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“Don’t make a fuss and get in the way, just live your life quietly, and you’ll only just end up making up for the sins you’ve committed.”
“What did I— Ah!” I squeeze again.
“This is your last warning, and if you pull any tricks on me again, then it won’t end with just a crushed orange this time, do you understand?”
“Hic—!”
Countess Olette’s face turned white immediately.
It was so white as if it was covered with mold.
I squeezed her shoulder hard once again, as my lips squinted to one side. I held it and then let go.
The Countess Olette sank to the ground immediately. She seemed to have been scared off by me.
“Butler.”
“Miss, you called?”
The butler, who had been waiting in the hall, came into the parlor.
He was not surprised to see Countess Olette slumped on the floor.
“My guest is exhausted,” I said,
“So please send her away.”
“Yes, Miss.”
The butler walked over to Countess Olette, who, in a respectful manner, helped her up to her feet.
“All right.”
“You— You think you’re going to be okay after this?”
The Countess Olette stood up with the help of the butler and gritted her teeth.
Her face was red with anger and shame.
“This is violence!”
Countess Olette shouted fiercely.
The butler who was helping her up frowned.
Displeasure was immediately shown on his face.
“I’ll never let you go! How dare you touch me.”
“What will you do if I dare?”
“What?”
“Sue me? Try it.”
“Do you think I can’t do that?”
“Try it, but do you think the Empress, who you’re so afraid of, will stand for it?”
“What–”
The scowling Countess Olette was stunned.
“From what I understand, you and the Second Prince are already rumored to be dating. Shouldn’t you be careful how you conduct yourself until you’re officially engaged?”
The Empress, who wants to make her son the next emperor, is more sensitive to public opinion than anyone.
At the time of her divorce, Young Lady Bright’s reputation was so bad that it was easier to cover up, but the second prince had suffered a blow.
If Countess Olette were to become embroiled in gossip at this moment, his reputation, already tarnished by his divorce from the Young Lady Bright, would suffer another blow.
The first time, he was able to get away with it thanks to Young Lady Bright’s villainess image, but the second time will be different.
Naturally, it was better to say that the second prince will be in trouble.
Still, as if her hair wasn’t a decoration, Countess Olette’s momentum gradually slowed.
“You’ll regret it, I’m sure.”
“Well. We’ll see who regrets it.”
I shrugged my shoulders and sneered, and Countess Olette glared at me with her axe-like eyes.
“What are you looking at me for? You think you can do something just glaring at me like that?”
“You’re so
.”
Countess Olette bit her lower lip in exasperation as I refused to avert my gaze.
As we stared at each other, engaged in a glaring match, I finally heard a chilling voice behind me.
“What’s going on?”
“Your Highness?”
Why is someone who should be in the imperial palace here?
The appearance of an unexpected person caught me off guard and I raised my voice in response.
“When did you get here?”
“Just now.”
“How—”
What kind of day is today?
Lady Elena came to visit and became a hot mess, then this orange-haired came to create trouble
 Now his royal highness is also here.
Hopefully not to bring any more trouble..
Just what kind of luck do I have today?
Even if the butler didn’t know about his arrival because he was here with me, how come the crown prince had already arrived and no one had come to inform me?
I pursed my lips in bewilderment, and he just burst into the room.
“You– Your Highness?”
It was Countess Olette who was startled.
She was astonished at the sudden appearance of the crown prince.
‘Why
 No, what is this?’
Countess Olette stuttered, unable to speak. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
She then started fidgeting at the sight of the crown prince’s cold gaze on her.
“Countess Olette.”
A chilly voice eventually slipped through his lips.
The voice sounded like a midwinter wind, and Countess Olette shuddered.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m, um
 I’m here to see Young Viscountess Sabrina, to apologize for what happened the other day
”
Oppressed by his momentum, the Countess Olette replied in a hesitant tone.
The crown prince smirked, let out a breath and laughed.
Countess Olette was taken aback.
“Apologize?”
She looked around, uneasily.
“You came to apologize?”
The crown prince mumbled what Countess Olette had said, and it seemed to leave a bad taste into his mouth.
His narrowed eyes gradually exuded a sharp light.
“It sounded to me like you were threatening Young Viscountess Sabrina.”
“
I—! No!”
Countess Olette’s head snapped up immediately after hearing the crown prince’s words, her face turned red with anger.
“I never threatened her! I never did!”
“Strange.”
The crown prince tilted his head to the side and stared at Countess Olette.
His golden eyes that had been as warm as the sun before gave way to a chill.
“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t let Young Viscountess Sabrina get away with it, and that she’d regret it?”
It wasn’t just Countess Olette who was surprised by the crown prince’s words. I was too.
However, whether I was surprised or not, he still went on to point out what Countess Olette had said to me.
“Uh, it’s unfair, Young Viscountess Sabrina was rude to me first!”
Countess Olette protested, while wrapping her arms around her shoulders.
“She grabbed my shoulder and pressed it, making me feel like I was being—!”
“I don’t want to hear your excuses.”
The crown prince harshly cut off Countess Olette’s plea of innocence.
“Countess Olette.”
His face, uncharacteristically devoid of laughter, was as cold as frost.
“For whatever reason, you still touched my person..”
“
?”
The Countess Olette looked dazed. Her tear-streaked amber eyes darted about, lost.
“If you say my person
.”
“Young Viscountess Sabrina is the lady I am going to serve.”
The crown prince, standing beside me, raised a hand and put it on my shoulder as if to protect me.
At the sight of him doing it, Countess Olette’s lips immediately parted.
“Well
 What
 No way, Your Royal Highness
 is Young Viscountess Sabrina’s
.”
The young countess looked back and forth between the crown prince and me, her eyes fixed on us in disbelief.
Her voice then trembled unnaturally.
“You may have guessed right, Countess, I am the Cavalier of the Young Viscountess Sabrina.”
“Nonsense!”
Countess Olette sputtered.
A shrieking sound burst out from her gaping mouth.
“Henceforth, any disrespect to the Young Viscountess Sabrina will be a show of disrespect towards me.”
The crown prince didn’t care if Countess Olette was surprised or not.
When he finished, he gave the order of dismissal.
“You are dismissed.”
Countess Olette said nothing.
She was Half stunned, and didn’t seem to have the presence of mind to reply.
She eventually left the parlor, and was almost dragged out by the butler.
I looked at the crown prince as soon as the two were out of sight.
“Do you mind?”
Now that Countess Olette knows about it, it will immediately reach the Count’s ears as well.
It was only a matter of time before the Empress would also find out.
“It was supposed to be a secret until the day of the Debutante
”
It was originally decided that the crown prince would be my cavalier until the day of the debutante, and I was right

The crown prince had never been anyone’s cavalier before.
If it was revealed that his partner was me, there would certainly be an uproar.
As it was, I was already the center of attention as Young Lady Bright’s twin sister. I didn’t need any more noise than that.
The same was true for the crown prince. With the Empress’s scrutiny increasing day by day, he had to be careful with every move he made.
If the empress learned that my Cavalier was the crown prince, she would be wary of me, thinking that he and the Bright family have become allies.
After all, the Bright family has a grudge against the Empress.
“Consider the timing a little earlier.”
“If the Empress finds out, she’ll definitely do something.”
“It’s okay.”
The crown prince said in a nonchalant tone.
Contrary to my worries, he seemed quite relaxed.
“Don’t worry too much. I’m sure nothing will happen.”
“How do you know that?”
I asked, intrigued by his confident demeanor, and the crown prince whispered in a voice only I could hear.
“I’m going to use the Emperor to keep the Empress in check.”
“Is that possible?”
“Indeed.”
The crown prince said no more.
I didn’t probe further either. I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, since he was probably more knowledgeable about it than I was.
But what’s going on here?
“Oh, right.”
As if remembering something he’d forgotten, the crown prince pulled something out of his arms.
“I wanted to give you this.”
“What is it?”
“Give me your hand.”
I meekly held out my hand.
He then placed a small box on my palm. The small box in my hand looked luxurious at a first glance.
“It’s a gift.”
“What do you mean, a gift? You’ve already given me
”
The crown prince had been sending gifts day in and day out, saying it was his duty as a Cavalier.
The amount was small compared to Marquis Bright’s, but each one was very expensive.
“Open it.”
He tapped and tapped on the box, as if urging me to open it.
I finally gave in to his urging and opened it.
“What is this?”
Inside was an iridescent, gem-studded necklace. The necklace was unadorned, simply wrapped around a center gemstone, but it was the most beautiful piece of jewelry I had ever seen.
“It’s so pretty
”
I couldn’t take my eyes off the gemstone in the necklace. It was a small, round, iridescent gemstone that changes color depending on the angle of the light.
“What is this gemstone? I’ve never seen it before.”
“It’s a spirit stone.”
The crown prince answered as if he had been waiting for me to ask him.
“Ahhh, so this is a spirit– spirit stone..”
The moment I realized the gem’s value, I couldn’t help but marvel at it more, which was, or had been, far more expensive and precious than blue diamonds or mithril, that was produced only in dwarven mines.
I’ve never seen a spirit stone before either

“The spirit stone.. You mean the one the size of your thumb that can power ten capital city mansions?”
“That’s right.”
“Wow, you’re giving me something so precious?”
My hands are shaking at the thought of a spirit stone.
I was dumbfounded, and when I looked at the spirit stone again, the crown prince tilted his head as if to ask what was the problem.