MFAWW 12

Chapter 12

“Pa-Pavel…….”

Countess Ollet, at a loss for what to do, sent a pleading look to the Second Prince for help. But the prince was equally flustered. The two of them were accomplices, after all.

“When I return home, I’ll have a deep conversation with Grandfather and Father.”

I smiled brightly at the fidgeting Orange Hair and the stiffened Seaweed Head.

Gotcha.

“Subrina Young Lady! Please wait a moment, hear me out…….”

Countess Ollet approached me urgently with a desperate face. Where do you get off acting so familiar?

“Please address me properly, Countess Ollet. We’re not close friends, are we?”

Among nobles, formality could be dropped only when one was close enough to call each other by name, or when one was as famous as the Bright Young Lady—famous enough that everyone knew them without needing a title. Countess Ollet and I fell into neither category.

“S-Sorry. I was just anxious.”

When I pointed out her address with a displeased expression, Countess Ollet looked as if she’d realized her mistake.

“Anyway, please just listen to me, Subrina Viscount’s Young Lady!”

Countess Ollet couldn’t hide her anxiety. It was only natural—the adultery she’d tried to keep hidden was about to be exposed to the world.

“I’m sorry about earlier. But the rest is a misunderstanding. I mistook you for the Bright Young Lady…….”

“What’s a misunderstanding?”

“Pardon?”

“You said that if my twin sister had behaved better, His Highness the Second Prince wouldn’t have chosen you. That my sister had been coveting what was never hers?”

As I smiled brightly and threw her own words back at her, Countess Ollet’s face turned as withered as a moldy, rotten orange.

“No, that’s not it. I mean…….”

Stammering incoherently, Countess Ollet made a tearful face. Just then, the Second Prince, who had been standing there like a statue, stepped forward.

“That’s enough, Subrina Viscount’s Young Lady.”

Unlike Countess Ollet, the Second Prince was different. His tone was polite now, unlike before, but his attitude remained high-handed.

Even in this situation, that thick seaweed-like skin of his—bravo!

“I apologize for my rudeness earlier. However, I don’t believe it’s right to corner people like this.”

“When did I corner anyone?”

“As I said before, my breakup with Archel wasn’t because of Eris. It was because of Archel’s conduct.”

Ha, unbelievable. That adulterer bastard.

The Second Prince, showing not a trace of remorse, was so absurd I let out a hollow laugh. Of course, a person like that would cheat.

“But everything Countess Ollet said came from her own mouth, didn’t it?”

When I pushed back without backing down, the prince’s eyes twitched.

“So you’re saying Countess Ollet lied?”

Since it seemed the adulterer prince wouldn’t listen to reason, I asked Countess Ollet. At my question, she flinched. Unable to say anything, she trembled while clutching her skirt—a truly detestable sight.

“Speak up, Countess Ollet. Did you lie to me?”

“Well, I…….”

Just moments ago she’d been so confident, but now Countess Ollet only moved her lips like a person who’d lost her words. Her amber eyes, brimming with tears, lost focus and trembled.

To an outsider, she might have looked pitiful enough to evoke sympathy, but unfortunately, that didn’t work on me.

“Subrina Viscount’s Young Lady. Don’t you think I have a point?”

The prince raised his voice angrily at the sight of Countess Ollet, who looked ready to burst into tears at any moment.

“A mere country bumpkin viscount’s daughter, riding on the Bright family’s coattails and acting so high and mighty!”

“A mere viscount’s daughter? Are you sure you want to say that?”

That’s rich. Then why did you treat the Bright Young Lady that way? She was the daughter of a marquess, with a duke for a grandfather—someone of much higher status than you.

“Then why did His Highness, who’s supposed to be an imperial prince, cheat on his fiancée?”

“What?”

When I retorted with a sarcastic tone, the Second Prince’s face crumpled with indignation. He looked ready to lunge at me at any moment.

“How dare you be so insolent……!”

“Pavel.”

The Crown Prince, who had been quietly observing our exchange, stepped between me and the approaching prince with a sharp gaze.

“Arguing with a young lady in the middle of the street is quite unsightly.”

“Brother.”

Unlike the agitated Second Prince, the Crown Prince was calm. He smiled gently as he restrained his immature younger brother.

“Today, I am responsible for escorting the Subrina Viscount’s Young Lady. Your rudeness toward her is the same as being rude to me.”

“That’s not the case.”

The Crown Prince’s intervention slightly deflated the prince’s momentum.

“If you don’t want to be caught up in a scandal about an imperial prince causing a disturbance in broad daylight, it would be wise to return now.”

Without raising his voice or getting angry, the Crown Prince admonished his brother in a gentle, coaxing tone, as if soothing a child. Ah, how could anyone be so dignified?

“There are many eyes watching here.”

At the Crown Prince’s words, the Second Prince noticed the people glancing at us and clicked his tongue.

“Take Countess Ollet back, and you return to the palace as well.”

The Crown Prince’s voice was as soft and tender as cotton fluff, yet it carried an undeniable authority. A gentle charisma, one might say.

“……Understood.”

The prince, gnawing at his lips, withdrew with a resentful expression.

“Good. That’s a good boy.”

Having subdued the adulterer prince in an instant, the Crown Prince looked at me with an apologetic expression.

“I’m ashamed because of my inadequate younger brother. Please accept my apology on his behalf.”

“Your Highness has no need to apologize. There are others who should be apologizing to me.”

When I sniped at the prince while ignoring the hostile gaze fixed on me, the Crown Prince let out a small, helpless laugh.

“Then let’s go, Subrina Viscount’s Young Lady.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

I moved my hand with a composed expression and linked arms with the Crown Prince.

“Wait, please wait……!”

Countess Ollet called out from behind in a flustered voice, but I pretended not to hear. Fortunately, unlike before, the two didn’t chase after us. Thanks to the Crown Prince acting as a shield.

“I’m truly sorry.”

Once we were out of the alley, the Crown Prince stopped walking and apologized to me again. With a dejected face, like a plant wilting in the heat, he continued.

“I never expected to encounter you like that here. This is entirely my oversight.”

“As I said before, this isn’t Your Highness’s fault.”

“Still…….”

The Crown Prince whined like a puppy dipped in dye. It was endearing, but I couldn’t let him keep blaming himself.

“Rather, I should be thanking you. Without Your Highness’s help, I’d still be suffering at their hands.”

Nobles value honor. What the Second Prince and Countess Ollet had done was no small matter.

Thanks to the Crown Prince, I got through today safely, but the Second Prince and Countess Ollet wouldn’t back down quietly. They’d try to silence me one way or another next time.

Of course, I had no intention of going down without a fight. I couldn’t stand the thought of adulterers living well and prospering.

“Thank you so much for your help, Your Highness.”

First, expressing gratitude to the Crown Prince was the priority. I bowed my head to him, who was still looking dejected.

“I haven’t done anything deserving of thanks…….”

At my greeting, the Crown Prince gave a bitter, embarrassed smile. Then he cautiously extended his hand.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

“Pardon?”

I widened my eyes in surprise at the sudden proximity. In that moment, the Crown Prince gently took my right hand, which had become sticky with orange juice from crushing the fruit earlier. Then, water droplets bubbled up from the air, and clear, cool water wrapped around my hand.

“It’s been bothering me for a while.”

The Crown Prince looked at my now-clean hand, the orange juice washed away, and lightly snapped his fingers.

*Snap.* Following the sound, a breeze rose and whisked away the remaining moisture on my hand. It all happened in the blink of an eye.

“Are you a spirit summoner?”

I looked back and forth between my refreshed hand and the Crown Prince with a surprised expression.

“I’ve never heard that His Highness the Crown Prince is a spirit summoner…….”

I tried to stay calm, but my voice kept trembling. It was that shocking a revelation.

Even if our territory was in the backwoods, as a noble I had to maintain certain standards. Information might come slowly, but news about the imperial family always found its way to us. Especially if the Crown Prince was a spirit summoner.

“I didn’t hide it deliberately.”

At my reaction, the Crown Prince wore a bitter expression. He added in a subdued voice.

“I had no choice—it was for survival.”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, the Crown Prince was the son of the former Empress. The current Empress’s bloodline was the seaweed-haired prince I’d just seen. Even without hearing more, I could roughly guess the situation.

The empire was founded by a spirit summoner who commanded the legendary Great Spirit. However, spirit summoners were rarer than mages. Looking at the succession of emperors throughout history, there were more who weren’t spirit summoners than those who were.

Thus, being a spirit summoner as a member of the imperial family was both a blessing and a curse. With power, one could wield authority stronger than anyone; without it, one would have to live their entire life under surveillance and threats.

In fact, there were cases in history where collateral branches of the imperial family or illegitimate children were killed when discovered to be spirit summoners.

The Crown Prince was a somewhat special case. Since his mother, the former Empress, came from a humble family, the Crown Prince had practically no powerful maternal relatives to protect him. Thus, despite being the next ruler of the empire, his support base was weak, and he was constantly under pressure from the opposition faction led by the current Empress.

In a situation where his position was precarious due to lack of power, revealing that he was a spirit summoner would bring more harm than good. That was likely why the Crown Prince had hidden his abilities.

But was it really okay to show something he’d kept so carefully hidden so easily?

“What if I tell someone else…….”

“Hm? Are you going to?”

“Ah, no!”

I quickly waved my hands. The secrets of the imperial family were like poisoned chalices. Unless one was a powerful figure who could sway politics, someone like me—a mere viscount’s daughter—could lose my life tomorrow just to be silenced.

“Then it’s fine.”

“……Aren’t you trusting me too easily?”

“You’re fine.”

“Pardon?”

“I trust you because it’s you.”

“What do you mean…….”

Trusting me because it’s me? What does that even mean?