Chapter 60: When Reading a Book, Checking the Title Is Also Important

After a day away, I lay down on the bed in my private room.
As expected, the bed I have used all this time makes me feel the most at ease.
The bed I was allowed to use at Ciel’s residence was also soft and wonderfully comfortable, but that was a different matter entirely.

After seeing Bernhard and the others off and returning to the mansion, Faustina found herself unsure of what to do next.
According to Cain, Rinsy was still asleep from exhaustion.
Since she was worried about what had happened to Elvira after she ran out of the room crying, Faustina decided to visit Cain’s room.
She told the maid Mint, who had seen them off together, that she was heading to Cain’s room.
Mint nodded and walked ahead, guiding Faustina toward the room.
On the way, they ran into Citrin, who looked even more exhausted than when they had reunited.

“Father!”
“Fana. Have His Highness and Lord Ciel left already?”
“They just departed. I did ask whether we should call you, but…”

Ciel had said it was unnecessary.

“I see… Well, if Lord Ciel judged it unnecessary, then that’s fine.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Where are you headed now?”
“To my brother’s room.”
“I see. Fana.”
“Yes?”
“I’ll have them prepare lots of your favorite dishes for dinner. What would you like?”

Being asked so suddenly, nothing came to mind.
She tilted her head in thought, then let out a small sound of realization.

“I’d like cream soup. I had it at the priest’s residence, and it was very delicious.”
“Alright. I’ll tell the head chef.”
“…If possible, without broccoli and green peas.”
“You shouldn’t be picky. I’ll keep the portions small, so make sure you eat them properly.”
“Yes…”

Of course, she thought tearfully to herself, and parted ways with Citrin.
The cream soup she had eaten at Ciel’s residence hadn’t contained green peas, though it had included broccoli.
She could eat it now, but she still had some lingering aversion to it.
Green peas were even worse.

Still somewhat dejected, she headed for Cain’s private room.
When Mint knocked, Ryuun answered the door.
Upon realizing it was Faustina, he called into the room, “Lord Cain, Lady Faustina is here.”
“Let her in,” came the boyish, high-pitched voice.
Faustina entered the room together with Mint.

Cain was seated at his study desk, a difficult-looking dictionary open before him as he moved his pen across paper.
When he finished, he set the pen down and turned to Faustina.

“Have Their Highnesses left?”
“Yes, they just departed.”
“I see. Mint, prepare some tea.”
“Oh, then let’s have the flower tea the priest gave us. It’s very delicious.”
“Understood.”

Mint bowed and left the room.
Faustina sat down on the sofa with Cain.
Ryuun was covering his face with both hands and crying.

“L-Lady… I’m so glad… you’re truly safe.”
“Ah, haha… I’m sorry for worrying you. I didn’t really feel it myself, though.”
“I heard everything from Lord Cain. It’s a good thing you were asleep. Thanks to that, you weren’t frightened.”
“Yeah… and maybe thanks to that man.”
“The one who was with the priest?”
“Yes. He talked with me, so I felt very reassured. He himself didn’t seem scared at all.”
“…?”
“Brother?”

Cain fell into thought as Faustina spoke favorably of the man—Vered.
Seeing his puzzled expression, she was told it was nothing, and her sky-blue hair was gently patted.

Mint returned with the tea set.
She efficiently placed cups before them and tilted the teapot.
A sweet fragrance of fruit and flowers rose from the clear amber liquid.
Seeing Faustina gaze at the tea with a blissful expression, Cain gave a wry smile.

“You really like sweet things, Fana.”
“Any girl would.”
“I see. Well, in moderation.”
“Yes!”

If she took in too much sugar, she would puff up sideways and join the ranks of Ryuun’s favorite piglets.
If he had said that outright, her lifted spirits would have plummeted.
She glared at Cain with a sulky face, but he only drank his tea calmly.

Hearing the word “piglet,” Ryuun’s eyes sparkled.
Cain told Mint to take Ryuun out of the room.

“Yes. Come along, Ryuun.”
“Yes…”

It had been a precious moment to teach Cain the appeal of piglets.
Ryuun left the room with Mint, shoulders slumped.

Faustina sipped her tea and let out a small laugh.

“What is it?”
“I feel… relieved, somehow.”
“Relieved?”
“Yes. I was kidnapped and caused everyone trouble, but being able to drink tea with you like this, without anything changing, feels like something truly remarkable.”
“That’s true. Though, it wouldn’t be accurate to say nothing will change.”

After that, she spoke with Cain for quite some time, and Rinsy—who had leapt awake upon hearing Faustina was safe—came to fetch her.
Rinsy hugged Faustina tightly, sobbing and repeating how glad she was.
Despite not having been very frightened, Faustina felt even more apologetic.
Once Rinsy had calmed down, she returned to her room.

And now, here I am, lying on the bed in my private room.
Rinsy is standing by my side.

Faustina sat up.
Cain had said that Rinsy’s condition had improved considerably after sleeping, but compared to usual, her complexion was still poor.

“Rinsy, shouldn’t you rest? Wouldn’t it be better not to push yourself yet?”
“My lady has returned safely. I couldn’t possibly sleep through that.”
“But—”
“I’m fine. I’m not so frail that a little strain would knock me down.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Then… is it alright?”
“Yes, it’s fine.”

There were still parts she couldn’t quite accept, but no matter what she said, Rinsy absolutely would not rest.
Faustina got down from the bed and moved to the sofa.

“From tomorrow, things won’t be exactly the same as usual, will they?”
“Indeed. In response to the Cain incident, the master is re-investigating all servants of the ducal house and urgently reinforcing security.”
“So people really can be different from how they seem.”
“I couldn’t believe it at first either. That Cain… But as you say, my lady, it may be common for an unexpected person to turn out to be the villain.”
“You see that a lot in books, too.”
“Yes.”

When the topic turned to books, Faustina said she wanted to go to the library.

“There’s still time before dinner, so I want to choose something to read.”
“Then let us go.”
“Okay.”

She left the room with Rinsy and headed for the library.
Come to think of it, what had happened to Elvira after that?
She had meant to ask Cain but had completely forgotten.
Deciding it wasn’t important enough to visit his room again just to ask, she let it go.

They arrived at the library.
She went to the bookshelf for children’s books and began searching for something she wanted to read.

“…!”

A book she had once noticed but avoided because of how lurid the title sounded, and had never wanted to read until now.
It was titled The Abandoned Crown Princess and the Crown Prince Driven Mad by Love, embroidered in gold thread on a deep blue book cover.
Thinking that if she didn’t choose it now, she never would, she picked it up.
From the title alone, it was clearly not for children.
Why it was on the children’s shelf was a mystery.
Holding it carefully so Rinsy wouldn’t see the title, and finding no other books of interest, she returned to her room with just that one.

Back in her room, she hesitated to read it with Rinsy present.
She wanted to make up some excuse to be alone, but having just returned from being kidnapped, that wasn’t realistic.
While pondering this, she turned toward Rinsy at her desk.

“Rinsy, please call me when it’s time for dinner. I’m going to read.”
“Yes.”

After confirming that Rinsy had moved to a corner so as not to disturb her, she finally opened the cover.
It was fairly long, but there was plenty of time before dinner.
She figured she could read about half of it and began following the words.

Several hours later—
Trying not to let Rinsy notice, Faustina desperately attempted to cool her flushed, overheated face.

‘W-What kind of book is this…’

The protagonist was a young lady of a ducal house.
She had an older sister who, from birth, had been engaged to the crown prince.
That sister was extremely ill-natured, relentlessly bullying her younger sister, who surpassed her in both beauty and talent, and eventually even hiring an assassin to try to kill her.
Before her fiancé, the sister put on a sweet façade, but in the presence of her younger sister, her reason failed, and she treated her cruelly even in front of the crown prince.
The kind-hearted crown prince reproached his own fiancée, and as he gently supported the abused younger sister, he fell in love with her.
The younger sister—the protagonist—felt the same.

By the time dinner came, Faustina was halfway through the book.
Called by Rinsy, she inserted a bookmark and put the book away in a drawer.

“My lady? Your face is very red.”
“Oh, i-it’s just your imagination.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes!”

The sister’s many misdeeds were exposed to the crown prince, including her attempt on the protagonist’s life, and she was expelled from the ducal house.

‘It kind of resembles my former self, doesn’t it. The protagonist is Elvira, the villainous older sister is me, and the crown prince is His Highness Bernhard. The setup is pretty similar. Well, being engaged to royalty from birth isn’t unheard of, so it can’t be helped.’

What had made Faustina flush was what came after the sister’s expulsion.
At last, the younger sister and the crown prince were united, and a year later, they held their wedding.

‘Why is a book like that on the children’s shelf…!’

Who put it there, she wanted to complain, but given that she could have guessed what kind of book it was from the title and still picked it up, it was her own responsibility.

There was one thing bothering her.
The title was The Abandoned Crown Princess and the Crown Prince Driven Mad by Love.
The crown princess referred to the protagonist, and the crown prince was the one who married her.
Did that mean the protagonist would later be abandoned by the crown prince?
If so—

‘…No. I shouldn’t think that’s despicable. The one at fault was originally the older sister who bullied the protagonist out of jealousy. The protagonist was the victim. The crown prince was drawn to the younger sister who earnestly tried to get along with her sister despite everything. Even without the attempted murder, the sister and the crown prince would have become a marriage in name only.’

If her former self had married Bernhard without issue, it would probably have been the same.
Or perhaps he would have taken Elvira as a concubine.
Night after night, waiting for a Bernhard who never came—her former self would have gone mad.

Thinking that way, she felt a small measure of gratitude toward Bernhard for discovering the murder plot in advance and passing judgment.
Rather than living a maddening life, it would be better for him to live happily ever after with Elvira somewhere she could not see.

‘But still… as far as I remember, His Highness Bernhard always looked at me like I was some kind of caterpillar, and yet he never once said he wanted to break off the engagement.’

Their engagement was a contract between the royal family and the ducal house.
It couldn’t be dissolved based on personal feelings alone.

As she walked toward the dining hall, she thought about it.
Even though she had returned safely after being kidnapped, her engagement to Bernhard would likely be annulled.
Less than a year had passed since the engagement, and it wasn’t public.
The one who would be hurt was Faustina, not Bernhard.
At this point, changing the fiancée would still be easy.

Elvira needed to become the fiancée.
Otherwise, Bernhard wouldn’t be happy.

The two of them were destined to be together.

‘For that to happen, Elvira really has to work hard at her studies…!’

But Faustina knew Elvira wouldn’t listen if she said it herself, so she would have to rely on their father.
And her brother as well.

No one would want a young lady with a kidnapping in her past.
After graduating from the noble academy, Faustina planned to leave the ducal house and become a commoner.
She would find something she liked to do in the future.
There were things she wanted to try once she became a commoner, and things she wanted to do while she was still a ducal lady.

‘That’s it. I’ll consult that man.’

She wasn’t underestimating the life of a commoner.
First, she needed to gather information.
Then Vered, who seemed most familiar with commoner life, could teach her many things.
After all, he was one of the few who knew she wanted to annul her engagement with Bernhard.
And somehow, he didn’t seem like the type to chatter about it to others.

“Rinsy.”
“Yes?”

She asked Rinsy, who was walking ahead, to prepare writing paper after dinner.

She would send a letter after the meal.
If he was with Ciel, it should be fine to deliver it to the church.

She would also write a letter of thanks to Ciel.
She had thanked him properly already, but she wanted to express her gratitude once more.

With her long-awaited engagement annulment drawing near, Faustina felt a surge of happiness.