Chapter 9 9

The next morning, as planned, Alessandra left for the Imperial Palace. She did not sleep at all the previous night, so she was yawning again and again in the carriage.

"Do you want to sleep for a while, my lady?" Matt asked.

"You mean, sleeping in this shaky wooden casket? I prefer yawning a thousand times," she said.

Matt observed Alessandra's face. She looked as calm as always. But it was just her outer look. In the inside, she was as crazy as anyone could be.

Her hands were shaking slightly as she was gazing outside. It was not hard for Matt to realize the situation.

"My lady, Lord Alessandro told me that he is going to report you to the duke," he said.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because you have disturbed his sleeping."

"That's all? It's not like the duke will throw me out. The most he will do is shove some more work on my desk," she mumbled carelessly. "Now that I think about it, Alessandro called me a vulture this morning. I was too busy to fight with him. That unrecyclable trash..."

In almost every romance novel, the girl has a younger brother who is a siscon or an older brother who dotes on her. But why the fuck do I have this luck where my brother would literally feed me dung if he can?

Matt sighed in relief as he noticed that her hands were not shaking anymore. He felt a sense of accomplishment as he managed to drive her mind somewhere else.

"My lady, let's have a match," Matt said.

"What? In this carriage? All the pieces will fall," she said. "This one is the one I bought from an auction. It's too pricey to play at a place like this."

Matt pouted and looked outside the window. The young duchess had gifted him the chess set for his seventeenth birthday the previous year. It was like a bribe that made him follow the young duchess even more obediently.

"Matt."

"Yes, my lady?"

"What do you think of Prince Clyde?" she asked.

"Prince Clyde?" he repeated. "He is the eldest son of the king and the queen consort. And he is a very gentle person, hiding a sly side behind the mask. That's what you told me."

"Yeah, but the thing is- he is really gentle towards me. I mean, he doesn't try to take me down and doesn't talk more than necessary," she said. "Do you think it's normal?"

"The most normal person is the slyest one," he said. "That's what you told me."

"You know, I couldn't even find anything to threaten him with. I mean, it's not possible to live a life without any type of corruption. But, I couldn't find a single loose strand about him," she said. "The duke has found something now, but we can threaten him temporarily with it. But for a bigger result, we need something bigger."

"Why would you threaten him, my lady?"

"Well, if he tries to do anything funny or if we need to get anything from him," she replied.

"Can he play chess?"

"What's this got to do with it?"

"The ones who cannot play chess can either be smart or stupid. Since you're smart and can also play chess, the others are already pieces of shit from your point of view. And as I am your personal guard, they are a piece of shit from my point of view as well," he said. "Actually, it has nothing to do with playing chess. They are pieces of shit from your and my point of view either way."

"You've learned a lot, Matt. I'm proud of you," she said. "But even though he is a piece of trash in training, he is a smart one. He doesn't seem like it, especially because of his glasses and gentle face, but he is a sly fox. I know it."

"But you haven't found any clues, my lady."

"The duke found out that he pushed Princess Cheryl down the stairs," she said. "She hasn't died, but she is unconscious. I don't know if she has woken up yet."

"What if she hasn't woken up yet? What are you going to do then, my lady?" he asked.

"I will get a report from the palace doctor and look for other noble women who can be Alessandro's bride. Though I pity the woman who will have to marry him, I still have to find one. Honestly, this brat can't manage anything alone. Now he needs to marry so his wife can help him with the state work," she muttered impatiently.

"If we cut the princess off the list, who will come next?"

"I think Marquis Fernando's daughter Freya is a good one. She is good at work," she said. "She is beautiful as well. If things with the princess don't work out today, I will just visit them unnoticed. They can't return the heir of the duchy after all. Ah, the power of status..."

Matt just blankly stared out the window. He was the only person besides the duke and Alessandro who knew what to expect from Alessandra. And though they had different views of her, they all agreed with one thing- Alessandra never disappointed when it came to achieving something.

"My lady, you have gotten close to Duke Alexander in a very short time and also signed a magical contract with him," he said.

It was the first time in a long while he was surprised by her behavior. By then, he had already expected her to do all sorts of crazy things, but it was still unexpected. After all, Alessandra was not someone to sign a magical contract with someone, since it risked her life if violating the contract conditions which someone like her would definitely do.

"Yeah, we're on the first name base. We are going to marry, that's why," she said. "He told me that he doesn't want to be enemies with me and I agreed. I'm the one who suggested that we use each other's first names," she said cheerfully.

"I pity him."

"I will kill you."

"My apologies."

They reached the capital by noon. Matt got down first and helped Alessandra get down the carriage.

"I can't believe I need to finish the duke's work today," she muttered as she almost walked into the horse, but Matt grabbed her arm before it happened.

"My lady, let's go eat," Matt said. "You're losing your mind because you suddenly realized that you're hungry but can't choose the right diner because they all look good to you. So, I think we should go to the one in front of us. The owner is dad's friend."

Alessandra sat at a table while Matt went to talk to the owner to ask for recommendations. Some soldiers sitting at a further table winked at her, only to get hit behind the head by her personal guard who had already come back. They did not dare to even raise their voice at him as his glare was more dangerous than anything else.

"My lady, I got you the beef and mushroom with mashed potato," he said. "The owner said it's famous these days."

"These days?" she grumbled. "What about all time?"

"That one omits a weird smell. I can't let you eat that," he said.

"I will take your word for that," she muttered. "You have a good sense of smell."

"I got meatloaf," he said.

"I got them for you as well," he added quickly as he saw her pouting.

"Matt, if an uninvited sneaky bastard is around you, what will you do?" she asked all of a sudden as they were eating.

"Hide if there is a chance. If there is an advantage on our side, go up to them first. If they saw you first and there is no advantage only annoyance, then try to spit out facts with natural tact, so they will get annoyed and leave you. If they saw you first and there is an advantage for you, talk to them as if they are god and make sure you get what you want," he said. "That's your four rules to deal with uninvited sneaky bastards."

"Alright, then we need to follow rule four," she said and stood up all of a sudden. "Though I can't greet Your Highness, Prince Carlisle, in the best manner possible in a public place like this, please accept my dearest greetings that I have telepathized."

Matt looked behind him only to find a golden-haired man with a broadly grinning face. He was dressed simply, but his charm stood out.

"Seems like the young lady is enjoying her lunch," Prince Carlisle said.

"Ah, yes," Alessandra smiled broadly. "I was planning on visiting Your Highness this afternoon."

"Is that so?" Prince Carlisle smiled and sat down uninvited beside her. "I don't think you have to wait that long to meet me. When I got the young lady's letter last night, I could only think about meeting you as soon as possible. That's why I have come around this place since the young lady is so much in love with food."

Prince Carlisle had been obsessed with Alessandra Maximillan for more than a decade. He was a year younger than her and met her for the first time at the birthday banquet of the queen consort. Since then, he could not take his eyes off her and tried to please her in every way possible. Though it did not affect Alessandra even the slightest, she used it as an opportunity.

"Oh, that is very amazing. Your Highness seems very cheerful today. I wonder if the princess has woken up yet," she said.

"Ah, yes," Prince Carlisle nodded. "The princess has woken up this morning. Don't tell anyone, but the princess is suffering from amnesia."

"Amnesia?" she gasped.

If he had told her that the princess had died, she would not be that surprised. But amnesia was not something she expected.

"Yes. She has forgotten her name as well and did not recognize even His Majesty, the king," he whispered into her ear.

He was more close to her than she would like. She gave a signal to Matt through her eyes who accidentally spilled some water on the table that rolled towards the prince.

"Your Highness, look out! The water... the filthy water will touch your precious skin. Please be careful!" she said immediately and the prince moved back quickly. "Matt, be careful, lol."

"It's alright, thank you for warning me," Prince Carlisle said. "That said, what is lol?"

"Oh, it's an expression that can be used in any situation," she explained.

... only if you find it funny, you dumbass!