Chapter 14
Beneath the brilliant spring sunshine glittered a ruby tiara.
Her luxurious dress, made from layers upon layers of expensive silk and lace piled together like delicate pastry, spread into a magnificently full skirt.
Her golden hair, tinged with a faint reddish hue, had been styled into elegant rolled buns, with soft curls bouncing lightly around her shoulder blades.
Her slightly upturned eyes were a fresh spring green, like newly sprouted leaves.
Partially hidden behind a gracefully fluttering folding fan, her lips carried the faintest trace of a mocking smile.
Still, that level of malice was hardly worth mentioning.
She looked to be…
About Cindy’s age?
Kitty found it difficult to gather her wits after seeing the breathtakingly beautiful girl standing before her.
From head to toe, she looked like a masterpiece crafted entirely from exquisite sugar art.
And then, as though this beautiful doll were actually alive, she blinked and greeted her.
“It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Katrina. I am Princess Amelia—your sister.”
Goodness…
So she isn’t made of sugar after all. She’s a real person.
Only then did Kitty realize who the girl before her was.
Princess Amelia.
After Empress Sophia’s disappearance dragged on and the prophecy concerning the Saintess became uncertain, the tyrant Emperor Theodore had adopted Amelia as a last resort.
She had originally been the daughter of Duke Somel and was the young girl with the greatest amount of divine power in the entire Empire.
Whether one considered her birth or her abilities, she suited the title of the prophesied Saintess of the Theros Imperial Family far better than Katrina did.
And now that the child from the prophecy had returned after eight years only to be revealed as a troublesome girl with not a shred of divine power…
Amelia’s position had become even more secure.
Kitty awkwardly returned the greeting.
“Um… I’m happy to meet you too, Big Sister.”
Seeing the clumsy little girl who didn’t even know proper etiquette, the girls accompanying Amelia burst into giggles.
Amelia, as though generously overlooking the rudeness of her foolish younger sister, asked in a magnanimous tone,
“You seem to be out for a walk.”
Meanwhile, Kitty decided there was nothing to gain by lingering here.
“Mhm. The weather’s nice… Well then, goodbye.”
She knew it wasn’t very polite to leave before someone who clearly wished to continue the conversation.
But she had no idea how to skillfully bring it to a close, so she simply tried to excuse herself.
She had barely taken a few steps when Amelia called after her.
“Wait, Katrina.”
With no choice, Kitty turned around.
Perhaps because it looked as though Kitty had been the first to retreat, Amelia now appeared considerably more confident.
“We were actually having a small debate among ourselves, and we would very much like to hear your opinion.”
“…About what?”
“We were discussing whether someone as talented and promising as the young Marquis of Roengreen should really be expected to participate in high society with a fiancée who cannot even observe basic etiquette. What do you think, Katrina?”
Without batting an eye, Amelia openly mocked a legitimate imperial princess.
The girls surrounding her snickered quietly.
Kitty blinked a couple of times before replying indifferently.
“…I’ve never really thought about it.”
Honestly…
Why would anyone spend time arguing about something so pointless?
Maybe that’s just how nobles are…
She didn’t really understand girls her own age.
Still, since they all seemed to be waiting for an answer, she reluctantly continued.
“Even if we talk about it now, it’s not like we can undo an engagement that’s already been in place for eight years.”
Laughter immediately spread among the girls.
“How shameless.”
“I don’t think she even understood what Her Highness Amelia meant.”
Even Amelia’s expression darkened.
As she waved her fan, irritation crept into her voice.
“So, Katrina… are you admitting that your engagement itself was terribly unfair?”
What is she talking about now?
“Hm? There’s nothing unfair about it…”
The moment Kitty answered so bluntly, sparks seemed to flash in Amelia’s eyes—and in those of the other girls as well.
Their gazes were openly hostile.
Kitty wanted to avoid making enemies if possible.
So she carefully explained, hoping to show she had no intention of fighting.
“The House of Roengreen wanted an alliance with the Imperial Family and a daughter-in-law who had a high chance of becoming the Saintess. Father thought becoming related to the Magic Tower through marriage was worthwhile, so they arranged the engagement.”
“But you didn’t become the Saintess! The young Marquis intended to marry the Saintess, and instead he ended up engaged to someone with no divine power at all. He was clearly deceived!”
“No.”
Kitty shook her head.
“From the very beginning, it was only ever a probability. Even if the chances were high, there was always the possibility that the child wouldn’t become the Saintess. The Marquis accepted that risk when he agreed to the engagement, so he wasn’t deceived. If he failed to understand that possibility, then that’s the Marquis’s own mistake.”
“P-probability…?”
Whether Amelia and the others actually understood Kitty’s rapid explanation was difficult to tell.
They simply stared blankly.
In the end, the only part they seemed to grasp was:
“That’s the Marquis’s own mistake.”
Their faces flushed with indignation.
One of the girls finally snapped.
“You’re unbelievably shameless!”
Shouting like that directly at an imperial princess was unquestionably inappropriate.
But since Amelia and the others clearly agreed, no one rebuked her.
Kitty could only stare in confusion.
Why are they suddenly so angry?
“I understand now,” Amelia declared.
“Katrina, you’re truly a wicked child. You deceived the adults, yet you don’t feel the slightest remorse.”
Trying desperately to salvage the conversation, Kitty hurriedly explained herself.
“I admit that, as things stand now, I’m far from worthy of being the young Marquis’s fiancée. But this isn’t deception or fraud, so it isn’t unfair. If someone makes a poor investment based on a prediction that turns out wrong, you can’t call that unfair.”
Unless…
Emperor Theodore had deliberately lied and claimed there was absolutely no possibility that Empress Sophia’s daughter would fail to become the Saintess.
That would be another matter.
After all, the prophecy itself had come from the Pope.
And the Pope, as ruler of the Holy Kingdom, was entirely independent of Emperor Theodore and the Theros Empire.
“If it were proven that Father and the Pope secretly conspired to deceive the Marquis by fabricating the prophecy about me… then yes, I’d agree that would be unfair.”
Kitty genuinely thought she was trying her best to have a reasonable discussion.
Instead, Amelia’s expression twisted even further.
“Are… are you accusing His Majesty the Emperor and His Holiness the Pope of conspiring together?”
“No, I just… You keep saying someone was deceived… but no one actually was.”
Even if deception had occurred, the agreement had been made between Emperor Theodore and Marquis Roengreen.
Strictly speaking, it would have been the Emperor—not Kitty—who had deceived him.
Amelia’s stunned mind worked slowly.
Only after a long pause did she finally grasp Kitty’s point.
Instead of responding to it, however, she abruptly changed the subject in irritation.
“Fine. Let’s leave that aside. In any case, Katrina, you are neither the Saintess nor a proper imperial princess now. Shouldn’t you, at the very least, distance yourself from your poor fiancé—or help him dissolve the engagement—for his own sake?”
But… I actually am the Saintess…
The thought flashed through Kitty’s mind.
She quickly swallowed the words before they escaped.
Even she knew this was absolutely the wrong moment to say such a thing.
Instead, the Second Princess chose a more indirect answer.
“Well… I’d certainly feel much more comfortable if that happened too. But things in this world don’t always go the way I want. I have to do whatever Brother Evan tells me.”
She thought that explanation would at least help Amelia and the others understand the difficult position she was in.
It had the exact opposite effect.
“I can’t believe it. You’ve only just met His Highness Evan, and you’re already addressing him so casually?”
“It seems you’re even more shameless and lacking in dignity than we feared, Princess.”
Amelia silently listened to the sharp remarks of the other girls before snapping her fan shut with a crisp sound.
“I’m afraid our acquaintance must end here, Katrina. Every one of my dear friends comes from a distinguished family, and it would be inappropriate for them to associate with a bad child. As a princess, I have a duty to protect them.”
She gave Kitty a lofty, condescending look.
“Please forgive my rudeness.”
Then she looked down at Kitty and delivered her final warning.
Her voice was frighteningly cold.
