Then a few days.

I was rescued without any serious injuries and quickly returned to the Royal Palace, where I was busy with paperwork.

After I lost consciousness, they were able to take all the ruffians, including Viscountess Bolellan, into custody. Countess Bauer was also taken into custody. I was told that she, like me, had no serious injuries and was now attending the Academy in good health.

However, to my surprise, the mansion was half destroyed and half burned down, and although they were able to recover the stolen jewelry, the fire destroyed all the other evidence that they could see.

I wondered if it was because of the oil I had spread, but there was no way that such a fire could’ve flared up with that amount of oil, and there was no way that I could’ve kept the fire from spreading after so many knights had rushed into the area.

I wondered, and when I asked Douglas-sama, he answered with a mysterious look on his face.

He replied with a mysterious look on his face, “Someone must have tried to destroy the evidence for some reason.” I agreed.

With the capture of Viscountess Bolellan and the ruffians, the case of the missing jewelry at the Palace of the Royal Princess has been settled, but in the end, there are still too many unanswered questions, and I and Douglas-sama believe that it cannot be called a fundamental solution.

The main reason for this is the presence of Rio and Yance. And that phenomenon that happened to me. I still get terrible chills just remembering it, and it’s honestly painful.

They seemed to have escaped without being caught after all. He reaffirmed that he was a fearsome presence, as he had disappeared like smoke, rather than being caught, in the midst of the knights’ siege.

「Marshallie-sama. Her Royal Highness the Princess is here.」

「Alright. Thank you. I’ll go there now.」

I took care of the paperwork as the Head Lady-in-waiting, and headed for the drawing room, which was reserved for the Head Lady-in-waiting.

Today is the day of the appointment between the Royal Princess and Raul. Wrong. It’s correct that the Royal Princess forced her way into the appointment with Raul.

And when I say promise, the truth is that Raul came at me and said, “I promised you that I would listen to you when the case was solved,” and I lost my patience and set aside some time for him.

「Thank you for your patience. Your Royal Highness, Captain Colden.」

「Please stop talking to us like such a stranger, Marsha-san. Raul and I came here today to see you as individuals. So please. Please treat us normally.」

I was irritated by the Royal Princess who was talking nonsense. There was no way she could do such a thing as long as this was a room in the Royal Palace.

「Marsha. I’m asking you to do the same. I want to talk to you properly. So, could you put aside your status and position just for now?」

You’re also doing the same—!? It’s ridiculous, oh right, it was simply that!

「With all due respect, this is the Royal Palace with ears and eyes in the walls. I am not sure I would be able to do such an irresponsible and defenseless thing. Please forgive me.」

「You don’t need to be so cautious. The only people here are those I trust from my Palace. So if you get a little wild, no one will say a word.」

That’s what I’m afraid of. You say you are here on your own, but you are using your power as the Princess to keep away the servants who were originally in charge of this place. Moreover, they may be a trustworthy people for the Princess and Raul, but for me, they’re like an enemy!

Yeah, but I guess they won’t back down. They’re never going to bend their will until I give in, aren’t they?

「Haah… Then please take those servants down to the corner of the room. Then we’ll talk.」

「Okay. Now, all of you, when you’ve laid out what I’ve prepared, would you mind stepping back where we can’t hear you? Yes, that’s good. Thank you.」

The servants of the Royal Princess have dropped to the edge of the room, as I conceded, and will now be out of earshot.

「I hope this is okay, Marsha-san.」

「…Yes. I think that would be fine. However, I will only speak to you with a minimum of civility. This is as far as I am willing to go.」

You should be thankful that I just stopped talking so stiffly. In fact, I would like to avoid any tone of voice or behavior that might suggest that I have allowed myself to become even a little bit comfortable with the situation. Especially in front of the Princess who thinks things for her own convenience.

「You could have talked to me more frankly. I’m talking to you like we used to.」

「…I told you this was what I could tolerate.」

「Mmph, you’re a stubborn one, Marsha-san.」

I wish you wouldn’t talk about me, not at all. I don’t know what you know about me.

「Your Highness. Time is limited. If you do not wish to proceed, I will return to work immediately.」

「I’m sorry. Don’t say that. Listen to me.」

Then, let’s get on with it. We can’t keep having these push and pulls, can we?

「Then let’s talk. What brings you to see me today? If you are talking about your friend Emilia Bollelan, there is nothing I can tell you about her. Even if there were, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. You know why.」

「It’s not about that. I’m not here to talk about Emilia. I came here today to persuade you from breaking off your engagement with Raul, as I heard that you were in the process of doing so.」

「Persuade, you say…?」

What is it for?

「Did Raul come to you about that too?」

「…No, I’m here to clear up a misunderstanding.」

「Heh… a misunderstanding…」

What are these two going to do with the unraveling? It seems like a lot of time has passed.

「Well, go ahead. I’ll ask you anyway.」

If I don’t ask, I’ll never know what they’re after.

「Okay, can you look at this first?」

So saying, the Royal Princess opens the cases of jewelry laid out on the low table.

「Is this the Princess’s jewelry that was lost? I understand it was returned by the Kingsguard.」

The more I look at them, the more gorgeous the jewelry is. With the exception of one piece, all the jewels are large and decorated with gold, silver, white, and silver. Just looking at them makes my shoulders stiff.

「I’m sorry, Marsha-san…」

「Eh, Why are you crying all of a sudden? I don’t even know why you’re apologizing.」

I was surprised to see her start crying without any preliminary action. I was so fed up, or rather, so upset, that I did not know what to do.

「I am not sure, but I accept your apology. So could you please not cry?」

Otherwise, I’m afraid of the eyes of her servants, ugh.

「No, that’s not it, Marsha-saahn.」

Ah, shoot. Could this be the beginning of the Flower Garden Theater⁉

「Marsha… these accessories have been my gift to you for the past 10 years.」

Yes, I had been expecting that maybe that was the case since the Royal Princess started crying, but I knew that was the way it was going to turn out.

「I see. I understand. That’s good.」

I responded easily, refreshingly, and matter-of-factly.

「Eh?」「Huh?」

They were taken aback and stunned, not expecting such a response.

「I have received your apology, so that’s fine. You don’t have to worry about anything else.」

Rather, I don’t care for anything.

「…Don’t you hear anything?」

「I know. In any case, Her Highness probably didn’t know that this was a gift from Raul to me. I am sure it was given as a『secret gift』to someone who adored Her Highness and Raul.」

Viscountess Bolellan also said that. The『Secret Gift』She seemed to think it was true.

「You did know… you knew and humiliate me…?」

Humiliate… When did I humiliate you? Perhaps you are referring to the gossip that I despise my fiancée. Shaming or not, it’s true.

「Have I misunderstood something? I didn’t know, but merely inferred from your current reactions. Please do not misunderstand me.」

「I–Is that so? I’m sorry.」

It’s good to be honest.

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