Chapter 194
C194
"Mmm. However, Michelle Granbert is more than just a friend of the princess...."
It feels like a fervent believer.
She lent a jointed doll to serve as bait during the battle with the black wizard, so she thought she had become quite close to the princess, but Michelle's condition was too much for just a friend.
"Wow, princess. Does my face look weird right now? I'm so nervous."
Michelle asked with a pale face. Her tightly clenched fists trembled with tension.
"You're naturally white, so you don't look much different from usual. But, are you that nervous?"
After all, Deborah is the saint who saved the empire.
Before, not many people recognized her true worth, but after the battle with the devil, the number of followers definitely increased.
"In reality... I can't believe it. I never expected it. I actually prayed, but I'm not very lucky, so I never dreamed they would invite me here. It's a great honor, and thanks again, princess."
Michelle Granbert, who was invited to this tea party on a whim of the princess, had trouble sleeping from the day she was invited. Everyone was envious of attending a tea party with two popular figures in the empire, but.... She never liked it because she was a Saint!
Michelle prided herself on not being late.
The owner of Armand, whom she had only vaguely imagined, was Princess Deborah! And to think she even had the noble side job of being a saint.
Tea time with the person she admired enough to prepare a doll as a tribute and even write a thesis of analysis!
"I am a very lucky person. It's good to be alive."
Michelle was delighted.
"I didn't expect you to be in front of the imperial palace since dawn. It's a shame I left late."
"It's a big problem if you arrive even a second late. That's why it's more comfortable to wait since dawn."
"Eh, yes, aside from that. I've been worried about it since before, what do you have in your hand?"
"A script..."
"I don't know why you need a script for a tea party, but this one repeats, what the hell did you write?"
Looking at the piece of paper that Michelle had been holding onto like a lifebuoy, the fifth princess showed curiosity.
"... Just what to say when we meet, just this and that."
"Can I see it?"
While Michelle hesitated, news arrived that the princess had just arrived in front of the imperial palace.
"Princess, I suddenly feel dizzy...."
Suddenly, Michelle staggered and touched her forehead.
"Wake up. You've been waiting since dawn. If you fall like this, you won't be able to see her for even a second."
"I'll try to endure."
Michelle gritted her teeth and nodded decisively. In no time, Princess Deborah appeared at the door, and Michelle managed to suppress her screams.
"Has everything been well, princess?"
Princess Deborah greeted her with her characteristic cold expression. However, the fifth princess could now read warmth in the princess's eyes.
"Thanks to you."
The two made eye contact and shook hands lightly.
"Has the princess been well too?"
"Yes, thanks to the princess, I have rested well and enjoyed myself."
"But we decided to call each other by our names, Deborah."
"Yes, Vivian."
Seeing the two of them affectionately calling each other by their names, Michelle put force into the soles of her feet, resisting the urge to stomp.
"I envy you so much, princess. I want to ask her to call me by my name in a friendly way like that too!"
Although she screamed violently inside, Michelle was good at hiding her emotions like a high-ranking aristocrat.
"Lady Michelle, long time no see."
Deborah greeted her while hiding her discomfort. In front of the person who wrote an analysis article about Armand and even promoted it as a five-star restaurant, her conscience hurt a bit because she had been hiding her identity while pretending not to know anything.
Moreover, she borrowed a doll that Michelle had to lure the third prince onto the boat, but couldn't return it because everyone drowned.
"Although she said I didn't have to return it in the first place..."
Maybe because she was Princess Seymour, she couldn't bear to ask for payment. Deborah looked at her, and Michelle squinted her eyes and barely managed to speak.
"Princess, it's been a while."
"Suddenly, I borrowed a doll to ride on the boat last time, and thanks for accepting."
"It's an honor to think about my doll and even use it for a grand occasion! So there's no need to thank you so politely.... Hyuk, hyuk*"
(N/T: sobbing sounds.)
But Michelle couldn't get the words that quickly passed through her mind out of her mouth. It was because she was so flustered that she got tangled up with the lines of the script she had written in advance, and her eyes rolled white.
"I just shouldn't have prepared anything."
"Michelle?"
Michelle, who seemed to have forgotten how to breathe, was gently called by the fifth princess.
"I guess she feels a bit uncomfortable."
Deborah, who thought Michelle was going through a hard time just by looking at her expressionless face, opened her mouth with a shy expression.
"Seymour will definitely return it. It won't be easy to find a job worth as much as a doll made by Miss, but I want to compensate her."
"Oh? Wait, is it time to say that line?"
Michelle, who suddenly remembered a line from the script, managed to part her lips.
"Compensation? Don't say that. Because I can feel a wall in front of the princess."
"Her face seemed a bit cold at first..."
"... she's perfect."
"..."
"..."
The fifth princess, who had been silent for a moment in the difficult atmosphere, murmured.
"Uh-huh, perfection is also a wall."
"... I'll just go home. I'm sorry!"
Michelle jumped up, her pale face flushed like a ripe apple.
"Pfft!"
Unable to bear the embarrassment and about to run away, the princess, who had been silent, suddenly covered her mouth and shook her shoulders. Seeing her laugh for the first time, Michelle's legs gave way, and she sat down.
"W-where is the handkerchief?"
Michelle muttered a jumble of words.
"Why, you said you were getting dizzy with excitement before, but it looks like this time you're going to have a nosebleed?"
"No. When Princess Deborah smiled, the juice gushed out all the way here."
"..."
It means that the laughter is as fresh as fruit.
"I have to clean up...."
"Would you like some tea?"
"Yes. I'm sorry."
"I apologize. Simply the best puppeteer in the empire... Hmm, her sense of humor is absolutely amazing. Every time you pull out a gem like those words, I feel like I'm in front of a wall in another world. Of course, it's perfect."
It didn't seem like a compliment for some reason, but Michelle was satisfied.
"I'm embarrassed, but the princess smiled, so it's okay."
It was a script born from an absurd desire to spit out memorable lines from someone you admire, but it worked anyway.
"I am fortunate."
While Michelle was dying of joy inside, Princess Deborah raised the teacup with a smile on her face.
"The tea smells very nice."
"Yes, it's very pleasant. Haha..."
"I brought my father's favorite tea leaves especially for you. If there's any wall between us, let's break it down. Of course, it's not perfect. Haha."
".... I will never do that again...."
"Why? It's fun."
Both are having fun.
Michelle's jokes brightened up the awkward place, and Deborah drank tea while listening to the banter between her companions.
"Oh, princess. Do you know? There are no purple amethysts these days, so I can't buy them."
"Purple silk and thread are also in fashion. I tried putting them on all the dolls I have, but they're sold out."
"I'm thinking of suggesting that the color of the imperial family be changed to purple instead of sky blue soon."
What is that...?
Deborah was terribly embarrassed inside, but, as always, it didn't show on her face. And that appearance gave the impression of being on the sidelines of popularity.
"It's impressive."
Michelle said immediately.
"Well, of course. She's my wife."
"...."
"They're very close friends."
Deborah effortlessly turned away from the bright eyes of the two, absentmindedly toying with her sweaty ring finger. It was a habit she had developed recently after wearing her engagement ring every day.
And the eyes of the two naturally stayed on the ring.
"Mmm. Princess Deborah, I heard rumors that you are engaged to Duke Visconti. Congratulations."
"Thank you."
"I, um, by the way"
Michelle timidly curved her lips and bit them.
"At the wedding, that.... Can I be a bridesmaid? If there are seats available?"
In Azutea, on the wedding day, four or five friends of the bride stand by the bride as bridesmaids with flowers. It was one of the traditions that emerged from the custom of protecting the bride from strangers.
"I'm always by the princess's side. Don't overdo it, Michelle."
"Still, the left side is empty."
Seeing the two of them discussing, Deborah felt a strange sensation. There was a time when she was a symbol of fear, so there wasn't even a young lady who could make eye contact with her properly....
In addition to these two, Margaret and Arin also came to ask to be bridesmaids. Meanwhile, she was busy living alone, but when she came to her senses, she was surprised and happy inside that there were so many people sincerely congratulating her on her marriage.
The princess smiled slightly, curving her sharp eyes.
"Wow."
For a moment, it was so bright that Michelle covered her eyes...
"I envy you, Isidor."
The fifth princess seriously visited Isidor with her latest collection of offensive magical tools and almost had a fierce fight with him.
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