Chapter 113: Chapter 116: Bella's Strong Guardian

Chapter 116 – Bella's Strong Guardian

“Aacck! Miss!”

Perhaps everyone was surprised by Bella's appearance, the ladies blushed and Iwer stood up quickly.

“Lady, Lady Bella.”

“Crown Princess.”

Everyone was so flustered that Bella was embarrassed. There were various names and greetings.

On top of that…

“I heard it’s a cooking class, you don’t cook?”

She couldn't even see the ingredients, let alone cooking utensils. It looked like they were going to cook eggplant, but she didn't see the eggplant, the main ingredient.

“Oh, I thought I'd share the secret recipe and do it a little later.”

Iwer moved her hands exaggeratedly and sweated profusely.

“Is that right, ladies?”

“Yes! Su, sure.”

The ladies all answered in unison.

It was strange no matter what. Eventually, Bella cleared her throat and held the dress in her hands before greeting.

“I am always grateful to everyone for participating in this gathering.”

Still, why did the ladies all keep their heads down and not raise their faces?

“Um… a lot of people must have been surprised when I came in suddenly.”

“N, no.”

She spoke briefly about the festival she was about to hold and asked for the ladies’ opinions.

"It’s because Lady Bella’s appointment ceremony is also together. I think it would be good to let us know in advance the color of the dress you will wear at the ceremony.”

Indeed, the longer a lady had been in the social world, the better the opinion came out.

“Thank you. It helped me a lot.”

“It’s an overstatement.”

“Is this cooking class very helpful to the ladies?”

“Of, of course.”

However, from Bella's point of view, it seemed that the cooking class was just an excuse and that everyone was gathering and chatting.

‘It's very suspicious…’

Though since everyone says it was helpful, she couldn’t ask more.

‘Well, since the results are good, there won't be any big problems.’

For the time being, she has no choice but to send Rosanne here to watch. Although she was going to ask if Kiehl would like it, Bella overturned her decision, completely oblivious to this suspicious meeting.

* * *

Unlike Bella, who has gained the trust of many people by moving forward quickly as the day goes by. Rohan, who was once a powerhouse, found it increasingly difficult to maintain his position.

“…Cough.”

Especially as Emperor Lariette's body gradually deteriorated.

“Your Majesty. Are you alright?”

Lariette let out a long sigh.

“Is the Crown Princess’ appointment ceremony together with the summer festival?”

“…Yes.”

As he answered so, Rohan bit his lip tightly.

The time was running out to stop the evil and scary woman. Even though he said he would delay it as much as possible, there was nothing to refute the public opinion that they should do it in time for the summer festival, a big event in the empire.

He was worried because the appointment ceremony was faster than he expected. However, Lariette had a very different idea.

‘…It is too late.’

The best thing for them was that Bella was installed as the Crown Princess after one year had passed, but Lariette intuitively sensed that his time was running out.

‘I wish I could hold on.'

Rohan glanced at the Emperor sharply.

Until now, there was only one reason why he was able to seize real power. He knew the Emperor's secret of not having magic, and had craftily packaged it as if he was using magic on behalf of the Emperor. So, he thought that he could use the Crown Prince, Kiehl that way as well.

— “Somehow, I think it's fate that the Crown Princess, fills in what His Highness Kiehl lacks.”

— “Most of the people of the Empire think so.”

Bella used magic during the contest, and everything went to waste.

‘I have to use my hand, but…’

He couldn't come up with a particularly good way.

There was no way to get rid of Bella alone.

‘As expected, there is no other choice but to isolate them politically.'

However, his plan was blocked at the threshold before it even started.

A hot summer day after a busy day. It was good news for Bella, but someone who brought another tension to Rohan had appeared.

“Lady Bella.”

“Lady Shuria!”

It was Shuria Cruelle.

As Bella had turned her room into an ice room, just like in the mansion, to escape the heat, she jumped up from the bed seeing the appearance of a welcome person she hadn't expected.

“How have you been?”

“What's going on?”

As soon as she saw Shuria, she didn't think that her curled lips would ever go down. How noble she was, even though she had the same silver hair as Juan Cruelle. Shuria, with her hair tied up and held high, was dressed in a fancy outfit, more like a knight to lean on than a lady of a family.

“Now, I plan to stay in a detached house in the Capital.”

Bella put her hands together in prayer, and her eyes twinkled.

“Really?”

“Yes. Now that I am the master of Duchy Cruelle.”

“Aha…”

Bella slightly averted Shuria’s gaze and said something she didn’t mean.

“I felt uncomfortable because I couldn’t attend the funeral.”

“It's okay. It would have been difficult for you to come anyway.”

Both of them were hiding their feelings.

Bella didn't care what happened to Herod Cruell. In the meanwhile, Shuria wanted to perform the funeral as quietly as possible. She didn't want to be in the public eye because Bella was coming to her family home. So after the funeral was over, she only sent a notice.

“Are you the Duke now?”

“…Yes, that's how it happened.”

Saying so, Shuria smiled once before gesturing to the attendant who followed her. The attendant then held a box the width of a shoulder and set it on the table.

“This is a small gift.”

“It doesn’t look small.”

When the attendant opened the box, there was a wooden cabinet inside.

“I gave a similar gift to His Highness.”

Shuria stuck a tweezer into what looked like a decoration. Then, surprisingly, in an unexpected place, a secret space opened with a ‘tak’ sound.

“…Wow.”

“There are many hidden spaces, so you can keep confidential documents in these places.”

She had no such thing as confidential documents.

“How amazing.”

“There is only one in the Empire. It's perfect for a wedding gift, right?”

Bella raised her head and looked into Shuria's eyes.

…A wedding gift.

Since she started working, it felt anew to her that she and Kiehl had a husband-and-wife relationship.

“Congratulations on becoming the Crown Princess.”

“Haha…”

“It was okay even if I didn’t. Thanks to that, the Cruelle family's prestige rises.”

Embarrassed, Bella rubbed her finger across the corner of the cabinet before another secret space popped out.

In the hidden drawer was a small ruby necklace.

“You already found it. Would I give you just one cabinet as a wedding present?”

“…Amazing”

“I put jewels all over the place, so look for them.”

“Lady Shuria…”

Bella's eyes sparkled with emotion.

"If you're having a hard time, come to your family home anytime.”

“Oh, my God… I love you.”

“Haha…”

Although Shuria reduced the value of a family home to Bella, saying that it was just a place to lean on, they actually reappeared in politics as a maternal power. It was because of Herod Cruelle’s ill health, Shuria was already in place as the successor and backed by the Crown Princess, who had a good image in the public.

It was impossible for Rohan to isolate Bella politically.

* * *

The seemingly peaceful time passed, and the summer festival began.

For the first time in a while, the entire empire was buzzing with vibrancy. In the capital city, it was more colorful and larger than in previous years, and every street in the city had a festive atmosphere.

“Miss! There are tons of delicious things!”

Pur showed up in the morning with her mouth full of sugar.

“The flower of the festival is, of course, the Handsome Men contest! It will be open at noon tomorrow!”

Iwer brought a festival pamphlet handed out by the capital with flashing eyes.

“Are you only thinking about playing? I am busy.”

Today, the festival began.

Bella had a lot of work to do.

Getting up from her bed, she could barely open her eyes. There was a knock on the door, and Rosanne came in with Myu carrying quite a lot of luggage.

“Good morning, Lady Bella.”

It had already been two months since she worked as the lady-in-waiting, and Rosanne did it skillfully. While she yawned and stood up, Rosanne pulled out a dress she had picked out from the closet and took out jewelry from the bag.

Bella looked displeased at the dress she was wearing for the appointment ceremony today.

‘Of course it’s pretty, but…’

The dress was unnecessarily long. If other ladies stepped on their dress, they would slip, but for her, the dress would be torn.

‘…I'll just have to sit still until the ceremony.’

After a while, Rosanne touched Bella on the back of her waist a few times and opened her mouth.

“All done.”

“…Huh? I’m wearing this?”

Bella looked in the mirror and looked at her own reflection. It was only a short dress that reached her knees. Was this the outfit she’d wear at the appointment ceremony? Of course, the white and gold decorations were excessive to match.

“…Isn't it supposed to be a long dress?”

“You just need to button it up before the appointment ceremony.”

Rosanne held the missing dress part in her hand and responded.

“Lady Bella seems uncomfortable, I made it into a detachable dress.”

Bella waved her arms exaggeratedly with slightly surprised eyes. She thought it would be uncomfortable, but the clothes were surprisingly comfortable. While there wasn’t even a common corset, the design alone makes her waist look narrow.

“Oh my God… Is the dress originally like this?”

“I mended it myself.”

“Wow, you are talented.”

Of course, her skills have to improve. How many dresses had she torn?

“N, no. It was possible because the dress was simple.”

“What are you talking about? The idea of attaching the bottom of the dress is great.”

Rosanne blushed at Bella's praise.

“I-I’ll also check the clothes I’m going to change into for the ceremony.”

Finally today.

It was the day she officially became the Crown Princess, but Bella didn’t really feel it.

In fact, it wasn't just the dress that was simplified.

The appointment ceremony was also being prepared in a splendid way, but Rohan threw so many tricks—like fiddling with the budget while pretending to be concerned about the Emperor's health. He mentioned it looked like the throne will be abdicated soon, and it was not good to have one big event after another.

Rohan incited quite a few people like a fox.

If he could say anything he wanted, he would say that Bella was a villainess with extravagance.

So, the appointment ceremony ended with the crowning in front of the public. She couldn’t even do the parade she wanted to do.

The only thing to expect was…

“So, finally, is today the first night?”

__

Rate the novel on Novel Updates.

Join our discord to receive the latest updates as soon as possible!