Chapter 57 - I Need To Know Why (1/2)
Chapter 57 – I Need To Know Why
***
That evening, Martina came up to my room.
“The mood between you two was serious earlier,” she noted.
I remembered the meeting earlier and sighed once again. How did it all unfold like this?
“Didn’t you say His Highness the Crown Prince and Sister Odeletta met today?” Martina continued.
“I did,” I answered.
“But the mood was bad…was her meeting with the Crown Prince bad too?”
“His Majesty told Odeletta that he already has someone he likes,” I revealed.
“Huh? What are you talking about? He already has someone he likes?”
“Yes.” I couldn’t hide my own surprise and continued. “He shouldn’t have accepted the meeting in the first place, but he did. Then he told her that he already has feelings for someone else, so he couldn’t accept hers.”
“That’s shocking.”
“I thought I was going to die of embarrassment earlier. How can I look at Odeletta’s face now?”
I, the facilitator of the meeting, was also responsible. Martina watched me as I gave a deep sigh.
“So this is how Odeletta’s unrequited love ends?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No. For now, she’s going to keep going.”
“But His Highness already likes someone.”
“Somehow he’s not courting anyone presently, let alone getting married.” I tilted my head at the curious fact. “He seems to have a one-sided love, but I honestly don’t understand it. How can someone of his status be in that position? If I were him, anyone I would confess to would jump at the opportunity to be my wife.”
Martina looked up thoughtfully. “Hmm…maybe who it is doesn’t have the approval of the Emperor?”
That made sense. It was Emperor Henry who opposed Xavier’s relationship with Dorothea in the novel. Xavier’s timid behavior did not make sense—not unless the person he liked came from too modest a family to become a crown princess, or, in Dorothea’s case, did not appeal to the Emperor in terms of personality.
But if that were the situation, Xavier shouldn’t cause any collateral hurt to anyone who wasn’t involved. It was terrible of him to let down people for no reason. At least, that was my perspective as someone who had experience with unrequited love.
“Anyway,” I continued, “His Highness shouldn’t have given her hope in the first place.”
Martina nodded. “I agree. But sister, you’re not going to Thurman Palace to confront His Highness, are you?”
“…I don’t think a noble would dare pick a bone with the Imperial Family,” I said tentatively. “But it would be okay to just ask, right? Just say, ‘Why did you do that?’”
I didn’t think Xavier meant to be intentionally malicious with me and Dorothea. From what I’ve seen of him, he wasn’t a wicked man.
“Would His Highness feel uncomfortable?” Martina said in a worried voice, and a troubled expression crossed my face for a moment. There was no getting around that it would be an unpleasant encounter. However, Odeletta felt the same way with her meeting.
“Perhaps. I don’t think it’s presumptuous for me to interfere like this. However, as the person who facilitated the meeting, I need to know why.”
The next day, I sent a letter to Thurman Palace.
***
A reply came back late the next morning, asking if I could come to the palace in two days. I replied in the affirmative, and then two days later, I was at Thurman Palace.
“It’s been a while, Lady Maristella,” Sir Dilton said. As usual, it was him who greeted me.
I offered him a light smile in return. “That’s true. How are you, Sir Dilton?”
“I’m always the same. I don’t know if you’re doing well.”
“I’m pretty much the same—” I started, but then paused. Sir Dilton was quick to notice, and looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“Is Lady Odeletta alright?” he asked.
“To be honest, she’s not alright,” I said with a deep sigh. “It was the first time I saw her crying in front of me.”
“Odeletta…was crying?” Sir Dilton said cautiously. I was surprised by his omission of her title, but I nodded. They were childhood friends, so that wasn’t unusual.
“Did you know?” I asked Sir Dilton casually when I saw the despair shadow over his face.
“What do you mean…?” he asked.