Chapter 23
The fistfight between the two men then took a turn in a completely unexpected direction.
As had been feared, the deposed prince was not singled out as the one who threw the first punch at the Crown Prince.
However, it was a fact that both men had exchanged blows, and in the end, without any proper testimony, a fierce debate began to rage among the nobles over who had struck first.
「It is clear the deposed prince’s madness has flared up again!」
「To dare exercise violence against the Crown Prince of a nation! This is a grave incident that cannot be overlooked!」
The first to step forward were the noble members of the Rose Party, who supported the Crown Prince.
Regardless of the circumstances, they pushed the narrative that the deposed prince throwing a punch at the Crown Prince was nothing short of treason against the Kingdom.
「Treason? What kind of wild speculation is that! Rather, shouldn’t we be questioning why His Highness the Crown Prince was at Blue Brick at that hour in the first place?」
「It was publicly known that Prince Calyx was the first to admire the daughter of Count Ix. Was it not His Highness the Crown Prince who acted in a manner unbefitting a gentleman?」
The opposing Cream Party did not hold back either. They refuted the Rose Party’s forceful arguments point by point and began to shift the focus to the fact that the Crown Prince had been subtly coveting Count Ix’s daughter for several years.
It was around the time an unexpected witness stepped forward that the arrows of criticism suddenly turned toward Lottie.
「In front of me, she put on a whole act of being a simpleton, saying babies are born from flower buds and whatnot, but behind my back, she knew the annals of the capital’s nobility inside out! If she didn’t like me, she could have just said so. Why deceive people like that?」
As several similar testimonies followed, even those who had initially thought little of it began to harbor doubts about Lottie’s eccentric behavior.
Why did she make the men she disliked run away on their own, yet leave the princes to their own devices until things reached such a state?
「Doesn’t she just want to enjoy popularity among gentlemen? If rumors spread that she is a woman courted by two princes simultaneously, her value in high society will skyrocket!」
「To think she dared to weigh the royals in the palm of her hand when she had no intention of accepting their hearts!」
「In the end, isn’t that young lady the root cause of this whole situation?」
As the saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and even the scandal from the Royal Ball began to resurface.
Lottie, who had been an object of envy as the lady receiving the courtship of two princes at once, was now being denounced as a femme fatale who had dragged not only the princes but every man in the capital into the mire.
Even the noble members of parliament, who had been engaged in a futile power struggle, joined the fray, and the situation worsened to the point where it seemed like a catastrophe would occur if Lottie didn’t choose someone as her husband.
「Let the siren stop her deception and accept the proposal of His Highness the Crown Prince!」
「The Crown Prince will have a line of good matches in the future anyway; it would be better for her to marry the deposed prince!」
「Just tell her to marry the son of some frontier noble instead! At this rate, no matter which of the two she chooses, we won’t be able to stop the country from being split in half!」
It was fortunate that these were nobles who valued their dignity as much as their lives; otherwise, they would have rushed to the siren’s house immediately to clamor for a decision.
It was now the final month of the Ronvernon spring social season.
As the fervor of the young men and women was gradually subsiding, swept away by the midsummer heat, the final event of the social season—one where the party’s own will was not reflected at all—was about to begin.
「I heard from the servant. I’m told you were doused with foul water by some ruffian on your way here.」
Queen Catherine’s clear voice echoed from high atop the audience chamber.
Lottie bowed her flushed face deeply.
She had wiped away all the moisture before her audience with the Queen, but she felt as if the stench still clung to her body.
「I am deeply sorry.」
「It is fine. Be grateful you weren’t stabbed with a knife. Do not be angry, but reflect on your own actions and consider what could have driven them to do such a thing.」
Even while speaking of terrifying things like being stabbed, Catherine’s voice was as light as a young girl’s.
To Lottie, who knew all too terribly well what kind of temperament her mother-in-law possessed, this was nothing new.
She only hoped that this time, which felt like walking on thin ice, would end quickly.
「So… what do you intend to do now?」
「What… do you mean…」
「I am speaking of the incident that occurred because you dared to deceive not only the gentlemen of Ronvernon but even two princes.」
A few servants who had only recently entered the palace flinched at the Queen’s unconventional choice of words.
It was fortunate her voice was thin and calm; otherwise, this audience chamber would have instantly transformed into a marketplace reeking of the gutters.
The veterans who had already spent over a decade in the Royal Palace looked at the girl standing below the Queen with their usual composure, yet with a hint of pity.
Perhaps flustered by the sudden insult, she only trembled slightly and did not offer an immediate answer.
「Do you feel wronged? That you were merely blooming beautifully like a flower in a greenhouse, only to be cursed at because some horny bees went mad?」
「It is… not that.」
Swallowing the urge to stomp her feet and scream that Her Majesty was right, she barely managed to answer in a choked voice.
Catherine rested her chin on one hand and looked down at Lottie askance.
「The one who made you out to be a siren and a woman the whole world wants dead is actually me, Charlotte.」
「…!」
Lottie’s head snapped up instinctively. Without having received permission, she dared to look Her Majesty the Queen straight in the eye.
The Queen’s face, now in her forties, was still as youthful as a girl’s.
With her sharp features, blue eyes, and luxuriously pinned-up brown hair, she looked as vibrant as if she would never wither.
And just as in Lottie’s memory, her face was devoid of anything resembling emotion.
「I am the one who told my son, after his return from Blue Brick, to stay quiet and not make a scene. I let vague rumors proliferate, and those fools in parliament started biting and tearing at each other exactly as they pleased. Truly, that is how all those political types are.」
Even as she murmured for a long while, there was no reply. Catherine stared blankly down at the dais, then let out a short sigh and laughed.
That girl had been answering for a long time already.
In a situation where even prostrating herself wouldn’t be enough, she was daring to glare at the monarch with her eyes wide open.
「For a girl to be so lacking in discernment and so blunt. I can see how your father raised you.」
「…! My father has… nothing to do with this, Your Majesty…!」
Her patience, pushed to its limit, finally snapped because of her father. Seeing as she didn’t raise her voice, it seemed a shred of reason remained to maintain a final bit of etiquette.
Thanks to that, Catherine could be certain of what this insignificant girl’s weakness was.
「Why would he have nothing to do with it? I harbor great expectations for your father, Count Ix and Member of Parliament Evanshire.」
「…!」
「Can you… answer my question now? About what you intend to do.」
Catherine gave a beaming smile.
If she gave an answer contrary to the Queen’s will here, her innocent father would be harmed.
Just as a middle-aged man had tried to douse her great-aunt with foul water, claiming she had ‘raised a siren who would ruin the country.’
‘Just why.’
Whether it was Padrick or the Queen, why were they going to such exhausting lengths to force this marriage? What could they possibly gain from this?
If they kept pushing a person to the edge of a cliff like this, one would have no choice but to gradually believe those absurd words to be the truth.
「I will… make a decision in a way that does not bring trouble to my father.」
「How wise. Then you may leave. A stench of filth has been wafting from you for a while now, and I can no longer bear it.」
Catherine waved her hand, grimacing pointedly.
The redness that had started in her face now felt as if it had spread throughout her entire body.
Lottie felt as if someone had struck her hard on the back of the head as she barely managed to offer her greetings and withdrew from the audience chamber.
Isabel, who had been waiting anxiously for Lottie in the waiting room across from the audience chamber, sprang to her feet.
「Lottie! Heavens, look how pale your face is. Are you all right? Hmm?」
Isabel repeatedly stroked Lottie’s cheeks and forearms.
Only after seeing her great-aunt’s face, which was filled with nothing but worry, did Lottie feel her suppressed emotions welling up.
She was afraid.
Not only because of the desperate fact that the safety of her beloved family rested in the Queen’s hands, but also because the memory of her mother-in-law looking at her with eyes full of contempt throughout her palace life overlapped, making her want to run away this instant.
Why was she the only one who had to endure all this pain, and not the princes? She was both angry and felt it was unfair.
「I’m… fine. This is the first time I’ve seen Her Majesty this close since my debutante ball. It’s just nerves. Please don’t worry.」
However, she couldn’t pour out all these emotions to her great-aunt.
As the Queen had said, hadn’t she brought this upon herself?
Had she simply accepted a proposal when suitors like Mr. Katz were lining up, she wouldn’t have been pushed this far.
If only she had closed her eyes and accepted the marriage to Andrew. Or…
The regrets that followed one after another eventually reached that afternoon at Bates Square.
What would have happened if she had accepted that man then—the one who had poured out sweet proposals with such a charming face?
Lottie came to a dead stop, appalled at herself for having such a thought.
Before she knew it, she had left the Great Palace and was in the Central Garden.
Isabel, who had been walking ahead between the geometrically landscaped shrubs, turned back to look at Lottie.
「…」
If things continued like this, she would soon be married to Padrick according to the Queen’s will. It was the worst possible future, the one she had tried so hard to avoid.
—Things that are meant to happen will happen.
Were her great-aunt’s words right after all?
Was she unable to change even a single part of her own future just by having glimpsed ten years into it? Was she to just helplessly watch the approaching misfortune?
Then for what, exactly, had she traveled back ten years to live a second life?
「Viscountess Dunchest?」
