Chapter 10
Translator: Jawbrie
---------------------------------------------------------------
I felt a slight tinge of regret as I was illuminated by the light of a moon that still needed another day to be whole.
Leaving the dance hall itself was fine. Even stretching my body a little in the garden was acceptable. Even throwing myself onto the bench instead of sitting properly was not completely out of bounds.
However, I should not have laughed aloud like that.
Even if I was discovered, escaping into a garden was a rather agreeable kind of escape, my unladylike manners could still be seen as childishly adorable. But laughing boisterously was not acceptable.
There was absolutely no reason for to be ashad of my own bold laugh. But even I knew that it was not sothing I could let anyone besides my own family, the servants at the mansion and Mariywa hear.
Yes.
“…”
In any case, being seen by this boy who stared back at in silence, could hardly result in anything positive.
My mistake was thinking that my loud laugh would be erased by the music that leaked from the dance hall. But if soone got close to like this one had, they would be able to easily assess from the situation that I alone could be the culprit. That was why I kept my attention on the entrance to the garden. But it was no use now. I had been careless.
No regret would fix the situation now.
It could not be helped. Of course, it would have been preferable for the night to go without a hitch. But being able to flexibly conjure up a new sche once the first has been crushed was one of my qualities as a genius.
I stood up and directly faced the blue-eyed boy who looked at in puzzlent.
Drawing myself up to my full height, I addressed him with my usual voice restored.
“Good evening, boy. My na is Christina Noir.”
He had already seen laugh. I had no intention of putting the princess disguise back on now. I proudly introduced myself with a fearless laugh and with my arms folded in front of .
My next sche was simple. There was nothing to hide, I was the daughter of a duke. In all likelihood, this runt was a child of nobility who had escaped the dance hall like myself. And if he was the son of nobility, well, it didn’t matter if his father was a marquis or a count, he was no match for . As a genius, there was a huge gulf between us as people. But there was an even bigger one in terms of our station. Most children my age could be dominated by my authority as ‘the daughter of a duke.’
In other words, what I was about to do was a silencing through authority.
“Now, boy.”
As one who was older than him, I was able to look down at from a step above. It was most advantageous here that I was older than he. The first thing to do was to establish a clear relationship and show my superiority.
“I don’t know if you know this, but House Noir is one of only three houses that hold the title of Duke in this country. We are known as the three great houses and are the most esteed among the nobles. And I, Christina Noir am the sole daughter of that family! Now, fear and obey !”
“Ooooh!”
As I boasted this with a puffed out chest, the boy started to clap with a sincere applause.
It was quite the reaction. I felt good about his honesty and I drew up my shoulders even more.
“Hehehe. You’re quick to understand for such a small boy. I appreciate those who are smart. I may even make you my follower… Who are you anyway?”
“Oh, right.”
The boy had been so awestruck by my overwhelming presence, that he had forgotten to introduce himself. He clapped his hands. His age-appropriate actions suggested to that his formal education had not started yet. Well, it was not kind to compare him with a genius like . And he was probably only five years old. And he was probably a better speaker than most his age.
Thinking about this, I watched him introduce himself with a forgiving smile.
“I’m Charles Eduard. Nice to et you.”
“Hoho.”
I accepted the boy’s na with a smile.
“I see. You are called Charles Eduard, eh.”
“Yes.”
“I see, I see. Charles. Charles Eduard.”
I nodded and smiled and repeated the na. I chewed on the na for a mont, and after fully tasing the na that had entered my ears I finally understood where it was from.
This boy was royalty.
“…Ah, are you really Charles Eduard? Are you sure you didn’t get the family na wrong?”
“It’s not wrong.”
“…I seeeeee…”
The shocking truth caused to stretch the last word.
I did that. I acted immodestly in front of royalty and then acted as if I were above him on top of it. Even if he were only a boy of five, I had been putting on airs to soone who was connected to the king. My follow-up sche had turned into a ti bomb. Well, I could only laugh about it now.
…Yes.
This was not amusing at all. What could I do?
“…”
Even if I knew that there was no help coming from there, I could not help but look up at the sky whenever my ability to think failed .
The moon that had just earlier been shining its gentle silvery light was now covered with clouds that had stealthily crept towards it.
“The moon disappeared, huh.”
“It has…”
I agreed with Charles as he too looked up at the moon.
In the whole country, there were only a few who were allowed to carry the na of Eduard. The one family with the royal lineage. It was a cri to be a pretender. Pretenders received a harsh punishnt. I had already confird that this was not so misunderstanding of a five-year-old child, and there was little doubt that this boy in front of was of the most powerful family line that carried the na of our countries founder, Gillick Eduard. Co to think of it, I had mories of the na Charles Eduard. I won’t go into details, but his na matched the third prince of this country. It was very likely to be him.
“I see… Charles Eduard… Yes, you are Charles Eduard…”
“Is sothing wrong?”
“…no.”
After looking at Charles more closely, I noticed more and more convincing attributes. He had the sa blonde hair and blue eyes as his cousin Mishuly, even their facial structures bore a resemblance.
It was not a truth that I wanted to accept, and my mind raced to other possibilities, but the truth was the truth. I may have still been immature, but I intended to be a lady. Mariwya had taught how to swallow the bitter realities in life.
My follow-up sche had been thoroughly crushed. Trying to throw your weight around against royalty would result in the most painful boorang throw. There was a strong possibility that my conduct towards Charles would have consequences. I had my misgivings. If one were to strictly view it in legal terms, the cri ‘lese majeste’ could be brought against . But perhaps I was overthinking it.
No. I was overthinking it, I decided with a shake of my head.
I could still salvage this. I would turn this around. It was not yet an impossible situation. As a genius, I was imdiately able to think of a way to escape this predicant. From here on my third sche would be put into action…!
“You know, Charles,”
“What is it, My Lady Christina?”
Well, well.
Why was this boy, the third prince of this kingdom, speaking to with such reverence?
“Yes. Well, I did have sothing I wanted to ask you, but it can wait till later. More importantly, why did you put ‘My Lady’ before my na?”
It would only look suspicious if I changed my attitude now. It also had the benefit of fitting within my next plan, so I continued on in my usual way of speaking.
And his reply had been to call ‘My Lady Christina.’
This completely spoiled it from the onset. I could only be impressed that he could so thoroughly unbalance from the beginning. I, a genius conversationalist. Even in the dance hall earlier, I had led the conversation and grasped control of its outco without letting go. But this prince had casually thrown off course.
This one, he was capable.
I raised my guard even further, but Charles was looking at with a puzzled expression.
“But My Lady Christina, I am only doing it because you told to ‘fear and obey you’?”
“…Ah, yes. I see.”
I did say that.
Apparently, this five-year-old child had not only thoroughly morized the biggest slip of the tongue in my short, seven-year life, but he had even gone as far as carrying it out. If he indeed was not trying to mock with advanced techniques, then Charles was an incredibly naive and good child.
One might even be worried about his future.
I don’t know. With the exception of Mariwya, no one has ever made feel so defeated after a short conversation.
“I did say that, yes. That is correct, yes…”
“You diiiid.”
“Gah…!”
I ground my teeth as Charles, who ant no malice, pushed even further. I had been very disheartened by the defeat at the hands of Mariwya, but it was not like to give up in a place like this. This was an unintentional yet punishing blow, however, I had still not been struck in the way I had been by Mariwya. And in spite of appearances, I could take being hit.
Right, I recomposed myself and raised my chin. I returned my thoughts back to the present and focused my gaze on this formidable enemy.
“So, Charles,”
“What is it, My Lady Christina?”
Stop it.
His petty psychological attacks made my lip curl, but I sohow continued in a soft tone.
“I did say all that a mont ago, but you don’t have to call ‘My Lady.’”
“Why?”
Why. What a simple-minded question. It was simple and could lead to different paths. It made his forr formidability seem like a joke.
…Was this a trap?
I had my doubts as I looked into his pure, questioning blue eyes. But even so, I laughed to show that I was not phased.
“Hehe. Why, Charles. It is because we are friends, are we not?”
“Friends?”
“Yes, we are.”
He reacted strongly to the word friend. I did not miss his mumbled question and nodded vigorously. Good, this was going well. But if he lost interest here, or said ‘I don’t want to’, then my whole plan would be ruined.
“I am your friend. Well, more accurately, we are going to be good friends.’
“Going to be friends?”
“Yes. Being in a friendship is splendid, you know? Among friends, there is no station, age or reservations in conduct. Friendship is a kind of relationship that allows you to connect and bypass all of the other things!”
“Ohh!”
I emphasized the wonder of friendship by spreading my arms wide. Charles listened to my speech and raised his voice in admiration.
I could taste my victory. He only needed one last push before it was mine.
“If you understand , stop calling My Lady. If anything, you can casually call Chris!”
“I understand, Chris!”
This boy was so naive.
I watched Charles who seed to be overjoyed at making what was likely his first friend on equal footing. I ntally posed in triumph. You could say that my plan had all but succeeded now. I just needed to insist that our first interaction had been sothing between friends and I would not be tried for lese majeste. There was only one last thing left to do.
“One more thing, Charles.”
“What is it, Chris?”
We referred to each other casually and I put a finger up to my lips.
“Let’s keep what happened here a secret between the two of us.”
“…A secret?”
“Yes. A secret. What happened here, everything.”
“…Even the part where you laughed like, Fuaahahahahahha?”
“That’s a top secret!”
Why did he have a tendency to pinpoint the worst parts and pour salt on my wounds?
“Listen. You can’t tell anyone that you t here tonight.”
“…Why?”
I repeated strongly and Charles curled his lip.
That Charles’ question contained a degree of discontentnt was likely due him wanting to tell soone of tonight’s events. But I did not think it was because he wanted to spread the story of my boisterous laugh… He just wanted to share the joy of making a friend with soone he was close with.
As a genius, I understood his childish heart and so I gave him a humorous wink.
“After all, it’s a special, commorative day for our friendship. Don’t you want to keep it just between the two of us?”
By beautiful suggestion seed to works as I saw satisfaction appear in his eyes.
“I understand! It’s a secret!’
I won!
Internally, I was applauding myself for being able to draw out from him the exact words that I had wanted.
Reviews
All reviews (0)