30
Since he is stronger than adult guards at nine years old, it
is only natural. More terrifying than that was Candice's method of
thoroughly tormenting and killing Maxence, who had mastered the sword.
She probably knew that Maxence, who took pride in his sword, would not
use poison as an excuse. And losing to a woman was something impossible within Maxence.
After plunging him into despair, she had killed him in the most humiliating way
possible.
（To think I am this terrifying, even
if I do say so myself……! But I will not grip a rapier anymore, and I have no
plans to participate in the succession dispute, so.）
Thinking that, she abruptly stopped her movements. If Candice
herself remained powerless, wouldn't she be easily erased by Maxence or Luca
when the succession dispute occurred?
（But if I step down from the
succession dispute early on like Arthur did……!）
If she stepped down, wouldn't she be done in by someone,
just as Arthur was killed by Candice…… just as she herself had
done. Thinking so, Candice looked at her two small hands.
（C-Could it be that I too must learn
the rapier to protect myself for when the time comes? Or should I leave the
country before that, I wonder?）
However, Candice is still five years old. It is too
early to look for a fiancé, and thinking that the final decision would be left
to her grandfather, Duke Radziwill, or her father, Valentin, she
had nothing but anxiety.
If Valentin or Duke Radziwill said no,
wouldn't her precious chance of escape be ruined, and Candice's life be
over as well? However, Candice must take action before Duke Radziwill
brings Georges along. Although there is still some grace period, she
wants to feel secure before Louise arrives.
（In a way, Louise was a woman
with a worse personality than me! If I'm going to have everything taken by that
woman, I'm going to get out of here quickly!）
To protect herself, she would probably end up gripping a
rapier again. However, this time, she is not going to use it to kill people.
（This time, I will use the rapier
only to protect myself!）
She felt as if the sensation of carving someone up was
ingrained in her body. Is Candice here to atone for her sins up until
now?
「Haa……」
A sigh escaped unintentionally. She does not know what the
correct answer is from now on. But since the 『Exact Opposite Strategy』 Candice came up with recently has been going well, she can only
convince herself that Candice's future must be changing as long as
things stay like this.
When Candice, full and buried in cushions, was dozing
off, Eva and Rose were peering at Candice with worried
looks.
「We apologize for disturbing your
rest.」
「Nn……?」
「We have a guest.」
At those words, Candice rubbed her sleepy eyes while
half raising her body.
「Her Highness Candice, Imperial
Princess, Duke Radziwill has arrived, but……」
「Ojiisama is……!?」
Candice
raised her face vigorously and looked at Rose and Eva.
（T-The time to meet Ojiisama has
finally come, huh……!）
Numerous letters from Duke Radziwill arrive at Candice's
side every month. And he used to come see her at the White Palace once a
week. Sometimes it was because Candice was lonely and had asked a maid
to summon Duke Radziwill, but this time she had them send a letter of
refusal, using poor health and such as an excuse.
Because the still five-year-old Candice absolutely hated studying how to write, she made her maids write them. Even though she had spared no time for sleep to study writing, believing Duke Radziwill's words, 『I will deliver your letters to your mother.』
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