Chapter 202: The Otome Game 2

Crown Prince Riley's opening address and the speech by Prince Roland, whom he had introduced, came to an end. The prince, it seemed, would remain here until the nobles had finished their greetings. This, too, was just like in the otome game. Liliana sighed inwardly, careful not to be noticed. But even in her gloom, time marched on.

Though no one had prompted them, one high-ranking noble made a move, and soon, a stream of people began to gather before Riley and Liliana. It went without saying that, by unspoken agreement, those of higher rank went first.

Among the nobles of the Kingdom of Slibegrad, the three great ducal houses held the highest status. Thus, Clyde, who had become the head of the Clark duchy, was the first to offer his greetings. As they knew each other well, the atmosphere was somewhat casual, though respect was shown. The Ealdred duchy did not offer a formal greeting, as Austin, who was of the same generation, was participating as a royal guard. After Lucian, the heir to the Kennys margraviate, gave his speech with his usual nonchalant air, the three people who stepped forward next made Liliana's tension naturally rise.

The otome game's heroine, with her light pink hair and orange eyes, Emilia Navy. Escorting her was Margrave Beverly Calvert. She was the only woman in the kingdom to have inherited a title, a true amazon. Yet her appearance was that of a court lady, and her beauty, which was said to have captivated all the men of high society in her youth, had not yet faded.

And looking uncomfortable behind the two of them was Emilia's biological father, Baron Navy.

"Good day, Your Highness Prince Roland. It is a great honor to meet you. I am Margrave Beverly Calvert. I am deeply overjoyed by your visit to our country."

As Beverly curtsied, Prince Roland nodded with a gracious smile. It seemed Roland had already heard of Margrave Calvert and showed no surprise that she was a woman. The Margrave, letting out a small smile at this, turned her gaze to Riley.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, I have heard from Angus that your Investiture Ceremony concluded without a hitch. I am truly delighted."

"Margrave, it is good to see you are as well as ever. I thank you for your warm words."

At Margrave Calvert's words, whispered like a gentle breeze, a tension spread through the surrounding crowd. Until now, Margrave Calvert had not publicly declared her stance. But by calling Riley "Your Highness the Crown Prince," she had, in effect, declared her support for him.

Riley, understanding this, replied calmly. But Beverly's gaze did not turn to Liliana at all. Riley gestured to Liliana, who was sitting beside him.

"Lady Liliana, this is Margrave Beverly Calvert. Margrave, this is Lady Liliana Alexandra of the Clark duchy, and my fiancée."

Only then did Beverly's gaze turn to Liliana. Without flinching in the slightest under her assessing gaze, Liliana offered a smile. It seemed to have been the correct response, as the look in Beverly's eyes softened slightly.

"It is a pleasure to meet you for the first time. I am Beverly Calvert. I usually remain in the borderlands, but I have heard much of you."

"The pleasure is all mine, Margrave. I hope the rumors were good ones. I, too, have heard of your military exploits. If it is not too much trouble, I had hoped to hear the details directly from you."

"Oh, my."

At Liliana's reply of, I'm sure they are wonderful stories, Beverly's eyes widened slightly.

When people first met Beverly, they invariably praised her beauty. But the girl sitting there as the Crown Prince's fiancée made no mention of the Margrave's appearance, and instead said she wanted to hear of her tales of valor. And there was no falsehood in her expression.

For Beverly, who had once navigated high society and then the borderlands after her marriage, seeing through the heart of a young girl was a simple matter. This time, a genuine smile broke across her face.

"Yes, I would be delighted to have the opportunity to speak with the future Crown Princess."

At once, the nobles behind them began to murmur. It was as if Margrave Beverly Calvert had explicitly stated her support for Liliana as Riley's fiancée.

—With this, have I reduced the chances of my ruin somewhat?

Liliana mused inwardly, tuning out the Baron's speech, which he gave at Beverly's prompting.

Of course, what she had said to Beverly was from the heart. Originally, Beverly, a mere lady, had no knowledge of swordsmanship. And yet, after her husband's death, she now managed the territory as Margrave Calvert and even led the Calvert Knights.

Some nobles spread rumors that Beverly was a mere figurehead, and that the steward handled the actual duties, but Liliana knew that she was the Margrave in both name and reality. And she understood what had pushed her to that position and allowed her to command the fierce and unruly knights.

—What exquisite adornments.

Glancing at the Margrave's attire and accessories, Liliana let out an inward sigh of admiration. The quality of her clothing was slightly inferior to Liliana's dress, but in terms of monetary value, it was far more expensive.

Of course, she wouldn't say her words had been entirely without calculation. If Margrave Calvert, Emilia's backer, decided to support Liliana, then unless something drastic happened, the path for Emilia to become Crown Princess would be closed.

Having thought that far, Liliana glanced at Emilia, who was watching the exchange between the three of them with a tense expression. At the same time, Beverly also turned her face toward Emilia and gestured for her to step forward.

Though Emilia looked extremely nervous, her movements were graceful. In the otome game, Emilia's perspective was the player's, so this was the first time Liliana had seen her objectively.

"This is Emilia of the Navy barony, with whom I am well acquainted. Though he is a baron, he was granted the title by the previous king in recognition of his military service."

At the word "baron," some of the nobles waiting behind them narrowed their eyes menacingly. The Baron, who noticed, paled, but Emilia, who seemed to be overwhelmed with nervousness, didn't notice at all, and Beverly remained composed.

"I am Emilia, daughter of the Navy barony."

Emilia curtsied as she said this, but when she raised her head, she found the gentle smile of Crown Prince Riley looking at her and blushed. Riley, unconcerned, opened his mouth as if he had remembered something.

"I see. The Navy barony, that reminds me, there was a convent nearby. I believe that was the place I visited with Lord Roland for an inspection."

"Ah, that place."

Roland, who had been watching in silence, responded immediately when Riley brought him into the conversation. It seemed the diplomatic visit had been a memorable one for the prince as well.

"Edith was there too. We were supposed to see the winery, but we were shown something called patchwork for the first time. It was a wonderful thing. In the Empire, we are trying to introduce it to promote the development of regions where neither agriculture nor industry has taken root."

The large patchwork hanging on the wall was too beautiful to be called a mere collection of scraps. Riley too had marveled at it, calling it a work of art.

Liliana remembered that convent as well. If she recalled correctly, the monk who had brought the art of patchwork to that convent had transferred from a convent in Margrave Calvert's territory. It was true that both the Navy barony and the convent they had visited that day were near the Calvert margraviate. But Liliana had not realized the two were so close.

Meanwhile, Emilia, who had been addressed so unexpectedly, widened her eyes in surprise, but her face soon broke into a happy smile.

"I had no idea you knew of it. I am so happy. We also make patchwork in our domain during the agricultural off-season. Sometimes, the women of the village and I make large pieces and sell them to merchants."

At these words, so unbecoming of a high-ranking noble, the nobles waiting behind them began to murmur. Few looked at her with open contempt, but not many had a favorable impression of Emilia.

The Baron, who could feel the unfriendly atmosphere from the surrounding nobles, grew even paler, while Margrave Beverly Calvert's eyes twinkled with amusement. And Emilia, unaware that she had just dropped a bombshell, seemed to have only just realized that she had said too much. She hastily apologized.

"I-I'm so sorry…! I spoke out of turn."

And Riley and Roland, who were used to the emotion-masking expressions of high-ranking nobles, were taken aback by the girl's guileless expression. But they didn't seem to be displeased. That was only natural. Emilia was not trying to flatter them; she was simply nervous and excited in the presence of noble royalty and an imperial prince. Her speech might have been a bit casual, but for the daughter of a low-ranking noble, it was rather well-composed. And it was clear that she was proud of her domain and cherished its people.

For Riley in particular, who was devoted to his duty as Crown Prince, Emilia's attitude was surprising, but not unpleasant. Had she not known this was the plot of an otome game, even Liliana would have had a favorable impression.

Watching this from the side, Liliana resisted the urge to sigh in exasperation.

(This is the power of an otome game heroine. It's not exact, but the general flow is almost the same.)

Liliana didn't think this world was exactly the same as the otome game. If it were, her father, Abram, would not have died, and Royal Knights' Commander Hegarty, Second Squad Deputy Commander Eden, and the sorcerers Ben Draco and Petra Muirulainen would not have appeared. But that didn't mean everything was different from the game.

The fact that all the love interests were present at this tea party was proof of that. As long as Ben Draco was alive, she had hoped that at least Belasta and Tania would not participate, and Clyde, who had lost his father and inherited the title, was not originally scheduled to attend the tea party.

Taking advantage of the moment of speechlessness from the surprised Riley and Roland, Liliana offered a gentle smile and a kind reply.

"Please do not worry yourself. I have heard that the Navy barony, though small, is a very rich land. I am sure it is not only your father's, but also your own devotion that is bearing fruit."

This was not in the flow of the otome game.

Originally, at this point, Liliana was supposed to glare at Emilia. Seeing this, Margrave Calvert would become wary of Liliana and would later support Emilia and the love interests.

Meanwhile, Prince Roland would take an interest in Emilia. But as he was the prince of a neighboring country, he couldn't just proceed with her route. By readily agreeing to Prince Roland's request to exchange information on patchwork, Emilia could secure his route. Furthermore, Riley, who, like the prince, had taken an interest in and a liking to Emilia, would praise her for her love of her domain. In other words, the words Liliana had just spoken were originally Riley's lines.

As if struck, Emilia turned her head toward Liliana, her eyes slightly moist. At Liliana's bright smile, Emilia returned a bashful one, as if overcome with emotion. "—Thank you." Her expression was exactly that of an otome game heroine, and she looked utterly adorable.

—She's surprisingly cute.

Marianne also had a cute face, but Liliana's maid was older and had a more mature, calm, and quiet impression. In contrast, Emilia had the air of a cheerful and cute girl. She would surely show a frank and bright smile in front of close friends and family.

Despite Emilia being one of the causes of her impending doom, Liliana was observing her with a strange sense of detachment when she felt a tug on her sleeve and turned her head to the side. Riley, who was sitting next to her, was still smiling, but he whispered "Sasha" with a somewhat troubled expression. Liliana tilted her head, wondering what was wrong, but she was distracted by Prince Roland's words and couldn't hear the rest of what he had to say.

"That is a wonderful thing. If you would be so kind, please tell me about the initiatives in your domain. If there is anything that can be adopted in my country, I would very much like to do so."

A murmur went through the crowd. The nobles who had been looking at her with hostility now seemed to have a newfound respect for Margrave Calvert. In other words, they must have realized that the reason royalty and an imperial prince would speak to a mere baron's daughter in this way was because Margrave Calvert held that much power. Whether that was true or an overestimation, it was easy to imagine that those who flocked to power would soon be gathering around Beverly.

And Emilia, too, was speechless.

For her, a baron's daughter, just receiving warm words from the daughter of one of the most prestigious families in the Kingdom of Slibegrad, the Clark duchy, was like a dream. And now, the prince of a neighboring country was personally asking to hear her story. She reflexively opened her mouth to refuse, but she seemed to have second thoughts.

"If I can be of service, anything you ask."

"Is that so?"

The corners of Prince Roland's mouth turned up. And Margrave Calvert, too, smiled in satisfaction, if only for a moment. Seeing this, Liliana furrowed her brow slightly.

(Could it be that Margrave Calvert wishes to make personal contact with Prince Roland?)

It wasn't an impossibility. Margrave Calvert, like Margrave Kennys, was constantly under threat of attack from the neighboring country. It seemed natural that she would want to establish a connection with Prince Roland here to maintain a good relationship with the neighboring country in some way.

And so, Margrave Calvert finally took Emilia and the Baron and departed. After that, other high-ranking nobles and their children came to offer their greetings, but none left as strong an impression as Emilia and her party.

—-

Toc

Chapter 203