More than two months had passed since the graduation party.

After graduating from the academy, Charlotte had to assume full-time responsibility as the crown princess, and her workload more than doubled. Thanks to this, she continued to suffer from sleep deprivation every day.

As for her marriage, Quentin planned to wait until he graduated from university, so even though Charlotte was no longer a student, she remained unwed.

The atmosphere in the royal castle had been tense lately. Although everyone tried to act innocent in front of Charlotte, they couldn’t fool her keen and intelligent eyes.

At any rate, the source of the strange tension was none other than her.

As she looked over some documents at her desk as usual, there was a knock. The door opened before she could respond.

“Sister…”

Juliet was there, tears in her eyes. Instead of chasing her away, Charlotte urged her to sit on the sofa in the reception area. Charlotte moved to the sofa across from her and sat down.

“Why do you look so pale?”

“Lord George… he got married…”

Juliet spoke, her voice trembling. In truth, Charlotte already knew.

Not only were Juliet’s advances in vain, George also suddenly got married. His wife was the daughter of a wealthy family whom he met through work.

“Is that so? You really should give up then. You can’t make passes on a married man.”

In spite of this, even though she was the one who orchestrated George’s marriage, Charlotte reacted as if this were her first time hearing it.

She was the first to learn that George had fallen in love with his business partner. The lady also seemed interested in George, but she was also a little hesitant. After all, the smuggling incident of the Count of Elms family was still fresh in her mind. So, taking advantage of her reputation as the crown princess, Charlotte sent a letter to her house, saying that George was a wonderful man and would make a perfect husband.

It wasn’t for getting Juliet to give up, but to shake her.

“Being constantly followed around by someone you don’t like is just stressful and would be extremely rude, don’t you think?”

“…I agree…”

Charlotte couldn’t help but smile at Juliet’s obvious deep disappointment. She changed the subject, saying, “By the way…

“Have you heard about Mick yet?”

“Sir Mick…?”

Have had not heard anything, Juliet asked curiously.

“Mick cut off Malcolm Elms’ right hand and stabbed Rex Elms’ left leg.”

“S-Sir Mick did… to Lord Malcolm and Lord Rex…?”

Juliet drew a sharp breath, turning blue. Her hands trembled as she covered her mouth.

Mick was Juliet’s royal guard. When Juliet’s carriage was attacked, he lost his right hand to a magic tool while his leg was paralyzed. After the incident, he could no longer serve as a knight. Thus, he received compensation and returned to his hometown.

The day before yesterday, Mick suddenly visited the dungeon where Malcolm and Rex were imprisoned and committed the aforementioned crimes, leading to his capture.

The reason he had been allowed to approach their cells was because the knight on guard was his friend. The knight even helped Mick get his revenge, so he was in custody as well.

“Why would he do such a thing…?”

“I’m sure he can’t forgive them. Not only did he have to give up his path as a knight, he even lost his hand.”

“But he didn’t say anything when I asked him…”

When Juliet told the knights that she wanted to spare the lives of the attackers and the Elms brothers, they agreed. That was a fact.

“Well, obviously? You’re a princess. How are those knights supposed to disagree with your decision? Especially since you’d already received the king’s approval.”

Charlotte deliberately sighed, wondering if Juliet couldn’t even realize that much.

“It’s because you couldn’t sympathize with his feelings. You sympathize with criminals, even condoning excessive crimes out of kindness, and distorting punishment that should’ve been given. Mick was the one who suffered the real harm, not you, yet you asked for a reduction in the criminals’ sentences, ultimately forcing your feelings on him.”

Juliet didn’t know about Mick’s motive for taking revenge on the Elms brothers. His sister’s suicide.

Mick had been raised by his only family—his sister. His sister opposed his becoming a knight, so he ran away from home to become one. Since then, he hadn’t contacted her for about five years.

Amidst all this, he lost his right hand and his left leg was paralyzed. Then, when he returned to his hometown, he discovered that his sister had taken her own life.

The reason was because she’d been abandoned by the man she was dating.

Her brother leaving had left her emotionally distraught, and she started dating a man who offered her solace. However, he wasn’t very serious about her. So, when he suddenly left her and cut off contact, she committed suicide out of shock.

The man who had toyed with his sister was none other than Malcolm Elms. He ended their relationship after meeting Juliet, so from his point of view, it was just a settlement.

Mick’s hometown was close to the territory of Elms, and it seemed that his sister met Malcolm by chance.

His own injuries and his sister’s suicide. His hatred for the Elms family, who were involved in both, grew. Thus, he had chosen the path of revenge.

However, Juliet hadn’t yet been told of the details of the background, so Charlotte continued to attack her.

“Once again, your actions lead to someone else suffering and creating a new crime. You’ll have to bear this guilt forever.”

As Charlotte quietly lowered her voice as if to emphasize the severity of the situation, Juliet’s face became even paler. She wrapped her arms around herself, shaking terribly.

“I’m sorry, but I still have work to do. If you want someone to comfort you, go back to your room and cling to His Majesty or Quentin.”

When she stood up with those words, Juliet looked up with a lonely expression on her face.

“Older Sister…?”

“You should hurry and leave.”

Charlotte left the room, dismissing Juliet’s pleading gaze with a smile.

As she walked down the hallway, Curtis and Quentin approached her. When Quentin saw Charlotte, he sternly narrowed his eyes.

His eyes were filled with hostility.

“Greetings to Her Highness the Crown Princess.”

Quentin had already met her today, so there was nothing special about it. Meanwhile, Curtis bowed and greeted her. This was business as usual.

“Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Thank you for your hard work. Were you on your way somewhere?”

“I was thinking of going to the library, but with Quentin here, it seems unnecessary. You came here looking for Juliet, right? She’s in my room. Can you go and retrieve her?”

She left her room because she didn’t want to be with Juliet. Thus, if Quentin were going to take her, there was no need to go all the way to the library.

Quentin coldly replied, “I understand,” and headed towards Charlotte’s room. As she watched him leave, she called out to Curtis.

“Your son is bad at hiding his true feelings.”

“Huh…?”

“He’s showing his emotions too much. Maybe you should be a bit stricter? It’s obvious he’s doing it on purpose. I’m honestly shocked.”

Curtis stared and stiffened.

Charlotte smiled at his confused gaze.

“Don’t worry. I won’t run away.”

“Your Highness—”

“I’m looking forward to tomorrow, Prime Minister Sargent.”

Her smile was as innocent as a child waiting for a present.

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