Chapter 11
****
"Lynette, you don't have to push yourself."
Finberg said gently, but Lynette had no intention of going back to bed.
"I'm fine, really. It's an important banquet and I don't want to miss it."
In truth, she hadn't had much contact with Finberg in her past life; all she knew of him was what she'd heard around her, and even that she'd overheard.
The crown prince had been alien to Lynette's world from the start.
Then Argos entered her world.
As her relationship with him deepened, another destiny began.
When she deliberately approached the crown prince at Argos's request, she barely had time to look him over.
She didn't want to know if he was a good man or not, what he thought, what his values were.
The only thing on her mind was Argos and what she had to do for him.
"You're all that matters, don't worry about anything else."
Lynette smiled, her lips pressed together.
Then a small, cute dimple popped up on each cheek.
Finberg's gaze flickered to where her cheeks were concave, then away.
*......I mean, if you ever feel uncomfortable, let me know."
"Yes, I will."
Lynette replied in a whisper, and Lilyburn, who was standing a couple of steps behind her, burst into tears.
"...."
She was dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.
"If it weren't for you, my Lily."
"Nonsense."
Argos, standing a few feet away from them, muttered with a grimace as Hyperion continued to crack down on Lilyburn in a low voice.
"You’ve done nothing, and yet you're running."
The only one who heard Argos' words was the doctor, Angelman.
He turned to walk quickly down the stairs, startled by Argos's sharp words. "Hey."
He stopped dead in his tracks at the voice behind him.
"What, you mean me?"
"Then who could it be?"
Argos stared coldly at Angelman.
If this man had done his job, he wouldn't be feeling as cranky as he was now.
By acting so foolishly, he had only confirmed Finberg's abilities.
"Eh, yes, Your Highness."
Angelman hugged his medical bag and swallowed dryly.
"Aren't you ashamed to be a doctor with skills like that?"
Argos didn't hide his displeasure in the slightest.
"Ah, well, I'll do my best from now on."
"Do your best. Is that all you can do?"
Angelman began to sweat like it was raining again.
Argos realized that the puddy doctor hadn't been sweating from running up the stairs at full speed.
“Ah, I’ll do my best, do my best......."
"Are you sure you're the only doctor here?"
"Well, yes."
Argos shook his head.
"This is why I hate small towns."
He wanted to do something about this unpleasantness, but it wasn't enough to bully Angelman alone.
He also didn't want to talk to him anymore.
Argos strode into the ballroom, leaving Angelman shaking his head.
Everything felt tacky, and he hated every inch of it.
Grabbing any glass he could get his hands on, Argos watched Lynette slowly descend the stairs.
<No, I bought it.>
Suddenly, Argos realized.
He didn't like long, pretentious greetings like the ones people gave Finberg, but he didn't like being too blunt either.
A bouquet of flowers plucked from the garden's hard work would not be enough.......
You bought it?
Flowers for him, Argos Pad Perro?
"You dare."
Argos took a step closer to the reason he'd been in such a bad mood all this time.
Or, more precisely, why he'd been feeling unnecessarily irritated by the touch of a loose nerve. It wasn't from being in the same room as the lowly, it wasn't from seeing Finberg's abilities, it wasn't from Angelman's stuttering, it wasn't from the fact that he was sweating too much.
"Lynette.”
It was that little girl.
***
Lynette descended into the ballroom, oblivious to Argos's gaze.
"Crown Prince."
"I have been waiting for you. I had something urgent to tell you......."
Finberg was quickly surrounded by a crowd, and the girl slipped to the side.
She had spotted a familiar face earlier.
‘You've come.’
Kanna.
She straightened her back and looked towards Finberg.
'....'
When it was said that the manor was open and that anyone of any status could attend the banquet.
She thought a Kanna would come to Hilt at any cost.
'Too bad, you've lost face.’
Her complexion was paler and thinner than before, which seemed to give her a rather decadent look.
‘Who's the man next to her?’
He had a similar aura to Kanna.
He was a boy about the same age as the Princes, only a couple years older than Kanna.
He was a handsome young man, with dark shadows under his eyes, but with fine features.
‘You two look good together.’
Lynette stifled the sneer that threatened to burst forth.
She supposed it wouldn't be a bad idea to find a man to match Kanna in the lower classes and live together.
‘But what if.’
It was unfair to see her live happily ever after.
Crawl out of the gutter. Kanna needed to know what despair tastes like when she was happiest, and Lynette was going to have to play to her strengths a little bit.
Lynette knew the classic trick Kanna had been using.
"Excuse me."
She headed straight for the podium where the band was playing.
"Mr. Wilbur, I have a favor to ask you."
Wilbur, who was conducting, turned quickly as Lynette approached.
"Yes, Lady. Go ahead."
"Could you please play a slightly slower minute, um....... For about three songs, non-stop."
Wilbur asked, raising his bushy eyebrows.
" You mean three songs in a row?"
"Yes, actually, I was thinking of......."
Lynette leaned toward Wilbur and whimpered softly.
"Can you keep a secret?"
"Of course."
"Actually, I mean....... I'd like to dance with the Crown Prince for a very long time."
"Oh."
"Could you help me with that, just once?"
Wilbur stifled a laugh and glanced back at the band.
The oldest string player nodded, and Wilbur nodded in agreement.
"Let's do it, shall we, three songs at a time?"
Lynette shrugged at the playfulness in Wilbur's voice.
"I don't think I can do more than that."
"I see."
"Thank you so much, you're a lifesaver."
"You're welcome, my lady."
Lynette smiled wryly.
In her past life, whenever Kanna wanted attention, she would use the moment the music stopped to break a glass.
In a moment so brilliant and exquisite that no one would think it was intentional.
Perhaps now that she had seen the prince, she wouldn’t let it pass.
‘You're thinking that you have to catch their eye somehow.’
As a lowly Kanna, there was not much she could do in a banquet hall.
At best, she could make a lot of noise to draw attention to herself.
‘Okay, let's see what you can do.’
Lynette turned and walked away, leaving with a sneer.
She didn't look behind her and bumped into someone.
Startled, she turned to offer an apology.
A mocking voice rang in her ears.
"The young lady is not very careful."
It was Argos.
"You're running around a little too fast for someone who's been raised from the dead."
Lynette fought the urge to twitch the corners of her eyes.
When she tried to relax her expression, it was more awkward than natural.
Argos did not miss this subtle change.
"Are you uncomfortable?"
"No."
Even as she answered, Lynette criticized herself for being so quick to react.
Argos, however, seemed to interpret the answer differently.
"It's understandable, you haven’t been treated properly."
He muttered languidly, his gaze drifting off into the distance.
Argos's gaze fell on Finberg. There was a terrible sense of inferiority in his eyes as he looked at him.
"Lynette was too nice to be broken."
"With only quacks in Trokan, I'm guessing you have low expectations for medicine."
"Thank you for your concern for our realm. Prince.”
"I've never been concerned about this backwater."
"I appreciate your concern, but I was treated properly and I'm fine now."
Argos downed the drink he was holding in one swift gulp.
Then he stared at Lynette.
"I was worried about you."
***
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