Chapter 11
“Are you bragging in front of me right now that you’re close to Viern?”
“Wh-What? N-No, that’s not…”
“Viern is closer to me than to you.”
“What do you…”
“So get the hell out of my sight.”
“Kyaah…!”
The hand immediately swinging her hair this way and that sent the woman’s body toppling to the floor. Finally the woman burst into tears, and only after Viern arrived to handle the situation did Diana release the woman’s hair from her grip.
“Your Highness.”
He looked at Diana with a face demanding an explanation. However, Diana stood with her arms crossed boldly, glaring at him as if she’d done nothing wrong.
“This woman made me feel bad first. I was just taking a walk when she shoved her ugly face at me, tormenting my eyes. This is an insult to the royal family. If you don’t throw her out immediately, I’ll impose an even greater punishment. On this woman, and on you too.”
At Diana’s appearance, threatening that she wouldn’t let it slide if he didn’t chase the woman away immediately and making absurd, unreasonable demands, Viern explained in a calm voice.
“Imposing punishment simply because someone upset you is not appropriate…”
“So? Are you taking this woman’s side in front of me right now?”
“…….”
Viern slowly closed his lips in thought, then soon commanded the soldiers.
“Escort the count’s daughter outside the palace…”
“Make sure she never appears before my eyes again.”
Diana cut off his words with her command. At this, he looked back at the count’s daughter with a troubled expression.
“I apologize, Lady Huton. Please do not appear before Her Highness’s eyes in the future.”
“Duke…!”
The pitiful count’s daughter, who had thought her lover would rescue her from the princess, looked at him with an expression of disbelief. However, Diana wasn’t satisfied with just that.
“Nor yours either.”
“…….”
“She shouldn’t appear before your eyes either, Viern. You’re the person ruling the kingdom in my place, so if I feel bad, you should feel bad too.”
“…….”
This time the Duke’s silence was a bit longer. Slowly parting his lips, he announced their breakup to the count’s daughter.
“Since Her Highness’s will is thus, it can’t be helped, my lady.”
“C-Can’t be helped? What do you…”
“I mean let us not see each other again. It’s been enjoyable. Then, fare you well.”
It was a firm and clean notification, bordering on cold.
“W-Wait a moment, Duke! Leaving me like this is absurd…!”
“What are you doing? Hurry and escort the count’s daughter outside the palace.”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
The soldiers seized the count’s daughter by both arms. The shocked woman was dragged away without the will to resist. Viern was quietly watching that scene with a face impossible to read when—
“I’m hurt here, Viern.”
Diana clung to his arm just as the count’s daughter had done days ago, showing him her reddened, swollen palm. It had swollen from striking the woman’s cheek earlier.
Seeing it, Viern’s eyes hardened slightly as he spoke.
“Do not use your hands carelessly in the future.”
“Okay, okay, I won’t.”
Diana grinned, wrapped in a strange sense of victory.
* * *
Diana couldn’t hold back the grin that kept slipping out all day long.
‘Viern took my side. Viern is closer to me than to that woman.’
Recalling Viern, who had yielded to her sophistry and unreasonable demands without complaint, made the corners of her mouth keep twitching upward and her chest feel ticklish.
Unable to watch any longer, Aisen asked her.
“Do you like Lord Viern that much, Your Highness?”
“Like him? Me, Viern?”
Diana blinked and turned to look at him.
“W-Wasn’t that the case?”
The one flustered was Aisen. Rumors that the princess liked the Duke had already spread rampantly throughout the entire palace, along with the outrage she’d committed against the count’s daughter—yet here she was asking as if she knew nothing about it.
“If you don’t like Lord Viern, then why did you cause such an outrage with the count’s daughter?”
“Outrage, what outrage? That woman made me feel bad first. Clinging to Viern’s arm like that… Hm?”
Diana, who had been explaining in an indifferent voice, suddenly felt something was a bit off and narrowed her brow.
Now that she thought about it, why had that woman clinging to Viern’s arm made her feel so bad?
“I mean, so… didn’t Your Highness feel jealous of that woman because you like Lord Viern? And even before that, you always only looked at Lord Viern, and only smiled brightly in front of him, so I thought Your Highness liked him…”
“……!”
Diana suddenly shot up from her seat. At Aisen’s words, which made her examine feelings she’d never looked back on before, a thunderbolt of realization struck her head.
‘Ah…! I like Viern!’
No wonder her gaze kept going to him, her heart pounded when they were together, she felt unpleasant when he was with other women—all of that. It was all because I like Viern!
It felt like the ticklish feeling that had been there all day went “Pop!” and burst. She was so happy her chest swelled up.
‘I like Viern. I… like Viern.’
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