Chapter 6 (Part 5)

“You said you suddenly wanted to see me? Is it because of the recent incident?”

“That’s part of it, but I also have something else I want to say.”

After making up her mind, the first person Amelia sought out was the Crown Prince. She remembered his previous words that if she wanted anything, she should just say it.

“What is it?”

Crown Prince Lucius, who was sitting at his desk, smirked at Amelia’s determined expression. He then got up and invited her to sit on the sofa. After she sat down, he crossed his legs and sat opposite her in a haughty manner.

“You said I could ask for anything I wanted, right? So I’m here to say it. I don’t want to marry you, Your Highness. I’m here to ask you to revoke your decision to choose me.”

Amelia’s emerald eyes sparkled with a deep light as she spoke resolutely.

“Do you think I’ll listen to you?”

“Yes. I believe you will.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because you chose me as the Crown Princess with the intention of using me temporarily from the start.”

Her body was tense and frozen, but Amelia’s eyes remained clear and sharp as she looked at the Crown Prince.

On her way to the Crown Prince’s palace, she had reflected on his actions toward her.

From the time he selected the Crown Princess candidate, his indifferent attitude suggested he had no intention of marrying. Moreover, his attitude toward Amelia hadn’t changed since she was chosen, indicating his intentions hadn’t changed.

Despite this, he had chosen her as the Crown Princess, which suggested there was a specific reason. Especially since the Chancellor’s expression wasn’t bright when she was chosen, which supported Amelia’s reasoning.

Judging by the conditions, Amelia was more than qualified to be the Crown Princess. That’s why she became a candidate in the first place.

So it made no sense for the Chancellor to openly show dissatisfaction. Disrespecting the Duke of Hamilton’s family could lead to trouble, so he should have been cautious. 

As a result, the conclusion Amelia drew was that the Crown Prince had no intention of choosing any of the Crown Princess candidates from the beginning.

Of course, it wasn’t certain. But if her thoughts were correct, it explained the Chancellor’s expression. After two months of training, not choosing anyone would be an insult to the families of the candidates.

Thinking this way, the reason why the Crown Prince chose Amelia as the Crown Princess could be somewhat explained. It seems he had to choose a Crown Princess due to unavoidable circumstances, and he picked Amelia because she was the one least likely to cause problems even if the engagement was broken off.

There were hardly any nobles who didn’t know that Amelia would become the head of the Hamilton family. If the Crown Prince investigated, he would quickly find that out.

So he chose Amelia as the Crown Princess, someone who wouldn’t cause much trouble even if he broke off the engagement, ignoring all procedures. He did this rather than incurring the wrath of another lady.

“And it was also strange.”

Amelia added.

“What was?”

“Among the things that happened to me, the incident where the gift sent by Your Highness was ruined. The chances of being caught were high, so who would be so bold to do such a thing? It was you who did it directly, right?”

While she doesn’t know about the other incidents, she thought the culprit for this one could only be the Crown Prince. No matter how much she thinks about it, it’s impossible for someone else to have touched the gift during the delivery process. The person carrying out his orders is fixed, so it doesn’t make sense.

“Well. What do you think?”

“Please tell me the truth. You don’t want to marry me, do you? You only chose me as the Crown Princess to buy time, didn’t you?”

“….”

Lucius, who had been silent for a moment, suddenly laughed.

“Haha. You caught me. Yes. I never intended to choose a Crown Princess from the start.”

He confessed immediately, as if he had no intention of hiding it. Amelia’s body tensed up upon realizing her suspicion was true.

“Haha. Sorry. I should apologize first, right?”

“Why did you do that?”

“It was all to find the culprit. As you guessed, I was the one who tore the dress, but the rest wasn’t me. It was the culprit’s doing to make me let my guard down.”

At that moment, Lucius’s face twisted in pain. It seemed like the first time she had seen such a serious expression. No, now that she thought about it, she might have seen it once before, in passing.

It was when Amelia was being harassed by someone, just like now. But she could tell that expression wasn’t for her benefit.

“The culprit? Are you talking about the person who harassed Lady Limerick?”

Amelia recalled what Eri had told her about Lady Limerick being harassed as well.

“Yes. I wanted to find the person who harassed Lady Limerick. Since I didn’t show interest, and Lady Limerick didn’t try to find the culprit, the harassment continued.”

Lucius continued with a look of absurdity.

“But after she disappeared, the evidence also vanished, so I couldn’t find out who it was. I managed to narrow it down to three suspects, but I wasn’t sure who it was. So, I had no choice but to put those three as candidates for Crown Princess.”

To put them as candidates for Crown Princess… Hearing those words, Amelia felt a chill run down her spine.

During the two months they spent together, none of the ladies seemed like the type to harass someone.

Of course, they didn’t look pleased when Amelia was chosen as Crown Princess, but none of them directly criticized or blamed her. Judging by that, it didn’t seem like any of them could be the culprit.

Seeing Amelia’s skeptical expression, Lucius’s eyes darkened.

“It’s hard to believe, but one of them is indeed the culprit.”

“Then why did you make them candidates for Crown Princess?”

“To keep an eye on them. I thought if I treated them harshly under the guise of lessons, something would come out. But there was no movement. So, I had to move first.”

“….”

“I originally didn’t intend to choose a Crown Princess. But since I couldn’t figure out who among the three it was, I had no choice but to choose you as the Crown Princess and deliberately gave you a torn dress. I thought if the harasser knew they weren’t the only one doing such acts, they would move again.”

“….”

“And as expected, the culprit moved. They thought I would overlook it again, just like before.”

Lucius paused for a moment before continuing.

“It’s Lady Brooke.”

“Lady Brooke? Really?”

Hearing the unexpected name, Amelia’s eyes widened.

Wasn’t she the lady who best met the conditions Lucius wanted? Moreover, Amelia had comforted her several times when she wanted to give up midway.

It was hard to believe that the lady who had tried to give up being the Crown Princess several times had harassed Lady Limerick and herself.

“Yes. I found out not long ago. I also found evidence.”

“Then why didn’t you arrest her immediately?”

“I planned to watch the situation a bit more since she wouldn’t run away.”

“Then why didn’t you at least remove me from the position of Crown Princess as soon as you realized it? Why did you include me among the candidates in the first place?”

Amelia, now too agitated to maintain her manners, felt nothing but resentment towards Lucius’s actions. How could she endure being used for two months just to catch the culprit?

“I chose three, and the other two were decided by the Elder Nobles’ Council. So, I didn’t have veto power.”

Lucius then showed a slightly aggrieved expression.

“Were the ones decided by the Elder Nobles’ Council me and Lady Waterford?”

“Yes.”

Now, it was clear why Lady Waterford was eliminated first. She was never in Lucius’s favor, so there was no need to keep her as a candidate.

“Then why didn’t you eliminate me?”

“The Duke of Hamilton once proudly said he would raise his daughter as his successor. So, I knew you wouldn’t want to marry me. That’s why I thought the Duke wouldn’t protest much even if I changed my mind.”

As expected, Lucius chose the lady who would cause the least trouble, and as a result, Amelia was sacrificed.

“But then something unexpected happened.”

“Unexpected?”

“To subtly show the Elder Nobles that I wouldn’t choose other ladies, I set conditions for the Crown Princess. The lady shouldn’t be the same age as me, and she shouldn’t be unchaste. I deliberately set conditions that only you would meet. But I didn’t expect you to disqualify yourself.”

Judging by Lucius’s incredulous expression, he hadn’t expected Amelia to give up her chastity.

“Ah….”

Lady Brooke wasn’t a virgin either. Amelia realized this now.

This meant her efforts to disqualify herself were unnecessary from the start.

Though she had somewhat expected it, hearing it directly left her speechless.

She had never had a chance to become the Crown Princess from the beginning and had done unnecessary things. She didn’t need to lose her chastity….