Chapter 72

'This... Could it be, by any chance?'

A first love kind of thing.

So I glanced up at Dad.

Dad was frowning with all his might.

'It can't be that, can it?'

Then I remembered something.

'Ah... Dad mentioned that a princess once clung to him.'

I heard that a princess jumped from the second floor because of Dad.

Is this princess the one?

I looked around to see if my guess was right.

Everyone was laughing, but I could sense their intention to pretend they didn't know.

'It must be this princess.'

Still, that expression of utter disgust was a bit much.

I gently grabbed Dad's sleeve and shook it.

When I looked at him with worried eyes, Dad finally relaxed his expression.

Seeing that, the princess was startled and looked at me.

"Ah."

Then she covered her mouth with teary eyes and hunched her shoulders.

'I understand why she's on the verge of tears when she sees Dad, but why me?'

Just as I thought she might start crying, the Empress stepped in.

The Empress narrowed her brows, not hiding her discomfort.

"If you're uncomfortable, you don't have to attend the luncheon."

It meant, "If you're going to cause trouble, don't come."

"…No. I will go."

Even as she said this, the princess's gaze didn't leave Dad.

* * *

The luncheon began.

Plates started appearing on the table, and soon the table was filled with lavish dishes.

Balzac looked like he wanted to die from the desire to leave.

"Every time a guest comes, there's a luncheon, a dinner... Can't we stop eating together? Are we really that bad with each other?"

When Balzac muttered this in a low voice, Joshua frowned.

"Behave. The princess is looking at us."

"She's not even looking at us, just at Father."

"…Anyway."

It was true.

I stabbed the salad with my fork and glanced at the princess.

The aunts were chatting on both sides, but she seemed uninterested.

She just stared at Dad intently.

'Her gaze is so desperate.'

Dad's silence in the face of such a heart-wrenching gaze was truly impressive.

Richmond asked Dad.

"When will you go to your territory?"

"Right away."

"I'll prepare the invocation."

The fact that Richmond was even preparing the invocation showed that he also found the princess's gaze burdensome.

Dad nodded.

"As soon as we leave the dining room, we'll <Move>."

He seemed to be planning to abandon the carriage and leave.

Richmond said with a puzzled look.

"Because of the barrier, it will be difficult."

"I'll either decompose it or break it."

The corners of the brothers' mouths curled up.

Dad, who was so annoyed, seemed amusing to them.

Balzac chuckled.

"Shouldn't you tell her to stop?"

"I've already told her dozens of times."

Richmond also lowered his voice.

"Should you protest to the palace?"

"I've already exchanged four letters of protest."

Joshua lowered his gaze, pretending not to look at Dad.

"Shouldn't you thoroughly ruin her reputation so she won't cling to you anymore?"

"Jump from the bedroom─"

Dad covered his ears and continued.

But I could see his mouth.

"Even though she jumped from the second floor."

"Hmm, she must have no dignity."

The brothers shook their heads.

Even the twins, who were quite popular, and Richmond, who often heard high-level confessions, found the princess's behavior terrifying.

Balzac shrugged.

"Just think of it as fate and meet her… I was joking, Father."

He chuckled but quickly changed his tone when he saw Dad's fierce gaze.

'I need to get back quickly.'

Because Dad looked so disgusted.

'This might end in an accident.'

But Dad's wish didn't come true.

Just as the luncheon ended and we were about to leave,

"Are you Erylot?"

The princess asked me with a wistful look.

It was natural that our family, who was about to leave, was blocked.

I laughed awkwardly and said,

"Yes, Your Highness. It's an honor to meet you. I'm Erylot Astra."

"Is that so. You…"

The princess, forgetting her dignity, bent her knees and looked up at me.

Anyone would think she had found a lost daughter.

The Empress closed her eyes tightly when she saw the princess.

Indeed, how frustrating must it be for the same royal family?

'Even Prince Salvatore looks exasperated.'

The Empress, sighing deeply, said to the princess.

"Princess."

"Yes, Sister."

"Wasn't your journey tiring?"

It sounded like she was asking her to go rest in her room.

Everyone understood the meaning, but the princess still shook her head wistfully.

"No, I'm fine."

'She's tough.'

Was she really clueless, or just pretending to be?

I couldn't tell, but the Empress couldn't handle this pure white brain.

The Empress, who had bitten her lip tightly, tried to speak calmly.

"We also need to prepare for the Harvest Festival."

"I'm fine."

"We need to inform your mother that you arrived safely."

"It's enough to do it at night."

I just rolled my eyes and watched their conversation.

Then, Dad stepped in.

"We need to return to the territory now."

"Already…?"

"Yes."

"You seem to be very busy…"

"Yes."

"Can't you spare a moment…?"

"Yes."

The princess's eyebrows stretched at Dad's firm wall.

She looked very disappointed.

She slowly stood up and asked the aunts around her.

"Then, what's Erylot's schedule like?"

The aunts looked at each other. Aunt, the wife of Uncle Baldric, answered.

"I haven't heard anything else. It's also the rest period… Isn't that right, Erylot?"

I hesitated to answer, and the princess clapped her hands in joy.

"Then, will you be my companion?"

Even the clueless Balzac looked at the princess with a 'Wow…' expression.

'What kind of person is she?'

She didn't ask Dad directly but the aunts about my schedule.

Because Dad would firmly say he was busy.

But from her behavior, she didn't seem completely clueless.

'Because the aunts said I have no schedule, I can't refuse.'

Dad's eyebrows twitched.

He was about to explode.

But there were too many people around to let him explode.

The nobles, the second generation, even the palace attendants.

The princess was the emperor's half-sister.

He couldn't disgrace the emperor's cherished sister.

Moreover, it was a very important time for Dad.

I quickly answered.

"It would be an honor to be your companion!"

"Oh, I'm so glad."

While the princess was delighted, Dad frowned.

"Ery─"

If Dad refused here, the aunts and uncles would seize the opportunity to criticize us for being rude to the royal family.

I couldn't let that happen, so I quickly said,

"We're going to the Empress Dowager's tea salon in winter. I want to hear a lot about the palace before that!"

"…"

Dad knew how much I was looking forward to the tea salon, so he couldn't object anymore.

The princess was overjoyed. She said to Dad with a shy look,

"I'll send her back on time."

Dad, who had been watching me with a gleam in his eyes, sighed lightly.

"…I leave it to you."

The princess looked at Dad in surprise.

She had never heard such words before.

Indeed, when I was three, Dad was like a sharpened blade.

He must have been even sharper when he met the princess.

It was surprising that he couldn't say anything to his daughter now.

The princess's face turned red.

She answered shyly, "…Yes."

* * *

Of course, just because things turned out this way, it didn't mean I was the only one talking to the princess.

Aunts, uncles, even third-generation girls were all around.

"I heard you love horseback riding. I have a wonderful thoroughbred, if you'd like to─"

"What kind of tea do you enjoy?"

"My husband is in the palace…"

Everyone was trying to win her favor.

'No wonder.'

It was a very, very important time.

The Earl Talos, who was supposed to enter the Central Tower, disappeared.

'So now there's an empty seat in the Central Tower.'

Everyone must be eyeing that seat.

'The emperor decides who enters the Central Tower. And the princess is the emperor's cherished sister.'

So they think she can be a channel to the emperor.

The emperor dislikes the Empress's involvement in politics, so she can't ask the Empress.

'They must have thought, "This is our chance!"'

Sigh, opportunists trying to make a big score.

I understood why they congratulated Uncle Grimea so much when he was appointed as the Foreign Minister.

'They must be thinking, "I'll bury Uncle Grimea in a position like the Foreign Minister and enter the Central Tower myself."'

The ultimate goal of all the direct line's actions was to obtain the Astra Dukedom.

When I thought this far, Loreina, the eldest daughter of Uncle Baldric, smiled and said,

"Princess, my father bought me a boat for water sports. The view from the boat is amazing."

"Is that so?"

"Would you like to go boating?"

Loreina, being very kind, but the princess looked indifferent.

Then, a good idea seemed to come to her, and she looked at me.

"Right! How about Erylot?"

"Me?"

"Do you like boating?"

"Ah… Yes."

I forced a smile and answered.

The princess turned to Loreina with a bright face.

"Can you lend me the boat? It would be very enjoyable with Erylot."

Lending the boat meant she wouldn't take Loreina.

Loreina's expression twisted horribly.

'I didn't say anything!'

She suggested boating, but now she was being left out and only asked for the boat.

It was obviously rude.

But Loreina quickly hid her trembling lips.

Her fists were shaking under the table.

"Of course, if you wish."

"Great. Erylot, right?"

'I don't want to!'

The social world is like a magic box.

If you put in a cloth, a pigeon comes out.

[They went on a trip together. → The princess and Diamond's daughter are so close? → Could the princess be marrying into the Diamond family!]

—Rumors can spread without context.

And most importantly,

'It can't get to Grandfather.'

The aunts, uncles, and third-generation all seemed to use the princess as a stepping stone to power.

'They're completely wrong.'

Even if they win the emperor's favor and enter the Central Tower,

Will Grandfather choose them as his successor?

'Grandfather won't be happy with a position obtained by pleasing the royal family.'

Especially when it's the princess, not even the emperor.

I clicked my tongue.

'Anyway, no boating.'

Thinking this, I stretched my eyebrows.

The princess also stretched her eyebrows, but this was actually my specialty.

I said to the princess with a very regretful look,

"I'm sorry, Princess."

"…What?"

"I'm not feeling well."

Cough, cough.

I even did a dry cough for the performance, and the princess reached out to me, saying, "Oh dear."

She stroked my cheek as if she was very concerned.

"Catching a cold in this season. It must be because you don't have a mother to take care of you…"

"No, it's not that─"

"Let's do this. I'll visit the Astra territory often and take care of you."

"Me?"

"You can think of me as a mother."

She laughed, and I almost froze.

'What is this princess saying?'

I thought she had a blank, white mind like a sketchbook, but I didn't expect it to be this empty.

'What is she saying in front of everyone…'

Anyone would think the princess was Dad's lover.

Naturally, the atmosphere became awkward.

The aunts were whispering, and the third-generation were staring at me with wide eyes.

But the princess was smiling as if nothing was wrong.

She gave me various desserts and said in a very sweet voice,

"I find you very cute, Erylot. Of course, it's partly because you're his daughter─"

'How can she say this so openly?'

I was so stunned I couldn't respond, and the princess was now looking at me wistfully, as if she was looking at Dad.

"I felt it the moment I saw you."

"…"

"If he and I had a child, it would have been a child just like you…"

"…"

"Looking exactly like him, and having a character like me, Erylot."

I realized.

'I thought that after reincarnation and regression, I wouldn't be easily affected by mental damage…'

I was wrong.

I was still a naive child.

The world is vast, and there are many crazy people, and there are plenty of insane situations.

The situation was so absurd that my head throbbed.

"You can call me Mother."

Then the princess covered her mouth and laughed.

I ended up opening my mouth wide.

'Wow…'

I shouldn't have worried about Empress Ocellia.

The ultimate boss was right here.