Chapter 23. Kingdom-Ruining Temptress

The fistfight between the two men took an entirely unexpected turn afterward.

It didn’t go in the feared direction of the deposed crown prince being accused of throwing the first punch at the crown prince.

However, the truth was that both men had exchanged blows amicably, and without proper testimony, fierce debates began among the nobles about who had thrown the first punch.

“The deposed crown prince must have had another fit of madness!”

“To dare commit violence against the crown prince of a nation! This is a serious incident that cannot be overlooked!”

The first to step forward were the noble council members of the Rose Party who supported the crown prince.

Regardless of the circumstances, they insisted that the deposed crown prince throwing a punch at the crown prince was tantamount to treason against the kingdom.

“Treason? What an unfounded accusation! Shouldn’t we first question why the crown prince was at Blue Brick at that hour?”

“It was publicly known that Prince Calyx had admired Count Ixe’s daughter first. Wasn’t it rather the crown prince who acted ungentlemanly?”

The opposing Cream Party didn’t hold back either. They refuted the Rose Party’s forceful claims point by point and began to blur the issue by bringing up the fact that the crown prince had been coveting Count Ixe’s daughter for years.

The arrows of criticism suddenly turned toward Lottie when an unexpected witness came forward.

“In front of me, she put on all sorts of idiotic acts, saying babies are born from flower buds, but behind my back, she was stringing together the genealogies of the capital’s nobles! If she didn’t like me, she should have said so honestly, why deceive people like that?”

As similar testimonies followed, even those who initially thought nothing of it began to grow suspicious of Lottie’s eccentric behavior.

Why had she made unwanted men flee on their own while leaving the princes alone until things reached this state?

“Doesn’t she just want to enjoy popularity among gentlemen? If rumors spread that she’s being courted by both princes at once, her value in society would skyrocket!”

“To dare put members of the royal family on her palm and weigh them against each other when she has no intention of accepting either!”

“Isn’t that lady the root cause of this entire situation?”

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire—the scandal from the palace ball began to resurface.

Lottie, who had been the object of envy as the lady receiving courtship from both princes, was now being criticized as a temptress who would drag not only the princes but all the men in the capital into the mud.

As even the noble council members who had been engaged in their wasteful power struggle joined the chorus, the situation worsened to the point where it seemed disaster would strike if Lottie didn’t choose someone as a husband.

“The temptress should stop her deception and accept the crown prince’s proposal!”

“The crown prince will have plenty of good marriage prospects in the future, so it would be better to marry the deposed crown prince!”

“Let’s have her marry the son of some frontier noble instead! At this rate, no matter which of the two she chooses, we can’t prevent the country from splitting in half!”

It was fortunate that these were nobles who valued face as much as life; otherwise, they would have rushed to the temptress’s house and demanded she make a decision immediately.

It was now the final month of Ronvernon’s spring social season.

As the fervor of young men and women gradually subsided in the summer heat, the final event of the social season—one that completely disregarded the wishes of the person involved—was about to begin.

* * *

“I heard from the attendant. On your way here, some ruffian dumped sewage on you.”

Queen Catherine’s clear voice echoed from high in the audience chamber.

Lottie deeply bowed her reddened face.

Though she had wiped away all the moisture before her audience with the queen, she still felt as if her body reeked of a foul odor.

“I apologize.”

“It’s fine. At least you weren’t stabbed with a knife. Don’t be angry either, and try to understand them with a repentant heart—they must have had their reasons.”

Despite mentioning something as frightening as being stabbed, Catherine’s voice remained light as a young girl’s.

This was nothing new to Lottie, who knew all too well what kind of temperament her mother-in-law possessed.

She only wished for this time, which felt like walking on thin ice, to end quickly.

“So…… what do you plan to do now?”

“What…… do you mean……”

“I’m talking about the mess you’ve created by deceiving not only the gentlemen of Ronvernon but even daring to deceive the two princes.”

Some newly appointed attendants flinched at the queen’s shocking choice of words.

It was fortunate that her voice remained thin and calm; otherwise, the audience chamber would have instantly transformed into a marketplace reeking of sewage.

The experienced attendants who had shared joys and sorrows with the queen for over a decade looked at the girl standing before the queen with equanimity, but with somewhat pitying hearts.

Perhaps confused by the sudden insult, she only trembled slightly without promptly offering an answer.

“Do you feel wronged? That you were just blooming beautifully like flowers in a greenhouse, but now you’re taking the blame because of those lust-driven bees going crazy?”

“No…… I don’t.”

Swallowing the urge to stomp her feet and shout that Her Majesty was right, she barely managed to answer in a subdued voice.

Catherine propped her chin with one hand and looked down at Lottie obliquely.

“The truth is, I’m the one who made you into a damnable wench and temptress, Charlotte.”

“……!”

Lottie’s head snapped up involuntarily. Without permission, she dared to meet the queen’s eyes directly.

The face of the queen, now in her forties, still looked as young as a girl’s.

With distinct features, blue eyes, and lustrous brown hair styled elegantly, she looked as if she would never wither.

And just as in her memory, there was no emotion to be found.

“I’m the one who told my son, who visited Blue Brick, not to make a fuss and to stay put. I let the unclear rumors flourish, and those parliament bastards, they really tore into each other as they pleased. Indeed, politicians are all the same.”

There was no response as she muttered for a while. Catherine stared down at the floor below the dais, then sighed briefly with an “Ah” and smiled.

That child has been giving her answer for a long time already.

When she should be bowing her head even lower, she dares to stare straight at the monarch with both eyes wide open.

“How can a girl be so honest and unable to read the situation? I can see how your father raised you.”

“……! My father has…… nothing to do with this, Your Majesty……!”

Her patience, which had reached its limit, finally snapped because of her father. Judging by the fact that she didn’t raise her voice, she must have had a shred of reason left to maintain final courtesy.

Thanks to this, Catherine could be certain of what this insignificant girl’s weakness was.

“Why would it have nothing to do with him? I have great expectations for your father, Count Ixe and Councilman Ebenscher.”

“……!”

“Now, can you answer my question about what you plan to do next?”

Catherine smiled sweetly.

If she gave an answer contrary to the queen’s wishes here, her innocent father would suffer harm.

Just as some middle-aged man had tried to dump sewage on her great-aunt for ‘raising a kingdom-ruining temptress.’

‘Why?’

Patrick and the queen—why were they trying so hard to make this marriage happen? What could they possibly gain from going to such lengths?

If they keep pushing people to the edge like this, won’t they start believing these absurd claims are true?

“I will decide in a way that won’t burden my father.”

“How wise. You may withdraw now. I can’t bear the stench of filth that’s been permeating the air since earlier.”

Catherine wrinkled her face conspicuously and waved her hand dismissively.

The redness that had started on her face now seemed to spread throughout her entire body.

Feeling as if someone had struck the back of her head hard, Lottie barely managed to bow before withdrawing from the audience chamber.

Isabelle, who had been anxiously waiting for Lottie in the waiting room across from the audience chamber, jumped to her feet.

“Lottie! My goodness, look how pale your face is. Are you all right? Hmm?”

Isabelle continuously stroked Lottie’s cheeks and arms.

Only after seeing her great-aunt’s face, filled with nothing but worry, did Lottie feel the emotions she had been suppressing surge up.

She was afraid.

Not only because of the desperate fact that the safety of her beloved family depended on the queen’s hands, but also because of the overlapping memories of her mother-in-law looking at her with contemptuous eyes throughout her life in the palace—she wanted to run away immediately.

Why must she alone endure all this suffering, not the princes? She felt angry and wronged.

“I’m…… fine. This is the first time I’ve seen Her Majesty this closely since my debutante. I’m just nervous. Don’t worry.”

But she couldn’t pour out all these emotions to her great-aunt.

Wasn’t it something she had brought upon herself, as the queen had said?

If only she had accepted a proposal when suitors like Mr. Katz had lined up, she wouldn’t have been cornered like this.

If she had just closed her eyes and accepted marriage with Andrew. Or…

Her chain of regrets eventually reached that afternoon at Bates Square.

What if she had accepted that man who had poured out sweet proposals with his attractive face?

Appalled at herself for having such thoughts, Lottie stopped in her tracks.

They had already left the Great Palace and were in the central garden.

Isabelle, who had been walking ahead through the geometrically landscaped shrubs, turned to look at Lottie.

“……”

If things continued like this, she would soon marry Patrick according to the queen’s wishes. The worst future she had tried so hard to avoid.

— What is meant to happen will happen.

Was her great-aunt right after all?

Was merely glimpsing about ten years into the future not enough to change even her own future? Must she helplessly watch the approaching misfortune?

If so, why am I living this second life after traveling back ten years?

“Duchess of Dunchester?”