Chapter 30

After seeing the Prince off and returning inside, we found Mother waiting for us, standing with her arms crossed.

“My darling Bertia. Is there perhaps something you have to say?”

Mother glared at me without even the slightest smile. She had thrown off her usual refined, gentle facade and had transformed into nothing short of a demon.

I had no idea what was going on and looked around in confusion. I glanced at Will for help, but he seemed just as bewildered.

“You don’t seem to understand.”

Mother’s negative aura grew even stronger as she glared sharply at us.

Both of us shrank back with a little yelp.

Just when I’d finally been relieved that the Prince wasn’t angry with me, another stomach-churning problem had come crashing down on me.

Perhaps she could read the exhaustion in my heart, because Mother snapped her fan shut in irritation.

“Bertia. Do you have any awareness that you are the fiancée of the Second Prince?”

Mother only called me by my full name instead of my nickname when she was furious.

That was when I finally realized what this was about.

She was scolding me for the pathetic little panic I’d gone through when the Prince suddenly showed up.

I immediately lowered my head, prioritizing calming Mother’s anger.

“I apologize.”

“Your apology is unnecessary. What good does apologizing to me do?”

S-So strict…

My face twitched involuntarily.

Will’s complexion seemed a little pale, too.

“Being able to apologize honestly is one of your good qualities. However, it is extremely unbecoming and disgraceful for someone who will one day stand above others to apologize to just anyone and everyone.”

Mother had entered Teacher Mode.

The harshness in her speech disappeared, she addressed me strictly by my full name, and she even referred to the Prince formally as His Highness.

Once she got like this, there was no stopping her.

Her words struck straight at the heart of the matter, piercing me again and again.

“Raise your head, Bertia.”

Her voice was filled with authority, and I immediately straightened into a rigid posture.

She was really scary.

I was going to cry.

Will was pale too.

But Mother was not the kind of person who would stop simply because a child was about to cry.

“You will eventually become the Prince’s wife, so a higher standard is expected of you than of ordinary people. Marrying into the royal family, who are our sovereigns, means becoming someone who should serve as an example to the people of this kingdom.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“And yet, because it was your day off, you lazed around and exposed your incompetence in front of His Highness, who is both your fiancé and a member of the royal family. You have been relying far too much on His Highness’s kindness.”

“…I’m sorry.”

She had hit the nail on the head so perfectly that all I could do was hang my head.

No matter how kind the Prince was, no matter how willing he was to overlook my disrespectful behavior, he was still a member of the royal family, carrying the blood of the King.

I mustn’t forget that.

“And you are not the only one who would be embarrassed by your blunder. The Tybus family would have its education questioned, and it could also bring dishonor upon His Highness.”

“…!”

Bring dishonor upon the Prince, too.

My heart skipped a beat, and I quickly raised my head.

Mother continued to look at me coldly.

“You should know better than anyone that His Highness’s position within the royal palace is already precarious.”

With a sharp snap, she closed her fan again, louder than before.

“On top of that, if his fiancée is this incompetent, he will inevitably become the subject of ridicule. Are you trying to drag your own fiancé down?”

“No, I…”

“Whether you intended to or not is irrelevant. Your actions always come with responsibility. Sometimes, they can even affect someone else’s entire life. That is both the privilege and the price of being someone who stands above others.”

It wasn’t that I hadn’t considered the possibility of my actions affecting the Prince.

But the Prince always forgave me.

Even when I acted in ways completely unbecoming of a lady, he would simply narrow his eyes with an amused smile.

I had relied far too much on his kindness.

Of course, I behaved properly in formal settings.

But Mother was probably reprimanding me for how little awareness I had of my position outside them.

I bit my lip and regretted my mistake, but Mother showed me no mercy.

“Did you think, ‘Isn’t this much too harsh for something so trivial?’ That is the world you live in. From the moment you were born into the Tybus family and became His Highness’s fiancée, many things were expected of you. You wear beautiful dresses, eat meals prepared by chefs, receive whatever you want without delay, and even have maids help you change your clothes. Never think that a life like that comes without a price.”

Mother’s hair ornament swayed as she spoke, casting a fleeting shadow over her pale skin and making her look almost sorrowful.

“I have seen many people drown themselves in their own desires, neglect their duties, and ultimately disappear from this world. I don’t want you to become like them.”

Every freedom came with responsibility.

Luxury, power, everything.

We were nobles. We stood above the common people because of our position, which meant we had to learn and understand what that position required.

We had to endure political marriages, carefully consider our words, and choose what we said.

Our words carried that much weight.

So, if someone asked whether my behavior today had been appropriate for a noble, or as the Prince’s fiancée…

The answer was no.

No matter how I looked at it, I’d been thoughtless.

Only now did I truly feel the weight of my mistake.

Only now did I understand how heavy my position really was.

“Will, that includes you.”

The spearhead that had been aimed entirely at me finally turned toward Will.

He flinched when Mother suddenly called his name.

“No. Perhaps you, as the future head of the family, should be even more careful with your words and actions. After all, the future and honor of the ancient and noble House Tybus rest upon your shoulders.”

“…Yes.”

“You casually exposed your elder sister’s shame, didn’t you? Of course, Bertia was at fault for being lazy. But deliberately telling her fiancé, His Highness, about it and committing such a foolish act that could have harmed your own standing was utterly thoughtless.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Will grimaced, clearly realizing his mistake.

Wait.

Had Mother heard everything from beginning to end?

That was terrifying in an entirely different way.

Had she been watching us from somewhere?

“And to top it all off, the countless disrespectful things you said to your elder sister. Don’t you think it’s about time you developed some awareness of yourself as a noble?”

“…Yes.”

Mother had finally called him out on how disrespectfully he’d been treating me, and Will seemed unable to say another word.

“You two are at an appropriate age to begin receiving a proper education in earnest. Bertia will undergo Princess Consort training alongside His Highness, and Will will likewise begin training to become the future head of the family.”

Mother’s sharp eyes narrowed even further as she looked down at the two of us, who were practically drooping under the weight of our despair.

“Very well. As for what it means to have the awareness of a noble…”

“Cilly!”

Just as Mother’s lecture looked like it was going to continue forever, a savior appeared.

Father called out to Mother from the second floor, his face looking both angry and panicked.

“I told you today was your medical examination day! You shouldn’t have left your room!”

“…Zeke…”

Mother’s angry expression immediately changed into one that said, Oh, right.

Father came down the stairs and, with a face like he’d bitten into something extremely bitter, quickly slipped an arm around Mother’s waist and escorted her away.

“Come on, back to your room. You can’t come out again today.”

“…”

Perhaps Mother couldn’t argue with Father when he spoke like that, because she simply sighed in resignation and gave us one last glance.

“…Starting tomorrow, I’ll be whipping you two into shape properly, so you’d better prepare yourselves.”

After leaving us with those final words and making absolutely sure we’d understood the warning, Mother returned to her room.

Even after being left behind in the entryway, Will and I didn’t move.

This was what happened after Mother scolded us.

We simply crumbled into pieces.

“Bell. Will.”

Father called our names after emerging from Mother’s room, where he’d been standing with her.

He came down the stairs and crouched down in front of us.

“Ha ha. You two got scolded, huh?”

Father gently patted both our heads, narrowing his eyes affectionately.

“Cilly’s way of speaking is harsh, but she says those things because she cares about you. Believe it or not, she used to be a very fluffy-headed, empty-headed young lady.”

A fluffy-headed, empty-headed young lady…?

I was more interested in Father’s rather sharp choice of words than in the fact that Mother had apparently once been like that.

Could Father actually have been stricter than Mother…?

“But after she nearly caused the family to fall into ruin, she became strict as though she’d turned into a completely different person. Strict with everyone around her, and strict with herself. She was good at switching between her public and private faces, so she didn’t become too isolated.”

Father spoke as though he had been watching Mother her entire life.

When I tilted my head, Father smiled and let out a small, “Ah.”

“Cilly and I were what you’d call childhood friends. We’d been together long before you and His Highness. Cilly was my first fiancée. But, well… Do you remember the lady from that party? She set me up. For a while, I really had no idea what was going to happen.”

Huh?

Mother had originally been Father’s fiancée, and Ciel’s mother had come along afterward?

And they’d nearly fallen into ruin?

This wasn’t anything like the otome-game scenario I’d imagined.

Father smiled brightly and stood up.

“So there’s no harm in listening to what Cilly says. Bell, you’ll become a fine lady. And Will, I’m sure you’ll grow into an excellent head of the family.”

“Do your best.”

Father patted each of us on the head once more and smiled.

Then, as though he’d suddenly remembered something, he spoke up.

“Will, it seems your first love has arrived.”

“Eh…?”

Will muttered, “How did you know?” but Father merely gave him a meaningful smile.

Then he leaned toward Will’s ear and whispered something to him.

Will’s eyes widened dramatically.

Then his face turned deathly pale.

“N-No way…”

“You can confirm it with your own eyes.”

I wondered if Father was angry because Will’s first love was the daughter of the woman who had tried to tear him and Mother apart.

Looking at Will’s face, which looked like he was about to cry, I tilted my head in confusion.