MLFL 07

Chapter – 07

My father, who had hurried to the capital because of my request, had returned to the Liotium estate. He had been worried when I mentioned meeting the crown prince, but there were plenty of duties waiting for him at the estate.

I felt sorry for him, but I also had my own tasks to handle.

“Rodel, fetch a painting from my storage. It’s of a seaside cliff… the canvas is about the same size as that landscape over there. I bought it last year. Look for the signature ‘R’ at the bottom right of the canvas.”

“Ah, I remember. I’ll bring it immediately, milady.”

“And dinner… what will you have tonight?”

“I’ll eat later. Where’s my brother?”

“He’s in his study.”

Without changing into my outdoor clothes, I went upstairs to my brother’s study on the second floor.

“Brother?”

Instead of knocking, I called from outside, and the door opened immediately.

“Rose, how was your trip to the palace—”

“Brother, you’re acquainted with Count Decard, right?”

“…Yes. We share a few clubs. Did something go wrong?”

I sighed in relief and entered the study. I leaned back on the spacious sofa, and my brother sat across from me with a worried expression.

“…I made an excuse for you.”

“My excuse?”

“…The crown prince was in the count’s office.”

“What?!”

My brother’s shock was greater than I had expected, and for the first time, I almost smiled at it.

After explaining the situation, my brother let out a deep sigh. Like my father, he hated getting involved with the royal family. And asking him why would be even more… complicated.

“It was my mistake. I shouldn’t have gone to meet Count Decard so unprepared.”

“Stay away from the palace from now on, Rose. Your wishes, your work—I respect all of it—but the palace is off-limits.”

“…I was just lucky this time.”

“You know there’s no guarantee for next time.”

He was right. Normally kind and gentle, my brother could be unyielding when it came to anything related to the royal family.

“As long as the foundation’s misunderstanding is cleared, the crown prince will lose interest. And… today’s incident isn’t that important to him anyway.”

Naturally. The crown prince had Iclett Adrian to think about. And Iclett was currently at the residence of Duke Kaisus, his rival, so he would soon forget today’s event.

“It’s fortunate that he doesn’t know you’re the foundation’s representative… but I’m still worried he saw you, Rose.”

“Are you worried he might discover I lied about being ill? Don’t worry, brother. I told him I was fully recovered.”

For some reason, my brother shook his head with a complicated expression.

“Rose. What if the royal family decides to announce that you are healthy and push you into society?”

“…Why would they do that…?”

I stopped speaking. If the royal family cared about my health, and not my brother or father, and wanted me to participate in social activities, the reason would be obvious. It had started with the marriage excuse.

The crown prince had someone he loved, but no fiancée. And the royal family needed the Liotium Count’s family. Then…

“Was your reason for hating the royal family because of marriage arrangements?”

“Not just that… Rose, the royal family is greedy.”

“Not just that” meant there were other reasons too. But… it couldn’t be.

In the future story I knew, there would be no marriage involving the crown prince. I remembered a scene where some unnamed noblewoman harassed Iclett Adrian in society because she failed to get engaged to the crown prince. Surely, that unnamed noblewoman couldn’t be me…

The important thing was that the crown prince might desire Liotium, but never Rose Liotium. So a marriage would never happen. He was that crown prince. I couldn’t tell my overly gentle brother this truth—it would hurt him too much.

“I don’t want anyone to know you are connected to the foundation.”

“…I agree with that too.”

However…

I slightly lowered my gaze to my teacup, avoiding Gerard’s eyes.

Someone already knew the truth. That someone was Duke Kaisus.

If Gerard learned this, with his overbearing personality, he might even prevent me from leaving the house for foundation work for a while.

“I’ll handle this matter properly, so don’t worry, Rose.”

“…Thank you, brother.”

“What about the invitation? Should I try speaking to Count Decard? We don’t know exactly why the foundation raises suspicion, or why they are looking for the representative.”

“…I have some idea.”

Iclett Adrian. That was the only reason. But there was no way to explain this to Gerard.

“There’s still some time, so I want to think about it a little more.”

“You can always use my name, Rose.”

“Hmm…”

If Gerard’s name were used, it might clear suspicion about the foundation’s finances. But I hesitated for a reason.

What if, by chance, the crown prince or Sir Luke Ventus misinterpreted Gerard’s involvement?

Supporting male side characters had often been misjudged, misunderstood, or sacrificed in the BL novels because of some misunderstanding about Iclett. I couldn’t let my precious family become collateral damage.

“….”

“Rose?”

“…I’ll keep that as a last resort.”

I couldn’t let my beloved family become victims of a BL novel. Never.

After changing into more comfortable clothes, I settled in the study and took out the invitations from the drawer.

Finding a noble to impersonate the foundation’s representative now would be difficult. Too random would arouse suspicion; too connected would reveal the Liotium link.

In fact, I did know someone who could solve this instantly…

“…Duke Bihan Kaisus…”

Since he already knew, there was no need to reveal new information or persuade him. If he simply vouched for the foundation, suspicions would vanish.

But… Duke Kaisus was stranger than even the unpredictable crown prince.

Even Emperor Edgar Bientia and Sir Luke Ventus, though odd, still behaved according to what I knew. Bihan Kaisus… he was unpredictable.

‘“Miss, next time we meet, please address me properly as Bihan.”’

I couldn’t forget that voice and that moment.

Could the Bihan Kaisus I knew be the same man?

“…No, I can’t.”

If I asked him for help, the invitations would be resolved. They were created to gauge whether the foundation posed a threat to Iclett Adrian. If Bihan judged it wasn’t a threat, it wouldn’t concern the crown prince either.

But asking would tie me to Bihan Kaisus, whose intentions I could never read. That would be giving him an advantage.

“…There’s not much time left…”

Soon, the event I had anticipated would occur. I had prepared for it, and I couldn’t back down just because I met the protagonists.

Adrian, furious that his precious Iclett Adrian had been taken away, set fire to the eastern slums, where Iclett grew up. Everything burned—except the small shack where Iclett and his mother lived.

[Iclett trembled in fear.

This wasn’t the grand ducal mansion, but the crumbling slums. A warning: this is where you belong. Even knowing how you were born and raised, could you truly remain by his side? Mismatched rooms. Mismatched clothes. Mismatched respect. And mismatched companions.

Iclett had to flee—from his father, who burned down the slums. And from the humiliation and helplessness of it all.]

I had worked so hard to rebuild the slums and draw attention to them through the library initiative. It was all to prevent Adrian from easily destroying the area. And…

“…Iclett mustn’t escape…”

I didn’t want the misfortunes awaiting Iclett to come to pass.

I disliked the BL novel because Iclett Adrian was always so passive.

He endured countless injuries and near-death experiences. The crown prince’s precious sacred magic appeared multiple times. He suffered indescribable hardships. Even in the novels, it pained me—but if he existed in reality, it would be far worse.

So I was determined to protect at least the eastern slums. The misfortunes there were too great to ignore.

“…Ha…”

If I couldn’t prevent the fire, would Iclett still have to flee?

‘“My lady, you can call on me anytime.”’

That voice again.

While writing, my pen slipped. Ink spread next to Bihan Kaisus’s name, beneath Iclett Adrian’s.