Oh? And just why do I have to put up with all this again?
As the revelation washed over her, Sophelia von Lotus tilted her head in curiosity at the unexpected question.
A revelation.
And what a revelation it was. Why had she never questioned it until now? And why had she started to interrogate it now, of all times? Sophelia wasn’t bright enough to have even the slightest idea why, but that hardly mattered. Well, she could’ve realized a tad sooner, but better late than never.
That’s right, Sophelia thought to herself with a nod. I don’t need to put up with any of this!
Sophelia took a breath in. Deeper, deeper, deeper, deeper— Uh-oh, too much! I’m gonna choke! But before I do...
“Waa-aaa-aagh!!!”
She’d given that scream everything she had, so she was sure it had echoed all throughout the castle. If there was one thing she was confident about, it was her voice.
After all, Sophelia was a diligent lady of class, never once falling behind on her running or strength training. But why would a lady of class need to do strength training, you ask? To project her voice, of course. A faint, tremulous voice would’ve been charming, no doubt, perfect for attracting men. And yet, such a voice lacked persuasiveness and grace.
Even a firm, trained voice could lend itself to numerous interpretations, so Sophelia had trained to control those nuances as well. It wasn’t merely the words she spoke, or even the way she spoke them; from her tone of voice to the particulars of her breathing, Sophelia never had any other choice of reply...
Because right before her eyes was none other than her fiancé, the crown prince, half naked and entangled with another woman.
It was funny in a way, how those itty-bitty baby blues of his snapped wide open, his face a pale porcelain doll white to match. Heh heh! She struggled to contain herself—it was all over if she laughed.
Sophelia wheezed one shallow breath after another. “Y-Y-Y-Your Highness, h-how...”
No way! Sophelia took a closer look, and sure enough, the woman was her very own half sister! Seriously? You really did me a favor messing everything up like this! Thank you!
Sophelia fought back the urge to leap for joy, her body shaking with the effort. She was racked with sheer delight, but she couldn’t let them see it. Though it was painful, Sophelia continued to exhale, her vision slowly beginning to bend and blur.
“Sophelia, it’s, uh, it’s not what it looks like! Please just calm down and—”
“Y-Your Highness!” Sophelia stuttered.
Not what it looks like? What else could it possibly be, hmm?
Even as a dainty daughter of nobility, Sophelia knew all about such intimate matters. Why, instruction had even been included in her training to be the next queen. More than tea parties, mingling with Lord So-and-So, visiting orphanages, or hatching plans to vanquish monsters, she’d been told her primary duty as queen would be to give birth to an heir. She’d been in no position to call that absolute nonsense.
When it came to talk of “how to spend an evening with a gentleman,” Sophelia’s instructor had simply told her, “This is no time to get embarrassed,” with a stern expression and a textbook in hand.
That’s right, a textbook.
Of course, Sophelia had never had the chance to act upon any of its instructions, but it seemed her fiancé had been finding opportunities to practice all over the place.
Oh, is this part of your curriculum then? Or at least, that’s what she’d always wanted to ask. Instead—being the reserved and graceful lady that she was—Sophelia had kept silent at every turn. After all, it would have been simply unbecoming to share her opinions with a gentleman! She would do no good raising a fuss over a bit of fun...as she’d been told time and time and time again.
But that was all outdated now, wasn’t it? Such an attitude was a product of a bygone age, and an appalling one at that!
Time’s march forward never stopped, and the current age was for the new generation to build. It seemed too much trouble to simply sweep away customs and traditions that only brought pain, so if they were going to throw them away, then they might as well spectacularly cast them down and mop the floor with them! And it was with that same conviction that Sophelia collapsed to her knees after noticing the guard knights had arrived at the scene.
“Lady Lotus!”
Unlike her precious little sister who flaunted her snow-white skin, Sophelia was plain and unremarkable. Even if she were to look up at the knights with tear-filled eyes, she couldn’t expect much of a reaction from them.
I hope I get a little bit of a reaction at least... Sophelia thought optimistically, tipping her head up at the knight who’d called her name.
The knight had jet-black hair like velvet, lustrous even against the darkness of night. Unspeakably handsome, the knight extended his hand toward Sophelia, only to freeze up halfway.
Oh, you hesitate to touch a betrothed noble woman? My, what a gentleman!
He was quite the opposite of a certain crown prince. Hmm? Which crown prince would that be, you ask? Why, the crown prince of this very nation! That dumb, naked bastard over there practically begging people to look at those chiseled abs of his!
“H-His Highness! H-He—!”
Sophelia was clenching the knight’s clothes so tightly that her fingertips had started to go numb. On top of that, she was actually having a hard time exhaling. She’d done a fine job of hyperventilating.
Watching Sophelia shake and tremble, the knight’s gaze seemed to show he was stricken with pain. He was bafflingly attractive with his eyebrows hunched together in worry.