Chapter 79

Chapter 79 – I Hope It’s A Good Choice

“Oh my, that’s not okay.”

She had made up her mind at best. Bella never imagined that Shuria would say no.

“…Why?”

“How can I get Miss Bella to serve me? You’re like a teacher teaching me swordsmanship.”

“I guess you don’t have to worry about that…”

“Would you like some tea?”

Instead of hot tea, it was tea with ice floating around.

“It was quite hot, so I served it a little cooler. By the way, ice is also a rare item to find, so it’s perfect for luxury.”

A long time ago, there was a time when a room was made like an ice rink.

‘Then, we were sitting on a pile of money then.’

After taking a sip of the cool tea, Shuria continued with a bitter smile.

“Honor is very difficult to obtain. The Cruelle family has been trying hard to make big contributions for several generations.”

“Ah… yes.”

“Everyone knows, but we were using this as a comfort. Nice clothes, nice tea, and nice furniture to show that we are still alive.”

Saying so, she tapped the teacup.

“I just wanted to stand up fairly. If it goes on like this, I thought the Duchy’s name would collapse.”

Bella couldn’t say anything.

Shuria’s emotions, which were passed over because she was packaged as a villain in the novel, were felt intact.

“But, father really hated me being a knight. I don’t know if he would have liked it if I was a man.”

In addition, her emotions were quite different from what Bella had understood in her head while reading the novel.

“When His Highness first came to the Imperial Palace. We saw this as an opportunity.”

Shuria’s trembling voice represented how patient she had endured.

“Father was expecting something different from me.”

“….”

“Even if I didn’t get appointed, I would have had to compete.”

…It was the same in the novel.

“But now that I have made a promise, there is no way to avoid it.”

“Avoid it…?”

“I don’t want to live as Shuria Cruelle myself, I do not want to live as the Empress of the Empire.”

Even though she was smiling, Shuria looked somewhat sad.

“…I feel like I was being sold.”

To be honest, it felt more like Kiehl being sold because of Bella, but…

“Besides, if I go to the Imperial Palace, brother will become the heir. That’s what I’m worried about.”

“I thought you had a good relationship with Sir Juan.”

“He’s not someone who will lead the family, and that is separate from liking brother.”

They said that blood ran thick, but Shuria’s blood with her family was not.

“Why does Miss Bella want to follow me to the Imperial Palace?”

…The novel had to end well. However, she couldn’t say that. Still, the truth that suddenly started touched Bella’s sincerity.

“I just…. want to be next to Kiehl.”

Hering her unexpected words, Shuria remained frozen for a moment and gazed at her.

“Miss Bella seems to like His Highness very much.”

She really liked him. It wasn’t something she could just say lightly.

“Rather than that… I want him to be happy.”

Even now, his work was piling up a mountain, and he couldn’t even rest properly. She hoped he would be happy to see his dearly loved Rosanne again.

How sad it would be if she wasn’t even there.

‘I hope that the happiness that he deserves will not be extinguished because of me.’

From the first time they met until now, this was always how it had been. Since Bella came to the human world, she touched on his important setting.

‘At the end of this novel, I want Kiehl to smile.’

Bella swallowed the numerous words and faced Shuria.

“That’s why I’ll follow you to the Imperial Palace.”

* * *

The news of the Crown Princess competition was sent by letter to the whole family. It was the same with Count Psilia.

“Miss Rosanne!”

Myu came into Rosanne’s room so quickly that she stumbled while running. Rosanne, who always looked immature and young, was glancing at the window before she quietly turned to Myu.

“A letter from the Imperial Palace…”

“I know.”

“You know?”

Rosanne stood up with another letter in her hand.

“Yes. I got a contact from Kiehl.”

Myu doubted her own ears.

“Who? Kiehl?”

“Yes.”

Myu grumbled, frowning.

“Why that guy?”

After Rosanne returned to the County, they never came to visit her. Kiehl and the twins. Even after traveling for such a long time, he didn’t even understand Rosanne’s heart.

“How dare they contact the Miss?”

“Haha. There’s nothing Kiehl did wrong. I liked him one-sidedly.”

“No, though… Wait. Don’t tell me, Miss, you still have a crush on him?”

At the question, Rosanne hesitated for a moment.

“Miss. A letter has arrived from the Imperial Palace! All the girls of all families were invited to the Crown Princess competition.”

“Ah… I know?”

“Forget about that guy, let’s go to the Imperial Palace and attack the Crown Prince!”

Rosanne asked with a puzzled smile.

“Myu, do you know the Crown Prince’s name?”

Myu clenched her fists and answered.

“That, Kiehl Herian… Elysia…”

However, the end of her words was clouded by unfamiliar anxiety.

“Don’t tell me, Miss…. That Kiehl….”

The existence of the illegitimate Crown Prince was not widely known in the Empire until after the tour of the holy relics.

There were quite a few stories.

A story about a prince who was kidnapped as a child and returned home after collecting all the relics of the empire. Rosanne, who was naive, didn’t even know that what she had collected at that time were ‘holy relics.’ She just thought he was an adventurer who collected treasure and lived day to day.

“Haha… I can’t believe it either, right?”

* * *

A few weeks have passed since then, the carriage from the Cruelle family to the Imperial Palace was decorated with splendid decorations unlike what they usually use.

“Anyone who sees this will say it’s ‘a high nobleman rides..”

Jenkins clicked his tongue.

“Isn’t that a very blunt advertisement to the bandits, ‘Here is some treasure’?”

Bella slapped him in the back at Jenkins’ sarcasm.

“I haven’t seen you in a long time? What are you doing these days?”

“Ah… Miss. The radio magic with Miss Rinne…”

“I heard you did the final experiment a week ago. So, what have you been doing for the last week?”

Jenkins swallowed his saliva.

“I saw you walking around with Zanbar, but I think it’s nice to get reconciled.”

“Ah…”

“I think all demons reconciled with a kiss.”

“Are you mad?”

Bella kicked Jenkins in the butt.

“Huh? Are you not my assistant? How come you are not always there when I need you?”

“Am I the Miss’ assistant?”

Now, Bella grabbed Jenkins’ ear and hung him from there.

“You have to control my throne so that the demons don’t ignore you.”

“….”

“So, do it properly. Because you are the only one with a brain among them.”

Hearing that, Iwer, who was riding above Zanbar’s head like a toy horse, raised her hand.

“Miss! I use my brain, too!”

At those words, Bella and Jenkins looked up at Iwer with very cold expressions.

“I am still thinking about it. I don’t know if you guys will also be summoned.”

“Pur will follow!”

Bella grinned and patted Pur’s hair.

“Well then, sure. You’re my favorite demon, so I have to take you with me.”

She spoke as if she was dealing with things but even made Pur feel good.

“By the way, can’t the returned magical power disappear again?”

When Zanbar asked a question-like sentence after a long time, Bella glanced at him in a moment of perplexity.

“You… You came to the human world and became really smart.”

Zanbar’s face turned red at that.

“It won’t go away. I am certain that the magic is gradually returning.”

At some point, the magic was slowly returning, but it had not recovered completely. Her ankle sprained from jumping out of a window the other day and would sometimes go cold.

“I didn’t know that the Holy Sword would be that powerful.”

“Don’t tell Kiehl. He will be sorry.”

“Kiehl have it easy.”

“Anyway, there are barriers around the Imperial Palace, so I’m going to go in and summon you. Everyone, please don’t make a mess and stay still.”

She said to them many times and got into the carriage.

There were a total of three carriages departing from the Cruelle family. In front was Kiehl’s carriage. The middle was Bella, and the last was Shuria’s carriage.

How gorgeous are all three carriages?

In addition, the Cruelle’s family’s symbol was unabashedly shown, and quite a few escorts besides the carriage were accompanied on horseback. Kiehl looked out the window and sighed loudly to the vibrations of the rattling wagon.

“Kiehl, are you protesting that you didn’t ride with Miss Bella right now?”

“…Right.”

“Do you know that officially we are going from the territory of Marquis Vivre?”

“We can change in the middle.”

“How many eyes are watching? Close the windows, too. We are the escort carriage.”

As Rio closed the window, Kiehl sighed again. It wasn’t just him that was annoyed by this situation. In the carriage that Shuria was riding in, Juan was protesting with anger.

“I don’t know why you want to take that girl to the Imperial Palace.”

He didn’t understand Shuri at all.

“If you had known just how obsessed His Highness is with that girl, you would never have allowed it”

Shuria shook her head and resolutely rolled her eyes.

“Brother. Do you know that I gave brother a lot of opportunities?”

When the word ’opportunities’ was mentioned, Juan had no choice but to let out a sigh while keeping his mouth shut.

It was just immature wandering.

In order to forget his first love, whom he had seen only once as a child, he met many women and broke up repeatedly. Many women were enamored and lined up at Duchy Cruelle to be his one-night lover. He was kicked out several years ago because he was considered a shame to his family.

“You remember I told you not to come back.”

“That…”

He couldn’t help but come after hearing the news that the Crown Prince had asked to have a dark-haired girl as the adopted daughter of the Cruelle family.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

Juan peered at Shuria’s twinkling eyes and swallowed a gulp.

“I think I have already given you enough opportunities.”

He knew how scary she was.

“…Now, where are we going?”

He hurriedly opened the tightly closed window. It wasn’t the usual way. Rather, it was mountainous terrain. Near Daisy, with a large sinkhole in the center, it was home to bandits a long time ago.

“Haha. Shuria, isn’t this a bit too much? I will lead the family soon…”

Juan lost the end of his words, then met her eyes again.

“Ha… haha. Could it be that you set it up like this?”

Meanwhile, Bella leaned against the wall of the carriage and fiddled with the sleeping Pur’s hair.

‘I hope it’s a good choice…’

And as she recalled Shuria’s words, she closed her eyes.

— “Miss Bella. So how about this? Please enter the Crown Princess’ competition instead of me.”