Chapter 14: 14

The Imperial Palace’s inner hallway, which was decorated with marble, had eagle engravings in several places. I didn’t realize it until I saw the golden vase in the corridor and the huge portrait hanging at the stairwell’s entrance that my eyes had moved quite high.

As I walked down the hallway, I noticed something strange.

If I leave the mansion, at least four maids will accompany me, including Merrill, my closest maid.

Even Clara has two maids close by to keep her safe.

But despite his status as a Prince, Alex had no attendant following him.

That wasn’t the only thing. The attendants bowed their heads slightly as we walked down the hallway, but at the same time, they seemed to ignore the two of us.

Alex continued on his way without looking back. Is there actually no one in the Imperial Palace who supports Alex?

The Prince came to a halt after walking for a long time and arriving at an empty location.

Alex turned and looked at me after checking that no one was watching. What was the point of getting me here?

He finally managed to say something after a long time.

“The papers you gave me last time were very useful.” 

I looked up at Alex’s face. Alex looks like the Emperor, just as Theo looks like our father.

It’s not surprising that he’s strong since his father was a swordmaster. Alex will get stronger as time goes by. He is the most powerful person in history, but because he was still young, he was treated poorly in the Palace.

“I’m glad it helped.”

“Exactly as you said, this certainly worked out in my favor. I’ll say thank you for now.”

If you’re thankful, all you have to say is “thank you.” So why are you using the word “now”? What else do you have to be grateful for?

Well, since I did something useful this time, I need to make sure that he doesn’t forget about it.

“You’re very grateful, aren’t you?”

“I’m no longer thankful after hearing that.”

That’s despicable. However, becoming annoyed like this would threaten the plan to form alliances with the future ruler. So I just smiled and slowly pretended to be close to him.

“If you’re just grateful, tell me honestly that you’re grateful, Future Crown Prince.”

Alex stared at me with a confused expression as I poked him in the ribs.

“The future Crown Prince? Do you think I can be the Crown Prince?”

Of course, I believe it is possible if my father helps and sees his promising future.

It will be quite stressful, but if we do this well, it might also create an opportunity for Alex and Clara to be in a romantic atmosphere.

So, as obviously as possible, I hinted at future plans.

“Of course. It’ll be even better if you join hands with Valentine.”

“Join hands with Valentine?”

It’s not a suggestion that would come from a child’s mouth, but pretending to be a child in front of Prince Alex is difficult.

I needed to behave as if it was what someone told me, but at the same time, I need to express my thoughts as much as possible.

“I’m not sure what’s going on, but I think you’re in big trouble right now. So I felt it would be helpful to all of us if my family supported you.”

“That’s a dangerous statement.”

That is something I am aware of. But I’m just saying this because I’m in front of the male lead; I wouldn’t say something so crazy in front of other people.

I was hoping for something as well. No matter how closely we stick to the original plot, I can protect my life once I step up and join hands with Alex, as long as I’m Clara’s reliable ally.

“I truly believe in it. The Prince is a lot better suited to be in the Crown Prince’s position.”

“Do you really think so?”

It’s time to shower him with praises. In order to show my loyalty to Alex, I began to flatter him nonstop.

“Of course. You have excellent sword skills, a good head, and above all, you won’t walk past anyone in need.”

Yeah, that’s why I liked you. With my love for my former favorite character, I praised him as much as I could.

I would feel very bad if Alex can’t be the Crown Prince because I twist the original plot too much.

So, he must become Crown Prince.

Alex, who had been listening to me speak for a long time, asked back with a ridiculous expression.

“Who the hell told you that?”

I guess I got a little too excited. I tried to change the subject by acting dumb, but it seems that it may be too late.

“That’s, uh, uh, no. I  thought about it on my own.”

Whatever I say, whatever a child says will always sound ridiculous to adults, no matter how serious I am.

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In the first place, people only looked at my appearance and didn’t care much about what I was saying. No matter how serious I am, they will only find my words amusing.

I don’t think anyone ever listened to me, so I didn’t expect Alex to listen to any of my nonsense.

“So, what do you want me to do in the future?”

“I do not know, but shouldn’t you have to live safely? The Crown Prince has to be alive for anything to be possible.”

It’s very risky to be a Prince and a candidate to become a Crown Prince. In fact, it is said that you will most likely die during the fight for the throne.

But right now I need to introduce Clara’s role properly.

“My sister, she’s an amazing person.”

“Strangely, you’re only passionate when you talk about your sister.”

Damn it. I got caught.

I couldn’t help but accept that I’d already been caught, so I collected my thoughts and continued speaking about what I wanted to say.

“My sister knows a lot about herbs. I’m just saying this just in case, but if someone tries to poison you, she can help you.”

“Poison.”

“Poison doesn’t just kill people. Some grasses can cause stomach ache.”

Louis was particularly interested in Clara’s explanation of how the petals of herbal medicine, where the roots are used as medicine, can also be used as poison.

Sister Clara. Can you get it for me?

I was curious as to what he planned to do with it, and I realized he’d eat the petal if he had to do something unpleasant, such as attend a tea party with Mother.

The poison in the petals triggers a half-day to a full day of fever and abdominal pain.

Mother would usually take Louis to tea parties. Since Theo is the next successor and Isaac joined the Knights early, both of them are preoccupied.

I seldom had to leave the mansion because I am a precious daughter. As a result, Louis, who went to a tea party with Mother, earned the ladies’ quirkiness.

And Louis said that he does not want to attend another tea party after experiencing one.

In the end, Louis intentionally faked his illness just because he didn’t want to go to a tea party with Mother.

“Faking illnesses. Interesting.”

Clara, despite being a Hogu [1], deserves to be able to use her power. To sum it up, maintain a close relationship with Clara and seek her support.

Whether they’re dating or just flirting, they’ll do fine on their own as long as they’re together. I’m not worried about that.

However, because of my greed, I don’t want Clara to become a one-dimensional character who exists solely for the sake of love.

Since you were born as the main character, you have to find love, earn a lot of money, attain honor, succeed at your job, and have everything you want.

As a result, anyone who sees you will gain strength as well.

So, in order to fulfill my ambition of Clara working as a royal pharmacist for the Crown Prince in the future, I deliberately recommended my sister to Alex.

Alex took a close look at me as if I were suspicious of doing something.

“You don’t hate your sister?”

Hate her? Yeah. That is a possibility. To be honest, I’m annoyed that she’s such a Hogu and such a nice girl; she’s also taking up so much of my energy.

If it weren’t for Clara, I would have been called the distinguished daughter, not the youngest daughter of Valentine, and would have been highly respected.

But,

“How can I hate her?”

Despite the terrible harassment, Clara never blamed Ciel.

Far from hating her, she cried. Even at the moment where Alex sentenced Ciel to death, she kept asking for her sister to be saved.

Because I’m her younger sister.

I cried a lot as I watched her try to hide and cover up my wrongdoings.

Sister Clara, how can you still save me?

I wouldn’t have been able to do that. So, how can people like my older sister be so foolish?

“It’s really sad to lose a family member. I don’t want to lose my precious sister.”

I, as an adult before entering Ciel’s body, had one older sister.

My parents died early, and my sister and I grew up together in an orphanage. My older sister, who grew up and became an adult, dedicated herself to becoming a nurse and raising me.

Looking back, my sister was as tactless as Clara. I hated my sister the most in the world.

 

Notes:

[1] hogu – If a person is called ‘hogu’ then that person is stupid and easily decceived by others. 

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