Chapter 30.2

“True,” said Amy, “And there are those who want to take advantage of it. Sometimes they think that the way to do this is by trapping someone in a marriage.”

Hearing that, I felt sad for Amy. I had thought multiple times on marriage and poisoning the husband so I could live in peace.

“You want to know how to reject men who approach you too often?”

“Yes!”

“I think I can teach you a few simple ways.”

“Thank you! But, My Lady, how did you learn them?”

“From my father.” Fortunately, Amy seemed to believe me because she nodded.

“You were so amazing! And the Young Master is a lot bigger than you.”

That’s because he was off guard. That was the greatest advantage. It was easier to overpower someone who wasn’t prepared than someone who was always alert. In my past life, I deliberately waited until my prey was off their guards.

Women usually used a lot more brains to survive while men mostly used brawns. That is why even if you are small and can’t compare in strength, you can still win by smart tactics.

“I will rely on you to dress me up for this dinner, Amy,” I said. “Don’t overdo it because the princess is here and I don’t want to offend her but make me look pretty. Can you do that?”

Amy smiled brightly. “Of course! I worked at the Wishburn castle for so long that I learnt a thing or two from Madam Wishburn herself.”

I grinned. “Then I entrust myself in your hands.”

Amy grinned, bowed and started rummaging through the trunks.

***

The arrangement of the seats at the dinner table was strange. At the head of the table was, of course, the princess. The Grand Duke sat on her right and the second son of Duplo sat on her left. To me, the second son of Duplo didn’t deserve such an honour. Next to him sat my brother, Aaron.

After that, nobody really cared about the arrangements. Since the hall was filled with youngsters, they sat wherever they fancied and with whoever they wanted. Alex sat to my right. Hugo, first son of Duplo, sat on a chair on my left. I didn’t mind. He seemed decent enough but the Grand Duke glancing at me every chance he got did make me uncomfortable.

Occasionally the princess glared at me with narrowed eyes. I smiled back at her. If I am beautiful, what was there to do except flaunt it? Throughout the meal, I listened half-heartedly to Hugo and glanced at Aaron when he wasn’t looking. Alex, I noticed, did the same. I was curious what the princess had said to Aaron for him to act this way. Was it true that he just fell for her? Or, is there more to the story?

Second son of Duplo was strange in his behaviour. It was obvious that he was the princess’ new play-toy. He followed her everywhere but he seemed to be trying to reel Aaron in. What on earth is even happening? What is his relationship with the princess? Is he trying to be in the harem of the future queen? These were the questions that kept flying around in my head.

“Would you like to take a stroll with me in the garden after dinner?” asked Hugo. His words pulled me to the present.

Hugo, with his dark hair and blue eyes, gave off an impression of being an innocent and kind man. He was very handsome by all standards but I didn’t really feel attracted towards him. But if I had to spend time with someone here in this boring place, he wasn’t bad.

I suddenly remembered that the second son of Duplo sitting near the princess and this young man in front of me were brothers. Oh, what a vast difference…

“That person next to Her Highness is your brother, right?” I asked.

Hugo looked at the direction of his brother and smiled. “Yes, that’s correct.”

The mister sitting next to Her Highness is your younger brother, right?”

“Has he known Her Highness for long? They seem pretty close.”

“No… he had an audience and got to know Her Highness just recently. Her Highness must have taken a liking to him. She always keeps him by her side these days.”

Hugo paused for a moment. “Should I introduce you?” He smiled at me awkwardly.

I blinked. “What? Why?”

“Ah, since you asked about Ethan…,” he said. “If you are interested in him, I could introduce you.”

Me? Interested in that jerk? I couldn’t care less about his relationship with the princess. My interest only extended to tying a noose around his neck and seeing him hang from outside a window. But I couldn’t say that to Hugo. He was Hugo’s brother after all.

I leaned towards him and whispered, “I am not really interested in him actually. I was just curious. Her Highness showed interest in my brother so I was curious what kind of men she liked. But your brother seems to have an entirely different personality than my brother, so I was confused.”