The Princess's Revelation
“Urgh… Blaaargh!”
In a lonely corner of the deserted garden of the lord’s castle, Felice Ansberg was retching alone.
Her father’s death. The fall of the territory. It was far too much for a girl who had not even graduated from the academy yet—especially when she bore some of the blame for the death of the father she had so deeply respected.
Throughout the funeral she had barely managed to remain on her feet, looking ready to collapse at any moment. Yet the talk around her never stopped. They kept saying that Felice’s prior warning had reduced the damage. She had steeled herself for it, but actually hearing the words leave people’s mouths made her feel as though she might truly vomit.
When she first heard her mother’s plan, Felice had immediately wanted to refuse. Her mother had simply told her: even if the warning never arrived, Felice herself had in fact given one, so what was the problem? The words were shameless, yet Felice could not refute them. She could not confess that it had been a lie—not now. From the moment she first lied, there had been no going back.
She had still insisted they should at least acknowledge Louis’s help, but her mother had replied that there was no telling how much the Wallenstein Count family would try to extract. When the answer was “everything is for the family,” Felice had nothing left to say. It was her fault the house had fallen to this state. If this was what it took to save that family, she could not argue.
And now, today, people were praising her. In truth the one who had barely managed to save the house was Louis Wallenstein; she herself was the one responsible for its ruin. The chatter surrounding her kept reminding her of that fact: if only you had fought a little harder, if only you had somehow taken down the gargoyles, your father would not have died. The people of the house, the people of the territory, would still be alive. She felt as though she were going mad.
“Urgh…”
She retched again, but nothing came up—not even bile. She had hardly eaten properly of late and had been throwing up since morning. With a trembling hand she wiped her mouth. She was the eldest daughter of Count Ansberg. She could not remain here like this.
When she returned to her place, Louis Wallenstein entered her sight. She had hoped he would not come. The moment she first heard the talk, she had hurriedly scanned the surroundings, checking first whether Louis was present. If he heard those words, how furious and empty would he feel?
Right before she left the academy she had told him they would talk properly next time. On the day they next met, the day he would listen to her story, she had intended to offer a proper apology. If Louis heard the nonsense people were spouting now, that apology would be lost forever.
Searching frantically for him, she prayed inwardly. Please, Louis. Please don’t have come here… She clung to a slender hope. After all, Ansberg and Wallenstein had never been on good terms…
But the Goddess was heartless. Felice finally spotted him—and worse, his face was already twisted in a deep scowl. Her legs nearly gave out; she barely kept herself from sinking to the ground.
“Haha… So you heard everything…”
She muttered the words in hollow despair. It was all her fault.
People continued offering her and her mother words of consolation.
“…Still, Lady Felice accomplished a great deal.”
No. She did not deserve such praise.
“Your father in heaven will be proud of you as well.”
Felice could only stand rigid, face frozen. If she did anything else, the tears would burst free—tears of shame, of self-loathing, of grief.
The interment was about to begin. She moved slowly. Time passed, and at last the ceremony that had felt endlessly long came to an end. After briefly asking to be excused, she retreated to a corner of the garden and retched once more.
On her way back she saw Louis Wallenstein again; he looked as though he had just returned from somewhere. He was not alone. Walking beside him was none other than the Empire’s First Princess and Student Council President of Helon Academy—Kalia Speltz.
A faint curiosity stirred about what had brought the two of them together, but it did not matter in the slightest right now. Thanks to the academy’s consideration she had been allowed to remain in the territory without returning until the vacation ended. That meant, unless one of them visited the other’s estate, this was her last chance to meet Louis Wallenstein before their second year.
She still did not know what to say first—apology, explanation, gratitude. She had decided nothing, yet she approached him as though entranced. It was only a feeling, but if she did not apologize to him now, their relationship would end for good.
Louis was speaking with the princess. As Felice drew near, both of them looked at her. The princess’s gaze seemed to hold a trace of contempt, but that reaction was irrelevant. Louis Wallenstein was looking at her with clear, unmistakable disgust. Her chest ached, yet it was a pain she fully deserved to bear.
She forced the words out.
“Louis… May we speak for a moment? Please. I’m begging you.”
It was the same plea she had made outside his room last time. This time, however, the refusal did not come from Louis.
“Lady Felice, I had not intended to go this far… but is that not rather rude?”
Princess Kalia Speltz spoke with a faintly displeased expression.
“I will not demand that you show me every courtesy even in a situation such as this… yet…”
Only then did Felice realize her mistake. So fixated on Louis had she been that she had not even greeted the princess. This was not the academy, where everyone stood as equals. Kalia Speltz was attending in her capacity as royalty, and Felice had failed to offer the respect due her station.
The princess continued.
“Is Young Master Louis not currently conversing with me? To appear so abruptly and attempt to snatch him away is rather unpleasant.”
“…I apologize, Your Highness.”
“Enough. I understand your state of mind.”
Though it galled her, Felice first offered her apology to the princess. Then she turned back to Louis.
“Louis, even just a moment, please come with—”
“Stop.”
Once again it was not Louis who halted her, but the princess. Louis had begun to open his mouth, yet the princess’s words came faster. Felice bit her lip as she stared at the other woman. The funeral was finished; the guests would soon depart. Time was short—why was this woman interfering?
Please… there is no time…
She screamed the thought inwardly at the princess. What left the princess’s mouth next, however, was outrageous.
“It seems Young Master Louis has no desire to speak with you.”
Forgetting entirely that the speaker was a princess, Felice began to glare. Who did she think she was, inserting herself between them and Louis? Then the princess lowered her voice to a near whisper.
“Felice Ansberg… For some reason people claim that the damage was reduced thanks to you.”
Now there could be no doubt. The emotion on the princess’s impassive face was pure contempt.
“A student named Aine, was it? She apparently forgot to stop the recording until she reached the academy. Thanks to that, I was able to confirm every detail of the nest investigation.”
The color drained from Felice’s face. Before she could utter a word, the princess suddenly raised her voice so that everyone nearby could hear every syllable.
“Louis Wallenstein, superb work! The Imperial Family will ensure you are properly rewarded for this. You protected an Imperial count’s territory—that much is the least we can do.”
The princess’s baffling words instantly drew every gaze. Leaving the ashen Felice at her side, she pressed on.
“Because you warned Ansberg Territory in advance, the damage could be reduced. That is true loyalty to the Empire!”
Shock rippled through the crowd. The man in question belonged to the traitor house of Wallenstein. No matter how loudly Louis had spoken, they would never have believed him—yet the words of the princess herself carried absolute authority.
At the sudden uproar the Countess hurried over, eyes trembling violently.
“Y-Your Highness… what exactly do you mean by those words just now…?”
Kalia had no intention of debating the facts with the Countess here. Instead she changed tack.
“Ah, Countess Ansberg. Earlier I was too preoccupied to mention it, but the Imperial Family’s independent investigation into this gargoyle assault has concluded.”
Felice trembled so hard her legs shook. No one looked at her now. The princess explained the commission regarding the unidentified nest, that it had in fact been a gargoyle nest, and every detail of the Video Recording Artifact. Then she continued.
“Young Master Louis Wallenstein here foresaw the truth and sought to prevent disaster by subjugating the gargoyles in advance, yet the opposition of his own party members ultimately caused the attempt to fail. Even so, he issued a warning beforehand, and the damage was thereby reduced.”
The Countess opened her mouth as if to speak about that warning, but the princess addressed her in a tone of apparent concern.
“The Count was a loyal subject of the Empire. We cannot simply leave unpunished those who drove such a man to his death, can we?”
The words were not wrong. Everyone present was nodding in agreement.
“As confirmed by the recording, those who opposed the gargoyle subjugation and thereby brought harm upon the count’s territory—Leo Epsilt, Veronica Eltwin, Esther Kalt, Elin Nidia, and… Felice Ansberg—will receive fitting punishment.”
It was over.
Everyone… knows now…
The lie she had told in a desperate attempt to hide the truth had returned as the worst possible ending. If she had known it would come to this, she never would have lied in the first place. Unable to endure any longer, Felice collapsed before the eyes of all.