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Chapter 35
“……What?”
A hint of panic crept into Dave’s eyes as he ground his teeth and snapped back.
“What did you say? Am I wrong?”
“Yes. Your Highness was the one who first put your foot on my body.”
“……What?”
“You didn’t just touch a lady, Your Highness—you used your foot.”
“……”
“Why are you suddenly so enraged?”
“You, you’re saying… what now….”
Right.
Dave is a textbook “young noble from a wealthy family.”
Not just wealthy—the pinnacle of imperial nobility.
The Second Prince.
But having a lot doesn’t mean much when he’s nothing but a spoiled brat with a foul temper and not much intelligence.
The fact that he couldn’t immediately refute my words proved it.
While Dave was left speechless, I quickly put on a pitiful expression and spoke.
“Has something unpleasant happened to you, Your Highness? As a noble of this country, I am deeply concerned for your safety as a member of the imperial family, so please feel free to speak openly. Unless—”
I paused briefly, then continued.
“Did you deliberately put your foot out to a passing lady?”
“Pfft.”
A burst of laughter came from nearby.
Dave, who had clearly been ready to just shout at me, suddenly turned his head sharply.
I followed his gaze—and was taken aback.
“Good heavens.”
When did so many people gather?
I had momentarily forgotten, but this was the White Tower.
A repository of knowledge, home to countless scholars, geniuses, Pneuma, and the academy head.
It seemed many scholars had rushed over, intrigued by the Second Prince causing such a commotion.
“Soon even the Headmaster will come running.”
And I was hoping, very much, that he would come quickly.
Preferably along with my Pneuma, Schuls Schmidt.
Dave’s face had turned bright red.
He looked like he wanted to order the scholars who had just laughed to be arrested, but he barely restrained himself, likely aware that this was the White Tower.
“You insolent woman! Arrest her for insulting the imperial family! How dare a low-ranking noble insult a prince?!”
I hadn’t expected his anger to escalate all the way to “insulting the imperial family.”
That charge meant being taken to the imperial palace—more precisely, to the dungeon beneath it.
A place said to be so horrific that rats gnawed at fingernails and cockroaches scraped at toes.
If he dragged me there arbitrarily, the Grand Duke Asis Frasier would lodge a formal protest, and the Second Prince would be severely reprimanded by the Emperor.
‘Of course, that would be even more satisfying.’
I shuddered, remembering the large cockroaches I had seen when I lived in a small apartment.
No. Absolutely not.
Just as I was about to reveal my identity—
“Dave. That is enough.”
A graceful, beautiful voice cut through the rain.
Dave turned around and exclaimed,
“Mother!”
“How unseemly to quarrel with a lady in such a manner. Is that the conduct of a gentleman?”
Empress Carmi.
Behind her stood the Academy Head, looking surprised.
‘Looks like the Headmaster and the Empress were having tea together.’
And they had happened to witness this scene.
It was oddly ironic—after all, the Crown Prince had just been slapped, yet the Empress was calmly and elegantly conversing as if nothing had happened.
Dave, the Second Prince, looked indignant as well.
“But this lowly woman—this lower noble of unknown origin—has insulted me—”
“Dave.”
With a voice as clear and gentle as rolling jade, the Empress cut him off and turned to look at me.
Unlike Dave, who had called me a rat, she clearly knew who I was.
She wore a kind, almost benevolent expression—so different from the cold, ruthless look she had earlier when striking the Crown Prince’s cheek.
Yet, beneath that gaze lingered a faint trace of disgust.
‘Well, she probably already knows the rumor that I’m not the Marquis Frasier’s real daughter.’
Perhaps because so many eyes were watching, the Empress continued in a soft tone.
“That lady is not a low-ranking noble. She is of the Grand Duke Frasier’s bloodline.”
“What?”
For a moment, Dave looked completely dumbfounded.
“Mother, are you mistaken?”
“Dave.”
At the Empress’s call, Dave flinched slightly. Her smile did not waver in the slightest.
“You must behave like proper nobility, Dave.”
“But she’s dressed so poorly… and has no maid or knight protecting her…”
Her dress was naturally soaked from the rain, making it look unkempt.
‘Not that it’s actually that shabby… he’s exaggerating.’
As expected of a spoiled imperial prince, he reduced someone to “beggar status” just because her clothes were a bit wet.
Silence spread across the area.
In truth, the Frasier family knights had already located me the moment I collided with Dave.
I had signaled them earlier.
‘Stand by.’
They understood my subtle glance telling them not to approach and were watching intently.
After all, this was the White Tower.
Not Frasier territory.
And I was still an unmarried noble lady—engaging in conflict with the imperial family put me at a disadvantage.
If the knights interfered, it could escalate into accusations of threatening the imperial family.
“Dave, show the lady proper etiquette.”
At the Empress’s words, Dave reluctantly extended his hand to me.
“I regret how this turned out, Lady. What is your name? I did not know you were a collateral branch of Frasier—”
“I am not a collateral branch. I am direct lineage.”
The interruption came from a voice that was not the Empress’s.
“How dare you interrupt—!”
Just as Dave was about to flare up again, his voice abruptly stopped.
Clack. Clack.
I looked toward the umbrella casting its shadow over me and the firm hand helping me to my feet.
“Tulia is the granddaughter of Grand Duke Asis Frasier.”
“Grandfather?”
I blinked in shock, not expecting Grand Duke Asis Frasier to arrive so soon.
‘Wait—did he skip the palace entirely?’
But that was the only explanation for the timing.
Why had he come directly here?
The one more shocked than I was, however, was Dave.
Standing arrogantly moments ago, he now looked as if he had encountered a monster.
“G-Grand Duke Frasier…?”
“It is ‘Your Highness,’ Grand Duke.”
The voice alone sent a chill down the spine, like the roar of a lion.
“It seems the Second Prince is still lacking in etiquette.”
Dave’s face flushed bright red.
But the Grand Duke continued, looking down at him with cold eyes.
“According to the laws of the Briang Empire, I, as Grand Duke Frasier, am owed proper address from a mere prince.”
If I had said that, Dave would have exploded in rage, regardless of the Empress’s presence. Yet now, he trembled like a deer before a tiger.
“Leck Kelposher.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“Demonstrate how the Second Prince should greet me.”
Leck immediately stepped beside Dave.
He gave a slight bow and spoke:
“I greet His Grace, Grand Duke Asis Frasier. I am Second Prince Dave Eibhikait.”
“……”
Compared to the formal imperial etiquette, it was a much simpler greeting—stripped of excessive formality.
But the key point was that it was a prince addressing a grand duke.
Under this protocol, the imperial prince was the subordinate.
‘That’s just how the game is set up.’
Since Corico’s entry into the Frasier household as a future bride marks the beginning of the game, the Frasier Grand Ducal family holds immense power.
The idea that they rival the imperial family wasn’t an exaggeration.
“Now, Second Prince.”
“……”
“Repeat the greeting you just saw.”
“……”
“I do not have much patience.”
“……!”
‘Wasn’t the Second Prince the same age as Tulia?’
So he was only fifteen.
Even as a prince, he was nothing more than a frightened child before the Grand Duke.
“Ah, I greet His Grace, Grand Duke Asis Frasier. I am Second Prince Dave Eibhikait.”
Despite his bad temperament, he was perceptive enough to quickly retreat behind the Empress after greeting.
“Wait.”
“……”
“Why is there a footprint on my granddaughter’s dress?”
“……!”
Dave’s eyes widened in shock.
I, too, was taken aback.
‘Wow. No wonder he was once a renowned knight—his observation is incredible.’
Grand Duke Asis Frasier shifted his gaze.
Against the clearing sky after the rain, his voice turned even more chilling.
“Why is there a clear footprint not on the hem, but right at the chest of my granddaughter’s dress?”
“Second Prince?”
“Or will you apologize to my granddaughter first?”
His sharp, oppressive gaze locked onto the Second Prince without mercy.
