Chapter 47

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 47

Chapter Title: Tea Time Distress Signal

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"Y-Yes?"

Suddenly singled out like this?

Stunned by the Crown Prince's unexpected call, I immediately started signaling the Duke sitting right beside me.

My patented "Swan Paddle Under the Surface" technique.

"Ahaha..."

First, I drew their eyes with a laugh, then began slapping the Duke's thigh wildly under the table with my palm.

'Please...! Help! Help!'

But even as I rubbed my palm raw hoping he'd catch on!

Even as I ramped up the intensity, unleashing every trick and rhythm with my hand to grab his attention!

The Duke didn't so much as twitch—he wouldn't even glance my way.

Switching from palm to fist, I pounded his thigh. Not enough? I pinched it desperately too.

Yet the Duke ignored me completely, as if pretending I didn't exist.

Is this... his way of saying I have to handle this alone?

"I..."

Just as I steeled myself with a sense of betrayal and opened my mouth to muddle through—

"April Pepper. A distant branch of the Brail Ducal House."

Huh?

Before I could even get a word out, the Duke beat me to it.

He'd ignored my desperate signals, but now... what was he thinking?

As I stared at him blankly, I felt eyes on me from somewhere.

Precisely... the Crown Prince's.

"Hmm, I see. Word is the lady oversees the overall flow of the comics? Something like... a conduit? Hearing the characters' stories directly?"

'Damn...'

He'd spread the rumors after all.

I shot a resentful glance toward where the Empress was likely seated, then parted my lips to cobble together a suitable reply.

But once again, the answer came from elsewhere.

"She has such a firm grip on her own world that her ideas are hard for most to grasp."

The Duke again.

To an outsider, it might sound like she was out of her mind, but help was help.

I gave his thigh a gentle pat this time, signaling we should stick to this angle.

'Keep it going! Don't stop!'

He flinched.

The Duke's body trembled once... or was that my imagination?

Meanwhile, another exchange unfolded between the Duke and the Crown Prince.

"I'd like to hear her stories straight from the source."

"She hasn't even debuted in society and has lived in seclusion, so she's rather ignorant of etiquette. To spare Your Highness any rudeness on her part, I'll have to speak for her—please forgive the imposition."

"Ah."

The Duke was dragging my image through the mud, but I just nodded blankly, mind on autopilot.

Fine, maybe this persona would make things easier down the line.

A tearful mental victory kept me afloat as I endured. Whenever my eyes met the Crown Prince's, I'd innocently look away, minimizing my presence.

'Not knowing etiquette might not be entirely wrong, come to think of it...'

Recalling my unguarded behavior toward him yesterday, I lowered my gaze, seized by the urge to kick off the covers again.

But then—

"I appreciate the Duke's concern, but do you think I'd mishandle talent like that?"

T-Talent? That sounds ominous.

And the Crown Prince's savvy was no joke either.

He smoothly deflected the Duke's words, then scanned the room for agreement—clearly a pro at spin.

"Q-Quite right, Your Highness."

"It's already famous across the continent that Your Highness shows no bias in promoting talent."

Praise for the Crown Prince bubbled up from all around.

But the Duke stayed silent amid the pressure.

"Boring."

In the end, the Crown Prince lost steam first.

Gazing at the Duke and me alternately with an inscrutable look, he muttered in a bored tone and waved his hand.

"...Oh, it's gone cold."

A maid standing by hurried forward with a fresh cup of tea.

'Huh?'

At the same time, an idea flashed in my mind.

'A tumbler... that keeps tea from cooling?'

What if I made tumblers as merch for the Empress's comics?

From my veteran fan experience, tumblers were a safe, versatile choice.

'And this world doesn't have them yet!'

In this boiler-less dump of a world, prepping them before the dry, harsh winter would definitely help me out!

Lost in my thoughts, I failed to notice once more.

That the Crown Prince had been staring at me intently for some time.

Ever since entering the capital, Kaian Brail's mood had been in the gutter.

More precisely, it started after his audience with the Empress, when Raiden Kletan summoned him privately.

"You look better than in ages. Come by often. It's your home too, after all."

"I am grateful for the words, Your Highness."

Every insincere syllable.

And the dark intentions—calling him like a dog only when needed, scheming to use him.

He'd left the palace out of disgust, but even after all these years, the foul feeling lingered.

"Oh, and that girl you brought. The Empress seems taken with her."

"......"

"Want to trade? Hand her over, and I'll release your concubine's remains. What do you say?"

The worthless prattle felt like filth clogging his ears. No matter how he scrubbed, the revulsion wouldn't fade.

"Kaian, seeing you so protective just piques my curiosity more."

Maybe that's why. He didn't want to care, but he did.

The sudden proposal for tea with the artists he'd never shown interest in before.

And the specific order to bring April.

"Greetings to Your Highness, the Crown Prince."

April's open disdain had lightened his mood a touch, but seeing the Crown Prince's face brought a strange unease coiling around him.

The way he looked at her—this side, precisely April—wasn't how one eyed mere talent.

But he couldn't pinpoint the exact difference between them.

"Ah, I had some new tea shipped from beyond the continent. Quite tasty."

After the rote pleasantries, the real tea time began.

The Crown Prince spoke first.

"Lady, what was your name again?"

Why did that?

Kaian found the perfectly ordinary question grating.

But if he jumped in now, it'd only stoke Raiden's curiosity about April more.

As he opted for silence over responding first, something unexpected happened.

'Hm?'

Fumble fumble.

A strange touch grazed his thigh.

Both his hands were on the table, and the only one beside him was April.

Meaning April was groping his thigh.

'What the hell?'

Even he couldn't hide his fluster this time.

Kaian caught himself just before turning toward her.

Meanwhile, the hand on his thigh grew bolder, rougher.

'Teasing...? Suddenly?'

"You're so handsome, I lost my head..."

"What?"

"I haven't seen anyone this gorgeous. Y-You're... my type."

April's words from before flashed in his mind.

The gas she'd inhaled then induced mild delirium, but not outright fabrication.

Naturally, that led to assuming everything she said was true.

'But why now, of all times?'

As the touches intensified, his body threatened an unwelcome reaction.

Then April pinched him, as if demanding some response.

'She's done plenty of weird stuff before, but not to this extent.'

Suddenly, a graver possibility struck him.

'Did she take the wrong medicine?'

The Kletan palace looked peaceful on the surface.

But even after the Duke renounced the throne and headed north, the Crown Prince still watched him warily.

And the Empress—quiet now, but once capable of far worse—was ruthless.

If that mother-son duo had schemed, they might use this chance to eliminate a thorn like him.

Approaching those around him would be easy, unlike his own fastidiousness.

For instance, someone like April...