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“Princess!”
Clara screamed in surprise, and Stefan quickly but carefully laid my arm away and cleared the stumbling block.
Even after the pole was removed, my arm still hurt as if it had been hit by something heavy.
“Oh, Dorothea…”
Rey’s voice was trembling as if he was about to burst into tears.
‘Why are you crying when I’m hurt?’
I carefully moved my swollen arm, biting my lip.
Suddenly, Theon ran and looked at me.
What a shame this is.
If possible, I want to show only my good side, but I get hurt and cause trouble everywhere.
Dorothea Milanaire is pathetic. People gathered around me, murmuring.
I bowed my head, avoiding Theon, who looked worried.
Meanwhile, Stefan knelt next to me and checked my condition.
“Ugh…”
Stefan touched my arm to check the condition, but a small moan leaked out of my mouth.
I think it’s cracked properly.
Stefan immediately grabbed and hugged me.
Really, it’s all a mess. I little regretted coming to the game.
* * *
As soon as the Duke of Bronte learned that it was me in the accident, he brought me to the Duke’s house so I could be treated by the best doctors in this area.
The doctor said my injuries were so severe that I had to wear a solid cast for at least a month.
At the very least, he said it would be over in a month because I was still young, and he did not forget to be careful next time.
“Why did you run there?!”
Clara was upset to see my arm in a cast.
So, what did I run away for? I didn’t know why I pushed Ray away and caused me to get hurt.
It’s Ray, whom I usually wish I didn’t have, but I couldn’t remember what I was thinking then.
It just reflexively popped out. Just one reason that comes to mind.
“It’s better for the princess to get hurt than the prince.”
A story everyone can understand. The message that my world always forced on me.
The prince takes precedence over the princess. The princess cannot and should never be ahead of the prince.
At least…Until the princess kills the prince and ascends to the throne.
“I think it’s better for a princess to get hurt than a prince… ?”
But Clara was suddenly surprised as if shocked by my words.
“Why are you so surprised? That’s right. Who will you save when the Crown Prince and Princess are in danger of dying?”
I said bluntly.
“We need to save both of them!”
“What if we can’t save both?”
What if Ray was in the east and I was in the west of the palace, which was on the verge of being destroyed by fire? Or what if you could only lower the rope to one of the two people hanging from the cliff? What if the kidnapper offered to return only one hostage?
Clara looked my blue eyes looking up at and testing her. Clara was unable to answer the question.
It was right for the Imperial Family and the country to save the Crown Prince. That was the ‘correct answer’ the Empire and the Imperial Family decided.
It is nonsense to say that all lives are equally precious.
it just wants to have such a hopeful dream. For humans, the order of importance is determined like a number. Sometimes the order is vague and different from person to person, but at least for Ray and me, there was a sequence that could be used throughout the world.
The prince has priority.
Although Clara is my nanny, she is a member of the Imperial Family and cannot deviate from this rule. If she saves the princess, not the prince, first, she will be guilty of breaking the law.
“Look, you can’t answer it.”
I grinned.
She cannot overcome reality with just a good heart. And sometimes, such a good heart can become a sin or be pointed at as evil.
“If Ray is injured now, the Duke of Bronte will probably be on his knees begging to be killed.”
Just because the princess was injured, he panicked, and if the prince was injured, the duke would have lost his title or suffered a significant disadvantage. Fortunately, however, I was a princess who lived alone in the corner of the country, which the Majesty did not care much about.
Clara could not speak for a long time at my gentle answer, and then she finally opened her mouth.
“Princess, I will rescue the princess if Crown Prince Ray and the princess are in danger together.”
“Stop. You can save the prince, if you save the princess, you might be accused of treason, right?”
I laughed like a joke, but it wasn’t a joke at all. For example, if she saves me when I and Ray hanging from the cliff, it’s as if she killed Ray indirectly.
The strict rules of the imperial family were not satisfactory.
She needs someone to take responsibility for when things happen, and sometimes innocent people are the victims.
It’s a world that asks the person who saved me, ‘I saved the princess instead of the prince.’ Maybe she will be framed for intentionally killing the prince and trying to make the princess the next emperor.
“It’s okay. Even if it’s not me, someone will jump to the rescue! I am the one serving the princess!”
Clara clenched her fists.
“Perhaps Knight Stefan would think so too.”
Clara turned to Stefan, and Stefan nodded silently. My heart pounded at the words of the two of them.
“Thank you for the empty word.”
“It’s not the empty words! I’m serious.”
“Just do it. Save Ray later if something really happens.”
I think that’s a good choice for each other.
In my second life, I didn’t want to survive until I wasn’t killed, Ray. If I lived instead of Ray, all that would be left was guilt. For the rest of my life, I’ll be fingered under Ray’s shadow again, and my precious things will be ruined.
Whether Clara or Stefan, I will not be able to properly protect the precious people who saved me, and I will be riding on the same sin…
So Ray should live.
I smile weakly.
* * *
Theon was walking back and forth in the wide hallways at the Duke of Bronte, waiting for Dorothea’s treatment to finish.
The Duke of Bronte gave up a room to wait for Dorothea, but Ray was crying in his room. He blamed himself for all Dorothea’s injuries and said that it was a ‘disaster’ that he came, and Theon’s comfort didn’t work either.
It seemed necessary to give Dorothea time to be alone until she was healed and left.
‘Princess, I thought you were seriously injured…’
“Master Theon Fried?”
While waiting for Dorothea, someone called his name.
Looking back, a beautiful silver-haired boy was standing there.
‘Ethan Bronte…’
Theon remembered him clearly.
It was an unforgettable look.
Especially today, the shadows and light were clear because of the intense light in the hallway, so his features and lines stood out even more.
Theon was very concerned about Ethan’s charming and elegant gait. There was a strange tension as if trampling on him with every step.
“I thought you would be back soon, but you are staying here for quite some time.”
Ethan slowly walked over to Theon and said. It felt like a thorn to say hello.
“I don’t think it’s something you care about.”
“I was just thinking of the princess. On the day the master came, the princess looked quite uncomfortable.”
Ethan asked worriedly, stroking his lips with his finger.
He should have gone back if he was aware. Is it because of his mood that his golden eyes look so sarcastic?
“No need to worry. Because I get along well with the princess.”
“Are you two doing well?”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
“You… You are too interested in the princess’s work.”
Ethan smiled slightly at Theon’s words.
The black shadow that clearly covered his face curved strangely.
“Right. I am very interested in Princess Dorothea.”
“What…?”
“I like the princess.”
Ethan’s golden eyes shone coldly, pretending to be shy.
As if waiting for someone to say this.
If it sounded like a declaration of war, was he mistaken?
Theon didn’t know how to respond to Ethan’s words. How should he react to him who opens his heart to Dorothea?
Does he have to say goodbye and move on?
No, he didn’t mean to say that. He just felt that way.
“I heard that Master Theon has someone you like. Is she Julia? She always says she will go with you. So I hope you will understand my heart.”
Theon was somewhat startled by Julia’s name coming out of Ethan’s mouth.
How could Ethan, who doesn’t even attend Episteme, know his circumstances so well?
Did Jonathan Bronte come home and talk? Or the Duke of Bronte?
“I feel like you did a background check.”
“I don’t feel good when you say it’s a background check. It’s a famous story. Do you think I have no ears to hear that I am not attending Episteme?”
Ethan’s soft words turned to Theon.
In Imperial Ubera, there was discrimination between those from Episteme and those from non-Episteme, which Ethan pointed out.
Is he ignoring him because he is not from Episteme? Is he discriminating against people on that basis?
“There seem to be some weird rumors going around, but Julia is just a friend.”
“Just friends… Miss Julia will be upset if she hears it.”
“I don’t know how you know Julia and me, but judging someone you’ve just met for the first time based on rumors feels ruder.”
“Hey, sorry if I was rude.”
Ethan bowed slightly and apologized.
Although he was obviously polite, Theon somehow felt bad.
“As I said, I like the princess, and I thought that Master Theon would agree if you loved Julia too.” Ethan had a pathetic expression on his face.
Then a servant came running from afar.
“Princess Dorothea’s treatment is over!”
Theon’s and Ethan’s heads turned to the servant at the same time.