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Swordsman Tsurgis’s Visit to Dalistia

(Part 3)

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*****

「First, please allow me to apologize, Lady Dalistia.」

With those words, Wellmy smiled. Today, she wore a refreshing blue dress adorned with white lace, the hem fluttering softly as she moved.

The expression she showed Dalistia was a far cry from the headstrong, condescending mask she had worn during the evening parties. Instead, it was a soft look reminiscent of an inquisitive cat—much like the face she had shown Dalistia briefly after the hypnotic suggestion had been broken.

(This must be her true face.)

Her brother had mentioned that Wellmy was 「extraordinarily skilled at acting to deceive others,」 and Dalistia felt a pang of shame for not realizing that her persona was merely the "reverse side" of a lady’s mask. After all, she had been fooled not just at that party, but throughout their entire time at the academy.

「An apology? For what?」

Dalistia tilted her head slightly, and Wellmy looked up at her with a truly contrite expression.

「For spilling wine on your dress at the previous party. I had intended for the Crown Prince to explain the situation to you in the lounge afterward... but at that point, I hadn't actually told Lord Taigrim anything yet.」

---Ah.

As the meaning of Wellmy’s actions sank in, Dalistia finally understood why Lord Taigrim’s attitude had changed so abruptly afterward. She felt a wave of dejection at her own shallowness.

If only she had listened calmly. If only she had questioned the reason for Taigrim’s sudden change in demeanor instead of immediately concluding she was being manipulated. She would have realized that Wellmy’s actions were intended to distance her from the commotion. Had she known that, she never would have made such a pathetic spectacle of herself.

「Please, do not trouble yourself. It is I who should apologize.」

After all, she had been duped hook, line, and sinker. Her brother had given her a high-level overview of the evening party and Wellmy’s private circumstances—at least as much as he was permitted to share—and Dalistia bowed her head in return.

「I am deeply sorry that my foolishness led to such unnecessary meddling.」

She realized now, with a touch of self-derision, that someone as inept as her never stood a chance with Prince Leonir.

「Please, lift your head. If we had handled things a bit more skillfully... you would never have been placed under house arrest.」

Dalistia was only being charged with the use of an illegally modified hypnotic magic tool. However, considering there were mitigating circumstances—namely, that the King himself was aware of the broader plan—she was essentially being let off with a few weeks of house arrest and almost no formal punishment.

Even so, in the eyes of high society, her social standing was effectively dead.

Given her age, there was neither time nor available positions to secure a new engagement with a high-ranking noble. Between the recent scandal and the rumors that had dogged her since her academy days, anyone seeking her hand now would likely only be after a connection to the Ducal House of Abacam.

Originally, she might have accepted that, but those seeking such a match would be from families of lower standing, which would never satisfy her father’s expectations. Thus, no marriage proposal would ever be finalized.

『You are to become the Crown Prince's fiancée. You will restore authority to the rightful royal bloodline that flows through House Abacam.』

Her father, the Duke of Abacam, had demanded only that of her. She had been told that her sole reason for existing was to fulfill that purpose.

---That was why, when she realized that Lady Iola was to be the official fiancée, she had already braced herself.

She understood that next, she would be ordered to 「Become a secondary consort」 or 「Become the bride of the Second Prince.」

But she had a premonition that Prince Leonir would not seek a secondary consort for at least three years, regardless of whether he and Lady Iola had children. Having been close to him since childhood, she knew the Prince’s temperament well. Lord Taigrim, on the other hand, was younger than Dalistia—only sixteen and newly come of age. There was no reason for him to choose an older woman who had committed a criminal act to be his princess.

On the day her house arrest was announced, she had prepared herself for a scathing rebuke from her father, but for some reason, he never came to see her.

「Please, don't be so formal. What was bound to happen once I became a useless 'leftover' has simply arrived a few years early.」

When she replied this way, Lady Wellmy looked flustered, and the expression on Lord Tsurgis, who stood beside her, grew stern.

「What do you mean by that?」

「Shall we discuss it over tea? This may be the last time we speak, and I find myself glad that my final guests were the two of you.」

Dalistia invited Wellmy and Tsurgis into the garden and had her maid prepare tea. Once everything was ready, she dismissed the servants and began to speak.

「Shall I begin?」

Lady Wellmy glanced at Tsurgis. He took a deep breath, as if bracing himself for a major resolution, and bowed to Dalistia.

「First, I must offer my own apology to you, Lady Dalistia.」

Tsurgis kept his head lowered as he continued.

「My improper conduct resulted in a great deal of trouble for you. ...The suffering you endured was sparked by my own selfish desires.」

Hearing those words, Dalistia felt a flush of heat rise to her face.

『He held romantic feelings for Lady Dalistia...』

Dalistia, of course, remembered Lord Schizolda saying those very words.

「Those... desires you mentioned...」

「Yes. Though it was presumptuous of me... I harbored feelings for you. It is also a fact that I voiced them to my father, only to have my request for an engagement proposal flatly rejected.」

Wellmy added a supplement to his words.

「This was back when Zumiano was manipulating him. ...Zumiano deemed it the most reliable method to grant Tsurgis’s wish...」

「Are you saying it wasn't Lord Tsurgis's own intent? Please, lift your head.」

「It was. ...I apologize. However, the fact that I held feelings for you was no lie.」

Tsurgis raised his head and looked Dalistia straight in the eye.

「What I truly wanted... was for you to be happy with the one you loved.」

Unable to handle the intensity of his gaze, Dalistia was the one to look away. Even if she hadn't been aware of it, she had never experienced someone expressing their feelings so directly. After all, she had always been the primary candidate for the Crown Prince's hand.

「...Lord Tsurgis. There is one misunderstanding.」

Dalistia let out a soft sigh, correcting his mistake.

「I am not in love with Prince Leonir. I feel a deep affection for him, certainly, but...」

That was why Dalistia had given up when she saw him growing close to Lady Iola. Because it was Lady Iola.

「I never told the Princes, but... I had given up long ago.」

「But you... you were crying as you watched the two of them in the library.」

At Tsurgis’s pained words, Dalistia’s eyes widened.

「Y-you were watching...?」

She remembered that day vividly; it was the day she decided to let go of her engagement to the Crown Prince.

「Yes. I am sorry.」

「...The reason I shed those shameful tears was that fulfilling that engagement was my mission—the very reason I was permitted to live.」

「Um, excuse me for interrupting, but what does that mean?」

At Wellmy’s question, Dalistia gave a self-deprecating smile.

「My father desired for me to be the Crown Princess. I was raised being told that if I did not achieve that, my life had no value.」

Both of them gasped. Dalistia shook her head.

「I'm sorry. My emotional outburst toward you, Lady Wellmy, was just my own selfishness. I had given up because it was Lady Iola, so when I saw you, I wondered 'Why Lady Wellmy?'... If I had thought about it for even a moment, I should have realized something was afoot.」

She had been suspicious of the vast difference between Wellmy's school reputation and her current behavior. But her suspicions had leaned toward the idea that it was a harassment tactic by the Wellmy who supposedly hated Iola. She had swallowed the rumors that 「Prince Leonir had been ensnared by her feminine wiles.」

Even though she had been told Wellmy wasn't that kind of girl, Dalistia hadn't truly believed it. That was why she felt ashamed.

「Because it was my sister? I can understand that, but... how did you know about my sister's, well, true nature?」

Dalistia looked at Wellmy—who was nodding but still looked a bit puzzled—and decided to let a hint of playfulness show.

「---Because I am a member of Lady Iola’s 'Salon.'」

「...Eh?」

「Before you two arrived on the day of that party, Lady Iola and Prince Leonir visited me in the lounge. That was when they apologized and gave me a 'formal introduction.'」

She had only spoken to Wellmy once at school. It was when a teacher had asked her to deliver a trivial message. She had glared at the Wellmy who was fawning over Irvine, and Wellmy had merely smirked back.

That was all there was to it, but Iola had explained that the message had been sent by Prince Leonir via the professor, and that Wellmy always made that face when she was trying to push people she could trust away from herself. That was why Iola had invited her to the 'Salon.'

「I was the one who taught Lady Iola how to do her makeup, and I was her partner in researching the magic used to hide the luster of her hair.」

During that time, Dalistia had glimpsed Iola’s brilliance and her true beauty. She had witnessed a kindness so profound that Iola would willingly endure hardship because 「otherwise, the people working so hard to save me would be in trouble.」

Knowing she couldn't compete with that, Dalistia had stepped aside.

「Are you surprised?」

「Yes... then, do you also know Teresalo...?」

「She was a collaborator when I was writing my thesis on reducing mana consumption. Her family is in the herb business, and she has a deep knowledge of the ingredients used in Magic Potions.」

Dalistia hadn't been involved in that specific part, as she had been focused on her own thesis.

「I do not regret my choices. Like Lady Iola and Lady Wellmy, I did it to protect those dear to me. ...My father harbors a foolish obsession with introducing our house's bloodline into the Lionel Royal Family to reclaim what he believes is our rightful authority.」

Dalistia intended to speak out about that fact once her house arrest was lifted. Prince Leonir and Lady Iola had both been kind enough to tell her to 「Contact us anytime.」

「This matter will eventually be settled, so please keep it between us for now, all right?」

Because in the near future, Dalistia would likely no longer be a Duke’s daughter.

「Therefore, I cannot accept your feelings, Lord Tsurgis. I am truly sorry.」

He was likely the only person who held genuine affection for her. Though she knew his face, she had never really thought about him until now, but...

(I'm happy.)

She truly felt that way about the affection he showed. Hearing that he had been manipulated, she didn't feel he had deceived her. After all, she had jumped onto his scheme because of her own wicked desire to cloud the truth of the situation.

「...Lady Dalistia.」

「Yes?」

Wellmy spoke, a pensive look in her bright vermilion eyes.

「The chances of you ceasing to be a Duke’s daughter are likely zero.」

「...And why is that?」

「I believe that is a question you should ask your brother standing behind you.」

Wellmy’s face lit up with a mischievous smile. Dalistia spun around and saw exactly who she said: Maleficent Abacam... her older brother.

His usually gentle and soft expression, which always looked upon Dalistia with kindness, was clouded today with a look of distinct displeasure.

「S-since when were you there?」

「Just a moment ago. I was told that a brazen scoundrel aiming for my precious sister had stuck to Lady Wellmy like a goldfish's tail and come here to seduce her.」

With a huff, her brother glared at Tsurgis. Leaving the flustered Dalistia behind, Tsurgis stood up and bowed deeply.

「My apologies. Even if we were not alone, I apologize for sharing a table with a lady.」

「You're not going to deny that you're aiming for her?」

「...presumptuous as it may be, the fact that I harbor feelings for her is the truth.」

「That’s not an answer. I have no intention of handing my sister over to a coward. Lord Tsurgis Deltrate. If you are to inherit the Marquisate... if you are the one to follow in Lord Nete's footsteps, why don't you stop self-deprecating and stand tall?」

Tsurgis snapped his head up in surprise, while her brother continued to glare at him with a disgruntled expression. Dalistia stood frozen, unable to speak as an aura of intimidation—one she had never seen before—radiated from her brother.

「I'll ask you again. Do you deny that you're aiming for her?」

At the second question, Tsurgis’s face hardened. His previously lackluster expression was suddenly flooded with a surge of drive.

Then, strangely, the impression he gave off changed. The somewhat plain features remained, but the faint, unreliable atmosphere vanished, replaced by a powerful presence like that of a true knight.

Dalistia found herself unable to look away from his virile intensity as he stood his ground against her brother.

「---I do not deny it. If I am granted a future, I will persuade my father and make a formal proposal.」

After a period of stifling silence, her brother’s expression finally softened.

「If you always made that face, there would be fewer people claiming you are unfit to be the heir. ...However, if Dalistia isn't satisfied, I have no intention of letting you have her. My sister is the treasure of House Abacam, a gem we should never be ashamed of.」

「B-brother...」

Dalistia was shaken. At Tsurgis’s words, at her brother’s words... at being desired and affirmed, she suddenly felt like she might cry.

「I understand. I have no intention of neglecting the effort required to earn her favor.」

When she looked back at Tsurgis, their eyes met... and her heart skipped a beat.

(He wants me.)

She felt it.

「See that it doesn't end with mere words. ...My apologies for interrupting your tea party, Lady Lyloud.」

「Not at all. We were just about to take our leave, so please don't mind us, Special Task Minister Abacam. Personally, I am delighted that your appearance has led to such a desirable outcome.」

「W-Lady Wellmy...」

「Lady Dalistia is so beautiful and lovely, after all. I imagine she’ll have suitors lining up from now on, and Lord Tsurgis might just fade into the background.」

As Wellmy shrugged her shoulders with a charming "ufufu," Dalistia covered her face with both hands.

「Forgive me... I’m so embarrassed... I...」

Her cheeks were so hot she knew her neck and ears must be bright red. She was happy, she was embarrassed, and she didn't want them to see the tears that were about to spill over. Dalistia couldn't lift her face until they had stood up and she was watching their retreating backs.

*****

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