Chapter 79

Chapter 79

“Brother, since when have you been the Imperial Princess’ partner?”

“I don’t remember becoming one at all.”

“Me too.”

Wyndert and Lucas answered with frowns on their faces when I asked them in a loud voice.

“Your Highness Imperial Princess, I clearly remembered that I turned down your invitation to be your escort.”

“He’s right, I was there too.”

Wyndert told Azuela with an indifferent face. Her face trembled when I, too, intervened by agreeing with my older brother. She glared at me.

“I-it seems like you were very excited to be my older brother’s partner.”

“I had no intention of escorting anyone other than my younger sister from the beginning. I even begged her to come with me.”

Wyndert launched a counterattack very quickly.

“T-then, what about the Crown Prince? Having two partners is unheard of!”

Someone next to Azuela shouted in a disgruntled tone. Anyone who would see this would know that person was pissed off that I was Lucas’ partner. I noticed that Lucas was unhappy about it as he squinted his eyes and wanted to explain, so he took a step forward. It was like he was protecting me from the gazes pouring in from our surroundings.

“I was the one who asked Shuelina to be my partner first.”

Our surroundings buzzed as soon as Lucas’ words fell. As I listened carefully to their chatter, their main topic was how he called me ‘Shuelina’. So, it seems like it was some kind of intimate act when he called me by my name rather than my title as the Grand Princess of Vaillot.

‘Why haven’t they noticed that I look quite a bit like Lucas?’

We looked very similar but it was strange that it seemed like no one could see it. I could only guess that the Empress or Azuela might have done something about it.

‘Azuela…….’

Upon hearing that it was Lucas who offered to be my partner, Azuela seemed to not mind, but her hand said otherwise. Her hand, which was holding Felix’s arm, turned white due to the force she applied on him.

‘You’re also still young after all.’

In the original story, Azuela didn’t show her emotions easily. She was always elegant and noble – a true representation of a lady. Though she is very mature for her age now and hides her emotions very well… six-year-old Azuela wasn’t perfect at her acting yet.

‘Does it feel like I took her older brother away?’

Or maybe she was just angry that both Wyndert and Lucas were holding my hand. For whatever reason, it was clear that Azuela hates me. The children in this room were usually on Azuela’s side and they all wanted to attack me. What was surprising, however, was that Azuela had stopped Young Lady Evian.

As both of them were my partners, she must’ve lied that I took away both of them and that’s why Young Lady Evian publicly shouted that I was wrong without any doubt. I don’t think Azuela did it to help me… or was it to cover up her lies because she was afraid of being exposed? But indeed, this was a lie that was too easy to reveal because everyone was gathered here now.

Young Lady Evian then spoke with a red face.

“Isn’t it strange that the Grand Princess didn’t refuse when she already had promised another person? Your Highness the Imperial Prince just didn’t know, right?”

“I heard that she already had a pact with the Grand Prince Vaillot, but I was a bit stubborn.”

Since it was the Crown Prince that was stubborn, there was nothing more she could say. The other child bit her lip upon hearing what Lucas said.

“But, by the way. Where did this false rumor that I stole the Imperial Princess’ partner come from?”

I tilted my head and asked the children. In the first place, it wasn’t about how Lucas was stubborn, or I asked him to. Neither Wyndert nor Lucas were Azuela’s partner in the first place, so who started the rumors? That was the part everyone should know.

Some children looked at Azuela at my question. It was as if they wanted an explanation.

“I….”

Tears welled up in Azuela’s large eyes as she received their gaze. Even though everyone knew that she lied, she had a sad expression on her face.

“I didn’t receive any letter from the Grand Prince. Usually, if one doesn’t send a rejection letter within a week then it means acceptance…”

So, that’s why you thought he accepted your invitation? In the first place, they didn’t even give a deadline of a week when they sent the invitations.

“Perhaps one of my maids may have left it out. This incident has also harmed the Grand Princess, so I will make sure to pay attention to their conduct in the future.”

The children looked at her with eyes full of pity as Azuela continued to speak. It looked like they were pitying her for having to apologize to me for her maid’s mistake.

‘Did that maid really exist?’

Even though I thought that she was unable to tell the truth because she couldn’t bring herself to change her story after telling such an obvious lie… and I thought that maybe she was using a maid as an excuse to evade this situation on the other hand.

No one had noticed it yet, but Azuela used to discard her subordinates as escape goats in the original story when things went wrong. I would have become the villain of this party without me knowing if Young Lady Evian hadn’t tried to attack me. If it was to leave a bad impression of me on the other children of noble families during my first meeting, she must’ve lied enough.

“And since my brother has always been my partner… Of course, I just thought it would be the same this time too. I… was mistaken.”

Azuela smiled shyly and covered her face with one hand. I could see tears running down between her fingers. As if trying to hold back her shame and embarrassment, Azuela wiped away her tears. Then she looked even more pitiful with her slightly red eyes.

‘She really looks like the victim.’

Just looking at her attitude, it was as if I stole her brother from her. Obviously, I was the one whose reputation and feelings had suffered damage from a child’s carelessness, but now it was her who looked like I had been unfair to her. It was clear that Azuela had a natural talent for grabbing people’s attention. Right before Azuela opened her mouth, everyone was blaming Azuela for misunderstanding and being rash, but then their eyes changed in an instant.

“Ah …!”

“It seemed like the Imperial Princess also has times when she acts her age too.”

Azuela staggered a bit, feeling dizzy with the agitation of her emotions. Then Felix quickly supported her and muttered in a voice filled with laughter.

“Come to think of it, the Imperial Princess herself… has been trying not to bring this up since tea time.”

Young Lady Evian quietly muttered. Then she approached me with a determined expression on her face.

“It’s all my fault…. I’m very loyal to the Imperial Princess, so please accept my apology to the Young Lady.”

Hmmm… I don’t think it would be good for my reputation to dim the atmosphere at this point. Moreover, it was clear that if I didn’t accept her apology, I would hear the other children say that I am a cold hearted person.

‘She is said to be an Imperial Princess loved by the nobles…’

Everyone tries to protect Azuela with one mind. Anyway, this was just a small incident. It seemed much better to get along with everyone at this point.

“That…….”

“Wait a minute. I don’t think an apology to the Young Lady would suffice. Even if it was a mistake, Shushu didn’t deserve any of that criticism, right?”

I wanted to say ‘Yes, I accept’ but at that moment. Wyndert cut into the conversation with sharp words and a slight frown. His voice echoed throughout the banquet hall, thanks to his words that were carried out with the help of magic. Due to this, the faces of the children around were grim once more.

“You said that she shouldn’t be like this no matter how young she is, so… it must be the same for the Imperial Princess who was the same age as her (Shuelina).”

Wyndert looked straight at Azuela and threw those criticisms right back at her. He was insinuating that Azuela’s figure while leaning on Felix was like she was trying to get away with the situation by acting like a foolish and emotional child. She almost completely ruined the first impression I was to make on the other children at the party, whether it was her own misunderstanding, mistake, or a slander.

Originally I was a little upset because I thought that I had no choice but to quietly let go of my complaints and let the situation end so that my reputation wouldn’t take any more damage, but I was relieved that Wyndert pointed her behavior out for me.

“I share the same thoughts. Creating rumors is a big mistake. Even the members of the Imperial Family should apologize to the victims.”

Azuela was forced to bite her lip and approach me when even Lucas sided with me.

“Can you accept my apology, Young Lady?”

Azuela’s voice sounded very woeful and sad. It was either that she was actually sorry for what she did, or… that she thought this was a very unfair situation, for them to have her apologize to me. Azuela’s hand, still pale from her frustration, was trembling slightly as she gently reached out.

“Of course. First of all, this is the first day of the New Year’s festival, isn’t it?”

I smiled broadly and grabbed Azuela’s hand. She was scary and disgusting enough to make me shudder, but I could not show my hostility towards Azuela right away, so I held her hand long enough to get past any suspicion.

“Didn’t the invitation say that everyone will receive gifts and go on a treasure hunt on New Year’s Eve? It is my first New Year’s festival, so I have been really looking forward to it.”

After shaking Young Lady Evian’s hand as well and speaking innocently, the atmosphere around us immediately relaxed.

“The Young Lady is such a good person! Thank you so much.”

I had no choice but to let out an awkward laugh at Young Lady Evian’s words with a wide smile. Do you think that this whole thing is finished just because I accepted your apology?

Azuela looked at Young Lady Evian with an expression that said she was being ridiculous as she grabbed my hand and dragged me away.

“It’s just as the Young Lady said. Shall we start treasure hunting together?”

Azuela grabbed my hand and took the lead without letting me go, so Wyndert and Lucas had to follow us. Even the children who wanted to be a part of the Imperial Family and Grand Duke’s group trailed along and moved to the center of the room in a long procession.

A huge whipped cream cake was placed on the central platform. There were also huge stacks of plates and barrels of large spoons.

“How do we do it?”

“Each person will pick up one of those spoons one at a time and scoop out a piece of cake one by one. If the piece of cake contains a note, you are the winner and will receive the treasure.”

“Then being in the middle of the line is usually advantageous, isn’t it?”

“Sometimes it’s close to the outside of the cake, sometimes it’s closer to the center.”

I asked Lucas who was next to me, and he gave me a kind answer. He even advised me against making my piece of cake as big as possible as I had to eat the cake I scooped out.

“Shushu… you’re not asking your brother.”

Next to him, Wyndert whispered in a voice that seemed a little saddened. Since the Grand Duke’s family hasn’t attended the New Year’s festival in years, I naturally thought that he didn’t know much about it…. It looks like he was upset because it seemed like I was depending more on Lucas. Azuela burst out laughing just as I was about to make up an excuse.

“You two seem to have a good relationship.”

At first glance, it sounds like she was just giving us a compliment about having a good relationship, but because of the words I heard from Azuela on our first meeting, it doesn’t seem like that would be the case.

‘Am I thinking too deeply about this? Because even though she just said that we’re on good terms it feels like she was implying that it’s surprising because I am adopted??’

Azuela’s true intentions were unknown, but it was true that we got along. As I was about to just smile and let it go, Wyndert looked at me with a very soft smile.

“Shushu is a cute, lovable, and perfect little sister, so we can’t help but get along.”

In such a crowded place…! My face flushed with embarrassment. Unexpectedly, envious glances poured in from those around us at that moment.

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