Chapter 6

VOL . 2 CHAPTER 06: THE SITUATION IN THE ROYAL CAPITAL

We stayed for three days in the Ashbaton territory .

I spent most of my time with Patricks mother . Shes a normal person as long as I didnt utter the words Remrest Kingdom or anything related to them . When I brought up the topic of Restaurant my first reaction was that of fright .

Thankfully, the Yumiela-style leveling theory was well received . Patrick kept reminding me not to share too much but I couldnt help it since it would make her happy . I dont think I want to know what shes going to do once she levels up .

And everyone who worked in the Lords residence was kind enough to welcome me . For the first time I felt so spoiled . Is this how it feels to be a child?

The days we spent on the Ashbaton territory passed in the blink of an eye, soon we had to say our farewells . Unfortunately, Patricks father was still stuck on the border and wouldnt be able to come home for a while .

Thank you for taking care of me .

Come visit anytime, Yumiela-chan . Come alone next time, you dont need to bring Patrick .

Ahaha, thank you very much . Ryuu, its time to go .

Ryuu flapped his wings and took off into the sky with us on his back .

Patricks mother waved at us until we were out of her sight .

Ive done everything I need to do . Ive met his parents and officially became his fiancee

Eh? Hey Ryuu . It just hit me, but I didnt meet your older brother yet, is he away from home?

No, my brother was at home .

We had to talk in a louder voice so that we could hear each other over the howling wind . Wasnt it strange that weve been staying in the same house for three days and yet never made contact with each other? No way .

Hey, was he avoiding me? Your brother?

Yeah .

Yup, I knew it . I used to be avoided in school but it still hurt .

Feeling my negative aura he quickly added .

Dont worry, its not your fault, my brother is just bad with women . Next time Ill make sure that he meets you .

Fear of women, huh? Oh yeah, makes sense . I am a woman . People who have a hard time with women are especially uncomfortable with anyone they perceive as the opposite sex .

I see, he was just embarrassed to meet the beautiful girl his brother brought home . Ah, its a crime to be beautiful . She thought in amusement .

My brother is particularly weak towards strong-hearted or rather feisty women . I think it might be because of mothers influence, but

Am I that feisty though?

After all, from the beginning, there was no such thing as a beautiful girl . I wish those self-proclaimed beautiful girls would just disappear from this world .

If that was your calm temperament I dont wanna know how feisty you are .

Guess Im going to start living like Buddha from tomorrow . I thought .

We didnt go straight to our territory but stopped by at the capital . Ryuu landed in the garden of Dolknes residence in the royal capital .

I had to verify the rumor about the crown prince and the second prince having beef .

For now, Ill leave the house in the capital . But Id like to sell it as soon as possible as I wont be in the capital often .

How much do you think this house will sell for?

Are you going to sell the house? Thats a shame, I mean, we have a residence in royal capital too but its smaller compared to this house .

Thats why I want to sell it . I know I need a place to stay in the capital but a smaller house should be enough?

Also right now we dont have any financial problems .

Incidentally, my parents still live in this house . However, since I forcefully succeeded the Count title, I dont have any obligations to support my parents .

I tried to convince them to move somewhere quiet and peaceful in the countryside and offered them some financial support but they were being stubborn and refused to leave the capital .

They couldnt go back to the noble society anymore I really could not understand the appeal of staying in the royal capital .

The servant immediately escorted me to my room once I announced my presence . The servants were somewhat cold just like the one in the territorys residence,

When the servant who escorted me left, I breathed a sigh .

Haa, Patricks house is really nice . Everyone is so pleasant .

Your stiff facial expression gets misunderstood easily . So you need time to compromise .

Will they even accept it when they know that I threatened my parents for my position right now?

Didnt you bring a maid to school? Uhh, what was her name Rita? Im sure she can help clear up the misconceptions surrounding you .

However, Rita was currently working in this residence, I didnt bring her back to the territory . The situation is kinda complicated I was thinking about how to solve this situation when I heard the commotion from the hallway .

The door was opened forcefully . Speaking of the devil, Rita rushed inside .

Yumiela-sama, you were home . By all means, please order me as you please .

I dont have anything for you

Did something happen to the servants in the territory? If something is troubling you, Im here

Relax, everythings fine .

Ritas little sister was taken as a hostage and she was caught poisoning my tea in the past . After I helped rescue her sister, her loyalty towards me increased to the level of a fanatic .

Patrick was obviously taken aback after seeing Rita bent on one knee in front of me .

Ohh, hows your sister doing?

You even care about my sisters wellbeing Thank you for being so compassionate . My sister is working diligently to become Yumiela-samas servant one day .

O-okay . Ill talk to her next time .

Sara is dangerous . I have to rescue her before she falls victim to her sisters sinister ways .

As she was on her knee, she kept staring at me with an ecstatic expression . Shes not going to move unless I give her something to do .

Oh, its been a long time since I had Ritas tea .

As your wish, my Lord . I will prepare some tea immediately .

What do you mean with As your wish, my Lord? Am I the emperor or something?

She stood up quickly and gave a graceful bow before leaving the room .

I stared at the door for a few seconds to make sure Rita was far enough that she couldnt hear what Im about to say .

I cant take her back again .

I see, everything is no more than a misunderstanding .

The day where I open up to my servants is still far off in the distance . Patrick and I sigh at the same time .

Why is there no one normal around me?

Rita didnt take long before she returned, however, but she didnt bring anything to brew the tea . On the contrary, she looked a little displeased about something and said .

Apologies, the tea will be served late . His Highness, the second prince has just arrived . I sent him to the parlor or would you prefer to drive him away?

No, you cant drive him away .

If Yumiela-sama orders me to drive him away, I will beat him out with a broom . Even if the consequences involve getting executed, Ill be fine with it since Im merely fulfilling your commands .

Scary, it was really scary . Rita said those terrible things with a straight face . I dont mind kicking out the prince, but Im afraid shes going to do it literally . Next to me, I didnt even have to look at Patricks face, I could feel his face stiffen .

Uh Rita? Im going to meet his Highness, can you bring the tea to the next room? I really like Ritas tea .

Ill bring it right away .

Her face suddenly brightened . I dont think it was this bad when we lived on campus .

Anyway, back to Prince Edwin . While I did come to the royal capital to find out some more info about the second princes faction, never did I expect him to appear in person to meet me .

The prince was sitting alone in the parlor, he didnt seem to bring any escorts with him . Hes one of the strongest people in this kingdom, maybe he didnt need an escort .

We sat on the couch facing each other .

While we were making small talk, a sense of silent awkwardness still hung across the room, Prince Edwin took a sip of his tea before breaking the silence .

Sorry for coming unannounced Miss Yumiela, but I want to explain whats happening on the capital right now .

Likewise, I also came here to find out more about the second princes faction .

Yeah, I was about to talk about it . Im in a bit of a pickle, too . Since I dont want Miss Yumiela to be in trouble, so I rushed over to visit .

Arent you rushing too soon?

It hadnt even been an hour since we arrived at the capital . How did he become aware of our arrival so quickly?

The one who answered my question is Patrick who sat next to me .

Anyone who pays attention would know that weve arrived at the royal capital . Riding on Ryuu isnt exactly subtle, you know .

Patricks right, when I saw the dragon I rushed over to visit . And maybe the fact that I was in the neighbourhood also helped .

What happened? Its only been a month since we graduated and left the royal capital .

To keep things short, the nobles are supporting the dukes faction . Personally I have no hostility towards my elder brother .

Just like I thought Its troublesome .

Patrick murmured .

Its the extremists again . The duke faction could be referred to as dissident, a group of nobles who arent happy with the status quo . There are dangerous people who call for military invasion of other countries for power and profit .

Im aware that hes not a warmonger, he just wants the key positions in the office occupied by the moderates . He probably will swing to moderates as soon as the king appoints him as minister or something .

I kinda feel sorry for Prince Edwin, he caught the attention of those ambitious people .

But what if he makes a statement refusing them, wouldnt that be the end of it? He explained the situation when I asked him about it .

They said that since I defeated the Demon King, Im worthy of being the next king . Since the saintess is dead they want to appoint Miss Eleanora as a substitute which will in turn increase Duke Hillrose factions power .

The movement was still small when I was attending the academy but the situation has been heating up since I graduated .

I knew this would happen, after defeating the Demon King . Its a relief, if I really went to the Demon Kings castle alone, I would get dragged into even more troublesome situations .

From an outsiders perspective, it would seem like Prince Edwin is the one who defeated the Demon King . While it is true that I played a bigger role and the official announcement said that the others killed in action and their death were not in vain .

For now, its a relief knowing that the second prince and the crown prince arent at odds .

Thats why its unlikely that Prince Edwin and Eleanora will get married .

Miss Eleanora seems to be persistent .

I know, its really troubling me . She keeps coming over uninvitedly

Eleanora is Duke Hillroses daughter and shes head over heels when it comes to Prince Edwin .

Unfortunately, I really like her . And in an attempt to get in her good grace, I often told her that shes going to be married to Prince Edwin, so I was often invited to tea parties and other events .

She didnt budge even though I kept rejecting her invitations, but sometimes I didnt bother rejecting and just gave in . I havent met her ever since I graduated from the academy .

I guess youre in for a ride . She genuinely likes you

I agree . And the fact that she has no ill will makes it harder to be mean to her .

Prince Edwin said bitterly .

What should i do? Theres nothing that I could do since my intervention would make the situation even worse .

How about you disappear for a while? They cant do anything if the second prince has disappeared .

Ive already tried that . When I was absent for several weeks, those guys just got excited and planned to overthrow the crown prince .

It seems like what Prince Edwin said didnt matter anymore . We can either deal with the nobles from the extremist factions or wait until the heat dies down .

At the same time he had to endure Eleanoras ferocious attack for a while . Sounds like a lot of work .

Miss Eleanora is really persistent . I was struggling with her persistence when I was attending the academy .

Oh, Miss Yumiela seems to take a liking to her . Maybe she will come to visit here as well .

Please stop raising the flag, please dont jinx it . You are the one who will be troubled the most with her arrival here .

Just when I was about to give the prince a piece of my mind for his offhand remarks, theres a commotion from the hallway . I heard someone running on the hallway and Rita came bursting into the room without knocking .

Eleanora-sama from Duke Hillrose house is here . The servants are trying to hold her back but shes going to be here soon .

Isnt the flag rising way too quickly?