The fake princess hides her scheme

Episode 13

“And! Father should see how many ladies Justin’s morning star makes them smile! Hmph!”

Nina continued speaking without giving me a chance to refute, then suddenly came to her senses and covered her mouth with both hands.

She added quickly and quietly.

“I’m sorry! Your Majesty, could you please forget those blasphemous words just now……? Actually, I’m not very good with alcohol…….”

I ended up laughing out loud.

“Oh my goodness, Miss Green. Don’t worry, I’m not good at speaking Imperial and I have a bad memory. I’m also weak to alcohol.”

Nina sighed in relief.

“Thank you for saying so, Your Majesty. Can you just call me Nina? You’re the same age as me, after all.”

Actually, I’m four years older than you.

“Is that so? Then, when we’re alone, should we just be friends?”

“The princess and I? But… is that okay?”

Looking at the emerald eyes rolling around, Nina seemed to be worried about whether or not she would get scolded by her father.

So I winked and delivered the final blow.

“Let’s keep it our secret.”

Sure enough, Nina got up and shouted so loudly that the dishes on the table clattered.

“Really? I love it, April!”

***

Only after Nina decided to become friends did she open up to him honestly about the hardships of the past few days.

“It’s not your fault. It’s because you were too hard on me the first day and were trying to protect me.”

I felt sorry for Nina.

You’re being hated by the powerful people in high society because you took the side of a fake princess who isn’t even real.

Nina shook her head kindly, knowing that it must have been me who caused this.

“That’s not necessarily the case. People say that Marquis Hillais has been Prime Minister for a long time and has gained power, and his attitude has changed. These days, he uses the excuse of being older to secretly treat my father, the Duke, badly.”

If you’re talking about that, I saw it in Jwibangul’s data.

Margrave Hillais had once been so poor that he had to sell off part of his lands, but then he was appointed prime minister on the recommendation of the Emperor’s brother, Archduke Artsen.

After showing off his skills as Prime Minister and rising through the ranks, he was now dreaming of using his only daughter to rise to a higher position.

However, according to the data, Vivian is older than the crown prince and is not completely his type. That is why my age was set to be the same as Nina’s.

“Still, that’s no reason to ignore you. You must be wary of me as a candidate for the crown princess…….”

I couldn’t reveal that fact to Nina straight away, so I told her carefully, and she lowered her voice even further and whispered.

“You may not know since you came from abroad, but there’s actually been a bit of a strange atmosphere among the nobility these days. While His Highness the Crown Prince was sick for a long time, everyone was longing for him and waiting for him, but now that he’s back, it’s like….”

Nina sighed softly and quickly added.

“So, the one who has been working on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince is Grand Duke Artsen. It was clearly to help His Majesty and His Highness, but now there is sympathy for the Grand Duke, as if it is unfair for His Majesty to return and take his place.”

The nobles are not on the side of the morning star?

This was clearly a different perspective from the data from the rat’s nest, and so the issue needed to be investigated.

If the client and the rat knew this fact but hid it on purpose, then this would be a clue to deduce the client’s identity.

I pretended to let out a deep sigh.

“Oh my goodness, it’s difficult. Bristol is a small country, so nothing is this complicated.”

Nina shrugged.

“The bottom line is that Vivian Hillis’s position is solid as long as the Grand Duke supports her. It might be a little different for you since you’re a princess, but there’s no way I’ll ever be crowned crown princess. To be honest, I also find someone like His Highness the crown prince too burdensome.”

Yes, it would be difficult to even joke that the debaucherous crown prince would be a good match for this innocent young lady.

I shrugged my shoulders like Nina.

“If I’m just going back to Bristol in a month, I’ll just go on a princess’s journey while I’m here. It’s so much fun.”

“You too? I like that place too! Shall we go play there together tomorrow?”

“Really? I like it!”

Okay, it was natural.

At that point I added, as if doing a favor.

“But from today onwards, I will go to the banquet hall. I told you I was bored.”

Then Nina looked at me with big eyes.

“Is that true? Wow, thank you so much! Thank you, April!”

If you like me that much, I’d be so sorry…

My conscience was constantly prickling inside me and turning red, but I calmly held Nina’s hand and reassured her.

“Thank you. Well, see you later.”

***

The banquet hall I visited again after three days.

In the place where Calrissian had not yet arrived, Lady Hillis was taking center stage as if she were the hostess, and so Nina was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh my, Your Majesty the Princess.”

Vivian Hillis, who had discovered me, approached me and greeted me cheerfully.

“I’m really sorry I couldn’t see you at the tea party today. I can completely understand that you’re not good at games and that your Imperial language skills are a bit lacking.”

You don’t even bother trying to turn it around.

Even if it was the first day of the clumsy Empire, it seemed like he had heard about what happened in the domino game the day before.

But there’s no use showing off your connections like that. I don’t need you.

I just stood there smiling brightly, not feeling any reason to respond, but I guess I looked very naive.

Vivian added, as if she felt very sorry.

“No matter how clear the purpose of the charity banquet is, my mother always said that friendships between ladies of high society last a lifetime. Oh, right.”

What happened next was obvious.

The Princess of Bristol is said to have lost her mother at an early age.

Indeed, Vivian continued speaking.

“Don’t you have a mother to give you such advice? Poor princess, you’re in trouble.”

To be honest, compared to my life, the princess’s life was truly a blessed life. Not only was her father alive, but he was also the prince.

In any case, Vivian seemed determined to turn me into her enemy.

I guess she thinks that as long as she doesn’t lose her position as crown princess, she’s nothing compared to a princess from a small principality.

Oh, yeah. I won’t see you again in a month.

Vivian blushed and turned away as she continued to ignore me. Seeing her going to find other ladies of her age, it seemed like rumors about me would start to spread again.

Then, thankfully, Calrissian appeared.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

Vivian, who had been looking toward the entrance, was the first to grab the hem of her skirt and bow her head, but Calrissian only gave her a quick nod and looked at me.

“Hello again, April. How was your day?”

Because according to the setting, I was a foreign princess who was a VIP.

Maybe it’s because, as Nina said, the Crown Prince is on a different path from the Archduke.

But how pretty her eyes were, sparkling like amethyst, and how sweet her detailed speech was.

I could smile happily, if only because of Vivian’s warmth that I could feel behind my back.

I answered, hoping she would understand clearly.

“I had lunch with Lady Green today. How is your Majesty?”

“Oh, my. I didn’t even know you two were having such a friendly meeting, and I was just attending a boring State Council meeting.”

At that moment, Nina, who had just appeared, came closer with her cheeks blushing innocently.

“I will definitely invite you next time, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

According to the data, she’s much closer to Calrissian’s type than Vivian… …, I was cowardly relieved by Nina’s innocent lack of greed.

Even though he showed up at the banquet hall under the pretense of helping Nina, the Crown Prince was my only priority.

As the servant approached with a tray of champagne glasses, Calrissian offered Nina and me a glass first, and then toasted with us for his share. The women behind him each had to take their own share.

Soon a waltz melody began to play.

Calrissian held out his right hand to me, holding a champagne glass in his left.

“Shall we sing a song today?”