I’m Just a Counselor Chapter 69

The duke’s knight sitting across from me seemed to feel the same way. Our eyes met, and he pursed his lips and shook his head in dismissal.

 

‘But won’t this start a rumor that the Princess of Oppenheim is a snob?’

 

I asked, looking him up and down, wondering if I should trust this imperial knight. Estella leaned her head on my shoulder and whimpered.

 

“Sis, I’m sleepy.”

 

“Hang in there, you’ll be fine once we get some tea in.”

 

“Sis, do your clothes fit?”

 

“Yes, it’s comfortable.”

 

“I wanted to get you something prettier.”

 

I smiled slightly at her muttering and looked down at my outfit.

 

The light beige dress was what Estella, and I had found yesterday after a hasty rummage through the dress room.

 

The one I had ordered from Madame Cornelia was too fancy for the ball, and the one I had was too modest for the palace, so I had no choice but to borrow one of the dresses from Estella’s closet.

 

There wasn’t much to choose from, given our different body types, but after a few alterations by the skillful maids, I was able to make it work.

 

‘Estella kept grumbling, but…’

 

I guess that was what she meant by her unexpected comment just before we opened the dressing room. “If I knew we were going to the palace, I would have prepared more dresses, what the hell?”

 

I couldn’t help but laugh at her cute complaint.

 

“Lady Vanessa must be close to the princess, huh?”

 

As if on cue, the imperial knight spoke up again.

 

“By the way, pardon my lack of knowledge, but I’ve never heard of the Asell family before, is it a family in the north?”

 

“Ah, I’m not a nobleman.”

 

“Yes? Then why would Her Majesty the Empress personally extend an invitation to teatime to someone who isn’t even a noble…?”

 

The puzzled imperial knight fell silent as Estella shot him another piercing glare from beside me.

 

But from his point of view, it’s understandable to wonder why a woman who isn’t even a noble would be so close to the princess and receive an invitation from the empress.

 

Because this is not Loasen.

 

Few people know the real story. I explained, patting the back of Estella’s hand soothingly.

 

“I am undeservedly in the duke’s favor, and Her Majesty the Empress has… met me briefly before, and to her credit, she has not forgotten our meeting.”

 

“Oh, I see.”

 

The imperial knight nodded, apparently satisfied with my explanation.

 

A short time later, the carriage arrived at the palace, banners flying in the bright sunshine, bearing the same imperial coat of arms as the one on the carriage.

 

Beneath it, the ornate entrance to the palace was visible.

 

Estella stared at it observantly, then whispered to me.

 

“I think the duke’s castle is much nicer.”

 

“Estella…”

 

Suddenly, like Jeremiah, Estella is filled with pride for Loasen.

 

Just as I was about to burst out laughing again, an imperial knight escorted us to the Empress’s palace. Once inside, we were escorted by a woman who appeared to be a maid.

 

We arrived at the Empress’s garden.

 

“Welcome, Princess. Miss Vanessa.”

 

The Empress, sitting alone at a tea table, greeted us. Today she wore her hair neither blonde nor brunette, but red.

 

Suddenly I remembered Kianton’s description of the Empress. “Red hair, blue eyes,” he’d said.

 

‘Certainly, she looks much better this way.’

 

The crown prince had inherited this red hair.

 

I looked around, trying to find his face. For once, there didn’t seem to be anyone else in the Empress’s palace.

 

“Greetings to Her Majesty, the Empress, the Master of the Empire. I am Estella of the Duchy of Oppenheim.”

 

Meanwhile, Estella lifted her dress and bowed to the Empress. It was a perfectly graceful gesture that belied the fact that she had crammed her etiquette book.

 

‘My Estella was the practical type!’

 

I looked at her with pride and lifted my dress in return.

 

The Empress acknowledged our greeting, smiled, and gestured to the empty seats.

 

“Come, sit down, then, I have much to tell you.”

 

And so began our teatime at the palace, and it didn’t take long for us to get to know each other.

 

The Empress was a rather unassuming person, not overbearing, and, as Jeremiah says, a bit of a maverick.

 

‘Come to think of it, I felt the same way about Hazel.’

 

I must have been thinking that she was different then than she is now, because she was just a noblewoman then, and now she is the Empress.

 

Was I thinking that the person herself must have changed because of the different modifiers she was labeled with? If so, I’m still a long way off.

 

“Ho ho ho. Princess Estella doesn’t seem to be the same person the Duke of Oppenheim was talking about.”

 

“May I ask how my brother described me?”

 

“Well… He didn’t say it exactly that way, but whenever the duke spoke of the Princess, I imagined her to be a shy, trembling flower.”

 

I nodded at the Empress’s words. I think I know what she means.

 

“That’s probably how Estella was to Jeremiah.”

 

But here she was, speaking to the Empress with a regal demeanor.

 

Despite her impeccable manners, each of her words was assertive and even provocative, which seemed to endear her to the Empress.

 

I can see it now. The Empress’s attention has shifted from me to Estella.

 

“Perhaps, it’s no wonder.”

 

I watched her with amusement. I felt proud that she was making herself known to others, that others were getting to know her, as if it were an accomplishment of my own.

 

If only I could tell everyone what a spunky, cute, loving person my Estella is.

 

‘Well, they will soon enough.’

 

I sipped my hot tea, trying to control the corner of my mouth that was twitching. ‘Estella’s doing great, now I just need to be good.’

 

I was sipping my tea, thinking to myself.

 

“Mother?”

 

“Kuck, kolok.”

 

I almost spit out the tea in my mouth in front of the Empress, forgetting that I had thought to be nice just a moment ago.

 

“I came as soon as I heard you called, but… you had a visitor.”

 

“No, Julian. Come and sit down. I wanted to introduce you to them.”

 

The Empress spoke charitably, but my expression did not improve at all. I glanced at Estella and saw that her expression was growing cold in real time.

 

So much for Loasen’s Oppenheim. It was a look I’d never seen before, a look like a northern blizzard.

 

“Isn’t this lady… the Princess of Oppenheim?”

 

“Oh, you recognize her at a glance. Have you ever seen Princess Estella before?”

 

“No. I recognize the Duke of Oppenheim… because she looks so much like him.”

 

The corner of the crown prince’s mouth twitched. At first glance, he didn’t look pleased to see Estella. He wanted to curse her right now, but in front of the Empress, he held back.

 

“You two are close in age, so it would be good for you to get acquainted.”

 

“With all due respect, Your Majesty, I will be returning to Loasen after the New Year’s Festival, so it is not necessary to take up your precious time.”

 

“I’m sure the Princess will be in the Island more often now that she’s made her debut, and you’re taking up her time. I thought Julian was free this afternoon.”

 

“Yes, His Highness is free, too!”

 

Kianton, who was standing behind the crown prince, burst out.

 

The crown prince shot Kianton a fierce glare, but he ignored it and greeted Estella with a cheerful smile.

 

“It’s been a long time, Princess Estella.”

 

“Good evening, Lord Kianton.”

 

“It’s an honor to see you again, and I see you’ve grown even more beautiful since then.”

 

The power of love was powerful enough to…  even shrug off a slap from his superior.

 

“Then, Julian, you may as well sit down.”

 

Deprived of any excuse by Kianton’s words, the crown prince took a seat next to the empress, trying to suppress his rising emotions.

 

‘Somehow, two against two has become like courtesy,’ I thought.

 

But Estella would hate me for saying this.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

I asked softly, touching the back of her hand. Estella’s face softened and she smiled softly at me.

 

But why did her eyes look like they were on fire?

 

“Don’t worry, sis, I’ll protect you.”

 

…What?

 

“…Then who is this lady next to the princess?”

 

The crown prince asked, his gaze shifting from Estella to me as if his temper had been pent up. His eyes widened at the sight of me.

 

I groaned briefly at his shameless smirk.

 

“You’re flattering me in front of my mother?”

 

Now that I think about it, I don’t see the same arrogant, overbearing feeling I had when I met the crown prince the other day. His tone was much more polite.

 

He must be managing his image in front of his mother, because he wouldn’t do that just because Estella is there.