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Chapter : 10
Frisia looked at them.
“What is it?”
“Sorry to ask you this the first time we meet, but is it true that you were driven out of the palace?”
Of the three, the young lady with brown hair standing in the middle spoke while covering her mouth with a fan. Her tone was polite, but there was something unsettling about it.
If you’re sorry to ask, then don’t ask something like that!
Frisia swept her gaze around. Everyone was looking at her. They didn’t dare approach, but they were clearly curious about what kind of conversation she was having with the three young ladies.
“It’s true. I’m living outside the palace.”
“Oh my, really?”
At Frisia’s words, the three exchanged glances and shared subtle smiles.
“I thought it might be true, and it was. I heard you were kicked out with nothing to your name.”
“My goodness… a princess in name only, with nothing at all. Are you all right?”
“At least you weren’t dethroned. Though being basically a beggar, you couldn’t possibly be fine. Hoho.”
The blunt words thrown out right in front of her made her flustered for a moment. Looking at their prim smiles, Frisia stopped forcing the smile she had been holding. It was impossible not to feel offended.
“But how did you end up coming with Young Duke Swieterad?”
“You’re not staying at the ducal estate, are you?”
They threw out the questions and exchanged looks among themselves before Frisia could even answer.
“Oh, no way. The Swieterad family is far too close to His Majesty the Emperor.”
“They wouldn’t take in an exiled princess.”
“Of course not. There’s nothing to gain.”
“Did you perhaps get a job as a maid because you had nowhere else to go?”
“Oh my! Surely not!”
“Hohoho, right?”
It seemed no one knew about their engagement. Watching the young ladies begin to mock her openly to her face, Frisia’s brow gradually furrowed. Such ugly conversation for such pretty faces. Perhaps they thought that, as rumored, Frisia was a meek and quiet princess who would just listen. The young ladies kept chattering on.
“A daughter abandoned by her own father… I’d rather be in my place.”
“Oh dear, that’s a bit much.”
As they talked among themselves, Frisia slowly lowered her gaze, then raised it again.
“Oh my, are you angry? I’m sorry.”
“We’re just bad at lying. Hoho.”
Since it was all true, she couldn’t exactly deny it. Still, the way they kept needling her was unbearably irritating. Sometimes the truth hurt more than lies. Frisia let out a dry laugh, then smiled calmly at them.
“So what is it you want to say?”
The young ladies exchanged looks, then each took a step closer to her.
“We wanted to give you some advice.”
“We can’t accept this. If Empress Rocherin were still alive, it might be different.”
“How dare a princess in name only come here escorted by the young duke?”
“So shameless.”
A wave of exhaustion suddenly washed over her. Ah. So that’s what this was. She’d wondered why they were picking a fight out of nowhere. It was because she had come together with Hatz, whom these girls liked. How childish. Seriously.
Frisia looked them over slowly.
“Then let me ask you something.”
“…?”
“Which one of you is close to Hatz?”
Frisia lightly touched the young ladies one by one— the beads on a shoulder, a necklace, an earring— tapping them with her fingers. Caught off guard by her unexpected behavior, the girls were flustered.
“What do you mean?”
“I was the one who entered holding his arm. And since arriving, I haven’t seen him talk to— no, even greet— another woman.”
“……”
“Yet you can speak to me this boldly. Doesn’t that mean you’re very close to Hatz?”
“Th-that’s…!”
Frisia grabbed one girl’s hair between her fingers and began to twist it lightly. Seeing their faces darken, she lifted the corner of her mouth.
“Which one of you?”
She was asking sincerely. If any of them truly had a relationship with Hatz— if there was even a chance— then breaking off the engagement would be Frisia’s victory. Unfortunately, none of them said a word.
“Ha.”
Frisia released the hair she had been holding and let out a scoff.
So there was nothing between them. Honestly, she would have preferred it if there were women who actually had something going on with him. Then she could have endured this provocation, however unpleasant it was.
“None of you, then?”
Frisia was genuinely annoyed now. One of the young ladies beside her glared and snapped,
“The young duke isn’t dating anyone. He’s everyone’s lover!”
“That’s right! No one can have him.”
What? Frisia’s eyebrows knit together sharply.
“What does that even mean?”
“It means he’s someone everyone here admires.”
“That part’s obvious. But why is he ‘everyone’s lover’?”
“All the young ladies made a promise. That no one would make a move on the young duke. Whoever confesses first is a traitor.”
Frisia was dumbfounded. What a bunch of ridiculous girls. Because everyone likes him, no one is allowed to touch him? And they even made a promise? Sure, Hatz might be the perfect man, but what kind of childish logic is this? It was even more absurd than her own complaints about how brushing fingertips counted as cheating. So Hatz is supposed to stay single forever? Are they insane? And what about my broken engagement?!
Frisia crossed her arms, her face turning cold.
“Why do you like him so much?”
“The young duke is someone anyone would like.”
Oh, what a grand love that is.
“Do you even know anything about him?”
“Who doesn’t know about the young duke?”
“Then let me rephrase. Do you know why people say Hatz hates women?”
“Well, that’s…”
Everyone hesitated.
“Want me to tell you?”
“…?”
Now even the nearby young ladies who had been eavesdropping turned their attention to Frisia.
“It’s because of women like you.”
“What did you say…!”
“You. Over there.”
“…Me?”
She pointed to the young lady standing farthest to the right.
“If Hatz confessed to you, what would you do?”
“W-What?! A confession? From the young duke?!”
“It’s a hypothetical. Just a hypothetical.”
“Well, of course I’d…”
She couldn’t finish her sentence under the gazes of the others, but her cheeks quickly turning red were answer enough. Frisia moved her finger again, this time pointing to the girl on the far left.
“And you?”
“Me?!”
“If Hatz confessed to you. Would you reject him?”
“No! Of course not!”
“You’d accept, right?”
“Well…”
Frisia wagged her finger at all of them.
“See? All of you wouldn’t reject him if he confessed. ‘Everyone’s lover’? What kind of nonsense is that? Try saying something that actually makes sense.”
“…?!”
“Go ahead and make a move! There’s no ‘everyone’ in love. That man is only one person. Whoever gets him first wins.”
At her blunt words, the young ladies’ eyes widened and their mouths fell open all at once. They’d never imagined such a thing being said. Who would have thought that the princess who appeared beside the scandal-free young duke would say something like this?
“Y-Your Highness!”
Seeing Frisia surrounded by the young ladies, Peach hurried down the stairs. Frisia gently shook off Peach’s hand gripping her arm.
“And another thing— choose your words more carefully.”
She tucked her pale pink hair behind her ear.
“I know very well how the rumors about me spread, but this crosses a line.”
“……”
“You’re arrogant, discourteous, and completely lacking in consideration.”
As if doused with cold water, the faces of the surrounding young ladies went pale.
“I’ve been internally singing ‘Until the East Sea dries up and Mount Baekdu wears away’ all the way to the second verse just to calm myself down, and it’s still not working.”
“Y-Your Highness…”
She felt Peach flinch beside her.
“It’s true that I was driven out of the palace and am a princess in name only. But you shouldn’t think I’m on the same level as you.”
“……”
“If you irritate me one more time, I’ll slap kimchi onto your eyelids and stuff chopped Cheongyang peppers into your nostrils.”
“……”
They probably didn’t understand what she meant. Still, everyone’s mouths fell open. Insults had a way of getting through anywhere.
Frisia smiled faintly. Then, patting Peach’s stiff shoulder, she looked around. Her eyes met Hatz’s at the table on the far left of the first floor. It seemed he had been watching her all along. The moment their eyes met, Hatz suddenly started walking toward her.
“Did something happen?”
“No, nothing.”
She smiled as she answered, but perhaps sensing something off, Hatz turned his head to look at the young ladies.
“Y-Young Duke…”
They gazed at him with pitiful, sorrowful expressions. One of them unconsciously reached out her arm toward him. At that moment, Frisia’s eyes sparkled.
Will she touch him? Is she touching him? A touch?! Come on, be brave— reach out even more!
But Hatz took a step back, neatly avoiding her arm. The young lady’s hand hung awkwardly in the air. Hatz looked at Frisia.
“It looks like something happened.”
“Tch.”
“It’s nothing. Everyone was asking about our relationship…”
“Oh.”
“And since they all rushed over at once, it was a little scary…”
Frisia lowered her head for no reason and pouted, as if she were intimidated. When she glanced sideways, the young ladies were staring at her with utterly speechless expressions. One corner of Frisia’s mouth curled up.
I’ve survived in this world for two years just by reading the room, you idiots.
Just then, Hatz wrapped one arm around her shoulders and whispered in her ear.
“Shall I say it?”
“Say what?”
“About us.”
“…!”
Why all of a sudden?! As Frisia froze in surprise, Hatz turned his head toward the young ladies.
“My apologies for the late introduction. This is my fiancée.”
Clatter! A fan someone had been holding fell to the floor. The exhibition hall erupted into murmurs in an instant.
Everyone stared at the two of them in shock. The young ladies’ widened eyes flicked back and forth between Hatz and Frisia. So a person’s complexion really could darken that quickly. As far as Frisia could tell, they were all thinking the same thing.
Who is this princess, anyway? Did she just tell us to go after her own fiancé?
The exhibition hall buzzed with everyone’s tangled thoughts. And the chaos finally came to an end when Hatz announced that he would soon be holding an engagement celebration party.
“You said you hate women.”
“Who said that?”
“Everyone says so.”
“……Don’t worry. You’re the exception.”
“……”
Does this man even know what he just said? Or is this just another line to charm her?
At Hatz’s casually tossed remark— whether sincere or not— Frisia’s heart suddenly fluttered. She stared blankly at his profile as he looked out the carriage window, then shook her head from side to side.
No. Get a grip, Frisia! Do you want to go bankrupt?
“So, are you really going to hold the party?”
“Why, you don’t like it?”
“No, I just don’t think it’s necessary.”
“If you don’t want to, I don’t mind canceling it. But if you don’t want to experience being disregarded like today again, it’ll be faster to firmly stamp you as my fiancée.”
“When did I ever say I was disregarded?”
“If that’s the case, then I’m glad.”
His words were true. She couldn’t deny that she had been looked down on. And among the people there, it wasn’t only the young ladies who had tried to mock her. Even if she hadn’t clashed with them, someone else might have disrespected her. Words far sharper than what those girls had said might have flown at her like daggers, tearing down her pride.
But the moment Hatz announced their engagement, the atmosphere, the gazes, the attitudes around them all changed. At that moment, Frisia was the fiancée of the heir to the mighty Swieterad family of the empire. Everyone looked at her as the future mistress of the Swieterad household. Not as a penniless princess in name only who had been cast out.
“Frisia.”
After staring out the window for a long time, Hatz turned his head.
“Don’t let anyone look down on you.”
“…?”
“It annoys me.”
