Chapter 36

The Beauty and the Troublemaker (1)

Legina received a house arrest order from the Emperor for burning down Dirian Castle. It was a light punishment for incinerating a castle, but considering Theore hadn’t received any punishment for burning down Carnian Castle before her regression, it wasn’t something to be particularly grateful for.

“You b*tch! What is this because of you?!”

“Theore, when you put down your teacup, you need to be careful not to splash the tea.”

“Ugh, seriously! Is that the problem?!”

“If that’s not the problem, should I bring Titi?”

“Ugh!”

Legina took a sip of Danilan flower tea, watching her brother, who bit his lip with a face full of complaints. It wasn’t the medicinal tea she fed the Emperor or Theore, but perfectly ordinary and sweet tea.

“I know your complaints. It’s because all the secret passages are blocked, isn’t it?”

“Do you know how much trouble I went through making those?!”

“Your chief attendant and Sir Lady must have suffered.”

“But anyway! Because of you, I can’t go out either!”

“Not ‘you,’ but ‘Noona,’ or ‘my sister.’”

His face, puffed up with anger, was only adorable. Legina smiled, looking at her brother’s face, which no longer felt as obnoxious as before.

“Theore.”

“What.”

“Those were, after all, unofficial passages that His Majesty knew about.”

“So what.”

“It means you could have lost them at any time. So, instead of being angry with me, shouldn’t you be doing something else?”

Legina reached out and stroked her brother’s head, considering whether to pinch his chubby cheeks, and continued. “Secret passages are originally made for the fun of re-opening them if they get blocked.”

“What?”

“Creating a new unofficial passage in a place even His Majesty wouldn’t know is no trouble at all.”

“What if it gets blocked again?”

“Then we just make another one, right?”

These weren’t secret passages built during the design phase; they were something that could be reopened if blocked. Despite being under house arrest, Legina, who had no intention of listening to the Emperor even a little, lightly pinched her brother’s cheek, who looked somewhat surprised. It was the soft, supple cheek of a child.

“Next time, I’ll take you with me. You haven’t been to a night market yet, have you?”

“Huh? Oh… Sir Lady said it was dangerous…”

“You probably haven’t even eaten street food.”

“That’s… right?”

Although not officially announced, most people in the Imperial Palace knew that Theore was the next in line for the throne. There was no way such a distinguished person would be allowed to eat street food, whose origin and preparation were unknown. If Theore insisted, they might reluctantly allow him a taste, but Theore, though a troublemaker, was still timid and unlikely to attempt such an adventure.

“The chicken skewers sold at the night market are truly delicious.”

“…So what am I supposed to do about it?”

“If you perfectly finish the homework your history teacher gave you and get a perfect score on today’s test, I’ll take you.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Theore, who had glared at his sister suspiciously for a long time, rose from his seat. Although Legina had changed a lot, she had never broken a promise she made to him, so a certain expectation flickered in his disgruntled violet eyes.

After sending Theore away, Legina began to prepare for her outing. Her purpose was not only to confirm whether yesterday’s events had spread well throughout the capital but also to consistently drop hints so it wouldn’t be a one-time event.

“What’s Sir Aaron’s schedule for today again?”

“He is supervising the promotion tests of his private soldiers at the ducal family’s training ground.”

“So he was more capable than I thought?”

“…He hasn’t even had his coming-of-age ceremony, so his accomplishments aren’t widely known, but no one would say anything even if he inherited the Margrave’s position as soon as he becomes an adult.”

Selma, standing by Legina as she changed into her outing clothes, informed her of information Legina hadn’t known, with a resigned expression. Come to think of it, he had earned the nickname ‘Ellias’s First Sword’ in the very year he inherited the Margrave’s position before her regression, so it made sense that he would be capable.

It bothers me that such a man died early, but… I’ll protect him this time.

She would protect him from dying, make him her ally, and then cleanly sever the traitor’s head.

“Your Highness, do you really have to go out again today?”

“I’ve arranged to meet Sir Aaron.”

“It hasn’t even been a day since His Majesty’s order for house arrest was issued.”

“That’s precisely why I need to go out even more. He wouldn’t imagine I’d move so quickly.”

Legina, who had remembered to bring Titi this time and secured it in her leg holster, smoothed her dress and patted Selma’s shoulder. She felt sorry for causing her distress, but suffering was something one could only do if they were alive, so it wasn’t entirely bad.

“I’ll be back late tonight.”

“Haa… Your Highness, please do not stray from Sir Aaron’s or Sir Johan’s side.”

Today, she intended to boldly climb over the Imperial Palace walls. As if remembering she was secretly out, Legina’s footsteps were remarkably light as she walked with Johan trailing behind her.

Gissley wore a complex expression, watching his brother, who had been going out frequently these days. Already, a specific rumor had spread throughout the capital: that Legina’s beloved was Aaron Vestein, and that Legina, having seen him for the first time in a sword lesson and falling in love at first sight, had unilaterally declared the annulment of her engagement. The Emperor, who belatedly heard the rumor, seemed to be frantically trying to suppress it, but it was impossible to eliminate a rumor that had already spread over the capital’s walls and along the roads extending to the Empire’s outskirts.

“Are you coming from seeing Her Highness today too?”

“I also saw His Highness Theore.”

“What?”

“She promised to show him the night market, I hear.”

Aaron, handing his light outer garment to a servant, replied indifferently and sat opposite Gissley. Seeing his unperturbed face, which made Gissley doubt if he even knew what he was getting involved in, an unconscious sigh almost escaped him.

“To think the day would come when I sigh at your face.”

“Isn’t it not strange?”

“It’s a different kind of sigh from what others sigh, you fool.”

Gissley, clutching his throbbing head, recalled the two letters he had received today and looked at Aaron’s face. The senders of the letters were different, Duke Vestein and Duchess Vestein respectively, but their contents were exactly the same, as befitting a couple who had lived together for half a lifetime.

“Are you truly planning to marry Her Highness Legina?”

“You never guarantee the future, do you?”

“…Judging by your counter-question, it seems you have no intention of marrying. Then, are you going to pursue a romance? With Her Highness?”

“Perhaps.”

“What. You’re not even dating? Then why are you sticking to Her Highness so much?!”

“It just happened that way.”

“…You just thought that was bothersome, didn’t you?”

“Me? Surely not.”

“You did! You did!”

How on earth did his brother read his innermost thoughts so well? Aaron looked at Gissley, who had begun to tear at his hair, with pure admiration. And Gissley, who even read that expression, leaned back against the sofa backrest with a despondent look and sighed again.

“It’s strange that you, who aren’t interested in women, are involved with Her Highness Legina, who isn’t even an ordinary noblewoman.”

The complex thoughts scattered in his mind connected into one, forming a picture he seemed to understand. Gissley, collecting his thoughts, sat upright and spoke to his brother, who was avoiding his gaze with a guilty expression.

“What are you plotting with Her Highness Legina?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Tell me honestly. You’re involved in Her Highness Legina’s annulment… there’s something connected to that, isn’t there?”

To borrow the words of his respected uncle Egil, his brother Gissley was, unlike a Vestein, a person with a cunning mind and a smooth tongue. Moreover, he was quick-witted, so his uncle had seriously advised him to just run away rather than try to deceive Gissley. His uncle’s face, giving that advice, flashed in Aaron’s mind and quickly disappeared.

“Surely you’re not… helping Her Highness Legina to annul her engagement?”

“What?”

“Are you and Her Highness Legina perhaps in a contract relationship? You’re not planning to use that to fend off all the marriage proposals coming your way, are you…? But my brother. Why are you avoiding my gaze?”

He was confident in his ability to hide his expressions, even if not his acting, so how did he figure it out? Gissley was about to sigh, seeing Aaron’s red eyes flicker, but barely suppressed it. He knew Aaron had no interest in marriage and no hobby of getting entangled with women, but he never imagined he would join hands with the Imperial Princess and even devise such a plan. No, right. The Imperial Princess, let’s assume she hates this engagement to the core and will stop at nothing to annul it! But Aaron! At home! No one was forcing him to marry! He didn’t have to if he didn’t want to, but he was slightly regrettable in his situation.

“Aaron…”

“I thought if I had a scandal with Her Highness Legina, fewer women would approach me. And if an annulment did happen, since she would be a former fiancée, who would dare covet her? Furthermore, it was an order.”

“…Judging by how long-winded you’re being, it seems you also know your fault.”

“I apologize.”

“Not making useless excuses is indeed your strong point… Anyway, let’s keep this a secret from others.”

“That was my intention, but your quick wit was too fast.”

“Blaming me is cowardly.”

Gissley, leaning back on the sofa as if lying down, began to quickly process his thoughts.

“You’re certain you have no feelings for Her Highness Legina, and Her Highness Legina is certain she has no feelings for you?”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s fine. Act in a way that causes the least harm to Her Highness. Though I’m sure you’ll do well even without me saying it.”

“Yes.”

Gissley, scratching his head as if troubled, rose from his seat and looked at Aaron’s face with a lingering sense of unease. It was a face so beautiful that even he, who had watched his brother grow up from childhood, was sometimes startled by it. He didn’t think Legina approached Aaron with ill intentions, but he worried about the possibility of her developing feelings while being so close.

“Aaron.”

“Yes.”

“If… if, that is.”

“Yes.”

“If Her Highness Legina were to fall in love with you… what would you do?”

– Mochinuna.