CH 9

‘How on earth did Young Lady Bright live?’

I was in an indescribable mood, while staring at her portrait with a puzzled expression on my face.

“Ah, your Highness.”

Sophie greeted him, even though I had pretended not to see him on purpose. When I finally had no choice but to turn my head, I saw the Duke of Bright.

“Hello.”

As much as I would have liked to ignore him, he was still a Duke of the Empire, so I bowed to him out of politeness.

“Mm, good afternoon.”

Duke Bright greeted me awkwardly. He’s been hovering around me these past few days. From what the Marquis said, it seemed that he wanted to apologize to me. But I didn’t want to forgive him yet.

‘Sweetheart, why don’t you try forgiving your grandfather?’

‘Do I have anything to forgive?’

This morning, the Marquis of Bright brought up the Duke’s story carefully.

‘Father has been reflecting on himself a lot… He’s a bit of an impatient man, I suppose…. Oh. He’s also missed you for a long time.’

‘Well… let me think about it.’

The Marquis looked at me with deer-like innocent eyes, which I endeavored to ignore. So in the end he still failed to convince me, and the awkward bed meal ended in a heavy silence.

“Do you have something to say?”

I asked bluntly.

“Well, no, no.”

The Duke of Bright hummed and then stuttered. When I first met him, he was all flesh and blood. I was amazed at how timid he had become in relation to his size.

“If you don’t have any business, I’ll leave you to it. I have an important appointment this afternoon.”

“I…!”

I don’t have a habit of breathing the same air as uncomfortable people, so I jerked away. I thought I heard a voice behind me say something, but I pretended not to hear it. After all, I had an appointment.

And I’m definitely an expert in this area.

“Miss Iris…”

I stomped down the stairs, while Sophie was following anxiously behind.

“Why did you do that, to the Duke? He’s so scary when he’s angry.”

“Who’s afraid of him? Tell him to be angry.” I snorted, and Sophie gave me a bewildered look.

“Don’t give me that look. If they chase us out of here, we can go to an inn.”

“Don’t say that. This is the first time you’ve met with your family.”

“I don’t play nice with my family.”

“Ugh.”

Sophie inhaled sharply at my words.

‘Was I too cold?’

I was a little surprised by Sophie’s reaction, but I couldn’t help it. To be honest, I wasn’t thrilled about meeting the Marquis and the Duke of Bright again. I was surprised and excited that I had a family I didn’t even know existed, but that was it, they were still strangers to me. There was no way I could feel affection for them after just a few days of knowing them as my blood relatives.

Instead of feeling affectionate towards them as family, I had lost whatever goodwill I had for them after the crown prince told me about what happened to Young Lady Bright. I don’t know how much evil she’s done, but it’s clear that the Duke and Marquis didn’t do a good job of protecting her. Even if everyone in the world is pointing fingers at her, if you’re a family member, you have to cover up somehow, right? That’s what family is to me. The reason I tolerated my mother abandoning her responsibilities as a Lord and leaving was because she was my family.

In that sense, the Marquis and Duke of Bright were completely useless. The Marquis had great affection for his daughter, but he was unreliable as a father. The Duke is also the worst of all.

Perhaps they did not take proper care of her, or perhaps they could have prevented it, like what happened to mother. At least I had a butler and a nanny, but she? If what the crown prince said was true then, she had no one. Well… At least she still had a nanny, Mrs. Elena.

Anyways, This is why I couldn’t like the duke and the marquis.

⚘

“We’ve arrived, Miss.”

“Thank you.”

We arrived sooner than I thought. I paid the coachman and stepped out of the carriage. Then the vast square finally came into view.

“Wow.”

It was indeed the capital city! Everything was of extraordinary scale. A gasp suddenly escaped my lips. I rubbed my eyes and looked around.

Tempest Square, one of the capital’s main streets, was lined with open-air cafes, restaurants, and shops centered around a large fountain in the middle.

“The shops downtown of my estate couldn’t even compare to a small business here.”

I sighed softly as I looked at the shops lining the streets from east to west and north to south. I tried not to compare, but I couldn’t help but do it.

“Where do I go from here…” I reached into the inside pocket of my hood and pulled out a map. It had been enclosed inside a letter from the crown prince’s aide, who had come to deliver a post yesterday afternoon.

‘Oh, I know this place! It’s a very popular cafe these days! It’s a little out of the way, but it’s famous because the owner was an Elementalist!’

Loisir Café, it was the café that the crown prince had chosen as our meeting place. According to Sophie’s words, It seemed to be a popular place among people lately.

“Take the alley on the right from the newspaper building…” I left the marquis’s residence early, so I had plenty of time. The problem was that I didn’t know the way to the meeting location.

Back On my estate, I could easily find where I wanted to go even with my eyes closed, but the capital was different. Everywhere I looked, there were new roads, and I couldn’t easily get to where I wanted to go.

As I was wandering around with my map in hand, not knowing which way to go, someone gently tugged at my clothes from below.

“Miss, do you need any help?”

I looked down at the small voice and saw an innocent child looking up at me. Judging by the oranges, apples, and a few wild flowers on her basket, she was a street vendor.

“Are you looking for directions?”

“Yes, I am. Do you know where this place is? I heard it’s a cafe run by an Elementalist.”

“…Oh! I know! Go that way! Then turn into that alley!”

She excitedly pointed to a clean-looking building and led the way as if to say, ‘Follow me.’

I pressed my hood deep into my face. I was deeply wary of my surroundings. The last thing I needed was a repeat of the other day. Where, whether it was a noble or a commoner, they would still yell “Young Lady Bright” at my face as soon as they saw me.

“We can take this alley.”

The kid smiled sheepishly after stopping in front of an alley between two buildings.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Those oranges look delicious. Why don’t you sell them to me if you don’t mind?”

I didn’t know how to repay her, so I bought the fruit she was selling.

“Wait…… Ugh!”

I leaned over, hoping it would only cost a silver coin, but my hood came off slightly. A few strands of my hair fell down, but I didn’t care because it didn’t show my face, and I was about to take the money out of my waistband when I heard a surprised voice behind me, and suddenly heard an exclamation,

“Young Lady Bright?”

‘Damn it, not again‘ I thought, with a swear word slipping out of my mouth. Sooner or later, the mere mention of Young Lady Bright will cause me to pick a fight.

“You’ve got the wrong person.”

“Wait!”

With a small sigh, I tried to pull my hood up, but someone grabbed me by the arm, causing my hood to fall completely backwards and my hair to whip around.

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

Oh, really. A momentary rush of irritation came over me, and as I turned my head to say something, strands of ripe orange-like glossy hair bloomed in front of my vision.

“Oh my god, it’s you!”

The girl with the rich, curly hair that flowed like undulating waves exclaimed as she recognized my face.

“I didn’t get the wrong person after all!”

She exclaimed. Unlike the excited orange-haired girl in front of me, my mood instantly sank. The entire capital city must be suffering from a collective vision problem. How can this happen to everyone I meet? The only person who recognized me was not because of my appearance, but because he can distinguish body scents. It’s quite depressing, really.

Now, I’m not denying Young Lady Bright and I look alike. As far as I’m concerned, we do look a lot alike. I mean, I got goosebumps when I saw her portrait earlier. But that’s that, and this is this. It was devastating to think that I would continue to be misunderstood like this. Perhaps it was for this reason that the crown prince advised me to return to the estate.

“Phew.”

I sighed heavily in my chest. It came out. Whether I sighed or not, the orange-haired one kept to herself. “I heard that you were taken away by the guards a few days ago for causing a disturbance, but… I didn’t think…”

‘It’s not like I was causing a ruckus, it’s just that the people who saw me freaked out and called the guards, which is ridiculous.’

“I’m so glad you’re okay!”

‘Why are you acting so friendly?’

This is a new reaction. I squinted my eyes warily at the chattering orange head. Judging by her attire, she was a well-to-do family person.

“When did you get back to the capital, and is this whole runaway thing over?”

At the orange-haired girl’s question, the crown prince’s story immediately flashed through my mind. He had said that Young Lady Bright had no friends to confide in. They all used her and made a joke out of her,

But now one was talking to me.

The attitude of the young lady with the stovepipe hair now was different from anyone I had ever met. She was acting so friendly as if she had just met someone she was close to. So I was even more concerned.

“After Young Lady Bright disappeared like that, everyone was very worried. There were bad rumors going around… You don’t know how scary it was.”

If everything the crown prince said was true, then this person was most likely one of the people who had taken advantage of her or used her as a scapegoat. At the thought of it all, my mind instantly raced as if I’d been doused with cold water.

My body made the first move as I finally realized that she could be an enemy. I immediately stepped backwards, dodging the orange hair, and glared at her with wary eyes.

“Young Lady Bright?”

Her amber eyes sparkled at my reaction, and there was a hint of wonder in them. The orange-haired young lady, who had been giggling, tilted her head as if trying to figure out what was going on, and let out an ‘Ahhhh.’

“You’re still mad at me, aren’t you?

‘Still?’

“Yes. That’s right. You’re still mad at me after all.”

“No….”

I was about to reply nonchalantly, but then I shut my mouth. As I listened to the orange-haired young lady talk, I had a strong feeling that I might be able to get some useful information out of her.