Chapter 21
When she couldn’t hear what they were saying, she could dismiss it with mild indifference—Someone’s arguing, I suppose.
But once she listened closely, it was a quarrel she absolutely could not ignore.
“Move aside at once!”
“My apologies. We did not receive any notice that a guest would be arriving.”
“Of course you didn’t! I came personally after hearing that the Young Master had returned!”
To shamelessly boast about pounding on someone else’s gate without permission—
Isn’t she practically chopping at it with an axe?
Even Lumina, who considered herself fairly shameless, found herself impressed.
“I, Arabel Piaget Epagonizomai Philoneikia von Rembrana, have arrived. Should you not naturally welcome me? If you open the gate now, I may graciously forgive you for not prostrating yourselves at once.”
It was the sort of full name that would leave a person breathless as if they had just run a marathon.
Princess Arabel must exercise regularly.
She recited it in one breath without pausing.
That explanation should suffice, shouldn’t it?
With that expression, Arabel stared confidently at the gatekeeper.
“No.”
But the reply was firm.
Every one of the gatekeepers looked fierce—huge as boulders and bearing scars that hinted at dangerous pasts.
An ordinary person would have tucked their tail and fled.
But it seemed the word “give up” did not exist in Princess Arabel’s dictionary.
Instead, she looked utterly appalled, as though something unthinkable had occurred.
The woman presumed to be her maid soothed her and said,
“Her Highness has come personally. Is this not exceedingly rude? No matter how powerful a ducal house may be, before royalty, all nobles are the same.”
“For us, the Duke’s orders take priority.”
The inflexible answer returned.
Frowning, the maid demanded,
“Then summon the Duke.”
“The Duke is currently absent.”
“When the tiger is away, the fox plays king. How fitting.”
The gatekeepers, who had merely been loyally following the Duke’s orders like fools, had suddenly become foxes.
“If the Duke is absent, then summon the Young Master and inform him that Her Highness has arrived! Surely you are not planning to lie and say he is absent as well?”
“…Understood.”
Unable to withstand the pressure, one gatekeeper went to inform Karayan.
Watching from a short distance away, Lumina turned to Olivia.
“Is it true that Her Highness is engaged to the Young Master?”
Arabel Piaget Epagonizomai Philoneikia von Rembrana.
The youngest princess of the Rembrana Imperial Family.
The Emperor had only three children, and Arabel was the only Legion among them—making her quite a celebrity in the Empire.
But I’ve never heard that she was engaged to the Young Master of House Hart—even in my memories from my past life.
It was a union between the imperial family and a ducal house.
There would have been a tremendous uproar. It was strange that she knew nothing about it.
Olivia shook her head.
“As far as I know, Princess Arabel is actively pushing for an engagement, but nothing has been finalized.”
“But she just called herself his fiancée.”
“That is Her Highness’s one-sided claim.”
Is that even possible?
Then again, judging by her overbearing personality, it seemed entirely possible.
Princess Arabel was already fuming again.
Curious to see how things would unfold, Lumina remained where she was and watched.
And then—
Their eyes met.
“Hmm?”
Arabel’s sharp gaze swept over Lumina before she demanded of the gatekeeper,
“Who is that little girl? Judging by her attire, she does not seem to belong to the household. Is she a guest?”
While she was left stamping her feet at the gate, someone else was comfortably watching from inside. She seemed furious about it.
The gatekeeper glanced at Lumina and Olivia.
“She is the Duke’s ward.”
“Ward? I’ve heard nothing of that.”
A spark flashed in Arabel’s eyes.
“You there, standing like an idiot. Come here.”
“Her Highness commands you. Why do you not approach at once?”
Arabel beckoned, and her maid added a sharp rebuke.
“What will you do?” Olivia asked, her voice strangely delighted.
Well… this isn’t Olivia’s problem.
It’s mine.
Accepting reality quickly, Lumina allowed Olivia to support her as she approached.
Arabel carefully observed her slight limp.
“Greetings, Your High—”
“Is your leg naturally like that?”
Cut off mid-greeting.
The rudeness was astonishing. A flicker of irritation rose in Lumina’s chest, but she did not show it.
Her opponent was royalty.
If she were told to kneel, she would have to kneel.
“No. I was in an accident recently and regret presenting such an unsightly appearance before Your Highness.”
“An accident?”
Arabel frowned.
“Yes. A balcony railing collapsed—”
“How negligent must the servants be for such a thing to occur? That would never happen in the Imperial Palace.”
She interrupted again, muttering in displeasure.
She looked strangely agitated.
Perhaps realizing it, she quickly changed the subject.
“Anyway. How did you become the Duke’s ward?”
Lumina could not reveal that she was a healing Legion.
Then what could she boast of that would justify becoming the Duke’s ward?
“From the looks of you, you possess no exceptional ability.”
Correct. She had none.
Lumina was simply Lumina.
“You look rather bland. Not interesting at all. Are you a Legion as well?”
“No.”
She answered quickly to eliminate suspicion.
“Hm.”
Arabel narrowed her eyes and scanned Lumina from head to toe.
Then she smiled.
That doesn’t look good.
With a wicked glint in her eyes, Arabel raised her chin arrogantly.
“I shall grant you the special opportunity to have tea with me.”
“Hurry and express your gratitude! Tea time with royalty is an honor you will never receive again in your life. Lead the way!”
Arabel and her maid worked seamlessly together.
Though uninvited, they placed immense pressure on Lumina to comply.
She intends to use me to enter the estate.
Compared to Lucius, who had the nerve to leave royalty waiting at the gate, Lumina was nothing more than a speck of dust.
She could easily be blown away by the princess’s skirts.
There was no benefit in earning the imperial family’s displeasure.
“…Yes. Thank you.”
In the end, Lumina agreed.
Now Arabel was not the Duke’s guest, but Lumina’s.
The gatekeepers reluctantly stepped aside.
Olivia whispered into Lumina’s ear,
“Shall I call the Young Master?”
“You already sent someone.”
“He likely won’t come. The Young Master avoids Her Highness.”
“Then wouldn’t it be pointless?”
“You never know. He is the only one who could drive her out. I will inform him.”
With a wink, Olivia departed to summon Karayan.
“You have difficulty walking. Ride in my carriage so we may proceed inside.”
Arabel graciously allowed Lumina into her carriage.
As it crossed the garden, an awkward silence filled the air.
“What is your name?”
“Lumina Langshus, eldest daughter of the Count of Langshus.”
“Lumina Langshus? I’ve never heard of you.”
Her tone dripped with disdain.
The Langshus family might not rival the imperial or ducal houses, but they were respectable in wealth and reputation.
That was precisely why relatives had swarmed like starving hounds.
But Arabel was intent on crushing Lumina immediately.
“Your house must be insignificant. Today will be a great honor for your parents. Be sure to boast of it.”
“I hope they would have considered it an honor. They passed away recently.”
Lumina smiled as she replied.
It was a polite, hollow answer.
Arabel flinched.
“Oh. That is unfortunate.”
For a moment, Lumina thought Arabel possessed some humanity after all.
But—
“What is your relationship with the Young Master of House Hart?”
“Nothing in particular.”
“Truly? You’ve never met him?”
“No.”
She had met Karayan twice, but she sensed it was best to deny it.
Arabel smiled in satisfaction.
Perhaps because Lumina was close to her age, she felt an unspoken rivalry.
If she knew the Duke had proposed I take the fiancée’s place, she’d grab my hair on the spot.
Arabel having humanity? Cancel that thought.
“We’ve arrived, Your Highness.”
“Good. Was it Romeo? Let us continue our conversation inside.”
Romeo?
Arabel misnamed her without a second thought.
That’s a man’s name…
Without Olivia, Lumina was assisted by Arabel’s maid, Eva.
The estate maids tried to step in, but Eva insisted on helping instead.
She’s plotting something.
That suspicion was quickly proven true.
The moment they entered the drawing room—
Push.
Thud.
Lumina fell hard to the floor.
“Oh my. I’m terribly sorry.”
A ducal maid entering with a tea trolley rushed to her side.
As if waiting for the moment, Eva shoved the teapot from the trolley.
Crash.
It fell near Lumina’s legs.
Fortunately, it did not shatter—but hot tea soaked her completely.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
“My hand slipped. How careless of me.”
The reply was brazen.
Thankfully, the tea had been prepared at a moderate temperature, considering Lumina’s youth.
Had it been boiling, it would have been disastrous.
“In this state, tea time with Her Highness would be impossible. You should wash up first.”
Tea dripped from Lumina as she looked up at Eva.
Eva was smiling.
It was unmistakably a sneer.
So this was your plan.
Arabel’s goal had been to enter the estate.
Now that she had achieved it, discarding the tool was only natural.
Lumina’s gaze darkened.
There was a limit to how much she would endure simply because someone was royalty.
She may not have been able to refuse the tea invitation—
—but she was no fool who would sit quietly in a situation like this.
