The Crown Prince is not attending this banquet.
That fact alone has diminished most of the excitement, but it’s not entirely meaningless.
Isn’t it still somewhat significant that I’m not accompanying Teresa?
Besides, Yuria probably doesn’t even see me as a partner, so she wouldn’t mind if I blend in a bit and then disappear.
In fact, they’d probably find it more convenient if I just vanished.
If that’s the case, I might have the chance to see someone I’ve never met at this point; someone I shouldn’t be meeting at all.
For instance, I could unexpectedly run into Miragen. Or maybe encounter Adele by chance.
Either way, it wouldn’t be a bad situation for me.
And just the fact that there’s a possibility is quite intriguing.
It’s something I haven’t experienced in the last hundred lives,
and for someone tired of this eternal life, new experiences are, above all, the most interesting thing.
“Are you planning to finish the preparations with that?”
Renold’s eyes narrowed for a moment, but I nodded in agreement.
The reflection of myself in the mirror wasn’t much different from usual.
If I had to point out a change, I was wearing an outer garment.
The simple, unadorned dark green attire suited my circumstances well.
Today, it’s better to be inconspicuous, so it would probably be right to make Yuria, who will be dressed festively, stand out more.
“Regardless, you are attending as a partner. It might be better to put in a little more effort…”
“That’s enough. I’m not even the main character here.”
Plus, if I dressed too ostentatiously, that could also become an issue.
Isn’t there someone who would immediately criticize me for not knowing my place?
There’s no reason for me to hear that sort of thing, and it’s better to erase my presence.
If anyone heard the news of Teresa’s broken engagement, they’d surely find me bothersome.
So I dressed appropriately and made sure to look like a noble to some extent; I ended up looking pretty stylish.
I tried to ease my somewhat sharp expression with a slight smile, but it ended up looking awkward, so I reverted to my original expression.
It didn’t seem like this used to be the case, but the more I reincarnated, the more a smiling face just looked strange.
Perhaps it’s because I didn’t have much reason to smile. But then again, there’s no one to blame for that.
In the end, it was all a result of my foolish choices.
As I turned to head towards the main gate, I noticed Yuria standing in front of the carriage.
As expected of the Lady of the House of Taylor, she was dressed elegantly and looked graceful.
In a blue dress, complete with finely tailored accessories.
Yuria, flaunting her beauty like a peacock, gazed at me with a subtle smirk.
“You’re surprisingly not late. Get in the carriage; we need to leave right now.”
Then, she glanced at my attire, narrowed her eyes, and added,
“Have you finally pulled yourself together? You used to dress so extravagantly, and now you’re dressed a bit more simply.”
“Shouldn’t the one who needs to shine today be someone else?”
I responded with a small laugh at her teasing tone, but it seemed my polite attitude didn’t sit well with her.
It’s probably the fact that I’m not the younger brother Robert she remembers.
In this situation, I had been trying my best to find a nice outfit to meet Teresa.
Of course, that’s no longer a concern.
Teresa was no longer my fiancée, and she was no longer “anything” at all.
“Isn’t that a non-existent being?”
As I was talking about how today’s protagonist is Yuria, I passed by the carriage in front of me and headed towards a carriage a little further away.
“What are you doing right now…”
“Were you thinking of riding together? I thought you wouldn’t like it.”
Yuria, seemingly flustered by my actions, leaned out of the carriage and stared at me with a cold, stiff expression.
I had tried to give her space on purpose, but perhaps that consideration was unexpected.
So, I shrugged casually, and Yuria pulled her head back inside and shut her mouth.
“Is it starting to bother you?”
I murmured as I watched Yuria’s carriage slowly depart, gradually disappearing from view.
It was evidence that my changed attitude was beginning to catch her attention.
However, I never expected her reaction to come so quickly.
Could it be because I called her the Lady of the House last time?
Though we had grown up together since childhood, Yuria had lived with the awareness of being the Lady of the House.
For that reason, I was closer to a vassal to her than a sibling, always fulfilling the role of supporting her.
In most situations, I often showed a weak side to Yuria.
Although I always treated her with the affection of kin, all I received in return was her endlessly cold reactions.
The only priority for Yuria was to continue the Taylor lineage.
She had to act as the Head of the Family.
I wasn’t sure how much burden that placed on her, but I certainly thought it was a definite cause of her twisted nature.
In that context, my existence must have been quite the thorn in her side.
I couldn’t say I didn’t understand.
If I were to take on that role, the immense pressure would have clouded my vision.
However, Yuria had excelled in her role as the Lady of the House, navigating through without mistakes thus far.
So, I treated her as the Lady of the House.
I didn’t have the capacity to treat someone who had nearly killed me multiple times as a dear sister, so Yuria Taylor was simply the Lady of the House to me.
Nothing more, nothing less. Not kin, not family.
As I recalled her gaze, which was fixed on me, I leaned my head back against the seat.
I felt that I would likely see that odd look filled with curiosity many more times in the future.
But what could I do? It was already a twisted relationship.
From the moment she chose to live the life of the Lady of the House, this had become a predetermined outcome.
My foolishness was the only thing that wished to revert it, but I hadn’t resolved to hold onto such foolishness anymore.
I wouldn’t treat Yuria like a sister ever again. Probably…
Forever.
#
The rickety carriage stopped shortly after.
The capital had now descended into darkness, yet the only thing shining brilliantly was, without a doubt, the lights of the Imperial Palace.
The stars should be adorning the sky, but they were nowhere to be seen.
The lonely full moon shone pitifully, proving that the light of the Imperial Palace was more radiant than any star.
As the Taylor carriage entered, the eyes of the nearby nobles immediately shifted towards us.
Some whispered as Yuria stepped off the carriage, while others mumbled as they saw me reaching out to her.
“I heard she called off the engagement; it seems to be true. Wasn’t that prince the one always going on about love?”
“Isn’t that the prince over there?”
As expected, rumors seemed to have spread already, and the nobles threw in their little comments while glancing at me.
Still, there were no bad words directed at me.
I did hear whispers that Teresa did something strange or that she was crazy. Perhaps she managed to handle things well on her own.
“Strange rumors are floating around because of pointless actions,”
Yuria, holding my hand, spoke in a cold tone.
It wasn’t that I was uncomfortable being criticized, but it seemed she was averse to the affairs of the Taylor family being discussed by others.
Nodding in agreement, I was soon struck by her chilling voice in my ear.
“You better make good judgments. If you act rashly like before…”
It wasn’t a look directed at a younger sibling, but at a disobedient retainer.
“This time, I’ll really issue a warning.”
“Sure. I’ll be careful.”
Anyway, our collaboration would only take us to the entrance.
Since I came here as her partner, all I needed to do was hold Yuria’s hand and head to the entrance.
I thought about wandering in the garden to avoid the nobles who would likely come fussing over me once I was apart from Yuria.
As Yuria stared quietly at me, she again reached out her hand.
Just barely enough for our fingers to touch, I was finally able to step forward.
“Presenting Yuria Taylor, Lady of the House of Duke Taylor, and Robert Taylor, the Prince!”
The noisy party at the Imperial Palace fell into silence.
I often forgot, but the Taylors were indeed a family at the pinnacle of power.
With a neutral stance, they were a family that no noble could afford to ignore.
Even while walking a tightrope, they had never slipped.
Even the Crown Prince couldn’t easily mess with the Taylor family.
For that reason, I was even more curious.
What could have made the Crown Prince look down on me so much as to frame me? Of course, the Crown Prince wasn’t present here.
He was probably busy dealing with a small rebellion happening in the borderlands.
Since the Crown Prince wouldn’t return for at least another year, I needed to finish my minimal preparations before then.
Once I passed through the entrance, the sensation from my hand disappeared.
Yuria, having released my hand, was now striding ahead, leaving me feeling quite embarrassed.
‘There’s nothing bad about this.’
People’s gazes were focused on Yuria, the Lady of the House of Taylor.
Soon, the Princess would appear and say something, but that would be all.
The benefits I could gain from being here today were rather limited.
And that was only if I had the chance to talk to the Princess.
Once she appeared, I could look for an opportunity to speak.
With so many people around, it was suffocating, and I managed to squeeze my way out to the garden.
The garden was a maze of grass tended to diligently by the gardeners, and I turned my steps towards the roses blooming among them.
Although it was tangled like a maze, it was simply complex at best.
It was a garden made on the vast estate of the Imperial Palace, larger than an ordinary large farm.
It couldn’t possibly be ordinary.
A place where you could find all the flowers that bloom in summer.
The mixed scents carried by the wind were more pleasant than any perfume.
I wandered the garden, facing the full moon.
The garden was empty, only calmness remained, and this tranquility was what made my heart feel the most at ease.
A sense of leisure that only comes right after reincarnation; perhaps I wouldn’t feel this way at any other time.
If it were the past, I would have been busy trying to build connections and networks.
I thought that if I could just have one more person on my side, it would help me later on.
But the result was nothing short of tragic.
It was as if I had no one to trust at all.
When an unfavorable situation arose, everyone turned their backs on me.
Even those who treated me as their closest friends, and those who claimed to love me sincerely.
Perhaps they had approached me to use the name Taylor behind my back.
“Fucking idiot.”
As I spat out self-deprecating words, it felt a little freeing.
My vow for this life is to never make the same foolish mistakes again.
If I were to kill the Crown Prince and then die myself… well, at that point, I might be able to close my eyes without any regrets.
So, I stood there, staring blankly at the sky.
The lights of the Imperial Palace had dimmed somewhat, and now the stars were filled with faint glimmers.
Dots connected to form lines, which gathered to become a single mass.
Just when I was immersed in the baptism of light, unable to find even a small bit of darkness,
a voice echoed in my ears.
“It’s not good to insult yourself like that.”
There was a strange chill in the graceful tone.
It didn’t stem from the hostility directed at me like Yuria’s.
It was more like a rebuttal to something, or rather, a critique of my attitude.
When I turned my head in surprise, my eyes widened at a clothing choice that didn’t match the Imperial Palace at all.
“It’s been a long time since I came to the palace, but to see you as my first sight is either fortunate or unfortunate.”
While everyone else wore extravagant clothes, that rough attire resembled a pale black.
Unlike the white hair mixed with moonlight, the black clothes perfectly blended into the darkness.
No, they were more akin to a cloak.
A cloak that the people of the North wear, with wolf fur wrapped around the neck, billowing in the wind as if it were a reality.
“…Lady Adele.”
A ruler of the North, even the Crown Prince would find it difficult to approach her. A possessor of power granted by the Empire.
She was called an iron wall, guarding the borders, but it referred solely to a woman, not a man.
Snow-white hair fluttered like snowflakes.
Yet, her beautiful appearance was not overshadowed by the stars; my gaze was still firmly set on her face.
Behind her, the round full moon stood, and even in the shadowed expression lit by backlight, a faint smile was surely conveyed.
I mumbled absentmindedly. I had expected her to come, but meeting her at this moment was a first.
“I didn’t expect to meet you here.”
“That goes for me as well. It’s by chance that I came to the garden.”
Adele Igrit, the Grand Duchess of the North, smiled at me.
“Nice to meet you, Duke Taylor.”
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