***
‘Me?
Causing trouble at the palace?’
I widened my eyes in shock and shook my head.
‘I didn’t do anything like that!
Maybe Joshua, since he climbed a tree inside the palace.
But not me!
All I did was eat all the desserts at the banquet and get lost searching for Joshua…
wait…’
“The Second Prince sent a letter.”
‘Well, what do you know!’
I glanced at Julianne with even wider eyes, and Aiden, who was standing next to me, gently patted my shoulder in a reassuring manner.
‘Hey, you don’t even know what I did…
Why are you already preparing to send me away?
Don’t you trust me, Aiden?
Are you really giving up on me so quickly?
I never took you for that kind of person…’
“But I didn’t do anything.”
‘All I did was grab his shoulder thinking it was Joshua and ran away in the middle of talking to him.
Is it because I told him to tell me next time if he had anything to say?
I didn’t tell him to send me a letter though!’
“Perhaps Lili didn’t cause any trouble, Lia,” Cedric, who stood beside her, softly chimed in.
Julianne nodded in agreement, although she still appeared anxious and gestured toward me.
‘Don’t you trust me, Lia…?’
Certainly, considering my recent behavior, it was only natural to assume that I had caused some trouble, but…
‘Looks like Lia values mind over matter…’
“Give me that, Lia.”
‘Since it’s a letter for me, I’ll read it myself.’
I let go of Aiden’s hand and walked forward confidently.
‘If he’s trying to punish me just because I ran away in the middle of talking, then he really has no sense of character.’
As I stood in front of Julianne, I extended my hand toward her, requesting the letter.
When I took the letter from Julianne, my attention was immediately drawn to a wine-colored wax seal bearing the imperial insignia.
‘It doesn’t seem to have been opened.
How can Julianne be so certain that the Second Prince sent this?’
However, as I looked at the handwriting in which my name was written, I could finally understand why.
‘Wow, such terrible handwriting.
Don’t they teach proper penmanship in the palace?’
“Did the Prince come to the banquet?”
“No, I never saw him.”
“But how did he know…?”
While I began to open the letter, Julianne and Cedric engaged in a hushed conversation.
‘Yeah, about that…
it’s a long story…’
However, revealing the truth would undoubtedly lead to Josh being scolded, so I decided to keep quiet.
‘I already forgave that cutie when I hit him on the head last time anyway.’
“Lili.”
Aiden, who had sidled up by my side unnoticed, cautiously called out to me.
It seemed as if he was worried.
‘Well, how bad can the Second Prince be?
Worse than Robain?
I should be fine.’
I smiled confidently and shook my head free of worries.
‘Aiden smiled at me like this before, didn’t he?
Oh, right.
It was when I rebelled against Julianne and locked myself in the study.’
As I pulled the letter out of the envelope, the anticipation in the room grew tangible, and everyone around me became even tenser than I was, attentively observing my every move.
‘Oh, this is going to be interesting.’
I deliberately turned my hand holding the letter to the right, and instinctively, everyone’s gaze followed suit.
Then, as I extended my arm to the left, their eyes shifted in unison, mirroring my actions.
They were like cats… Cats trying to hunt their prey…
“Lili, this isn’t the time to play around.”
Finally, unable to contain her impatience, Julianne couldn’t help but slightly reprimand me, her eyes still fixed on the letter.
‘I just wanted you all to relax.’
I raised an eyebrow in response and then started to read the letter properly.
[To Lilianne Blanchet…]
‘Hmm, as expected, the handwriting is all squiggly.’
That was typical for kids around this age, but Aiden’s handwriting was so neat that it almost looked like it was printed.
[I’m sending this letter because you told me to speak to you directly if I had something to say during the last banquet.]
“Lili, have you ever met the Second Prince?”
Julianne, who was reading along right next to me, asked in a surprised voice.
‘I’ll explain later.’
I nodded my head slightly and continued reading.
‘He was speaking casually last time but it looks like he uses formal language in letters.
Did he have a change of heart or something since last time?’
[I wanted to apologize for being rude to you before, but I didn’t have a chance, so I have taken the liberty to send you this letter.]
“Isn’t the Second Prince about as old as Lili?”
Julianne murmured in disbelief as Cedric nodded in response.
‘Are you guys comparing me to this prince?
He’s a prince who was taught royal etiquette since he was a baby, while I’m a little kid who grew up freely!
An eight-year-old can cause trouble, you know!
Those things happen!’
“Well, I’m just glad that Lili didn’t get into any trouble.”
Julianne let out a sigh of relief after speaking.
‘I told you.
Even if I get into trouble here, I don’t go around causing trouble elsewhere!’
I raised my head and smirked.
Lia then stroked my head gently as she smiled.
“I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, Lili.
I should’ve trusted you…”
“No, it’s okay.”
‘Even I would have thought my kid did something as soon as I saw that letter.’
I shook my head and continued reading the last paragraph.
[So, to apologize for my rudeness before, I would like to invite you to my palace.
I have enclosed a document that allows you to enter the palace, so I hope you can visit.
Carlisle K.
Evans.]
‘Does that mean he’s inviting me to the palace?’
I widened my eyes in surprise and read the last paragraph again.
It was a bit too much just to apologize that he spoke to me casually.
‘Come to think of it, his last name looks a bit familiar.
Carlisle K.
Evans…
wait, Evans…?’
“Aiden, are you from the imperial family…?”
“Is that so important right now, Lili…?”
As I asked him in surprise, Aiden replied with pursed lips.
‘Of course, I knew you longer than I knew him.
Did you think I would be more interested in the person who wrote me this when I only saw him once?’
When I shrugged my shoulders and stared, Aiden then spoke in a shy voice.
“I’m not really involved in the succession of the throne though.
The most likely heir is the First Prince.
After him is the Second Prince, and then my father…”
‘But no matter how you look at it, that means that you’re ahead of Michael in the line to the throne.
You’re even a direct descendant of the imperial family!
That means Michael is of imperial blood as well…’
I stared at Aiden with wide eyes.
‘I can’t believe the kid I teased turned out to be part of the imperial family, and a direct descendant at that…
Well, I should have realized it as soon as I knew Michael was the Grand Duke.’
I thought the title was just a title to show off how powerful they were.
I had never imagined that it was based on facts…
‘So, Aiden’s father is Michael’s older brother and the Emperor’s brother… and Michael is the Emperor’s youngest brother.’
“I apologize if I did anything to wrong you.
Can you forgive me…?”
“Don’t be like that, Lili…”
Aiden suddenly got restless and dismissively waved his hands.
As soon as they saw him do that, Cedric and Julianne chuckled slightly.
‘So they already knew about Aiden’s status!
Yet they didn’t say anything to me?
I should warn Josh later…
No, actually, I bet everyone else probably knew except me.’
Now knowing that Michael was of imperial blood, I wondered if I should give him extra points for that.
“Anyway, Lili, do you want to go back to the palace?
If you accept the invitation, we need to set a date and send a reply,” Julianne asked, meeting my gaze with a much more relieved look than before.
‘Hmm, I do want to eat the desserts there again.
They were so good… but if I have them again, my taste buds might soar to the heavens, and I might never come back… but can I actually refuse?
After all, that is an invitation sent by a prince.’
“But I have to go, don’t I…?”
“It’ll be okay if you refuse politely.”
Julianne gently stroked my cheek as she spoke.
Aiden also nodded lightly.
‘Well, Julianne does have backup good enough to face the Second Prince…’
Our family wasn’t weak, and we even had Michael on our side.
Seeing that the Emperor didn’t attend the banquet, the Second Prince didn’t seem to have that much authority.
“Umm…”
‘I don’t want to make any more trouble though… it definitely seems like he has a crush on me.
Looks like being too pretty is a problem.’
I shook my head from side to side and pursed my lips.
‘Palace desserts…!
The Baumkuchen I had last time was more delicious than anything I’ve ever tasted…!’
“I’ll go just to have dessert.”
“Okay then.”
Julianne nodded and got up from her seat as soon as I spoke.
‘That went easier than I expected.’
I placed the letter I had been holding down on the table and glanced at Aiden.
Aiden faintly smiled, looking just like Michael.
More precisely, it was the exact same expression he made whenever Julianne was with someone other than him, or when he wasn’t happy with something in a wider sense of view…
“Well then, Lili…”
As I stared at Aiden’s face, he opened his mouth and spoke in a gentle voice.
“Should I come with you?”
‘Hey, are you jealous right now…?’