Ethelbert walked quicker than usual. His echoing footstep hinted at his frustration.

“You appear to be in a foul mood, Your Highness.”

“Yes, incredibly so.”

He didn’t bother to mask it from Brandon.

How long has it been since I last felt so irritated?

Now, he had no right to complain about Frederick.

Every time he passed by the servants and aristocrats of the royal castle, he was greeted politely—and even that was frustrating.

One noble lady he across even invited him to for tea. How irksome.

After leaving the royal castle, he waited for his carriage. At that moment, a familiar figure could be spotted in the garden that framed the path to the castle gate.

Although it was a distance away, there was no mistaking what he saw. Juliet was there, along with her maid, an escort, and Quentin. They seemed to be admiring the foliage.

“You’re lucky not to have stumbled across her.”

“Because I was coming. She seems to have been told not to go outside, but her display of selfishness is nothing new.”

Their recent encounter should’ve taught her a lesson, but apparently Quentin and everyone else did everything in their power to console her.

“This is fine.”

“Would you like to speak to her?”

“That’s unnecessary.”

Ethelbert fixed his gaze at Juliet. A magic circle hovered dozens of centimeters from Ethelbert’s right eye, and Juliet was reflected right in the center of it.

◇◇◇

After he got into his carriage, Ethelbert sat down and rested an elbow on the window sill, seeming to be in a daze. Seeing that Ethelbert was in a bad mood, Brandon, who sat across from him, smiled wryly. 

“That king sure is misguided. How can someone be that blind?”

Although Frederick complied with Ethelbert’s request in the end, it was clear that he wasn’t all that satisfied. Nevertheless, out of consideration to the complicated relationship between their two countries, and being mindful of Ethelbert’s perception, Frederick probably adhered to the request to avoid friction.

“Didn’t he lose his composure because Your Highness provoked him?”

“Do you think so?”

“I was scared back then.”

“You were right not to intervene.”

“I didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire.”

His outstanding attendant shrugged, to which Ethelbert shrugged in return before glancing out the window.

Due to the tyrannical era and the influence of The Hero, Frederick, the idea that those in power, including the royal family, should serve the people had been ingrained in the philosophy of the current Kingdom of Lymore. There existed a common understanding that the royal family should spend their lives making amends for the past era.

The idea itself was correct and Ethelbert had no intention of denying it, yet there was only so much one could do. After all, the sins of the tyrant weren’t the sins of Frederick, Charlotte, or their descendants.

As long as the burden was shared as evenly as possible, Ethelbert had no intention of meddling with another country’s affairs.

Precisely speaking, if the burden hadn’t solely been imposed on Charlotte, he wouldn’t have intervened directly. At best, he would have only felt sorry for her.

“—So, Your Highness, is Her Royal Highness the Second Princess…?”

“Indeed. I confirmed it again, just in case, and I was correct.”

Brandon asked about the results of the spell earlier, and Ethelbert told him that he was sure of it.

“It’s a pretty serious matter. While she may not be a magic-user, she’s not to be underestimated. Still, what a waste of potential.”

Ethelbert explained. He couldn’t possibly like Juliet less.

“What will you do?”

“Right now, we’ll wait and see. She doesn’t seem to be aware of it, and she’s a princess from another country. We have to be careful with our response.”

“Understood.”

Ethelbert’s eyes were more trustworthy than anyone’s else, so Brandon followed his judgment without complaint or doubt.

“Regardless, I feel sorry for her. With such a younger sister, there will always be a disparity between the perception of Her Royal Highness, the Crown Princess, and those around her. Not to mention, the way she is treated…”

“Even more so considering that only her father can resist the influence.”

Not only did she grow up without love, she was also deprived of her childhood. Saddled with endless responsibilities, one could imagine her exhaustion.

—so much so that she threw caution to the wind and revealed her true feelings to Ethelbert.

“With a doting father and such a constitution, there’s little surprise that the Second Princess would grow up like that.”

“A date with His Highness will be a nice change of pace for Her Royal Highness, the Crown Princess. You won’t be influenced by the Second Princess either.”

“That’s true.”

As Ethelbert thought of Charlotte, his lips naturally eased.

“If you are that fond of her, why don’t you just propose to her?”

Ethelbert blinked at the sudden suggestion. It was an uncharacteristically reckless one, considering it was coming from Brandon.

“Don’t be silly. She’s the successor of this kingdom. She also has a fiancé.”

“A fiancé who’s in love with his future sister-in-law, in a kingdom where Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess is forced to do all the work.”

That is certainly true.

Even if she were to endure everything and become queen, would there really be happiness for her?

With such concerns in mind, he recalled their encounter in the library. She was seriously thinking about the systems for the future of the kingdom.

“She hasn’t given up on this kingdom yet. As the successor, she’s working hard despite all the pain, so we can’t take her away.”

　　◇◇◇

—That’s what I said, but…

Ethelbert sighed as if troubled.

After recalling the unpleasant memory of when he visited Frederick as the Imperial Brother, he thought back to today’s date.

“It’s very fun being able to spend time freely without worrying about status.”

Charlotte seemed to have had the time of her life. She shared her impressions, and despite her attempts to be modest, she looked around with great interest, beaming the whole time.

If anything, it revealed how oppressed she was her entire life.

What was noteworthy to him was the expression she made when she looked into the mirror. The look of surprise and joy on her face when she saw that her hair and eye colors undergone a magical transformation—

—and conversely, the look of disappointment on her face when they reverted back to the colors she inherited from her father.

That was how much she despised Frederick.

Her sister didn’t care all that much about her responsibilities, often outright shirking them. Her father doted on that sister, while her fiancé defended her as if it were only natural.

To her, they were nothing but objects of loathing.

After all, those who should’ve been supporting her were instead increasing her burden by tenfold.

Charlotte had no allies in that kingdom—

—All because of Juliet.

Not a single soul in this kingdom knew the truth about why Juliet was utterly cherished by those around her. Not even Juliet herself.

Sitting on the sofa, Ethelbert somberly held a blue ribbon that he had forgotten to store in his magic tool.

“Your Highness.”

Then, Brandon called out to him, placing a cup of tea on the table.

“Are you thinking of proposing to her?”

“Brandon.”

“Are you aware of the kind of expression you had when you looked at Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess?”

When asked, Ethelbert rubbed his chin.

“I never realized I was an open book.”

“I’m well aware of how you usually interact with women.”

Nothing could fool that childhood friend of his.

A peculiar and ridiculous feeling was sprouting inside of him, one ready to bloom. That much he was aware of.

“—I want to take her away.”

Brandon’s eyes widened at his master’s true intentions.

The words were so shocking, they were unthinkable of Ethelbert who had very little interest in anything other than magic. Although the man seemed to have fallen at first sight with Charlotte, for it to reach that level…

His brother, the emperor, and his wife would be delighted if they were to learn of it.

“It’s more serious than I thought.”

“But these are just my feelings, and I’m not going to impose them on her.”

“His Imperial Highness, the Imperial Brother, the Genius Magician who is always full of confidence, is hesitating for once?”

Ethelbert, who was thinking about Charlotte, wasn’t in the mood to reprimand his teasing servant. Instead, he focused on the palm of his hand.

“I know of several methods for improving her current circumstances. I have less than four months left to study abroad, during which I have to figure out which option to choose and move forward with. But if this kingdom continues to be a detriment for her…”

As he resolved himself, he tightly clenched his fist.

---

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***T/N: Ethelbert almost made his descent into Yandere territory there.

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