TSIMG 22

Chapter 22

Hystein called her name. Rodia looked up at him. There was no hint of reproach in his emerald green eyes.

“Is what His Highness the Prince said true? What happened that day?”

Hystein asked, his expression showing that he didn’t believe Rodia would have acted that way without reason.

Rodia’s eyes trembled slightly.

Hystein was supporting her from behind. He was, as he had promised, becoming a place she could lean on.

She swallowed once, then opened her mouth.

“It’s true that I met His Highness the Prince. And that he tripped over my foot.”

“……”

“But I had no idea the man I met in the marketplace was His Highness the Prince. I swear on my life, it’s the truth.”

“A lie.”

The prince shot back coldly.

“If she’s in a position to attend this banquet as Lord Roart’s partner, she must be at least from a high-ranking noble family in Heint. Are you saying she wouldn’t know about a foreign royal family?”

There was a clear flaw in the prince’s logic, but Rodia couldn’t dare correct him. Given the situation, and the atmosphere turning against her.

Instead, someone stepped forward on her behalf.

“That statement is incorrect.”

The person with white platinum blonde hair. It was Alisis, the Chancellor.

Having watched this unexpected incident from a short distance away, she judged that she, as Chancellor, should intervene.

“First of all. This lady is not from a high-ranking noble family, and as you well know, Your Highness, not everyone attending this banquet was formerly nobility. It may be unimaginable in your home country, but there are certainly several people here who were once commoners.”

“Chancellor.”

“So it’s entirely possible the lady didn’t know of you. As you’ve heard, Heint is entering its sixth year as a republic, and class distinctions have become blurred.”

The large earrings at Alisis’s ears jingled.

“However, I’m more curious about a more fundamental issue.”

At that, the prince furrowed one eyebrow.

“I’d like to know how this ordinary citizen residing in Paneu happened to meet Your Highness in the marketplace, and what occurred between you.”

At this, it was the prince’s turn to clamp his mouth shut.

“Miss Prokheite. Can you tell me what happened that day?”

Alisis smiled slightly and nodded towards Rodia. Her smile was gentle, but it carried a strong charisma within.

Rodia looked at Hystein again. When he nodded, she looked back and forth between Alisis and the Second Prince of Chellda.

Her deliberation didn’t last long.

“I had an errand to run, and on my way back, in a marketplace alley I was passing through, I saw a man being chased by people—”

“La-Lady!”

Duke Philemer called out to Rodia, his face pale. As he cut her off, Alisis shot him a sharp look.

“I am currently hearing about something that happened in my own country’s capital without my knowledge. I would appreciate it if you would wait.”

Alisis stared at Duke Philemer with narrowed eyes.

The eyes of the woman, who appeared to be around his age, seemed to hold a chilling aura.

Duke Philemer clamped his mouth shut.

“Please continue.”

“…I saw a man being chased by people who called him a thief. Even if I had known His Highness the Prince’s face, I wouldn’t have believed that a person being chased by people in Heint could be His Highness the Prince of Chellda.”

Rodia finished speaking.

It was a gathering of the Chancellor and her aide, a foreign prince and a duke. Rodia gripped her trembling hands tightly together.

Her shoulders began to hunch.

Rodia forced herself to straighten her posture. The etiquette she had learned as a very young child from Grandmother Madame Floraine remained ingrained in her body.

Rodia’s bearing, chin lifted and gaze fixed straight ahead, was like that of an elegant swan.

“Chased, who would ever—…”

The Prince of Chellda grumbled discontentedly but didn’t deny it. The people in the banquet hall now began to wonder why the prince had been chased through the Paneu marketplace.

“So that means Miss Prokheite caught the prince by tripping him?”

“Yes. It was admittedly not the most proper method. I take this opportunity to offer my sincere apologies to His Highness the Second Prince of Chellda for any injury he may have sustained because of me.”

Rodia answered the Chancellor’s question, then looked at the prince, brought her hands together in front of her, and bowed her head.

If Rodia’s words were true, then she had simply helped the market people.

Though the method was a bit drastic, it wasn’t so rude that she needed to bow in apology. The fault lay squarely with him.

“Ahem, hem!”

As the prince coughed into his hand, Duke Philemer, barely lifting his small eyes, jabbed the prince in the side.

“Hem, hem! I accept the lady’s apology for what’s already past.”

“Thank you for your generous acceptance.”

Rodia smiled, clasped her hands together in front of her, and took two steps back. Right next to Hystein.

She didn’t seem ashamed of apologizing even though she hadn’t clearly done anything wrong, which gave the impression of a strong mental fortitude. Alisis formed a very favorable opinion of Rodia.

The matter seemed to be settled. But Alisis had not the slightest intention of letting these people from Chellda off so easily. Their vague answers and cautious demeanor clearly indicated there was something embarrassing they were hiding.

“By the way, how did Your Highness come to be chased by the merchants in the marketplace?”

“Pardon?”

Duke Philemer, caught off guard, squeaked in reply. Alisis chuckled at his reaction.

“Surely you weren’t actually a thief, as they said…”

“……”

“Well, anyway, that’s something we can look into separately later. In any case, I’d like to summarize the situation.”

She stepped forward.

“His Highness the Second Prince of Chellda, while visiting a foreign country, ended up being chased under the false accusation of being a thief, and Miss Prokheite simply caught the person the people identified as a thief. Is that correct, Duke Philemer?”

Her mockery, using honorifics even for the prince, made it seem like she was quite enjoying this situation.

“Well, that is…”

Duke Philemer couldn’t bring himself to agree and simply squeezed his eyes shut. The Prince of Chellda, having grasped the situation, also wore a sour expression.

Alisis spoke to the Second Prince with a deadly serious face.

“In this situation, you have insulted and mocked a citizen of my country. In my presence, no less, as the Chancellor. In my judgment, the fault seems to lie more with Your Highness.”

“Your Excellency the Chancellor, that is—”

Just then, a voice from outside announced the arrival of Astrid Modilia Chester. The timing was truly impeccable.

Alisis Fedelrov, the Chancellor, was not one to let such an opportunity slip. She stood tall as if she had been waiting, and spoke in a loud voice, as if making sure Astrid could hear.

“Given this situation, Heint has no choice but to reconsider this royal marriage.”

“?!”

The biggest victim of this affair ultimately became Astrid, who had just entered the banquet hall with no idea of how things were unfolding.

“What is that supposed to mean all of a sudden, Chancellor? Such a weighty decision must be made after consulting with the royal family!”

Astrid strode over, her face a mess, looking like it couldn’t be more crumpled, and stood before the Chancellor.

Alisis, who was much taller, glanced down at the huffing Astrid.

“You also proceeded with that weighty decision without consulting me, didn’t you? And since you seem to keep getting confused, let me remind you: Heint has no royal family. Please use ‘House Chester’ correctly, Miss Chester.”

Miss Chester.

A title she had never directly heard before flew like a dagger and pierced Astrid’s heart. Astrid gasped, staggering back.

Seeing this, Alisis clicked her tongue and turned to look at the Prince of Chellda.

“If you wish to seriously discuss the royal marriage, Your Highness, I suggest you acknowledge your own fault and offer a sincere apology to the innocent Miss Prokheite.”

The prince ground his teeth.

Given the way things were going, the conclusion was leaning towards his fault. It was fortunate that the Chancellor didn’t seem overly interested in what he had done in the marketplace, but that likely wouldn’t last. It wouldn’t be long before she found out what had happened there and who had been locked up.

He looked at Duke Philemer. The duke, with a resigned expression, shook his head at the prince. It meant they should back down for now. Realizing this, the prince’s brow twisted.

He understood well that if he didn’t apologize to Rodia at this point, things would escalate. But still, he was a prince of a nation. He had never once apologized to anyone in his life. And to a commoner, no less.

“Hah! You dare ask a Prince of Chellda to apologize to a commoner? Fine! I wasn’t impressed with this country I might have had to live in after the marriage anyway. Good riddance!”

“Your Highness!”

Duke Philemer’s face turned ashen, unable to strike his nephew’s head since his sister wasn’t present.

“Look at that, Duke. I’d rather marry this woman than that creature who has less fashion sense than a speck of rat droppings!”

At the prince’s words, Rodia instinctively looked at Astrid.

The lime green dress went impeccably well with her brown hair. But the material was the problem.

The velvet dress lacked luster, so it didn’t reflect the light of the banquet hall’s splendid chandeliers, making it look dull.

Of course, if that were the only thing, she might have just seemed a bit heavy-handed in her choice.

But unlike the simple, unflashy charm of the velvet dress, her flashy, dark-toned makeup and stark white skin clashed horribly with the outfit.

It was clear she had put effort in, and considered individually, they weren’t bad.

However, as the prince said, she truly lacked sense. Especially given that the dress code for this banquet was formal, and specifically blue.

But that didn’t mean Rodia should be mentioned as a marriage candidate instead of Astrid. Even as a joke, it was a clear breach of etiquette.

“Me? I don’t recall ever agreeing to marry His Highness the Prince.”

Rodia said incredulously. Her voice was slightly heated.

Hystein pulled her shoulder to calm her. But Rodia was already starting to get angry.

“Consider it an honor. It means you’re good enough to be my second wife.”

The prince sneered. He was baiting Rodia to shout back. But the person who responded to him wasn’t Rodia. It was someone else.