Chapter 17.1
I could get anything I wanted, be it jewels or dresses. Why? Because I am the princess of Verde. Even the heirloom necklace cherished by a certain young lady or the childhood friend maid treasured by a certain young man, with just a single request, everything was easily granted.
So, at Onii-sama’s birthday party, when I saw him, who was more beautiful than anyone I had ever met, I naturally wished for him.
“Hey, Otou-sama, I want that person.”
“That person? Oh, Theodore Kieza.”
“His name is Theodore-sama. It’s a lovely name.”
“. . .I’m sorry, but he’s not an option.”
“What?”
“He’s engaged to be the next queen of Acardi.”
It was the first time. The first time my wish was not granted. Hearing that I couldn’t have him made me want him even more, and I watched Theodore-sama with longing eyes.
With his beautiful platinum blonde hair and turquoise blue eyes that were as clear as glass, and his still childish and androgynous appearance at the age of 14, one could easily believe that an angel had wandered in. His occasional smile and conversations with the girl next to him were so beautiful that they felt almost sacred.
However, I had a feeling that I had seen that girl with Onii-sama a few times.
“. . .Is that girl his fiancée?”
Standing next to the overwhelmingly beautiful Theodore-sama was a strange girl who always hid her face behind a black veil, unsuitable to stand beside him. I remembered that the famous saint wore something similar in the story of the hero and the saint. However, the impression of a strange girl in weird clothes remained unchanged.
It doesn’t suit him. Not at all. Besides, Acardi is a small country, always engaging in battles against monsters, right?.
It’s probably a political marriage, so I shall rescue him. …If, by any chance, they are truly in love, I wouldn’t want to darken the angel’s smile, so I’ll quietly observe. Despite thinking something unlike myself, I approached them silently. Instead of immediately striking up a conversation, I stood a little distance away and eavesdropped.
“It’s so hot here. . .Ester, aren’t you feeling hot?”
“Yes. . .I’ll go out to the balcony for a while to feel the breeze.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“You can go alone. Theodore, please enjoy yourself without worrying about me.”
. . .Who is that girl? She was rude to him while he was being considerate of her like an angel. She persuaded Theodore-sama, who insisted on being her bodyguard, and walked out alone. When I saw his profile looking at her back with a sad expression, I decided that I would make him mine.
Because I wouldn’t let him make that face. Of course, someone as angelic as him should be wearing a smile, naturally.
And yet, why now… saying that she loves him. Irritated, I headed to the Grosbeir headquarters that my uncle had told me about. My uncle, who is a valued customer there, always receives the latest information, which can’t be obtained without spending a considerable amount of money in a short period of time. At this time, it should be in the basement of the secondhand bookstore on 3rd Avenue in Anfang.
“Don’t follow me!”
“I cannot do that! It’s dangerous, please. . .”
If I’m going to request the assassination of Acardi’s first princess, I can’t have guards following me. I regret wearing high-heeled shoes as I walk quickly, trying to lose them somehow.
And then. . .
*BANG!!*
“Aaaah!!”
Not only me, but everyone around me screams as the gunshot suddenly rings out.
What on earth is happening?
I’m frozen with fear, unable to move my fingers or even my eyeballs, as I feel the fire attribute bullet pass by my face.
“I found her! Theodore, arrest that woman in the all-black outfit over there!”
“As you wish.”
Suddenly, the Veil woman and Theodore appear in front of me. The woman points to a woman dressed in mourning clothes, unsuitable for the lively Anfang.
“How did you know. . .?”
“I apologize. I don’t want to be rough, so if you could please cooperate quietly, it would be appreciated. . .”
“Let go! Let go! I was finally about to kill the princess!”
As Theodore lightly kicked the ground and effortlessly jumped over the crowd, probably using wind magic, he quickly reached the woman in mourning clothes and pinned her down in no time.
So many things happened in such a short time that my brain couldn’t keep up. All I know now is that I was almost killed by that woman.
“Hey, Dorothea! Are you okay?”
“Onii-sama. . .”
“Your hair. . .”
As Onii-sama rushed over and pointed it out, I had a bad feeling and touched the side where the bullet grazed me. My hair on the right side was burned and curled around my neck.
“Oh. . .my hair. . .!”
In Verde, the length of one’s hair represents their social status. It cannot be kept so beautiful and glossy without wealth, so commoners usually grow their hair to shoulder length, and even nobles are tabooed from growing their hair longer than the imperial family.
Nobles and the imperial family cut their hair as a punishment for committing a crime. Therefore, short hair is a sign of a criminal.
“I won’t forgive that woman!”
I shouted in anger, ignoring the people trying to stop me and heading towards the woman in mourning clothes.
“Get out of the way.”
“No.”
The veiled woman teleported in front of the woman in mourning clothes and glared at me sharply. I couldn’t tell what expression she had because of the veil that always got in the way and annoyed me.
“That woman disrespectfully burned my hair! I won’t be satisfied until she’s punished!”
I can’t even go out with my hair like this. As I yelled, the veiled woman opened her mouth to say something, but. . .
“What’s with the hair! It’s your fault that my brother died!!”
“. . .Huh? I don’t know anything about your brother.”
The mourning-dressed woman started shouting incomprehensible things. I thought that as a commoner who didn’t even know how to speak properly, there was no way I, a princess, would know about her family. . .but then she mentioned a name.
“Bertram Chrysler, you know him, right?”
“. . .Oh, the dressmaker.”
I recognized the name. Bertram Chrysler was the owner and designer of the shop I was planning to visit today to buy a dress. My eldest sister, who had married into the Duke family and became the Duchess, had become very popular after wearing one of his dresses to a party. It was said that not having a Chrysler dress was considered being behind the times. However, I remembered that one of my maids had told me last month that the shop had gone bankrupt and closed down.
