It Would Suit You And Your Trashy Woman

“Ahh………”

My voice slipped out without thinking.

Right. Mother was the one who invited them.

Even though Father and I both told her, “Don’t.”

‘Hohohohohohoho. You should flaunt it in their faces. Show them how happy you are.’

With that wicked look on her face. And on top of that, my older brother, the Crown Prince, had egged her on too, saying, ‘Hahahahahahaha. Do it, Mother.’ Those two really are alike.

“Um… I’m truly sorry.”

When I bowed my head, Shitoen’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Why are you apologizing? Isn’t it fine, Prince Saryu?”

Shitoen chuckled softly.

“We should flaunt how happy we are.”

Ahh… Yeah. This girl might actually get along just fine with that mother of mine.

“His Highness Crown Prince Arios of the Kingdom of Luminous in the Karaban Union Kingdom, and Lady Mail.”

At the announcing voice, I thought, Hm?

When I flicked my gaze toward Shitoen, she too was looking up at me, blinking her long lashes.

Not Crown Princess Mail.

Which meant King Noie over there still had not acknowledged her, was that it?

I heard footsteps approaching, so I straightened my posture and looked down the corridor.

It would’ve been nice if only people like Vandel had come to congratulate us, but there were more annoying ones than not, and I seriously hated that. It really made me glad, all over again, that I wasn’t the eldest son. Being Crown Prince sure was rough, I grumbled inwardly, and by the time I finished, two familiar figures were standing before me.

“Congratulations on this occasion.”

Crown Prince Arios offered a brief blessing, then bowed his head with proper courtesy. He had matched his language to ours and was speaking Tidrosian.

So he could do it when he wanted to, huh, I thought, revising my opinion of him. Maybe he wasn’t just some idiot Crown Prince after all.

His clothes said the same. They were restrained, fitting for the Crown Prince of a nation.

The Crown Prince over there must be deeply involved in military affairs too. He was dressed in an army uniform, with medals hanging from his chest. To begin with, he looked extremely good. From what Father had told me, he was intelligent too. He seemed capable of handling domestic affairs well enough, but…

“Kyaa! How lovely!”

That cloyingly sweet Karaban common tongue reached my ears, and I turned my gaze that way.

Beside Crown Prince Arios. Right in front of Shitoen.

That petite woman suddenly threw herself at Shitoen.

There was a dangerous clatter, and I hurriedly shouted instructions toward the hall side and behind me.

“Stop! It’s a greeting, just a greeting!”

Even at a wedding banquet, of course there was security.

For the moment things were fine, but just a few months ago Lady Shitoen had been targeted. On a day like this, when large numbers of people were coming into the palace, we especially couldn’t let our guard down. Even I was wearing a protector under my uniform. It was a celebration, though, so the guards were merely stationed out of the guests’ sight.

Apparently the knights had leaped out to intimidate the rude person who had suddenly approached the princess consort.

“Huh!? What, what!?”

Mail clung to Shitoen, trembling. No, from our side, I wanted to say, who in the world hugs someone without even greeting them first?

“It is nothing, Lady Mail. It has been a long time.”

As if soothing her, Shitoen stroked Mail’s back while Mail clung to her. She was even matching their language. How tolerant… So tolerant. God, I was falling for her all over again.

“Mail, curtsy first.”

By the time Crown Prince Arios quietly called out to Mail, the knights had already returned to their posts. Seriously. Teach her that kind of thing before bringing her here. Even Vandel hugged me only after giving a greeting.

“Okaaay.”

Mail smiled sweetly, pulled away from Shitoen, then pattered back a short distance. After that, she gave an elegant bow, but—

Ha ha, what exactly am I being shown here?

Look, saying “well done” over something like that is for kids in the single digits.

That woman. She was making a smug face. Was I supposed to praise her? No, that’d be ridiculous. That woman was already in her late teens, wasn’t she? And yet Crown Prince Arios was pressuring me. His whole expression was demanding, “Praise her.” What was with this guy?

“Good day, Lady Mail. Welcome to the Kingdom of Tidros.”

I smiled stiffly and addressed her, determined that I absolutely would not praise her.

“Good day, little bear.”

Mail let out a soft laugh. So she remembered my nickname.

I wanted to punch her in the head and rewrite her memory.

“Lady Shitoen, you look lovely.”

Slipping her gaze away from me, now that I’d started to feel an actual urge to kill, Mail smiled at Shitoen.

“Thank you very much.”

Shitoen smiled back.

…Well, maybe it was easier between women. Would they get along better that way?

“That garnet is lovely! It’s almost wasted on you, Lady Shitoen!”

I take it back, you little bitch! You’re picking a fight!

I took one step forward. I thought surely Crown Prince Arios would step in to stop this, but instead he glared at me.

Oh? Fine. I’ll buy that fight.

Coming from a guy in uniform who’d never seen actual combat.

I’ll humiliate you.

“Yes, it is. A gift from the King of Tania.”

Shitoen’s voice slipped between me and Crown Prince Arios.

Drawn by it, I turned toward Shitoen.

She had leaned forward so Mail could get a better look at the garnet necklace.

“I heard the trade in minerals has been suspended on your side.”

Fufufufu, Shitoen smiled gracefully.

“It is likely that such a finest-grade gemstone will never enter the Kingdom of Luminous again. Since you will never have the chance to possess one, Lady Mail, what a pity.”

Blankly—

Mail was staring at Shitoen.

The same was true of Crown Prince Arios.

Just moments ago he’d been glaring at me like he wanted to bite my head off, and now he was staring at Shitoen in utter shock.

As if to ask whether this truly was that Shitoen Balimore.

“If you like, my side could sell you one. What do you think?”

I folded my arms and smiled at Crown Prince Arios.

“We would purchase it from the Kingdom of Tania and resell it to you… perhaps you could present it to a woman worthy of it.”

If it would even suit that trashy woman of yours, this necklaceeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

Laughing inwardly, I said it.

The whole place fell silent.

Crown Prince Arios glared at me, while Mail looked up at Shitoen and bit her lip.

Into that silence, a chamberlain came from the hall and said, “This way to the hall, please.”

“I shall call on you later for business talks.”

I said that, then shifted my position so Shitoen would not fall within their line of sight.

Just before entering the hall.

My eyes met Crown Prince Arios’s.

No, more likely he had been trying to look at Shitoen.

“So you had been deceiving me all along.”

He spat the words out, and all that followed was the sound of his quick footsteps entering the hall.

Deceiving?

Who was deceiving whom?

I narrowed my eyes, but then I suddenly became concerned about Shitoen.

I wondered whether she had heard him too, but apparently not. He had spoken quietly. Only I had heard it, and it seemed she had not even seen his lips move.

My eyes met Shitoen’s.

“……………I-I knew it.”

Then Shitoen suddenly snorted, and I wondered what had gotten into her.

Her shoulders were shaking with laughter.

“I knew it—Prince Saryu truly is His Highness the Crown Prince’s younger brother, and the child of that queen. You really are alike… so very alike.”

“I’m not like them. I didn’t say it out loud, okay?”

I made sure to stress that part.

“‘Does that jewel really suit the trashy woman you dragged here?’”

I thought she would be appalled by how foul-mouthed that was.

Instead, laughter broke out all at once, startling me.

When I looked around, it was the guard knights. They were laughing so hard their gear was rattling, and while I was standing there sullenly, Shitoen narrowed her eyes mischievously.

“It seems everyone agrees with you as well.”

That was what she said.