Chapter 24
“Pardon? You think the Second Prince discovered the magic tool?”
“…He probably did.”
I told Eunice everything that had happened last night, after she came to wake me.
I had been watching his sleeping face and ended up dozing off at the desk, leaving the magic tool there.
“What should I do? If Rio realized it’s a magic device and started analyzing the magic circuit, that’s a disaster. He’ll immediately know it’s a portable video communication device.”
If things went wrong, it could be called espionage—
and if someone insisted, even treason.
They could claim I spied on the Second Prince to assassinate him.
“Ugh, what do I do?! I can only think of the worst-case scenario!”
“No, miss. You are the daughter of the Duke of Roheim and also the Second Prince’s fiancée. There is an excuse you can use in the worst case.”
“What excuse?”
Eunice answered with a serious face.
“You wanted to check whether he had another woman besides you.”
…In other words, she was telling me to officially declare myself a jealous heroine.
“Y-you’re serious?”
“I am. Isn’t jealousy better than being a spy?”
“…That’s true, but…”
A spy or a paranoid fiancée.
Why did I have to choose one of the two?
Why did I fall asleep at the desk last night?
No matter how much I regretted it, it was useless.
“First… first, let’s go to the imperial palace.”
“And what will you do there?”
“I’ll confess quickly before it’s misunderstood as real spying.”
There’s an old saying—better to stop something early than let it grow worse.
Better to take the hit first than avoid it and make things bigger.
Eunice nodded in agreement.
I made the minimum preparations and went outside to head for the palace.
And I ran into my older sister, who had just finished work.
“Oh, Cecil? Did you come out to greet me?”
“Huh? Why are you coming back now? Were you on night duty?”
“Yes. Night patrol at the Second Prince’s palace.”
“…The Second Prince’s palace?”
Eunice and I reflexively looked at each other.
My sister noticed the strange mood, looked puzzled, then smiled as if she realized something.
“Cecil, were you on your way to see His Highness?”
“Huh? …How did you know?”
“I told you I’m coming from the Second Prince’s palace. I heard people whispering.”
“W-whispering? About what?”
Had they already discovered that I was the owner of the blue bird magic tool?
“They were wondering whether His Highness realized why you were angry.”
“…That story is spreading in the Second Prince’s palace right now?”
Ah.
So people around had heard my conversation with Lionel yesterday.
My face burned with late embarrassment, and I lightly hit my sister’s shoulder.
“If others tease your little sister, you should scold them!”
“If they meant it badly, I would have. But they were all worried about you. Since His Highness is so cold, they’re afraid the duke’s daughter might get hurt.”
“…Really? They serve the prince, yet they worry more about me than him?”
“I was surprised too. My younger sister, who hasn’t even debuted in society yet, already has quite a good reputation.”
Just as she said, I hadn’t even debuted in society—so why was everyone worried about me?
“Oh my… Rose, Cecil. What are you two doing standing here?”
“Ah, Mother. I’m back.”
The moment I saw Mother’s face, I remembered why I was here.
This wasn’t the time to laugh and chat!
“I-I have somewhere to go for a moment! I might have something to tell you later, or maybe not—I’m not sure—but let’s have lunch together later! You too, sister!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Haha, Mother. Cecil is busy dating right now.”
“Oh my?”
“That’s not it! Anyway, I’ll explain later!”
I kissed my sister on the cheek once, my mother once, and hurried into the carriage.
While the carriage headed toward the imperial palace, I spoke with Eunice.
“If Sister came home without trouble, maybe nothing serious has happened yet?”
“That could be true… but the young lady is not His Highness’s direct knight. The investigation might be proceeding in secret.”
“Ugh… that must not happen…”
The road to the palace felt endlessly long.
The moment the carriage finally stopped, I grabbed my skirt and jumped down without waiting for Eunice to escort me.
Then I rushed straight into the Second Prince’s palace.
“Where is the Second Prince right now?!”
“Pardon? Lady Duke, what brings you here at this hour…?”
“Today is not your scheduled visiting day.”
“That’s true, but… I need to see His Highness right now.”
The guards and servants in the lobby looked at each other in confusion at my sudden visit.
Even if I hadn’t announced it, when a guest arrives, they should host first and complain later!
As I felt frustrated by their slow response, Eunice handed me Lionel’s schedule.
“Miss, His Highness should be in a military studies class right now.”
“Really? When does it end?”
“In about thirty minutes—”
“Excuse me.”
At that moment, the head servant approached and spoke with a light cough.
“That class has been canceled. Therefore, His Highness is resting in his bedroom.”
“…Resting in his bedroom?”
The first thought in my mind was:
That terrible workaholic?
And resting—of all places—in his bedroom?
That’s where my magic tool infiltrated!
There was no time to hesitate.
I clenched my fist and said:
“Please guide me to His Highness’s bedroom.”
“Pardon? Even as his fiancée, before marriage, guiding you to such a private place is—”
“I must see with my own eyes that he is truly alone!”
“Wh-what?!”
Shock spread across the servants’ faces.
I knew very well I was digging my own grave.
But I had no choice.
Between social death and real death, the former was better.
There’s a saying—better to roll in dung in this world than die.
I squeezed my eyes shut and shouted:
“You’re not hiding that His Highness is on a date with another woman, are you?!”
“That is a misunderstanding! Absolutely not!”
“Then I need to confirm it with my own eyes.”
“Even so—”
“So you are hiding something! That’s why you’re keeping me, his fiancée, standing here in the lobby!”
“No! Absolutely not! We apologize for the poor reception. Please calm down and allow us to guide you to the reception room.”
“We will bring His Highness immediately.”
The servants tried hard to calm me.
Pushing my status as fiancée too far would only make my already burning face explode, so I nodded.
“Since you insist, I’ll trust His Highness. But please bring him right away. Understood?”
“Of course. Please wait a moment.”
One servant hurried upstairs, and I was guided to the reception room.
Warm rose tea was quickly served, as if already prepared.
“There is nothing to worry about, Lady Duke.”
“You saw His Highness’s schedule. He has no time to meet other ladies.”
The maids—who usually worked quietly and disappeared—spoke to me carefully.
Honestly, it would have been easier if they scolded me for causing trouble this early in the morning.
Because they looked genuinely sorry for me, I felt even more embarrassed and made an excuse:
“I surprised you by coming suddenly, didn’t I? I’m sorry. I have no dating experience, and the engagement happened so suddenly… And I’ve heard strange things from people around me…”
“Strange things?”
“Well… things like men secretly keeping mistresses after marriage… or never forgetting their first love… or staring at pretty women even while holding their partner’s arm…”
The maids looked at me with pitiful eyes, and the atmosphere turned solemn.
Th-this is strange. Why does it feel like everyone is pitying me?