Chapter 45

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It's been a year since I last saw Emma, and she's still as cute as ever.

Thinking about it, since the Stuart family is rumored to be the leading supporters of the Second Prince, the probability of Emma being a victim of baptism was quite high.

"Is Emma alright? Did you get scared? I wish I could have come a little earlier..."

The prince helped Emma stand up and worriedly inquired.

"I'm fine. William wiped my dress, so there's no problem."

Emma lifted the hem of her dress to show it.

Her slender ankle caught my eye, making my heart contract, but I tried not to show it as I checked her dress.

"The dress seems to be fine. Miss Francesca, your sin remains unchanged, however."

Francesca trembled at the prince's words.

In the capital, it was rumored that the Stuart family's daughter was trying to get close to the Second Prince by exploiting his weaknesses.

However, this... it's clear that the prince is the one who is infatuated with Emma. No one has ever seen the prince smile like that.

Perhaps they are already engaged, even if it hasn't been announced. What will happen to me for pouring wine on a royal fiancée?

"Your Highness? I haven't been harassed by Miss Francesca at all. I accidentally spilled the wine, but please don't be so angry."

Emma tilted her head in confusion, looking innocent.

Just before the public condemnation began, the victim, Emma, defended Francesca.

The sons of the palace and the guests in the hall were shocked and moved by her words.

What a kind girl. Despite being treated so badly just now, she is even putting on an innocent act to protect Francesca from punishment.

Or so they thought.

Despite her shy and introverted nature, she must feel vulnerable being exposed to so many people, yet she still defends Francesca. Is she an angel?

Or so they thought.

Enduring bullying with such a frail body and still showing kindness to the bully... what a strong and kind girl. The smile she showed when she briefly lifted her veil was incredibly cute.

Or so they thought.

Almost everyone in the hall, whether they knew Emma or not, had their opinion of her skyrocket.

"...You don't need to protect her. I understand that Emma is kind, but Francesca's harassment has gone too far."

"Your Highness? I really haven't been harassed. Please don't do anything harsh."

The prince, who was trying to punish Francesca, was a mystery to Emma. When did she ever experience harassment... she thought back from the beginning.

When Emma was standing there, Francesca had ordered red wine from a server.

She remembered how nostalgic she felt for the taste of alcohol.

In her previous life, the Tanaka family all loved alcohol, and she often drank wine. However, she had no friends who shared her love for wine, which made her a bit lonely.

Francesca boldly told the server to fill the glass with more wine, which impressed her.

She was dissatisfied that she could only get a little more than half a glass, but she endured it in public.

The smell was irrelevant; she just wanted to drink more. She knew she was a bad drinker but still cared about her appearance.

However, Francesca had the server fill the glass almost to the brim with red wine. This was not her home but the grand hall of the castle. Seeing Francesca walk with a full glass of wine in such a formal setting, she was convinced that Francesca was a heavy drinker.

She wanted to be friends.

She wanted to have a wine discussion that she couldn't have in her previous life. Just as she was thinking this, Francesca approached with a smile.

Then, Francesca spilled the important wine.

It seemed that Francesca had already drunk quite a bit before Emma arrived. Drunk people tend to spill drinks.

In any izakaya, there's always a table where a glass has been knocked over, and from the reactions of the people around her, it seemed that this young lady often did something similar when drunk.

Most of the wine ended up on Emma, but this was a typical scenario and somewhat amusing. It almost made her look like a villainous young lady with her entourage.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Francesca apologized.

Her unapologetic attitude might have been due to the alcohol making her feel good. Being able to get drunk cheerfully was a good point. Emma couldn't drink for a few more years, but she wanted to drink until morning with this young lady.

As she was thinking this, a server offered a cloth to wipe the wine. After thanking him, she looked down and saw a stain on the carpet.

The stain needed to be treated quickly or it wouldn't come out. Fortunately, today's dress was a waterproof prototype with violet threads mixed in.

Since the glass was so full, the carpet was in a terrible state. She focused on removing the stain for a while...

...In the end, Francesca hadn't done anything worthy of punishment.

She had just followed her instincts and drunk too much. Even as an adult, she would make mistakes with alcohol, so there was no sin in a young girl like Francesca...

The talk of compensating for the dress was unnecessary. Today's dress, made of strong Emma silk with violet threads, didn't get a single stain.

She helped the trembling Francesca, who had been bowing for a long time, and gently encouraged her. She could relate to the mistakes of a drinker. She might have caused trouble when drunk every year, but now, seeing her tremble and reflect, she believed Francesca would control her drinking from next year.

If she really wanted to drink from a full glass, inviting her home to drink as much as she wanted might be a good idea. Emma couldn't drink for a few more years, but she wanted to secure a potential drinking buddy.

"Miss Francesca? You were just a little drunk. As you can see, my dress is fine, so there's no need for compensation. Is your dress okay?"

In the party hall, the only kind words Francesca received came from the girl she had bullied just a few minutes ago.

When she was helped up, she accidentally saw a deep scar on the right side of Francesca's face.

She had heard rumors that Francesca was attacked by a monster while interacting with the Second Prince and was using the scar to pressure the prince into an engagement.

But the girl in front of her would never do such a thing.

How could she be so kind? She felt ashamed of herself.

The baptism had always been passed down to the first prince's supporters. Three years ago, it became her responsibility, and at first, she didn't want to do it. But if she didn't, her father's position would be in trouble.

Reluctantly, she succeeded in the baptism, and it led to her rising to the top of the Mounting Caste, gaining so-called "followers."

She was treated like a hero among the first prince's supporters and became delusional.

Thinking she was a valuable person.

The truly valuable person was the frail, younger girl with a deep scar on her face, Emma Stuart.

She stood up to the prince to protect someone like her.

From the moment the first supporter appeared, this girl cared for her more than the followers who had disappeared.

"I... I'm so sorry... I did so many terrible things to you..."

Francesca cried and apologized to Emma. She was told never to admit or apologize for the baptism, even if she was blamed. But since she knew she had done wrong, she wanted to apologize properly.

"Miss Francesca? Don't worry. You apologized immediately when the wine spilled on my dress."

While gently wiping away Francesca's tears, Emma spoke kindly but loud enough for everyone to hear. She accepted Francesca's half-hearted apology as genuine.

"I... I don't know how to apologize to you... I'm really, really sorry."

She bowed deeply from the heart.

She was still a girl who couldn't drink. It was her first time in the capital and at a party, and she must have been scared.

Emma whispered, "Apology..."

"Then, Miss Francesca! Please be my friend. My first friend in the capital. Show me around the school. Is there a good cake shop on the way back? Let's go together?"

Emma happily held Francesca's hand.

Oh... this girl... is an angel. An angel that makes you doubt the absence of wings.

Francesca's inner voice was the consensus of almost everyone in the hall.

Only Georg and William had a warm expression, sensing what Emma was thinking. It seemed that Emma's dominance extended beyond tea parties to the social world.

Oh... Joshua hasn't said anything (laughs).