chapter 8

It had to be because Caroline had said some nonsense about why Perre unnie and I were together.

I glanced at Caroline, then leaned slightly and addressed the Crown Prince.

“I was taught not to speak during conversations. Pardon my ignorance, Your Highness. Have you been well?”

“……?”

“Oh, you don’t know what ‘been well’ means? I apologize—again, ignorance led me to use a foreign phrase. Although it’s our first meeting, has Your Highness been in good health?”

“……?”

Speaking in a way designed to confuse him, Lloyd furrowed his brows and waved his hand dismissively.

The brat should’ve just stayed quiet.

I snorted inwardly and turned to Perre unnie. My plan was to make her focus only on me, my words, and my thoughts—leaving no room for distractions.

“Unnie, remember that bread we had last time? Wasn’t it amazing? I know you enjoy espresso with cookies, but for coffee it’s latte! And for bread, it has to be salt bread! That combination is perfect no matter what. It’s one of my absolute favorites, so I hope you enjoy it too.”

“Um, Ellie.”

Why does Caroline have to interfere?

I glared at her as she stepped over to our table, leaving the Crown Prince behind.

Such bad manners!

But Lloyd didn’t seem to care at all, simply sipping his tea. He clearly had no interest in Caroline right now.

Perre unnie frowned that Caroline hadn’t greeted her.

“Didn’t you get my letter?”

“Yes, I got it. I wanted to come, but something came up.”

“What happened?”

“I’m on a date with my friend right now, so can I tell you later?”

“You’ve been close with the Princess since when…?”

“Why are you talking so much?”

Perre unnie, clearly unable to hold back, glared at Caroline and interrupted.

Apparently, she was annoyed that the staff hadn’t brought coffee and bread yet.

Caroline, clueless, tried to reply.

“Sorry, I have something to do with my friend right now.”

“This is my friend I’m meeting. Are your eyes just for decoration?”

At Perre unnie’s words, Caroline’s face instantly stiffened.

I could already see Perre unnie looking at her with heart-eyes when she called me “friend.”

“What happened? On the way here?”

Caroline ignored her and asked me instead.

Perre unnie gave a deliberate chuckle, addressing Caroline loudly enough to hear.

“It’s a bit funny that a baron would call a viscount a baron. Why? Because our Ellie was born commoner?”

Perre unnie asked bluntly, without filtering, and Caroline’s face went pale.

“Her origins aside, she’s now a proper member of a viscount family. And someone from a baron’s house—what right do you have to boss her around?”

Wow! She called me “Ellie!”

I was touched that Perre unnie defended me and called me by my name.

Though she’s fully on my side, she keeps emphasizing that I was born commoner but bought my family’s status with money, making it look like she and I were ganging up on Caroline.

But that’s just her normal speech pattern, so I understood. Others might misinterpret it, though, which worried me a little.

Then Lloyd, standing behind Perre unnie, spoke.

“Princess, enough.”

Perre unnie’s face immediately transformed into a sharp, catlike glare.

Why is he interfering now? Seeing her turn into a fierce cat was amusing, though.

I glared at Lloyd secretly, cursing him in my mind.

“Zuuuuh!”

My shout made Lloyd, Caroline, and even Perre unnie flinch in surprise.

I shouldn’t have, but I interrupted him.

I couldn’t just sit by while he kept criticizing Perre unnie.

Honestly, I was confident that if Lloyd got mad at me, Perre unnie would shield me.

“Your Highness, humbly, it seems best for us young ladies to converse amongst ourselves.”

I adopted the archaic phrasing popular in our original world, speaking with deep, practiced breaths. Perre unnie, shocked at first, then chuckled.

It was the first time I’d seen her laugh so loudly; my eyes widened.

Seeing her happy, I couldn’t help but laugh too.

“Brensia young lady, dare you mock me?”

Lloyd glared at me, frowning.

He seemed to pick on me because he couldn’t openly scold Perre unnie.

But who is our unnie?

“Enough, Your Highness.”

Perre unnie mimicked Lloyd’s tone perfectly, glaring at him. I inwardly cheered.

Wow! That’s it! That’s the Perre unnie badassness I’ve been waiting for!

Lloyd stared daggers at her.

The Crown Prince can’t openly treat Perre unnie badly right now.

Once he becomes fully established as an adult and secures his position, that’s when he’ll push her around.

But with Caroline in front, today’s Lloyd seemed a bit more restrained than usual.

“It’s her fault anyway. She started the quarrel over nothing.”

“Me?”

“Inviting a viscount’s daughter to a baronial residence and calling it impolite, wasn’t that your doing?”

“Is it not impolite? I didn’t send a formal invitation—just called her by friendship.”

Perre unnie glanced at Caroline as she spoke; Caroline’s face stiffened.

“You speak as though I’ve never called you to the baronial residence, Your Highness.”

“Is that the same as my father inviting you?”

“Do you mean to say it’s different?”

“Truly, Your Highness, you must be blind to reality. My father’s actions and this situation are entirely different.”

“You claim it’s different, yet the root cause remains the same—you’re deliberately harassing Caroline. Using the baron as a pawn to call me to his house, preventing me from meeting her—did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

At Lloyd’s words, Perre unnie’s face froze.

“Pawn?”

Seeing her about to cry, I leapt up.

“Your Highness! I have something to tell you!”

Caroline looked shocked, and Perre unnie, trying to hold back tears, asked, “What is it?”

I ignored them, staring intently at Lloyd, and continued.

“If you don’t speak with me, you’ll regret it later.”

A chill fell over Lloyd’s face.

Fortunately, he agreed to speak privately. I gestured reassuringly to Perre unnie, then followed him to a private room at the back of the café.

This room had soundproofing magic, often used for important dealings.

“So, what is it that I’d regret if I don’t hear?”

Lloyd sat down, clearly uneasy leaving Perre unnie and Caroline behind.

He was probably worried about Perre unnie.

For now, he only had mild interest in Caroline, so he allowed the private meeting.

Hmm, what to do?

I hadn’t prepared what to say; I only brought him here to avoid being stuck between the two.

So, I said nothing, just stared at him with a look that suggested I had something important to say.

“What is it you wish to say, young lady?”

Lloyd’s handsome face slightly tensed.