Bloodline is a Cheat Code - Chapter 29

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 29
“But that’s not how it typically works, is it?”
“There’s no way a young lord supporting the Crown Prince could marry a young lady supporting Prince Aden. Conversely, the Crown Prince might take a young lady from a prominent house or a princess from the kingdom as his Crown Princess to strengthen his own faction.”
“The higher the nobility, the more romance disappears. I suppose that’s why it’s fantasy.”
“Of course, with the Holy Kingdom—the closest to the Empire—now completely at odds with us, marriage to their princess is out of the question. And Tiae? Not in a thousand lifetimes, even if it costs me my head.”
“Sister, you’re the type who’d drop the other person’s head to the ground before letting yours fall.”
This time, surely Minabell was about to get a proper scolding from my sister.
But unexpectedly, my sister said nothing. In fact, looking at her expression now, she seemed rather pleased.
I couldn’t fathom where that satisfaction came from.
“So, sister, what’s your conclusion?”
“I think she lied to Tiae. She probably came initially considering herself as a Crown Princess candidate, but it seems she judged it inappropriate. After all, she confidently declared herself a close friend of the Third Prince.”
“Was my statement a mistake?”
“No, you did well. If the Crown Prince had pressed you further in that situation, I would have publicly declared right then and there that Rosena supports the Third Prince.”
“Sister!”
That was something never discussed with me.
As I stood there slack-jawed, unable to form words and feigning shock, my sister merely shrugged with composure.
“Don’t be so startled. This has already been discussed with Father.”
“What?”
“Tiae, even as a junior duchess, I cannot decide everything alone. This position is something I can set down at any time.”
No, my sister must not relinquish that position.
If my sister stepped down as junior duchess, I would have to shoulder it again, and I have no idea how I could manage that.
Even the progress I’ve made would regress. I’d rather lie flat on the ground and protest that I can’t do it.
“Father said he trusts us.”
“How much does he actually know?”
I had wanted to avoid involving our parents—the Rosena Duchy Family—as much as possible.
I hoped to bear all responsibility myself, and if trouble arose, that it would end with my execution or confinement to a convent.
Ever since I glimpsed fragments of my past life through that strange dream, this resolve had only grown stronger. No matter what happens, I will protect my family and those I love.
Just as Serpina Rosena returned to this time to protect those she loved, couldn’t Flotie Rosena also make certain resolutions to safeguard those precious to her?
Though it sounds as if I’ve steeled myself for death, I intend to live, so I hope everyone understands there’s no need for such misunderstandings.
“Rosena said she doesn’t wish to support the Crown Prince. She asked if I could be trusted to decide which faction to support and what stance to take.”
“Ah.”
I wondered if my sister had told him everything—about Lucian possessing the Red Eyes and whatever dealings had occurred between us.
I’d even been anxiously turning over in my mind how to handle it if she’d revealed that I’d traveled back through time. Somehow, that felt embarrassing.
“And what did he say?”
“That the position of junior duchess itself is tantamount to delegating such authority. From the moment one assumes that title, one need not ask permission but may simply inform. Of course, I don’t yet have the audacity for that.”
A subtle expression crossed my sister’s face.
Recalling that moment, an indescribable emotion seemed to brush past me. Had the world, which until now had centered entirely on me—with her reversing time and running ceaselessly—finally begun to expand even slightly?
I offered no objection, not wanting to presume to direct someone who had rushed forward so desperately for my sake, yet it was something I had secretly hoped for.
That she would come to realize there were many precious things around her, and countless beings who held her in high regard.
“She said I need only inform them, but with you, I must consult. Your instincts are far too reliable to ignore.”
Seeing how proudly she spoke, it seemed I was still her unwavering first choice.
“Thank you for believing in me. Anyway, let’s hold off on Rosena’s public support for now. Unless I suddenly get dragged away as the Crown Prince’s consort.”
“It’ll be too late after you’re dragged away!”
Minabell interjected urgently. Serpina Rosena nodded vigorously as well.
“For now, Rosena should prepare to make a public declaration of support whenever needed, and it would be better to inform them about what happened here.”
I nodded in agreement.
“I should set up a promise to visit the Third Prince’s Palace soon. What excuse should I use this time?”
I’d heard that Jade Delpoi had already been dispatched to the Holy Kingdom not long ago, and Serpina Rosena was currently exerting her influence regarding the Magic Tower.
As I tapped my cheek thoughtfully, Minabell tilted her head as if it were obvious.
“Why not visit for the same reason as the Crown Prince?”
“The same reason?”
“To ask if he has any intention of taking a consort. Since there are already rumors about you two being close anyway, if you go directly to propose a consort candidate, it would both end the rumors and work out perfectly.”
“Ah.”
At the mention of being able to quell the scandal between us, Serpina Rosena brightened and agreed. Hearing both of them speak like this, I found myself nodding without thinking.
It was reasonable.
It was reasonable, but for some reason, it didn’t sit quite right with me.
Lucian Advein’s consort.
At this age, young lords and ladies were beginning to seek partners and become engaged, and the same applied to princes and princesses.
Vincent Crown Prince was unusually delayed in marriage, having not even become engaged, but Lucian Advein was certainly at an age where he should begin looking for a consort.
Around nineteen, like Lucian Advein, one would find a betrothed, and both would marry after turning twenty.
In the current Empire where there was not a single princess, the only way to become the Emperor’s in-law was to have a daughter.
“That’s why everyone is eager to present their daughters at social gatherings.”
“Bell, are you in that situation too?”
“Well, it seems the original Minabell was like that. But she was so timid that she ended up standing apart rather than meeting anyone.”
Minabell shrugged and sat beside me as I prepared myself, chattering away cheerfully.
Today was the day I would visit the Third Prince’s Palace.
Lucian Advein had readily replied to my sudden request, saying he was available anytime.
[I never expected the day would come when a young lady would write to me first. Since you mention an important matter, I shall prepare some fine tea leaves in anticipation of something precious you might bring.]
Seeing the letter written in his own hand with his personal seal impressed upon it, my heart felt strangely unsettled.
“So, what are your feelings now?”
“Well, not particularly strong. Someone like me, ignorant of etiquette and culture, doesn’t mesh well with nobility, but it’s difficult to marry without marrying into nobility. It’s not easy to convince my parents either. Unlike your sister, I don’t have anyone to buy me a position.”
Minabell was a cherished only daughter, but because of that, she received more attention and restrictions.
House Cherita was not a particularly prominent family. They possessed neither particularly fertile lands nor tremendous wealth.
Yet they faced no great difficulties, and the Marquis’s family harbored no ambition to make their house more powerful.
In this society, nobles without ambition were slowly forgotten.
It was only thanks to Minabell recently dominating and shaking up high society that their status had risen somewhat. If Minabell’s side began business ventures, perhaps some changes might occur in the future.
“You’re already struggling to support your own family. Yet you’ve looked into all this for my sake—thank you.”
I examined the list of neutral nobles that Minabell had procured, ones who could be useful in building Lucian Advein’s faction.
All were families with unmarried young ladies, and even if the list were to leak, it would align with my excuse of proposing consort candidates.
“Still, that part is going smoothly. Besides, I’m sorry I can’t directly support you alongside you.”
When Minabell first arrived in this world, the problem she had to solve was a quest: “Prevent the family from becoming a fallen noble!”
To accomplish that, she ran here and there, caused quite a commotion, and threw herself into high society. As a bonus, she attached herself to me to save her own life as well.
Since Marquis Cherita’s goal was to live quietly and peacefully, he apparently strongly opposed supporting the Third Prince and scolded Minabell severely.
He even said that if a proposal came for a Crown Princess position, he would refuse it because it could put Minabell in danger.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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