Chapter 5 (Part 2)

“His Royal Highness has decided on the Crown Princess.”

Two days later, when they were summoned to the royal palace, the Chancellor announced the decision. His expression didn’t look pleased, suggesting he wasn’t happy with the Crown Prince’s choice.

“I want to commend the ladies for enduring the rigorous training. Even if you are not selected as the Crown Princess, please do not be disheartened. It’s not because you were lacking. It simply means you were not to His Royal Highness’s taste.”

The Chancellor kept pausing, but Amelia already knew the outcome, so her eyes kept drifting towards Lady Brooke.

Amelia had worked so hard to ensure that Lady Brooke wouldn’t be eliminated from the lessons. She had matched her level, even trying to appear slightly less competent, and now it was time for her efforts to shine.

“The lady chosen by His Royal Highness is you.”

Instead of calling out a name, the Chancellor walked forward and bowed politely. Naturally, Amelia expected him to stop in front of Lady Brooke, but he did not. He stopped in front of her.

‘Me? It’s me?’

As the Chancellor stood before her, Amelia’s eyes widened. She felt there must be some mistake. When she looked at the Chancellor with a puzzled expression, he slowly nodded as if to confirm.

Immediately, the Crown Prince approached her and kissed the back of her hand.

‘What is happening? I’m the lowest-ranked and not even a maiden, yet I was chosen?’

Unable to protest in the given situation, Amelia nervously glanced at the other ladies standing beside her.

As expected, they were looking at her with disapproving expressions. They clearly thought Amelia was the most likely candidate to be eliminated first.

It seemed her constant lagging behind with Lady Brooke during lessons was the reason. Thus, it was obvious to everyone that Amelia being chosen was a mistake.

She wanted to say that this was absurd, that she wasn’t fit to be the Crown Princess, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t protest about not being a maiden either.

Even though they had tested for maidenhood, the Chancellor had never officially stated that the Crown Prince wanted a maiden.

She couldn’t reveal she had eavesdropped, nor could she declare in front of everyone that she wasn’t a maiden….

Amelia found herself in a difficult situation. However, she couldn’t just accept this quietly, so before any of the other ladies could voice their objections, she quickly spoke up.

“Shouldn’t I be the one eliminated? I was terrible in etiquette classes.”

Instead of mentioning the Crown Prince’s desire for a maiden, she used her poor performance in etiquette classes as an excuse. Her act of pretending to be incompetent alongside Lady Brooke had unexpectedly come in handy.

“What are you talking about? Madame Lowden praised your attitude in class.”

The Chancellor’s words were completely unexpected.

“Praised me? That can’t be true.”

Finding it hard to believe, Amelia’s eyes narrowed. The other ladies also looked incredulous. Having taken the same classes, they knew better than anyone how lacking she was.

“The evaluation was left to Madame Lowden, and I trust her judgment. The candidate she chose for elimination was Lady Brooke.”

As soon as the Chancellor finished speaking, the ladies’ gazes shifted to Lady Brooke, all with expressions of disbelief.

One of the less competent ladies was a candidate for elimination, and the other became the Crown Princess. It was baffling to everyone.

“This doesn’t make any sense! Even if I were eliminated, Lady Hamilton being chosen is absurd. She wasn’t any different from me!”

As expected, Lady Brooke pointed at Amelia with a resentful expression. When their eyes met, she looked at Amelia as if asking if the Duke of Hamilton had orchestrated this. Amelia shook her head, but Lady Brooke didn’t seem convinced.

Feeling incredibly wronged, Amelia knew she couldn’t clear up their misunderstanding in this situation. Given the problematic selection process, it was unlikely anyone would believe her even if she denied it.

‘What on earth is going on?’

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand. If this was the plan, why had they subjected her to such grueling education? They could have just chosen her from the start.

Despite the incomprehensible outcome, the Chancellor appeared unbothered. He wore an expression that suggested he believed the selection had been fair. He added a final remark.

“Oh, could you keep Lady Hamilton’s selection as Crown Princess a secret for now? We plan to make an official announcement later. Until then, we ask that the ladies refrain from going out.”

While it was known that there were five candidates, the fact that the chosen one would be kept a secret hinted at the possibility of a change in the final selection.

“Understood.”

Reading his intent, the other ladies accepted the situation without further complaints or protests. At the same time, they looked at Amelia with eyes that seemed to ask how long she could hold out.

‘What is going on here!’

Even though they had been rivals, their relationships had been good, but now those relationships were crumbling. Feeling like a public enemy, Amelia’s body involuntarily shrank.

“Then, please have a private conversation with His Royal Highness.”

Soon, the Chancellor left Amelia and the Crown Prince alone in the room. Even after everyone left, the Crown Prince remained silent.

Amelia also found it difficult to speak, having nothing particular to say. The awkward atmosphere was palpable.

The discomfort was on a different level than the awkwardness she had felt with Edwin. She couldn’t even tell if she was breathing properly; it was so stifling.

Just as she was about to say something, the Crown Prince suddenly turned to her and smiled. However, there was no affection in his eyes.

“How do you feel about becoming the Crown Princess?”

Though she should respond appropriately, Amelia couldn’t be honest about her feelings. Unable to lie and say she was happy, she instead asked him a question.

“Why did you choose me?”

The Crown Prince’s response was completely unexpected.

“You are Sir Birken’s childhood friend, right? I liked that.”

“What?”

Being Edwin’s childhood friend had nothing to do with becoming the Crown Princess. Seeing her confused expression, he added more.

“He spoke highly of you.”

“Praise? For me?”

Amelia looked incredulous.

“Yes. He said you were kind and gentle.”

‘Edwin praised me?’

Given his taciturn nature, it was unlikely that he would go out of his way to praise Amelia. He wasn’t one to talk much about others, so he probably hadn’t mentioned her much at all.

No, that’s not it. If His Royal Highness asked, Edwin wouldn’t have been able to avoid answering, and he wouldn’t have spoken ill of her. So, it was possible he said such things.

But even so, choosing her just because Edwin praised her was too strange. They would have to live together for a lifetime, and it seemed like too hasty a decision.

“Surely, you didn’t choose me just for that reason, did you?”

It seemed like a flimsy reason, almost like drawing lots, so Amelia thought the Crown Prince was joking.

“That’s right.”

“What?”

“There wasn’t any lady who particularly caught my eye. So, I chose the most familiar name.”

But the Crown Prince’s answer was utterly absurd. Choosing his future wife, who would become the future Empress, just because her name was familiar? It made no sense.

Amelia sent a desperate look, hoping he would reconsider his choice, but the Crown Prince maintained an expression that suggested he saw no problem.

She was understandably taken aback by his indifferent and insincere attitude. His words implied that the two months of lessons had been utterly pointless.

“Marriage isn’t a joke.”

“Who chooses a wife as a joke?”

Despite his words, Lucius’s expression, with one corner of his mouth lifted, showed no seriousness at all.

‘Is this why Lady Limerick ran away?’

The more Amelia conversed with the insincere Crown Prince, the less she wanted to marry him. If she did, it seemed their relationship would mirror the one between the Crown Prince and Lady Limerick.

Just a formal relationship to produce the future Emperor.

If she had known this would happen, she would have made an engagement sooner!

At that moment, Edwin came to Amelia’s mind. She couldn’t believe she was thinking of him now after having dumped him.

But no matter how she thought about it, Edwin seemed a million times better than the Crown Prince, so it was natural for her to think of him in this situation.

Of course, thinking of Edwin didn’t change anything. They had only grown closer after she became a candidate for Crown Princess.

‘No, I still have a powerful weapon left!’

At that moment of panic, Amelia remembered the trump card she had temporarily forgotten. The act she had committed to fall out of favor with the Crown Prince.

Since it hadn’t been officially announced that she was the Crown Princess, and they were alone now, this was the perfect opportunity to tell the Crown Prince the truth.

The problem was that it was difficult to directly say she had lost her virginity, but in this situation, there was no time or mental space to worry about that.

She needed to quickly inform him that she wasn’t suitable to be the Crown Princess and suggest he choose another lady.

“I… I have something to say.”

So, Amelia cautiously spoke up, watching the Crown Prince’s reaction.

“What is it?”

Lucius gave her a look that said he wasn’t particularly interested but gestured for her to speak.

“The truth is….”

“Don’t drag it out, just say it.”

“The thing is….”

After hesitating for a moment, Amelia closed her eyes tightly and mustered the courage to speak.

“I’m not a maiden.”

“Not a maiden?”

Lucius tilted his head in disbelief instead of showing the expected displeasure or frowning at her rude words.

“That’s strange.”

“What’s strange about it?”

“I heard the magic tool definitely turned white.”

Through the Crown Prince’s words, Amelia learned that the reason she was chosen despite not being a maiden was due to an abnormal result from the magic tool.

“That can’t be! The magic tool must be broken….”

She distinctly remembered the thick and hard organ penetrating her multiple times. Even semen had been poured into her, yet the magic tool indicated she was a maiden. It didn’t make sense.

“Really? Who was the partner?”

“What? Th-that….”

Amelia stammered, not expecting him to ask who her partner was. She couldn’t say it was Edwin, as it would put him in a difficult position.