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I was being taken to the royal castle.
The knights had permitted Lord Felix and Sir Kain to accompany us. Apparently their orders had been: “Bring Lady Lucille Gustelanola to the castle the moment she arrives in the capital.” It was highly likely that they had misinterpreted the meaning of those words due to my poor reputation.
The tense atmosphere on the way was making me awfully uncomfortable, so I tried my best to engage the knights in small talk.
“U-Um, we’re very sorry, Lady Gus...tela...nola?” one of them said.
Another knight added, “It appears we, um, had the wrong idea about you, Lady Gus...tela...nola?”
“It’s okay!” I insisted. “You’re knights who have long served Prince Bernard, aren’t you? You’ve probably heard him disparage me so many times that the insults repeat themselves in your dreams. It’s not your fault you had a bad impression of me, tee hee!”
I couldn’t help but be in a cheerful mood now that the knights were finally talking to me normally. At first, the prospect of another false accusation had mildly infuriated me, but experiencing Lord Felix’s gallant defense had made the entire thing worth it!
One of the knights blushed and covered his mouth with his hand. “L-Lady Gus...tela...nola!”
By the way, is it just me or do they sound uncertain every time they say my name?
The knights hurriedly huddled away from me and began whispering among themselves.
“H-Hey, is she really Lady Gustelanola? She acts so differently that I can’t call her by her name with confidence.”
“Yeah, if we hadn’t verified her identity at the entry inspection, I would’ve assumed she was just a look-alike...”
“But she knows who we are, so she must be the real deal. Actually, I’m kind of touched that she remembers us.”
“I don’t recall her being so small, gentle, cheerful...or cute.”
“Shhh! Don’t say that! I get how you feel, but if Prince Bernard catches wind that we have a favorable impression of Lady Gustelanola, he’ll definitely be mad.”
“Uh, I think the cursed marquess would have our heads before it came to that... Eek!”
“Ack! There’s murder in his eyes! If looks could kill, we’d be dead meat!”
“I-It sure feels like he’s about to draw his blade, but he wouldn’t really do that...right?”
Oh? Lord Felix is walking with the knights now. It seemed like even they were afraid of his intimidating face, so I’m surprised they’ve all lowered their guard so quickly!
And so, we were brought into the royal castle. Along the way, I heard loud yelling coming from a distant room, while the servants hurried back and forth through the halls.
Wait, doesn’t that voice belong to...
Before I could come to a concrete conclusion on that thought, we arrived at one of the reception rooms. Much to my surprise, we were greeted by none other than the king himself.
“Miss Gustelanola, I am well aware that it is selfish of me to request this of you,” he said. “However, if you possess a countermeasure for this disease, please lend us your aid!”
“Umm...” Frankly, this series of unexpected events had left me bewildered. To allow myself to catch up, I waited for the king to explain himself.
“First, let me ask you: Do you have a solution to the disease?”
I exchanged a look with Lord Felix before replying, “Yes, we have a medicine that can cure it.”
“So it is true...”
Resting a hand on his forehead, he heaved a sigh. I assumed it was an expression of relief, but the pain on his face made me wonder if there was some other issue at play.
While I was trying to understand his reaction, someone entered the room.
“I told you, Your Majesty—the person your spoiled son insulted and cast away has become an irreplaceable treasure for this country,” the figure said before turning to me. “It’s been a while, Miss Lucille.”
“Indeed, it has, Prince Edgar.”
Prince Edgar was the crown prince; he was supposed to be studying abroad.
“Aha ha, why the stiff response? Well, I suppose you wouldn’t wish to involve yourself with the elder brother of the man who hurt you.”
“No, that isn’t it at all. I’m simply speaking in a manner that is appropriate for a lady no longer engaged to Prince Bernard.”
Prince Edgar and Prince Bernard had been born to different mothers. Prince Bernard was the son of the king’s second—and favorite—wife. It was said that the king was quite lenient with him due to his striking resemblance to his mother, though this soft touch was only possible because the capable Prince Edgar, born to his first wife, was already his heir. Had it been otherwise, the king wouldn’t have been able to afford to let Prince Bernard get away with his antics. While he was a perfectly competent ruler, he unfortunately became awfully indulgent whenever Prince Bernard was involved.
The king regarded me with a serious expression. “There is something else I wish to know: On your way here, did you distribute that medicine to other towns? To be precise, are you the rumored ‘angel’ who’s been saving people with her ‘miracle cure’?”
It’s true, but it’s hard to say, “Yes, that’s me” when he phrases it that way...
I knew it was a bit late to be embarrassed about it, but I was starting to regret not stopping the boy from calling me an angel.
As I hesitated to respond, Lord Felix answered the question in my stead. “Yes, Lucille is the rumored ‘angel of miracles.’”
Wait! I know Lord Felix isn’t doing it on purpose, but doesn’t paraphrasing it like that make it sound even more embarrassing?!
My gaze sank to the floor in shame. Meanwhile, the conversation continued without my input.
“Marquess Felix Leeuwenhoek... If I’m not mistaken, Bernard forced you to become Miss Lucille’s fiancé,” the king said. Under his breath, too soft for me to make out, he murmured, “Ha ha, I never thought I’d see the day this misanthrope would fall in love.”
The crown prince smiled and nodded in agreement with whatever it was the king had said. Then, he squared his shoulders and turned to the king again. “Your Majesty, should Miss Lucille succeed in curing Bernard, we ought to accede to her demands.”
I hadn’t the slightest clue what demands he was talking about, but it was clear that Prince Bernard had been infected with the mysterious disease, and his symptoms were likely severe. This was the help the king had requested earlier: saving Prince Bernard.
“Miss Lucille, seeing as how clever you are, I’m sure you’ve figured it out by now, but please aid our suffering people...and Bernard,” Prince Edgar added.
I bowed in assent.