CH 15

Frinel waved his hand, overjoyed.

I looked at him like that. Looking at him again, he was surprisingly handsome. The wind blew his radiant blond hair, which was like the sun. At that moment, his shirt, which had been opened due to not buttoning a few buttons properly, opened even more. As a result, his collarbone and fair chest were blatantly exposed.

One of my eyebrows raised obnoxiously. Is this also one of the images makings to pretend to be a playboy? Even his unbuttoned shirt?

Clearly, that person was a prince, and he was a person with a pitiful back story. Contrary to my promise to at least treat him kindly, my eyes kept heading to his unbuttoned shirt.

I stood up from my seat, trying hard to lift my mouth. “…I apologize for my rudeness last time, Your Highness.” Then I put my hand on my chest, bowed my head, and handed my apology.

When I didn’t know Frinel was the prince, I behaved recklessly, but I couldn’t do that when I knew about him. He still had a smile hanging over his face, then spoke up.

“Ah, did you hear it from Bella?”

“Yes.”

“Oh my, it’s become boring.”

Frinel rather lowered his eyebrows like a puppy and made a sad face. Seeing that expression, my lips hardened even more.

Was it fun to deceive me?

I slightly raised my head and looked up at him. Curiosity and interest sparkled in Frinel’s blue eyes. My shoulders trembled weakly at the ominousness. But it was a feeling that would soon disappear.

I sighed deeply before speaking firmly. “If you had revealed your identity, I wouldn’t have done so.”

“For what? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a woman who is so bold to me. So it was fun.”

“I’m glad you had fun. On the other hand, I was worried that you felt insulted.”

Anyway, it seemed he had no intention of accusing me of blasphemy. I thought I was lucky and sat back down. Frinel still stared at me with a curious face.

“…Anything else you want to say?”

“Hmm, even when you know I’m a prince, you don’t seem to be impressed. Your attitude didn’t change.”

“What… Should I change more?”

I looked at the book, pressing down my desire to say, ‘Please just go away.’

“You don’t have to be changed, but normally people do it like that.” He continued in an exaggerated tone as if he were playing a play, maintaining a sly attitude. “Their eyes… filled up with the idea that they might be able to use my position to gain something.”

“Using my position…… My eyes are full of thoughts that I might be able to eat something.”

“Ah… I don’t like it.”

“Why?”

Why did he ask so many questions? I eventually closed the book I was reading and raised my head again. “What do you mean?”

“…Well, I’m not bragging, but… I’m the highest-ranking heir to the throne in this Tiazen Empire. If you treat me good, it will do more good than harm.”

“I don’t have any thoughts of using someone to do something.”

“Huh…?”

“What’s the point of doing that?” My emerald eyes glistened. “I’ll do it on my own.”

The soon-to-be princess status was something I had achieved on my own. Becoming a person worthy of noble status and getting Merilly back was all possible only with my own efforts. In other words, there was absolutely no reason why I needed to look good to the prince. His status, of course, meant that whether he became an emperor or not was none of my business.

“Whatever I wish for. I will gain it with my own strength.”

At that moment, a gust of wind blew, and Lobelia’s hair swayed greatly. Her platinum hair, with an elegant hue, reached Frinel. He just blinked his eyes as if deeply moved by her words.

The people around him were people who wanted to use him or people who wanted to kill him. They were divided into those two categories. But this woman didn’t fall into either category.

Did she just quietly go her own way?

At first glance, Lobelia looked so beautiful that Frinel felt nervous without realizing it. Then, feeling her hair tickling the tip of his nose, he spoke slowly.

“What a wonderful person you are.”

Grabbing the hair that had touched him like a petal, he passed it behind Lobelia’s ear and added his words. “I like it.” At the same time, Frinel’s eyes bent gently.

For a moment, I couldn’t say anything. It was because his smiling face reminded me of my past with Endimion. One memory of us being so happy had become a terrible pain.

It’s painful. My eyebrows wrinkled involuntarily.

Endimion was a handsome man with gentleness thanks to his slightly drooping eyes, even though he had silver hair that at first glance looked cold. Frinel, on the other, was completely different. Anyone could see that he had a gorgeous appearance and gave off a strange atmosphere with his strong impression and look.

But why did Endimion come to my mind? Have I still not gotten over him?

The sense of shame seemed to be digging up my wound that hadn’t yet healed. I turned my head slightly to the side as my eyes were about to turn red.

“Lady Lobelia?”

Recognizing her different mood, Frinel tilted his head. Soon he was about to open his mouth again.

“Your Highness?”

Duke Gracie, who had gone out for a walk after breakfast, saw them and approached. Frinel, who had been keeping an eye on Lobelia, turned his head to greet him.

“Oh, Duke Gracie.”

“Are you here to see Bella?”

“Yes. I came to see my cute little cousin. What kind of miracle did you perform?”

“Haha…”

To his question, Duke Gracie answered with an awkward smile. Fortunately, Frinel didn’t ask more about it.

“I happened to have something to say, but that’s good.”

“What is it…?”

“I was wondering if I could stay at the duchy for a few weeks.”

“Do you have business in the West?”

“Um… The movement of Bonitare is very suspicious.” He lowered his voice for no reason and replied in a whisper.

“I see. Of course, we will provide you with a place to stay.”

Duke Gracie somehow glanced sideways at Lobelia with a somewhat meaningful look. “You have already met my granddaughter.”

“…Granddaughter?”

“Yes. I found my lost granddaughter.”

“Lost granddaughter? How could…?” As if in shock, Frinel blinked quickly.

“My son dated a woman before he married my daughter-in-law.”

At his words, I listened with a puzzled face.

“I was against them.”

“Why?”

“…Because they have different identities.”

“I didn’t know Duke was the kind of person who would be against such things.”

Duke Gracie was one of the figures who didn’t discriminate between commoners and nobles. He personally performed noblesse oblige on those in need. I thought he was a model for everyone, so I couldn’t imagine that he had such a past.

“…It’s a shameful past. If I hadn’t been against their marriage, my son would…”

Somehow the wrinkles of the Duke of Gracie looked deeper. He soon ended his talk with a firm tone.

“I have already done enough to blame myself. Mistakes shouldn’t be repeated. Lobelia is the daughter of that woman and my son. She’s my granddaughter for sure.”

“Did you check?” Frinel’s eyes lengthened sideways.

“Yes, of course.”

A ring with the duke’s seal shone on Duke Gracie’s rough hand. Usually, the seals of nobles were made from naturally occurring mana stones, and the blood of the first head of the family was imbued in them.

By using the seal, it was possible to visually check whether or not they shared the same blood. It was the same as the dagger that Kriella cut through Merilly’s flesh to check if they shared the same blood.

“Unfortunately, she wasn’t the child of my daughter-in-law, so I had to go through the adoption process separately. It’s in progress.”

My eyes glistened as I listened to his story for a while. Ah, that’s how you made up the story. To enter society and deceive others, I needed a narrative story. If he had just adopted a commoner, he would lose face as a duke, so he seemed to be trying to make up the story like that.

But if he does that… Wouldn’t he and his son lose their faces?

At that moment, when Lobelia’s head was about to tilt slightly in a puzzled mind, Frinel glared at her cutely and said, “I see. I had no idea because Lady Lobelia didn’t tell me about such a situation.” His way of speaking somehow looked very upset.

We’ve only met twice, but Frinel seemed to think he had gotten quite close to me. Or it was just a simple favor.

Why are people here so interested in me? I just wanted to live thinking only of revenge and Merilly. Still, the relationship between us didn’t flow as I intended.

Just like Frinel needed, a light and shallow relationship was perfect for me. It was very uncomfortable to talk about my situation and listen to his situation. I don’t give a shit for the prince. I just want to start preparing soon.

I lowered my head slightly, hoping that the conversation would end quickly. Then, as if Duke Gracie remembered something, he clapped his hands and opened his mouth.

“Ah, Lobelia.”

“Yes, Duke.”

I put a smile on my face as if nothing had happened and lifted up my head.

“You said you needed a class to build up your stamina, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

“That’s good. Just in time, His Highness has a knack for swordsmanship. You will learn from a very good teacher.”

“Don’t tell me that teacher is me?”

“I don’t have to say it by myself, right?”

An ominous premonition surged in.

“Aren’t you going to be here for a month anyway? In the meantime, please help me guide Lobelia, Your Highness.”

Like ripples on a calm lake, my eyes were shaking.