Chapter 57 – I Need To Know Why

***

That evening, Martina came up to my room.

“The mood between you two was serious earlier,” she noted.

I remembered the meeting earlier and sighed once again. How did it all unfold like this?

“Didn’t you say His Highness the Crown Prince and Sister Odeletta met today?” Martina continued.

“I did,” I answered.

“But the mood was bad…was her meeting with the Crown Prince bad too?”

“His Majesty told Odeletta that he already has someone he likes,” I revealed.

“Huh? What are you talking about? He already has someone he likes?”

“Yes.” I couldn’t hide my own surprise and continued. “He shouldn’t have accepted the meeting in the first place, but he did. Then he told her that he already has feelings for someone else, so he couldn’t accept hers.”

“That’s shocking.”

“I thought I was going to die of embarrassment earlier. How can I look at Odeletta’s face now?”

I, the facilitator of the meeting, was also responsible. Martina watched me as I gave a deep sigh.

“So this is how Odeletta’s unrequited love ends?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No. For now, she’s going to keep going.”

“But His Highness already likes someone.”

“Somehow he’s not courting anyone presently, let alone getting married.” I tilted my head at the curious fact. “He seems to have a one-sided love, but I honestly don’t understand it. How can someone of his status be in that position? If I were him, anyone I would confess to would jump at the opportunity to be my wife.”

Martina looked up thoughtfully. “Hmm…maybe who it is doesn’t have the approval of the Emperor?”

That made sense. It was Emperor Henry who opposed Xavier’s relationship with Dorothea in the novel. Xavier’s timid behavior did not make sense—not unless the person he liked came from too modest a family to become a crown princess, or, in Dorothea’s case, did not appeal to the Emperor in terms of personality.

But if that were the situation, Xavier shouldn’t cause any collateral hurt to anyone who wasn’t involved. It was terrible of him to let down people for no reason. At least, that was my perspective as someone who had experience with unrequited love.

“Anyway,” I continued, “His Highness shouldn’t have given her hope in the first place.”

Martina nodded. “I agree. But sister, you’re not going to Thurman Palace to confront His Highness, are you?”

“…I don’t think a noble would dare pick a bone with the Imperial Family,” I said tentatively. “But it would be okay to just ask, right? Just say, ‘Why did you do that?’”

I didn’t think Xavier meant to be intentionally malicious with me and Dorothea. From what I’ve seen of him, he wasn’t a wicked man.

“Would His Highness feel uncomfortable?” Martina said in a worried voice, and a troubled expression crossed my face for a moment. There was no getting around that it would be an unpleasant encounter. However, Odeletta felt the same way with her meeting.

“Perhaps. I don’t think it’s presumptuous for me to interfere like this. However, as the person who facilitated the meeting, I need to know why.”

The next day, I sent a letter to Thurman Palace.

***

A reply came back late the next morning, asking if I could come to the palace in two days. I replied in the affirmative, and then two days later, I was at Thurman Palace.

“It’s been a while, Lady Maristella,” Sir Dilton said. As usual, it was him who greeted me.

I offered him a light smile in return. “That’s true. How are you, Sir Dilton?”

“I’m always the same. I don’t know if you’re doing well.”

“I’m pretty much the same—” I started, but then paused. Sir Dilton was quick to notice, and looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“Is Lady Odeletta alright?” he asked.

“To be honest, she’s not alright,” I said with a deep sigh. “It was the first time I saw her crying in front of me.”

“Odeletta…was crying?” Sir Dilton said cautiously. I was surprised by his omission of her title, but I nodded. They were childhood friends, so that wasn’t unusual.

“Did you know?” I asked Sir Dilton casually when I saw the despair shadow over his face.

“What do you mean…?” he asked.

“I heard that there was someone else His Highness liked.” I sucked in a shallow breath and continued. “You may have guessed it already, but that is the reason for my visit today.”

“Yes. Not just me, but His Highness may have guessed it as well.”

“After Odeletta’s visit, I suddenly remembered a conversation I had with him.” My voice trembled slightly as I recalled the encounter. “He asked me then, if your heart was already facing someone else, what would you do?”

“…I see.”

“I didn’t think it was important at the time, but I was suspicious. Perhaps you already knew his intentions since then, or long before…”

“I cannot answer that.”

I bit my lip. “Does that mean I’m not wrong?”

“It’s that I didn’t know,” he said.

“Sir Dilton,” I said in a firmer voice this time. “You deceived me and Odeletta.”

What did Sir Dilton really think about the two of us? Me, who was excited for the meeting, and Odeletta, who was truly looking forward to it. The reality was that Xavier already had feelings towards someone else.

“Did you have fun?” I shot towards Sir Dilton accusingly.

“I…Lady Maristella, I never thought of it that way. Believe me.”

“You should have at least hinted something towards me. Now it’s Odeletta who’s hurt.”

I tried to soften my anger at him, and he didn’t say a word and bowed his head in silent shame.

“More importantly, isn’t Odeletta your childhood friend? Is your friendship that shallow?” I condemned.

“I promise you,” Sir Dilton said in a quivering voice, “there were no impure intentions, Lady Maristella. I swear on the honor of my family and on my honor as a servant.”

“Then why did you help allow this to happen? I…I really cannot understand it.”

“I…”

Then, a voice cut in between me and Sir Dilton’s argument. “Lady Maristella,” the voice said.

As I slowly turned around, a familiar silver-haired man came into sight.

“…Your Highness.”

“Sir Dilton is innocent. I am at fault,” Xavier said with a calm expression. “You may interrogate me.”

“Interrogate.” I shook my head as if that were nonsense. “I cannot do that to the next emperor. And the purpose of today’s visit isn’t an interrogation, either.”

“No?”

“I came to have an audience with you and ask a question. Since I’m a third-party member, I don’t want to get too involved in this matter. I just want to do my part as the facilitator.”

I kept my voice steady so I could continue with what I wanted to say.

“I just wanted to know. Why did you accept my offer when you had feelings for someone else?”

Xavier fixed me with a stare, and then sighed. “If you want the answer to that question…then we should go inside. I cannot keep a guest waiting out here forever.”

“…Alright,” I said.

I followed Xavier to the parlor room. I sat down across from home at a beige circular table, and soon maids came in to serve refreshments. Warm green tea along with macarons was sure to bring sweetness to the mouth. I felt like he was being sensitive towards my preferences by bringing sweet food.

“It’s a new dessert served by the chef these days,” Xavier said.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” I replied with a polite smile, and lifted the china teacup to my lips.

I noticed Xavier contemplating me. He was keen enough to notice that I was acting different from usual. Because of the circumstances, I didn’t yet smile properly at him.

“It’s delicious,” I said after sampling the snacks.

Those weren’t empty words, they were true. The desserts at the Imperial Palace never failed to impress. That didn’t mean that my concerns went away and Xavier, sensing that, smiled lightly.

“I’m glad that you enjoy it.”

I decided to go straight to the point. “Your Highness. May I ask? Why…why you accepted the meeting when you already had feelings for someone else.”

He didn’t answer me immediately. I didn’t know if it was because he was choosing his words carefully or if he was searching for an excuse, but he was very cautious when he opened his mouth. I patiently waited for him to speak.

“It was because,” he began.