Chapter 49

It had been about a week since Hetta joined Nebel and Hilda's visit when Duke Einhorn's intermediary came again, requesting a meeting with the duchess.

Quite fast, isn't it?

Not in the sense of the investigation, but in the sense of her decision to meet me.

If she understood what she had tried to do, I think she would be scared. After all, the civil war might have been caused by Duchess Einhorn.

So, even though I know I should meet and apologize, I feel so distressed that I want to run away.

I know I have to do it, but the feeling of wanting to postpone the problem is very similar to this.

That's why I thought it would take her longer to come and see me.

This time, we decided to meet at my Schturmwind Palace, not at the royal palace.

Duchess Einhorn was sitting on the sofa in the guest room where she had been waiting, but she stood up the moment I entered and made a curtsy.

"Hello, Duchess Einhorn."

"I greet the First Prince."

"You can relax. Please sit down."

As I sat facing Duchess Einhorn, Lanz served me a teacup of tea and then served a freshly brewed cup to Duchess Einhorn before bowing and moving to the side of the room. After confirming this, I asked Duchess Einhorn,

"Did you do your homework?"

At my question, Duchess Einhorn, who had turned pale, trembled.

"W-well, I, I didn't really think it would lead to war, of course, I don't want it! Well, really..."

As she stumbled over her words, tears gradually welled up in her eyes.

It seems she had studied properly. She seems to have understood what would have happened if she had gone through with her plan.

"I'm sorry."

Tears streaming down her face, Duchess Einhorn began to apologize.

"I'm really sorry. I know that just apologizing won't make it right, but I couldn't properly apologize before, so I'm sorry."

Unlike the previous apology, this was her own words.

"I understand that I tried to do something that can't be undone. But I don't know what to do next. What should I have done?"

That's a tough question. If it wasn't about me, I could say that she should have pretended not to know, but that's not an option, and it wouldn't solve the root problem.

"Well, it's no use talking about what could have been done differently. First, let's start by organizing the story from the beginning, okay?"

At my question, Duchess Einhorn nodded sincerely.

"What you did, Duchess Einhorn, was to avoid the topic of me at the tea party. Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal, but it became a problem because of your great influence. Another reason is that you didn't say anything to those who misunderstood, right?"

"That's... that's..."

"Yes, right now, we're not talking about why you took such actions, but confirming what you did, okay?"

"Yes."

"If you were the daughter of a baron, this wouldn't have been much of a problem. People would have thought, 'Oh, that lady doesn't want to be involved with the First Prince. Maybe it's because of the bad rumors about him,' and that would be the end of it. But Duchess Einhorn is the daughter of a duke and has succession rights. There were many elements that could lead to misunderstandings."

For example, since the previous princess married into the duchy, the current royal family is closely related and frequently interacts with them. The children of Duke Einhorn have succession rights, so they would have met the princes. There are various speculations, not necessarily malicious, but people might think that way.

But since you're from a duchy, you can't ask such questions directly. Moreover, since the duchesses have succession rights, asking such questions might make people think you're plotting to carry the palanquin.

"Duchess Einhorn, because of your family background, high evaluation, and succession rights, was watched by the nobles and had many supporters. So, when you avoided the topic of me, it raised the question, 'Why?' And more speculations flew around. While it's the fault of those who made and spread these speculations, this wouldn't have happened if it weren't for Duchess Einhorn. When such things happen, you shouldn't just avoid the topic but take immediate action to quell the rumors. If you felt it was beyond your control, you should have reported it to the duke, right?"

By the way, why didn't the duke say anything about the duchess's actions? Did he not know what she was doing? I should ask Grandfather about this next time.

"The two points where you lost are: not considering your influence and not immediately addressing the bad rumors about me that arose because of you. Now, the question is, can these be held against you as crimes?"

From here, it gets a bit complicated.

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