Why Are You So Obsessed With Rejecting Affection? - Chapter 57

“But, you said earlier it was a princess?”

“She was thought to be a prince but she’s definitely a princess.”

It was said that the prince died but in actuality, a princess was born at that time.

Someone had deceived everyone.

A young princess everyone thought was dead, returning to the palace after six years. The high priest bowed deeply, foreshadowing the uproar it would cause in the empire.

“We will prepare it as soon as possible.”

“Please, and I want you to keep this a secret until the princess enters.”

There was no guarantee that those people who stole the baby wouldn’t do anything at the spiritual power verification process, and the process could be potentially dangerous.

「‘You promised me you will bring back my little brother! If Father Emperor can’t do it, I will bring him myself!’」

(T/N: Because Lucas still didn’t know he has a little sister rather than a little brother, I used the pronoun ‘he’.)

Lucas was furious after learning that he had lost his little brother and He (the Emperor) came back empty handed; He (the Emperor) couldn’t refute it.

‘I have to get my daughter back from the Grand Duke.’

He was forced to return to the Imperial Palace for that reason.

He wanted to trace the process of losing his daughter and then hold her in his arms again.

‘I’ll have to call the secret investigation team.’

This time, he will check everything carefully himself.

The Emperor stared at the retreating back of the high priest who was leaving after bowing goodbye and exiting the audience room with a gloomy expression on his face.

6. How to convey happiness

Due to my birthday being right around the corner, Wyndert and Deleign seized me right after lunch.

I decided to plan how to throw the party with these two who boasted that they would hold it following my tastes. Of course, it wasn’t a very productive time; in reality, we just checked just how different our tastes were.

“Who do you want to invite to the party?”

We started with deciding who will be the guests. While I was still contemplating Wyndert’s question, Deleign already increased the number of guests by a hundredfold.

“Let‘s summon all the vassals of the Grand Duke and have a big party. Let’s open a festival for the people too! Party! Festival! Let’s have everyone celebrate!”

“If it is only with our family…. What did you say?”

While imagining a scenario wherein a lot of people I have never met before are greeting me with ‘Happy birthday, Grand Princess!’, my body unconsciously trembled.

“Big brother, I would like to keep it simple with just our family.”

“But it‘s Shushu‘s first birthday. And because of this, let’s show everyone that Shushu has come to stay with us!”

So, do you want to announce my arrival and maybe my death at my birthday party all at once?

I narrowed my eyes and looked at Deleign.

“It would be nice if a birthday party like that is even remotely about the actual person’s birthday.”

“Meooooow.”

As if agreeing with me, Miya cried out while wagging her tail gently.

“Actually, Shushu is right. Then, let‘s call only the most important vassals.”

Wyndert also agreed with me.

Though I don’t know if they are trivial or how important the vassals actually are, should I think that it would be better (to hold my party) with just a few of them?

I shut my mouth and nodded.

“How would you like the decorations?”

“Uhm, I think a cake could have just candles….”

“What? It‘s the same as just eating it normally!“

“But I’ve never been to a party other than my welcome party.”

My brothers began to ponder my words.

I was trying to prepare a perfect party that suits my own tastes, but in the first place, I think I don’t know much about how to throw a party.

“To our pretty and cute Shushu, why can’t we have a party invitation for your birthday?”

“Dell, Shushu is only six years old. She was never officially introduced to the society and she has to learn proper etiquette again.”

“Ugh.”

It seemed like he was saying that I can only invite people to my party once I debut into society as a debutante.

I glanced blankly at Deleign’s disdain, gently scratching Miya’s chin.

While watching the two of them, the focus of their conversation returned to the main point.

For example, they said that the ribbons should be woven with gold, jewelry should be laid on the floor, that we should put flowers on the wall, and even going as far as to say that we should cover the entire hall with gold.

As we stood still talking, the scale of the party grew bigger and bigger. Do you really think that’s alright?

“Holy cow….”

I looked around and was startled to see Franc’s enchanted eyes.

Come to think of it, Franc has always liked it the most when there was a lot of money involved… Franc also has an exceptional sense when it comes to choosing clothes.

However, there is an overwhelming fascination with expensive things, so I had to work with Nina to balance it out.

Well, it looks like we’ll have to discard the idea of wearing a golden dress, celebrating with a golden cake in a golden room.

I think I should stop it quickly….

“Young Lady! Oh my God, His Majesty the Crown Prince is looking for you!“

“…… Huh?”

Perhaps she heard my wish, Nina suddenly ran into the room and stopped everyone’s endless branches of thoughts. The only problem is that she stopped the conversation with news I didn’t expect at all.

‘Crown Prince? The Crown Prince?’

The Crown Prince that I know?

My mood fell on the floor in an instant.

I couldn’t figure out why the Crown Prince had come to the Grand Duke’s house at this time. He also came to pick me up for some reason.

“What are you talking about? Why is the Crown Prince looking for a child from our house?”

Deleign knitted his brows together tightly and groaned.

“Did he poke around like a pin and find our Shushu?”

Wyndert also had an ugly expression on his face.

Nina, who came to tell the news without knowing anything, was shocked and couldn’t handle the intense and angry energy of my brothers.

“No, don’t open the door.”

“But, there is….”

At Wyndert’s words, Nina burst into tears.

To say that the Crown Prince visited and that we refused to open the door without justifiable reason was no different from disrespecting the Imperial Family.

Nina was suddenly about to be captured by the knights.

“No, my God, Shushu. Your head is so hot!” (T/N: Deleign was saying Shuelina has a fever.)

“Yes…?”

Deleign clung to me all of a sudden, putting his head over my forehead, and started to make a fuss. But when I put my hands on my own forehead, I felt the normal body temperature instead of the hotness Deleign was talking about.

“Gasp, cu – (te) … no, no. Now Shushu, you can’t go out because you’re sick so let’s go to your room now. Oppa will give you a piggyback ride.”

Deleign suddenly kneeled on the floor showing his back to me. It seemed like he was going to use the excuse that I was sick so I couldn’t meet the Crown Prince.

“…… How very rude.”

Unlike usual, Nina had hastily tried to announce something but it was too late.

However, the voice behind her stopped talking, as the person in question had bit down on his lips with a scowling face. It was the Crown Prince Lucas and he was even more angry hearing Nina’s failure to announce him properly.

‘Did he always look like that?’

Unlike the people of the Grand Duchy with their strong and fierce features, he had a fine and delicate face with slightly curly, silver hair and clear blue eyes resembling the Emperor.

He was completely different from what I had imagined in my head. There was a clear image inside my head that I could picture….

‘The eyes. His eyes were different.‘

His large eyes drooped softly as he scanned the living room.

Every time the prince I knew looked at Shuelina, he used to stare at her with a slightly sharper gaze.

To be precise, a face that looked at me with contempt like that was clearly visible in my mind.

‘Having different eyes looking at me doesn’t make sense at all.‘

It feels like the character I’ve only read about through text that came to my mind, has different eyes now.

Was it because I was aware that he was the Crown Prince?

I don’t know how vividly it would have been if I had read the original work so clearly, but I kept imagining his unforgettable cold eyes.

Of course, what I imagine is the adult Crown Prince, whom Shuelina met after entering the Imperial Palace.

He is only ten years old now, so his childhood and my imagination of him must also have been different.

Even though I thought so, it was awkward to see his soft, pitiful face that seemed like it was trying to appeal to me.

“It‘s you.”

Lucas approached me with a face that seemed somehow moved. I flinched as I watched the friendly-faced boy approach me.

“My name is Lucas Lapis Evening de Abunicia, Crown Prince of this Empire. I really missed you, my little sister.”

The Crown Prince who reached out to me with a delicate and pitiful face.

“Saying that she’s your little sister when she’s the Grand Princess….”

[Excuse me but are you crazy?] Is what my eyes were telling my older brother. (T/N: In case you misunderstood, she wasn’t saying that to her biological brother Lucas but instead to Deleign.)

“She’s my younger sister.” My second brother growled like a dog baring his teeth.

“Meow!” The white cat whacked its tail against the ground quickly, crying out its dissatisfaction.

“Oh my goodness.”

“What is this…?”

The two maids were startled by the situation they found themselves in for the first time.

Soon, the atmosphere in the reception room was completely destroyed.

I didn’t know if I should blame the Crown Prince who suddenly appeared, or if I should blame my brothers for not being polite and refusing to meet with him.

‘I’m really curious as to how this happened….’

Wow, what a mess.

I put my hand on my forehead and looked at the Crown Prince.

“It is nice to see the little Lord of this Empire. My name is Shuelina de Vaillot.”

“Why, why are you speaking so harshly? And you’re an Abunicia, not a Vaillot. You’re also my little sister.”

The words of the Crown Prince, who firmly asserted that I am the princess of the Abunicia Empire, further complicate the situation. While I was greeting him, I heard the maids who were bowing down on the floor near me, gasping for breath.

“Didn’t our Young Lady come from the orphanage?”

“Is she, is she a real Imperial Princess?”

The maids couldn’t help but murmur in confusion.

Since they were my exclusive maids, I don’t think it will be difficult to get involved and prevent rumors, but if this continues, the rumors will spread throughout the mansion no matter what I do.

I have no desire to regain the status of an Imperial Princess, and this would make my daily life chaotic.

‘More than anything… you weren’t like that.’

Shuelina loved and resented you so much at the same time.

『“You’re so different from Azuela. You shouldn’t covet and try to steal someone else’s power….”』

Cold eyes that pierced me like lightning. I was convinced that he couldn’t be my brother…. So is the person who came to me now my brother?

If I only look at the sequence of events in the book, the original happenings haven’t happened yet so this event was unprecedented.

However, it felt to me that Lucas’ mistreatment of Shuelina in the original novel was an earlier event and that’s why Lucas’ visit didn’t seem like a good thing. It just felt terrible.

“Father Emperor couldn’t bring you so I came instead. Come with me to the Imperial Palace.”

“I only have two brothers, right brother Wyndy? You’re not my family, Your Highness.”

Hugging me tightly as if he would lose me, Wyndert smiled in satisfaction.

“That’s right. I think you’ve got the wrong place, Your Highness, because Shushu is my little sister. You should go and look elsewhere.”