I’m The Real Daughter, But I Don’t Want To Go Back To The Duke’s Estate - Chapter 91

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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And so the gathering came to an anticlimactic end.

The noble young ladies waiting for their family carriages naturally began discussing today’s events.

“About the First Prince, I wonder how he got hurt like that?”

“I heard he fell down.”

“He couldn’t even control his body properly, could he?”

The noble young ladies each recalled the First Prince floating through the air like a piece of luggage.

Gone was the excitement they felt when first seeing him, as his appearance had looked quite ridiculous.

And that flat frog-like appearance when he fell to the ground.

“It was practically like the Second Prince had to escort him out, yet he got angry for no reason. Maybe he was embarrassed…”

Just then.

One of the young ladies spoke up with a sulky voice.

“I found it rather unpleasant, personally.”

The other young ladies paused for a moment.

The young lady who had first spoken continued with a sullen expression.

“He only showed interest in Lady Milena so blatantly, while we were practically invisible, weren’t we?”

Then the other young ladies began cautiously agreeing with her words.

“Did you think so too, my lady?”

“I was wondering if I was being petty for feeling that way…”

“Petty? Honestly, we were nothing more than background decoration.”

The young ladies recalled the attitude the First Prince had shown earlier.

He had focused his attention so exclusively on Milena that it was embarrassing to watch.

They had endured it only because the Second Prince had politely cleaned up the situation, but the young ladies were actually quite offended.

However, separately.

“More than that, Lady Milena was quite surprising.”

“How should I put it, it seemed like she prioritized us over the First Prince.”

When the First Prince had first joined them.

Milena’s attitude in responding to him remained clearly etched in their minds.

“It feels somewhat like a missed opportunity. If only he had come a little earlier, couldn’t we have spent more time with the Lady?”

To the First Prince’s words, her gentle response.

“Today is my first time directly socializing with the young ladies. Since I’m not yet accustomed to this atmosphere, if my conduct were inadequate and caused trouble for Your Highness… I would feel terribly uncomfortable.”

That was it.

Milena had, albeit tactfully, said that her interaction with the young ladies was more important than the First Prince.

Even though she well knew that politically, the First Prince was far more significant than the young ladies.

“Since she’s the dear sister that House Lusert has been so desperately seeking, I was worried whether I should dare approach her first.”

“She seems like a much nicer person than I thought. Don’t you think so?”

At one young lady’s question, the others each nodded their heads.

As various stories about Milena were being exchanged.

“Speaking of which, about the Second Prince. Was he always someone with such a bright expression?”

The topic naturally shifted to Milena’s partner, Rudrick.

“That’s what I’m saying. I think this was the first time I’ve seen him smile.”

“I actually met him for the first time today. He’s usually someone who rarely engages in external activities, isn’t he?”

“That’s right. But I never expected him to actually participate in games.”

The young ladies looked at each other.

Their eyes sparkled with a strange sense of anticipation.

“It must be because of his friendship with Lady Milena that he attended, don’t you think?”

It couldn’t be helped.

Romance.

Nothing made young girls’ hearts flutter quite like this word.

Especially if the protagonists of this romance were the Empire’s only two princes and the precious daughter of a ducal house.

“The two of them seemed quite intimate, didn’t they?”

“The Lady said she takes lessons from the Second Prince.”

“How wonderful…”

And so the young ladies chatted away for quite some time.

* * *

Rudrick headed toward the First Prince’s Palace with a tired expression.

No matter what, he couldn’t just ignore his half-brother’s injury and pass by.

More precisely, if he didn’t at least show his face, they would obviously use that as an excuse to find fault with him.

And so, presently.

Rudrick stopped just as he was about to knock on the door.

He could faintly hear the First Prince throwing a tantrum beyond the closed door.

“…you said you would give it to me!”

“Young master, please calm down first…”

“This way nothing… worked out at all!”

Why he was raging like that was actually quite obvious.

He was probably venting his anger about failing to win over Milena despite trying to use this opportunity somehow.

‘Well, he even rigged the lots to secure the partner position with Lady Milena.’

Rudrick twisted up one corner of his lips crookedly.

It was a fierce sneer.

‘I arbitrarily interfered and ruined it, so he must be quite angry.’

However, contrary to the First Prince, Rudrick had thoroughly enjoyed today.

The maze garden.

Actually, Rudrick had never once liked the maze garden.

It was the place he would hide alone whenever he was ostracized by his family.

How many times had he hidden in the thick shadows of the cypress trees, desperately holding back tears that threatened to burst forth.

But today was different.

Because Milena had been by his side.

“Whether a child is charming or not, that doesn’t matter at all. Adults should naturally protect children.”

As he savored her gentle voice, even that maze garden that had been so terrible now felt quite pleasant.

Rudrick smiled faintly without realizing it.

Even though he would soon face bombardment from the Empress and First Prince, even that felt tolerable.

‘Well then, shall I go?’

Rudrick knocked on the door.

Knock knock.

Simultaneously, a sharp shout rang out shrilly.

“Who is it!!”

It was the Empress.

Rudrick answered in a quiet voice.

“It’s Rudrick.”

Bang! The Empress threw open the door and glared at Rudrick with blazing blue eyes.

Gone was her usual refined appearance, replaced by a very fierce demeanor.

“How shameless. How dare you come all the way here?!”

Rudrick felt a sense of satisfaction.

Well, he hadn’t actually wanted to come visit the patient either.

“When my brother is injured, I cannot simply not show my face.”

At those words, sharp sarcasm came from behind the Empress.

“Ha, brother?”

The First Prince appeared, limping, and glared at Rudrick with cold eyes.

“Do you actually think of me as your brother?”

“Of course. Otherwise, there would be no reason for me to come all the way here.”

“For all that smooth talking, you did a wonderful job of humiliating me, didn’t you?”

“Disgrace? If not for that method, it wouldn’t have been easy to escort you out, brother.”

Rudrick replied steadily without batting an eye.

The First Prince’s eyes trembled with rage.

Looking at that calm face made him feel so irritated he could die.

“Just because you have a mouth doesn’t mean you should run it freely. You were completely absorbed with Lady Milena alone, so don’t act so transparently.”

Milena.

When that name came up, Rudrick, who had been responding fluently, fell silent for the first time.

Then the First Prince continued triumphantly.

“No matter how much you build an amicable relationship with the Rusert Ducal Family, there’s no way someone like you could inherit the throne, right?”

At those words, Rudrick stared directly at the First Prince, then asked leisurely.

“Why? Are you jealous because I seem close with Lady Milena?”

But then.

Unable to contain her anger, the Empress suddenly struck his cheek with all her might.

Slap!

Rudrick’s head turned sharply to the side.

In truth, he could have dodged it if he wanted to, but he deliberately let himself be hit.

Rudrick quietly ran his tongue over the inside of his mouth.

A faint metallic taste touched the tip of his tongue.

“How dare you speak to my son in such a manner?!”

The Empress raised her voice, breathing heavily.

Rudrick straightened his turned head and replied coldly.

“It was brother who was rude first.”

“What did you say?”

“I have never once mentioned the throne until now, yet brother spoke as if my friendship with Lady Milena was for the sake of the throne.”

Rudrick’s blue eyes flashed sharply like shards of broken colored glass.

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