CH 16

"I'm not the narcissistic man you think I am!"

The prince's voice echoes in the quiet room.

The prince is furious, but the attendants lined up show no signs of moving.

This level of anger may be a daily occurrence.

Miriella thought that while looking at the chamberlains on the wall.

In the first place, Prince Alexis should have been 14 years old, one year older than Miriella, but from her point of view, she looked childish. There are proofs to this such as times when he get sulky without even giving proper greetings, times when he suddenly lash out, times when his face suddenly turns bright red and get angry.

(I already graduated from that long time ago.)

"Oi, what are you thinking about now?"

"Its nothing especially special"

"Such a lie!"

Alexis turned bright red and denounced Miriella with a disgusted face. this part of him is what make it childish.

"I'm sorry if I offended you."

"Far from being a eccentric woman, its just an annoying woman."

“Then, excuse me, may I ask you something while we’re at it. Why do you think that the person I love is superior to Your Highness in appearance?”

He feels like she's picking at a painful spot, but as for Miriella, she was curious about how Alexis came to that idea.

After Alexis cleared his throat, the Chamberlain re-brewed the tea. Taking a sip of the warm drink, Alexis responded with a bored expression.

"It's simple. You're the daughter of a duke, so to you, there's no one with a more noble lineage than me. And yet, to say no, you've been fascinated by such a handsome man, right?"

It was quite an insult as a revenge for earlier happenings.

No. Looking at Alexis's face, which seemed to have no emotion after he said it, he might not even be conscious of insulting her.

"My crush is the nicest person to me."

"Hou"

“However, Your Highness is more beautiful in appearance.”

"And so, why am I not winning?"

At that question, Miriella looked back into Alexis' eyes. For the first time since she entered this room, Miriella's face lit up with the original soft smile.

"Your Highness, You just don't get it at all."

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There was a heavy atmosphere in the carriage on the way home. Because it is narrow, a dense and heavy atmosphere weighs on her. Miriella bowed her head to her mother who sat in front of her.

"I'm sorry, Mother."

"If you can't help but refuse, why is there a necessity to make His Highness angry."

"I am truly sorry"

The Duchess let out a sigh and supported her head with her thin hand.

After that, her mother and Madam Campbell returned, but Prince Alexis left the room to switch places with them. Miriella immediately informed Madam Campbell of her refusal, which was accepted without any problem.

She think it's bad for her mother, but even without the future prison life, Miriella couldn't think of an engagement with that prince.

Suddenly, she remembered the "game" written in Leon's booklet.

If she hadn't known about the future in the "game", would she have fallen in love with that Prince Alexis and been harassing others? What was she attracted to him at that time? Appearance or rank?

And what exactly made the prince, who had her as his fiancée, want to get engaged to?

"I can't help but think about what if."

Looking at the familiar scenery from the window of the carriage, Miriella whispered.

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About a month has passed since Prince Alexis and I met at the royal palace, and the days of fluttering snow continue.

One day, Miriella was invited to Anessa's villa.

Miriella received a letter saying, "Let's enjoy skating at a villa by the lake.", and catches Melisa blasting her around (excited).

"Skating on the lake! this is my first time you know. I wonder if I can skate well. I have to ask Anessa what kind of clothes I should wear."

Melisa chased after Miriella, who wandered around the room with the letter in her hand and went into the wardrobe room herself in search of warm outerwear. Her outfit should not overlap with Anessa's color and should be easy to move in, she enjoys just thinking about it.

As soon as she replied, the schedule was decided, and Anessa came to pick her up.

"Good evening, Miriella-sama."

"Thank you for inviting me. I was looking forward to it."

It was a day when the cold seeped into the carriage as they headed north, The girls talked about skating and didn't even pay any mind to the flowers blooming around them. Speaking of skating, it's a game that often appears in romance novels that Miriella and others often read. Although she had been interested in it until now, Miriella was still inexperienced. Maybe, the fault was because the world sees it as a commoner's or boy's plaything.

The carriage arrived at an elegant mansion by the lake.

It's cold outside, but the sun is shining through thin clouds. Anessa smiled, saying that the weather was just right with little glare.

"Actually, Miriella-sama. I also invited Edmont-sama today."

Anessa whispered with her face closer than usual.

Her cheeks were dyed a soft vermilion, and she knew it wasn't because of the cold. She was drawn to Anessa's happy face, and Miriella smiled.

"I wish my Oji-sama would come too."

Miriella puffed out her cheeks as she let her maid put on her skates. This winter, there will be a graduation exam and a thesis for the teacher training school, and because of that Leon hasn't even shown his face to the Duke's family.

Anessa smiles wryly at the sulky Miriella. And when she looked up, she saw a carriage approaching in the distance.

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"Good morning! Anessa! Miriella!"

With a loud voice, Edmont popped out of the carriage that had stopped at the shoe rack near the lake. Seeing Edmont stepping on the ramp and walk down, Miriella thought.

(He is getting bigger again...)

Perhaps Edmont is in a period of growth these days, and his body is getting taller and bigger. Despite being strictly told by his father not to neglect his studies, he doesn't miss his sword training, so it seems that his body is larger than other students of the same age.

Anessa's eyes are shining when she sees Edmont like that, so it may be a happy growth for Anessa.

"... it's cold" (Alexis)

Miriella blinked her eyes at the shadow that appeared from behind Edmont who had walked down the ramp. She didn't expect it. she never thought she would meet him in a place like this.

“This is His Highness Alexis, who is in the same class as me! Miriella must know! I asked him to go skating because he looked jealous!”

"I'm not jealous"

Then why did you come?

Miriella couldn't help but thrust that in.

Secretly, in her heart.

She regretted not telling Edmont or Anessa about the story of her relationship with the prince. Anessa ended up hanging out with Edmont when she finally met him. Edmont also pulls Anessa's hand and moves around on the ice.

In this case, the leftover Miriella will have to deal with the prince.

Glancing at Alexis, he was getting used to his skates on the ice.

A sweet yet artificial face, slender hands and feet, and a dark blue long coat that wraps them. Reflecting on the ice surface beneath his feet, he looks a lot like a prince from a fairy tale.

“Your Highness, have you ever skated?”

"Aa. Every year."

She think they concluded in a rather awkward way about a month ago, but he still replied. she wonder if he has a polite personality for actually answering questions.

Miriella gently stepped onto the ice with her skates on, and walked timidly two steps and three steps.

her feet are slimy. If she were to move, she is likely to slip and fall. When she raises her eyes, Edmont pulls both hands of Anessa and deftly slides backwards.

She doesn't want to disturb her brother and his fiancée. However, she wanted him to at least teach her if he is planning on coming. She's kind of getting lonely.

"Oi"

Ton, and the shoulder is pushed.

"Hiaaah"

Miriella swung her hands around and managed to maintain her balance and succeeded in holding on. With that posture, she glared at her back.

"Just what do you intend on doing! Don't you see I'm going to fall over!"

"Is this your first time skating?"

Alexis asks in a rather sullen mood.

Miriella, unable to move due to her stomping posture, replied bitterly.

"As you can see, it's my first time. I'll practice on the edge until I get used to it."

"That's not going to work"

Alexis took Miriella's gloved hand as he lightly skated in front of her. To Miriella who swayed and stood still, Alexis took her other hand and supported her with his weight on the back.

"Stand up straight with your hands as support."

"No, that is"

"Its not like I'm doing this for you. If you were to continue doing that, Ed will get worried about you and won't be able to enjoy it."

No, it looks like he's having a lot of fun with Anessa. To the extent that she had felt alienated until just now.

She looked at Alexis' face to say that, but because he was already slowly going backwards, she couldn't say it.

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Unlike Edmont, who was running at a tremendous speed near the center of the lake, Alexis was slowly circling the outer circumference at a slow speed. Miriella, who can move without holding both hands, leaves only right hand to Alexis and runs side by side.

Miriella, who has never hated exercise, quickly found her balance.

"Skating is strange. I wonder how it's fun when you're just skating and moving forward."

"Who knows"

“Your Highness is also having fun, that's why you do it every year, right?”

"Well yeah"

"Your Highness. Thank you for your help. I'll try skating by myself."

Alexis stopped and faced Miriella while still holding hands.

Miriella's breath has gone up considerably and the tip of her nose has turned red, but Alexis' white porcelain skin has not changed color at all. Miriella looked at him and wondered how amazing he was, and Alexis asked her while averting his gaze.

"You, said I don't know didn't you."

"Um. about what?"

"The one you love is better than me."

Oh I see, its about that thing.

Miriella nodded with an understanding face and stared at Alexis' white face. He taught her how to skate today, so she'll give him a serious thank you.

She quickly raised her free left hand. Point to Edmont and Anessa skating in the distance.

"Anessa is very happy to be my brother's fiancée."

"I can see that"

“The engagement was decided from the time she was born, but Anessa said she was grateful for this engagement when she met my brother.”

[TL note: she no longer calls him Onii-sama]

The eyes and look Miriella is giving towards them was kind.

“Ed is the eldest son of a duke, and he doesn’t look bad either.”

“Anessa had an inferiority complex because she could only make a small voice. I wonder if that was why. When she first met him, she said that the big-voiced, full of confidence that is my brother looked really wonderful.”

Giggle and Miriella laugh.

"And when my brother began to listen more attentively to Anessa, he seemed to love her even more. Isn't that wonderful?"

"That's a nice coincidence."

"Yes, by coincidence. But Anessa found out about how my brother really is and still fell in love with him. my brother also started to hear Anessa's little voice and became closer to her."

Tightly grasping his left hand, Alexis stared at Miriella. Apparently he is annoyed. Miriella, whose palms in her gloves were dripping with sweat, thought it was time for him to let go.

"How does that relate to what we were talking about earlier?"

"Anessa and my brother got to know each other and deepened their feelings. Compared to that, I think it's very shallow to make judgments based on one's status or appearance."

“Are you trying to say that the person you love is more personable than me?”

"No. I don't know anything about Your Highness yet. Therefore, it is not really possible to make a clear judgment of victory or defeat."

It's cold, so I want to release my hand soon. With that in mind, Miriella gently pulled out her hand that was being held by him.

"But I know him, and moreover I love him dearly. That's why he's the best in my heart."

TL: Maza Miya

Editor: Maza Miya

[This chapter is not very stressful to translate. but still, the fact that I mention it at least means something right? Its great that the author ended this chapter nicely, if not I would have had to translate chapter 17 with my heart set blazing on fire.]