episode_0066

“But I heard that the person who escorts the Lady of Delchisi is the Grand Duchess of Grattenmount. Did they switch the roles of ‘escort’ and ‘escort recipient’?”

The crown prince responded to my words by asking that question.

uh… … Is that how it happens?

Since we are both women anyway, I thought it was up to us to decide which one escorts which one, but when I thought about it, in a relationship between a man and a woman, the man was the one who escorted the other and the woman was the one who received the escort.

And changing that relationship was unthinkable according to our common sense.

If we apply this directly to our situation, it was natural for the ‘receiving side’ to just receive.

Because I had said this without much thought, I was unable to properly answer the prince’s question.

“His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”

The person who helped me was Adele, who had also gotten caught up in my words.

“Daughter Carlins.”

“Would you please excuse me from interrupting the conversation?”

Adele looked like she had decided something.

“Hoo.”

The prince, who had learned the method of Delkisi in a very strange way, seemed to like Adele’s remark. Is it his taste for women who challenge him? No, if you read the descriptions of the original work that often appear in novels, it seems that Adele’s remark is something he likes. He seemed to like women with a lot of spirit.

“This is the social venue, and as the social venue, a little bit of rudeness is allowed. There is nothing to do other than give my permission, Lady Carlins.”

Is that why you are being so boldly rude?

No, in fact, even if you say that, the crown prince has no intention of observing manners in the first place.

Nevertheless, the women around him were looking at the crown prince with twinkling eyes. The prince was handsome and possessed wild charm. In fact, the first part of the two, ‘handsome’, was extremely important, but anyway, the prince was handsome, befitting the protagonist of a romantic fantasy novel. As long as you don’t do something really terribly bad, most actions can be forgiven.

Actually, Amelia had a somewhat complicated expression, as if she was trying hard to get her head around the twisted situation.

“Lady Hoover said that I came ‘without an escort’, but I think that point is strictly speaking incorrect.”

Adele tightened her fists as she looked straight at the crown prince, who was smiling at her lips as if she were having fun. She was holding tightly to the hem of her old-fashioned but slightly worn-looking dress, so it looked like it might leave some wrinkles, but Adele didn’t seem to care about that. .

“ Since I received an invitation and came here alone, it wasn’t that I came without an escort, it was that I came ‘without an escort.’ Likewise, it’s a bit embarrassing. ”

“… … .”

Silence fell around us again.

The orchestra in the distance looked unsure as to whether or not they could play the song. The gazes of the nobles attending the ball were almost focused on Dai. Even the king sitting on the throne and the queen next to him were looking at this direction attentively. I was looking at it, and Prince Allen was pretending not to be interested, but he couldn’t stop glancing in this direction.

Well, even if it wasn’t the current situation, it’s hard not to get attention because two women came together and said they were happy to escort each other.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that I am not a person who came to receive dance requests, but a person who came to do it.”

It probably wasn’t like that from the beginning.

You may have been devastated when you found out that you had no one to escort you, but that doesn’t mean you have no choice but to avoid going to social gatherings where you might be able to open up a path in your life.

It would be great if she could make a friend of the same sex, and if by chance there was a male aristocrat who took a liking to Adele’s looks and asked her to dance, it would be perfect.

And in fact, in the original work, he had a relationship with the crown prince, and in the novel I read, he was already intertwined with Amelia and his life began to unfold.

In the first place, Adele, who grew up as the daughter of an old-fashioned knight’s family, is probably saying such things to save me from trouble now.

“So… … .”

Adele took a deep breath and turned towards me.

And said.

“Lady Delki City, would you like to dance a song with me?”

Eck.

*

Things took a strange turn in many ways, but I ended up dancing with Adele.

With Amelia, I still practiced a lot so I could dance without it feeling awkward, but not with Adele.

Even though the dances performed in social gatherings were originally from there, the way of dancing is still slightly different in each region. We had been practicing the royal style dance a lot, but when we danced with Amelia, there was no need to worry about such things, so we just danced the northern style. .

But Adele doesn’t know how to dance northernly.

In the end, I had to awkwardly step on the steps in a royal manner, and Adele ended up in a situation where she had to lead me.

Besides, Adele is also a woman.

Of course, when I took dance lessons, I would have taken lessons based on female staff. I suddenly took on the role of a man who had never learned anything, so it was bound to be incredibly awkward in many ways.

Plus, Adele was shorter than me.

Because of these various reasons, our dance was much more awkward and confusing than when I danced with Amelia earlier.

“I’m sorry.”

When I apologized in a low voice while dancing so awkwardly, Adele blinked.

“Are you sorry?”

“Well, it’s because of me that you’re here right now. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have gotten caught up here and you would have been having fun.”

At my words, Adele looked blank for a moment and then burst into laughter.

“If it weren’t for the Grand Duchess and Lady Delkisi, I wouldn’t have been able to come to the ball today.”

“Still—”

“And, if you hadn’t pretended to know me there, I would have still been captured by Lady Hoover.”

That’s right.

Even if Diane knew the invitation was real, she would have kept trying to find out how Adele received the invitation. Meanwhile, she would have tried hard to harass Adele.

“So, if we provide this level of help, it will be mutually beneficial.”

“… … .”

As I was watching Adele smiling, I thought it would be strange to question her further.

“Besides, I’m happy now. I’m here in a place I only imagined as a child, and I’m dancing and getting everyone’s attention.”

Uh, it’s getting some attention… … .

I don’t think it’s something I particularly yearn for.

Of course, Adele would know that too. So for me to point that out would be like making Adele’s consideration useless.

Adele, too, has good athletic ability. That’s because Adele has been training hard since she was young as the daughter of a knight, and I have Delkisi’s blood flowing through it.

The more they kept pace with each other to the music, the more the staff, who were awkward at first, slowly adapted to each other and became more believable.

But that doesn’t mean it was perfect. It wasn’t as natural and worry-free as the dance I did with Amelia.

But still, well.

At least we can say that we have barely gotten over this situation.

*

“Wow, the Lady of Delki City is a very difficult woman.”

“You won’t win a woman’s heart just by rushing in like that.”

“Among the women I know, the woman with the most reckless personality is the Lady Delkisi.”

“… … .”

I couldn’t bear to refute the crown prince who was standing next to me and looking at the ballroom and saying those words.

Elsie is a child whose likes and dislikes are clear. No matter how hard she tries to hide those feelings, they eventually show on the outside.

Even when she was involved with the crown prince or prince, the feelings of embarrassment and annoyance were clearly visible on Elsie’s face. Although the crown prince did not seem to care much about such feelings.

Perhaps he is the kind of person who truly believes in the saying that there is no tree that cannot be taken 10 times.

“His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Why do I call you, Grand Duchess of Grattenmount.”

“… … Do you have feelings for Lady Elsie?”

“It happens. Wouldn’t you know it if you saw me act?”

“… … .”

The Crown Prince quietly looked at Elsie dancing with Adele. The two seemed to be getting along well now.

Although it wasn’t like when I danced with Elsie.

… … It seems that the reason Elsie said she would dance with Adele was because she wanted to avoid the situation rather than because she really wanted to dance. It was obvious from the nervous expression on her face.

“Are you afraid of losing a precious friend?”

The crown prince asked.

“Are you afraid of being separated from a friend you’ve spent your whole life with?”

“… … .”

“Well, if I take Lady Delkisi as my wife, the two of them will become distant. The Gratton Mount territory in the northern part of the Alwen Kingdom and the empire that exists in the southern part of the Alwen Kingdom are on completely opposite sides. ”

“… … How sincere are your feelings for Lady Elsi?”

“Well.”

The crown prince shrugged his shoulders and said.

“I’m looking into that too.”

“… … .”

“The expression on his face says, “I can never get over this guy.””

The crown prince spoke to me as I looked up.

“In that case, let’s have a fair fight. Does the Lady of Delky City have feelings of love, or does she choose friendship? Well, even if it’s true friendship, it would be difficult to stay together for the rest of our lives.”

“… … Is that so?”

As I raised one side of my lips, the crown prince’s eyes widened slightly.

“Ho.Do you know a way?”

Rather than a method, I know Elsie’s tastes.

Black hair, blue eyes, and short stature… … I know someone who perfectly meets these conditions.

And, the average person’s tastes are not that specific. In particular, there are no tastes that describe someone’s appearance.

That kind of taste usually develops after you first like that person.

And the one who perfectly fits that ‘taste’ is—

—He was my younger brother.

“Interesting.”

The crown prince smiled at the corners of his mouth as if he was having fun.

A person who prioritizes the feeling of wanting something rather than the feeling of love.

Of course, in the original work, the prince’s feelings started from interest and monopoly and progressed to love, but I still had no intention of handing Elsie over to the prince.

… … If you have a desire for exclusivity, I’m not someone you can take lightly.