Rinoa Sisena was wearing ordinary clothes, unlike when she saw her at the salon.
There was a big difference between her past self, who was wearing eye-poppingly gorgeous dresses and flashy accessories, and her present appearance.
“Hello, Countess Elena Seves.”
But the unique atmosphere was the same.
I bowed my head to Rinoa, who bowed slightly with an elegant expression.
“I thought you two would be together. Thank you for meeting me, His Highness Prince Klaus.”
“I thought we’d be together?”
“Of course. Your Majesty cares for you so much.”
I looked up at Klaus at Rinoa’s laughing words. Klaus greeted Rinoa appropriately without looking in my direction.
‘Are you avoiding my gaze just now?’
hmm… … . no way. Maybe they just didn’t pay attention to the trivial jokes.
Come to your senses! Let’s prevent excessive self-consciousness and regain a healthy life!
“Just get to the point, Rinoa Cicena.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Klaus seemed to be in a more depressed mood for some reason, and Rinoa nodded as if she was used to it.
“Thanks to your Majesty and the Lady’s care, I was able to secure the funds to escape safely.”
“Did you sell the jewelry?”
“Yes. Except for my mother’s belongings.”
Rinoa took out a bright red ruby necklace from an old dress, held it up, and smiled.
“Thanks to you, I think I can live as a fairly wealthy commoner. If I’m lucky, I might be able to start a decent business with this wealth and become a semi-noble.”
“It’s good to see your career path is solid.”
“Well… I’m thinking about other options as well.”
“Any other thoughts?”
Rinoa blinked at Klaus’ question. And she spoke slowly.
“Your Highness asked me the other day what you thought about the rebels.”
“It did.”
“They say they have decided to revolt this time.”
“yes?”
I was embarrassed without realizing it and made a loud noise.
Come to think of it, the first time Klaus said he wanted to infiltrate the Sisena duchy was to find a link between the rebels and the Sisena duchy.
I couldn’t find the rebels I was looking for, and I was looking for so many strange things, such as necromancy, grave robberies, and infectious diseases, that I completely forgot about the rebels.
But it turns out that Rinoa and Klaus already knew about the rebels.
‘Besides, you decided to rebel in the end?’
Rinoa laughed bitterly at my reaction.
On the other hand, Klaus’ expression hardened.
“In the end, you made that choice.”
“So I’m thinking of going to visit them.”
Klaus let out a long sigh.
He straightened his back and looked directly at Rinoa.
Red eyes stared at Rinoa’s red hair.
“I don’t know your intentions.”
“What do you mean, Your Majesty?”
“Rinoa Cicena, why are you saying this in front of me?”
“Because Your Highness saved me.”
“You sold the duchy to me even before I saved it.”
No, he justly reported his family’s problems, so why should he say something like that?
‘Anyway, even though he seems to be very mean only to me, when I see him being treated with other nobles, it seems that he is very kind to me.’
Rinoa laughed lightly at Klaus’ reaction. Instead of looking hurt, she spoke gracefully, making eye contact with Klaus.
“I am only trying to get my justice done, Your Highness.”
Klaus sighed slowly.
“That sounds plausible.”
Rinoa did not back down despite Klaus’ reaction. Rather, he smiled softly, as if he had predicted this much.
“I understand your concerns. I am the daughter of Duke Cisena. I am guilty, too. I watched my father go crazy and could not stop him.”
Rinoa’s voice was calm yet confident.
She spoke elegantly.
“I didn’t agree with my father’s opinion, but that didn’t mean I thought there was anything I could do. Within the duchy, my father’s opinion was absolute, and in my father’s eyes, I grew up well, met good people at the salon, and helped my father. Because it should have been this way.”
“Is that why you showed your face in advance when you found out I was going to the salon?”
“It was my father’s will.”
Rinoa Sisena looked at me and smiled as if she were embarrassed.
No, I’m fine.
It was Rinoa who warned her that Klaus might be taken away from the salon, and as a result, Rinoa didn’t even touch Klaus.
‘Even though I didn’t have Klaus in the first place.’
Moreover, while folding flowers at the salon, Rinoa helped me whenever I wanted to, and never interfered with my work.
I shrugged and Rinoa laughed.
“But the moment I saw Your Majesty and Lady Elena, I realized that the thoughts I had were the same.”
“me too?”
me?
I pointed at myself and Rinoa nodded.
“Yes. I only learned how to adapt to a given situation, so I never thought that I could act differently in a given situation.”
“What does that have to do with me….”
“It was the same at the salon. When I was at the salon, I thought I had to approach the best man while paying attention to what other ladies thought, and build a relationship secretly by pretending that I didn’t know everything. Even if it was someone I truly loved, I had more dignity than a noble lady. “I believed that we should not show excessive emotions.”
Saying that, Rinoa smiled gently at me.
“But as I watched Lady Elena ignore the old salon rules and directly reveal her feelings for Her Highness Klaus, I felt that I had been trying to obey the given situation all along.”
“……Yes? Me? What do I reveal?”
“You showed your love for His Highness Klaus without hesitation. His Highness Klaus also said the same thing to you.”
“yes?”
Why do you speak so confidently of such an embarrassing and unfounded rumor? I screamed without realizing it, causing a tearing sound in my throat.
I felt Klaus looking over here and smiling happily.
Why are you smiling again? uh?
“You don’t have to worry about your image now. The Lady’s choice was right. So in the end, everyone was able to give up on His Highness Klaus.”
“No, there. That’s not it.”
Should I reveal here that it was all consensual acting?
However, Klaus, who was acting with me, placed his chin on my shoulder and nodded.
‘… … Does this mean now is the time to keep your mouth shut?’
While I was thinking about it, Rinoa turned her gaze to Klaus.
“My father said that now that Your Highness participated in the salon was an opportunity. I did not agree with my father’s opinion, but after seeing Your Majesty and Lady Elena, I realized that this was an opportunity for me too.”
“So you want to tell me that you approached me and passed on information?”
“Yes. I’m a fool who didn’t think of creating an opportunity, but I didn’t want to make the mistake of missing the opportunity when it came.”
Rinoa nodded calmly.
Only then did I understand why her eyes were so full of determination.
Rinoa did not support Duke Cissena’s lust for power, but she was powerless to stop him from moving in that direction.
Duke Cisena planned to raise Rinoa into a pretty flower and sell it to another man for a high dowry.
Seeing Klaus in such a situation, Rinoa made an internal complaint.
He was prepared for a situation where his family might be exterminated.
“Hey, Lady Rinoa.”
I opened my mouth without realizing it. Rinoa looked back gracefully.
“I want to correct one thing.”
“Did I make a mistake?”
“No. Well, I’m not sure if I’m in a position to correct it… Anyway, I think you can think of this as an opportunity created by Lady Rinoa.”
A powerful person visited a salon hosted by the family. But that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s an opportunity.
Even if Klaus was nearby, there were countless obstacles to stop Rinoa.
There were too many eyes watching.
Next to Klaus was a person whose identity I could not confirm.
Everyone was watching Rinoa Sisena’s every move.
If I told Klaus the wrong thing, Rinoa’s position could have become even more dangerous.
However, Rinoa filed the complaint despite the numerous reasons.
‘Yes, I think it’s great as expected. It’s great enough in my opinion.’
I nodded vigorously. Rinoa looked at me in surprise, then slowly smiled.
“…Thank you for saying that, Lady Elena.”
Klaus, who was watching the two of us, shrugged his shoulders.
“Whether you created the opportunity or took advantage of it, I am grateful to you, Rinoa Cisse, for your efforts for the empire. I guess I was somewhat biased because of your father. I apologize if I was offended.”
“No, Your Highness. I was also a person who thought my father’s statement that once you gain power, it becomes justice, is dangerous. I can completely understand Your Highness’s position.”
Rinoa smiled lightly.
“So now I am going to the western border to prove my justice. The western border will determine whether my justice is correct.”
“I plan to meet the rebels in person, this is it.”
“yes.”
Rinoa nodded.
“But I’m not sure how the Western Guard will accept me. Now I’m no longer the daughter of the Sisena duchy who used to pay them, but I’m just Rinoa Sisena with no powers.”
… … Uh, wait a minute. Western Guard?
“Hey, are the Western Guard rebels?”
“yes that’s right.”
“Do you know anyone? Why do you look so surprised?”
Klaus asked playfully. But I couldn’t laugh.
A name flashed through my mind and rang in my head without being erased.
“……I know someone.”
Hamel.
This was where my childhood friend who dumped me volunteered.
