Previously
Cecilia reflects on Rosivius's tragic past and his upcoming entry into the Academy, wishing she could alleviate his future isolation. She observes her trainees, Cain and Eileen, as they are officially knighted during the Harvest Festival.
Or rather, could he already be called a young man rather than a boy?
With dark brown hair and bright black eyes… it had to be….
‘His name was Dominic, wasn’t it?’
He was Rosivius’s half-brother, the very one who was always tormenting him in those dreams.
‘He said his father would make him my brother-in-law no matter what.’
Every time I saw him, that voice from the dream echoed in my mind.
Yet despite that boast, neither he nor Marquis Alvinus seemed to be plotting anything openly.
‘What made him so confident?’
He stood beside the marquis, smiling gently as if he were the picture of a dutiful son.
‘I know you’ve been hurting Rosivius, you little devil.’
Narrowing my eyes, I watched him from the shadows.
‘…At any rate, he doesn’t look like him at all.’
Even though brown hair was typical of the Alvinus family, his facial features bore no resemblance to Rosivius.
Even if Rosivius’s mother and Alvinus were half-siblings, how could there be not a single trace of resemblance?
‘Did the late marquis’s genes just skip him entirely…?’
Rosivius’s nose was a bit more slender, his jawline sharper, and his gaze far keener….
‘Yes, just like that boy standing beside him.’
Sure enough, there was a black-haired boy who looked just like Rosivius….
“…What?”
Good grief. That skinny boy wearing glasses… was Rosivius himself.
‘What got into the marquis? Could he no longer put off introducing him now that his entrance into the Academy is around the corner?’
Though he had been groomed—his hair trimmed and his clothes neatly tailored—the shadow across his face hadn’t lifted.
He stood silently beside the Alvinus family as they conversed with other nobles, like a mere prop placed there for show.
What a painful sight.
‘Perhaps moments like these piled up until he turned into a villain….’
As I stood lost in sympathy, unable to tear my gaze away from him….
“Cecil, have you found a young man you fancy already…?”
“No, Brother!”
‘Honestly, this brother of mine!’
I jumped in surprise, forced to put on the face of an endearing little sister just to reassure Theodore.
Because of that, I failed to notice someone’s gaze fixed on me.
Nor did I realize that his eyes hadn’t left me for a single moment, or that they belonged to the very boy I had just been watching.
A few moments later, music struck up to announce the opening of the ball.
My parents took the floor first, followed by Crown Princess Grace and her husband.
After that, the nobles began stepping forward in pairs to dance.
‘Well, time for the little princess to make her exit.’
The crowd was larger than usual today. After all, this banquet also served as a social debut for those who had recently been knighted.
For knights of noble descent, such settings were familiar territory, but for those who had only just become quasi-nobles, it was thoroughly bewildering.
At the same time, the aristocracy made a show of welcoming the fresh talent into the Imperial Army.
Both Eileen and Cain found themselves surrounded by crowds of their own.
‘Scoffing at them on the inside for being commoners, yet flattering them to their faces because they’re knights….’
Weariness was etched across Eileen’s face, while Cain looked utterly overwhelmed.
‘…I hope they won’t be swayed by others.’
Even though they had been by my side for three years, in the original story they had never been connected to Cecilia.
That was what made me worry about the potential pull of the original narrative on them.
‘Not just because they’re my followers… but because they truly are so talented.’
Having completely forgotten that their current popularity was thanks to their closeness to me, I sank deep into my thoughts.
“Mary.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I’m heading back now…. Tell Eileen and Cain to come see me before it gets too late.”
“And who knows when this ball will even end?”
“I’ll wait, even if it runs late.”
“…Understood, I’ll pass along the message. Go rest. Annette, prepare a bubble bath.”
“Am I a child?”
I grumbled under my breath. Annette smiled back. Having joined only last year, the new maid had yet to debut in society, which was why she always accompanied me to social functions.
I decided to quietly take my leave alongside Lancel and Annette, allowing Mary and Patty to enjoy the banquet.
I would have liked to take Eileen and Cain along, but this was their very first ball….
‘It’s their first banquet since becoming quasi-nobles. Surely they’ll want to enjoy themselves.’
As I walked past the dancing aristocrats….
“A mere bastard, yet strutting about like a true noble.”
A grating voice cut sharply through the elegant scene.
I glanced over immediately, catching sight of a group of young noblemen cornering and menacing a boy.
“Your mother couldn’t even earn enough to buy your socks; she’s probably begging in the gutters right now.”
Typical noble arrogance.
“Or maybe she abandoned you and wouldn’t even recognize you if you crossed paths.”
They burst into laughter. Shock rooted me to the spot.
And standing right at the front….
“Oh, look who it is.”
Damn it, our eyes met.
“Greetings to the Little Star of the Empire. It seems you simply couldn’t bring yourself to pass by after laying eyes on me.”
What an insufferably brazen tongue.
“Hello, Lord Gibbels.”
It was Willow Gibbels, Scarlett’s older brother.
“You look as lovely as a Moon Fairy today.”
What a thoroughly tacky line.
Ever since our first encounter years ago, he had spoken to me with that irritatingly greasy tone.
‘I suppose his father was cut from the same cloth in his youth.’
Remembering the words of my tutor, Baroness Rentil, who had generously shared insights into the ugly underbelly of high society, my expression grew distant and reserved.
According to the rumors relayed by my maids, he had been openly bragging that a fourth princess like me was a perfect match to become the future Marchioness Gibbels.
‘I intend to live pampered in the Imperial Palace for the rest of my days, so what on earth is he babbling about?’
I could easily brush off those idle rumors, but I could never stand his slimy gaze.
‘In the original story, he chased after Emily… so was he hounding Cecilia before that?’
His persistent nuisance had been so bothersome that I had been forced to alter my plans entirely.
‘I had planned to host tea parties for young nobles and hold social gatherings for minors…!’
Yet my hopes of cultivating ties with future key figures had vanished into thin air, all out of fear of getting tangled up with the likes of Willow.
And among “the likes of him” was also Marquis Alvinus’s son.
‘Despite all his boasting, he hasn’t dared make a move on me yet.’
Glancing around, I spotted Dominic Alvinus lingering behind the pack.
Evidently, they banded together because they belonged to the same noble clique.
‘Damn it, my eyes met his too.’
A faint smirk tugged at the corners of his eyes, forcing me to school my expression.
‘At least I know what that father and son are secretly plotting.’
Just what grudge did these aristocrats hold against me that they felt entitled to orchestrate my future among themselves?
“Hey, half-breed.”
Willow tossed the insult at the boy he had been tormenting, a smug smile still plastered on his face for my benefit.
With the Gibbels family spearheading their faction, he naturally acted as the ringleader of the group.
“Shouldn’t you greet Her Highness the Princess? It’s only thanks to me that you even get to see her up close.”
His tone was laced with overt hostility. Meanwhile, Dominic’s gaze stiffened slightly, hinting at a quiet undercurrent of rivalry between them.
‘Since the Gibbels family is currently the strongest, it’s only natural for Alvinus to bow his head for now… until he secures his power through Rosivius.’
Still, why on earth were these two squabbling over my future in the first place?
“If your mother were here, she’d be groveling on the floor by now, so consider yourself lucky.”
Willow jabbed his finger into the boy’s head several times.
‘Dark green hair… could he be the son of Viscount Bluebear?’
I recalled that he always attended banquets accompanied only by his father, never his mother.
‘Bluebear… I’ll have to ask Baroness Rentil about them.’
I didn’t recognize the name from the original story, but since he was caught up in this crowd, I needed to be certain.
‘Tossing commoners into every other sentence… they truly make my blood boil.’
I had wanted to avoid this mess at all costs!
My plan had been to head back, peel off these suffocating clothes, take a bubble bath, and sip hot cocoa topped with cream… but this scene refused to let me look away.
Drawing upon Cecilia’s features, I arranged my face into an expression of pure innocence.
“I was just wondering… aren’t all of you noblemen?”
“Your Highness is sharp, but it seems women simply do not comprehend the ways of the world.”
The moment I spoke, Willow took it as an invitation to bluster with supreme confidence.
It was astonishing how even his cadence grated on my nerves… while Dominic, on the other hand, seemed to sense something was amiss.
“Hmm… do you happen to know Article One, Clause Two of the Noble Law?”
“Of course I know it! But why do you ask?”
He clearly didn’t have a clue.
As he babbled heedlessly, silence settled over the surrounding crowd.
“Article One pertains to the legal definition of nobility, does it not?”
“Yes, and Clause Two states that all recognized children share equal standing, regardless of whether they are born out of wedlock or carry commoner blood, provided their recognition is official.”
Before long, a few young men began reciting what they had drilled into their heads at the Academy.
‘Not that anyone actually honors it in practice….’
I tilted my head in deliberate bewilderment.
“I had no idea terms like ‘bastard’ were permitted within the walls of the Imperial Palace.”
“T-That’s….”
Willow froze, completely unable to process the turn of events.
‘What a pathetic fool.’
Eyes from every direction began turning toward us; even Scarlett was watching the spectacle unfold.
‘Whenever I get entangled with Willow, she’s always watching me.’
I had often wondered whether there was a deeper meaning behind her gaze. But because of her brother, I had never had the chance to approach her.
‘Honestly, it still irritates me to this day.’
I held Willow’s gaze for a lingering beat, then added,
“So mind your tongue while inside the palace.”
At that moment, the realization finally sank in, and his eyes flared with indignation.
‘What are you going to do with that glaring look? This is my house.’
At the same time, I caught a look of quiet admiration from the other boy.
‘I never intended to recruit another follower….’
Just as I turned to take my leave….
“Seems luck was on your side, Brother.”
A voice drifted over—feigning sweetness, but laced with unmistakable malice. It was Dominic.
“Don’t let it go to your head, though… after all, you’re not even a half-breed, but a quarter.”