Chapter 135

At first, Estelle was flustered, but gradually, she began to find the unexpected situation amusing.

It felt as if she had truly become a student of the academy.

It’s like a fantasy turning into reality, even just for a moment.

Unaware of what Estelle was really thinking, the male student named Victor was busy trying every trick to lure her to a drinking party.

“If you come and the vibe doesn’t feel right, you can just leave right away. Everyone in our club is really friendly, so it won’t be awkward at all. What do you say? Want to check it out? If you turn me down too harshly, it might hurt my feelings, you know.”

He said this with a confident smile.

Unfortunately for him, it had the opposite effect on Estelle.

Especially when she noticed how carefully he had styled the collar of his jacket, she couldn’t hold back her laughter any longer.

“Pfft.”

“Oh, you’re laughing? Is that a yes?”

“Ah, well…”

Now she was wondering how to decline without embarrassing him.

While Estelle was happily mulling that over—

“What business do you have with my lady?”

Without anyone noticing, Josephine had returned from her errand and was now standing right behind the male student.

One hand resting on the hilt of her sword, she grabbed the boy’s shoulder.

“Whoa! You scared me!”

“Do you happen to know the young lady?”

“Young lady? Then that means she’s… your bodyguard…”

The male student looked back and forth between Josephine and Estelle, then quickly stepped back with a shocked expression.

He had realized that the person he had been inviting to drinks wasn’t just an ordinary student.

“A-A noble? I’m terribly sorry. I didn’t recognize you…I’ve never seen you before. W-Well then, I suddenly remembered I have somewhere to be!”

Like a rabbit encountering a predator, the male student bolted away with his feet practically on fire.

Watching his retreating figure, Estelle pouted her lips and complained with a hint of disappointment.

“Aw, come on. He ran off because of you, Josephine. Do you know what he said just now? He invited me to join his club!”

“It was undoubtedly an improper kind of invitation. It’s best to cut those off quickly.”

“Oh, don’t say that. It was fun. Can you believe it? He actually mistook me for an academy student.”

At Estelle’s words, Josephine tilted her head in confusion.

“That’s not so strange, is it? After all, you’re about the same age as the other students…”

“Oh, is that how it is? I always thought the idea was too far-fetched….never even considered it a possibility.”

Estelle brushed off her lap with her hands and stood up from the bench.

“Anyway, did you have a good chat with Baron Winslet?”

“Yes. Thanks to you adjusting the schedule for me. Honestly, it would’ve been better if you’d come along. He asked why you didn’t come with me.”

“No thanks. I didn’t want to interrupt your quality time together. You know how hard it is watching a couple getting all lovey-dovey and cheesy right next to you?”

“Th-That’s not what happened. I just checked in on him and left.”

“Hmm… really? That’s strange. It seemed to take you quite a while for just that.”

Estelle narrowed her eyes and pressed her with suspicion, and Josephine’s face flushed red.

“P-Please don’t tease me.”

“Fufufu, you can’t hide it. Your face gives you away. Did you try using any of the tips I taught you?”

Back when they were stuck for days in a safe house in the border town due to the aftermath of the train robbery incident, Estelle had spent her time amusing herself by giving Josephine relationship advice.

At first, Josephine had rejected the idea outright, pretending not to care. But when Baron Winslet’s name came up, she gradually started to show interest which Estelle had found absolutely cute.

Josephine had listened to Estelle’s lessons with the same serious expression she wore during sword training, and for such a model student, Estelle had passed down a few of her secret weapons.

Things like acting cute naturally, getting him to initiate a hug, and leading things toward physical affection…those were exactly the techniques Estelle had taught her.

“Come on, be honest. Did you try it or not? The stuff I taught you.”

Estelle’s eyes gleamed sharply as she stared Josephine down.

Josephine’s face turned redder and redder under the pressure, and eventually, she dropped her head and gave a tiny nod.

Estelle clapped her hands rapidly in delight.

“Wow! And? Did it work?”

“It did.”

“No way. No way! Then… did you hold hands too?”

“…We did.”

The only reason Estelle didn’t squeal in excitement was because she reminded herself of her royal dignity.

If they weren’t out in public where people might be watching, she would’ve grabbed Josephine’s shoulders and shaken her with joy.

Instead, she blinked rapidly, five times a second, and fired off questions about what had happened with her fiancé.

“What was the baron’s reaction? What was his expression like?”

“I’m not sure. He’s always so hard to read. But… I think he looked a little surprised.”

“Hmm, surprised, huh… Guess we’ll need to test the hand-holding tactic a bit more.”

“Test it?”

“The techniques I taught you. I actually read them in a book.”

“What?!”

Josephine turned to look at Estelle like someone who had just been deeply betrayed.

“Wait, didn’t you say those methods were guaranteed to work no matter what? What if things had gone wrong like you said…?”

Just imagining herself trying to act cute and the atmosphere going completely cold…Josephine gave a visible shudder.

Estelle giggled at the sight.

“Still, isn’t it better than not trying anything at all?”

“…I suppose that’s true.”

“If I find another new book, I’ll read it and teach you more.”

“Please do.”

All things considered, Josephine was actually pretty satisfied with how the last lesson had turned out.

Estelle smiled and said,

“Ah, I feel energized after that good laugh. Let’s go now.”

“Are you heading to the royal capital?”

“Yes. I need to let my father know I’m back, and figure out where I’ll be staying.”

“What do you mean where? You must have a room in the royal palace.”

“Well, by now it’s probably being used as a storage room, if I’m lucky. There’s someone who can’t stand the sight of anything that belonged to me.”

“You mean Queen Brigitte.”

“That’s right. When I left for Libron, I’m sure she had all my things thrown out without a second thought. Just to make it clear I was no longer part of this place.”

And now, Estelle was in the position of having to return to the very home she had once fled, just to reclaim her rightful place.

Josephine noticed Estelle’s hand trembling with tension.

“Let’s go. I’ll escort you.”

With that, Josephine extended her hand gracefully, observing proper etiquette.

Estelle gladly took her hand.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

***

The news of Estelle’s return to Lambart quickly became a topic of gossip among many.

And in the capital, there was one person who was more displeased by it than anyone else.

Queen Brigitte, who was hosting a royal charity banquet in the Blossomgate Garden attached to the royal family’s summer palace, turned red and pale upon hearing the news from one of her attendants.

“What did you say? That girl actually came back?! I was generous enough to let her run away, and now this ungrateful wretch dares to show her face again. What does she take my mercy for…!”

The teacup in the queen’s hand shook violently.

As it looked like she might actually spill the tea, the Rushbrook Countess who was attending to her tried to calm her down.

“Your Highness, please compose yourself. The guests are watching.”

“You expect me to stay calm? After that incident, you must’ve heard what people have been saying….unless you’re deaf.”

A princess who had long been pushed out of the political scene….no, treated like she didn’t even exist and never once allowed to fight, normally wouldn’t have drawn any public interest.

But with the sensational element of a train robbery, a heroic tale about fighting off bandits with only a single escort and saving the passengers, and even a sprinkle of conspiracy theory, the story unexpectedly became something people found intriguing.

Bad news can be suppressed with power, but an entertaining story? That spreads no matter what.

“Thanks to that ridiculous slander, I can hardly sleep these days. That I was behind the train robbery? Utter nonsense! If anything, it’s more believable that cunning girl staged the whole thing herself.”

“A staged incident?”

The countess, conscious of those around them, covered her mouth as she spoke.

But Queen Brigitte paid it no mind and raised her voice even more passionately.

“She fended off a gang of robbers and took back control of the train with just one knight? Does that sound remotely believable? Unless the whole thing was planned from the start, there’s no way it could’ve happened.”

“Well, that may be true, but…”

“And do you know what she had people shouting after she ‘rescued’ the train? ‘Long live Princess Estelle!’”

Queen Brigitte ground her teeth in frustration.

“As long as I’ve had eyes to watch, no one in court has ever dared call her ‘princess.’”

Estelle may have been a princess in name, but she was rarely treated as such within the royal court.

That was entirely due to Queen Brigitte using every ounce of her influence and power to ensure it.

“To think she pulled such a stunt the moment she slipped out from under my watchful eye. I suppose you could say she’s quite clever. She stirs up attention with a fabricated incident and then returns to the capital, bold as brass. Clearly, she’s trying to use this brief wave of popularity to build a base of support for herself.”

“Do you truly think so? Even King Richard has long since lost interest in her.”

But Queen Brigitte shook her head firmly.

“No, he never stopped caring. Others might be fooled, but not me. My eyes don’t lie. Richard still thinks of Estelle as his daughter.”

That peculiar look King Richard often gave Estelle whenever they crossed paths in the palace.

Yet not once had he looked at Brigitte’s own son, Henry, in the same way.

“Estelle… If only she had died along with her mother, Elena.”

Originally, the one promised to marry Richard had been Brigitte, the daughter of the Duke of Lafareng.

But when he was still crown prince, Richard had boldly broken the engagement and married the daughter of some lowly baron; no one even knew where she came from. Brigitte had been left out in the cold, humiliated.

Fortunately, when Queen Elena went on an outing with her family, her carriage fell from a cliff in a tragic accident, and Brigitte was able to claim the position of queen. But the label of “second choice” had followed her ever since.

That woman Elena… Even in death, she left a lasting stain on me.

Queen Elena had been pregnant at the time of the accident.

Yet somehow, the child in her womb Estelle was rescued with her life barely intact and survived through a miraculous surgery.

She had been born two months early, so there had been plenty of chances for her to die from illness or frailty.

And yet, when Estelle stubbornly clung to life and one day dared to lift her face in front of her, Brigitte would never forget the chill that ran down her spine.

That girl’s very existence is a scar on me. As long as Estelle remains, people will never forget my disgrace.

To make matters worse, Estelle had been beautiful and clever from a young age, easily charming those around her.

Even high-ranking officials and courtiers would bring sweets or toys just to watch little Estelle play.

For Queen Brigitte, who had only given birth to a son later in life, it was a horrifying sight.

It was fortunate indeed that those people had long since grown old and died or retired.

The one who must inherit the throne of Laurencia is my son, Henry.

If there existed anyone who could threaten Henry’s position, she had to cut them down before they could take root. Even if that threat came from a child whose baby teeth had only just begun to fall out.

From that moment on, Queen Brigitte isolated Estelle through every scheme she could devise, ensuring that no one remained by her side. At the same time, she steadily instilled fear into the girl so she would never dare defy her.

Until just recently, the princess would shake uncontrollably and could not even meet Brigitte’s eyes whenever they crossed paths in the palace.

However…

Perhaps even that was an act. I let my guard down with a tiger cub right in front of me. If I don’t want to be bitten by those teeth, I need to come to my senses while I still can.

After a moment of hesitation, Queen Brigitte gave an order to the countess.

“Madam, do you recall the proposal my father… the Duke of Lafareng sent before?”

Countess Rushbrook unconsciously parted her lips in shock.

It was a plan too horrifying to even speak aloud.

“Your Highness, surely not…”

“I once thought it unnecessary, but I’ve changed my mind. Send a reply to the duke. Tell him to make the preparations.”

Queen Brigitte’s voice dripped with venom as she spoke.