Chapter 3

"………"

I was speechless.

The palace courtyard was densely overgrown with tall grass and trees, and animal sounds could be heard from all directions. A brightly patterned bird perched on my shoulder, which was frozen in place, and dropped its droppings.

"………"

"………"

"………"

Father and stepmother were also frozen, unable to process the situation. Even my stepsister had lost her smile and was looking up at Prince Lotus, who was floating in mid-air.

The prince was swinging joyfully across the jungle using hanging vines. Before leaping to the next vine, he seemed to notice our presence and exclaimed happily, "Oh!"

"The Duke of Savage and his family have arrived! Don't worry, come closer. This is a time of informality. Play with me in the great outdoors."

The latter part was probably directed at us. While hanging from the vine, the prince shifted his gaze from my father to me and my stepsister.

Before I could say anything, Elise spoke up, "With all due respect, Your Highness."

"I was told by Father that this was a tea party. This looks more like a savage's playtime."

Elise said this with her usual smile.

Father and stepmother turned pale at her seemingly disrespectful comment. Fortunately, Prince Lotus didn't seem upset; he narrowed his eyes in interest and said, "Oh?"

"What are you talking about? I said I would choose a fiancée, but I didn't write anything about a tea party in the invitation. Your father must have misunderstood."

At the prince's words, Elise silently glanced at Father, who flinched and then apologized to his daughter in a trembling voice.

"I'm sorry, Elise. The invitation did only mention choosing a fiancée, but I never expected something like this to happen in the courtyard..."

Father clearly seemed afraid of Elise. Isn't it strange to be so scared of your own daughter, no matter how much you love her?

As I was wondering about this bizarre scene, Prince Lotus interjected with a sigh.

"Hmm, is that all? Elise, if you resent me, come after me. Of course, only if you can grab the vine."

With that, the prince leaped to another vine and disappeared from our sight.

Elise visibly became upset. Seeing this, stepmother hurriedly pleaded with her.

"Elise, please. Cheer up. I'll buy you any dress or jewelry you want. Look, Elise! See that silly young lady over there? She's covered in mud, how funny!"

Stepmother pointed to the left front. There, a girl about our age was crying after falling.

The ground there must have been muddy. Her dress, and even her head, were covered in mud, and she had a scrape on her knee.

I frowned at stepmother's laughter, as did Father and my stepsister.

Ah, this is ridiculous. I hate them. All of them.

I turned my back on them and headed toward the fallen girl.

I ignored the whispers behind me and carefully approached the girl, calling out to her.

"Are you okay?"

When I extended my hand, she hesitantly took it. I helped her up and checked her injuries.

"Does your knee hurt?"

The girl nodded. As I was about to take her to the infirmary, she held onto my skirt.

"... This dress, my mother picked it out for me."

She began to speak in a muffled voice, trying to hold back her sobs.

"Mother said I should look cute in front of the prince. My family is poor, so we don't have the means... but Father and Mother bought me a new dress for this. They said it was a reward for all the hard work I usually do. Even though I might outgrow it soon, they still bought it for me... and now..."

She clutched my skirt tightly.

"It's all covered in mud..."

She burst into tears as soon as she finished speaking.

"………"

I gently released the girl's hand from my skirt, and she looked scared and apologized.

"S-Sorry. I got your dress dirty—"

"I don't care about the mud."

I shook my head and gently held her hand, trying to reassure her.

There was something else that was bothering me more.

I looked around, noticing the vines hanging from the sky, and remembered the prince's words.

"If you resent me, come after me... right?"

I let go of the girl's hand and grabbed the nearest vine.

"Let's do it."

＊＊＊＊＊

"No, Azalea! Stop! It's dangerous—ah!?"

The girl—Lilia, who had followed me—shook her head frantically on the ground, but I ignored her and leaped to the next vine.

After a moment of weightlessness, I felt myself being pulled down. Using that momentum, I swung the vine I was hanging from and leaped to the next one before it stopped moving. The vine I was holding was very high, and falling from here would be fatal. It's no wonder Lilia was screaming.

However, I scanned the area, looking for Prince Lotus, thinking of it as tightrope walking.

I was angry. I had to give that prince a piece of my mind.

His behavior was completely unconventional. It was unreasonable to expect us to imagine the palace courtyard as a jungle.

Hanging from the vine, I looked down and saw other young ladies and their families. They were all dressed formally or in similar attire, and they looked confused.

Of course. We were invited to the palace. It's normal to come in appropriate attire. Moreover, it was for the prince's fiancée selection. Even if it wasn't explicitly stated in the invitation, one would imagine a tea party or a formal event in the courtyard. It's no wonder they dressed up. If only the invitation had specified the attire, Lilia wouldn't have been hurt—

Ah, this is infuriating. I hate it. I hate it so much. I hate rulers who don't care about their subjects!

As I was getting angrier, a flash of red hair caught my eye.

I quickly changed direction. This time, I clearly saw the person with fiery red hair.

I was sure it was the person I was looking for and couldn't help but smile.

I found you.

I immediately swung my body to gain more momentum on the vine.

Prince Lotus was hanging from a branch of a large tree, looking bored. He didn't seem to notice me above him. He yawned and muttered,

"Ugh, so boring."

At his words, I remembered Lilia's crying face and, without thinking about propriety, my body moved on its own.

I released the vine at the moment of maximum momentum, extended my right leg, and aimed for the prince's abdomen.

I shouted at the still drowsy prince,

"Prince! Be prepared!"

Startled by my battle cry, Prince Lotus looked up at me.

"Huh?"

Seeing his dazed expression, I realized what I had done as I executed the flying kick.

Oh no. What do I do?

I hadn't thought about landing.

It was too late to regret. Time flows the same for everyone.

I successfully landed a flying kick on the prince and fell to the ground with him.