There was another reason why the name Milanaire was not good. The great imperial family was that it had to look like an externally plausible family.
At the banquet hall that was held after the ceremony was over, I had to stand by Ray and Carnan just because I was a Milanaire.
âYou look exactly like the deceased Empress, Her Majesty.â
âIt is very similar to the appearance of Her Majesty Empress Alice as a child.â
âYouâre talking nonsense.â
Carnan cut off the words of those who showed interest in me and changed the subject.
From then on, the centerpiece of the whole story was Carnan and Ray, and I stood in the background like a candlestick on the wall.
The body of a large adult,
concentrating on the conversation, obscured me, and I was pushed back as if I had been cut off from the talking crowd.
âI hate this.â
Bringing people in and treating them as a background. And you shouldnât leave because you are a âMilanaireâ.
If it had been before the return, I would have been caught in the midst of them, trying to get attention from them.
I would have tried to prove just how smart I am and how valuable I am. At the same time, he must have cursed while stating Rayâs shortcomings as a crown prince.
But now, I kept my mouth shut and waited for this time to end quickly.
âDorothea. come here.â
Surrounded by adults, Ray sometimes turned around and called me back in the shadows, but todayâs main character, swept away by peopleâs attention, turned away from me again.
Then someone stood next to me and handed me juice.
âIsnât it fun?â
It was Theon. He was holding red pomegranate juice like wine. The pomegranate color, clear and red as his eyes, suited him well.
I stiffened like a fool and looked at him.
Theon is talking to me, handing me juiceâŠ!
I couldnât help but be surprised.
Theon was polite but kept a certain distance from people. There seemed to be a fence around him, so no one could easily approach him. Except for Julie Delevingne.
But why does he come and talk to me first? Did he bring the juice for me? Really?
Thinking of him having the juice for me again, my heart started racing without knowing the subject.
âPlease drink. You havenât drunk anything since before.â
from before? So youâre saying youâve been watching me for a while?
When it comes to things related to Theon, I go back to being a child and get excited and concerned about the little things.
I took the juice he gave me, calming my trembling hands. But I didnât even think to drink the juice he gave him.
With Theon by my side, I didnât think about what to put in my mouth, but it was the first time he had given me something like this, so the pomegranate juice felt like a waste.
I canât drink this. I think it wouldnât be a waste to bring it to the room and display it.
I wanted this red drink to last a lifetime without evaporating and rotting.
âHis Majesty Raymond was very proud of the princess. Youâre very smart, youâre a genius.â
âRay?â
âyes. I heard youâre already memorizing all the teratology.â
Theonâs compliment left me at a loss.
It was true that I was smarter than Ray. Not only through regression but even before regression, I learned a lot faster than Ray.
Despite the two-year age difference, I outperformed Ray in various fields such as geometry, philosophy, and history.
Because I wanted to get attention and have everything, I thought there should be nothing I canât do better than Ray.
If I read the constellations before Ray and calculate the time, I thought that someone would love me more. I believed that if I answered any question before Ray, someone would recognize me.
However, what came back unexpectedly was not recognized, but shackles.
âI hope to see you at Episteme.â
In Theonâs words, I had to control my expression again.
Episteme was the best academy in the empire, a school that nurtures talented people, and a place of exchange for excellent nobles to spend time together and form networks in advance.
Not only Ubera, but also foreign royalty and nobles, most of whom graduated from Episteme, and even formed factions among the nobles who graduated from Episteme.
However, unlike Rey who was able to enter the Empireâs highest academy, the Episteme, I was not allowed to enter the Episteme because I must not be ahead of the Crown Prince.
âWas I born to decorate Raymond?â
If I go to Episteme, I can show you how great I am, so why are you saying no?
At the time, I couldnât quite understand it. Even the nobles who canât see her spirits get along well with Episteme, but I felt like I was going crazy because they couldnât see me as a princess.
In the end, not being able to accept that fact, I fiercely resisted.
I left the palace and threw stones at Episteme. The stone I threw broke a window and hit the eldest son of the Duke of Bronte in the head.
The severe head shattered intensified protests from the Dukes of Bronte, and Carnan imprisoned me again in the palace and prohibited The maid from feeding me anything except water for a week.
The relationship with Carnan, who had already been bad, was completely separated by that.
SoâŠâ Iâm not going to Episteme.â
âwhy? If itâs a princess, obviouslyâŠâ
As Theon continued speaking, he noticed that my expression had hardened and shut his mouth.
Unlike Ray, he was quite intelligent and able to keep quiet. Although he is still young, it seems that Friedâs family tradition of âsilenceâ is already ingrained in his body.
I didnât mean to. I wanted to talk to Theon, but the story of Episteme came outâŠ
I didnât want to miss the opportunity to be with him, so I hurriedly tried to find another topic.
âTodayâs weatherâŠâ
âTheon, the Grand Duke is calling!â
But before he could find the subject, Julie called him.
âOh, Iâm sorry. Princess. The Grand Duke is calling. See you again later.â
Theon rushed towards Julie at the call of Grand duke Fried.
âOkay.â
I answered Theonâs back as he moved away. in a sound, he couldnât hear.
Somehow I felt more shabby when Theon left.
No one seemed to care about me.
If I am not here, no one will care.
It was from the beginning though.
âI should just go in.â
I walked over to Carnan to tell him I was going in first.
The desire to sneak in was like a chimney, but the politeness of this place meant nothing.
âyour majesty.â
When I called for Carnan, a nobleman standing by Carnan turned around and hit my arm. The wind spilled the pomegranate juice Theon gave me on my clothes.
The juice soaked my white dress.
âOh, Princess!â
âDorothea.!â
I was about to be annoyed by how I was feeling, but Carnan looked down at me coldly.
âDorothea. Apologize.â
âYes?â
âYou think itâs my fault?â
I even forgot that it was rude to ask the emperor again and talked back.
Someone else hit my juice glass and my clothes got dirty. I stood still, and my opponent turned around and hit me, spilling the juice Theon had given me.
But where do you want me to apologize? To my dirty clothes? Or to my presence who was there? Or me from the past who decided to say hello that I didnât even want to be polite?
I was furious for a moment, but I knew why Carnon was doing this.
It was the Duke of Bronte who struck me. The Duke of Bronte was an important guest for Carnan. I threw a stone at Episteme and fasted for a week because Bronteâs eldest son was right. It means that the great emperor valued the duke more highly than the princess whom he might see several times in his life.
Those present at once understood what Carnanâs judgment meant.
âYour Majesty, DorotheaâŠâ
âSorry.â
Ray, who didnât understand the meaning, tried to intervene, but I apologized.
Whatâs so hard about an apology? I decided to live a good life.
In the old days, I would have yelled at the whale and protested that it wasnât my fault, but now Iâm even tired of meaningless fights.
Because Carnan didnât do this for a day or two. Iâm the only one who gets hurt even if I think itâs upsetting and unfair.
Just thisâŠItâs as natural and normal as breathing.
âPrincess, no. I accidentallyâŠâ
âIt was my mistake for interrupting the conversation.â
It was my fault for intervening between His Majesty the Great Emperor and the Duke, who was talking without even knowing my place.
I was bad⊠âcause Iâm a bad person.â
âRobert. The princessâ clothes are dirty, so let her into her nanny.â
Carnan called aide Robert and ordered me to get out of there. His fingers move with one swipe, just as if he were removing dirty garbage from a noble place.
I clenched the empty juice glass. The juice that Theon had given him spilled out and not a single drop remained.
Iâm really used to this situation, but itâs been a while since Iâve been in this situation.
Robert patted me on the back and led me out of the banquet hall.
âIâd rather be fine. I have an excuse to go in.â
I thought to myself that, and turned around quietly, following Robert. I wanted to go quickly and rest.
But then. I made eye contact with Theon and Julie, who were standing together on one side of the banquet hall. Their gazes of concern and sympathy.
At that moment, blood rushed to my face.
It was definitely something that could be passed over calmly with worn-out emotions, but as soon as I realized that the two were watching, I became infinitely ashamed and wanted to hide somewhere.
I ran straight up to the room. Without an assistant or nanny, I went into the room alone and closed the door.
Theonâs expression did not leave my head.
âDonât look at me like that, Theon.â
donât look at my ugly face.
donât look at my shame.
If you donât love me, donât worry about me.
A glass of juice filled the red love and then spilled again with defiled feelings.
I locked the door and crouched down, hugging my juice-soaked dress.
I thought I was okay with spilling juice on my clothes, being treated like that by Carnan, and even bowing in my pride and apologizing, but Theonâs eyes turned over at once.
I gripped the hem of my dress with an emotion that was hard to control.