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~Chapter 45~
Where am I, and who am I?
I sat on a ridiculously comfortable sofa, with nothing better to do than count the patterns on the wallpaper.
I had come here to meet Richard. So how on earth did it end up like this?
He had even replied, saying he would be at the imperial palace.
But when I arrived, Richard was away on some other business. Instead, the head chamberlain, who seemed to have been waiting for me, led me straight into the Crown Prince’s palace.
“Long time no see, Lady Amelie. Have you been well?”
A few minutes later, Bastian appeared and shamelessly greeted me.
Really? He wouldn’t meet me when I asked before, yet now he suddenly drags me in like this? What was he thinking, ambushing me when I came for something else?
“Yes, thanks to you, I’ve been well. It seems Your Highness has been very busy.”
“I do feel sorry for refusing your previous requests for an audience. There have been too many matters demanding my attention.”
“I heard news that Your Highness has been preparing to welcome the future Crown Princess.”
Rumors about Bastian’s engagement had been around for a while.
At twenty-six, he was already late compared to most crown princes, so it wasn’t surprising. Still, with no scandals or gossip, most people dismissed it as nonsense.
But then, an article appeared in the Imperial Gazette confirming the engagement was imminent.
“That has been one of my concerns as well. But the truth is…” Bastian smiled faintly.
“The real reason was… I felt embarrassed to meet you.”
“…Have you done something wrong to me, Your Highness?”
Bastian might have been blunt in our first meeting, but he hadn’t said anything truly wrong. He even encouraged me to stay close to Richard and Lyssa.
Ironically, because of that advice, I now suspected him of being the hidden mastermind. But embarrassment? That didn’t fit.
“It wasn’t a mistake. I only regret saying something out of selfishness.”
“I don’t recall anything that would deserve regret.”
“Let’s just say it’s my own personal reflection.”
…What kind of answer was that?
In the end, my question went unresolved.
“Then why change your mind and call me here now?”
“I heard you’ve started a business in the capital. I couldn’t just ignore that. You opened quite a unique shop— a counseling office.”
How did word of my small shop even reach the Crown Prince? If even he knew, shouldn’t I have more customers by now? The thought made me oddly embarrassed.
“But since I can’t visit your shop myself, I created this opportunity instead. Ah, and by the way… the reply you received from Richard? I wrote it. I figured if I invited you directly, you’d refuse.”
“…Has anyone ever told you your idea of embarrassment is rather… unusual?”
He admitted his trick so confidently that I was left speechless. Truly, power gives people the audacity to say anything with a straight face.
“Who would dare say such a thing to me?”
“Well… true enough.”
I swallowed back my words before my tongue got me into trouble. With him, bold sayings were dangerous in more ways than one.
“They say you’ve been famous since your knight order days for listening well to others’ worries. Especially love troubles—no one can match your advice.”
Complimenting me out of nowhere? That wasn’t like him.
Besides, he specifically mentioned love problems. Suspicious.
I quickly activated my worry icon to check.
“Your Highness… are you troubled by love?”
Above his head wasn’t a lock this time—
A massive, glowing red heart hovered proudly.
I had never seen a heart that big before.
“…I’ve never heard of Lady Amelie having the ability to read people’s troubles.”
Bastian gave a small smile, indirectly admitting it was true.
The Crown Prince, troubled by love—despite being about to marry?
Scenes from political romance novels flashed in my head.
“It was just a guess, since you kept bringing up worries and my shop.”
“If you guess correctly again, I’ll start calling you a fortune-teller.”
“Haha…”
Better keep the latte-reading trick secret for now.
“May I ask what exactly troubles you?”
“It isn’t anything special. I’m in love with a woman… but I must marry someone else.”
“The fate of a royal, you could say.”
“As expected of Lady Amelie, you understand well—even without being royalty yourself.”
Of course I did. In romance novels, royal men were always torn between love and duty.
Still, the unlocked icon meant he was at least a secondary lead in this story. That made the “Logan is the true villain” theory even stronger.
“But hearing it called ‘fate’ only makes me want to rebel against it.”
“If marriage isn’t absolutely unavoidable, wouldn’t it be best to marry the one you truly love?”
“Unfortunately, neither of us can give up certain things. That’s why it can’t be.”
For the first time, Bastian’s usual smooth smile faded into a heavy shadow.
I tried to peek at his affection list by winking at the system.
System
(っ °Д °) !
Not enough experience to access this information.
Please gain more experience and try again.
What?! Not a paywall system too!
Just when I wanted to help him, the system glitched again.
“You’ve heard enough already. Forget everything I said today. Not that I think you’d be foolish enough to leak the Crown Prince’s secrets.”
Bastian returned to his usual tone, lightly warning me to keep quiet.
After that, he never again mentioned anything related to his worries.
The next day at work, I sat at my desk,整理ng my notebook with the conversation I had with Bastian and the tasks I needed to handle moving forward.
In short, there were three:
-
Attend social gatherings to attract more clients for the counseling office.
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Gather as much information as possible about Sir Logan.
-
And most importantly, make Bastian reveal his true feelings before his official engagement.
Only three items, but each one was a heavy responsibility.
“The most important one among these… is definitely attending a social gathering.”
To unlock Logan’s secret and to discover the identity of Bastian’s mysterious lover—
I had to attend a social event, a place overflowing with gossip, romance, and hidden information.
The problem was finding one that wasn’t too closely tied to the Imperial Family. After all, thanks to Bastian, my situation had become even trickier. And my life was far too precious to risk needlessly.
But no matter how much I searched the Garnet family mansion, I couldn’t find a single invitation. Not even for a small tea party.
“Well, if it comes down to it, I’ll just have to ask Viscount Garnet for help.”
Knock, knock. Clink—
“Amelie! I’m here!”
Just as I was about to pull my hair out, even considering asking the Viscount… Lillian burst into the room with her usual lively greeting after two knocks.
That’s right! I still had Lillian!
“See? Heaven never truly abandons you.”
Right when I was about to despair, Lillian appeared like a divine revelation.
