Akuyaku Reijō (Kari) No Funtō - Chapter 4

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 　Behind Sophie, in a corner of the dance hall, a romantic scene was unfolding.

The star of the show was, you guessed it, Miss Charlotte. Her fingers crawl on His Highness Garrett’s chest, leaning on him sweetly. Her seductive gesture could hardly be described as that of a 15-year old girl in her lowest grade, and she was closely following his step, huddling close to him as if they were a couple.

Despite the end of the song and the people around them changing partners, they made no movement of separating.
When His Highness Garrett spoke to her with embarrassment, Miss Charlotte’s cheeks flushed red and she buried her face in his chest.

I don’t know what he said, but judging from His Highness Garrett’s reaction, it seems to have had the opposite effect on her.
While struggling to tear off Miss Charlotte from clinging onto him, they drifted into a second dance that should only be reserved for his fiancée.

How bothersome …

This was the impression I had the moment I witnessed the scene.

Just as I was beginning to believe that I successfully avoided the confrontation, this scene began immediately afterwards. What annoyed me was that I had been so careless.

Emma, my maid servant, and “Peridot”, had been collecting information from her fellow servants, and they all declared Miss Charlotte as a “crazy saintess candidate” and “a compulsive liar.” There’s no way she’s normal in her school life or her personal life. It was naive of me to believe Miss Charlotte had any good sense.

Usually, you can only dance with the same person once. The person with whom you dance two songs can only be your fiancé, and only when you become husband and wife are you allowed to dance a third song. In other words, them going into the second song in front of me, his fiancé, was a lot like challenging me.
His Highness Garrett seemed to be in a state of shock, so I can only assume that he was unwilling to leave the room, but what would a prince do if he couldn’t handle a woman properly?

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They seemed to have exploited the orchestra’s blind spot. The conductor, who had finally noticed the unsettling atmosphere, showed a moment of panic.
I had known the conductor from dance lessons. He looked around the hall, recognized me, and gestured towards me if I wanted to stop the performance.

I shook my head lightly.
“Stopping the music will only draw unwanted attention. There’s no need to make things worse. Just pretend you don’t notice.”

At the same time as the wordless instructions were conveyed to the conductor, the candidates for His Highness Garrett’s entourage casually formed a tight circle around him.
It was Evan Hawke, the legitimate son of the Deputy Commander of the Magic Division, Brandon Garcia, the third son of the Assistant Chief of the Royal Guard, and David Howard, the legitimate son of the Marquis Howard family and my brother.

Is it a cover to keep the scandal to a minimum, or is it to join Miss Charlotte?

If it was the former, they would only be blamed for their failure to protect the prince and avoid the situation.
If it was the latter, however, they would be given the disgraceful title of being idiots who were so absorbed in their love lives that they couldn’t even judge the situation properly.
Either way, their reputation would be ruined.

I felt sorry for the dance partners who were caught up in the situation. Looking at them, I could see that all of the ladies were pale … I hope the poor girls don’t collapse.

Incidentally, my reputation, which I was analyzing from the sidelines, was also at stake.

If I fail here, my reputation in social circles will be ruined.
If you are perceived as a woman who can’t even argue with someone who is openly challenging you, it will be difficult to survive in the cutthroat social world. It is obvious that you will become the target of ridicule and insidious torment.

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If I’m planning to retreat to my territory, leaving it alone would seem like the better choice, but for better or worse, I am the kind of person who buys the fights that are sold to me. (==she’ll take on any challenge)

However, it would be disrespectful to blame His Highness Garrett, who is a member of the royal family, and I have a feeling that things will only get worse if I complain to Miss Charlotte.

In short, because of Miss Charlotte’s selfish behavior, she has put herself in a situation that can only be detrimental to everyone.
Truly—truly! — Wholeheartedly! — So troublesome!

After the second song of enchantment, the ladies who had entrusted their hands to Master Evan, Master Brandon and David scattered away like spiders.
The group surrounded His Highness Garrett and Miss Charlotte and took them out of the dance circle.

Miss Charlotte’s flowery face flushed lightly.
Her rose-gold hair was elegantly braided, and she wore a dress given to her by His Highness Prince Garrett, making her an unquestionably beautiful girl.
With a melted expression on her face, as if she was at the peak of happiness, her slender fingers firmly grasped the sleeves of His Highness Garrett’s attire.

There, waiting for me, was my fiancée.
Next to me was Samantha, Evan’s fiancée, and Sophie, who was actually in love with Brandon, standing by to support me.

This is a small social scene. The adults are quietly watching to see how the parties involved will settle this ugly matter.

I never thought I’d have to take such a practical test on my sunny graduation day ……!

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Grinding my teeth at my naiveté in only envisioning a one-sided condemnation event, I approached them with a soft smile.

“That was a lovely dance, you two.
I saw that the sleeves of Baroness Silva’s dress got caught in the buttons of His Highness’ garment. This kind of trouble will be a lasting memory of this day.”

[Secondary Voice] (hidden meaning)
“You’ve become the center of attention.
Moreover, you stick together too enthusiastically. You’re too close. I’m sure everyone will remember this.”

If the condemnation event occurs here, I will be able to protect my reputation and break off the engagement as planned. The social reputation of His Highness Garrett and Miss Charlotte is of no concern to me.
If he wants to handle this situation peacefully and try to get rid of the scandal, that’s fine too. I will help end the engagement at a later date.

――― What do you want to do?

I stared straight at His Highness Garrett’s blue eyes.

His Highness Garrett was visibly relieved by my line about pretending it was an accident. It seems that he knows where and when to hold a condemnation event or an annulment.
I’d like to say that I don’t want to let my relief show, but now is not the right time.

“Yes, I understand. I don’t want to ruin the mood of the occasion … I’m glad I didn’t ruin Miss Charlotte’s dress.”

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　His Highness Garrett seems to have decided to follow along. If he had second voice, it would be “I didn’t mean to do this either.”

I’ll hit the final nail just in case it drifts to the wrong direction.

“But I’m jealous that you’ve danced twice. This time it was due to circumstances, but please don’t do it again, okay?”

[Secondary Voice]
“Disrespecting your fiancé in public is not a good idea. Please back off here, will you?”

As expected of a member of the royal family, he had been my fiancée since I entered the school. He seemed to have understood what I was trying to convey between the lines.

With this, the script for the ad-lib was completed. His Royal Highness Garrett played the role of consoling his fiancée, who was in the throes of cute jealousy, and they made up. The scandalous conversation is replaced by a funny quarrel between the fiancées.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a monkey show or not, as long as it’s well presented. The situation should have been settled.

His Highness Garrett opened his lips thinly before getting cut off.
At that moment, a young woman’s clear voice echoed through the dance hall.

“It’s too late to flirt with him now.
Marquess Rebecca Howard! His Highness Garrett intends to break off his engagement with you!” (the audacity)

……Wow…….