Chapter 78

Chapter 78

“The Imperial Princess and the Prince of house Bertilde are entering!”

When I asked why, I heard a voice at the stairs saying that Azuela was entering. Thump, thump, my heart was pounding.

‘Why is this like this again?’

My heart was pounding too much and I felt like it was going to explode just with the thought of any involvement with Azuela, ‘my’ enemy, but I felt more than just the feeling that she was my enemy. There was some kind of ‘fear’.

‘I’m not scared, I’m not scared….’

I turned my head to Azuela while I was still holding Wyndert and Lucas’ hands. Azuela was standing above the stairs wearing a red dress full of flowers, with a boy, whose face I couldn’t see clearly because of the stairs. Azuela’s face was stiffer than the last time.

‘She seems to be feeling unwell.’

Azuela glanced down and then immediately focused on Wyndert. Her eyes that were colder than usual fell on our hands. Wyndert was holding mine tightly. Azuela glanced at Lucas who was standing next to us, then closed her eyes and opened them again.

‘So that’s Azuela.’

That expressionless and calculating face was the real Azuela. She immediately changed her expression as she gently descended down the stairs with a soft and elegant expression. I watched her come down for a while, then turned my head. Once again, my head hurt and I felt like I was about to collapse, so I grabbed Wyndert’s sleeve and he supported my back as if he had read my mind.

“Your hands suddenly become cold.”

Lucas gently rubbed my hand with a worried face. He didn’t know why I was so nervous, but he just did that.

“May I ask for one hot drink?”

I looked up at him for a moment and asked for a drink to calm myself down. It was because my legs were already shaking so badly that it had become difficult for me to walk on my own, and I was anxious to let Wyndert go.

“Here, tea is good when you’re nervous.”

Lucas returned quickly with a cup of aromatic tea. I thanked him with my eyes and placed it on the empty table after taking a sip.

“Shushu.”

Then I clenched and opened my fists repeatedly and took deep breaths, trying to calm my mind, as Wyndert called me softly. I looked up and saw him looking somewhere behind my back.

“It’s nice meeting you two from the Vaillot house like this again. Your other brother is here too?”

It was Azuela’s voice. I turned around slowly in a state of shock as if I had heard a ghost’s voice. Azuela and her partner stood in front of us. After that, there were several girls who surrounded them as if they were close with Azuela.

Unlike the casual looking Azuela, they stood around in a circle from a little distance looking at Wyndert in fear.

“I greet the Imperial Princess.”

I greeted Azuela and turned my head to look beside her. There stood a boy with gorgeous red hair, resembling Azuela. ‘I think I’ve seen him somewhere….’ I thought as Azuela smiled and introduced us to the boy.

“Felix, this is the Grand Prince Vaillot. Next to her is… the Grand Princess. The two of you, this is my cousin, the Prince of the Bertilde Family.”

(T/N: There’s a difference between Wyndert and Felix due to their title. A ‘Grand Prince’ is the son of a Grand Duke while a ‘Prince’ (not an Imperial Prince) is a title given to a Duke’s son, but not the Duke’s heir. And by rank, a Grand Duke is higher than a Duke, since he was only below the Emperor but higher than a Prince and Duke. )

Azuela paused for a moment after that, as if something was missing. I don’t know what she was going to say, but I had a feeling that it probably wasn’t a good thing seeing how the gazes from all over the room had changed – sympathetic gazes landed on me from all directions.

‘Why are you looking at me with pity?’

I am already the Grand Princess of the Vaillot Family, and it wasn’t a good sign to have someone pity me. I deliberately pursed my lips and raised my chin slightly.

“I greet the Little Lord of the Empire.”

“It’s been three months.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come to see you sooner.”

The boy greeted Lucas first. The two seemed to already know each other.

“This is Felix Keeble de Bertilde.”

The boy’s voice was a little cold. So your name is Felix. I almost flinched violently as soon as I heard his voice, then I took a deep breath. Although he was young, his voice remained ever so clearly in ‘my’ memory.

『“I am Pell. I came to see you.” 』

That voice first appeared in the original story when Shuelina really felt like she was going crazy from her loneliness. It was during the time she was locked in the cold secret room of the house of Marquis Bertilde, was betrayed by the maid she had trusted, and became truly alone. After being imprisoned for several months without being able to talk to anyone, Shuelina became desperate.

『“It’s okay if you betray me again! Please come back! Don’t leave me here alone! It’s scary, I’m scared! Anyone, please talk to me…! 』

It was the voice she heard through the window for the first time when she had lost all of her energy while crying out in loneliness and fear. Though he was blocked by a grate so in the end she could never see his face, and could only talk to him for five minutes every few days, Shuelina loved him – because he was her new savior.

『“You must run away immediately. Remove this grate.”』

Although Pell only thought of Shuelina as a mere form of entertainment. Shuelina then broke the grate and had to either hit her head trying to fit through or eat the rotten food he gave her, saying that was the only thing he could give her. She endured it all in order to have the sympathy of this cruel man and to talk to him for even one more minute.

‘So you were the heir to the Marquis of Bertilde. That’s why you could go back and forth like that.’

It was neither a betrayal nor a friendship in the end. The Pell that Shuelina knew was actually Felix, so there was no one who betrayed her in the first place. He said that he was working under the orders of Marquis Bertilde… but it was all a lie. It happened that ‘her’ first love was a fictional character.

How could everyone I believed turn out to be a lie? I clenched my fists as I realized just how much of a pitiful person the original character Shuelina really was.

“This is Wyndert William de Vaillot.”

“I am Shu… elina de Vaillot.”

When I thought of Felix, my head felt cold as if I had been doused with a bucket of ice cold water. Rather than feeling uncomfortable from that sensation, I was glad I was able to greet him with a rational mind.

“Now then, gentlemen, take this time to talk to each other. The ladies will have a good time too.”

Azuela nudged Felix towards Lucas and Wyndert, then she looked at me and said, “I’ll introduce everyone to the Young Lady, too,” then smiled kindly.

What, you want me to stay away from Wyndert? I looked up at Wyndert as he tightened the grip on my hand.

“I’m really looking forward to getting to know the Young Lady too!”

“Is it because she is still young and hasn’t had this kind of experience before? I guess she was nervous.”

“Young Lady still looks like a lovely little child! We will help the Young Lady adjust well.”

Aren’t you all tired of acting like adults? After all, they were all young children who have yet to debut. I could see how everyone was trying to talk while pretending to be elegant, like a socialite lady.

Then they grinned, pointing to the way I was holding Wyndert’s hand. They seemed to be looking at me as if I was something cute and lovable, but I bit the inside of my lips lightly.

‘Actually, you’re all looking down on me.’

Treating each other children in a friendly way as if they are a lovable child isn’t a huge flaw when everyone gathered together is a child. However now, everyone who came here is pretending to be an experienced socialite on behalf of their families. Treating me as a child here was no different than disrespecting the Grand Duke as well as me.

It was clear how they were afraid of Wyndert, but did they mean that it was more important to discreetly look down on me like that than worry about angering him?

“You’re such a baby.”

At that moment, I heard a small voice from the other side of the room blaming me. It seemed as if she was talking to herself, but I looked at her and tilted my head. She was a head taller than me.

“Who is this Young Lady?”

I heard it too, so there was no way Wyndert, a knight, wouldn’t have heard it. He looked straight at her face and asked, her face reddened. She even staggered as if her legs had lost their strength.

“I, I am… Count Evian’s…”

“Young Lady Evian, I wish you could repeat what you had just said.”

If I was the only one who heard those words in the background I would have ignored it, but Wyndert seemed to be very angry when he suddenly heard her blaming me. Young Lady Evian’s body trembled and quivered as the gazes turned to her, whilst also receiving Wyndert’s angry energy.

“It’s not like a gentleman to put such pressure on a lady. Don’t forget that it’s a New Year’s event to wish for good luck.”

Azuela softly intervened at that moment. That made it seem as if Wyndert had committed a big mistake towards the Young Lady Evian, while the latter’s eyes were filled with respect (towards Azuela).

“Azuela, it seems like it was Shuelina who first heard someone who was slandering her in the first place.”

As Azuela stepped out, Lucas spoke those words while listening beside me with his arms folded. He seemed to have heard it too.

“The accurate order should be accurate. I think the Young Lady Evian should apologize.”

(T/N: Order here refers to their rank (from their family line), being Lucas at the top (Crown Prince), Azuela (Imperial Princess), Wyndert (Grand Prince), Shuelina (Grand Princess; ranked lower than Wyndert because she’s a girl), then came the Young Lady Evian, who’s obviously lower in rank, so she should apologize to Shuelina.)

At Lucas’ words, Azuela trembled slightly and approached his direction. And next to Lucas, she whispered, ‘What will be left of my reputation if my brother says it like that?’

Hmm, I heard everything…. He muttered, but I was more sensitive because of my spirit power.

“Honestly… though she was talking about the Young Lady’s physical development, I don’t think this is very wrong.”

“Yes?”

Azuela suddenly turned and looked at me with sad eyes. I couldn’t help but blink my eyes when I was suddenly attacked.

“Though you can act childish at home… this is the ballroom, those behaviors are not like those of a lady at all. You have to try to be friendly with everyone.”

“Pardon?”

“As the Young Lady is still young, I understand it. Then at this point, this whole talk is over.”

What? Why do you keep saying that I was acting like a baby?

I was embarrassed that I couldn’t keep up with the conversation, but Young Lady Evian nodded while standing to the side. Then she approached me with a determined expression.

“…In the first place, you took away the Imperial Princess’ partner by acting like a baby! You shouldn’t do this no matter how young you are!”

Huh…? What did I do while acting as a baby? I stole Azuela’s partner?

‘Since it wasn’t Wyndert… does it mean that Lucas was originally Azuela’s partner?’

“I think this is a misunderstanding.”

I said as I tilted my head, but Young Lady Evian finally broke the suspense and revealed the answer to my question.

“His Highness the Crown Prince and even the Grand Prince! They were both the Imperial Princess’ partners. How could you take them away for yourself?”

“Young Lady!”

Unexpectedly, it was Azuela who got angry as she bit her lips. I blinked and alternately looked at Wyndert and Lucas.

“Young Lady! I’m sure I’ve said earlier that since the Grand Princess of Vaillot said so, this whole talk is over at this point of time.”

Azuela’s attitude was still bright, but her voice was pressed as if she was holding back something. Upon hearing her scolding, Young Lady Evian’s face reddened with embarrassment and resentment.

“It was just for the Imperial Princess….”

The girl looked around for someone to help her, but no one seemed to think to help her because it seemed like she had gone against the Imperial Princess’ will.

So, is this a split?

(T/N: I should learn more about rank ☺)