Who Could Have Loved the Monster Princess? - Chapter 44
I hadn’t planned to attend the banquet after the tournament, but…
‘I just want to see what the atmosphere in Bittern is like.’
The mood in the Bittern faction wasn’t bad. Gwyne Bittern and Ramello Bittern, who had been bickering on stage, were now engaged in a discussion about how to use the flags they had earned.
Earl Burns’ house and the other two families, now effectively roped into the Bittern territory’s restoration, joined in as well.
Dahliana, however, was left out of the conversation.
‘And I’m not even being acknowledged at all, huh.’
I’d led the duchy for six years already, but since I had only just come of age this year, perhaps I still seemed unqualified to serve as someone’s guardian.
Or maybe they were simply wary of the Staedt name standing behind Dahliana.
‘If I show interest in Bittern, they probably think I’ll just take it.’
Dahliana, seemingly out of her depth, simply looked around at the people speaking, her eyes darting from one voice to the next.
Rebuilding the estate was a complex discussion, though it didn’t seem like the actual scale of support would be decided here and now.
So, since she was being sidelined, I invited Dahliana — and Sean, standing protectively beside her — over to the ducal family’s table.
“Welcome, Lady Bittern.”
“Thank you for the invitation!”
Dahliana brought her hands together and gave a deep bow. Sean, cloaked in his robe, offered a polite nod as well.
I made room for both of them and offered some refreshments.
“Help yourselves.”
“Yes!”
A few nobles nearby, who had been sneaking glances our way, began to murmur.
“Look at that. The Lady of Staedt let the attendant sit beside the new lady.”
“Maybe the Bittern heir thinks of that servant as her protector. Could that be why she insisted they be treated as equals?”
“Ugh, disgraceful. Letting some commoner sit with nobles… This is why one should never marry below their station. Blood doesn’t lie, after all.”
They clearly resented the fact that Sean, who looked like a common-born attendant, was seated beside Dahliana. And now they were even dragging her mother’s commoner lineage into their snide remarks.
If I pulled back Sean’s cowl, those nobles would shut up immediately, but there was a better way to silence them without resorting to that.
When Rose poured juice for Dahliana and set the bottle down to reach for the teapot, I held out my hand.
She hesitated for a moment, then respectfully handed it to me.
The teapot, dainty and delicate in my large hand, tilted as I poured tea into Sean’s cup. That single motion silenced the entire corner of the hall.
They had accepted that Dahliana, as Lady of Bittern, could be served by a maid. But now, seeing someone who appeared to be her attendant being served directly by me, they were trying to make sense of it.
“…Could he not be a servant at all?” someone murmured.
“Yes, that seems likely… But who is he?”
Most of the whispers after that centered around Sean’s identity. He took a sip of the tea I poured and smiled softly, amused.
“This is why I love you, darling.”
“I know.”
We had always taken care of each other, but Sean understood the reason behind my gesture of directly serving the tea. Dahliana, for a moment, was distracted by the snacks and juice, but when our eyes met, she seemed a bit surprised.
‘I’m more surprised.’
Even fearless children cry when they see me. Even a grown man from the Little family passed out.
Yet, Dahliana, when she first saw me, didn’t seem particularly frightened.
‘She’s probably just fearless.’
Her gaze was friendly, and there was a hint of admiration and curiosity mixed in.
It was rather cute, reminding me of Sean when he was younger.
I tried to soften my tone and asked Dahliana:
“Would it be alright if I asked how the two of you met?”
“We live in the same village.”
“In the same village, Riverheim?”
“Riverheim is a village within the Bitoln domain.”
The small village where Sean was sent from the temple was Riverheim. It didn’t have a lord, so the villagers were left without any protection. As a result, the people of Riverheim formed a tight-knit community, relying on one another. I had visited the village with Sean when he first went there.
But that visit was only once, several years ago, and at that time, we traveled by carriage, so I didn’t really get to know the situation of the village in detail. There were many lands without lords, after all.
Still, I remember offering to help the village back then, but Sean had politely declined. At the time, the Staedt family was struggling with several issues, so it was understandable.
Perhaps Sean refused for that reason.
“Teacher treated my mother. But the illness she had was a sickness of the heart, so it couldn’t be cured.”
Dahliana’s expression grew somber.
A sickness of the heart can’t be healed by priests. My mother, even though she has no physical ailments in her throat, cannot speak either. It’s the same kind of thing.
Dahliana’s mother had passed away two years ago, according to the records. After being abandoned by her husband, she had been driven out by her family while holding onto her child and eventually settled in Riverheim, where Sean lived. It was a peaceful village, but it seems it wasn’t enough to heal her mother’s illness.
“I took care of Dahliana’s mother, and that’s how I became close to Dahliana. Then, when the time came to choose a successor, I was ordered by the Emperor to participate in the Flag Hunt.”
“So, I asked my teacher to teach me how to become a lady. Since teacher knows everything…”
“Being a lady comes with responsibilities and duties. There’s a lot to learn, and it will be difficult. Are you sure you can handle it?”
“I will.”
Dahliana answered boldly. Then she pointed toward the group of Gwyne, Ramelo, and other relatives of hers.
“They’re the ones who kicked my mother and me out of our house.”
“Who told you that?”
“Everyone says that.”
Dahliana let out a heavy sigh.
“So, I don’t want to give the place to those people.”
As soon as Dahliana finished speaking, Sean chuckled lightly. Then he said:
“When Duke Staedt became the head of Staedt, you said something similar when you decided to go to the capital, didn’t you?”
I don’t know. I don’t remember. That was years ago.
“I didn’t want to get involved in the power struggles of the empire’s nobility, but Dahliana, you’re like Darling. I wanted to help you.”
“She’s sharp, just like you.”
Sean paused for a moment, then gently lifted his robe to face me.
If he can’t see, why bother with the robe?
Sean claims not to see, but when he looks at me like this, I always feel like he’s seeing right through me — not just on the outside, but into my very heart.
He smiled at me with a calm expression, his face warm with kindness.
“Then we must be one and the same, too.”
