Chapter 06
At the sudden appearance of the Crown Prince, Madame Hestia hurriedly went to greet him, while Iris followed slowly, keeping her distance.
A man with golden hair, as if crafted from gold, was holding Madame Hestia’s hand and exchanging greetings.
Hestia, who hadn’t even imagined he would attend her birthday banquet, wore a flustered expression, though she didn’t seem entirely displeased.
‘A direct imperial family member, and the Crown Prince at that—his visit must boost her standing.’
Even so, Hestia had been close with the former Empress but, as if in reaction, had a strained relationship with the current Empress.
For the current Crown Prince to come and celebrate her birthday amidst this must feel like a widening of her recently narrowing influence.
‘If only Madame Hestia knew why the Crown Prince came.’
What a pity.
If she knew this was all thanks to me, her attitude toward me would surely change, but it’s such a shame I can’t tell her.
‘I should step back a bit to make it easier for the Crown Prince to approach.’
Even for a Crown Prince, approaching a woman who had recently gone through her fourth divorce wouldn’t be easy.
Glancing at the Crown Prince, Cliff, as he greeted Hestia, she soon turned and headed toward the terrace.
‘Being alone would probably make it easier for him to approach.’
Men’s curiosity tends to deepen when they’re alone with someone. But then—
‘Hm?’
A murmur rose behind her. The sound of someone’s footsteps grew closer. With a sinking feeling, Iris turned around.
“Your Highness…!”
She belatedly realized that the Crown Prince, Cliff, had approached within arm’s reach.
The handsome man, as if molded from gold, curved his eyes and gently extended his hand.
“Lady Iris, is it?”
He softly took her gloved hand and courteously kissed the back of it.
Flustered, Iris stammered for a moment.
“Tch, this is…”
Of course, if she got entangled with the Crown Prince, she’d attract the attention of the entire empire, but that wasn’t part of her strategy just yet.
‘I thought the Crown Prince would approach discreetly, mindful of those around him.’
Was the male protagonist this bold?
Recalling the novel, that wasn’t the case at all.
He was the type to thoroughly investigate his surroundings and approach cautiously.
“Your Highness? Do you know Iris?”
Madame Hestia approached with a different kind of bewildered expression.
Iris shook her head toward Hestia, subtly asking for help.
But the Crown Prince’s words were faster.
“I’ve wanted to meet her at least once, and running into her by chance made me so happy that I couldn’t help but be rude, Lady Iris.”
Somebody, do something about that bombshell of a statement!
The surrounding murmurs grew louder, and Iris felt her carefully laid plans to quietly secure a place by his side come crashing down.
*‘Did the Crown Prince eat something wrong?’*
“Your Highness, Iris seems flustered, so why don’t we have a chat for a moment?”
Noticing Iris’s plea for rescue, Hestia tried to naturally lead the Crown Prince away.
But the Crown Prince, still holding Iris’s hand, merely gazed at Hestia.
“No.”
“P-Pardon?”
At his firm words, Hestia looked dumbfounded, and the Crown Prince responded with a childlike smile.
“You’re going to nag me again, aren’t you? Am I wrong?”
“Oh, honestly. Your Highness is the same as ever…”
Hestia let out a hollow laugh, as if recalling the Crown Prince’s childhood, and touched her forehead. Then, shaking her head lightly, she spoke sternly.
“You should consider Iris’s feelings as well. Iris, go to the lounge for a bit.”
“Yes, Madame. Then I’ll just…”
Iris gently slipped her hand out of his grasp and briefly met his eyes. Even while talking with Hestia, his gaze didn’t waver from her, feeling rather persistent.
‘This can’t be some love-at-first-sight development.’
The Crown Prince in the original story was far too rational for that.
Perhaps her involvement had created some variable.
The original story hadn’t even started yet, and she hadn’t done much, yet a variable already? It wasn’t a good sign, but it wasn’t dangerously bad either.
‘If he shows significant interest first, I can naturally go along with it.’*
If Iris approached the Crown Prince first, she’d be mocked as a four-time divorcee acting shamelessly, but if a young man approached her first, that was a different story.
‘Either way, I’ll get criticized, but the latter is better.’
At least it would be easier to hide that she was scheming something.
Iris pretended to head to the lounge, while Madame Hestia took the Crown Prince, Cliff, to a room prepared for the guests.
‘Let’s see, that room would be…’
During her first marriage, she had gotten to know Hestia. As it was her first marriage and she was a commoner with little refinement, fitting into noble society had been challenging.
‘So I put in some effort to win Hestia over.’
The Empress’s faction was too haughty to accept a commoner like her, but Hestia was kind.
Hestia had viewed Iris, who tried to emulate noble behavior, positively and had acted as her patron to some extent.
To put it simply in one line:
Iris knew the layout of this mansion quite well. If it was that room, she could overhear some of their conversation from the western terrace.
Pretending to head to the lounge, Iris made her way to the western terrace, safely arriving, closing the door, and drawing the curtains.
Leaning against the terrace wall, she waited to hear what sounds might come through.
Soon, a creak—the sound of the neighboring terrace door opening.
“The weather’s nice. Shall we open the door?”
It was the Crown Prince’s voice. It seemed he had opened the terrace door, which was perfect for Iris.
“Phew, you gave me quite a shock just now, Your Highness.”
“Haha, it seems I startled my aunt too much.”
Though not related by blood, Iris knew the Crown Prince called Hestia this due to her close bond with the former Empress.
And because of that, she also knew Hestia cherished the Crown Prince dearly.
“Of course. Could it be you’ve taken an interest in Iris?”
“Is that not allowed?”
Hestia’s startled voice came through.
“Of course not! That girl—what kind of girl is she? She’s been divorced four times already. Who knows what flaws she might have?”
“…”
Listening to the voices drifting from the next terrace, Iris waited for the next words with a calm indifference.
Hestia was kind and had acted as her patron out of pity, but that was the extent of it.
‘A flawed commoner girl who can’t be paired with the precious Crown Prince.’
She wasn’t unaware of that fact, so it wasn’t something to be hurt over.
Nobles fundamentally believed there was an insurmountable wall between commoners and aristocracy.
“I heard the flaws were with her husbands.”
“True. They all divorced her due to infidelity.”
A *tsk tsk* sound of Hestia clicking her tongue followed.
“But Your Highness, think about it. Four husbands, all divorcing her for infidelity—there’s surely something wrong with Iris too.”
“It seems that’s how you see it, Aunt.”
Hestia’s deep sigh seemed to carry through the air, despite the Crown Prince’s nonchalant tone.
That was Hestia’s reaction, but what was the Crown Prince thinking to act this way?
Iris leaned in a bit closer to listen.
“Just… I need her for something.”
“Need her?”
Hestia’s voice was tinged with curiosity, and Iris waited for his next words. Then, an entirely unexpected response came from the Crown Prince’s mouth.
“Someone to love.”
Even without seeing him, Iris could somehow tell he was smiling broadly.
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By Anna 💓
