Chapter 9

"Patrick, this is the usual procedure."

On the way to the carriage stop after the academy classes ended, Prince Eldred handed me a letter with his personal crest. "The usual procedure" means "deliver it to Amelia."

I never receive letters from Amelia to the Prince, but occasionally, the Prince is seen searching through the less popular sections of the royal library. The books he takes out are always different, but there must be a pattern between the two. It’s clear that they are corresponding, not just a one-sided exchange from the Prince.

The reason the Prince deliberately uses me as an intermediary is ostensibly to prevent his crested letters from falling into the wrong hands, but I suspect he is also suspicious of my relationship with Amelia.

No one other than me is aware of the hidden connection between Amelia and Prince Eldred. Neither Jacqueline nor Prince Christopher know about their secret correspondence. Perhaps the act of keeping it hidden is what intensifies their relationship.

Currently, in society, there is a rumor that Jacqueline is in a romantic relationship with her brother, the Duke of Hammond's son. Although Jacqueline was once very close to the Prince, the way the Prince looks at her now is incredibly cold.

I find it hard to believe that a rumor about an 18-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl being in a romantic relationship is true, but the rumor has gained credibility because Jacqueline, who was once on bad terms with her adopted brother, the Duke of Hammond's son, has been seen getting along well with him over the past year.

The Duke of Hammond's family, which had already lost much of its wealth due to a volcanic eruption in their territory a few years ago, was further damaged by the scandal involving the heir and the adopted son. Without the Prince's favor, it is only a matter of time before Jacqueline is removed from the list of potential fiancées.

Before the volcanic eruption, the Duke of Hammond, who had a substantial fortune, had enough influence to propose Jacqueline as a potential fiancée for the first prince, Prince Eldred, and to arrange a contract for her to be engaged to the crown prince. Most nobles believe this was a precaution in case either Prince Eldred or Prince Christopher became the crown prince, but it is actually different.

The king had a favored concubine. She died giving birth to the third prince 12 years ago, but the king, convinced that the concubine was murdered by the queen, hid the newborn prince from the queen. It is an open secret among the high nobility that the king's favor also extends to the hidden third prince, and the Duke of Hammond believed he would become the crown prince.

Seeing how both Prince Eldred and Prince Christopher quickly discarded their long-term fiancée candidates, the nobles around them are worried that they might do the same to their own subordinates. The higher nobility, who know about the third prince, are secretly abandoning their support and investigating him. I am no exception.

Prince Eldred is the same age as me, 13, and is in his first year at the noble academy. Prince Christopher, who is one year younger than Prince Eldred, will be entering the noble academy next month. The third prince, who is apparently the same age as Prince Christopher, is being investigated based on the new student roster, but I have yet to find a candidate who fits the profile.

"Lord Patrick, it's been a while."

When I returned home to the Johnston Duke's residence, I met Jacqueline in the entrance hall. I couldn't help but be distracted by the letter from Prince Eldred to Amelia in my breast pocket.

"It's been a while. Are you just getting back, Miss Jacqueline?"

"Yes, I consulted with Mel for quite a while today."

She must have come to consult about Prince Eldred or the rumors. Amelia, who greets Jacqueline with a smile, is unaware that she is secretly connected to Prince Eldred.

After our conversation, one of Amelia's servants, who seemed to have been following Jacqueline, called out to her.

"Miss Hammond, you forgot this handkerchief."

"Oh, I must have dropped it. Thank you."

The servant handed her the handkerchief, and upon closer inspection, I noticed a piece of paper tucked between the folds. It was probably a message from Amelia to Jacqueline, hidden to avoid detection by the Duke of Hammond's maids. I suspect that the rumors were started by Amelia's manipulation of Jacqueline's careless actions.

After seeing Jacqueline off, I handed the letter from Prince Eldred to Amelia's servant.

This servant is one of the ones who knows Amelia's true nature, so there's no problem. He is a young man whom Amelia brought from somewhere about half a year ago. Since then, he has been accompanying her everywhere, replacing the former Melissa's maid, who disappeared around the same time. His face is hidden by his long bangs, but his sharp nose and mouth suggest a well-defined appearance.

When I heard that he was the same age as Amelia, I suspected he might be the third prince, but since he is not entering the noble academy next month, he is probably not. Only those with a noble academy diploma can inherit the throne, so the king would certainly have him enrolled.

As I watched the servant leave with the letter from Prince Eldred, I wondered if Amelia felt any guilt or remorse, but I realized I had no right to say anything, given that I had enjoyed watching Melissa suffer at Amelia's hands until she was expelled from the main house two years ago.

Melissa was supposed to enter the same noble academy as me next month. When I checked the list of new students to find the third prince, Amelia's name was there, but Melissa's was not. When I confirmed with my father, he said that Melissa was being sent to the imperial noble academy because Amelia had not yet mastered magic manipulation.

The thought that I wouldn't be able to hear the piano for three more years, until Melissa entered the magic academy, filled me with a despair like being dragged into a dark abyss.

Does Melissa remember? When she was three and first encountered the piano, I, at four, also fell in love with it.

When Melissa started playing, she became so engrossed that she might not have even noticed that I was playing too.

I remember my mother's face stiffening when I asked to learn the piano. She knew that it was not allowed for the heir of the Duke of Johnston, who was a candidate to be the first prince's attendant, to play the piano.

My mother asked the piano teacher she had hired for Melissa to teach me as well. She did not assign me a dedicated teacher, which I now realize was to avoid drawing my father's attention. However, even that only lasted for half a year.

"There is no time for you to play the piano, as the heir of the duke's family and a candidate to be the first prince's attendant. Only the younger sons and third sons of lower nobility, who cannot become knights, reluctantly aim to be pianists. Playing the piano is a casual hobby for women in our country."

My father forbade me from playing the piano. Even when my mother, whom my father adored, begged him to let me continue as a break from my studies, he refused, saying that it would be cruel to continue half-heartedly.

Although Melissa and I started learning the piano together, I had to give it up after only half a year.

After that, I hid my longing for the piano, my anger at my father, and my envy and resentment of Melissa, who could play freely, and completed the education required of the heir of the duke's family. Every time I heard Melissa play, I was consumed by jealousy, but I couldn't help but listen to the beautiful music she produced.

"I'm sorry. I want Mel to continue playing the piano even during her princess education. I know it's not my place to ask, but I couldn't help Rick when his piano was taken away. Don't hate Mel. It's not her fault, Rick. It's my fault and your father's."

When my mother said this to me when Melissa's princess education began, I realized that she had noticed the intense emotions I had been trying to hide.

Melissa was not deprived of her piano, just as I had been, because my mother pleaded with my father, as she had done for me. Perhaps it was due to the gender difference, or perhaps my father was also captivated by Melissa's playing, but she was not deprived of her piano.

Melissa is a genius. Anyone who hears her play would think so. But the teacher who taught us during that happy half-year said that I was better than Melissa.

If I had been allowed to play the piano, would I have been able to play like Melissa does now? Or would I have been jealous of her playing, just as I am now?

In any case, if I was jealous of Melissa, I wanted to play the piano.

My mother, who was the only one who truly understood my inner turmoil, is gone. Amelia, who was the only one besides my mother to see through my complex feelings for Melissa, ultimately failed to replace my mother, Melissa's playing, or the piano.

I hate Melissa. But I love the sound of the piano she plays from the bottom of my heart. It has been three years since Amelia came to the Johnston Duke's residence, and I haven't heard Melissa play.