15
Because she never ate with her siblings, she ate all alone
at a table that stretched to the end of the room.
There were occasional opportunities to dine with Duke
Radziwill, but he would endlessly talk about his ideals, and it included
preaching to Candice, so it could not be called an enjoyable meal.
She does not know what the other siblings were doing, as it
is not in Candice's memories.
She thought it might be the same for Maxence and Arthur,
but since their mothers were going in and out of the Red Palace and Blue
Palace, she wondered if they were eating together.
She had tried not to think about it until now, but there was
no one by Candice's side to eat with her.
(I was all alone in this spacious palace all this time……
It's lonely, isn't it.)
The same scenery continued on and on.
Even though it should be a familiar sight, because she had
become smaller, it felt spacious.
She wouldn't get lost, but it was when she was looking
around restlessly, feeling a sense of nostalgia.
──Thud
Perhaps because she was walking while deep in thought, Candice
tripped over something, lost her balance, and hit her forehead on the floor.
Seeing Candice fall, Eva and Rose let
out piercing screams.
Candice raised
her face while pressing her fiercely throbbing forehead.
She was so enraged that her face turned bright red.
（Such humiliation is impossible! I'll
crush it to smithereens and……）
Feeling anger toward whatever she had tripped over, she
turned around to look behind her, and saw a small lump there.
Realizing that the slightly trembling thing was a person,
she strained her eyes and gasped upon seeing yellow-gold hair.
A certain name naturally came to mind in Candice's
head.
(C-Could it be…… Arthur!?)
It was indeed him; perhaps realizing it was Candice, Arthur
raised his head and turned his teary pink-purple eyes toward her.
And then, as if frightened, he cast his face down again.
（To inflict an injury upon me,
how impudent……hk!）
Normally, this would be where she took out her anger on him,
but suddenly, the image of the time Candice killed Arthur flashed
back in her head.
Arthur, who had
died protecting Louise, was smiling until the very end.
She had been curious about the reason why Arthur, who
had always felt small and was treated as a nuisance, had smiled like a fool.
Why was he always smiling? Why did he seem happier than Candice?
She never found out the reasons for that.
She stood up while pressing her bumped forehead and
throbbing head.
Eva supported
Candice.
（If I get angry here, everything will
be ruined. Endure it…… Candice.）
Candice
repeatedly took deep breaths as if to calm herself down.
And Arthur lacked his previous smile, looking at her
as if frightened.
Candice had never
looked at Arthur straight on like this, but seeing him this way, she
realized he was actually quite cute, like a small animal.
His big, round eyes, slightly wavy hair, and the way he
curled himself up small made him look like a puppy.
Just as she was thinking that his fluffy hair looked like it
would feel nice to pet, Rose hurriedly rushed over to Arthur.
Arthur's wet
nurse and maid, Jeanne, looking panicked, hugged Arthur to
protect him, and Eva also spread her arms to hide the two from view.
Why did they take such an attitude in front of Candice……?
The reason was simple: Candice loathed Arthur,
and would become enraged just by having him in her field of vision.
（I had forgotten. If I recall correctly, I hated Arthur very much around this time……!）
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