Chapter 5 (Part 3)

As she remained silent, the pause grew longer, and after a moment of thought, Lucius smirked.

“Since you can’t answer, you must have lied to me. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it.”

“I-I didn’t lie. Can’t we test it again? The magic tool could really be broken.”

Though she had thought Edwin was lying before, now she wanted to believe he was telling the truth. So, Amelia pointed out that possibility.

“How could the magic tool be broken? It might fail to work, but it doesn’t break.”

Lucius looked at her with an expression that said it was nonsense.

“You never know.”

“Is that possible? Since there were other ladies whose colors changed, it’s not broken. I didn’t expect this from you, Lady Hamilton. Anyway, I have no intention of reversing the decision based on the magic tool, so let’s get along well.”

“…”

With a gentle smile, Lucius extended his hand as if to say they should get along. It seemed he thought her claim about not being a maiden was a lie.

‘Does he really prefer maidens? Why doesn’t he believe me?’

No matter how honestly she spoke, he didn’t believe her, which was frustrating. But Amelia had no choice but to extend her hand and shake the Crown Prince’s.

She looked at him with a troubled expression, but he left the room still smiling. Amelia watched his back and let out a deep sigh.

If she married him like this, it would soon be obvious that she wasn’t a maiden. If he pursued the matter then, it could become an even more difficult situation. In the worst case, it could even harm the Hamilton family.

‘What on earth should I do?’

Seeing the Crown Prince’s uncommunicative demeanor, Amelia felt an uneasy premonition that her future life would not go smoothly.

* * *

“This can’t be! Something’s wrong!”

Inside the carriage returning to the mansion, Amelia shook her head, denying her current situation. It felt like she was in a nightmare.

But every time she recalled the faces of the ladies glaring at her or looking incredulous, she was reminded that this was reality.

‘Why on earth was such an absurd thing happening?’

No matter how much she thought about it, Amelia couldn’t understand the current situation. It felt like the world was isolating her.

Madame Lowden praising her or the magic tool turning white were things she couldn’t comprehend no matter how much she thought about them.

While it was possible that Madame Lowden and the Chancellor had lied or the magic tool was broken, Amelia believed it was the former. It felt like someone had schemed to force her into becoming the Crown Princess.

‘Who could it be? Could it be Father?’

Though she didn’t want to believe it, her father was the most suspicious person in this situation. He would have found it difficult to remove her from the list of candidates but not hard to make her a candidate.

‘Surely, he didn’t bribe Madame Lowden and the Chancellor to scheme this, did he?’

The Duke of Hamilton knew better than anyone that Amelia wanted to become the head of the family, and he wanted that too. If he had schemed to make her the Crown Princess, it would feel like a huge betrayal.

His suspicious question about whether she was confident she wouldn’t be chosen as the Crown Princess made her uneasy, but Amelia still wanted to believe in her father.

So, she needed to confirm it.

“Father, I’ve been chosen as the Crown Princess. Surely, you didn’t do something, did you?”

As soon as she returned to the mansion, Amelia burst into the study and shouted.

“What? Why were you chosen? Didn’t His Royal Highness say he had no interest in you?”

Seeing the Duke of Hamilton’s bewildered expression, it didn’t seem like he had done anything. Since he wouldn’t lie about such a thing, Amelia felt both relieved and puzzled.

‘If it wasn’t Father, who made me the Crown Princess?’

No matter how much she thought, she couldn’t understand the current situation, and it was frustrating not knowing the answer.

“I don’t know why I was chosen either.”

“Isn’t something wrong?”

The Duchess, who had entered the study late after hearing the commotion, also seemed utterly incredulous.

“I told His Royal Highness it seemed strange, but he said nothing was wrong.”

“What reason did he give for choosing you?”

“I… I didn’t hear.”

She couldn’t tell them she was chosen just because she was Edwin’s friend, as it would make things even more confusing. Amelia herself found it hard to believe, so her parents certainly wouldn’t.

“How could such a thing happen?”

“What should we do?”

The faces of the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton were clouded with worry.

They were displeased with Amelia being chosen as the Crown Princess because it meant she would have to live in the palace, starting from tomorrow.

“If we had known this would happen, we should have found you a match sooner….”

“Indeed.”

Regretful as it was, there was nothing they could do. They had to comply with the royal decision.

“But there’s something strange.”

Amelia cautiously shared her doubts with them.

“What strange thing?”

“They said since it hasn’t been officially announced yet, I should keep it a secret that I’ve been chosen as the Crown Princess.”

“Did you really hear that?”

The Duke of Hamilton’s eyes sparkled at her words.

“Yes.”

“Then there’s still a chance.”

“What do you mean?”

“If it hasn’t been officially announced, it means the Crown Princess can still be changed.”

Listening to her father’s words, Amelia recalled that the Chancellor had spoken with that nuance.

“That’s true, but is it possible?”

“Think carefully. Didn’t you say His Royal Highness didn’t seem to favor you? If he changes his mind, there’s still hope!”

“Oh…!”

Amelia finally understood what the Duke of Hamilton was saying. Since the official announcement hadn’t been made, if the Crown Prince changed his mind and chose another lady, she wouldn’t have to be the Crown Princess.

If he reversed his decision, the Duke of Hamilton would have to protest, but he had no intention of doing so, so it wouldn’t be a big problem.

Moreover, the Crown Prince hadn’t chosen Amelia because he liked her but because he had no other choice, so it wasn’t an impossible scenario.

However….

Recalling her conversation with the Crown Prince today, it seemed unlikely her father’s plan would work. How could she change the mind of a man who wouldn’t believe her even when she claimed she wasn’t a maiden?

“After talking with him, it seems he has no intention of changing his mind. How can I make him change his mind?”

Hearing Amelia’s words, the Duke of Hamilton fell into thought. After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly came up with an idea.

“How about using Sir Birken? You two have gotten quite close recently, so it might work.”

“What? What do you mean?”

‘What did using Edwin have to do with changing the Crown Prince’s mind?’ 

Amelia found her father’s solution so absurd that she was at a loss for words.

“You know Sir Birken is close to His Royal Highness.”

“Yes.”

“So, why not let it be known that you and Sir Birken were originally engaged? Given their close friendship, His Royal Highness might not be pleased to make you the Crown Princess.”

“Now? If I suddenly say that after being silent all this time and then being chosen as the Crown Princess, won’t it seem even more suspicious? Besides, they already know that Edwin and I are just friends.”

Amelia couldn’t tell her father that the reason the Crown Prince chose her was simply because she was Edwin’s childhood friend, which made her even more frustrated.

“Sir Birken is a man of few words. Just say he kept quiet all this time. Besides, you can come up with any reason. He once proposed to you, so use that as the reason.”

“He proposed to me? I’ve never heard of that.”

Amelia’s eyes widened at the Duke of Hamilton’s words, which she was hearing for the first time.

She had never heard that Edwin had proposed to anyone. And to think that he had proposed to her….

It was a strange feeling to learn something she hadn’t known before.

She couldn’t understand why no one had told her until now. And why had Edwin never hinted at it.

The past three years without communication were filled with incomprehensible events.

‘Why did he propose to me?’