Chapter 80

Chapter 80

“It was also hard to believe on my part that he is indeed my serious and mature brother and not an imposter.”

AD

“The Grand Prince has always had a cold expression on his face, but only when he sees the Grand Princess does his expression soften.”

There were so many young girls who admired my kind older brother (Wyndert). I gaped my mouth blankly for a moment, then burst out laughing.

“My older brother is really nice to me… But, we should do this treasure hunt rather than talk about something else.”

Returning to the topic quickly, we all grabbed spoons in one hand and looked around the cake with serious faces. Since this is a New Year’s tradition, children’s parties don’t feel uncomfortable, but do adults do this too? It was hard to hold back my laughter when I imagined the solemn aristocrats scooping out pieces of cake.

“Now, where (should I start)?”

This was a rotation in order and it started with Lucas. He scooped out some cake with a rather serious face. Then he looked at the cake on his plate and shook his head.

“Well, it’s not me this year either.”

Azuela also shook her head afterward. It was the same with Wyndert. Apparently, the cake was so large that it was quite difficult to find.

“Could that be in the Young Lady’s cake?”

As I carefully scooped out the cake and placed it on a plate, Young Lady Evian talked to me and came a little closer. She was walking over from her spot next to Azuela.

“Ahhh! The cake…!”

As I was about to dig into my piece of cake to search it, I heard a scream from next to me accompanied by a loud noise.

“Oh my gosh……!”

I saw a sight I couldn’t have imagined when I turned my head. Young Lady Evian was buried in the huge cake as if she had stumbled into it. Fortunately, the cake was attached to a support so there was no major catastrophe that completely overturned it. Though it wasn’t in the shape to have everyone finish the treasure hunt now.

There was silence for a moment then everything immediately burst into a commotion.

“How could you do this Young Lady Evian…!”

“It was an event I was looking forward to, but now the cake is ruined! How are you going to take responsibility for this?”

It seemed that when Young Lady Evian came forward to get her piece, she stumbled and fell towards the cake. Young Lady Evian was so shocked that she couldn’t get up and was speechless.

It was… impossible to not be surprised when you’re suddenly covered with cake like that.

‘I know everyone is surprised, but it must have been a simple mistake… and it turned out like that.’

Today is not a party at an ordinary aristocratic family’s home, but a New Year’s children’s party held at the Imperial Palace. Young Lady Evian made a huge mistake that made her look disrespectful to the Imperial Family in such a big place. Besides, she must’ve dolled herself up today, but she was covered in cake now. The most hurt person in the room now was Young Lady Evian.

“How on earth can you, even if you’re clumsy, ruin an event that His Highness the Crown Prince and Her Highness Crown Princess prepared like this!”

While everyone was saying she was too vulgar, Young Lady Evian suddenly jumped up. The children frowned and took a step back seeing the cake and icing dripping down from her clothes.

“…I-it wasn’t me!”

“I beg your pardon?”

“My foot was suddenly caught on something…! I didn’t do anything wrong! It wasn’t me!”

Perhaps her head was blank due to the massive amount of embarrassment and shock, Young Lady Evian abandoned honorifics and started to wail loudly.

“You must’ve tripped on the air with nothing under your feet! Who would even put their feet there on purpose?”

“I’m telling the truth…! Uwaaaa! That was what happened!”

Young Lady Evian finally burst into tears after the children shouted and criticized her. Everyone at the party was speaking like they were already adults, but we were all under 18, before any of us had reached adulthood. Even Young Lady Evian looked like she was only ten years old at most. Being at the center of a major accident, she just wanted to cry.

‘That’s a little bit…’

Her whole body was covered in cake and she was a whole mess, so the dolled up children close to her slowly backed away and avoided her, fearing that they would get cream on themselves.

There was a time earlier when she believed Azuela’s lies and had hurled insults at me, but I could understand considering her age. She probably just blindly trusted what the high-ranking Imperial Princess had told her as she was still young.

‘More than anything… you must have come to the party full of excitement.’

I was a little worried that Young Lady Evian’s feelings would be seriously hurt. I also tried to overcome it bravely.

‘I was terrified when I first received a rebuke and hatred at the orphanage.’

The fear that everyone hated and would ridicule me was incomprehensible to those who had never experienced it. I felt like I was the only one in the world I could trust; I felt like just closing my eyes and ears, then crouching down and ignoring everything. That experience was too cruel for a child.

However, the people hurling undisguised reprimands in this glittering place were children as well, and at a young age, it would be mentally difficult for them to go as far as to consider Young Lady Evian’s position as if it were theirs.

‘Thinking about the source of the issue, who tripped her?’

Standing next to her was… Azuela and me. In the end, if the Young Lady wasn’t lying then there was no other answer than Azuela had tripped her.

‘I don’t think she would do that since she was a kid who took her side but….’

Azuela was more suspicious than Young Lady Evian because she knew how to hide her intentions very well. Seeing how Young Lady Evian was just a trembling young girl now, Azuela’s actions were ruthless and even cruel to someone who had been on her side moments before.

“Your Highness Crown Prince, Your Highness Imperial Princess, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

“I’m fine too.”

Some of the knights who were standing by the walls in case something dangerous happened at the party came towards us. There was an accident that caused the cake to shake so they were likely to come over here. When Lucas and Azuela nodded, the knights surrounded them as if protecting them.

“I, I… I…”

Young Lady Evian licked her lips that had turned blue from tension and rage. She seemed to want to ask Azuela for help, but unfortunately, Azuela was looking at her with a face filled with pity.

“I never tripped you Young Lady Evian. Or are you implying it was the Young Lady Vaillot’s fault?”

Azuela stood still in front of her while the knights approached, she looked at Young lady Evian and asked in a sad tone.

One is a member of the Imperial Family and one is of the Grand Duke’s Family – it wasn’t something Young Lady Evian could win. In the end, Young Lady Evian bowed her head knowing that no one would help.

“Uhm, everyone. This event was indeed important, but wasn’t it more important to check if Young Lady Evian wasn’t hurt?”

I couldn’t see her properly so I stepped out of the crowd and asked. It was because I felt really bad when I saw a group of people putting a lot of pressure on one person like a mouse surrounded by cats.

“Are you saying that Young Lady Evian is more important than the New Year’s celebrations? This is an event to wish for luck for the entire next year!”

“The New Year’s celebrations are of course important.”

“Then…!”

“But wouldn’t it be more fortunate that no one was seriously injured on New Year’s Day?”

I calmly countered someone who reprimanded me. They were all young and mixed into a crowd, so they seemed to have forgotten their usual composure and their tasks as nobles. Of course, people are more important than the parties Azuela organizes.

“Uh… uhm……”

Everyone quietly shook their heads at what I said with a smile and nodded their heads slowly.

“Now, Young Lady, let’s clean off your face first.”

Then I handed Young Lady Evian a handkerchief that had been hidden between the layers of my dress’s skirt. She looked at me with tears in her eyes. Her eyes were complicated with the mix of anger, embarrassment, remorse and thankfulness. She slowly wiped her face with my handkerchief, then looked at my clothes with complicated eyes.

“Oh my, the Young Lady’s dress….”

Azuela looked at the hem of my dress and sighed a little. There was no way I would’ve tripped her, but Azuela’s dress was fine while my dress had a splatter of cake on it.

“I’m… I’m sorry Young Lady.”

Young Lady Evian bit her lip and apologized to me. Whatever the cause, it was something I could take issue with as my dress was also soiled because of her fall.

“Are you okay, Shushu?”

“Your dress….”

My dress today was very beautiful so everyone looked at it sadly. Wyndert also seemed to regret not being able to pull me quickly to the side.

“It’s okay, I’m fine. Young Lady Evian suffered more.”

It was a dress that was custom tailored for me by the Grand Duke, so I was unhappy that it got stained but I couldn’t help it.

“I’ll prepare a new dress for the both of you, so you should go to the break room and change.”

Azuela came out with a gentle voice and spoke to me and Young Lady Evian. Even though the dresses would be prepared by the Imperial Palace, the new dresses would obviously be inferior to the dresses we had spent a lot of time preparing in order to look the prettiest. But it would be much better than wearing a dress stained with food.

“I will guide you two to the break room.”

A knight on one side volunteered to escort us. The person next to him disappeared somewhere to get another set of dresses. Since male partners and guards weren’t allowed into the women’s lounge, there was a female knight that was guiding us. Young Lady Evian and I followed her out of the party and walked towards the break room.

“……..I.”

I heard a quiet voice calling me from the side, and it was Young Lady Evian that was looking at me with a quiet face.

“Earlier… thank you, Young Lady.”

“Earlier?”

“…Everyone was criticizing me, but only the Young Lady helped me.”

At her words, I said, “Oh,” and nodded. It seemed too difficult to handle it on her own, so I just helped, but it seemed to have moved Young Lady Evian.

“Nevertheless, I… I… I was just blaming the Young Lady earlier!”

Young Lady Evian suddenly stopped in the hallway and burst into tears. She then started to say words that were nearly incomprehensible and I couldn’t hear her properly.

‘Sigh.’

Young Lady Evian was much taller than me, but she looked like a complete young child in my eyes. The knight next to her stood tall in bewilderment. The Young Lady burst into tears in the middle of the hallway so there was nothing I could do. Without a second thought, I picked a spot on Young Lady Evian’s back and patted it with my hand.

“It’s okay, it’s over. A change of clothes will make you feel better. Come on, let’s go.”

I wiped her hands and face with the handkerchief, but it wasn’t helping as much anymore as it still felt sticky when I grabbed Young Lady Evian’s hand, so I winked at the knight signaling that we could start walking again. Rather than doing this in the hallway, it seemed much better to go to the lounge to wash off and change our clothes. We walked quickly and eventually were able to arrive in front of the break room.

‘Huh?’

But when I opened the door, I saw a familiar face.

‘The Emperor’s … Grand Chamberlain?’

He was the one I saw when I met with the emperor. Surprised by the unexpected meeting, I stood completely still in front of the door.

“I came here because the person I am serving ordered me to prepare some dresses.”

The chamberlain bowed his head and spoke politely.

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