Chapter 20

The ballroom was overflowing with people. The dazzling lights reflected off their jewelry and decorations, making everything almost blinding. The party didn’t seem to have started yet, and everyone was chatting quietly with champagne glasses in hand.

“Bell.”

Father called my name, and I snapped back to reality. Maybe it was because I was nervous, but breathing felt difficult.

Mother placed both hands on my shoulders and whispered.

“Stand tall. You are the fiancée of a member of the royal family right now.”

I timidly looked ahead and realized that a few people were already looking in my direction.

I could sense them whispering among themselves.

People generally didn’t say nice things when they whispered like that.

I suddenly felt like fainting and collapsing right there.

If I raised my head a little more, the thrones should have been visible beyond the crimson carpet, but I wasn’t allowed to look until I had greeted the royal family.

I kept my head lowered and followed Father toward the thrones. Since all I had to do was walk along the carpet, I stared at nothing but the red carpet beneath my feet.

When I saw Father slow down, I carefully stopped so I wouldn’t bump into him.

Father knelt, and we followed his example, lowering our heads.

“I am Zeke Tybus. My King, I sincerely thank you for inviting us today. It is my greatest honor to behold Your Majesty on this auspicious day.”

“Raise your head. Welcome, Zeke.”

With the King’s permission, Father raised his head.

Then the red dress beside him moved.

“I am Ciluria Tybus, Your Majesty.”

“Raise your head. It has been a while, Cilly. How is your health?”

“Thank you for your concern.”

Father and Mother seemed quite close to the King.

He even called Mother by her nickname.

Then, suddenly, I felt an incredible weight pressing down on me.

Everyone’s attention was on me.

Will, who was still bowing his head, glanced at me.

The King was waiting.

The Prince was waiting.

I could sense the other nobles watching me too.

What did the Second Prince’s fiancée look like?

What kind of person was the beautiful daughter of the Tybus family?

This wasn’t just me being overly self-conscious.

I could actually hear their whispers.

Standing there frozen wouldn’t get me anywhere, so I steeled myself.

Just like when I had met the Prince for the first time, I could do this.

I had spent the past few days enduring Mother’s demonic lessons specifically for this day.

My voice had to come from the depths of my stomach, no less powerful than Father’s.

It had to be as beautiful and clear as Mother’s.

I couldn’t afford to embarrass myself.

Not for my family.

Not for my fiancé.

I was okay.

I could do this.

“I am Bertia Tybus. It is my first honor to meet you, Your Majesty.”

My voice came out more dignified than I had expected.

I was probably the most surprised by it.

I kept my face at exactly the proper angle, just barely preventing myself from seeing the King’s face.

“Raise your head. You will become my daughter-in-law. Take good care of my son.”

“Your words honor me.”

After that exchange, which could barely even be called a conversation with the King, I finally felt the tension leave my shoulders.

Will then gave his own greeting, nervous but composed.

Now that I had received the King’s permission, I could finally raise my head.

I raised my face, and the sight before me made me question my own eyes.

A handsome man with flowing golden hair and green eyes sat proudly upon the throne.

He had the same hair color as the Prince.

I knew at a glance that he was the King.

Beside him sat the Queen.

She had pale skin and whitish hair. Her vividly red lips gave her an alluring appearance. She rarely smiled, and even when she did, it was difficult to tell whether she was actually smiling or merely giving the faintest hint of one.

On the step below them was, presumably, the Crown Prince.

Golden hair.

Green eyes.

His coloring was almost identical to the King’s, and his overall atmosphere was similar too.

But he was the complete opposite of the Prince.

If the Prince was a beautiful young boy, then the Crown Prince was a strikingly handsome man.

His features weren’t delicate, and there wasn’t even a trace of fragility about him.

His face had an almost wild beauty to it.

His coloring resembled the King’s, but his facial features seemed more like the Queen’s.

Though I wondered how they had ended up looking so wild.

No.

None of that mattered.

Well, it did matter, since this was my own country’s royal family, but that wasn’t what caught my attention.

What had completely captured my gaze was the area behind the Crown Prince’s chair.

The Prince was standing there quietly, almost as though he were merely an attendant.

The Second Prince of this kingdom.

My fiancé.

Why was the Prince the only one who wasn’t sitting in a chair?

I wasn’t the only one surprised.

Only Will and I seemed to be shocked. Father and Mother acted as though there was nothing unusual about it.

The First Princess, Princess Claudia, was only six years old, so she didn’t attend royal family parties yet. In particular, it was customary for female members of the royal family not to appear publicly until they were at least ten years old.

In other words, there were only four members of the royal family in this space.

Three of them were seated on the thrones.

Only one was standing beside his brother.

No matter how I looked at it, the scene was strange.

Will lightly grabbed the hem of my dress.

“…Big Sister. Um, is this…”

“I don’t know. What’s going on…?”

Father noticed our confusion and quietly whispered to us.

“The Crown Prince and Prince Dylan are always positioned like that. It isn’t just because of today.”

His eyes seemed to say that we should get used to it.

“B-But Prince Dylan is a member of the royal family too.”

“To be honest, it isn’t particularly unusual. In royal families, younger brothers are generally placed under their elder brothers as their subjects. Their role is to support the brother who will eventually become king as his aide. Besides, His Highness is the child of a concubine. I doubt anyone would object. From the outside, it would look as though the Crown Prince were properly educating his younger brother to serve as his subordinate.”

My eyes widened at the shocking revelation.

Will, who had been listening beside me, seemed just as surprised.

“…However.”

Father’s voice dropped lower.

I leaned closer to hear him.

When I looked up, Father was making a face like he had bitten into something extremely bitter.

“I have no intention of criticizing the royal family, but I think this goes too far. That is the position of a subject. It isn’t where a member of the royal family should be standing.”

Father narrowed his eyes.

“On the very day his fiancée is coming, I doubt His Highness wants to be made to look so humiliated either.”

I glanced toward the royal family.

They were receiving the other guests in turn.

The party wouldn’t begin until these formal audiences were over.

Apparently, they didn’t do this every time. It had happened this way because this year marked the Crown Prince’s fifteenth birthday, an important milestone.

Standing behind the stern-faced Crown Prince, the Prince didn’t appear particularly troubled.

He simply stood there with a smile on his face.

It was painfully obvious that the smile was a strong, impenetrable mask.

The Prince we knew didn’t smile like that.

“Prince Dylan…”

Will bit his lip and furrowed his brows.

It must have been painful for him to see the Prince he adored being treated so poorly, yet still standing beside the Crown Prince and putting on a smile.

I didn’t want to see it either.

I didn’t want to see the Prince treated as though he weren’t a member of the royal family.

We had celebrated his birthday so happily.

I didn’t want that happiness and joy to be painted over like this.

“Lady Bertia.”

Someone quietly whispered my name.

I instinctively looked around.

Schwarz was standing there almost as though he had been hiding in the shadows.

Unlike usual, he was dressed in proper noble attire.

“Lord Schwarz.”

“I apologize for approaching you like this. I was told that Prince Dylan would not require his personal attendants at this party. I am attending as the eldest son of House Rizzio. There is something I would like to tell you.”

It must have been something he couldn’t discuss openly.

I understood the message hidden behind his words, quietly nodded, and moved toward the edge of the hall.

Will glanced in our direction but didn’t follow.

“I shall make this quick. Prince Dylan said, ‘I have to stay by my brother’s side today, so I won’t be able to escort you. I’m sorry.’ He asked me to tell you, Lady Bertia.”

I was a little shaken, but I managed to nod.

My first party.

And I was a young lady with a fiancé, yet I had been left without an escort.

It was awful.

That Crown Prince was deliberately harassing both me and the Prince.

I was grinding my teeth inwardly when I noticed that the boy in front of me was practically radiating killing intent too.

His dark red eyes glittered fiercely, and there was a faint trace of anger in his expression.

Looking at Schwarz, who was probably absolutely furious, somehow made me relax a little.

He was even angrier than I was.

“Lord Schwarz, you have such a handsome face, so why don’t you smile a little more?”

When I said that, he glared at me resentfully.

His expression practically said, “How am I supposed to stay calm at a time like this?”

“I’m fine. Besides, aren’t you more worried about the Prince than I am?”

“N-No, that isn’t it… I merely thought that perhaps Lady Bertia was concerned as well.”

It seemed I had hit close to home, because Schwarz turned red and became flustered.

He was surprisingly honest.

I almost laughed to myself.

“I’m fine. It’s disappointing not to have an escort, but I’m sure the Prince didn’t want this either. More than anyone, he must be the one who’s upset about it.”

“…That is true.”

“If I became depressed over it, the Prince would only be disappointed too.”

I smiled like a proper lady, gently placing a hand against my cheek.

Schwarz’s eyes widened in surprise before the tension around them softened.

“You are absolutely right, Lady Bertia.”

Schwarz seemed to have regained his composure.

The grimace he had worn moments ago was gone, replaced by the thick noble mask that he wore just like the Prince.

“Then it seems the time has come. I shall take my leave.”

Schwarz bowed properly before turning away.

As I watched his back disappear, I slowly let out the breath I had been holding.