Chapter 59

"Teacher Fu! What should I doooo!"

"It seems you complained to His Highness... Are you regretting it?"

"…You can’t be serious, you already heard about it? About what happened in Bumini? And it’s only been five days?"

When they returned to the town of Tuisen, Lilith burst into tears to Frederick, who had stayed at the inn without accompanying them to Bumini.

Before she could even explain, the words that came back stopped her tears.

"Within five days, news can spread throughout the empire. That’s just how rumors work."

"Stop it! I’ve been trying so hard to be ladylike, and now it’s all for nothing. …By the way, what did you hear?"

"Her Highness the Consort is making great efforts to adapt to this country and is trying hard to get closer to His Highness the Crown Prince, but His Highness is cold to her. Eventually, Her Highness complained, which angered His Highness, and she had to beg for forgiveness, sobbing, to save her life—so they say."

"Ha!? That’s completely different!"

"Of course it is. The idea of you begging for forgiveness... I couldn’t help but laugh when I heard it."

Lilith glared at Frederick, who was grinning.

Since then, the atmosphere between her and Jesarudo had become awkward, and they hadn’t had a proper conversation until their parting the next day.

If their hearts drifted apart during the days they were separated, which could last for an unknown number of days—especially since they weren’t close to begin with—Lilith was filled with anxiety.

It had already been four days since they last met, and yet the world was being too presumptuous.

"But at least, your reputation is intact. Your efforts to appear ladylike weren’t in vain."

"That might be true... But it means that when we returned to this town, people’s reactions weren’t out of fear but out of sympathy. That attitude, as if they were touching a sore spot... Oh, His Highness will be seen even more negatively."

At the time, panic had taken over, and Lilith ended up getting angry, but Jesarudo wasn’t the cold person the rumors made him out to be. He was definitely insensitive, but he was just awkward.

This seemed to be the cause of the misunderstanding, though he also contributed to it himself.

"But something’s off."

"Hmm. You noticed?"

"So you already knew, Teacher Fu?"

"As one gets older, vision may worsen, but the field of view broadens."

"Is that so? I think some people’s field of view narrows."

"Ah, indeed, there are such people."

Frederick laughed, but the conversation had strayed. Lilith cleared her throat to bring it back on track.

"Anyway, the problem is the rumors about His Highness. In this Tuisen, His Highness is greatly feared by the townspeople. The rumors are quite distorted now. I understand it’s partly due to his nickname, 'The Red Reaper.' But in Bumini and the small villages along the way, he wasn’t feared as much, even though they were surprised. Maybe the rumors hadn’t reached there..."

Because she had been in the palace, she hadn’t known how the people viewed Jesarudo. From this inspection, she felt that in large cities, Jesarudo was greatly feared, but not so much in small villages.

Rumors clearly had a significant impact, but the current distorted rumors seemed to be deliberate.

"If the corruption of the Count of Coat becomes public and he is punished, will His Highness’s reputation improve?"

"Probably not so easily."

"Figures... It’s so frustrating."

Lilith pouted, but she was prepared for the long-term effort to spread the idea that the Crown Prince was actually a good person. She took a deep breath and changed her mindset.

"So, has anything changed in these eight days?"

"As far as I know, the factory is operating as usual, and the town has returned to its normal life after the excitement of the Crown Prince and Consort’s visit. Under Edgar’s supervision, the restoration of the unused kiln has been successfully completed, and the glaze expert summoned by His Highness from another kiln arrived the day before yesterday. It seems he and Edgar got along well, and he stayed at Edgar’s house last night instead of the provided accommodation."

"Really!? I want to meet him soon! And I want to see the restored kiln, so—"

"Lilith, give up for today. It’s almost dark, and everyone must be tired."

"…You’re right. I got too anxious. It’s a bad habit of mine."

Lilith, who had started to stand up, calmed down at Frederick’s reprimand. She was aware that focusing too much on the task at hand and losing sight of the surroundings was a bad habit.

Taina, Rese, and the others, who had been with her on the journey, had just returned to the town and would want to rest. Reflecting on this, Lilith sat back on the sofa and took a deep breath. She decided to rest until noon the next day before visiting Edgar.

"There’s another rumor that started circulating yesterday."

"Another rumor?"

Seeing that Lilith had calmed down, Frederick continued.

"Originally, you were supposed to return to this town because you couldn’t overexert yourself, and we had reserved this inn for you... However, the townspeople, upon learning of your return, seem to have misunderstood based on the earlier rumors. They thought that due to His Highness’s treatment, you had fallen ill and couldn’t return to the capital."

"Wh-what!?"

"This will also spread throughout the empire soon."

"…What is that?"

"That’s just how rumors work. For His Highness’s sake, you must complete Shana and clear up the misunderstanding."

"Of course! But rather than going through all that trouble, I could just shout from the tallest spire in town first thing tomorrow morning!"

"That’s enough, Lilith."

Taina, who had entered with the dinner cart, coldly stopped her. Lilith, who had been so upset, hadn’t noticed Taina’s presence.

"That was a joke."

"..."

Neither Rese nor the other two who had entered with her said anything to Lilith’s awkward excuse.

Determined to clear Jesarudo’s new tarnished reputation and for the sake of the people of Tuisen, Lilith threw herself into making Shana the next day.