Chapter 25
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 25
Banquet (3)
Who am I right now, and where is this place?
For a moment, my mind goes blank.
To speak truly honestly, until coming to the cafe, I hadn't made any particular expectations at all.
'I thought we would just talk about chess lightly.'
Right, I thought she would say let's finish the game we couldn't do before while talking about chess lightly.
Actually, it was difficult to think of a topic to converse with Lucia other than chess.
Excluding that, there was nothing particularly related to her.
That's why I came with a light heart, but.
"Aren't those who want to partner with the Princess Your Highness overflowing?"
"That is true. Just going to the dormitory alone, there are heaps of letters sent to me personally."
Then she could just pick anyone among them and go, why such a proposal to me?
Of course, just as Lucia said, it is an honorable proposal for me.
Royalty is an object of respect just by itself.
Even a request to become a partner from royalty at the bottom of the hierarchy, not Lucia right now, had to be considered an honor for the family.
But to become the partner of Lucia who is considered the next Emperor? This was a matter beyond the level of family honor.
As Lucia said, it would be a situation where even bowing down flat and saying it's an overwhelming honor wouldn't be enough, but I doubted first.
Why she chose me among so many people.
"To tell you in advance, I do not have proper authority as the Little Head."
The person named Lucia that entered my ears was a cool-headed and calculating woman.
The type who absolutely doesn't act unless it benefits herself.
What benefit could such a woman gain by setting me up as a partner.
The first thing that comes to mind is showing off in a public setting that she has co-opted the Wiesent family.
"It is true that my father, the Head of the family, designated me as the successor, but I am in a position where I can be replaced by another person at any time."
So I decided to tell Lucia in advance.
Unlike when we faced each other at the debutante at the very beginning, now I am not in a position to give you what you want.
In the current era, even an illegitimate child can become a successor as long as they prove their skill.
Unlike me, the extreme of incompetence, if my younger sister wanted, the successor was in a situation to change anytime.
'As for me, I hope she takes it please though.'
Anyway, I concentrated on Lucia again.
How Lucia would actually react in a situation where she came to know that there is no use for me with this.
Will she tear up the invitation and issue an eviction order, or if not that, will she ridicule me knowing this plight of mine.
"So what about it?"
But a completely different reaction from what I thought came out.
"It seems you are making a firm mistake about something. Allen."
"Princess Your Highness?"
Lucia didn't tear up the invitation, nor did she ridicule me.
Lucia, who was sitting facing me, got up from her seat and sat in close contact right next to me.
At the too close sense of distance, feeling my mind becoming faint, I called Lucia.
But Lucia, raising the corners of her mouth, broke the cake finely with the fork placed in front and held it out in front of me.
In the midst of the cake looking too sweet yet seductive, Lucia whispered.
"Did you think I proposed to you without knowing a single thing like that?"
***
Although it was a proposal that another person would clearly have accepted while shedding tears, Lucia was anxious until the end.
Because the opponent is a person quite different from the usual people she had met.
Even while entering the cafe, she had an expectation. That he would probably refuse her proposal as he always did.
Is that why? Lucia became even more fretful.
'I hope it's different just for this time.'
Hoping that he wouldn't refuse her, please accept this proposal immediately like a snob like others.
And when she first brought up the story, as expected, rather than rejoicing, he revealed an expression of being flustered intact.
From that moment she knew. That this man would refuse her proposal again.
'Why is this man too difficult.'
But nevertheless, Lucia steadfastly kept her seat.
Even if the opponent has no mind for it, if she gives up negotiation, nothing can be changed in the end.
So she listened to the words Allen said.
"Aren't those who want to partner with the Princess Your Highness overflowing?"
People who want it? Naturally, they overflowed.
Just the dormitory alone, the letters that came to her exceeded hundreds.
Did they only send letters? No, there were also those who proposed by even sending people of the family.
Saying they would give up the family's gold mine, give up the territory, turn to her side just for that one day.
Although they wrote down all sorts of rhetoric, none of them entered Lucia's eyes.
Lucia already knew the reason.
That she had decided the person she wanted to be with.
"To tell you in advance, I do not have proper authority as the Little Head."
Allen's subsequent words were a bit new.
"It is true that my father, the Head of the family, designated me as the successor, but I am in a position where I can be replaced by another person at any time."
That he has no authority as the Little Head, that the family can change him to another person at any time.
Which Little Head would step forward first and confess this.
Informing that he is just a scarecrow set up by the family was practically the same as revealing a weakness.
That he is a very weak person with no backing, let alone influence.
'Probably it required tremendous courage for you.'
But this was also a matter already investigated.
How the Wiesent family is, what kind of life he lived, what kind of treatment he is receiving, how surrounding people view him, she had everything found out.
It wasn't that long ago that she found out.
Right after Aniel took him out while playing chess, she wanted to know about the person named Allen in earnest.
So she knew he wasn't speaking lies and knew he mustered courage to tell her a weakness.
"Like the cake placed on the fork, you just have to eat it. Do you understand?"
Lucia raised the corners of her mouth. Although she continuously polished it since mealtime, it is nevertheless domination magic in an incomplete stage yet.
Because she didn't know what results it would cause, it was a time when she should have been premature, but her throat kept getting thirsty.
She knew this thirst wouldn't be resolved unless she obtained him somehow now.
Above all, the most important thing is.
'Because it won't do unless it's now when Aniel isn't here.'
So she tried immediately without hesitating.
"Say that you will attend the banquet with me."
That he will become her partner.
That he will stand side by side next to her.
She knows it's a cowardly act, but if she doesn't do this, she can't obtain him as a partner.
Actually, being cowardly didn't matter. Because Lucia had been taught like that, that if she can't obtain it even using cowardly acts, it's all meaningless work.
".... The cake was delicious."
However, a completely unexpected thing occurred.
"Why, how come?"
Clearly, her magic didn't fail.
If it was a person of Allen's level, it was right that he should have been caught unconditionally.
But Allen only accepted and ate the held-out cake, and an appearance of being caught in domination couldn't be found at all.
The genius mage Lucia was flustered. Wondering what the problem was, her head turned jumbled.
"I know that the Princess Your Highness also clearly gave me an honorable proposal after much thought."
While Lucia was moving in confusion, Allen turned his head and moved towards the cake.
Just as Lucia did, he also broke the cake placed on the plate finely.
"But I apologize, because there is someone I already promised to become a partner with."
And just as Lucia did, Allen also held out the cake and said.
That actually there is a person who already promised to become a partner for him.
Encountering this, Lucia bit her lip and asked.
"Surely that person isn't someone I know, right."
"If you are talking about the Grand Duchess, that is correct."
"Ha. Again."
Again. She is first again. Lucia felt like her insides were burning pitch black.
This time too, Aniel stepped forward quickly.
Clenching her fist, she wanted to go to Aniel right now and tell her to hand over Allen.
To yield to herself at least for this time.
But Lucia's gaze was directed towards Allen in front of her eyes again.
To him holding out the cake in front of her.
"Because the cake is delicious."
"....."
"If you don't want to eat, please tell me."
Why is it. The anger boiling until just now really disappeared in an instant like snow melting.
It was really strange. Probably if another person other than Allen was like this in this spot, she would have frowned and let out a ridicule as if ridiculous.
But let alone ridicule, Lucia was swallowing saliva unknowingly.
"... The cake is delicious indeed."
"I am very relieved that you say it's delicious."
Cake is cake. To that extent, Lucia usually didn't feel any particular distinctive feature about sweet things.
But right now, for some reason, it was so sweet enough to rot her teeth.
"Please give me a little more."
"Ah, yes. Here is a fork."
"No. Please do it like just now."
"Yes?"
Allen was flustered. Because Lucia's mood didn't look good, he intended to feed her something sweet and fix the situation for now.
He declined getting caught in the crossfire by her getting firmly angry.
Fortunately, whether the strategy to feed sweet things worked, Lucia's mood seemed to get better.
So while feeling relieved, he tried to hand over the fork, but to think the words to feed her again would return.
"Because my arm hurts very much right now. So you can do that much, right?"
"I, if so, yes, understood."
Let's not go against the mood of Lucia who seems to be in a good mood for no reason.
For now, thinking to accommodate Lucia as much as possible right now, Allen continuously fed cake to Lucia.
Until emptying two plates.
[The number above Lucia's head has become 29]
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