Chapter 1 (Part 1)

“Congratulations, Amelia. I heard you have been nominated as a candidate for Crown Princess. I wonder why someone as lacking as you was chosen for such a position.”

The Duke of Hamilton, who had just returned from an outing, called out to Amelia with a worried expression. It seemed he was quite displeased with the fact that she had become a candidate for Crown Princess.

“What are you talking about? Who has been nominated as a candidate?”

Amelia, too, did not welcome his words and thought she had misheard. Lady Limerick was already betrothed to Crown Prince Lucius, so she wondered what he was talking about.

“Since you seem to not believe me, I will say it again. The royal family has informed us that you are one of the candidates for Crown Princess.”

With that, the Duke of Hamilton carefully repeated what he had just said.

“What nonsense are you talking about? Lady Limerick is by the Crown Prince’s side.”

Lady Limerick, who had been designated as the Crown Princess since childhood, had undergone rigorous training to become a woman befitting the royal family.

Moreover, with the imperial wedding approaching, it made no sense for Amelia to be nominated as a candidate for Crown Princess.

“Are you talking about Lady Limerick?”

At the mention of the name, the Duke’s expression hardened, and he let out a deep sigh.

“Well, she has suddenly disappeared.”

“Disappeared? Was she kidnapped? Or did something happen to her?”

Amelia’s eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected answer. It seemed there was a reason why Lady Limerick had not been appearing in public lately, citing poor health.

But no matter how much she thought about it, it was an incomprehensible situation. Unless someone had kidnapped her, it made no sense for her to disappear. And there was no family in the Nate Empire bold enough to kidnap the future Crown Princess.

“To be precise, she ran away because she didn’t want to become the Crown Princess.”

Amelia’s mouth dropped open in shock at the unexpected words.

“Running away… That doesn’t suit Lady Limerick at all.”

“I am surprised too. Who would have thought she would do something so bold?”

Amelia recalled the image of Lady Limerick, with whom she had often enjoyed tea parties. Always graceful in her movements and with a gentle smile… She seemed perfect as a Crown Princess.

Even though she must have faced many difficulties after being designated as the Crown Princess, she never showed it. She simply considered it her duty and tried her best to fulfill her responsibilities.

‘Why did she leave?’

Considering her usual conduct and character, it was hard to believe she had run away. But thinking about the rumors that the Crown Prince had no interest in women, Amelia could somewhat understand why she might have left.

‘I’ve never seen them having a friendly conversation…’

Amelia recalled the times she had seen the Crown Prince and Lady Limerick together. In hindsight, it seemed there was no love in the way they looked at each other.

Of course, just that reason alone wouldn’t make Lady Limerick give up her position as Crown Princess, so there must be personal reasons Amelia didn’t know about.

Although she was curious, now was not the time to care about why she disappeared. She had to worry about the crisis that had come upon her.

“When did she disappear? Shouldn’t we search thoroughly before nominating a new candidate for Crown Princess?”

“I heard she disappeared two months ago. After two months of searching, they only found traces of her leaving for the Epha Empire.”

“If it’s the Epha Empire… it will be hard to find her.”

“Yes. The founding festival is about six months away. So, it seems they are trying to select a new Crown Princess before then.”

The Epha Empire had almost no exchanges with the Nate Empire, as their relationship was not good. Since it would be difficult to request cooperation for the search, Lady Limerick seemed to have deliberately chosen a place where she couldn’t be found.

As a result, Amelia found herself in a difficult situation, and a bitter smile involuntarily appeared on her face.

“The situation is not good.”

“Yes. So, instead of trying to find Lady Limerick, the royal family seems to have annulled the engagement in exchange for some of the Duke of Limerick’s land. Then, while searching for a new Crown Princess, you became a candidate.”

“Can’t I refuse…?”

Amelia asked, looking at the Duke’s expression as she was not keen on the position, but he shook his head firmly.

“If I could have refused, I would have done so immediately. But it wasn’t a situation where I could say such a thing. So, rather than saying no outright, I recommend you meet with Crown Prince Lucius first. You don’t know what he’s like yet.”

She doubted meeting him could change her mind.

Amelia tried to recall what kind of person the Crown Prince was. All she could remember was his glossy blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes, and handsome appearance.

Since she wasn’t close enough to exchange greetings with him, she had to judge the Crown Prince based on the rumors she had heard.

She had heard that he wasn’t mean or difficult to get along with, but he wasn’t particularly kind either.

There were even rumors that he was uninterested in women, to the point where people speculated he might be gay.

Of course, these were just rumors, and she couldn’t know if they were true. So, as her father suggested, it would be best to meet the Crown Prince and judge for herself.

However, to her, he seemed like a man with no charm other than his appearance, so she felt a sense of rejection even before meeting him.

Of course, her reluctance to marry the Crown Prince wasn’t just because of these reasons. Lucius was a man destined to become the Emperor one day. This meant that marrying him would eventually make her the Empress.

‘It’s absurd to think I would become the Empress!’

Amelia had no desire to become the Empress. She thought it was a position that didn’t suit her. Instead, she wanted to become the head of the Hamilton family.

In the Nate Empire, there was no difference in inheritance based on gender or birth order. So, it was natural for Amelia, the only daughter, to become the head of the Hamilton family.

And she planned to marry a man she truly loved, who could support her, and then become the head of the family.

The Duke of Hamilton also intended to accept as his son-in-law any man his daughter loved, regardless of his status. He could pass on the dukedom to her.

So, she hadn’t had an official fiancé because she was focused on family matters, and now this absurd situation had arisen.

According to the Nate Empire law, it was impossible to be both the Empress and the head of the Hamilton family. The Empress had to prioritize the peace of the empire.

‘I want to be the head of the Hamilton family, not the Empress of the empire!’

Amelia Hamilton had been educated to become a successor, not an Empress, since she was young. Now, being told to give up was like making all her efforts go to waste.

The only person who would be happy if she became the Crown Princess was one of her collateral relatives who would be the next successor.

The problem was that her next-in-line relative was greedy and incompetent. She didn’t want to yield to a collateral relative because it was clear that the Hamilton family would decline under such a person.

“Father, don’t you want me to become the head of the family?”

In the Nate Empire, the Hamilton Dukedom was a powerful family. So, Amelia hoped the Duke of Hamilton would use his power to take some action.

“I also wish for you to inherit the family. But how could I refuse when the royal family has nominated you as a candidate for Crown Princess? It was decided through the Elder Nobles’ Council and accepted by His Majesty the Emperor.”

However, hearing the words ‘Elder Nobles’ Council’ and ‘His Majesty’s acceptance,’ she realized it was impossible.

Since the position of Crown Princess suddenly became vacant, it must have been an emergency, and it was obvious that they prioritized the young ladies from suitable families who didn’t have fiancés as candidates.

“Who are the other candidates besides me?”

“There are five candidates, including you, Amelia.”

“Five?”

Hearing the unexpectedly high number of candidates, Amelia’s face brightened. She had thought there would be at most two, so it was somewhat of a relief.

The odds were 1/5. With a higher chance of not being chosen, if she showed inadequate qualities as a candidate or fell out of favor with the Crown Prince, she wouldn’t become the Crown Princess.

‘Should I do something strange to fall out of the Crown Prince’s favor?’

“Don’t even think about doing anything foolish. I won’t let it slide if you disgrace the family’s honor.”

As a sly smile appeared on her lips, the Duke, reading her thoughts, sternly warned her. Although he wasn’t pleased with Amelia becoming a candidate for Crown Princess, his eyes showed he wouldn’t tolerate any harm to the family name.

“Oh, I won’t.”

His piercing gaze made Amelia’s face darken rapidly, and her voice sank as she pondered what to do.

Satisfied with her answer, the Duke of Hamilton’s expression softened.

“You will have to take lessons for the Crown Princess at the royal palace, so until then, live freely.”

“Yes.”

That meant the lessons for the Crown Princess were strict. Although Amelia had heard rumors, she felt a wave of fear thinking about how difficult it must be for her father to say such a thing.

Amelia left the office without saying another word. With each step, she felt as heavy as a waterlogged sponge.

Hoping that no word would come from the royal palace, she entered her room with an uneasy heart.