Invitation Day of the Princess
The tea party in Este still had some time left, so I decided to accept the Princess’s invitation. Of course, I couldn’t just decline because the dates overlapped.
Fortunately, the dates didn’t coincide.
“The Princess is said to be truly beautiful… I wanted to see it for myself…”
Lily sighed softly with a hint of disappointment. I wanted to take her along, but it was simply not possible.
“It’s an unofficial invitation. It can’t be helped.”
This wasn’t a banquet or anything, but a genuinely personal invitation.
Considering they even provided a disguise carriage to avoid the public eye, it must be something of great importance.
But was there really a significant reason for the Princess to send such an important invitation to me? The only thing that came to mind was that she seemed to have some slight acquaintance with Abel.
After all, I had talked alone with him when I first returned to the banquet.
I hadn’t brought it up, but Abel didn’t seem particularly fond of her either.
“…Done! It’s finished!”
Lily declared confidently as she showed me her reflection in the mirror. The mirror reflected a beautiful noblewoman.
Even without makeup, her looks could make one wonder if she was even human, and with the makeup, it was utterly jaw-dropping.
I knew Lily’s skills were impressive, but every time I saw her work, I couldn’t help but be amazed.
“You look beautiful. Thank you, Lily.”
“Hehe. It’s nothing. I just brought out Miss Adele’s beauty.”
She scratched her head shyly at my gratitude.
“Ah, we’re going to be late. The carriage has already arrived.”
Lily said as she led me toward the carriage. Maybe it was because it was midnight, but the street where the carriage stood was eerily quiet.
I couldn’t understand why the Princess had invited me at such an hour…
But I had to go anyway.
Thinking that, I climbed into the carriage.
§
“Princess. Miss Este has arrived.”
The maid bowing as she said that made me chuckle a bit at her awkwardness.
“Hmm. Is that so? We need to get ready.”
She nodded, looking a little uncomfortable. Her face was full of discontent, even with just a glance, so I didn’t need to read her thoughts to know what was on her mind.
‘Why on earth would she invite someone like that…’
As always, her thoughts flowed into my ears. It was the only power bestowed upon her for being born as royalty.
Whether she wanted it or not, the thoughts of others trickled into her ears, and it felt more like a curse than power.
Being a royal, especially a princess, yet choosing to be a loner was mainly because of this power.
The clash between their faces and thoughts was too vivid. Seeing someone with a human face inwardly cursing and tearing into each other like beasts made me nauseous.
So she practically cut all her ties with people. And now rumors about being an unbreakable flower began to circulate.
Since it came from those with the hearts of beasts, the words were filthy. It was much easier to deal with those whose thoughts matched their actions.
For instance, like the person standing right in front of me.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”
“Ah… I’m sorry. I must’ve failed at managing my expression again.”
I shook my head at the maid who lowered her head in a hurry.
No matter how much I disliked the royal maid, I wasn’t cruel enough to punish her for such a minor mistake.
“It’s okay. You can go now.”
Out of all the maids that had attended to her, only this one had never spoken her thoughts aloud.
That’s why I appreciated how she always made an effort not to cross the line.
‘Should I practice my expressions?’
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the maid leaving the room, completely lost in thought.
Even if she practiced, it didn’t mean I wouldn’t be able to read her thoughts.
By the way, that’s Abel’s fiancée. One of the few people whose thoughts I couldn’t read and a duke plotting the imperial family’s downfall. I didn’t care about the rumors that painted her as an evil villain committing heinous acts.
After all, how many meaningful rumors could you find among the beasts of high society? Just the nonsense spreading about me alone would be hard to count on two hands.
I was more curious about why Abel considered her a key element of his plans.
‘What could it be?’
I sipped my coffee from the cup and leaned against the window to gaze outside.
Before me was the dull sight of a garden with every kind of white flower lined up like soldiers.
Before long, I turned my head as the maid came back in through the door, startled at my unchanged attire.
“Princess, you need to change out of your pajamas!”
“I don’t mind. Just accompany the young lady, and you can go now.”
“But—”
“Irina von Sarte.”
As I called her full name, she froze on the spot. I waved my hand slightly, and Irina quickly bowed her head and exited the room.
Soon after, she returned, trembling hands pushing the door open as she brought in the young lady.
With her dark hair and ruby-like red eyes, she had a beauty that could rival mine. It was a woman of quite a sharp impression.
Was that her? The infamous Adele von Este.
“Princess, I brought Miss Este.”
“Thank you for your hard work. You may leave.”
“..Yes.”
Irina bowed sharply and walked out through the door again. Adele stood there looking somewhat lost and processing the situation.
As I looked at her, I noticed a peculiar detail.
‘I can’t hear her thoughts?’
Sure enough, there must be a reason Abel was drawn to her. She seemed to belong to a special category of people.
“It’s an honor to meet the Empire’s little star.”
Adele tried to suppress her unease and greeted me calmly. Her quick thinking was a bit slow, but her judgment wasn’t bad.
Just standing there, though, would surely give her blisters on her feet.
“You look uncomfortable. How about sitting on the bed?”
“Ah, no! I can’t trouble the Princess like that…”
“The trouble was caused by me first, so it’s fine.”
As I said this and fiddled with my negligee, she reluctantly took a step forward.
Sitting on the bed in one corner of the large room, Adele looked around as if fascinated by her surroundings.
“The room is quite spacious, isn’t it?”
“Yes, certainly…”
It was a room that could easily rival a small banquet hall. It was given to me by the Emperor because it was deemed suitable for royalty.
I didn’t particularly like it, but well, it couldn’t be helped.
“How’s the contract marriage going?”
“It’s not bad, is it?”
Adele reflexively responded but then hesitated. Her somewhat dumbfounded expression made me chuckle.
“So, it really was a contract marriage?”
She didn’t seem to mind the probing question and replied so simply. Judging by her reaction, she was sweating profusely.
“What is…?”
“Hahaha. I’m just kidding, just joking. I’ve already heard from Abel.”
It wasn’t entirely a joke. This was, in a sense, a test regarding Adele. According to Abel, it was to see if she could truly be a key to the plan.
“I see.”
“Why do you think I called you here?”
“I don’t know.”
Adele shook her head in confusion. The previous light atmosphere was replaced with a distinctly guarded demeanor.
“You don’t know much about Abel, do you?”
“No. I’ve heard enough from him directly.”
So that was it. She didn’t pass with flying colors but wasn’t outright failing either. Of course, all these tests were secondary.
What I truly wanted to test was something else.
“Hmm… What do you think of Abel?”
“Do I have to say?”
“Oh? Do I have a grudge against you?”
I smiled as I said that, but Adele’s guard didn’t lower.
“Shall I share something about Abel?”
Her expression turned serious, and Adele brushed her arms lightly. She was clearly shaken by my previous question.
I had a feeling Abel hadn’t shared anything with her.
“Abel plans to bring down the imperial family.”
“..What? What are you talking about?”
Adele asked, doubting her ears, thinking she must have misheard me. If she had only seen Abel’s public activities, she would have never suspected such a thing.
It was just that meticulously quiet rebellion he was preparing.
“I’m serious. I’m also on Abel’s side.”
Perhaps from the shocking info, Adele frowned. She looked confused as if she couldn’t easily accept my words.
Though her reaction didn’t truly matter. What was important was the answer to my question.
“Just one thing. Are you really on Abel’s side?”
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