Chapter 12: The Crown Prince’s Birthday Party
The long-awaited—no, not awaited at all—day of the crown prince’s birthday party finally arrived.
Faustina had considered deliberately falling ill and skipping the birthday of Bernhard, the future king, but after thinking about what that would mean both as the crown prince’s fiancée and as a duke’s daughter, she abandoned the plan.
More than that, Faustina almost never fell ill to begin with, and deliberately making herself sick was about as likely as snow falling in midsummer.
She was fully aware that she was unnecessarily sturdy.
So she decided not to do anything conspicuous, to act as a modest and unobtrusive young lady, and to simply get through the night quietly.
“Now then, milady!
Tonight is His Highness the Crown Prince’s birthday party!”
“We’ll be putting in even more effort than usual!”
“No, please don’t make it too flashy—”
“You usually wear your hair down, milady, but that suits you best, so how about a half-up style this time?”
“Then, to match the dress, the hair ornament should be—”
“In that case, this one might be better—”
“……”
Completely ignoring Faustina herself, the maids debated hair ornaments and adjusted how much hair to gather for the half-up style, their enthusiasm surpassing even hers.
Linsy, who usually took care of Faustina, was busy with the other maids preparing the dress.
There was no way to ask Linsy for help.
Entrusting herself quietly to them, Faustina recalled the previous time.
The fact that she remembered the past every time something happened only proved how badly she had messed up back then.
She had poured her all into Bernhard’s birthday party the last time as well.
In fact, because it was her first time, she had put in far too much effort.
Back then, she had actively given instructions to the very maids who were now preparing her.
Just like now, they had made her perfectly beautiful.
And yet, the fiancée she met at the royal castle had been captivated by her younger sister instead.
‘I poured grape juice over Elvira, got scolded by Father and the others, made His Highness dislike me even more, and… took out my frustration on everyone.’
It was sad that she could only remember such irredeemable moments of her past self.
But thanks to those memories, she could avoid a disastrous future.
Faustina set her highest priority on getting through tonight safely and steeled her resolve.
However, seeing this, the maids assumed that despite always running away whenever Bernhard visited, Faustina was unusually motivated for tonight’s birthday party.
They began showering her with words of encouragement.
Only Linsy, who knew Faustina wished to break off the engagement with Bernhard, couldn’t tell them that her resolve was aimed at something entirely different.
She could only cheer her on silently in her heart.
Multiple massive chandeliers, hanging from a ceiling painted with the twin goddesses that crowned the kingdom, illuminated the vast hall in dazzling splendor.
The venue, filled with nobles from across the country, buzzed with people.
Entering the castle with her family, Faustina felt her tension spike at the unchanged scale compared to last time.
Since this was the birthday party of a still-young prince, many children of the same age were present.
Until entering the noble academy, children rarely interacted with other houses unless there was a prior connection, so this party also served as a place for children to meet one another.
“Phew…
The queen is beautiful as always, of course, but His Majesty looks young too…”
Of course he did.
The king and queen were the same age as her parents, still in their twenties.
“Was the reason His Highness gave me a dress simply because I was his fiancée?”
Surrounding the king, queen, and Bernhard seated at the high table were countless nobles, offering the highest greetings and congratulations to the royal family.
Naturally, the Wittgenstein ducal house was among them.
Beside the king, who nodded in satisfaction, Queen Sierra gently pushed Bernhard’s back.
Unable to look directly at Faustina in the dress he had given her out of embarrassment, Bernhard subtly averted his gaze.
When considering what gift to give as a mother, Sierra had been momentarily surprised that Bernhard wished for his fiancée to wear a dress he chose.
Though less than half a year had passed since the engagement, she felt relieved at their seemingly good relationship.
—However, Faustina, unaware of the reason behind the gift, misunderstood Bernhard’s intense gaze as being directed toward Elvira, who wore a dress in colors opposite to Faustina’s hair.
Though she didn’t show it on her face, she felt deflated, thinking it was the same as always.
Elvira looked like a delicate fairy from a picture book, her charm more than doubled.
Faustina quietly looked down at her own dress.
The dress, made to match her pale yellow eyes, was adorned with white roses and scattered with small pearls.
It was a wonderful dress.
But if it had no effect on the person she wanted to captivate, it was nothing more than an expensive garment.
The second prince, Neige, was absent due to health concerns.
The king and queen spoke of it regretfully, and Bernhard, standing at their feet, worried about his brother who couldn’t leave his room.
After finishing their greetings to the royal family, her parents left to greet familiar nobles.
The children were allowed to move freely as long as they didn’t get out of hand.
Her brother Kane quickly found friends and left, and Faustina was about to do the same when she noticed Elvira hadn’t moved and stopped.
“What’s wrong, Elvira?
You should go join your friends too.”
“…It’s…”
“?”
“It’s not fair, Sister, that only you get to wear such a beautiful dress!”
She puffed out her pale cheeks in anger.
Faustina had thought Elvira was in a bad mood since their departure, but she hadn’t expected the reason to be the dress.
“It was a gift from His Highness, so of course it’s beautiful.
Didn’t you choose your dress together with Mother?
It’s lovely too.”
“That’s… yes.”
Faustina let out a relieved breath.
Though Elvira’s tantrums had lessened, causing one here would ruin everything.
Just like when Elvira had suddenly demanded to wear the dress ten days earlier, her reasons for being angry were always startling.
‘This is the exact opposite of before.
Right now, Elvira is acting just like the old me.
Did my former personality transfer to her?
That’s impossible.
I’m not a mage.’
She laughed it off internally, dismissing the thought as absurd, and looked around.
“Oh, Lady Lina of the Sieven Count’s House is over there.
You said you’ve met her at tea parties before, didn’t you?
Why don’t you go talk to her?”
“Yes…”
Elvira, who often attended tea parties with Ludmila, had many friends.
Faustina attended as well, but far less frequently.
She watched Elvira walk off sluggishly before finding a marquis’s daughter she knew and chatting with her.
When the girl was taken away by her father, Faustina moved to the wall to avoid being in the way.
From there, she surveyed the hall as a wallflower.
Her mother chatted cheerfully with other ladies, her father laughed with his friends, her brother drank with the knight commander’s son, and her sister was with the Sieven Count’s House—
“Huh?
Elvira’s gone.”
Elvira, whom she assumed was still with Lady Lina, was nowhere in sight.
She wasn’t within Faustina’s field of view.
Perhaps she was talking to someone else.
Faustina resolved to remain a wallflower until the party ended.
Just as she made that decision, someone called her name from the side and patted her shoulder.
“I’m glad I found you.”
“Y-Your Highness!?”
Why was tonight’s main guest here?
From Bernhard’s tone, it seemed he had been looking for her.
“What were you doing in a place like this?”
“Observing people.”
“Observing people?”
Unable to honestly say she was trying to disappear as a wallflower, she hastily gave a convenient excuse.
“Yes.
Even though we’re all human, everyone has different faces, builds, and appearances.
Watching people like this lets you notice sides you normally wouldn’t, and it’s fun.”
Even when drinking the same beverage or eating the same food, people’s tastes differ, and their expressions change accordingly.
Even twins who look identical show subtle differences if you observe them closely.
“It’s true.
We have a duty to guide and protect the people.
To do that, Father once told me it’s important not just to stay in the castle, but to go into the city and see how people live.
But since I’m still a child and there are security concerns, going incognito is difficult.”
“Have you been into the city before, Your Highness?”
“No, not even once.
But today I got his word that I’ll be allowed when I turn ten.
Until then, I want to study harder, gain more knowledge, and save even one more person suffering from poverty.”
‘Ah…
Not just his looks—he really hasn’t changed at all.’
She knew well that someone destined to be king from birth wouldn’t rest on his talent and neglect effort.
She had watched him closely from the nearest position, even while being hated and resented.
Even while burning with jealousy toward Elvira, her eyes had always been on Bernhard.
Even when he grew infatuated with Elvira, he never neglected his duties, instead extending a hand to the weak.
He worked tirelessly to reduce poverty and suffering.
If possible, she wanted him to remain the same as before.
And on top of that, this time she wanted to separate Elvira from him early—
“Hey, Faustina.
Let’s dance too.”
“What?”
Before the four words representing the quickest path to ‘A Happy Future for Everyone,’ written on the first page of [Various Notes on Faustina], could fully surface in her mind, Bernhard invited her to dance.
Faustina’s eyes darted.
“M-Me and Your Highness?”
“Yes.”
“B-But… I’m not very good at dancing…”
Among all her lessons, dance was her weakest.
No matter how much she practiced with her instructor, she never improved.
Don’t look down, always keep your chest up, smile, don’t disrupt your steps, dance gracefully and beautifully—
The list of things she was warned about was endless, making dance her greatest challenge.
It had been the same last time.
No matter how hard she tried, what she was bad at remained so.
“I’m not very good either.
But children who haven’t debuted yet all dance at the edge of the hall.
Let’s think of it as practice for the real thing someday.”
“Alright… I’ll do my best not to step on your feet.”
“I’ll be careful too.
I step on my instructor’s feet all the time.”
Taking her hand, Bernhard led her to the edge of the hall.
The music was slow and easy for beginners to dance to.
Though awkward at first, they gradually grew accustomed, and by the end, they laughed together at having danced without making their usual mistakes.
“Thank you, Faustina.
I had fun.”
“So did I, Your Highness.”
“Thank you for wearing the dress.
It suits you very well.”
“Thank you.”
‘Hang in there, me.
My smile isn’t twitching, right?
I’m smiling properly, right?
Forget those unnecessary memories about his gaze being elsewhere!’
With five pedigree cats clinging to her metaphorical head, the personal ordeal passed.
Bernhard was called away by the queen and reluctantly left Faustina.
Smiling as she watched him go, Faustina accepted a glass of grape juice from a passing server.
She took a sip to moisten her mouth.
“It’s delicious… Huh!?”
She suddenly felt an intense gaze.
Barely suppressing a cough, she turned toward it.
‘That… wait…’
There stood a young lady with pink-gold hair and spring-green eyes.
She looked away the instant Faustina met her gaze, but there was no mistake.
The memory and that young lady matched perfectly.
Just as Faustina recalled who she was, a strong impact struck her back.
Her left foot stumbled forward, but she didn’t fall.
Instead, her arm holding the glass swung back, and the grape juice flew behind her.
Turning around in a hurry, she saw Elvira sitting on the floor, soaked in grape juice from head to toe.
“Elvira!?
Are you alright!?”
Faustina guessed Elvira had done it on purpose.
She placed the glass on a nearby table and asked a server to bring towels.
The white dress quickly turned purple as the grape juice soaked in.
When the towels arrived, Faustina took one and reached out to wipe Elvira’s hair.
But—
Her hand was forcefully slapped away.
“…Y-You’re awful, Sister…”
Elvira glared up at Faustina with tear-filled eyes, grape juice dripping from her.
“Just because you’re jealous of my dress, you poured grape juice on me…!”
“……”
Faustina froze.
She didn’t do it.
She wasn’t jealous, and she didn’t pour grape juice on her.
Her head began to ache.
“Elvira… I’m not jealous of your dress, and I didn’t pour grape juice on you.
You bumped into me in the first place, didn’t you?”
“It’s your fault for standing there!”
There had been few people around Faustina to begin with.
There was more than enough space to avoid her.
Even though they were at the edge of the hall, eyes were starting to gather.
Elvira’s voice grew louder.
‘For now, I need to calm Elvira down.’
“But if you were paying attention, you could have avoided me.
Don’t blame me for an accident caused by your own carelessness.”
“Elvira!”
‘My worst enemy,’ Faustina thought, her head throbbing.
Hearing the commotion, Ludmila rushed over to Elvira, who sat drenched in grape juice.
“Oh my, Elvira, you poor thing…
Faustina, what is the meaning of this?”
Faustina explained exactly what had happened to Ludmila, who looked at her sternly.
During that time, Ludmila took the towel from Faustina and wiped Elvira.
Kane, who had been talking with the knight commander’s son, also arrived.
Asked what happened, Faustina gave the same explanation.
With an exasperated look, Kane tried to call out to Elvira, but Ludmila stood her up first.
“Elvira, let’s go somewhere else and change your dress.
You’ll catch a cold like this.”
“Yes…”
“Faustina.”
“…Yes.”
“This time, Elvira may be at fault.
But you should have chosen your words more carefully.
You are to become the crown prince’s consort.
Act accordingly.”
Whether she was scolding Faustina’s usual behavior toward Bernhard or her attitude toward Elvira—
it was probably both.
“Mother!” Kane called, but Ludmila left with Elvira.
Kane peered at Faustina’s face worriedly.
“Fana?
Are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine.
I’m used to that.”
“Your dress… it’s not wet.
Ah, but it looks like some splashed on your face.”
It would be disastrous to stain a dress gifted by the royal family.
Chuckling wryly at Faustina’s belated concern, Kane took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the droplets away.
“Hey, Fana.
You’ve changed a bit.”
“W-What do you mean?”
“Before, you would’ve argued back when Mother scolded you like that.”
Before the mysterious high fever, she used to snap back every time, only making the lectures longer.
Being able to let it slide now was thanks to her past memories.
She had truly learned the importance of letting things go.
“After being chosen as the crown prince’s fiancée and receiving consort training, I can’t worry about Mother’s scolding every time.
And besides—”
“Besides?”
“The queen scolding me is far scarier by comparison.”
“I see.”
Behind the glittering exterior of the royal castle lurked a den of unseen dangers.
Beauty alone wasn’t enough to survive there.
Along with future queen training, she was learning how to become a shrewd woman.
“Of course, it’s not just fear.”
“I know.
You tell me about it all the time.
I’m going to Father now, so wait here.”
“Alright.”
Once Kane left, Faustina returned to being a wallflower.
Thanks to her status as a duke’s daughter, no one casually approached her, allowing her to remain quietly in place until Kane returned.
‘When I get back to the estate, I should check the notebook again.
After His Highness’s birthday party, the next time I messed up was…’
Remembering made her slump.
The next incident had been her own eighth birthday party.
Even on her own birthday, she had managed to cause trouble—
where that ironclad nerve had come from back then was a mystery.
As she berated herself, she felt that strong gaze again.
Turning around, she saw the same young lady with pink-gold hair and spring-green eyes.
“……”
Faustina knew exactly who she was.
Aeria, the Marquis Laris’s daughter, famed as the second most prominent candidate for crown princess.
She had nothing but unpleasant memories associated with her.
This time, Faustina was the one who looked away.
She waited for Kane to return, determined not to get involved with Aeria.