Who Could Have Loved the Monster Princess? - Chapter 61

I was taken aback. Hearing him speak like that made me wonder if he already knew who I had brought with me.

‘Could there be some problem between the Amortan royal family and Staedt?’

But I didn’t know anything about it at all. And even if something had happened, it wasn’t Elena’s fault. She was born after Amortan’s downfall.

“Father, please tell me what’s going on. Was there some issue that made you keep Elena away from Staedt?”

“Elena?”

Maybe not? Did he not realize who I had brought with me?

“Yes. Elena, my cousin.”

“No, wait, dear…!”

Dad gasped, then when our eyes met, he took a deep breath and returned to his usual self.

“A cousin…? Did she say that herself?”

“Yes. Well, she didn’t say ‘cousin’ exactly — she called me her younger sister.”

I felt happy to have such a kind and pretty older sister. Smiling, I added to Dad:

“Her smile really resembles Mom’s. Even her eye color is just like Mom’s, so she’s very beautiful.”

Dad watched me quietly as I introduced Elena, frowning and lost in thought. Just then, Elena came back from washing up.

She had finished cleaning and styling her hair and was wearing one of the dresses Mom had prepared. She looked even more beautiful than before.

“Wow! That really suits you, Elena!”

“Thank you, Belienne!”

Elena smiled gently, then looked at Dad with a puzzled expression.

Dad’s face was strange. He looked very displeased to be facing Elena, and he didn’t even try to hide it.

“…Dad, this is Elena. She’s the daughter of Princess Alyssa Amortan.”

“Oh, my! To meet the Duke of Staedt, the savior of humanity.”

Dad ignored Elena’s greeting and turned his body toward me.

“Belienne, I won’t oppose your decision.”

Though he said that, his expression showed he was very reluctant.

“But make sure this woman never crosses paths with your mother.”

“…What?”

I was taken aback by Dad’s attitude, ignoring Elena’s greeting and speaking to me so firmly.

‘Does he hate her that much…?’

It might not be about some past incident; maybe it’s simply that Aunt Alyssa and Mom didn’t get along. But even so, does he have to treat his niece like that?

Dad didn’t try to ease my embarrassment. After glancing once at Elena, he turned and left the room.

I felt awkward looking at Elena. Being ignored like that by my uncle on our first meeting — she must have been pretty hurt, right? I stole a quick glance at her, and fortunately, she seemed fine. With curious eyes, she watched the direction Dad had gone, then smiled brightly and clapped her palms together.

“They say the Duke of Staedt is very cold, but he’s a caring father to you, Belienne!”

“Yes… because he’s my dad.”

“So many fathers aren’t like that.”

Elena frowned slightly, as if thinking about the father who had abandoned her and her mother, but soon her face brightened again.

“Tea time’s soon, right? I’m curious about Staedt’s milk tea.”

I checked the time and nodded. Aside from tea parties with the ladies, I hadn’t really paid attention to tea time before, but since a new lady had joined the family, it seemed right to take care of it now. I called for Rose.

“Rose, please prepare the tea.”

“Yes, my lady.”

***

The second morning living together with my sister in the mansion dawned.

I had breakfast with a sandwich and was drinking coffee while going over today’s tasks.

Then, suddenly, my father’s words from yesterday came to mind:

“Make sure this woman never crosses paths with your mother.”

Yesterday, Elena had brushed it off lightly, so I had done the same without much thought. But I still couldn’t understand why Dad insisted that Elena and Mom should never meet.

Still, Dad knows Mom better than I do, so I instructed the servants carefully to make sure Elena wouldn’t accidentally run into Mom.

Yesterday, after showing Elena around the mansion until late, I asked her how she felt about arranged marriages.

“Arranged marriage? Mother told me I’m royal, so I must never lose my dignity no matter where I go. Are you thinking of introducing me to someone?”

Elena asked so openly that I ended up telling her about the Crown Princess matter. Elena didn’t seem upset and blushed faintly. That was a relief.

For some reason, the idea of Carnelian and Elena meeting and possibly getting married felt really strange.

‘Why is that? Do I have hidden feelings for Carnelian?’

That definitely didn’t seem to be the case… Maybe, like Mir said, this feeling comes from my failure to build a good relationship with Carnelian. I tried to handle it on my own but never even got close enough to make a connection, let alone tie things up properly.

‘I don’t think it’s a good match…’

Sending Elena, who seems like a kind person, made me feel sorry for her because he’s a bit of a jerk. On the other hand, recommending Elena as the Crown Princess made me doubt if she could properly support him politically, which made me feel sorry for Carnelian.

‘I heard somewhere that matchmaking isn’t something just anyone can do.’

They don’t seem to have even a single thing in common, do they?

‘If I tell Dad, he’ll definitely oppose a political marriage with the royal family… If I want to convince him, I’ll need to establish some foundation for it first.’

Like placing someone from Staedt in the royal family and planning to siphon off their wealth bit by bit.