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Chapter 24
“…Your Highness.”
He quietly called me while still half-asleep, and the way he looked was like a scene straight out of a bedroom photo shoot—almost charming enough to make my heart skip a beat.
For a moment, I nearly felt a flutter of excitement.
But any such thought immediately vanished when I considered his current state.
“You two must have gotten pretty close last night.”
I made a teasing remark, and Friedrich’s face registered confusion.
But once he realized the situation, his eyes widened like golf balls.
“Ugh!”
Friedrich suddenly shoved Joachim off the bed.
Joachim tumbled to the floor, and I sat there, dumbfounded, alternating my gaze between Friedrich and Joachim.
“Your Highness, Duke Rommel is….”
Friedrich’s face twisted in indignation. He trembled, biting his lips so hard they turned pale.
“How could you treat me like this…?”
“Ah… but you just threw him?”
Joachim groaned from under the bed as he revealed himself, and Friedrich glared at him with a cold, piercing stare.
“Disgraceful. Have you even considered the wrong in grabbing someone’s body without consent?”
“Well… that’s…”
“D-Duke Rommel.”
I, too, was shocked and quietly gestured to Joachim. Some things had to be addressed properly.
“Come over here for a moment.”
At my words, Friedrich’s expression froze in utter bewilderment. In contrast, Joachim stepped forward eagerly, shoving Friedrich aside slightly.
“Come closer.”
Friedrich looked even more stunned, while Joachim’s expression grew increasingly triumphant. What are they even thinking?
“I’d like an honest answer.”
“I will answer anything, Your Highness.”
“Why did you want to become my consort… was it perhaps because of Friedrich?”
Joachim’s face went blank for a moment. Had he been found out?
“I saw you holding the young prince’s waist in a way that was… not exactly friendly…”
“Ah, no, Your Highness!”
Joachim waved his hands frantically.
“It’s a misunderstanding. I am in no way… my loyalty and heart belong solely to Your Highness, the Princess.”
“But your hands seemed to be loyal to someone else?”
“That…!”
Joachim looked flustered for a moment, then quickly composed himself.
“That was… only because I was worried the young prince might fall from the bed yesterday.”
“Isn’t that why we arranged ourselves around Friedrich when sleeping?”
“…We did.”
He seemed moved by the sudden reminder but quickly returned to the topic.
“However, the prince is so small, Your Highness. I couldn’t relax.”
At his words, Friedrich glared at him in utter disbelief. So… it wasn’t what it looked like?
‘That was a surprise.’
I let out a sigh.
“In any case, it’s inappropriate to act without consent, Duke. Please be careful next time.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”
“Friedrich, are you feeling alright now?”
I turned to Friedrich, who was still sitting there in a daze.
“…Yes.”
Friedrich let out a faint sigh.
“I never imagined that the Duke of the great state of Stade could be such a scoundrel.”
“Ha, you know who the real scoundrel is, Your Highness… the one who…”
Joachim tried to protest, but ultimately shook his head without saying more.
“Indeed. It is also wrong to play unfairly with a child.”
“Looks like your eyes are already dimming. You’re no longer a child, Duke.”
“You’ll hear that again at midnight, Prince.”
“Alright, stop fighting.”
As expected, leaving the two of them together was exhausting. Even though I had just gotten up, I already felt tired and quickly got to my feet.
“I’ll return to the Rene Palace. Friedrich, come with me.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Friedrich immediately stood, and Joachim hurriedly followed.
“Your Highness, I—”
“You should return to your duke’s residence.”
Before Joachim could respond, I continued.
“Remember last night’s promise. But that doesn’t mean you can enter Rene Palace without proper procedure. You have tasks to handle and luggage to take care of, right?”
“Of course, but I do have time to escort Your Highness to Rene Palace.”
“Well, I won’t stop you.”
I replied indifferently and left the room. Soon, I encountered the palace attendants tidying up.
“Y-Your Highness!”
“Glory to Stade’s shining star!”
The attendants froze when they saw Friedrich and Joachim exiting behind me, hastily bowing.
I tried to pass by casually, but a sudden ominous thought made me pause.
…Ah, I have a feeling strange rumors will spread again.
Why are bad premonitions always right?
“So that’s why you didn’t return to Rene Palace then.”
Elza spoke casually while brushing my hair. I looked at her, surprised.
“You forgot last time, but I noticed Your Highness occasionally gets embarrassed at unexpected times.”
“What do you mean?”
“Bringing back both a man whose consort proposal you rejected and your fiancé at the same time to Rene Palace is rather… unprecedented.”
“…Ah, damn it.”
So the rumors had already spread. I shook my head, no longer surprised.
“Are you admitting it?”
“There’s no need to deny it. Everyone will think so anyway. Don’t you agree?”
“Well… that’s true.”
“…Please don’t accept it so quickly.”
Elza casually changed the subject.
“Of course, Your Highness is rather fickle by nature.”
Right, at least I’m known for being unpredictable. Otherwise, it would have been far weirder for me to initially reject Joachim’s proposal and then accept it.
Even without considering my personality, the situation was undeniably strange.
“The Duke is right. Treasure is always good. There’s no reason to refuse it.”
Seeing Elza sigh lightly at my words, I frowned.
“A sigh of relief?”
“Now, you’re a little more like the princess I know. You’ve been a bit… odd lately.”
Her quiet remark made me flinch internally, though I tried not to show it.
“So, your disinterest in the throne… that’s still valid, right?”
“Yes, that remains the same.”
Of course, people probably wouldn’t believe me, but that’s the problem. I can show them in time. More importantly…
“I’m worried about Friedrich.”
“Suddenly?”
“Wasn’t the Kingdom of Kiel strictly monogamous? What if he’s shocked that I accepted Joachim as my consort?”
I was mostly worried to protect Friedrich’s secret… I had always been concerned that he might think I wasn’t satisfied with this marriage.
“If you’re that concerned, why not check on him?”
Elza asked quietly.
“I’ve noticed the prince’s room lights staying on late recently. He seems unable to sleep.”
“…Really?”
Was he really that shocked? So much that he couldn’t sleep at a time when a child should?
Thinking that, I immediately got up.
Elza didn’t flinch and draped a thin silk shawl over my shoulders.
I went straight to Friedrich’s room and turned the doorknob without knocking. The door opened without resistance.
Friedrich was sitting at his desk, hastily trying to hide something.
“What are you doing?”
“Ah, just…”
Friedrich stammered, looking slightly flustered.
“Just… sewing.”
“Sewing? Have you suddenly taken up that hobby?”
“When it’s finished… I’ll show you.”
“Alright.”
I smiled lightly, unaware of what he was actually making at the time.
