A Fake Marriage? Sure! …Wait, Is It Actually Fake? Something’s Not Right Here! - Chapter 2

“To still have no fiancé at your age. You must be quite desperate. To be so easily fooled by a suspicious letter without even a name.”

“Well, what can I do? I’m not as beautiful as Lady Sena, and besides, well, I don’t have parents.”

“One can’t expect her to have a match like Lady Sena and Lord Evan, after all.”

Princess Melissa’s ladies-in-waiting deliberately praised Sena.

Lidoria thought it might qualify as one of the seven wonders of the world that this wicked woman Sena had such a splendid fiancé. Moreover, Sena was extremely popular among the Royal Guards, and her fiancé Evan was viewed with envy by everyone.

(There are so many things I want to say…)

Lidoria clenched her fist.

In her hand was clutched an envelope. By now it was worth less than garbage, but she couldn’t just throw it down and leave.

The café customers were staring at Lidoria and Sena’s group with keen interest. They probably understood Lidoria’s situation from the conversation. Her cheeks burned at the occasional titters of laughter she heard.

Even though she was the victim who’d been deceived, why was she the one being humiliated?

She wanted to speak her mind and retaliate, but she couldn’t cause a scene here and tarnish the name of Crown Princess Sophia.

Struggling desperately to hold back tears that threatened to surface, Lidoria gripped the letter in one hand and her bag in the other, standing up.

I’m going home.

I’ll just leave here in silence. I can’t think about what comes after right now, and I don’t want to. If possible, I’d like to just disappear.

“O-oh, miss!”

From behind Sena and her group surrounding her, a clerk came hopping over, calling out to Lidoria while doing little jumps.

“Ah… I’m sorry for the trouble. I’ll leave right away.”

Thinking she was about to be told “Please don’t make a scene,” she hurriedly tried to apologize, but the clerk shook his head vigorously.

“Your companion has arrived! Miss, your table is right here!”

Huh? Lidoria thought.

Not just Lidoria, but Sena and her group were left speechless as they stared at the clerk.

No.

More precisely, they were staring at the tall man standing beside the clerk.

“An apology won’t solve the problem, but I’m sorry for being late after summoning you here myself, Miss Lidoria.”

Jet-black hair. Jet-black eyes. A completely expressionless face.

He appeared to be in his mid-twenties. Or perhaps late twenties.

His tall, slender frame was clad in an equally black uniform. Embroidered on the cuffs in silver thread was the winged lion symbolizing the Crown Prince’s Royal Guards.

He was one of the Crown Prince’s Royal Guards.

Moreover, the rank insignia on his chest featured silver stars.

(The Crown Prince’s… “Hound.”)

She’d heard these were the elite among the Royal Guards, knights who had served closely by the Crown Prince’s side since his childhood, even entering the dormitories with him to perform guard duties.

They were the Crown Prince’s handpicked retainers. His closest confidants in military matters.

“Eh… ah, um…”

As Lidoria opened and closed her mouth wordlessly, the clerk broke through Sena’s encirclement and guided the man to the seat.

“See, it was worth waiting after all, miss!”

The clerk whispered to Lidoria and gave her a thumbs-up.

Lidoria awkwardly smiled and returned the thumbs-up, but…

(Wait, who is this?)

She was beyond bewildered and into sheer astonishment.

Was this not a product of her imagination?

Had she wished for the end times from God, and received this inexplicable man as a relief measure?

“…Lord Alex Reading… isn’t it?”

Sena asked in a hoarse voice.

“Indeed.”

The man replied curtly, then sat down boldly in the chair under the watchful eyes of Lidoria and Sena’s group.

“The same as hers.”

The man indicated the teacup on the table with his dexterous long fingers. It contained tea that had long gone cold, having turned into colored water. It was what Lidoria had ordered two hours ago.

“Understood.”

“By the way,”

The man said to the bowing clerk, his expression still blank.

“What reason do these young ladies have for being in the establishment and surrounding my seat?”

“This is terribly rude! Um, miss, we’ll guide you to your seat.”

The clerk signaled to other staff with his eyes. Other clerks hurried over to guide Sena away.

“Wh-what kind of farce is this, Lord Alex!”

Sena pressed closer to the man with a shrill voice.

“Why would someone like you be with a woman like this!”

“Speaking of which, Miss Sena,”

The man called Alex Reading looked at Sena with a composed demeanor.

“Does my colleague Evan know about this commotion, I wonder. What do you think?”

Sena bit her lip as if choking back a response and began trembling with small, shaky movements.

“Lady Sena, what is this all about?”

“That letter was a fake made by Lady Sena, wasn’t it?”

The ladies-in-waiting asked Sena anxiously.

“We’re leaving!”

Drowning out their voices with her loud declaration, Sena led her ladies-in-waiting out of the café.

Their departure was like a typhoon, leaving not just Lidoria but the clerks dumbfounded.

But the clerks quickly regained their composure, politely apologized to the customers in the shop, and offered baked goods as a service.

Of course, Lidoria’s table received the same treatment.

When bringing Alex’s tea, the clerk also freshly brewed and served a new pot for Lidoria.

“Won’t you sit?”

Alex pinched the cup’s handle, took a sip of his tea, then spoke to Lidoria in a flat voice.

Finally.

Finally, Lidoria came back to herself.

“Um,”

She uttered a meaningless word, then after sitting in the chair, asked the obvious question.

“Who are you?”

“Alex Reading. My father holds the Reading territory. I’ve served closely by His Highness the Crown Prince’s side since his childhood, and hold what’s called the ‘Hound’ position.”

So, he was indeed one of the Crown Prince’s close confidants.

“But why would someone like you…”

“The Crown Princess came and mentioned that her important lady-in-waiting seemed to be having an arranged meeting with a Royal Guard, and asked His Highness the Crown Prince if he knew anything about it.”

“Ah!”

Lidoria let out a small sound.

Neither Lidoria nor her brother had harbored any particular doubts about the anonymous letter, but apparently the Crown Princess had found it suspicious.

The royal castle had the King, Queen, Crown Prince, and Crown Princess each maintaining their own Royal Guards.

The King had the Golden Lion Corps. The Queen had the Silver Dragon Knights. The Crown Prince had the Winged Lion Corps. The Crown Princess had the Unicorn Knights. The Princess had the Phoenix Knights.

In principle, the Crown Prince controlled all these personnel matters.

This was because Royal Guards were often the children of higher-ranking knights.

Their marriages, births, and other matters were reported in detail to the Crown Prince, and the hierarchy of peerages created through marriages and the power balance between houses were constantly managed by the royal family.

Therefore, the Crown Princess had probably decided to check just to be safe.

‘It seems there’s a Royal Guard who has taken a liking to my lady-in-waiting and wishes to become engaged. Have you heard anything about this?’

Upon investigating, the Crown Prince also grew suspicious and found that “no such Royal Guard exists.”

If that was the case, then there was a possibility that Princess Melissa had orchestrated something as harassment.

Recognizing this, they had probably sent reinforcements to Lidoria.

“And so, I was dispatched. If there happens to be some other Royal Guard present, I’m to report him, by order of His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Thank you very much for that.”

Lidoria bowed so deeply her forehead nearly touched the table to express her gratitude. Should she go to the Crown Princess’s quarters now to thank her properly?

“Speaking of which, miss,”

As she was lost in thought, she was called along with the sound of teacups clinking.

When she looked up, Alex sitting across from her had just returned his cup to the saucer.

“Yes?”

“The fact that you fell for such an obvious scheme so easily – were you that desperate to get married?”

Being told so directly felt like a blade being thrust deep into her chest. In fact, a pained “Ugh…” escaped her lips.