SPWHC 30

Chapter 30

Mari Stade was the original novel’s heroine. But before that, she was also René Stade’s half-sister.

Because this was my first time seeing the original heroine’s half-sister, I was extremely nervous, but I sat across from her without letting it show.

At almost the same moment, Mari Stade got up from her seat and knelt.

“G-greetings to the Empire’s radiant morning star.”

“Rise, Mari. We’re sisters; such formality is unnecessary.”

Anton barely even nods when he sees me, for heaven’s sake.

Thinking the two of them really needed a mix of each other’s personalities, I personally helped Mari stand up. If I only told her to rise, she might take forever.

Mari hesitated as she rose, her legs trembling violently.

How nervous must she be for her legs to buckle like that?

Feeling a pang of pity, I personally seated her and quietly observed her.

Mari Stade was a pretty girl with ruby-red eyes and hair the color of the navy dawn sky.

She was fifteen this year, evidently thin and delicate. I didn’t see any signs of abuse, but she looked timid and easily frightened.

Well, if a half-sister you’ve barely lived with suddenly shows interest, of course she’d be nervous.

Especially if that half-sister is a royal heir candidate who normally has no interest in anyone and lives in her own world.

So Friedrich lived trapped like this from this age on…

Perhaps that’s why Mari tugged at my heart even more. She was so painfully young.

“Do you need anything?”

I tried not to sound like I was showing too much concern.

Mari looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“Anything you’re uncomfortable with. Problems that need to be fixed.”

“……”

“Of course, all of this must feel sudden to you.”

I tried not to sound awkward as I said it.

“I just… realized I’ve been far too uninterested in you.”

“……”

“So don’t worry and tell me. I’ll handle whatever I can.”

I kept my tone as matter-of-fact as possible, and Mari’s eyes trembled. She looked bewildered, unable to trust me so easily.

Well, being too trusting is worse for survival anyway. In the original novel, Mari Stade was a cautious character.

Quiet, too.

She rarely expressed her thoughts, to the point where even Friedrich often felt frustrated.

So of course a single meeting wouldn’t make her open her heart.

No need to rush. I told myself to keep calm and stood up.

Mari flinched and looked at me. I smiled and patted her head.

She flinched again, but didn’t seem inclined to avoid it, which somehow made her look even more pitiful. The maids outside probably never treated her like this.

“I know. You don’t trust me yet.”

Mari looked up at me with a frightened face. I continued with a soft smile.

“You don’t have to say anything right now. I’ll wait until you trust me. I’ll keep coming until you do.”

I waved lightly to her and left the reception room. A middle-aged woman hurried after me, flustered.

“What family are you from?”

At my question, the woman flinched and bowed hastily.

“I am Anna of House Neuban.”

“The baron’s wife.”

I nodded and said,

“Please take good care of Mari. I’ll see you again.”

“P-pardon? Ah, yes!”

The Neuban baroness nearly bowed low enough for her forehead to hit the ground, but I left the scene with practiced ease and headed toward the René Palace.

“Where’s Friedrich?”

I casually asked, thinking we could have dinner together. Elsa’s reply was unexpected.

“He is with Duke Rommel.”

“With Joachim? Just the two of them?”

I stared at her in surprise.

“Are they fighting?”

“I don’t believe so. They seem to be getting along rather well. They’re having dinner together in the dining hall.”

Another surprising development. Curious about what the two were discussing, I headed straight there.

“So it’s something you keep for life…”

“And don’t make it too obvious…”

They were whispering together in what looked like a private conversation!

How odd. Weren’t they not getting along just yesterday?

The moment I opened the door, the two froze like statues.

“…Am I interrupting?”

“Of course not.”

Joachim shot to his feet. I sat at the head of the table and looked between the two.

Asking what they were talking about only made them clam up again.

“Just the wedding. That’s all.”

Joachim answered belatedly, and I blinked in confusion.

“I thought we were done discussing wedding dresses?”

“The prince may not yet be familiar with Stade customs, so I was teaching him in more detail.”

…Since when has he been so polite to Friedrich?

When I gave Friedrich a questioning look, he nodded as if to say it was true. Hm. I guess I can believe that?

“You’re not bullying him, right?”

“Never.”

Joachim shook his head quickly. Friedrich didn’t look like he was being mistreated either. Still surprising, though.

“Didn’t expect you two to suddenly get along. Maybe locking you up yesterday did work?”

Both of their expressions twisted at once. Guess that wasn’t it.

“We’re not that close.”

Joachim looked genuinely offended, with a hint of betrayal.

“So you’re becoming close? Ah, right—earlier the duke said he cherished you.”

At that, both Friedrich’s and Joachim’s eyes flew wide.

Joachim stared at Friedrich in shock, while Friedrich stammered.

“I-I never said—”

“You said someone precious to me is precious to you.”

“So Her Highness finds me precious.”

Meanwhile Joachim seemed moved. Friedrich looked flustered and embarrassed, then mumbled while lowering his head.

“…I withdraw the ‘precious’ part. Let’s just say we’re getting along… somewhat…”

“Ah, so that’s why you knocked on my door earlier.”

“……”

Friedrich bit his lip, strangely ashamed. I decided to stop teasing him and patted his shoulder with a smile.

“How sweet. I thought it was just empty words.”

Friedrich slowly lifted his head and gave me a faint smile.

It was so pretty I stared for a moment—right until I felt a burning stare from the side.

When I turned, Joachim was glaring at the shoulder I had touched.

When our eyes met, he immediately softened his expression into something harmless.

I chuckled and patted his shoulder too.

“There. Happy now?”

It was basically bending over backward to humor him, but he still looked satisfied. Honestly, unbelievable.

“You get jealous over everything. I didn’t know the duke was this childish.”

“A man can become as childish as he wants in love, Your Highness.”

“….”

The word love pricked my ears like a thorn. Joachim seemed to realize his mistake and quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, where did you come from?”

“The Nox Palace.”

“Ah, where Princess Mari lives.”

He blinked curiously.

“Did Your Highness suddenly develop an interest in her?”

“She’s my half-sister.”

I gave Friedrich a brief explanation since he wouldn’t know the backstory, then answered casually.

“His Majesty forgot she even existed. It felt too cold, so it bothered me.”

“…You’ve gotten gentle.”

Joachim murmured, almost unsettled.

I knew. My actions weren’t very “René-like.”

“Is that a complaint?”

I looked straight at him. He shook his head.

“I only hope a fraction of that gentleness reaches me as well.”

How he could say such embarrassing lines so effortlessly—I was momentarily speechless with admiration.

Then, beside us, Friedrich—who’d been watching Joachim in disbelief—suddenly began jotting something down on a napkin.

…What is he writing?

The wedding was approaching, but my daily life stayed the same.

I read books about magic in the library and occasionally visited the Nox Palace.

Since René’s personality would look suspicious if I went too often, I deliberately spaced out the visits—but recently Mari was always asleep, so I couldn’t meet her.

“At this rate she might sleep through my wedding, too.”

One day I joked to the Neuban baroness. She flinched and shook her head urgently.

“That will never happen, Your Highness.”

Finally, the day before the wedding arrived.

“Friedrich, let’s have lunch—”

I casually threw open Friedrich’s door and froze at the sight before me.