MFAWW 06

Chapter 06

“Ha.”

What great eyesight.

I was so surprised that a strange sound escaped me. He was the first person since I’d arrived in the capital to recognize that I wasn’t the Bright Young Lady. The fact that there was at least one person with properly functioning eyes brought a wave of both gratitude and sorrow.

“What do you mean…….”

The clerk looked visibly flustered, glancing back and forth between the young beauty and me. She had just been about to arbitrarily declare me the Bright Young Lady and arrest me, so that was understandable. The people surrounding us were equally surprised.

“She’s not the Marquess Bright’s daughter?”

“Yes. This person is not the Marquess Bright’s daughter. Let her go.”

The clear voice, certain that I wasn’t the Bright Young Lady, held no hesitation. The moment he finished speaking, the strength drained from the clerk’s grip.

“That’s what I’ve been telling you! I’m Iris Subrina!”

What are ears even for? I glared at the clerk as I brushed off my wrinkled clothes.

“Subrina?”

As I was glaring at the clerk, who was subtly avoiding my gaze, I heard a slightly surprised voice from close by.

“You are the daughter of Viscount Wendy Subrina?”

“……!!”

Wow. This beauty keeps surprising me today. I never expected to meet anyone besides Marquess Bright who knew my mother’s name.

“H-How did you know?”

I stammered without meaning to, and he let out a small exclamation. His flawlessly clear golden eyes sparkled as if he’d found prey. For a moment, it seemed like there was a hint of delight in them.

“Subrina Viscount’s Young Lady.”

“Y-Yes?”

“My subordinate was rude. I’m truly sorry.”

“No, that’s fine. Um, so…….”

But who is he? Judging by the clerk’s attitude, he seemed to be someone of high rank, but I had no idea who he was. As I hesitated, unsure of what to call him, the beauty seemed to notice my predicament and smiled, his eyes curving gently.

“Ah. I’m late to introduce myself. I am Basil Lu Forest, the Crown Prince of the Empire.”

“Gasp.”

Goodness, the Crown Prince? He was far more important than I’d expected. As his identity was revealed, gasps could be heard from all around.

The Crown Prince, clearly accustomed to people’s reactions to him, paid them no attention at all. His gaze was fixed solely on me.

“As an apology, I’d like to offer you a cup of tea. How about it?”

“Pardon? No, I…….”

“Hm?”

The Crown Prince smiled, his eyes curving softly as if to say he wouldn’t accept a refusal. His lips, gently curved like a bow, were as tempting as a ripe peach.

“……A short while, if that’s alright…….”

When the empire’s most powerful figure insists this much, I couldn’t very well refuse. As I awkwardly nodded, the Crown Prince smiled brightly with satisfaction.

I accepted his offer because he’s a beauty. It’s definitely not because I fell for his face.

“Bill, would you brew a cup of tea for our guest?”

“Understood.”

The place the Crown Prince led me to was a room right next to the registration office. The room, decorated with only a few small flowerpots, was filled with a fragrant scent, as if we were in a flower garden.

“Have a seat.”

“Ah, yes.”

The moment I awkwardly took my seat, the aide brought the tea. As the hot water was poured, a yellow flower bloomed fully in the teacup placed before me. Feeling the sweet yet slightly bitter aroma rise, I carefully grasped the teacup with its rising white steam.

“It’s only a temporary space, so we don’t have good tea. I’m sorry to offer such poor hospitality after inviting you.”

“No, not at all. The fragrance is wonderful!”

If this is considered poor, then the tea we drink in our territory isn’t even tea. As I shook my head while holding the teacup, the Crown Prince gave a faint smile.

How is it that all the men in the capital are so pretty and refined? They seem like a completely different species from the men in our territory. Perhaps that was why, like a fox had enchanted me, I kept finding my gaze drawn to him.

“Be careful not to burn your tongue.”

“Pardon? Ah, yes.”

I’d been thinking this all along, but his voice is truly lovely. I blankly watched him blow on the tea before hurriedly bringing the cup to my lips.

“The tea is very…….”

……Awful.

The saying that good-looking bread tastes good is definitely a lie. I never expected such pretty and fragrant flower tea to taste so terrible. The astringent flavor was so dry and rough in my mouth that my face crumpled.

“It doesn’t seem to your taste.”

“Ahem, well…… it’s a very mature flavor.”

It wasn’t just ‘not to my taste’—it was the worst thing I’d had in recent memory. Surely he didn’t serve this on purpose. Or maybe the Crown Prince has no sense of taste? The strange flavor made all sorts of thoughts run through my head.

“The taste aside, it’s good tea for calming the mind. You must have been quite startled earlier…….”

“I’m fine. That’s been happening with everyone I’ve met since yesterday.”

“Since yesterday?”

“Yes, I arrived in the capital yesterday. I heard the Imperial Knights were recruiting…….”

Just yesterday morning, I never imagined my first visit to the capital would take such a turn. The events of a single day had been so overwhelming that I felt like I’d aged ten years.

“Is this your first time in the capital?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Then you must have been quite surprised yesterday.”

“Yes. I even got locked up in a holding cell……. Your Highness is the first person to recognize that I’m not the Bright Young Lady.”

You’re truly amazing. As I looked at the Crown Prince like someone who’d met a hero, he must have found my gaze burdensome, as he smiled awkwardly.

“Hmm…… well, I have a good sense of smell.”

“Pardon?”

What is he, a bloodhound? He distinguished me from the Bright Young Lady by smell?

Wait. What do I smell like? Feeling self-conscious, I subtly lifted my arm to sniff myself. Seeing my action, the Crown Prince quickly added.

“It’s not that you smell strange or anything. Every person has a unique natural scent they’re born with. I can simply tell them apart.”

“So you distinguish people by smell rather than face……?”

Distinguishing people by their natural scent—truly a legendary bloodhound.

“Disappointed?”

“No! Not at all.”

Had my expression given me away? Flustered, I quickly waved my hands and smiled.

“Disappointed? Thanks to Your Highness, I was able to escape a difficult situation.”

To be honest, I was a little disappointed. I never knew people could be distinguished by something like a natural scent.

Then was that refreshing floral scent I felt from the Crown Prince his own unique fragrance? As I wrinkled my nose, the Crown Prince set down his teacup. Then he suddenly leaned toward me.

“It wasn’t just by scent. Your face is also different from the Marquess Bright’s daughter’s.”

In an instant, his face was close enough that our breaths almost touched, and my eyes widened in surprise.

“When you look this closely, you can clearly see the difference.”

Whether I was surprised or not, the Crown Prince kept his pretty face close as he spoke.

“Your eyes are slightly more upturned at the corners than the Bright Young Lady’s, and your nose is a bit sharper. Your lips are more delicate, and your skin isn’t pale but rather fair and clear.”

“O-Oh…… is that so.”

Would you mind moving back a little? The pleasant scent is dangerous. Not daring to push the Crown Prince away, I could only twitch my fingers.

“If the Bright Young Lady is like a puppy, you’re like a kitten—a more endearing impression.”

Having finished speaking, the Crown Prince leaned back with a satisfied expression. Only after he returned to his seat could I finally breathe the breath I’d been holding.

“At any rate, you’ve been through a lot. So, have you met the Marquess Bright yet?”

“Yes. He came yesterday after receiving word from the guard…… I heard some things I didn’t know about. Though none of it feels real yet.”

“Doesn’t feel real……. I take it you didn’t know about your parents’ situation?”

“I had no idea at all. I only learned yesterday that I even have a twin sister…….”

If I hadn’t come to the capital, I probably would never have known for my entire life. Who knows what might happen in life, but somehow I felt that would have been the case. Given my mother’s personality, she’d likely never have told me, and judging by how thoroughly the butler and nanny had hidden it, that seemed obvious.

“……However. No, as I thought?”

“Pardon? What did you just say…….”

“Hm? Ah, just muttering to myself. It’s nothing.”

The Crown Prince smiled gently as if it were nothing. He probably thought I hadn’t heard, but I had. He clearly said, “That’s strange.”

What’s strange? I swallowed the question rising to my throat. It didn’t seem like he’d answer even if I asked. Instead, I decided to ask something else.

“……There’s one thing I’d like to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Could it be that I won’t be able to take the selection exam because I resemble the Bright Young Lady?”

“As long as there are no other issues, you’ll be able to take the exam. However…….”

The Crown Prince trailed off before continuing.

“Things like today could happen again in the future.”

“Ah.”

“If you stay in the capital, it will be noisy around you for a while. The Bright Young Lady had many enemies.”

At the Crown Prince’s words, the reactions I’d seen over the past two days naturally came to mind. What had been contained in their eyes, expressions, actions, and voices was clear rejection and contempt.

“People often act on emotion rather than reason. So even if they know you’re a different person from the Bright Young Lady…….”

“They might still show hostility.”

“Exactly. So it might be better to return to your territory and live comfortably rather than stay in the capital.”

“I can’t do that.”

Anxious, my voice rose. I understood why the Crown Prince was saying this, but I couldn’t give up on my long-held dream. The dream of becoming a knight was what had allowed me to endure the loneliness that sometimes visited the barren mountain territory.

“I will definitely become a knight.”

I put force into my voice to keep it from trembling and looked him straight in the eye.

“……If your resolve is firm, I can’t dissuade you.”

The Crown Prince let out a soft puff of laughter, like air escaping, as he watched me stubbornly insist.

“I’m sorry. I was being needlessly meddlesome.”

He apologized readily.

“No, you said that because you were worried about me.”

“My selfishness was greater than my concern. His Majesty entrusted this selection exam to me, so I wanted to finish it without any disturbances.”

“I understand.”

Weeds must be pulled out before they grow. If my memory was correct, although the Crown Prince was the empire’s next ruler, he was currently engaged in a precarious and dangerous power struggle. From his perspective, I could certainly become a source of trouble.