Duke's Scheming Son
“I see~ Even I don’t know Al’s true feelings. But what I can say is, if the two of them are willing to compromise, then they can be happy.”
“Compromise…”
“Yes. Becoming a consort doesn’t mean you can just sit back and order those beneath you around, abusing them all the time. If she does what she can, and acts with Al and the royal family’s best interests in mind, then I’m sure Al will make an effort on his end too.”
“Oh, by the way—does His Highness like women with big boobs?”
“Joan!!”
“Young Lady Joan!?”
My question was cut off by both Cathy and Suzy.
“Hmm, I wonder? But even if they’re big, if the head is full of flowers, then, you know~”
“Right~”
“Even you, Lady Amy…!”
Suzy put her hand to her forehead. Cathy’s face had turned bright red.
After that, we got a decent idea about the other candidates, and the meeting ended.
“Oh, the thing—should I hand it to Suzy?”
“Yeah, thanks~”
“There’s kabayaki and white-grilled. The white one comes with wasabi.”
“For real!? Then I’ll share it with Alex later over a drink.”
“Lucky you, being able to drink.”
“Heheh, sorry about that. Ahem… well then, see you both at the tea party next week. Young Lady Joan, Young Lady Catherine.” Poof…
“Even Lady Amy can Teleport…”
“Ah—yeah, that’s a secret too.”
“J-Joan… too many secrets.”
“Ahaha, sorry sorry. Well, shall we head back too?”
“Yes, I suppose so.”
“Alright then, Liam, Martha—we’ll be going. Oh… here, have this later.”
“Thank you very much. Please take care.”
“Yup~ Good night.” Poof...
Poof...
“Welcome back.”
“I’m home~ Glad we got to talk.”
“Yes, thank you… I see even royals let their guard down sometimes.”
“Ah, well, in Amy’s case she relaxes a bit too much. But if she relaxed like that in front of you too, Cathy, I think it means she acknowledges you.”
“I hope that’s true… I’ll think more about what Lady Amy said—‘compromising.’ And if… if I get stuck, may I come to you for advice?”
“Of course! I don’t know if I’ll have the answer, but you can always talk to me.”
“Thank you. Well then, see you tomorrow.”
“Yup, see you tomorrow~”
＊＊＊＊＊
And just like that, the Queen’s tea party day arrived.
Which meant, from last night at the capital residence, I’d been polished up by Martha and the others. This morning, before even breakfast was done, I’d already been dressed up.
“Martha… I feel like I’m not myself anymore. Special makeup is amazing.”
“No, my lady. As far as makeup goes, we haven’t done very much this time.”
“Really? But can natural makeup change me this much?”
“It only seems that way because you never usually wear it, Young Lady.”
“Hmm, maybe. Well, thanks anyway.”
This time I was in a soft, fluffy pale-orange dress, with my hair half up. Around my neck, the pendant given to me by Aran and Vee.
If you had a fiancé, apparently you coordinated with their hair or eye color in your dress and accessories. But since I didn’t have one, I’d asked for something subtle that wouldn’t stand out.
“Young Lady, Young Lady Catherine has arrived.”
“Okay~”
At the entrance porch stood Cathy in a blue A-line dress, with her drill curls unpinned.
“Cathy, you look gorgeous~”
“Thank you. You’re adorable too, Joan.”
“Ehehe, I had them really work on me.”
“I stopped curling my hair like you suggested… does it look strange?”
“Not at all! In fact, it looks way better this way!!”
“R-really? Well… if you say so. Shall we go then?”
The tea party was held on the castle terrace, buffet-style.
There, sons and daughters of counts and higher had gathered, sipping tea and chatting in groups.
“Wow~ that cake looks delicious.”
“J-Joan, hold on. We need to greet Her Majesty first.”
“Oh, right. This is my first tea party, so I’ll rely on you.”
“Ah, that’s true.”
On the way toward where the Queen was—
“Oh look, still such a scrawny body.”
“Seriously. And not even curling her hair? Must be that her maids are useless.”
“And being with such a country bumpkin… isn’t she embarrassed?”
Not even whispering, just loud enough to hear.
“J-Joan… I’m sorry. Because of me, you’re being spoken badly of too.”
“Ahh, don’t worry about what that Holstein said.”
“Holstein?”
“Um, a breed of cow. Dairy cattle.”
“Pfft… stop it, not here of all places.”
“Ah, sorry. Comparing them to dairy cows is unfair to the cows.”
“Haha. You’re right about that.”
“Heheh, I’m glad you laughed, Cathy.”
“Eh?”
“Since we got here, you’ve been frowning. But you have such a cute smile—you should be smiling.”
“Joan…”
“Look, it’s our turn.”
“Thank you very much for inviting us today. I am Catherine Cutter, eldest daughter of House Cutter. And this is…”
“Thank you very much for inviting me. I am Joan Lampail, eldest daughter of House Lampail.”
We both curtsied.
“Thank you for coming, both of you. There’s plenty prepared, so please enjoy yourselves.”
““Thank you very much.””
“Albert will join later, so you can meet him then.”
After leaving the Queen’s side, Cathy and I sipped juice together when—
“Oh? Young Lady Catherine?”
The boy who spoke had honey-colored hair and blue eyes. A prince-like handsome youth from every angle.
Ah… he looks like one of the vocalists from that 16-member dance & vocal group…
“Eh? Oh, it’s been a while, Young Master Noah.”
“How’s the academy? Are you getting used to it?”
“Yes, somehow.”
“And this young lady is?”
“This is my friend, Young Lady Joan Lampail.”
“Hehh~ so you’re that young lady. I’m Noah Joshique of the Duke Joshique family.”
“Pleased to meet you. I am Joan Lampail, eldest daughter of House Lampail… Excuse me, but what do you mean by ‘that’ young lady?”
“Ah, sorry. I just heard a little from my father.”
“Huh? About me?”
“Yeah. If I say Uncle Holger, does that ring a bell?”
“Ah… the Chancellor.”
“Correct. So, I’ll be counting on you from now on too.”
And with that, Chancellor Jr. gave a quick wink.
… Oh no. This kid is so calculated.
Without a doubt, he knows exactly how good-looking he is.
But what caught my attention even more was the silver-haired person behind him.
Just that brief glimpse of his profile… he looked like my oshi, Kazu.
What do you think about this chapter?
