The villainess will survive!

Part 75: Asking the Crown Prince

His arrival was even more grand than that time at the court, but what else would you expect from a Crown Prince?

If you couldn't make an impression on people's heart as the next monarch, then you simply weren't fit for the role. 

An interesting prince versus an average prince, who would the people support more if we based this on personality?

The nobles weren't idiots, while an average prince would be easy to manipulate to their whims, what we needed was someone to lead a country. 

Most of the nobles had this way of thinking: 'If we can manipulate the King, then others can, too. I'd rather not suffer any losses and instead have a fair King who can control us nobles well.'

He was at the age where he should already be gathering support to ascend the throne, from both the nobles and commoners. 

If he was branded as a mediocre person, then people would lose interest in him and his prospects. 

But if he proved to be confident enough, then people's heart would be moved and trust his ability to lead the country. 

Anybody hates being used by other people, but they still would let the King use them if it's for the sake of the country. 

When the country flourishes, so do the nobles. 

With this set of mind, you could say that the majority of nobles are quite reasonable and know their benefits well. 

                                                                                  ***

I could feel a lot of stares on my back, which I could only blame the Crown Prince and myself for. 

Due to our position as fiances and the higher ranked next-generations, many had expectations for us to enter together or at least chat with each other. 

But here I was, eating gracefully at the food section while Albert was somewhere in the far front discussing with the other nobles.

Did I feel guilty about this? Not at all. 

Albert didn't look like he minded at all, although our engagement was one of the bigger assets to his assured power 

Even if we didn't get along, I should still go and stand by his side to display our future power, even if we're both still young. 

But if the nobles knew that the Villinie Dukedom was on Albert's side, then the only one who truly benefited from this would be Albert. 

At this point, there were rumours circling about Albert's supposed 'lover'.

I eventually gave in, and quickly finished my food and drink to go to Albert's side. 

I should show some courtesy at the very least, and then maybe leave to have a nice chat with my friends. 

The nobles who were chatting with Albert noticed me walking over here, and quickly cut the conversation short and left. 

This made things less awkward between me and the Crown Prince, I really did appreciate their good conscience. 

I doubt they'd want to get involved in this heavy drama between us, anyways. 

"Lady Roselyn, how have you been these days?", Albert began with the most basic conversation starter.  

"I've been fine, thank you for your concern. I've been wanting to ask you about a certain person. I hope you'll give me the opportunity to do that?" 

An almost understanding glint flashed through his eyes as he replied, "Yes, of course you can. Ask away, please." 

"Surely you've at least heard about that classmate of ours — Adriana, if I recall." 

Albert stared at me, waiting for me to go on. 

"I'm truly curious. It seems that she has the same last name as the Royal Family's, could she have a connection to you in some way?" 

Albert looked at me with an unfathomable expression for a while, then put on a smile. 

"Could she have piqued your interest? Well then, I'll tell you." 

I took in a deep breath, because he treated her identity as some type of heavy secret. 

Did I stumble upon some deep secret of the Royal Family? 

Really, it is strange that nobody questioned her, or just didn't dare to make assumptions. 

He leaned my ears and whispered, "Me and that Adriana you're talking about, we're cousins." 

I stood there, stunned from the simplicity of this answer. 

'That's all? That's it?!', I almost blurted out. 

However, even if the answer itself was so plain and direct, in reality, it was very confusing considering the facts. 

The Queen did have multiple siblings, but none of Albert's cousins on his mother's side should take on the specific last name of "Royal". 

So Adriana could only be the child of one of the King's brothers, except there was one glaring issue. 

"If I recalled, His Royal Majesty doesn't have any brothers, does he?" 

Was there a hidden one? 

A spark of interest flared up in my chest as I started to ask more profound questions. 

Albert looked at me and shrugged his head. 

"My father indeed doesn't have a brother, but he once had an older sister." 

Because I was bent on trying to recall if the King had a brother or not, I forgot about the Princess who had passed away. 

My mother, The Duchess,  does sometimes tell me about her childhood. 

When she was still young, she had many tea parties and play dates with my father, the king and queen. 

However, she did once mention about the older Princess who liked to watch over them play. 

This person must have been who Albert was talking about, The King's half sister. 

The preceding King of the current one was a rather free-spirited individual, and had the first princess with an unknown lady. 

But from my mother's stories, it seems that the Princess and her half brother did get along quite well. 

It was a pity that the Princess died at the age of 26 due to a carriage accident. 

But there were no records of that Princess having a child anywhere, and even if she did, the child's last name should have been according to the father's household name. 

"Adriana was adopted by my Royal Aunt, right before she died. In the end, my Aunt never did manage to pick Adriana up from the orphanage, so my parents granted the last name on her."

"But the Royals had to keep her existence a secret. The Princess was a rather.....kind and loved individual. If it was known that her death had to do with her hurrying to pick up a baby from an orphanage on a rainy day, then that child would be scorned as the cause of The Princess's death."