Chapter 23: The Crazy Bitch of This Area Is Me!

Upon finishing breakfast, Finneas and Selphius left for the Academy. I, on the other hand, walked through the garden with nothing to do, before going to the residence’s small library to kill my boredom.

‘I’ll read this and that.’

Taking out some books I wanted to read and placing them on a small cart, Rebecca, who was following after me, asked carefully.

“Since the weather’s nice, what about reading outside?”

“Outside?”

“Yes, if you’re okay with it, Your Highness, I’ll prepare some tea and refreshments underneath a big tree with shade from the bright sunlight.”

That didn’t sound bad. Taking one more book out, I nodded.

“Then please prepare a pie that’s light to eat, as well.”

“I’ll prepare some apple pie.”

Rebecca seemed overjoyed that she could escape the library, which suggested that she did not enjoy reading. Rebecca exited the library with steps full of excitement and a bright smile. Laughing loudly, I walked toward the last bookshelf. As I did so, a thick book caught my eye. It was the family tree of the Lapileon Grand Duchy. It reminded me of the story of the first Grand Duke Lapileon, who started as a normal soldier, rose to the position of General, and in the end received the title of Grand Duke and a requisite territory.

‘During the war, he severed the heads of several nation’s kings, and offered them to the Emperor, as well as the heads of rebel force soldiers…  He made many contributions.’

The family tree must have continued from then on.

‘It’s probably okay for me to look at it, right?’

I carefully reached out my hand and turned the first page. As I did so, the first thing I saw was a slightly faded portrait.

“…Theodore?”

I couldn’t even help myself from calling Theodore’s name when I looked at the faded portrait. The face drawn on the portrait was so similar that for a moment I mistook it for Theodore. It was scarily similar.

However, underneath the portrait was not Theodore’s, but another name. Lightly brushing the first Grand Duke’s name, of which the ink had been smudged, I mumbled quietly to myself.

“Einhardt Orpe Lapileon.”

Ugh. As soon as I said his name, my head started ringing. Was it because I’d been among the books for too long? I pressed my temple to try and relieve the headache when I heard steps behind me. When I turned my head, I saw the butler knocking on the library door. The butler must have been surprised when he saw my crumpled face, for he rapidly approached.

“Your Highness. Are you uncomfortable somewhere? Sir Finneas still hasn’t returned yet; should I call for him?”

“No, my head just hurt a bit. I’m fine now.”

“Goodness, Master doesn’t use the library much, so it must not have been properly cleaned. It feels like I can smell the old, dusty scent. I’ll make sure to order them to clean it today so not a single piece of dust remains.”

Nodding my head, I glanced at the book in my hand. I got the feeling that the first Grand Duke’s portrait, which was facing me, was watching me. After staring at First Grand Duke Einhardt’s eyes, I closed the book with no hesitation. 

“It’s heavy, so I’ll organize it for you.”

“Yes, thanks.”

I handed over the Lapileon family tree to the butler. Then, my gaze naturally went to the invitation letter in the butler’s hand.

‘That…’

Recognizing who had sent the invitation letter right away, I couldn’t help but frown.

“Another invitation letter came?”

“Yes, I brought it because His Excellency isn’t here right now. Should I leave it on His Excellency’s desk?

It was an invitation letter from Dahlia, who seemed not to tire. As I outreached my hand, the butler handed the invitation letter to me. After breaking open the seal to open the invitation letter, neat handwriting filled my eyes. [My beloved Grand Duchess Lapileon.] And not the Grand Duchess Lapileon that you want to kill? [The Grand Duchess, who has refused my invitations to tea parties, marriage congratulatory parties, salon memberships, and even personal invitations to strengthen our friendship.] I’d only read the first sentences of the invitation letter, but I could feel incredibly murderous energy coming from it. [The amazing Grand Duchess, who rejects me saying that your body hurts all over whenever I invite you.] Hm. The next sentence was also quite murderous. At this point, wasn’t it an invitation to duel, rather than simply an invitation? [I guess I should be understanding, as it seems that whenever Your Highness leaves the estate, you catch some kind of illness.] Oh, so she understood? Was she finally planning to give up on bothering me? However, the following sentence made me forget all dignity as my jaw dropped. [So this time, I’m not inviting you; I’ll simply go to the Grand Duchess’ estate myself.]

“Just what kind of ‘commoner-will-become-the-Emperor’ nonsense is this?”

I meant that since a commoner could never become the Emperor, it was absolute bullshit. At my response, the butler must have been curious, for he leaned his head over.

“What is it?”

Ignoring the butler’s words, I read the next sentence with trembling eyes. [If you have really just thrown out my invitation letters without reading them, you probably won’t be reading this either. Or perhaps, you read them and still ignored them. Regardless, this invitation letter is not an invitation, but a notification that I will be visiting your residence.] Ah, what is this? The thought that it was a relief I had read it today, instead of Theodore just burning it without reading it, came to me. If we hadn’t known that this was the contents of the letter, we could have been ambushed without expecting anything! I quickly let the butler know before I read the next sentence.

“Send a response that I’m sick to the Imperial Palace immediately. Say that I’m in such a bad condition that I can barely move a finger, nor can I walk. So tell her not to come.”

Then, I quickly read the next sentence. At that moment, I threw the invitation letter onto the ground with a disgusted expression. [Ah, by the way, by the time you receive this invitation letter, I’ll have arrived at the Lapileon estate.] The butler, who had been about to leave the library, picked up the thrown invitation letter from the ground and surveyed me. Before the butler’s lips could open, a polite knock came at the library door.

“Your Highness.”

Creak. Like a wooden doll, my head turned stiffly. The maid who had knocked on the door bowed politely before saying something horrifying.

“Her Highness Princess Dahlia has arrived at the residence.”

W-What the fuck. My face paled as if I couldn’t breathe.

“D-Did you tell her I’m here?”

At my question, the maid’s eyes darted back and forth. Then, she nodded her head and spoke with a trembling voice.

“She asked about your body’s condition, so I told her you were doing well.”

Damn it, screw it all…

“We finally meet.”

PR Note: Dang, Dahlia finally got the jump on Sasha.

Chapter 23: The Crazy Bitch of This Area Is Me!

Upon finishing breakfast, Finneas and Selphius left for the Academy. I, on the other hand, walked through the garden with nothing to do, before going to the residence’s small library to kill my boredom.

‘I’ll read this and that.’

Taking out some books I wanted to read and placing them on a small cart, Rebecca, who was following after me, asked carefully.

“Since the weather’s nice, what about reading outside?”

“Outside?”

“Yes, if you’re okay with it, Your Highness, I’ll prepare some tea and refreshments underneath a big tree with shade from the bright sunlight.”

That didn’t sound bad. Taking one more book out, I nodded.

“Then please prepare a pie that’s light to eat, as well.”

“I’ll prepare some apple pie.”

Rebecca seemed overjoyed that she could escape the library, which suggested that she did not enjoy reading. Rebecca exited the library with steps full of excitement and a bright smile. Laughing loudly, I walked toward the last bookshelf. As I did so, a thick book caught my eye. It was the family tree of the Lapileon Grand Duchy. It reminded me of the story of the first Grand Duke Lapileon, who started as a normal soldier, rose to the position of General, and in the end received the title of Grand Duke and a requisite territory.

‘During the war, he severed the heads of several nation’s kings, and offered them to the Emperor, as well as the heads of rebel force soldiers…  He made many contributions.’

The family tree must have continued from then on.

‘It’s probably okay for me to look at it, right?’

I carefully reached out my hand and turned the first page. As I did so, the first thing I saw was a slightly faded portrait.

“…Theodore?”

I couldn’t even help myself from calling Theodore’s name when I looked at the faded portrait. The face drawn on the portrait was so similar that for a moment I mistook it for Theodore. It was scarily similar.

IMG HERE

However, underneath the portrait was not Theodore’s, but another name. Lightly brushing the first Grand Duke’s name, of which the ink had been smudged, I mumbled quietly to myself.

“Einhardt Orpe Lapileon.”

Ugh. As soon as I said his name, my head started ringing. Was it because I’d been among the books for too long? I pressed my temple to try and relieve the headache when I heard steps behind me. When I turned my head, I saw the butler knocking on the library door. The butler must have been surprised when he saw my crumpled face, for he rapidly approached.

“Your Highness. Are you uncomfortable somewhere? Sir Finneas still hasn’t returned yet; should I call for him?”

“No, my head just hurt a bit. I’m fine now.”

“Goodness, Master doesn’t use the library much, so it must not have been properly cleaned. It feels like I can smell the old, dusty scent. I’ll make sure to order them to clean it today so not a single piece of dust remains.”

Nodding my head, I glanced at the book in my hand. I got the feeling that the first Grand Duke’s portrait, which was facing me, was watching me. After staring at First Grand Duke Einhardt’s eyes, I closed the book with no hesitation. 

“It’s heavy, so I’ll organize it for you.”

“Yes, thanks.”

I handed over the Lapileon family tree to the butler. Then, my gaze naturally went to the invitation letter in the butler’s hand.

‘That…’

Recognizing who had sent the invitation letter right away, I couldn’t help but frown.

“Another invitation letter came?”

“Yes, I brought it because His Excellency isn’t here right now. Should I leave it on His Excellency’s desk?

It was an invitation letter from Dahlia, who seemed not to tire. As I outreached my hand, the butler handed the invitation letter to me. After breaking open the seal to open the invitation letter, neat handwriting filled my eyes. [My beloved Grand Duchess Lapileon.] And not the Grand Duchess Lapileon that you want to kill? [The Grand Duchess, who has refused my invitations to tea parties, marriage congratulatory parties, salon memberships, and even personal invitations to strengthen our friendship.] I’d only read the first sentences of the invitation letter, but I could feel incredibly murderous energy coming from it. [The amazing Grand Duchess, who rejects me saying that your body hurts all over whenever I invite you.] Hm. The next sentence was also quite murderous. At this point, wasn’t it an invitation to duel, rather than simply an invitation? [I guess I should be understanding, as it seems that whenever Your Highness leaves the estate, you catch some kind of illness.] Oh, so she understood? Was she finally planning to give up on bothering me? However, the following sentence made me forget all dignity as my jaw dropped. [So this time, I’m not inviting you; I’ll simply go to the Grand Duchess’ estate myself.]

“Just what kind of ‘commoner-will-become-the-Emperor’ nonsense is this?”

I meant that since a commoner could never become the Emperor, it was absolute bullshit. At my response, the butler must have been curious, for he leaned his head over.

“What is it?”

Ignoring the butler’s words, I read the next sentence with trembling eyes. [If you have really just thrown out my invitation letters without reading them, you probably won’t be reading this either. Or perhaps, you read them and still ignored them. Regardless, this invitation letter is not an invitation, but a notification that I will be visiting your residence.] Ah, what is this? The thought that it was a relief I had read it today, instead of Theodore just burning it without reading it, came to me. If we hadn’t known that this was the contents of the letter, we could have been ambushed without expecting anything! I quickly let the butler know before I read the next sentence.

“Send a response that I’m sick to the Imperial Palace immediately. Say that I’m in such a bad condition that I can barely move a finger, nor can I walk. So tell her not to come.”

Then, I quickly read the next sentence. At that moment, I threw the invitation letter onto the ground with a disgusted expression. [Ah, by the way, by the time you receive this invitation letter, I’ll have arrived at the Lapileon estate.] The butler, who had been about to leave the library, picked up the thrown invitation letter from the ground and surveyed me. Before the butler’s lips could open, a polite knock came at the library door.

“Your Highness.”

Creak. Like a wooden doll, my head turned stiffly. The maid who had knocked on the door bowed politely before saying something horrifying.

“Her Highness Princess Dahlia has arrived at the residence.”

W-What the fuck. My face paled as if I couldn’t breathe.

“D-Did you tell her I’m here?”

At my question, the maid’s eyes darted back and forth. Then, she nodded her head and spoke with a trembling voice.

“She asked about your body’s condition, so I told her you were doing well.”

Damn it, screw it all…

“We finally meet.”

tl: youj; pr: aila; qc: youj

join us on our discord here if you’re interested!

Aila: Dang, Dahlia finally got the jump on Sasha.

Youj: ah @ dahlia….. interesting headache to the pic of theo’s ancestor though… i’m getting sus vibes from that and thinking maybe they were lovers reincarnated