. I sat down at a drawing table, while Martina flopped down on her bed. As soon as she did so, she let out a grumble.

“Mother and Father are really mean! What did I say wrong? Each time we meet the Cornohen family, it strangely feels like they’re looking down at us. Do you know how annoying that is? It’s like he’s only there to make money and just ignores us!”

“I know, I know, Martina. Do you think Mother and Father don’t know that? But you know, one bad rumor in aristocratic society can ruin a lot of things. I think they’re worried about that.”

“…I know. The family’s been close to the Cornohens since great-grandfather.”

Oh, was that it? I nodded at this new piece of information. Well, that kind of long-term relationship was not easy to break off. One had to think of one’s external image. If there was a bad falling out between the families, rumors would fly.

I smiled lightly and continued to console Martina. “Anyway, I think Mother and Father understand…so don’t be so upset. Father must have felt bad for yelling at you, and he told me to make sure you were alright. And now I’m not going to do what Dorothea wants, so just relax, Martina.”

“Really, sister? I think I’d be really upset if my sister lived as a maid.”

“Well, Martina.” I slid out of my seat, and sat on Martina’s bed and hugged her. Her head cuddled up to my chest as I soothingly rubbed her back. “You don’t have to worry. I’m never going to make you angry. You believe me, don’t you?”

“Yes, sister. I believe you.”

“Good.” As I said next to her, smiling, she looked cutely up at me as if she had been wanting to ask me something.

“Sister, are you thinking of getting married?”

“What?” I replied. “Do you want me to get married, Martina?”

“No, that’s not it,” she said firmly.

I let out a giggle. “Then what?”

“I want to live as a family like this forever, but I can’t. But if you still have to get married, then I want you to be with a good person.”

“Well, is there anyone you had in mind for me?”

“Well…” Martina trailed off with a thoughtful look on her face, but then her expression lit up.

“Ah! The Crown Prince isn’t too bad, is he?”

“Eh? The Crown Prince?” I blurted.

“Honestly, you’re not lacking in anything,” Martina said reassuringly. “You have a nice personality, you have a pretty face, and you’re smart! I want you to be crown princess.”

“Well…there are so many competitors for the Crown Prince…” I recalled what happened at the Trakos mansion with an embarrassed expression. No no no. There were too many competitors. Dorothea and Odeletta wouldn’t simply stand aside. They already had a bitter feud with each other, and I didn’t want to get involved in their muddy fight. In the novel, Odeletta was even poisoned by Dorothea. I had to protect myself. Moreover, I wasn’t deeply in love with the Crown Prince like the two of them, and I didn’t want to shorten my lifespan.

“Competitors? Who?” Martina asked.

“I went to a tea party at Trakos Mansion earlier, and Dorothea and Lady Odeletta both said that they liked the Crown Prince.”

“Lady Odeletta yes, but the Dorothea woman too? There’s nothing she wouldn’t do.”

“Do you want me to tell you something even more funny?” I said, and Martina’s eyes widened in curiosity.

“What, what is it?”

“When Lady Odeletta said she was interested in the Crown Prince, Dorothea said she liked him even more.”

“Wow, really?”

“Would I lie?”

Martina had been trying to hold back her giggles, but eventually she couldn’t contain it and burst into laughter. When the sound almost reached the first floor, I calmed her down, worried that she might get scolded by Countess Bellafleur.

“Quiet down, Martina. You’ll get in trouble with our parents again,” I shushed her.

“Ahahaha, but sister, this is a story I can’t listen to without laughing.”

It really was. Eventually I laughed too, and some time later Martina shook her head.

“Lady Cornohen is beyond reason. So what happened?”

“What happened was that the atmosphere had been cold before, but now you’re smiling.”

I didn’t stop there and continued on to tell Martina how Dorothea had been treating me. I didn’t originally plan to do this, but I suddenly had a strange desire to lay out my grievances against Dorothea with this girl that was my sister.

“And do you know what she said to me in the carriage?” I said.

“What did she say?” Martina said with bated breath.

“She said, ‘Why didn’t you take my side?’ She said I should have been there to highlight her with the Crown Prince.”

“Wow, that…astonishing, really,” Martina said with a shake of her head, her expression serious as if she didn’t find it funny anymore. I smiled. I agreed with Martina.

“So that’s why I snapped back at her, Martina. I did a good job, don’t you think?”

“Really?” Martina’s eyes were impossibly wide as if she couldn’t believe me, and it was then I was able to truly comprehend how much she hated Maristella being Dorothea’s maid.

“Yes, Martina. So you don’t have to worry about me anymore, alright?”

“You suddenly have the confidence to say that?”

“Yes.” I looked at my sister affectionately and stroked her hair, and she continued in a lively voice.

“But sister, then you’ll be able to defeat the two and win the heart of the Crown Prince!”

“Do I have to do that? Aren’t there other men from our Yonas Empire?”

“Oh, is there another man you like?”

Not at all. Well, Maristella might like another man, but there was no way for me to tell. Crown Prince Xavier was almost the only one out of the book My Dorothea.

“That’s not true, but I’m just not particularly drawn by the Crown Prince.”

“But he’s handsome.”

D-did this child perpetually have a big mouth? I stared at her with wide eyes. “Martina, it’s true that a man’s features are important, but the most important thing is the personality.”

“Yes, it’s the same with you too. But who doesn’t know that? It’s a waste to miss that face.”

“Do you really think the Crown Prince has the only handsome face in the Empire?”

I pondered the events of the novel in my head. The long novel may not have featured only one prince. After a few moments, another person suddenly came to mind.

“Duke Escliffe,” I said in a quiet voice, and Martina’s face suddenly brightened.

“Yes, that’s right! There’s also Duke Escliffe!”

“Is he handsome too?”

Since I only read about him through print, I didn’t know exactly how he looked. He might have been handsome, but since he was also a supporting character like Maristella, there wasn’t a detailed description of him.

However, Martina shouted as if she understood the opposite of my meaning. “Sister, do you think Duke Escliffe is ugly?”

“No, I didn’t mean that, Martina.”

“I like Duke Escliffe, too! The Crown Prince is kind of cold and scary, but the Duke is kind.”

“Really?” Duke Escliffe only had a few scenes in the novel, so I didn’t know his character properly. He was a man that stood in opposition to the male lead Crown Prince, so of course the author described the Duke as mean, black-hearted and petty. I didn’t know if he was really like that, or if he was a victim of the author like Maristella.

“Huh, he is a little older than you, but…actually, four years isn’t that much of a difference, right?”

“Right,” I said. The problem was that I didn’t like him yet. No, technically speaking, I didn’t like any man now. “But I don’t know if I like him or not.”

“Well…that’s true. In fact, we didn’t have much of a chance to talk to him.” Martina finished speaking, and after a moment of deep thought, she suddenly clapped her hands loudly.

I looked curiously at her. “What is it?”

“I just remembered, the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet will be soon!”

Ah, come to think of it, after the tea party at Trakos mansion, Dorothea met the Crown Prince at the banquet. I nodded as I recalled the events of the novel.

“I see.”

“Then try to have a conversation then, sister. Whether it’s with the Crown Prince or the Duke.”

“Duke? Duke Escliffe?”

“Who else would it be? Do you know any other dukes similar to your age?”

“Why him?”

“Because you don’t seem to like the Crown Prince very much. So go and meet the Duke.”

I put my hand on my forehead as I listened to Martina. “My god, Martina. You want your sister to get married soon, don’t you?” I grumbled.

“Oh no. It’s not like that, but if you’re going to get married, do it with a good person. Actually, I don’t care if it’s not the Crown Prince or Duke. I’m satisfied with anyone who would make you happy.”

“Alright.” I couldn’t help but smile at Martina’s admirable words. “I’ll make sure to meet someone like that,” I whispered as I stroked her head.