Chapter 45

The Emma that he saw for the first time in a year is still cute.

Now that he is thinking about it, the chance that Emma encountered the baptism because of the rumor that the Count Stuart House is the head of the Second Prince’s factions is high.

“Emma, are you alright? Do you feel scared? If only I had come a little sooner…”

Lending a hand to help Emma stand, the Prince worries for Emma.

“I am alright? The dress, too, has been wiped by William, so there is no problem.”

Emma raises the hem of the dress and spreads it for the Prince to see.

The glimpse of Emma’s slender ankles caught his eyes, and his heart went *badump*, but he moved to check her dress to not let it show on his face.

“The dress seems alright. But still, it doesn’t change the fact that you are guilty, Lady Francesca.”

Francesca is trembling from the Prince’s words.

In the royal capital, it was rumored that the Stuart family is approaching the Second Prince and taking advantage of his weakness to make their daughter his fiancee.

However, this… No matter how she looks at it, it’s the Prince who’s head over heels for Emma. Because nobody has ever seen that Prince’s smile.

Perhaps they have already been engaged but just haven’t announced it. What will become of her who has harassed and splashed wine on a fiancee of the royal family?

“Your Highness? I haven’t been harassed by Francesca(?)-sama, you know? She did spill the wine accidentally, but please do not be that mad.”

Emma blankly tilts her head as if confused.

Right before the public-execution like condemnation begins, the victim, Emma herself, covers up for Francesca.

The Palace boys and guests who have been watching the situation are surprised to hear that and deeply moved.

What a kind child. To pretend to be blankly confused so that Francesca won’t be punished even though she just did such a terrible thing to her, she isn’t pushing herself, right.

or

With such a quiet and introverted personality, to protect Lady Francesca in front of everyone even though she must’ve felt hopeless inside, is she an angel?

or

To endure bullying with such a slender body and even take great pains for the one who bullied her… What a strong-minded and kind-hearted child. The smile shown when she lifted the veil for an instant was also insanely cute.

or like that. Those who knew Emma and those who didn’t, almost everyone’s likability towards Emma shoots up dramatically.

“…you don’t have to cover up for her. I understand that Emma is kind, but Lady Francesca’s harassment has gone too far.”

“Your Highness? I really haven’t been harassed or anything. Please don’t do something mean.”

Why the Prince wants to punish Francesca, Emma seriously doesn’t know. When was I harassed… Let’s remember it from the beginning.

・・・

When Emma was standing idly, Francesca asked for a wine from a waiter.

I wonder how wines in this world taste like. Emma nostalgically recalled the taste of sake.

Before their reincarnation, the Tanaka family loved to drink. Minato also liked wine and drank it often, but she felt lonely because she didn’t have any friends who also enjoyed wine.

Francesca boldly said to the waiter, ‘This amount is not enough,’ and poured a glassful of wine. And so, Emma thought she was amazing.

Minato had also felt that less than half a glass wasn’t enough, but she always held herself back in public.

She couldn’t care less about enjoying the aroma. Anyway, she wanted to drink a lot. She knew that it’s a bad way of drinking, so of course, she kept herself in check when in front of other people.

Yet, Francesca ordered the waiter to pour the red wine until the glass was almost full. This is the royal castle’s hall, not her own home. Looking at Francesca walking with a glassful of wine boldly in a place where everyone should be mindful of themselves, Emma is convinced. This is a fellow drinker.

I want to be friends.

It seemed she could engage in lively wine discussions that didn’t come true in her past life. When she was thinking, Francesca was coming her way with a smile on her lips.

Then, Francesca spilled the precious wine.

It looked like Francesca had drunk quite a lot before Emma came. It’s standard for someone drunk to spill drinks.

At any bar, the table is full of fallen-over glasses. And when Emma looked at the surrounding reactions, it seemed that this young lady was drunk every year and done something.

Most of the wine spilled on Emma, but from another way, it looked like a template development, so it’s amusing. The young ladies waiting behind her looked like the villainous daughter and her entourage in this setting.

“Oh my, my apologies.”

Francesca apologized.

Her unguilty attitude was maybe because she became loose from the alcohol. Her point is above average to be able to be lively drunk. It’s still a few years until Emma could drink alcohol, but she certainly wanted to drink the night away with the young lady in front of her someday.

When Emma was thinking so, the waiter offered her a cloth to wipe the wine drops. When she looked at her feet after thanking the waiter, she found a stain on the carpet.

This stain would be hard to come off unless it was dealt with right away. Today’s dress is luckily the waterproof prototype product, with Violet’s thread blended in.

Anyhow, the carpet looked miserable because all the wine was spilled. Emma was absorbed in her struggle with the stains on the carpet for a while, then…

・・・

…just as I thought, Francesca hasn’t done anything that should be punished.

She just drank too much alcohol faithfully to her instinct. She has unceasingly made blunders from alcohol even when she has become a member of society. The still young Francesca is not guilty… probably.

Someone also said about compensation for the dress or the like, but in the first place, there’s no stain on her dress that was made of durable Emma silk combined with Violet’s thread, so it’s unnecessary.

Emma gently supports Francesca, who has been keeping her head down and trembling. You wouldn’t think about other people’s business when you made drunk blunders. Maybe she had been drunk every year and troubling others. But right now, she is trembling and reflecting on herself, so she will control the amount from next year, right.

If she really wants to drink lots, I will invite her to our house and let her drink as much as she likes. Emma can’t drink until a few years later, but she wants to secure a valuable drinking buddy candidate.

“Francesca-sama? You were just a little drunk, right. As you can see, my dress is fine, so I don’t need compensation or anything. Is Francesca-sama‘s dress alright?”

The only kind words for Francesca inside this party venue are said by the girl she just bullied a few minutes ago.

Francesca accidentally saw a deep scar on Emma’s right cheek when Emma helped her.

She also heard a rumor that Emma got attacked by a monster when she was socializing with the Second Prince. There’s also a rumor that she used the wounds to press the Prince for an engagement.

But the girl in front of Francesca definitely wouldn’t do that.

How can she be so kind? She can’t help but feels so embarrassed.

The baptism has been passed on among young ladies of the First Prince’s faction. It became her job starting three years ago, and at first, she thought she didn’t want to do it. But if she didn’t do it, her father’s position would worsen.

Unwillingly, she did the baptism and acted as the superior in nobility caste. She even gets young ladies who are called her “entourage”.

She is treated as a hero in the First Prince’s faction and misunderstood by everyone.

That she is someone of value.

The really valuable one is Emma Stuart right before her eyes, the delicate younger girl with a deep scar on her face.

She didn’t get frightened from speaking with the Prince and protected someone like her.

She is worried about me many times more than my entourage, who has been gone since Emma’s first reinforcement came.

“I… I’m sorr… y. I have done a lot of mean things to you…”

Francesca apologizes to Emma with tears in her eyes. Even when she is blamed for the baptism, do not ever acknowledge it. Don’t apologize. She has been told that strongly when she took over the baptism, but it doesn’t matter now. She wanted to apologize because she knows that she did something terrible.

“Francesca-sama? Please do not mind it. Didn’t you already apologized immediately when the wine splashed into my dress?”

While wiping Francesca’s tears gently, Emma said softly, but still can be heard clearly by everyone.　Emma said so for Francesca’s words that sound perfunctory and easy to misunderstand as an apology.

“I, how… can I apologize to you… I’m really sorry.”

Francesca bows from the bottom of her heart.

She is still a girl who can’t drink alcohol. Her first time in the capital, and her first party, she must be scared.

Emma mutters, “Apology…”

“Then, Francesca-sama! Please be my friend. Be my first friend the royal capital. Please show me around the academy. Is there any delicious cake shop on our way home? Let’s go eat together?”

Emma holds Francesca’s hands excitedly.

Ah… This girl… is an angel. She is such an angel that it’s strange there are no wings on her back.

Francesca’s inner voice is what everyone in the venue thinks.

George and William guess what Emma’s thinking and have lukewarm expressions. It seems like Emma has conquered not only tea parties but also high society.