Chapter 8

After Theodor and the others disappeared from the ballroom, I was soon summoned by my father, the king.

Without listening to my story at all, he said, "I will not recognize your engagement to Kurt. You should apologize to Theodor. There is no one more suitable as your fiancé than Theodor."

Father, as always!

He only gives orders unilaterally and never listens to me. He doesn’t even try to understand how hard I work and how much I suffer.

I don’t want to be a queen at all!

That’s why, when my mother, the queen, became pregnant with her second child, I hoped for a younger brother. But it was a sister.

Since Mother’s body is not very strong, there can be no more children.

The moment my sister was born, it was decided that I would be the next queen of this country.

People around me have many expectations of me. I have no time to spend freely. They even say, "His Majesty the King worked much harder."

They say, "To become a great queen," but I don’t want to be a queen at all!

Theodor, my forced fiancé, is the same.

He always carries a gloomy atmosphere and never even gives a fake smile. All he does is nag.

"Your Highness, have you reviewed these documents?"

"Your Highness, please consider this calmly. This plan will bring many disadvantages."

Since Theodor became my fiancé, he always stopped me whenever I tried to do something.

Not only work, but even when I tried to buy new dresses or jewelry, he would interfere.

"Your Highness, there is no need to make a new dress now."

"We have more money than we can spend! What’s the point of being royalty if I can’t even use the money freely? I’m already living such a restricted life, so at least let me use the money as I please!"

Theodor’s eyebrows drooped in confusion. I don’t like his gloomy face.

"I’ve explained many times, but the royal family’s assets are not for the princess to use freely. These are taxes collected from the people..."

"Shut up! Who do you think I am!?"

In a fit of anger, I threw the fan I was holding at Theodor. The fan hit Theodor’s face, leaving a scratch on his cheek. Seeing Theodor finally quiet, I felt a sense of relief.

This is how to make Theodor shut up.

"I feel unwell. Leave me alone."

"But, Your Highness—"

"Didn’t you hear me!?"

Theodor left the room with a face that seemed to want to say something more.

His red eyes always look down on me.

Just like Father, Theodor never listens to me. If he dislikes what I do so much, he should do everything himself.

When I pushed all my work onto Theodor, he seemed satisfied. He stopped nagging me. In the end, that man just wanted to take my work and gain power!

After giving Theodor the work, I enjoyed a little freedom. I don’t think it’s wrong to buy as many dresses and jewelry as I want.

Other nobles do it too. Why should only I be blamed? After all, everyone only sees me as the next queen. Why was I born into the royal family?

If I had been born as a commoner, I wouldn’t have to go through such hardships...

No one sees the real me. No one praises me. Even if I dress up in dresses and jewelry, it’s all in vain.

It was then that I met Kurt, Theodor’s younger brother.

Kurt was different from Theodor; he was bright and beautiful. He always smiled kindly and praised me.

"You’re beautiful, Angelica."

"No one is as wonderful as you."

"You always work so hard."

I thought I had finally met someone who saw the real me. As evidence, Angelica and Kurt fell in love quickly. But I already had Theodor, a mere formality of a fiancé.

I can’t change my future as the queen. At least, I want to be with the person I love. If Kurt is by my side, I can endure this painful life.

But Father sided with Theodor and wouldn’t allow the engagement to be broken. He even ordered me to apologize to Theodor.

He doesn’t love me at all.

As I was wallowing in sadness, Kurt visited my room.

"Angelica."

He called my name gently and hugged me.

"What did the king say?"

"He told me to apologize to Theodor. He won’t recognize my engagement to Kurt."

Tears welled up in my eyes out of frustration. Kurt gently wiped them away.

"My father is now trying to persuade the king to recognize our engagement."

"The Duke of Bailey?"

But Father is not the type to change his mind easily.

No matter how much the Duke of Bailey persuades him, as long as Theodor is around, we can’t be happy.

"As long as Theodor is around...?"

That’s right, Theodor should just disappear!

If he’s gone, Father will recognize my engagement to Kurt.

I commanded the empty corner of the room, "Are you there? Come out."

A shadow appeared from the corner, and a small, all-black figure knelt on one knee.

This was a special guard assigned to the royal family, known as "Kage." Kage had no name and was assigned to each royal to protect them with their life.

Until now, I had only used Kage to clean up after troublesome situations, but if I could use Kage, who can disappear without a trace, to eliminate the obstacle, no one would know.

I ordered Kage:

"Kill Theodor."

Kage said nothing. I had never heard Kage’s voice before.

"Did you hear me? Kill Theodor. Don’t come back until you’ve done it."

Kage nodded slightly and disappeared as quietly as he had appeared.

Kurt, worried, asked, "Is it okay for the guard to be gone?"

Kurt always thinks of me first.

"It’s fine. Because I have Kurt."

As long as I have Kurt, I am happy. I want Kurt to be by my side forever.

Since I don’t want to be a queen for this country, this wish should be granted.

【The following is an announcement】

The story of the protagonist Cynthia’s brother and sister-in-law will be published as a book, thanks to everyone’s support!

Title: "The Poison Lady of the Social Circle ~Since a Wonderful Margrave’s Son Broke My Arm, I Will Make Him Take Responsibility~"

It will be published by Tsugikuru Books on April 10th.

I have added about 30,000 words to the web version, including the debut party in the capital and the journey from the capital to Bargua.

The cover is not out yet, but I will share more information when it’s available.

For more details, please visit: https://books.tugikuru.jp/202402-24248-dokuhu/

※It seems that you can order something called "【Convenience Store Limited】Bonus Short Story," but it’s not available yet (I’m not sure about the details, sorry!).

You can read the web version here: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n5182ih/