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A bloody incident had occurred in the middle of a party at the royal castle.
An information blackout had been imposed on the townspeople, but it couldn’t completely rein in the mouths of the more loose-lipped civilians.
“I heard the prince suddenly turned into the Black Beast!” said some with frightened looks on their faces.
“I heard the assassin called the prince’s consort a ‘demon’…,” said others with grave expressions.
Still others muttered under their breath, “I heard when the assassin attacked Her Highness, he shouted, ‘Glory to the Ferrier royal family!’”
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AN investigation had been immediately launched into the attack against the prince’s consort the night of the party. At the same time, Richard had been summoned to the castle, where he had remained. Sara, staying at the villa, hadn’t been able to see him for several days.
“Claire! How is the prince? Is he doing okay?” she immediately asked when Claire returned from going to the castle on an errand. The maid answered with a reassuring smile.
“Yes, he’s fine. But they seem to be having some trouble managing the rumors about His Highness’s ability and questioning the criminal who attacked you.”
Claire’s words reassured her somewhat, but it also felt like Sara’s chest had been stabbed with a giant spear.
This is all my fault…
Just the day before, Daniel had come to the villa to update her on the situation and had informed her, “There’s a possibility the assailant may be from Saleilles.”
When Sara was attacked, the man had screamed “You’re a demon!” and “Glory to the Ferrier royal family!” so initially, they had assumed he was a royalist extremist who hated Sara, but that seemed to not be the case.
The king had immediately arrested the Saleilles envoy who had been staying at the castle and had been trying to get information out of him, but the envoy had stubbornly repeated, “I don’t know that man,” and “Why would anyone from Saleilles try to hurt Princess Hermine?” so they seemed to be making little progress.
If I don’t tell them the truth, this problem will never be resolved. And if Saleilles gets wind of the issues in Ferrier, I don’t know what moves King Saleilles will make…
Sara started in realization and then glowered at the ceiling of her room.
Could that be his goal…? If so…then it’s about time I start preparing myself for the worst.
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“PARDON my intrusion, Your Majesty.”
“Oh, dear sister! Thank you for coming.”
King Edouard greeted Sara with the same gentle smile as before, but it was clear from his face that he was exhausted from the party catastrophe. He was still in his late teens, but his face looked lined and haggard.
Sara had been led into the castle parlor, where the king, the queen mother, and Richard were all waiting for her.
Sara had asked a huge favor in having this meeting arranged, but when Richard looked up and his green eyes met hers, all she could think was—I’m so happy to see him again.
“Please excuse me,” she continued, politely addressing the king as she attempted to suppress the excitement bubbling up inside her. “Thank you very much for taking the time today to—"
“Yes, yes, that’s quite enough,” Edouard interrupted. “Isn’t there someone else who should be getting priority here?”
Sara’s head jolted up. She saw the smiling faces of the king and the queen mother, and then Richard sitting on the opposite side, awkwardly looking away from everyone. Sara felt heat rise to her eyes.
“B-But…!”
“Then I’ll make it a royal order. Princess Hermine…go to your husband,” Edouard said in a tone of boundless kindness and regard.
Sara’s eyes rounded. She looked at Richard—and then ran to him.
Richard stood immediately.
“Y-Your Highness!”
“My dear wife…”
Sara jumped to him, and he caught her in his arms easily.
She was engulfed by his warm, gentle scent. Even in his beast form, that smell that Sara loved so dearly clung to him.
“I’m sorry,” he said, “I…”
“Please don’t! You saved me! If anyone should be apologizing, it’s me, so please…don’t apologize!”
“You…”
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. This is all my fault…”
As Sara wrung the words out, Richard’s arms stiffened around her.
Then he pulled her into a tight hug and pressed his forehead against the top of her head.
“It’s not your fault… No matter what you’re hiding, the one at fault is—is the person who tried to take your life. So please don’t apologize!”
“Your Highness… There’s something I need to tell you…”
“Yes, and of course I’ll listen. That’s why the queen mother and I are present as well… Come, sit down.”
Sara was usually the one soothing Richard, but this time it was the other way around. He led the sniveling Sara to the seat beside him. The king and queen mother watched them with smiles tinged with sadness.
“I’m so glad you two were able to be reunited… Now, dear sister… We are currently proceeding with our investigation into the incident at the party, but I understand that you have something you urgently want to tell us regarding that night. May we hear it now?”
“Yes…”
Right.
This was why Sara had asked the king to take time out of his busy day for her.
She had spent enough time worrying and wavering over it. The only thing that came from that was a crisis that made the person most precious to her lose his dignity.
Something squeezed her hand.
Even without looking, Sara knew that Richard had grabbed her hand.
Your Highness…
His bright green eyes were surely looking in the same direction as hers.
Richard was prepared to support her courage and accept whatever she was about to say.
Sara took a few deep breaths and looked directly at the king and the queen mother.
“First, I’d like to apologize. I’ve…been deceiving everyone for a long time.”
“……”
“I’m not Princess Hermine of Saleilles.”