Chapter 49

Rebecca hands me a blue potion with a blank expression.

If only she were smirking, I might think she’s trying to torment me.

But the look on Rebecca’s face is more like, “No matter what you say, you’re going to drink this,” and it sends chills down my spine.

“…Is that potion…?”

“It’s a potion that makes you tell only the truth.”

“…”

I had a feeling that potion was the Truth Potion.

Out of the five potions the princess bought, that was the only one she could force me to drink in this situation.

“…May I ask why you want to make me drink it?”

But even if I knew what the potion was, I didn’t know why she wanted me to drink it.

It’s like knowing there’s poison in your food but not knowing why it’s there.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out what truth the princess wanted to hear from me.

Whether she knew about the question marks in my mind or not.

“Is a mere servant curious about the reasons behind their master’s actions?”

“…”

Rebecca clearly had no intention of telling me why she wanted me to drink the Truth Potion.

And though her tone was as haughty as ever, her slightly flushed cheeks and her inability to meet my eyes told me she was embarrassed.

I was dying to know why she was embarrassed while forcing me to drink a potion that makes me tell the truth.

“A servant should act like a servant and obey their master.”

Unfortunately, as a mere servant, I had no power to find out the reason.

All I could do was…

“…You’ll regret this.”

…put on the scariest face I could muster and try to scare Rebecca by telling her she’d regret it.

“Stop talking nonsense and drink it already.”

“…”

But even that didn’t work on the princess.

“Here.”

I tried my best not to drink it, but eventually, I ran out of places to hide.

Gulp-

In the end, I had no choice but to obediently drink the eerie blue potion Rebecca handed me.

“…Ugh.”

After much hesitation, the taste of the potion was terrible.

I had hoped it might taste like an ion drink, but instead, it had a weird, medicinal taste that was hard to swallow.

“How does it feel?”

As soon as I finished the potion, Rebecca looked at me with a curious expression, checking my condition.

Even though I was forced to drink it, it was still a potion given by my fiancée.

I tried to say I was fine.

“It tastes like garbage.”

“…”

Before I could stop myself, the exact opposite of what I wanted to say came out of my mouth.

“…What did you say?”

Rebecca stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.

Sure, I’ve teased the princess before, but I’ve never used such extreme language as “garbage” in front of her.

It was only natural she’d make that face.

“I said it really tastes like garbage.”

But that didn’t change the fact that the words coming out of my mouth were the truth.

This ridiculously effective potion made me spit out exactly what I was thinking.

It was the perfect tool for hurting someone’s feelings.

“…It’s a very effective potion.”

Rebecca seemed to finally remember that the potion she made me drink was the Truth Potion.

Given how late she was in nodding her head.

“…Indeed.”

Not that I disagreed with her, though.

As I’ve been saying, the potion I drank was incredibly effective.

“Whoever gave it to me, it’s a potion with an unnecessarily strong effect.”

“…”

Otherwise, I wouldn’t have said something so hurtful in front of Rebecca.

What I like is the embarrassed reaction Rebecca shows when I tease her, not the hurt reaction.

But now, even if I regret it…

“…Is that so?”

…the potion had already gone down my throat.

“Yes. I’d like to meet the person who gave this to me and see their face.”

Even though I knew my words would hurt Rebecca’s feelings, I had no choice but to say them.

“…Let’s go back now.”

Naturally, Rebecca, having heard my brutally honest words, was sulking.

Honestly, it was a bit disappointing that she forced me to drink the potion and then got upset over the words I had no choice but to say.

But if I said that, Rebecca’s feelings wouldn’t recover for days.

“…”

I tried my best to keep my lips sealed, even though they were itching to speak.

***

“Welcome back.”

As soon as we returned to Valencia Duchy Mansion, Dorothy’s voice greeted us.

Normally, I would have greeted her cheerful voice with equal enthusiasm, but…

“…”

…now, I couldn’t even predict what might happen if I opened my mouth.

I simply nodded and followed Rebecca.

For a moment, I worried that Rebecca might not let me into her room, but…

Creak-

Fortunately, the princess didn’t stop me from entering.

And so, we returned to the princess’s room.

On the desk was the unfinished letter Rebecca had been writing to Isabella, and on the bed was the letter from Isabella that had caused this whole situation.

Reading Isabella’s letter again, it was still filled with absurd content.

No matter how angry she was, there was no reason to label a normal person as abnormal.

Especially since Isabella Bluebell and I had only met once.

To judge someone after just one meeting, that’s so like Isabella Bluebell.

Perhaps I was too deep in thought while holding the letter.

“…What are you thinking about?”

Rebecca was looking at me with a suspicious gaze.

Just a moment ago, she seemed like she wouldn’t speak to me, but now she was staring at me with suspicion.

If it were any other time, I would have said I wasn’t thinking about anything, but…

“I was thinking about Miss Bluebell for a moment.”

This damn potion was no help again.

Unintentionally, I had just admitted to my fiancée that I was thinking about another woman.

“Must be nice, thinking about Miss Bluebell.”

Of course, my fiancée wasn’t going to take that well.

Even if she didn’t love me, what fiancée would be happy to hear her fiancé thinking about another woman?

Moreover, though she didn’t realize it, Rebecca had started to develop feelings for me recently.

So hearing her fiancé, whom she was starting to like, say he was thinking about another woman…

It was only natural that Rebecca’s expression hardened.

The only silver lining was…

“…It wasn’t nice.”

“Huh?”

“Thinking about a weird woman like Miss Bluebell isn’t exactly pleasant.”

…that from now on, what I wanted to say and my true feelings were aligned.

“…A weird woman?”

“A woman I’ve only met once sent a letter to my fiancée labeling me as abnormal. How could I possibly think well of her?”

The potion I drank was one that brought out my true thoughts, not one that made me say the opposite.

From now on, I could speak comfortably.

“That’s… true.”

Rebecca nodded, agreeing with my logical explanation.

“Besides, I have the most lovely fiancée anyone could ask for. How could any other woman catch my eye?”

“…”

Now was the time to use the Truth Potion as an excuse to speak my true feelings.

Whoosh-

Rebecca’s face immediately reacted to my words.

She must have been caught off guard. Rebecca, who had wished for me to be a faithful servant for a day while banning embarrassing words, probably didn’t expect this.

And as if to prove my assumption correct…

“Didn’t I… tell you not to praise me today…”

Rebecca stammered, trying to remind me of her earlier command.

“I really wanted to obey the princess’s words, but the Truth Potion commanded me to say this.”

“…”

“If the Truth Potion is also something the princess gave me today, shouldn’t I obey it as well?”

But it didn’t work on me, as I had already prepared my excuse.

The Truth Potion’s influence was irrelevant.

After all, it was Rebecca who gave me the potion.

Knock knock-

“Miss Rebecca, Prince Albert! I’ve brought your dinner!”

Just then, Dorothy’s voice came from behind the door, announcing that dinner had arrived.

“…Princess.”

A good idea came to me, and I called out softly to Rebecca, who was still blushing.

“Why…?”

“Isn’t a servant’s role to help their master live comfortably?”

“…What nonsense are you spouting now?”

Rebecca looked at me as if wondering what I was going on about.

‘What is this guy trying to say now?’ was written all over her pretty face.

“I’ll feed you.”

“…What?”

“As your faithful servant, I will personally feed you so you can enjoy your dinner comfortably.”

Well, even if that was written on her face, it wasn’t going to stop me from saying what I wanted to say.

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