Chapter 23

Rosa was summoned by her father.

As soon as she entered the room, Rosa sensed an unusual atmosphere. Her father, who had always been lenient with her—no matter what, he would always indulge her—was now glaring at her.

Duke Selavalle suddenly slapped Rosa.

A sharp sound echoed.

"W-What are you doing? Papa. I'm scared..."

Rosa was genuinely frightened.

"A letter came from the Waja couple, the ambassadors of the Kingdom of Rai."

Duke Selavalle's suppressed anger fell on Rosa like a blizzard, cold and relentless.

"It's not just a letter; it's an official protest from the entire country! Do you understand what this means!?"

Terrified, Rosa couldn't even speak. Duke Selavalle slapped the letter against her cheek.

"At the banquet the other day, you said to the Crown Prince, of all people, that 'the hawk is so bad I can't eat it,' didn't you!?"

"Eh..."

She had indeed said it. But Rosa couldn't understand why this was a problem. The Crown Prince had laughed and forgiven her, hadn't he?

"I... I didn't know that the hawk was special..."

"Do you think you can get away with not knowing!?"

"H-Huh..."

Overwhelmed by Duke Selavalle's intensity, Rosa fell silent.

"Moreover, you insulted the national emblem, the moon, and belittled Lucrezia, who was trying to maintain friendly relations with the Kingdom of Rai! And Falco insulted the princess! Oh, it's too disgusting to even speak of!"

Duke Selavalle's anger showed no signs of abating.

"Even if it were just one or two incidents, it would be one thing, but with so many acts of rudeness, it's only natural to interpret them as containing some kind of malice! They are saying, 'It appears that your country treats our country as inferior or as an enemy!' What will you do if a war breaks out with the Kingdom of Rai!? Huh!?"

"W-Wait, wait, Papa..."

Rosa tried to clear up the misunderstanding.

"A war... I didn't mean anything like that at all..."

"Still don't get it?"

Duke Selavalle looked regretful.

"You were set up!"

Rosa's mind went blank from the shock. Her eardrums, already ringing from the yelling, were pierced mercilessly by her father's angry voice.

Duke Selavalle, driven by his anger, continued. Illuminati had many well-located port towns and was in a position that was easy to attack but difficult to defend. In the past, the ruling country had changed at least four times. And the Kingdom of Rai, thanks to its new sailboats and large cannons, had seen a significant increase in military power, and was planning to start a war with Illuminati to force it to cede some of its port towns.

"You and your foolish friends fell right into their trap, looking for a pretext to start a war! I never thought you would go this far! Even Lucrezia, who usually gets along well with the Kingdom of Rai, couldn't have predicted this!"

Tears welled up in Rosa's eyes.

She had only had a brief conversation with the Crown Prince, but she had liked him. Even if she had made a few slip-ups, she had naively believed that he, who had laughed and forgiven her, must have had a good impression of her.

But to think that he had been mocking her and using her behind her back.

She felt betrayed.

"I... I'm not the bad one... It's the Crown Prince who set me up... That's so unfair... I trusted him..."

Seeing his daughter's tears, Duke Selavalle seemed to calm down a bit.

Heaving a deep sigh, he began to speak in a more composed tone than before.

"The king is telling me to return my title."

Rosa was taken aback.

—If I return the title... what will happen to me?

Would she be reduced to a commoner?

"To avoid giving the impression that we are yielding to the Kingdom of Rai's threats, the king wants to make it look like I am voluntarily returning the title to the soon-to-be-adult prince. It's a weak strategy typical of the king. In my opinion, it's the height of folly."

After thoroughly mocking the king, Duke Selavalle glared at Rosa again, his anger still not fully subsided.

"Next week, I will go to the court to complete the return procedures. This will likely be my last visit to the court."

"No way..."

The rapid developments left her mind reeling.

"W-What about my engagement to Lord Falco!?"

"Falco has been sentenced to death and has fled."

—Death sentence... How can that be... It's just...

Rosa couldn't grasp the reality of the situation and couldn't think of anything to say.

"The Marshal and his wife are rushing back, but it's too late. With their son almost killed, they will likely abandon the king and resign soon. Without the Marshal and his wife's skills, Illuminati cannot avoid the provocations of the Kingdom of Rai. The people will surely demand war. We will flee before the war starts."

Rosa remained in a daze, unable to move from her spot.

The following week, Duke Selavalle returned his title and was granted the honorary title of "Prince Antonio of the Kingdom of Illuminati" before disappearing from the Kingdom of Illuminati.

His daughter, Rosa, has not been seen at the court of Illuminati since she received the title of "Princess Rosa."

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