Chapter 118
Chapter: 118
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 118
>Chapter Title: Scarpino (5)
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§ 118. Scarpino (5)
A gentle tone and a kind, affectionate smile.
Princess Amelia, who usually brought a mild spring breeze to the imperial palace like a single blooming rose, was now approaching them with a thoroughly unfamiliar expression.
“…Sister Amelia?”
Click-clack.
Her form, wrapped in a piercing aura sharp as a blade, resembled an ice flower extending razor-sharp frost crystals in all directions. Her coldly chilled, inorganic eyes bore a striking resemblance to those of the Holy Emperor.
And so Amelia, having approached them like that,
slipped her foot casually between Seongjin and the young man.
Click.
“……!”
An invisible clash of fierce energies filled the air with razor-sharp tension.
No matter how talented she was in aura cultivation, for Amelia—who had only just surpassed the beginner level—this pressure must have been utterly overwhelming.
Having locked eyes once, Seongjin and the young man had no choice but to gradually dial back their auras in sync with her movements, as if by prior agreement.
Thus, by the time Amelia reached right in front of their noses, the two had completely withdrawn their hostility and ended their standoff.
“My greetings to you, Princess.”
The young man bowed stiffly toward Amelia.
Any noble of Delcross would surely recognize this beautiful princess, known to be especially cherished by the Holy Emperor.
Amelia, who had been gazing at him for a moment, replied in a cold voice.
“Have you forgotten the one you should greet first? If you show any more rudeness toward a member of the Holy Imperial Family, even I won’t be able to overlook it for the sake of the archduke’s heir.”
“…….”
A complicated glint flashed in the young man’s eyes, as if he were racking his brain over this unexpected situation.
The answer was simple if it was Amelia’s younger brother and a member of the Holy Imperial Family. Yet his hesitation in reaching a conclusion was likely because the fat slob’s impression had changed so drastically.
After glancing at Amelia’s expression for a bit, the young man stiffly inclined his head toward Seongjin.
“…My greetings to you, Prince.”
What a rigid prick.
“Very well.”
“……!”
Seongjin smirked once at the young man’s twitching eyebrow before turning to Amelia and asking,
“But why did you come all the way down here, Sister?”
At that, she gave Seongjin a soft smile.
“How could I not notice with all that aura you were flaring? Sorry for interrupting when things were getting fun, Morres. But if you’d crushed Archduke Zigsmuht’s dignity like that, people surely would have blamed you for being thoughtless toward the heir of a border count.”
“……?”
At her response, Orden Zigsmuht’s expression turned strange for a moment.
He was known among Delcross’s youth as the most promising genius swordsman, yet the princess truly believed without a doubt that her little brother had beaten him.
‘Whoa……!’
And Seongjin was purely impressed.
‘Even when Sister Amelia’s angry, she’s angelically kind!’
[…What exactly is your standard for kindness?]
Thud!
Just then, the sound of someone collapsing to the floor came from the side. It was the woman who had been threatened by the young man moments ago.
Freed from the terrifying pressure that had oppressed the surroundings, her legs had given out without her realizing it.
“Ah… Ahh!”
Completely drained, she couldn’t even muster a proper voice.
Seongjin inwardly clicked his tongue at her pitiful state—shaking and drenched in cold sweat—but Amelia approached him and whispered softly.
“Morres. I’ll take the archduke’s heir and step away, so please look after her. Once she calms down, it’d be best to take her to the private room for protection.”
“…If she knows you, wouldn’t she feel safer with you, Sister?”
At Seongjin’s question, Amelia gave a troubled smile.
“I know full well you have no memory of her. But Morres, this time it’ll be good for her—and for how others see it—if you help. There’s talk of marriage between you two, after all.”
…Huh?
“Isabella Scarpino. Lady Scarpino of House Scarpino is your fiancée, who’s celebrated her birthday with you for years.”
“……!”
Ah, right—that Scarpino!
No wonder the name felt familiar!
While Seongjin reeled in shock, Amelia lightly stepped past the young man and said,
“Then, Archduke Zigsmuht. Would you come with me for a moment?”
The young man, who had been frowning with his lips pressed tight, glared at the woman collapsed on the floor for a second before reluctantly turning.
Take care of her.
Amelia gave Seongjin one last meaningful glance before leading the young man away.
“…….”
Uh, awkward.
Suddenly left alone with the woman, Seongjin scratched his head sheepishly for a moment before turning to her.
“Um… Hey, you okay?”
At that, the woman, who had been staring blankly ahead, slowly regained focus in her eyes. She lifted her head and stared up at Seongjin.
“So… Lady Isabella? Can you stand?”
As Seongjin leaned down to ask, her eyes widened for a moment. Then, with her mouth flapping open and shut, she said in a small voice,
“Wh-when did you…….”
“Huh?”
“Since when have you treated me like a lady……!”
What? I’m trying to help—why’s she picking a fight?
As he gaped in disbelief, the woman staring at his face suddenly began shedding tears like a waterfall.
“Ughh!”
Seongjin panicked.
Crying? Suddenly? What did I do wrong?
But the words she sobbed out next were something else.
“Why, why are you suddenly acting so nice? Are you mocking me now? What the hell are you doing to me!”
“Huh?”
“You always ignored me like that! You didn’t even see me as a person!”
“…….”
“Why only to me? Why’s it all over the rumors that you’re nice to that little girl, unlike with me! Ughh!”
…I don’t know the details, but she must be another victim caught up in that moron Morres’s karma.
After that, Isabella cried for a good while.
When Seongjin, unable to stand it, offered her a handkerchief, she blew her nose into it with a huff.
Then she launched into a rambling complaint.
“Sniff! Ugh! Your Highness knows too, but… I’m not usually like this! But earlier, it was just so scary and I couldn’t calm down… Sniff!”
There’s no way a normal person exposed to such ferocious aura could stay composed. But instead of explaining that, Seongjin quietly listened.
“Of all people, to show this side to Your Highness… Huff, it’s the worst! Hngh! Anyway, you absolutely can’t tell anyone about today, got it? Sniff.”
“…….”
“Sniff! But don’t get the wrong idea! You know, right? I’m the flower of high society! The elegant and lofty Scarpino!”
Wow, is that something you say out loud?
Perhaps noticing Seongjin’s blatantly incredulous look, Isabella flushed red and muttered,
“Ugh! Saying it myself is so embarrassing…. Ricardo must be out of his mind, sniff.”
How much time passed like that? Her sniffles gradually subsided.
At that moment, Seongjin sensed the presences of several people approaching from the hallway. They seemed to be salon customers, their chattering voices faintly audible.
After gauging the distance to them, Seongjin extended a hand to Isabella and said,
“Lady Isabella. People are coming this way—shall we stay here? Better to move for now.”
Isabella eyed Seongjin suspiciously.
But the prince looking at her now met her gaze straight on, fully taking in her appearance—unlike before.
“…Then pardon me, Your Highness.”
After hesitating a bit, Isabella straightened her hair and clothes, then bashfully took Seongjin’s hand, her face bright red.
Meanwhile, Amelia was leading Orden toward the entrance of Salon de Mersie.
After walking silently for a while following her, Orden finally couldn’t hold back and spoke first.
“Amel… Just where are you planning to…….”
“Even in a private setting, you must observe proper etiquette, Archduke’s Heir.”
Without even turning to look at Orden, Amelia cut him off in a cold voice.
“Don’t misunderstand. I am now a member of the Holy Imperial Family. No longer that little girl locked away in the attic of a count’s house.”
A crestfallen look briefly crossed Orden’s stoic face.
“That was… That was all Grandmother’s orders. We had no choice back then. I’m sorry toward you.”
“…….”
“But not everyone in the family agreed with it. We still…….”
“I won’t warn you twice. Observe etiquette.”
Stopping in front of the entrance, Amelia slowly turned to face Orden.
“I doubt I’ll ever have another private moment with you, Archduke’s Heir, so I’ll make this clear now. There’s no need for you to explain House Zigsmuht’s position to me at this point. Nor do I need any apologies. I won’t hold anything against you.”
“…….”
“After all, the time I spent there held no meaning for me.”
Orden’s eyes wavered.
“But Ah…….”
“Seems we’re of the same mind, so let’s end it here. I held no meaning for you either, did I? I know full well that until Father His Majesty pulled me out of there, I was as good as nonexistent in that count’s house.”
“…….”
“Then, see you at the birthday celebration. Take care.”
It was a frigid dismissal.
Orden stared at Amelia for a moment with his face rigidly set, then bowed properly and turned away.
Ding-a-ling.
After he left and the entrance door closed.
Only then did Amelia’s tension ease; she clasped her faintly trembling hands and bit her lip.
She had tried to act nonchalant toward him, but the shock of being exposed—even briefly—to that brutal clash of auras lingered fully within her.
Above all, the childhood memories that surfaced the instant she faced Orden.
She had cut him off declaring they meant nothing now, but that didn’t erase those days entirely.
So Amelia stood there for a long while, gazing at the entrance where Orden had vanished.
Until Seongjin, who had come looking for her, called out.
“Sister, why are you just standing there?”
“…Morres.”
Amelia whipped around, eyes wide.
“What about Lady Scarpino? How’d you get here?”
“She seemed calmed down enough, so I left. You were taking too long.”
“You were worried? Why?”
“Why? What do you mean? You went off with that brute—how could I not worry?”
“…….”
Amelia gazed at Seongjin quietly for a moment.
“…I see. So that’s it.”
With a small realization, a gentle smile spread across her face like ice melting away.
“To you, I hold such clear meaning. That day then, and today.”
“……?”
“Thank you for worrying about me, Morres.”
Amelia’s hand, lightly wrapping around Seongjin’s arm, had completely stopped trembling.
The two arrived at the private room arm in arm, on good terms.
But when they opened the door, an unexpected scene unfolded inside. Lady Isabella was in front of the mirror, brandishing a dress pin threateningly with a fierce scowl.
“Withdraw your aura right now! Or this dress pin becomes something else!”
Then, dissatisfied with something, she tilted her head at the mirror.
“Hm, not quite…….”
This time, she switched the pin to her other hand, planted one on her hip, and lifted her chin.
“I’ll let you feel for yourself what a deadly weapon this pin can be! So right now… Eek!”
Spotting Seongjin and Amelia in the mirror, she jumped in shock and hurriedly hid the pin behind her back. And then.
“Kyaa!”
She screamed at the pin stuck in her arm.
“…….”
Didn’t she call herself the flower of high society?
Is standing comedy the trend in Delcross high society these days?
* * *
That evening, upon returning to the townhouse, Isabella immediately sought her second brother.
Ricardo, flipping through a book in the study, greeted her with his usual sly smile.
“So, how was it? My most beautiful Bella in the capital?”
“…Ugh, seriously! Cut that out!”
Rubbing the goosebumps prickling her arm, Isabella opened her mouth with a grave expression.
“Actually, Brother, something weird happened at the salon today.”
“Weird?”
“Yes, that Archduke Zigsmuht…….”
She poured out the whole story to Ricardo.
How, in the middle of smoothly getting fitted, he’d suddenly demanded a firm answer. How, when she dodged without understanding, he’d turned and threatened her.
“…He definitely said he’d heard something from you… Brother? Are you listening?”
Noticing Ricardo’s eerily serene expression, Isabella asked puzzledly.
At that, he smiled softly as always and whispered quietly to his younger sister.
[Good. I’m glad you came back safe. Now forget it all and rest easy, Isabella.]