Chapter 165
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 165
Crown Princess Candidate?
It was a title that was grand in name only. No one envied her for it. If anything, people looked at her with eyes full of pity.
‘If only I were Grand Duke Frezier’s real granddaughter.’
Then she wouldn't have been sold off to a cripple like him.
Because of this, Sophia tried her absolute best. She began to put effort into her Academy studies, which she had previously neglected, and she was already socializing with many young lords at the Academy to find a suitable husband.
The more multi-talented she appeared and the more she stood out at the Academy, the more eyes were drawn to her.
People tend to give their hearts to those they admire.
Fortunately, this strategy was quite effective. Being naturally beautiful and carrying the Frezier name, Sophia became the object of envy for many young lords and ladies.
Since foreign royalty and high-ranking nobles also attended the Academy, she hoped that, if the opportunity arose, one of them would fall completely for her.
She wanted someone to rescue her from her current position—the fiancée of the Crown Prince—regardless of the consequences.
She believed that if a man were to persuade the Brillant Empire by offering a massive dowry, it wouldn't be impossible.
‘In the first place, what do I lack that I should have to marry such a monster? Why am I the only sacrificial lamb?’
Furthermore, that monster of a Crown Prince never sent her any special gifts or tributes.
Why on earth should she look favorably upon a future groom who didn't pay her the slightest bit of attention?
‘I’d rather not be a Frezier at all! Then I could have married Brother Lisian or Brother Leon!’
She had cried this to Aubrey several times, but...
“Still, it is an honor for you, Sophia. Don’t say such useless things.”
Aubrey remained steadfast. She had absolutely no intention of listening to Sophia’s complaints.
The Crown Prince was more devoted than one might think. He was indifferent, but he did his best for his fiancée.
Every month, Aubrey sent letters to the Crown Prince, tearfully appealing to him—claiming that Sophia was being persecuted from all sides despite being his fiancée—and he never ignored them.
Thanks to this, Aubrey had received a significant amount of tribute from the Crown Prince.
She kept it a secret from Sophia, as well as from her husband, Viscount Lilius.
She was busy secretly liquidating the tributes she received from the Crown Prince into cash.
‘Now that he’s returned to the Imperial Palace, he’ll send even more gifts. I can’t let those slip away.’
For the sake of Tedric, who was suffering in those remote borderlands, she absolutely couldn't!
Moreover, for reasons unknown, the Crown Prince hadn't breathed a word about an annulment, even now that he had gained the Emperor’s trust. It was clear he was trying to maintain this engagement by any means necessary.
‘No matter how grand a Triumphal Ceremony he holds, he’ll still need the influence of Grand Duke Frezier. In the end, he’s nothing more than a motherless cripple.’
Thus, Aubrey believed the scales were tipped in their favor in her dealings with the Crown Prince.
* * *
‘How can they say things like that so openly in the Grand Ducal House? Do they think the servants standing there have no ears or mouths?’
I was appalled by the chatter of Aubrey’s relatives, but I kept moving.
They weren't even in a drawing room.
They had brazenly taken over the chairs and tables in the Great Hall on the first floor.
That was a place where the masters of the house usually sat to spend a quiet moment; looking at them, one might think Aubrey still held sovereignty over internal affairs in the Frezier family.
“Hello, everyone.”
“Oh. Lady Tulia Frezier?”
Aubrey’s relatives hurriedly stood up to greet me. Aubrey, who had tried to remain seated with her back straight, was forced by the atmosphere to stand. She gave a brief greeting and quickly sat back down.
“It’s been a while, Tulia.”
“It has, Lady Aubrey.”
Since I had no reason to refer to her as ‘Aunt’ anymore, I replied simply, causing Aubrey’s face to stiffen visibly.
However, knowing she couldn't exactly strike back, she merely let her hands tremble slightly before changing the subject.
“The Crown Prince’s Triumphal Ceremony is only a few days away. Sophia needs to enter the palace looking quite special that day, so we’ve come to the Imperial Capital mansion after such a long time.”
“I see.”
Well, I suppose so.
Sophia would be just as much in the spotlight as the Crown Prince that day. She is the Crown Princess Candidate, after all.
‘For now?’
In The Milk Bread, it never actually happened, so it won't happen here either.
Aubrey’s eyes burned with fire as she mentioned Sophia and the Crown Prince in the same breath.
That greed, that anger.
‘...Is she blackmailing Ferdinand and pocketing money on the side?’
It was plausible, as Ferdinand was portrayed as a fairly devoted and modest man in The Milk Bread.
His personality was a wreck and his methods were cruel, but the setting established that he did his duty toward his fiancée.
Of course, the engagement is eventually annulled after that fiancée is caught badmouthing him behind his back, spreading scandalous rumors with various men, and eventually being found rolling around in bed with them—but for now, that was the case.
‘Hmm.’
Now that I think about it, if I use this well, it might help my Wealth Stat.
Anyway.
I could just ask Adel to investigate this later.
“But Lady Tulia, your dress is truly magnificent. It would be wonderful if Sophia could wear something that grand as well.”
“Indeed. Oh! I heard the White Tulip Salon is the talk of the town lately. Since we’ve happened upon the owner of the salon like this, why don't you take us all there together?”
“My goodness! That’s a wonderful idea! What do you think, My Lady?”
“Exactly! It would be perfect for Sophia to get a new dress befitting the status of the Crown Prince anyway, wouldn't it?”
I laughed inwardly at their brazen demands.
‘If I make the dresses, are you even going to pay for them?’
These people clearly don't know Tulia very well yet.
Just as I was about to politely—very politely—shoo these flies away.
Suddenly, something happened.
“Stop it, all of you!”
Sophia suddenly burst into tears beside them. I was so startled I flinched; imagine how the others felt.
“So—Sophia?”
“Mother, and my aunts too! Why are you doing this! I’m terrified of the Crown Prince and his Divine Power Hyperaffliction! Besides, I heard at the Academy that he ended conflicts on the battlefield cruelly when they could have been settled peacefully! Rumors are everywhere that he’s a blood-drinking butcher!”
“Sophia!”
“What did I do wrong that I have to marry someone so cruel, who even suffers from that affliction?! Everyone is busy whispering that I’m a sacrificial offering being sold to a cripple!”
“So—Sophia! Will you not be quiet?!”
Aubrey shouted, her face turning pale, but Sophia didn't stop. She screamed through her tears.
“Are you just using me as a tool, Mother?! Is it because I’m not your biological daughter? You don't even know how many young lords and princes send me love letters at the Academy!”
‘Gasp.’
So that’s why you cheated on him with them in The Milk Bread?
How many did they say there were?
‘Ah.’
I remember now.
Twenty-four.
She was stripped of her position as the Crown Prince’s fiancée after it was revealed she had ‘those kinds’ of relationships with a total of twenty-four lords and princes.
I swallowed the words I couldn't say and watched Sophia sob. She cried hysterically, like someone who had decided to end the engagement today.
Aubrey broke into a cold sweat as she tried to soothe her daughter.
“Sophia, my daughter. Be a good girl, okay? Don’t cry. It breaks my heart to see you cry, doesn't it?”
But Sophia didn't even pretend to listen; she threw herself onto the sofa and wailed.
Just as I was thinking Aubrey was going to have a massive headache trying to calm her down.
“A monster, a blood-drinking butcher, and a cripple.”
A boy’s beautiful voice brushed past my ears.
I had never felt such goosebumps in my life.
To be honest, I was more terrified now than when I first possessed Tulia and had to kneel and beg before Grandfather.
As I turned my head toward the source of the voice—the entrance—it felt like my neck was making a creaking sound.
And when I finally laid eyes on the owner of the voice.
It felt like my heart dropped into my stomach.
“I wouldn't want to marry such a failure either, Lady Sophia Frezier.”
Crown Prince Ferdinand. He was approaching with a cold, expressionless face.
Step, step. During the not-so-short time it took for Ferdinand to draw near, no one sitting on the sofas dared to breathe.
That included Sophia, who had been crying hysterically just a moment ago.
Her complexion had turned as white as if wax had been spread over her face.
The eyes Ferdinand used to stare down Sophia were as cold as a valley of winter ice.
‘Is the engagement being annulled like this?’
The problem was...
“Since you find me so disgusting and horrific, I should actually be grateful.”
Ferdinand let out a short laugh and suddenly grabbed my wrist.
“Because I, too, came here to request an annulment from the Young Lady.”
Sophia’s mouth hung open blankly.
So did Aubrey’s, and her relatives’.
No, to be honest, I was incredibly shocked as well.
Because...
“I have wanted the real precious daughter of Frezier as my fiancée all along.”
“…….”
“I shall petition His Majesty the Emperor to issue a new Imperial Decree as soon as I return to the palace.”