CH 25

The Royal Shadow.

I know of their existence.

Loyal subordinates of His Majesty the King, a being who works for the good of the country.

Why are they proving that I am not harassing them, and such? If I looked at Ihmut with a surprised face, he turned to me and laughed.

「——Why, the Shadow of the Royal Family, for this woman!?」

「I was asked to do this by Duke Shefinko.」

I heard a voice that should not have been here.

When the owner of that voice appears in the hall, everyone kneels—— There he was, the king of the country.

He looks like the Crown Prince and the Second Prince. His Majesty gives permission and everyone looks up.

「…Father, what do you mean that Duke Shefinko asked you to do this?」

It was the Crown Prince who asked this question with a mysterious look on his face.

「The Lady of Shefinko Dukedom has a bad reputation and could be accused of living in an academy full of royalty and nobility. That is why they asked me to lend them the Shadow of the Royal Family. When Duke Shefinko told me that if I were a daughter as I was reputed to be, he didn’t know what I would do for my country, he laughed and said,『My daughter is kind and would not be guilty of anything if she were seen.』I was also wary at first because Louise is such a wary lady. But…」

His Majesty looks at me.

I know that Father asked His Majesty to think of me. That His Majesty is looking at me.

I feel uncomfortable.

「——The Lady of Shefinko Dukedom was not the kind of lady that Louise was wary of. I and the Royal Shadow will prove that what Ihmut said earlier is true.」

The fact that His Majesty said so clearly made the Crown Prince pale.

「Aloige, Seanno, Lady Louise… And you who took advantage of it. Are you aware that you have trampled on the life of one young lady? In particular, Lady Louise, I hear that Lady Shefinko has been wary of you since she was very young. Did you not realize that as the next queen, your words and attitude are contagious to those around you?」

His Majesty stares at the Crown Princess.

Lady Louise looks incredulous.

「——Ottilie Shefinko is a villainess. T–That’s why, I acted to make everyone happy. Your Majesty, Ottilie Shefinko is…」

「Louise… I do not know what this villainess is, but at least in the last three years, Lady Shefinko has done no such thing. This is something I acknowledge.」

「But——」

「Lady Louise! Do not doubt my word as the King. Are you aware that you continue to behave in an undesirable manner as the Crown Princess?」

The Crown Princess seems shocked by it. And she looks at me with eyes that see something incredible.

His Majesty shifts his gaze from the Crown Princess.

「Aloige.」

「Yes.」

「Are you aware that you, too, have behaved improperly as the Crown Prince?」

「…Yes.」

「You believed Louise because she said so, and you tried to falsely accuse a young lady. You should have admonished Louise. And you would not have believed me no matter how many times I told you about the Lady Shefinko.」

「…Yes.」

「The Crown Prince’s position is temporarily on hold. You know why?」

「…Yes.」

I see people looking surprised at His Majesty’s words. But those who seem to have anticipated this situation are unconcerned. They don’t raise their voices because this is where His Majesty is still speaking.

「Seanno.」

「…Yes.」

「You said that the Lady Shefinko is after your wife, but you are mistaken. Even if you believed Louise’s words, you have had many opportunities to come into contact with Lady Shefinko over the past ten years, even though you were supposed to be the King’s Brother. If you had looked at it properly, you would have known that it was not as rumored—— And as for Lady Weshia. Are you aware of the trouble you have caused her? You blamed Lady Shefinko, but it was you who put Countess Weshia in danger. You should cool your head.」

「…Yes!」

The Second Prince, who remains depressed.

Is it because even the shadow of the royal family has appeared, or is it because of all those words from Nathe?

If it had not been so important, the Second Prince’s group would not have realized that their condemnation of me was a false accusation.

Ihmut, Nathe, my parents—— Without those people who care about me, I might have had no choice but to accept the false accusation as a false accusation.

The son of the vizier and the son of the knight-errant are seen being angry with their respective fathers.

Then, Brother—— He looked at me. I wondered if the trembling and weakness in his body was due to his surprise that I was not the “villainess” that the Crown Princess thought I was.

「Macey.」

「…Father.」

「I told you many times. Ollie is not the girl Macey thinks she is. But Macy didn’t believe it and even caused this… at a graduation party like this. We will soon hand over the dukedom to you—— And we will cross over to the neighboring country with Ollie. We have already received permission from His Majesty. Macey, you and I will hardly ever see each other again… Even though you are my blood son, you believed Lady Louise and you did not believe the story from a family member. Consider it the price you paid for that.」

——I was surprised at what I heard Father say.

I hadn’t expected that Father and Mother were going to give up the title of duke head of the family to Brother and come with me to a neighboring country.

「The Duke and Duchess said that they were disgusted with a country that despises you and doesn’t protect you. I’m sure there are a lot of those citizens who are ready for this uproar. The Crepasss Nation is ready to accept them.」

Ihmut is laughing as he said this.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Crown Princess looking at us as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing, and then she lost consciousness.

And those who have condemned me, including the Crown Prince and his wife, are taken out of the hall by the knights directly under the Royal Family. Not only that, but those who had been imposing their crimes on me were also charged with the crimes.

When His Majesty finished, he said apologetically,「I am sorry for the disturbances my sons have caused. Especially Lady Shefinko, I’ll be sorry for what my sons did to you for years to come.」I was surprised that His Majesty uttered an apology to me.

「Ladies and gentlemen, congratulations on your graduation. I congratulate you all on your bright future. Enjoy the party!」

And with such words from His Majesty, the graduation party resumed.

「Ollie!!」

Nathe hugs me as if she is distracted.

She doesn’t look like the same person who just expressed her opinion to the second princes in a stouthearted manner. I laugh at the gap.

「Good job. Nathe. Thank you. It was nice of you to call me a dear friend.」

「Of course. Ollie is my best friend.」

Ihmut and my parents looked at us with kind eyes as we laughed at each other.

Perhaps it was the absence of the Second Prince’s group, or perhaps it was because His Majesty assured me that I was not one of them, but people began to gather and talk to me.

——I was conversing with various people in this way, and before I knew it, the graduation party was over.