Supporting Characters Also Need Some Love

CHAPTER 2: SPRING COMES TO EVERYONE (XX)

Part 037

She was walking around the perimeter of the hall looking for a suitable spot when Laurel suddenly grabbed her arm and yanked it toward her. As she lost her balance and was pulled toward Laurel, she held her back to keep her from falling. She wondered why she was suddenly like this, but her bright red dress suddenly appeared from behind where she was standing. Red-brown hair, red lips and a red dress, Filia, all red, brushed past her, stopped, looked back, and walked away again.

She didn’t know what she was thinking, but if Laurel hadn’t pulled her, she would have crashed and landed on her knees on the floor. Why? Why was she like that?

“Lady Ailene disappeared and she spent her time wielding her social circle in one hand, but as time goes on, the things she does become more extreme. Are you okay?” Laurel asked, still holding her arm.

“It’s okay. Why is she like this? She doesn’t have anything to do with me.”

“Because His Majesty keeps delaying chosing the Crown Princess. Lady Philia is now at an age where she has to get engaged or married, but there are rumors that the Duke of Gallion won’t marry into any family, and that he’s targeting Duke Bigor recently. Or maybe he just doesn’t like you getting more attention than he does.”

“Do I get the attention? Adrian gets it. Handsome men live a very tiring life.”

She looked at her red back and turned her head. She chose to put this debt on hold and make sure to claim it next time. She couldn’t come to the Crown Prince’s birthday party and catch the Duke’s only daughter by the hair, so she let it go. She changed the subject, not wanting to worry Laurel, whom she hadn’t seen in a while.

“It would have been fine at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, what about the Ministry of Finance?”

“Don’t talk. Senior Tina, is there a 6th grade administrative officer who quarreled with you on the exam day? How hard is it?

“Is that so? How is it?”

“They gave me the documents that came down to be destroyed and told me to find the error, and if I couldn’t find it, they pointed out the confirmed error and scolded me for not being able to find it, and when I found it, they told me to destroy it because it’s all over, and whew… I don’t fit there.”

“Wow… I should have been filmed anyway.”

“I only have to endure the education period, but Damian said that the Ministry of Finance supported it, right?”

She nodded and Laurel clicked her tongue with her pitying face.

“Why don’t you just change your support to the military? Lim is there too. Whoops.”

“Ugh. I’ll think about it.”

She shook her head and was suddenly lost in thought about her future career path, when Laurel opened her fan to cover her mouth and patted her arm to draw attention. Adrian was standing at a distance, looking at her. When their eyes met, he smiled broadly like a flower blooming. Standing beside her, Laurel gasped. She couldn’t come closer for fear of getting in the way, so she asked him with her eyes, so he nodded and came closer with a thicker blooming face.

“Adrian, my friend, Laurel, the daughter of the Count of Madeira. Laurel, this is Duke Adrian Bigor.”

After introducing the two sides, Adrian held out his hand with a smile while Laurel was hovering. Laurel instinctively reached out and placed it in Adrian’s hand, but he gasped again as his head dropped. As in the case of Brother Lootvan, Adrian greeted Laurel this time as a courtesy to her friend, not the Duke and Countess. His lips on the back of Laurel’s hand paused long before they touched the back of his hand, then came back up. Still vivid about what it felt like to kiss the back of his hand, she was glad his lips didn’t touch the back of Laurel’s to her shame.

‘Laurel, sorry. Your friend is narrow-minded.’

“Nice to meet you, Young lady Madeira.”

“I-I am honored. Duke Bigor. I’ve been hearing good news about Damian. I was amazed at how skillfully you handled public opinion.”

After stumbling over her first words, Laurel quickly regained her pace and was greeted by Adrian. Adrian, who was excitedly blocking her marriage path by spreading rumors all over the place, was unable to answer Laurel’s words for a moment.

‘Wonderful Laurel, you’ll make a great diplomat.’

“I’ll try to hear better news.”

“No matter what the news are, it’s fine as long as my friend is happy. The Duke think like that too, right?”

“Of course.”

At Adrian’s answer, Laurel smiled happily, bowed gracefully, and walked away. ‘You had good friends’, said Adrian sullenly.

Her friend was pretty cool. And he was cool too.

Anyone could see that he dressed up nicely in a suit that matched her dress and smiled pretty. 

After calling all his guests, why didn’t the birthday prince show up? She wore a pretty dress too; she wanted to dance with handsome Adrian.

* * *

It’s been a long time since the Crown Prince’s birthday party started, but Terrelius didn’t show up. The complexion of the Queen and the Princess, who sat at the high table, gradually became darker. Just when the gathered nobles began to mumble about something, an attendant with a pale face hurriedly entered the banquet hall and reported something to the Queen and second Princess Cecilia, who were guarding the seat, and the two hurriedly left. Even the Queen and the second Princess left, and time passed again in a chaotic atmosphere, but even the Queen, let alone the Crown Prince, did not return, and it was time that dissatisfaction was about to erupt among the nobles who filled the huge banquet hall.

Princess Remina, who rarely went out in front of people, appeared in the banquet hall. When the Princess, who usually lived only in her palace specially given by King Ortega IV and didn’t show up at the royal events, let alone outside activities, went to the podium, everyone looked at her with curious faces. There were many nobles who had not even heard the voice of Princess Remina. Even at the age of twenty-six, she had lived in seclusion without ever getting married, so in the minds of the nobles, she was a timid and incompetent princess.

Rumors that the first princess would not even marry and that there must be some problem with her, went up to the podium unexpectedly and proudly. Ban, the captain of the 3rd Royal Guard, called the Tomb of the Royal Guard, who was in charge of escorting Princess Remina, escorted the princess to the podium in a moderation and respectful manner and stood behind her.

She had reddish blonde hair and red eyes, and as she stood upright, the nobles who were only looking at her involuntarily bowed down and took her bow.

“Today’s protagonist, Crown Prince Tirellius, is in a hurry to attend due to his sudden health. I would like to express my gratitude for accepting the invitation on behalf of the Crown Prince, so please enjoy the remaining ball.”

Clearing things up with her no-nonsense words, Remina nodded her head towards the orchestra, and the music resonated. The full-scale banquet had begun. The first dance had to be given by the main character, the Crown Prince, and his partner, so Remina, acting as a substitute, reaches out to the captain of her escort. A class with a gloomy face took her hand, and the two of them danced in the middle of the stage. It was a proud and elegant gesture. All the nobles looked at Remina with new eyes. After the princess’s first dance, the other nobles went out alone. The music changed cheerfully, and the party atmosphere matured.

Remina met and talked with nobles from major families as a proper host. That role was supposed to be the Crown Prince, the host, but she fulfilled the role perfectly with her impeccable, dignified demeanor. It was such a graceful attitude that Damian couldn’t believe she had no contact with her. Remina, who was greeting various nobles, approached Damian and Adrian.

As Damian followed suit while Adrian lowered his head, Remina smiled slightly.

“Duke, it’s been a while.”

“Have you been at peace so far, your highness?”

“Thanks to you, I was fine. I heard an interesting story. You always try to carry too many things by yourself.”

“Someone has to do it.”

“It’s something someone has to do. It’s embarrassing.”

Sharing her ambiguous words, the princess smiled again with her slightly sad face. Looking at Damian, who was quietly lowering her eyes at the conversation that she couldn’t interrupt, Remina spoke to her.

“You must be Lady Ethard. I heard that you passed the magistrate exam with excellent grades.”

“I’ve just been lucky, your highness.”

“There is a limit to what you can get with luck. You don’t have to be humble in your own efforts. I hope you will continue to work hard for Laurenty.”

“Yes, your highness.”

Damian lowered her head and Remina smiled pleasantly. Ban, who was worried about Remina, who was forced to stand in her unwilling position, was puzzled by Remina, who smiled uncharacteristically. Whatever the reason, he was so happy to see his master’s bright smile that he hadn’t seen in a long time, and it made him feel better too. Remina liked the respectful attitude of Duke Bigor, who was known to be disrespectful to the royal family, and the little young lady who blushed at Remina’s praise.

After parting with Damian and Adrian, Remina, who had been dealing with nobles, tried to quietly leave the banquet hall when the time came. The red-haired Galleon Duke, similar to her, who had been keeping an eye on Remina all the time and was looking for her chance, followed her. When Remina did not stop her steps even when called from behind, he ran ahead of her and stopped in front of her. As Remina let out a sigh and stopped her steps, he hardened his face and stood in front of her.

“Please give me a little time, princess.”

“I did say I had nothing to say.”

Remina was adamant, but the Duke of Galleon had no intention of giving up, as she was always stuck in her palace and he never had an opportunity to approach her, who would not even accept his request for an audience.

“Are you sure you’re going to do this? Aren’t you doing this out of love for this uncle? You can’t do this to me even for the sake of the deceased Queen.”

When the Duke of Galleon mentioned his sister, Remina’s mother, Remina’s brow furrowed.

“Aren’t you ashamed to talk about my late mother, Duke? I’ll tell you again since you haven’t given up yet. The marriage between Tyrellius and Filia is none of my business, and the marriage between me and the Duke is nothing short of an insult to me. Don’t take it out again.”

Ortega IV cherished the red-haired first queen, married from the Galleon family. Remina, the only child she gave birth to, also felt sorry for her. She thereby guaranteed her princess life, which she could have used as a means of diplomacy, without forcing her into a marriage she did not want. During the eight years that the Queen from the Galleon family was alive, the Duke of Galleon, intoxicated with the sweetness of his sister’s power, was disgusted by his irresponsible sister who died after giving birth to her only daughter. Like her mother, Remina, who built a wall with her mother’s family, was also happy. He had been struggling to somehow make Philia the crown prince’s mate and become the king’s father-in-law again, but King Ortega IV, who was controlling his political power by balancing the Galleon family and the Nodovan family, suddenly joined hands with the Duke of Nodovan. He actively pursued marriage with Nodovan, and even now that Eilene Nodovan, the candidate for Crown Princess, has disappeared, he was still deferring her appointment as Crown Princess. The Duke of Galleon had to marry Remina to someone from the Galleon family, just in case, instead of the crown prince who couldn’t be persuaded at all. At present, it is not certain whether Tyrellius would ascend the throne or whether Docerne would ascend. Remina was also clearly of royal blood, so if she gave birth to a son who carried on the Galleon family blood, Remina’s convergence would be possible depending on the situation. So, he tried to give Remina some kind of Galleon direct lineage or collateral lineage, but when it didn’t work, he was pushed by even the 17-year-old duke, and in the end, he bought Remina’s anger. As the Duke of Galleon tried to take a step closer, Ban blocked his way threateningly, emitting bloody energy. As he reluctantly slowed him down, Remina walked away without even turning her head.