“Am I really no match for Charlotte?” Prince Roy gulped his wine down in large drafts, looking wretched.
Drops of wine splattered from the corner of his mouth onto his formal wear, staining his chest, yet he did not care at all.
“That’s not true. Your Highness is one of the most noble people in the entire Kalishi Empire. Even a Duke cannot compare to you,” the servant pouring the wine said.
“Then why does everyone only look at him? Why is he the only one treated with such respect? Even Father…” At that thought, Roy slammed his wine glass onto the floor.
“Dammit…”
The servant was startled by the erratic Second Prince, trembling and not daring to clean up the glass shards.
Roy suddenly let out a helpless sigh.
Emperor Bartel… he was actually Roy’s biggest psychological hurdle.
He was the Emperor’s second son. In terms of lineage, he could not beat the legitimate eldest son, Gelis.
In terms of ability, he could not match his younger sister, Clecia.
He just wanted people to acknowledge him, but even his own biological father showed him no sign of approval.
He even felt his father did not care about him at all.
“Charlotte… Charlotte… why is it always Charlotte!”
If it were not for Charlotte, would he be the chosen one? Dammit!
By the Goddess, why did he have to exist in the same era as Charlotte? Why…
“Where exactly am I lacking?”
“Your Highness, you aren’t lacking anything.”
“Then why was Bella willing to dance with him, but not with me?”
Roy truly could not understand. What was so good about that Charlotte? In terms of status, position, and power, he was superior in every way.
“Miss Bella only agreed to dance with Charlotte to ease her father’s burdens. With your status, think about it — none of the noble ladies present could possibly refuse you. After all, climbing up to your branch means potentially becoming a future Imperial Concubine.”
“Really?”
Roy’s mood suddenly improved.
“Of course. Prince Roy is one of the most distinguished people in this world,” the servant answered as if it were common sense.
The servant said this just to make Roy feel better. If Roy chose the daughters of some minor nobles, they would be desperate to throw themselves at him.
As long as he did not choose someone… particularly high-ranking.
However, Roy’s thought process was a bit different from ordinary people.
Since Miss Bella had tried to sow discord, why couldn’t he?
Hadn’t Charlotte’s fiancée come as well?
Right!
Florine Weiss. Rumors said that Charlotte’s fiancée was on very bad terms with him.
Charlotte had only begged the Emperor for the marriage because he needed the help of House Weiss.
Roy slapped his forehead as the realization hit him. The previous depression and frustration vanished instantly.
“Change my clothes! Give me the most heroic-looking suit!”
As he thought of Florine’s figure — the most beautiful girl in the East Territory — his lips felt dry for a moment.
‘Charlotte, since you can come to poach from me, why can’t I poach from you?’
……
After chatting with Vivian for a bit, Florine realized Charlotte had disappeared.
Vivian still had not paid back the money for the roast chicken, so she excused herself to go find Charlotte.
Florine, meanwhile, obediently followed Charlotte’s instructions and stayed beside Princess Clecia, eating desserts with her.
Of course, there was also Lilia Karen, who did not know where else to go and could only stay where there were familiar faces, her head down as she stuffed her face.
The three top-tier beauties standing together made others hesitant to approach.
Because if those three started a fight while standing together, it would be bad if anyone else got dragged into it.
Particularly Lilia and Florine; when they stood near each other, the air seemed to thicken with the scent of gunpowder.
“Miss Lilia, eating that much will make you fat. Charlotte doesn’t like women who are out of shape,” Florine said, watching Lilia as she continued to stuff food into her mouth.
Lilia chewed a piece of meat before turning to Florine. “Miss Florine, Teacher Charlotte told me to eat more. I’m currently growing.
Besides, Charlotte is teaching me how to train my magic power personally, and he even praised my figure.”
Although the two Elven ladies did not say anything vulgar, they were already engaged in a war of words. The tips of their ears were turning red from the excitement.
Clecia, however, enjoyed adding fuel to the fire. “Heh, what does that amount to? Back at the Academy, Charlotte and I were practically inseparable.”
Florine was also a student at Kalishi Academy and was in the same year as Charlotte. “Listen to you! Weren’t you just clinging to Charlotte every day like a piece of gum?”
Lilia had thought Princess Clecia was a formidable rival, but it turned out she was just a minor obstacle. Still, she gave the Princess some face.
“Princess, being persistent to the point of annoyance lacks noble grace.”
“Hmph…”
All three women let out a muffled snort in their hearts.
Lilia Karen thought that the other two were just background characters.
‘Right now, I’m the one Charlotte favors most. As Charlotte’s first disciple and his most outstanding student, he’s the one for me. Charlotte still has to come to the Karen Territory to teach me magic until the Kalishi Academy enrollment begins. By then, I’ll definitely maximize his affection for me. Clecia won’t even get to see Charlotte during that time. Once the deed is done, it’s not certain Florine will be able to compete with me.’
Arguing with them now was not as important as eating.
After training her magic power at noon, she had not eaten lunch and had remained unconscious until the afternoon. She was starving.
From Florine’s perspective, both Clecia and Lilia were just incredibly noisy contestants.
‘I’m the fiancée Charlotte recognized through the Emperor. Please! This is a marriage contract endorsed by the highest public authority in the Empire. As long as I, Florine, am alive, the most anyone else can hope for is to be a concubine. They’re just making a fuss. You two can fight over second place all you want. Just by standing here, I’ve already won. Charlotte has no feelings for Clecia at all, so she’s already lost. No matter how much she clung to him at the Academy, it’s useless. As for Lilia, hmph, it’s just an exchange of interests. Charlotte only approached her because he needed the Artifact Pendant on her chest to repay the kindness of that Elf lady named Cecilia. It just so happens that Lilia is that person’s daughter.’
No matter how she thought about it, she could not lose.
In Clecia’s eyes, these two young ladies were actually quite cute.
She had recently received a promise from Charlotte, and he had looked so handsome at that moment.
‘If there ever comes a day when you’re tired of being a Princess, I will take you away from this place…’
With just that one sentence, Clecia was certain she had Charlotte in the palm of her hand.
Did she not know her junior? He was a total tsundere — cold and distant on the outside, but already overflowing with passion on the inside.
Furthermore, every time she wanted to see Charlotte, he would suddenly appear before her. If that was not a connection between hearts, what was?
‘This is the will of heaven! It was the God… no, there were no more Gods now. In short, it was fate!’
Normally, no one would come to disturb these three women.
Of course, there were always some abnormal people in this world.
“Beautiful Miss Florine, would you care to have a dance with me?”
The three of them turned their heads toward the source of the voice at the same time.