Chapter 30

After Rebecca’s declaration of defeat yesterday, nothing much changed between us.

The princess seemed to think I had deliberately made such an embarrassing statement to get revenge on her, and since I didn’t want her to find out my true feelings, I didn’t feel the need to change her mind.

Our relationship remained the same as always.

Rebecca still saw me as her annoying fiancé, and I continued teasing her to hide my true feelings.

It was a completely unchanged relationship.

However, it wasn’t like there were no changes at all.

First, during the week Rebecca stayed at Count Zernias’ mansion, I no longer had to attend Frederick’s lessons.

– It would be better not to hold lessons while the princess is staying here.

This was something Frederick and I agreed upon after I was forgiven by the princess yesterday.

Frederick, my tutor, was also a member of the Zernias household, and it seemed he didn’t want to see the relationship between me, the young master of the house, and my fiancée, the princess, fall apart.

What teacher would want their students to fight over petty pride during their lessons?

Especially when one of those students is the future Count Zernias and the other is the future Duke Valencia, who could potentially have the greatest influence in the empire.

So Frederick suggested postponing the lessons, and since I was also planning to suggest delaying them so the princess wouldn’t be left alone, I gladly accepted.

– Alright, let’s postpone the next lesson to next week.

– Since we’re behind schedule, you better be prepared for the next lesson.

– …

Though I wasn’t exactly thrilled about the ominous warning that followed.

But at least I no longer had to attend lessons while the princess was staying at the mansion, and I could spend all my time with Rebecca.

And the second change was that it was confirmed the princess would stay at Count Zernias’ mansion until the imperial banquet.

This was also something my father, Count Zernias, the owner of the mansion, had approved.

– …The Princess of Valencia has come?

Of course, when I first told my father that Rebecca had visited, he seemed to think he had misheard.

– For these reasons, it seems the princess will need to stay at the mansion for a few days.

– Alright, understood.

After I explained the reasons why the princess needed to stay, he readily agreed.

And the result was the princess standing in front of me with a bewildered expression.

– …Why?

– …

– Isn’t it enough to just attend lessons with me like yesterday?

Rebecca asked me as if she genuinely didn’t understand.

There’s no way Rebecca wouldn’t know that the lessons were postponed because of her.

It was hard to tell if her innocent expression meant she really didn’t know or if she was mocking me for not being able to attend lessons.

So, as her merciful fiancé, I decided to kindly explain.

– It’s for my beloved princess. If I go to attend lessons, wouldn’t you feel lonely?

– …

This was the third change.

I could now add various embellishments when addressing Rebecca.

Beloved, beautiful, cute, etc. I could now say the things I had only thought in my head.

Until now, I had been too afraid to say such things for fear of revealing my feelings.

– …Stop teasing me.

As her reaction showed, Rebecca took any embellishments I added as me teasing her.

– I’m not teasing. As your fiancé, how could I not love my beautiful princess?

– …

In this way, I could enjoy watching Rebecca’s flustered reactions without revealing my true feelings.

As they say, the ground hardens after the rain.

Whoever came up with that saying really knew what they were talking about.

– …So, what are we going to do now?

Rebecca seemed to realize that if she kept asking about that topic, she’d only hear more of my embarrassing nonsense.

Seeing her change the subject like that…

– What a shame. I wanted to see more.

Though I was a bit disappointed that my plan was discovered too soon, I opened my mouth to tell Rebecca what we needed to do.

– We need to prepare for the imperial banquet.

What we had to do was prepare for the imperial banquet, the main reason I was grounded and the main reason Rebecca had come to Count Zernias’ mansion.

***

The imperial banquet.

A banquet hosted by the imperial family once a year unless there’s a special occasion.

It’s an event where all the nobles of the empire gather, making it a good opportunity for ordinary nobles to build connections.

In the original novel, [The Crown Prince Wields a Sword], the imperial banquet is one of the important events where the protagonist, Mikhail Schuelgart, meets most of the main characters.

From Rebecca and other heroines to people who would later have a significant impact on the story, the protagonist meets them all for the first time at the imperial banquet.

It’s like a meeting ground where the protagonist meets most of the important characters.

That was the role of the imperial banquet in the original novel.

– Are you going to practice dancing?

– We have to, don’t we? We can’t just not practice at all.

Of course, for Rebecca and me, it was nothing more than a bothersome event where we had to dance as partners.

It was only natural.

From my perspective as a transmigrator, unless it was related to the princess, I didn’t want to build connections with other nobles and change the original story.

And as the only daughter of the Valencia Duchy, one of the two ducal families in the empire, Rebecca would naturally have nobles approaching her without her having to make the first move.

So, for us, there was no romantic first step into high society.

There was only the bothersome high society filled with nobles who loved to gossip.

– …I don’t want to.

– …

– Do we really have to practice separately?

– …Didn’t the duchess send you here to practice?

– My mother did say that, but… honestly, I’m not sure if I need to practice.

Rebecca seemed to dislike the idea of spending time practicing dancing.

Well, the overpowered princess was flawless not only in other areas but also in dancing.

There are few people who want to invest time in something they’re already good at.

– I need to practice.

But while Rebecca, who was naturally good at everything, was fine, I was the problem.

Since transmigrating here, I hadn’t exactly learned noble dancing.

Except for being forced by my mother, the Countess of Zernias, to practice a few steps, I had no experience with dancing.

Though it wasn’t like I hadn’t learned at all, and I could probably adapt after a few tries, those “few tries” were important to me.

There’s a big difference between having done something and not having done it.

– …Do you really need to practice because you’re that bad at dancing?

– …

When Rebecca heard that I needed practice, she looked genuinely surprised.

As if she couldn’t believe it was possible.

– I knew you weren’t very talented in this, but needing to practice? That’s surprising.

– …I won’t argue since it’s true.

Unlike usual, I didn’t argue back against Rebecca’s insults.

It was true, and it was me, not Rebecca, who was disappointed about not being able to practice dancing.

– So, my beloved fiancée, would you kindly guide me?

– …

Instead of arguing, I decided to persuade Rebecca with a bunch of flowery words.

With the intention of filling her with shame if she didn’t help me practice.

– Wouldn’t the most beautiful Princess Rebecca personally teach her lacking fiancé?

– …Enough.

– If my beloved princess personally teaches me, there would be nothing happier for me…

– I’ll practice with you, so stop talking!

As expected, using shame to attack Rebecca was incredibly effective.

Even though I had only spoken a few sentences, the princess was already blushing and shouting at me.

– If my beloved princess wishes for me to stop talking, then I shall stop here.

– …

It seems the princess is more sensitive to embarrassment than I thought.