Chapter 14

“Is it… my birthday?”

The bespectacled handsome boy sitting across from me nodded solemnly.

It was a pleasant, sunny afternoon. For the first time in a while, Schwarz had come to visit our garden. Actually, Will and the prince had been here, too, but Will had dragged the prince off somewhere to play, so it was just the two of us now.

“That’s right. I’d like you to do something to celebrate Lord Dylan’s birthday.”

According to Schwarz, the prince’s birthday was coming up at the end of the month. However, because of work commitments, Schwarz had to leave the royal capital alongside my father, meaning he wouldn’t be able to stay by the prince’s side. Because of that, he was asking me to celebrate the prince’s birthday in his place.

“Of course. As the prince’s fiancée, I’ll celebrate it with all my might.”

When I offered a bright smile, Schwarz let out a long breath of relief.

“I’m glad. Thank you.”

“Celebrating a birthday is only natural, you know. Ah? Wait, now that I think about it, the end of the month is…”

A sudden thought about the prince’s birthday crossed my mind.

“It’s the day Lord Dylan and Lady Bertia had their matchmaking meeting.”

“Ah!”

That’s right. We’d had our matchmaking meeting then.

Had it really already been a year since I remembered my past life? Time truly flew by.

“Um, but if it’s the prince’s birthday, won’t there be a party or something?”

I had heard that royal birthdays were exceptionally grand affairs. If the prince was going to throw a party like that, wouldn’t there be no need for him to ask me to do anything special? When I asked with that thought in mind, Schwarz’s expression clouded over.

“The party is, well…”

“S-Sorry! That was a tactless thing to ask.”

I hastily waved my hands in front of my chest.

Whenever Schwarz’s expression changed, it usually meant the prince was involved.

“There is one. A party, that is.”

Schwarz said that while giving a slow shake of his head.

“Then—”

“Lady Bertia, are you aware of Lord Dylan’s current standing within the royal palace?”

“I’m somewhat aware of it.”

The second prince, isolated within the royal palace.

I had casually asked my father about it, and it turned out to be a well-known rumor. Among the aristocracy, various things were whispered—that the prince’s magical power was simply too strong, or that there were hidden flaws in his personality—but they were ultimately just rumors with no solid proof. Nobles weren’t fools, so they mostly recognized it as a preliminary skirmish for the succession. Well, that wasn’t too far off the mark, either.

There was bound to be some ulterior motive behind the prince’s party, too. It reeked strongly of suspicion. When I nodded, Schwarz let out a sigh before continuing.

“Lord Dylan’s birthday and the crown prince’s birthday are extremely close to each other.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Struggling for how to react, I gave a vague nod.

“Royal parties are grand affairs, and even though they’re limited to close circles, they cost an enormous amount of money.”

“I imagine so.”

“Not just royals, but high-ranking nobles are invited as well. They have their own duties to attend to, and even for royalty, you can’t just hold these things constantly.”

I nodded along enthusiastically to Schwarz’s words. The nobles had their own schedules, and while they would certainly attend a royal party if summoned, letting their actual work fall by the wayside because of it would defeat the entire purpose.

“Because of that, it was decided that Lord Dylan’s and the crown prince’s birthday parties would be held jointly. That was by sole decree of His Majesty the King.”

“I see…”

Well, it was just a birthday party, and the king deciding it alone wouldn’t affect national politics in the least. It was essentially a family matter within the Vermelio household, not something for outsiders to meddle in.

“And so… comes the crown prince.”

“Right on cue.”

The two of us let out a synchronized, heavy sigh. What kind of trouble was the crown prince going to stir up this time?

“He started throwing a tantrum, whining that he refused to share anything with that guy. I believe it was around Lord Dylan’s sixth birthday. He hadn’t complained about it up until then, but he suddenly brought it up out of nowhere.”

“Suddenly?”

“Suddenly.”

As Schwarz gave a crisp nod, I sat there mulling it over for a good while.

“Well, even if the prince isn’t to his liking, as an older brother, he really ought to endure it, shouldn’t he?”

“He certainly should.”

Schwarz replied instantly.

“That person is the crown prince. He is going to rule the nation in the future. Throwing such small-minded, childish tantrums…”

The sheer intensity of Schwarz’s glare chilled the air around us. He sounded almost exactly like Will. Could he please not say such terrifying things with a completely expressionless face? Besides, the other party was the crown prince. I didn’t want to die for treason.

Seeing me freeze up, Schwarz cleared his throat with an awkward look. It didn’t disguise a thing, though.

“Erm, my apologies. My blood just boils whenever Lord Dylan is treated with disrespect.”

“Y-Yes. Indeed…”

I hadn’t realized Schwarz held such immense loyalty toward the prince. It was terrifying. Was this guy actually running secret assassinations or something?

“Normally, that joint party was supposed to be held right in the middle between Lord Dylan’s and the crown prince’s birthdays. However, because the crown prince threw a tantrum, it ended up being scheduled strictly on the crown prince’s birthday.”

“Eh, doesn’t that effectively mean it’s just the crown prince’s birthday party?”

“Exactly. Lord Dylan is treated like an afterthought. That damn crown prince…!”

I was fairly certain this guy was going to die of treason someday. And I was sitting right in front of him, to boot. But since his loyalty to the prince ran that deep, I decided to keep my mouth shut and let it go. Yes, that was for the best.

“With a party like that, the atmosphere must be terrible.”

“It is. The nobles fawn all over the crown prince as the future ruler and pretend Lord Dylan doesn’t even exist. Ah, though the young ladies don’t read the room at all and still cling to Lord Dylan, of course.”

I couldn’t help minding the occasional drop of venom he laced into his words.

“And that creates a whole different kind of headache. The crown prince tends to be somewhat favored in the looks department, so young ladies swarm around him as well.”

“And so they end up competing against each other again?”

“Precisely.”

Looking thoroughly exhausted, Schwarz clutched his head in his hands.

“That’s why, when Lord Dylan took in Lady Bertia as his fiancée, things got quite chaotic.”

Now that he mentioned it, there had been a period about a month after my engagement when I used to visit the prince’s residence frequently. Could that have been because the crown prince had caused an uproar?

“Is that so? But why? Once he has a fiancée, the young ladies fawning over him should decrease, shouldn’t they?”

“Because it’s Lady Bertia.”

I tilted my head in bewilderment.

“Me…?”

“Lady Bertia, you’ve never attended a royal birthday party, have you? Even though the head of the Tybus family always does.”

True enough. I had hardly ever attended any large-scale parties. For one, my etiquette wasn’t up to par, and both my father and mother had told me I didn’t need to go.

“Lady Bertia, are you aware of the rumors circulating about you?”

“Eh, I have no idea. What kind of rumors?”

A terrible premonition was ringing alarm bells in my head. Someone, please stop this cold chill.

“You never show up to royal parties. You have never exposed your visage to the public.”

“Don’t tell me…”

“That the Tybus family’s only daughter must be an absolute beauty.”

The blood drained right out of my face.

Bertia was beautiful. Since I hadn’t fully grown into an adult yet, I certainly possessed a blend of youthful cuteness and striking facial features. A certified pretty girl, in other words. Of course, I was well aware of that myself. Besides, ugly characters rarely ever showed up in otome games anyway.

But that didn’t mean I was an absolute, peerless beauty! I was cute, sure! I was cute! With fluffy hair and large, shimmering, deep ice-gray eyes. Naturally, I was cute!

However, my level was more along the lines of ah, she’s cute. If you asked whether a hundred out of a hundred people would call me a beauty, the answer was a resounding no. And compared to the prince… Good grief. I didn’t want to stand next to that man. My pride as a woman would die on the spot.

“No way. What is that rumor? Please erase it right this second.”

“That, if anything, is impossible. Don’t worry about it. Lady Bertia is beautiful, after all.”

“I know that!”

“You know it?”

Then what’s the problem? Schwarz tilted his head in confusion.

“But I’m not the kind of beauty everyone agrees on! The gap between me and the prince is like clouds and mud!”

“I think you’re comparing yourself to the wrong person.”

“Could you try comforting me there?!”

I slumped my shoulders in utter defeat.

Schwarz was no gentleman.

“Ah, and so…”

“I’ve had enough…”

“When the crown prince learned that Lord Dylan’s fiancée was rumored to be a beauty, he went wild. Like a runaway plowhorse.”

I was shocked that he ignored me, but I was even more shocked that he casually compared the crown prince to a pack mule.

“Anyway, the crown prince is a pain to deal with, so please be careful.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“And also…”

Conversations with Schwarz actively whittled away at my mental health. Feeling limp and exhausted, I rested my cheek in my hand with unrefined posture. At my sullen, moody demeanor, Schwarz let out a small—ah, I must have imagined it. Just a convenient hallucination.

“And also, please stay by Lord Dylan’s side. For the rest of your life.”

“Eh? Didn’t you just casually drop something heavy?”

“Yes. Please live for Lord Dylan’s sake for the rest of your life.”

“There are so many things wrong with that statement.”

Just how deep did this guy’s prince-supremacy go? The only one living purely for the prince’s sake was probably him.

Just as I thought that, his dark hair swayed softly.

“Please. By Lord Dylan’s side.”

“E-Eh?”

What on earth brought this on all of a sudden?

That very Schwarz bowed his head. He was bowing to someone other than the prince.

Though it had only moved by about 15 degrees, mind you.

“It has to be Lady Bertia. Please. Never, ever leave Lord Dylan’s side.”

“I’m not planning on leaving him…”

“Then it’s fine.”

The person who would stand by the prince’s side in the future was the heroine. I swallowed back the words that were threatening to spill past my lips. That was something best left unsaid. It was enough for me to keep it locked away in my own heart.

Lifting the head he had only lowered by 15 degrees, Schwarz smiled. Truly. This wasn’t a misreading on my part. He definitely smiled.

As I tried to burn that rare, mature smile of Schwarz’s into my memory, his expression abruptly snapped back to blankness. He looked noticeably pale, for some reason.

Immediately after, a gust of wind swept past.

A chilling voice that seemed to drag along the ground rode in on the breeze. Coming from directly behind me.

“What are you two staring so intently at each other for?”

The devil had descended.