IRTP 4

Chapter 4

Luncheon, and an Uninvited Guest (1)

As the luncheon hour approached, the other Princesses arrived one by one.

“You’re already here, Blair?”

Olivia greeted her with a slightly surprised face. Her blonde hair, which seemed especially voluminous today, shimmered dazzlingly.

“Ah, I had a little time to spare.”

Blair replied, greeting her lightly in return. Just then, a sharp voice cut in.

“Well, Blair always arrives early, doesn’t she?”

Selina entered the dining room, her cat-like eyes arched. She, who always enjoyed adorning herself with flashy dresses and jewels, had truly gone all out today.

Shortly after, Tilda arrived as well, and all the Princesses were gathered.

Except for Blair, who had taken a seat at the far end of the table early on, the other three engaged in a subtle war of nerves before each claimed their spot.

This time, Selina secured the seat closest to where the King and Queen would sit.

Just as she was thinking how fortunate she was not to be caught up in that power struggle, the solemn voice of the Chamberlain rang out.

“His Majesty the King will arrive shortly.”

No sooner had the words fallen than the King entered. Behind him was the Queen, who had exchanged greetings with Blair earlier.

‘They say Duke Brienne has the royal family in a chokehold after this poisoning incident—I guess it’s true.’

Blair thought to herself as she looked at King Rubens’ face, shadowed with dark circles under his eyes.

Soon, as the King and Queen took their seats, the head chef rang the handbell to signal the start of the luncheon. Servants began bringing out the food in turn, and the table was soon filled with exquisite dishes.

“I apologize for springing this luncheon on you so suddenly—thank you all for gathering.”

King Rubens opened his mouth after wetting his throat with an aperitif.

“Not at all, Your Majesty. We are the ones who should be grateful for the invitation.”

Selina spoke in a soft voice with a smiling eye, her sharp gaze from earlier nowhere to be seen. Then, each of them began offering their obligatory greetings.

“As you all know, I arranged this gathering given the unfortunate events of late.”

The King continued with a troubled expression.

“Who would dare do such a terrible thing in the royal castle? I hear that even the bird Lady Olivia keeps fell victim to the same poison.”

“Yes, Your Majesty… Regrettably, it was the same robertaïne that was used on Lady Anais.”

Olivia replied, sniffling. The King then spoke in a rather stern voice.

“The royal family is conducting a thorough investigation into this matter, so you needn’t worry too much. And should you hear any idle talk, do not let yourselves be swept up in it.”

The “idle talk” surely referred to the rumor that the royal family had poisoned Anais.

King Rubens and Duke Brienne had been at odds for quite a long time, so it was no wonder such rumors circulated. There had always been factions checking royal power, but the Duke of Brienne’s influence had grown beyond mere checks. The fact that Anais Brienne had been chosen as the crown princess despite the King’s opposition was proof enough of just how great the Duke’s power was.

“I trust Your Majesty will shed clear light on the matter.”

Selina spouted her usual lip-service at the King’s request. But today, that wasn’t the end of it.

“My heart aches so much for Anais, too… sob, I’m sorry.”

She was squeezing out crocodile tears with the most pitiful expression in the world. No, at that level, even crocodiles couldn’t compare.

“Hmm. It seems you two were quite close.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. She was such a kind-hearted child… It pains me so much that even now, it’s still difficult.”

At her shameless lie, Tilda could no longer manage her expression and kept glancing around nervously, while Olivia stared at Selina with a rigid face.

But what threw everyone into greater shock was a single remark from King Rubens.

“How curious. Your attire doesn’t look particularly distressed.”

In an instant, a chill air blanketed the table.

Selina’s face turned as red as the gaudy rubies she was draped in. She was so flustered that even Selina—who never ran out of words—was clamping her mouth shut and staring at her plate.

Yet the King himself calmly sipped his wine and praised the chef’s cooking to the Queen.

Blair shook her head inwardly and waited for this uncomfortable gathering to end quickly.

She was nodding appropriately at the conversations flowing around her and cutting her meat with a bland expression when Queen Leah suddenly called her name.

“By the way, Lady Blair, why are you sitting so far away? I thought you’d sit next to me, since you arrived earlier than anyone.”

At the Queen’s friendly tone—calling her by name, no less—the other Princesses looked at her with surprised faces. But she was just as surprised.

“Ah, well…”

Blair’s mind went blank, unsure what to say. She couldn’t very well say it was because she didn’t want to stand out, so she had to come up with a suitable excuse.

“I judged that it would be proper to sit according to rank today.”

It wasn’t wrong. She was, at best, the daughter of a baron—far below the daughters of marquises and counts. Of course, while staying at the royal castle as a Princess, rank didn’t matter and everyone was treated equally, but today the King himself was present, so it wouldn’t be strange to observe hierarchy.

“I see. There was no need for that on my account. Well, it doesn’t feel bad, though.”

The King seemed pleased, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. Feeling uneasy at that smile, Blair laughed awkwardly and took a sip of the wine beside her.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

“Lady Merbis seems to be quite thoughtful. Actually, I deliberately prepared a luncheon rather than a dinner because I worried I’d be criticized for hosting too lavish a meal at a time like this.”

The King paused and looked around the room before continuing.

“Everyone’s attire is so colorful that I was secretly worried—but seeing Lady Merbis puts me somewhat at ease.”

At those words, all eyes focused on Blair.

The dress she wore was a modest one, dark green with subdued embroidery. She had chosen it because it was the plainest and most featureless, but in an instant, it became a gesture of mourning for a peer who had met an untimely death. Moreover, since not only Selina but even Tilda and Olivia had dressed more elaborately than usual, Blair stood out all the more by contrast.

‘Ha… This is strange. This isn’t what I wanted…’

Blair was flustered by the pouring gazes—or more precisely, the glares—but she tried not to show it, forcing the corners of her mouth upward. Selina, who had just been openly criticized by the King for her flashy attire, was glaring at her as if flames might shoot from her eyes.

“Even I didn’t know, but Lady Blair is quite thoughtful. I was surprised to see her here before the luncheon began, tending to the table decorations.”

To make matters worse, Queen Leah added praise from beside her.

“Ah, I didn’t do anything so remarkable, Your Majesty.”

She wanted to scream that all of it was just to avoid standing out—please, just stop paying attention to me—but all she could do was smile awkwardly and feign humility.

Blair looked at the other Princesses, hoping someone would draw the attention away from her. But Selina, Tilda, and even Olivia were all tight-lipped with displeased expressions.

Olivia, in particular, wore such a cold expression that it was almost frightening at a glance.

‘She’s so different from yesterday. I guess appearances really aren’t everything.’

At least Selina and Tilda, who were easy to read, felt far less repulsive. She had felt it yesterday too, but there was something off about Olivia—enough to make her wonder if she might actually be connected to Anais’ death.

But Blair soon shook off the idle thoughts and waited for the attention on her to fade.

Fortunately, the topic of conversation quickly moved elsewhere.

Selina laughed as if nothing had happened and ceaselessly promoted herself, and Olivia also skillfully carried the conversation along.

Just as everything was flowing as usual and Blair was about to let out a sigh of relief, the head chef began bringing out dessert.

She was admiring the desserts, too pretty to eat, when suddenly the Chamberlain appeared with a flustered face. After he whispered something to King Rubens, a look of bewilderment also spread across the King’s face.

“…That fellow? Now?”

King Rubens raised his eyebrows as if he’d heard something utterly bizarre.

“He never shows even a hint of himself normally. Well, good enough. Tell him to come in and join us.”

The Princesses, including Blair, exchanged glances and tilted their heads, wondering who on earth had arrived.

With everyone’s eyes fixed on the door, the dining room door opened and a man entered.

“Oh my…!”

“The, the Prince?”

This time, even Blair couldn’t hide her agitation.

The sole heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Aaron. Kalinz Reinhardt—the man who would become the partner of one of the Princesses gathered here.

“I heard lively voices on my way back from the training grounds and came to see. I hope I’m not interrupting.”

Kalinz spoke in a rather courteous tone.

“How could you be interrupting? Come here and sit.”

“It’s been a while, Prince. I was just worrying that you might have forgotten our faces.”

Selina spoke to Kalinz familiarly with her characteristic smiling eyes. But he merely responded with a silent nod.

He was always like that. Eyes and demeanor that seemed indifferent to everything in the world. His hair, dark as deep night, and his golden eyes shimmering with an mysterious light reminded her of some wild beast every time she saw them.

“Ah, should I move seats?”

Queen Leah said. By rank, Kalinz should sit beside the King, across from Queen Leah. But Selina was currently in that seat.

“We can all just shift one seat over. Come this way, Prince.”

Selina, not about to miss the golden opportunity to sit next to the Prince, made a show of rising from her seat at once.

But Kalinz didn’t budge.

“No, I…”

He scanned the table with languid eyes and stopped at one spot.

His dark golden eyes were fixed on Blair.

‘What is this? Is he looking at me?’

His gaze lingered quite a while for something that was supposedly just passing by, and Blair’s eyes wavered. Seeing her, a flicker of interest gleamed in Kalinz’s eyes.

“This seat will do.”

Kalinz, still holding Blair’s gaze, pulled out the chair across from her.

“It happens to be empty, after all.”

The corner of his mouth curved upward ever so subtly.