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Chapter 38
“Eh?”
I wasn’t the only one caught off guard.
But Julie had already sprung to her feet and, like a dam bursting, began pouring out everything she wanted to say.
“Of course, His Highness the Second Prince is about to come of age and grows more beautiful by the day, but it’s true that His Highness the Crown Prince—the light and rising star of this empire—shines even more brightly! I simply must speak the truth on this!”
Thud.
After rattling all that off without taking a single breath—like some kind of rapper—Julie plopped back into her seat.
Whoooosh.
As if on cue, a breeze swept past, and silence settled over the tea table.
“Ahem.”
Feigning a cough, Julie snapped open her fan and hid her face behind it. But the tips of her ears peeking out were still bright red.
“…Ahaha!”
In the end, I couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.
Through the lace of her fan, Julie’s round eyes blinked rapidly.
‘Oh dear, did I laugh too loudly?’
Worried I might have hurt her feelings, I deliberately softened my tone.
“Is His Highness the Crown Prince really that handsome? I’ve never met him before, so I’m curious.”
“Oh my, of course! But you might see him soon. His Highness’s birthday is coming up. There will surely be a banquet in the capital!”
“A banquet… I wonder if I’d even be allowed to attend.”
I shrugged lightly.
First, I’d have to go to the imperial palace to even see anything.
No matter how I thought about it, the Grand Duke wouldn’t let me go so easily.
In most romance fantasy novels, isn’t the imperial family always the main stage for the key characters?
‘The male lead must be the Crown Prince. I can feel it. If she’s praising him that passionately, just how handsome is he?’
Considering the Grand Duke’s looks, the Crown Prince must be quite something too.
The Grand Duke is the cold, aloof handsome type. Usually the male lead has to offer the opposite charm to the heroine, so maybe the Crown Prince is the warm, gentle type.
I was busy imagining his face on my own when a puzzled voice interrupted.
“The House of Grand Duke Celeste receives an invitation every year, though?”
“The invitation might come… but His Grace worries veeeery much even about me stepping outside the Grand Ducal estate.”
It was meant as a light complaint about the Grand Duke’s constant watchfulness and restrictions.
But perhaps they interpreted it differently.
The young ladies’ eyes began to waver.
Their gazes gradually shifted in one direction, and at the end of them—
‘Hm? Katarina?’
The tea party had ripened into full swing.
Katarina maintained a forced smile as she repeatedly sipped her milk tea.
Somehow… things were going terribly wrong.
“…And then at the imperial ball, you see? His Highness the Crown Prince definitely met my eyes!”
“Wow. Wasn’t that him making the first move?”
At Julie’s impassioned speech, René’s red eyes sparkled as she eagerly chimed in.
“Right? That’s what it was, right?!”
“Oh my! It was just eye contact—what’s the big deal?”
Apparently pleased by that comment, Julie was about to continue enthusiastically when Serena, who had been quietly listening, let out a dismissive snort.
René’s eyes narrowed mischievously.
Then, in a teasing tone, she asked, “Serena, do you like His Highness the Crown Prince too?”
“W-What? Of course not! If I’m being honest, I prefer a cold, handsome man like His Grace the Grand Duke of Celeste rather than the Crown Prince… Oh my! What an irreverent thing to say in front of Her Grace the Grand Duchess!”
Serena’s face flushed bright red as she flustered.
René merely shrugged as if it were nothing.
“Why not? We’re just talking about appearances. Hmm, so the Crown Prince is the warm, gentle type? Interesting. This is an age-old dilemma, after all. A cold, frosty man who’s warm only to his woman? Or a soft and kind man who’s gentle to everyone? What’s your preference, ladies?”
“……”
Katarina’s hand trembled as she set down her teacup.
Completely unlike what she had expected, René was actually having a lively and engaging conversation with the other ladies!
It was even interesting just to listen to!
Warm type vs. cold type—what a topic.
Hmph, obviously the warm type!
‘Wait! What am I thinking?’
Katarina pressed her lips together, realizing she’d gotten swept up in the discussion without meaning to.
They had chatted away without noticing the time, and before they knew it, it was late afternoon.
‘What is this? Do they think they really just came here to hang out? This isn’t helping at all!’
As the evening glow spread red across the sky, Katarina grew more impatient.
“Lilian, I don’t think that young lord is very suitable for—”
Meanwhile, René was completely immersed in the ladies’ stories, seriously offering romantic advice.
Katarina deliberately called out more forcefully.
“Lady René!”
“Lilian is too good for— Hm? Katarina. You called?”
“We agreed to go boating, and yet you’ve been chatting with the ladies for hours.”
“Oh, right! We were going boating.”
René blinked, finally coming to her senses.
But—
“Lady René! You really think Lord Antoine isn’t suitable? I’m so confused!”
Lilian, far more engrossed than René, had grabbed the hem of her skirt and showed no intention of letting go.
When had they grown so close? They were already calling each other by name.
Even that ignited Katarina’s jealousy.
Her irritation burst out at once.
“Is that really what’s important right now?”
“W-Well…”
Lilian shot her an offended look at the sharp remark, but quickly shrank back.
It almost looked as though flames were blazing behind Katarina’s back.
Unbothered, René gently took Lilian’s hand and spoke.
She sounded utterly serious—but to anyone else, her words were completely bizarre.
“Lilian, listen carefully. That uneasy feeling? It’s a danger signal sent by your ancestors. Pee-yong, pee-yong! You mustn’t ignore it!”
“Pee… yong pee-yong?”
“We’ll set another day to talk properly. Next time, you can even stay the night.”
Though she didn’t fully understand the first part, Lilian clearly understood the last.
“Oh my! At the Celeste Grand Ducal estate? Would that really be allowed?”
“Well… if His Grace says no, we’ll all secretly sleep together in my bed. It’s honestly big enough for all of us.”
“Hohoho! What an amusing idea!”
“I’m not joking…”
The young ladies burst into laughter, assuming René must be teasing.
Clicking her tongue lightly, René stood up.
Following behind, Katarina shot the ladies a sharp glare.
“Lady Lilian, Lady Julie, Lady Serena… What a veeeery pleasant time we’ve had today. Wouldn’t you agree?”
She emphasized every word.
“Y-Yes…!”
Only then did the three ladies awkwardly gauge Katarina’s mood.
Instead of humiliating René as Katarina had asked, they had become completely absorbed and ended up acting like genuine friends.
But having met René in person, they found she had a charm that drew people in.
She was nothing like the rumors in high society—or Katarina’s criticisms.
“…Ha.”
Katarina couldn’t even hide her heavy breathing as she struggled to contain her anger.
“Aha ha…”
Just as the three ladies tried to smooth things over with awkward laughter—
“!”
A small hand suddenly grabbed Katarina’s.
It was, of course, René.
Startled by the sudden contact, Katarina’s eyes widened.
Without noticing that Katarina had frozen in place, René fixed her gaze on the other ladies and said,
“Today, Katarina and I came out to go boating alone. It’s a shame, but we’ll take the boat just the two of us. I hope you enjoy the rest of your time.”
We’ll be off now.
With that calm remark, René tugged Katarina along—
Turning the heart of the taller girl completely upside down.
As the petite woman walked with light steps, she whispered softly,
“You’ve been quiet for a while. We were supposed to play together—were you upset?”
“T-That’s… Do you think I’m a child?”
Flustered, she forgot to maintain her façade and spoke in her usual prickly tone.
Taking it as genuine sulking, René let out a small laugh.
“Alright, alright. From now on, it’s just the two of us, okay? No one else.”
At the sight of her faint smile, Katarina’s heart pounded.
‘This is strange… Why do I feel like this?’
