Chapter 20

Chapter 20 : I Will Annul the Engagement (4)

Legina looked at Hermann, who smiled and bowed politely, and thought:

Should I just kill him?

Since she had decided to become a troublemaker anyway, the thought of her performing a sword dance in his stead, right here, flashed quickly through her mind. However, Legina suppressed that surging impulse deep within her chest. Acting rashly without any evidence would only give him leverage. If she were to kill him, now was not the time. So, she would endure for now.

Gritting her teeth, Legina gave Hermann a bright smile.

“I was worried when you suddenly asked me to find a separate partner, but seeing you with Sir Aaron puts my mind at ease.”

“I wonder if I can truly believe that.”

“How dare I speak falsehoods in front of Your Highness?”

“Indeed, how dare anyone speak falsehoods in front of me. Isn’t that right, my lord?”

“…Of course.”

Ah, how detestable. Her heart pounded rapidly, and her face flushed, but in a different way than before. Legina knew exactly what this was now. This was fury. That detestable traitor, who played with his abominable tongue and mocked royalty, said what? He doesn’t lie? Her teeth ground, but Legina stifled her anger and turned her gaze away from Hermann. If she continued to look at that handsome face, she truly felt she might either start a sword dance or her blood pressure would rise and she’d collapse right here.

However, that, too, seemed to have been a slight misjudgment. Turning her gaze away from Hermann meant inadvertently looking at the woman standing behind him.

Annetta Veedis, Slyveig’s sorceress!

She was a woman with rare silver hair and pink eyes in the Empire. No, she hadn’t had her coming-of-age ceremony yet, so it would be more accurate to call her a girl.

She’s only one year older than me now. But the power she wields is different.

Legina, as the Imperial Princess, could command thousands, but her ‘personal’ power was still far from enough. However, Annetta before her possessed the power of sorcery, capable of moving dozens of people with her own strength. Before her regression, she had merely considered this woman to be her fiancé’s hidden lover and had never imagined she possessed such power, leaving her no option but to passively endure. But this time was different.

Legina suppressed the anger surging in her chest once more and smiled brightly at the traitor’s sorceress.

“I didn’t realize there was someone in Ellias from whom I would have to request an introduction first.”

“My apologies, Your Highness. I am not yet accustomed to etiquette… Annetta, the sole daughter of Viscounty Veedis, greets Your Highness Legina.”

She didn’t know how the only daughter born in a frontier viscounty came to possess the power of a sorceress. It could be a hidden power of her family, or she could be a mutant. Everything was uncertain, but one thing, and only one thing, she could be certain of:

This time, I can stop it.

The terrifying aspect of that sorceress was her ability to subtly manipulate people’s minds. It was a power indistinguishable from brainwashing. Those under her spell would betray their masters, friends, and lovers without even realizing it, feeling nothing amiss. Naturally, she made them act as if it were normal, so those around them simply perceived it as a change in their disposition, never suspecting sorcery. Legina only realized this after escaping from the Imperial Palace.

I should also investigate whether she’s truly of the Veedis Viscounty lineage.

She was a sorceress backed by the Ducal House of Slyveig. She could have easily faked her identity. Legina looked down at Annetta’s head, who was still bowing because Legina hadn’t replied, then smiled brightly and spoke.

“Annetta Veedis, is it? Yes, you may raise your head.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“I heard there was a young lady under the Duke of Slyveig’s guardianship, so it must be you.”

“Yes.”

“It seems there has been deep interaction between Slyveig and Veedis.”

“Viscount Veedis once saved my father’s life in his youth.”

Hermann, perhaps sensing the thorn hidden within Legina’s smile, shielded Annetta behind him and replied instead. Legina noticed that while Annetta appeared to be hiding behind Hermann’s back, seemingly watching Legina’s reactions, her pink eyes showed no agitation. She was hunched over as if in fear, clutching the hem of the young Duke of Slyveig’s clothes, but her eyes were calmly observing Legina.

Why hadn’t she known then? Legina briefly clicked her tongue, blaming her foolish self from before her regression.

“My lord, do you think I would do something to the young lady of the Veedis family?”

“Annetta is not yet accustomed to etiquette. I stepped forward out of concern that she might make a mistake in front of Your Highness.”

“I heard she began living at the ducal house in the capital quite some time ago, and she’s still not accustomed to etiquette?”

“…Due to the plague that spread through Veedis Viscounty, her health was greatly affected, requiring much time to recover.”

“I know you cherish the young lady specially, so you don’t need to be so assertive. Someone might think I’m persecuting a pitiful young lady.”

“Who would dare to think such a thing, Your Highness?”

“Indeed, who would dare… Right?”

Legina, who had used the word ‘dare’ twice already today in the same spot, looked into Hermann’s sky-blue eyes. The clear gaze she first encountered at their engagement ceremony in her childhood was gone, replaced by murky, cloudy eyes reflecting her image. Thinking that those eyes must have held her with such indifference even in her last moments before regression, her smiling face twisted as if the suppressed nausea was rising.

“Your Highness, you must now clear the center of the hall.”

It was then. Aaron, who had been silently guarding Legina’s back, spoke, bringing her back to reality. Legina, who had momentarily forgotten her position, regained her composure and looked around, noticing nobles openly scrutinizing her. Though their curious, sparkling eyes might have been burdensome, Legina smiled at them and extended her hand to Aaron. Someone who had decided to become a troublemaker would hardly fear others’ gazes. Furthermore, Legina was an Imperial Princess who had received others’ attention from the moment she was born. These kinds of gazes were so familiar that one could say they were part of her life.

“You are right, my lord. Others must enjoy the banquet too.”

“I will escort you to your seat.”

“Then I hope you two also enjoy yourselves before you leave.”

Aaron lightly placed Legina’s fingertips on his palm and took a step, and the nobles gathered in the hall parted to create a path.

“Her Highness Legina…”
“The rumor…”
“The young Duke of Slyveig has a lover…”

With every step Legina took, the nobles’ murmurs followed. It was as she expected.

It will get even louder when I announce the annulment a little later.

That was the beginning. She would become a completely different person, starting with the annulment of her engagement. Countless unconfirmed rumors would surround her, and Legina vowed to willingly become the person those rumors described.

“My lord, I apologize.”

Though she had a purpose, Legina apologized to Aaron, who would inevitably be caught up in various gossips due to her actions, and continued without waiting for his reply. “Many bad things will follow you. I told you to act as usual, but you might not be able to.”

“I am aware.”

“Thank you, truly, my lord. And I am truly sorry.”

Aaron’s red eyes met Legina’s face, which was stubbornly looking straight ahead. He knew he wasn’t suited for high society, but the curiosity of the nobles directed at the small princess, who barely reached his shoulder, was more uncomfortable and bothersome than he had imagined. Did he really have to endure such unpleasant gazes just for an annulment? Things he hadn’t thought about when she said “it’s an order” now circled in his mind with question marks trailing them.

“I am fine.”

Rather, I am concerned about you.

Aaron swallowed his unspoken words, turned his gaze from Legina, and met the eyes of each noble who was looking at her. Startled by his gaze, the nobles quickly looked away and pretended to be busy, which, rather than satisfying him, made him even more uncomfortable. He couldn’t understand them, daring to speak carelessly about the Imperial Princess when they couldn’t even meet his gaze properly.

Aaron turned his gaze from them and looked at Legina again. The words he heard must have reached Legina’s ears too, but she walked steadily towards her seat, her back straight, as if she had heard nothing. She was still fifteen, as her birthday hadn’t passed yet. She was a young and small princess, but she was someone he wanted to look up to rather than down on.

“Your Highness is strong.”

“Huh?”

“No, nothing. I will escort you.”

Aaron, realizing he had uttered something uncharacteristic, quickly changed the subject. This was a ‘contract.’ Only by excluding personal feelings as much as possible would its end be beautiful. Aaron recalled the resolve he had made the day Legina visited the Vestein mansion.

Maintain maximum distance.

A distance neither too far nor too close. When the contract ended, they had to be able to return to being nothing to each other. He steeled his resolve once more and escorted Legina to her seat.

“My lord, thank yo…”

“Your, Your Highness! His Highness Theore!”

Legina, having returned to her seat with his escort, found a pale-faced servant approaching her, before she could even thank Aaron. The servant’s desperate voice, almost choking on his words, seeking her out, felt strangely ominous.

– Mochinuna.