After finishing the meal, as I headed to the carriage waiting area, an especially large and splendid carriage caught my eye from afar. Of course, the crest of House Austri was emblazoned on it.
“I have been waiting, Third Prince. Prince Valtraus ordered me to escort you.”
The coachman, upon spotting me, said this and bowed deeply.
But though his manner was polite, he created a subtle sense of discomfort by clearly distinguishing the titles.
‘I expected that since Valtraus sent him, one of his people would come. But still, this man is employed by the ducal house. To openly discriminate among the duke’s children like this!’
‘Is it because he personally dislikes Karbaldr?’
‘Or is it because he knows Valtraus dislikes Karbaldr?’
‘And did Valtraus deliberately send someone like this to the Academy?’
Various questions arose in my mind, but I immediately erased them.
I didn’t want to waste time and energy pointing out and fussing over the title used by a mere extra.
Besides, ‘Third Prince’ is one of the official titles for this ‘body’.
This extra coachman won’t even appear in the Nas-e that Senna is currently writing.
So how such a person regards Karbaldr was not something I needed to care about.
‘As long as he isn’t using a derogatory term, well…!’
I gave the coachman a slight nod to indicate I understood, then climbed into the carriage and hugged my baby dragon.
Unlike me, who felt no resentment toward the coachman’s attitude.
Yor frowned and let out an Oong sound, expressing displeasure.
As I soothed the baby dragon, who was tapping its tail on the seat, the coachman closed the door with a polite demeanor.
***
After two or three minutes, the carriage shook briefly and then smoothly moved forward.
“Don’t mind it, I’m fine. The reason… you know well, don’t you?”
I knew the carriage itself had soundproofing to prevent sound from leaking, and even if it did, it would be drowned out by the horses’ hooves.
Still, there’s no harm in being careful, so I soothed the baby dragon while minding my tone and words.
“Sigh, meow meow.”
Yor let out a deep sigh, shook his head, and stopped tapping the seat with his tail.
But that didn’t mean his mood had fully improved.
Knowing this, I lightly kissed Yor all over his face to convey my feelings.
“Thank you. For getting angry on my behalf, and for understanding my intentions… I’m just grateful for your very existence.”
“Yaong~!”
Fortunately, it seemed his mood had improved.
Yor made an extremely cute sound, as if to melt my heart completely, and rubbed his face against my cheek.
I could feel both the smooth texture of scales and the ticklish sensation of soft fur.
This, too, was very endearing.
Yor and I spent a pleasant time strengthening our bond until the carriage arrived at the destination and stopped.
I almost regretted getting off the carriage.
“So we’re not heading to the capital.”
The place we arrived at wasn’t a gate facility that could instantly transport us to the Duchy of Austri, but some café.
I thought he considered coming to see me a waste of time and intended to summon me to his location.
This was a bit unexpected. I see now.
“Prince Valtraus is waiting inside.”
The coachman stated the obvious.
He meant to say I should not keep the prince he serves waiting long and enter quickly.
I passed the coachman and entered the building.
The interior was lavishly decorated to suit noble tastes.
It wasn’t the usual open seating layout; it consisted only of private rooms.
Judging by his choice of such a venue, it seems Valtraus is aware.
Even though we aren’t fighting over the succession, treating a much younger sibling poorly wouldn’t look good in others’ eyes.
‘I thought that was the reason…’
Only after entering the room the café employee guided me to did I think there might be another reason.
Because the person waiting there was not only Valtraus.
‘The Confession Villain… and his older brother.’
The two sitting side by side had very similar faces, so I could immediately tell.
The Villain was glancing at his brother and Valtraus with a face full of grievance, while his brother showed anxiety and watched my and Valtraus’s expressions.
Though not identical, their expressions were quite similar.
“Come here and sit.”
Valtraus said this, indicating the seat he offered was beside him.
I disliked being right next to him, and sitting down, I saw the Villain’s face directly in front, doubling my displeasure.
But I couldn’t switch seats with Yor, so I had no choice but to endure.
Once Yor and I sat at the table, the café employee cleared the water glasses placed before those who had arrived earlier.
Then he brought a beautifully designed teacup for each of us and poured black tea.
He was about to place the snacks he brought on the table, but upon hearing Valtraus order him to leave, he quietly withdrew.
“……”
“……”
For some reason, even after the employees closed the door and left, no one spoke for a considerable time.
Probably because Valtraus, the one who arranged this meeting, quietly kept drinking tea.
I didn’t particularly want to speak first either, so I drank tea and became lost in thought.
‘According to what Pret mentioned in passing during lunch earlier, the Confession Villain regained consciousness late Thursday evening and immediately left the Academy for the capital and hasn’t returned… so he was also absent from Friday’s lectures.’
Judging by the expression of the bastard sitting across from me, it seemed that even coming here wasn’t his own will.
It was clear he had been forcibly dragged here by his brother.
As I reached that conclusion and clicked my tongue inwardly.
“Um, Prince Karbaldr…?”
Unexpectedly, the Villain’s brother uttered the name of the possession body.
I naturally thought he would try to talk to Valtraus.
‘No? Since he had spare time waiting for me to arrive, perhaps he already talked enough with Valtraus then?’
It seemed the long silence just now wasn’t due to Valtraus, but because I hadn’t said anything.
If so, it would be best to maintain a stance of deliberately staying silent.
I said the following, with the implication: ‘If you have any excuses, go ahead and speak.’
“If you have something to say, say it.”
Though the other’s age was similar to Valtraus’s, far older than Karbaldr.
But still, he was younger than me before I possessed this body, so I felt no hesitation in speaking informally.
Moreover, I had become very accustomed to Karbaldr’s characteristic tone.
So the condescending speech came out quite naturally.
After all, this body had far superior status and bloodline, so no one could take issue with it.
However, as briefly mentioned in Chapter 88.
In the world of this novel, there is generally a culture of respecting elders, so the Confession Villain flinched.
“I heard the situation through Prince Valtraus. My brother reportedly spoke carelessly about His Grace the Duke of Austri’s marriage…?”
The Villain’s brother said this while tapping his elbow as if telling him to be quiet.
His tone was so cautious and obsequious.
He felt even lower than the extra coachman I saw earlier, even though that was impossible given his status.
“When I heard that, I was so surprised. You probably don’t know, Prince.”
“Why should I know such things?”
“No! You don’t have to know. I just wanted to say I couldn’t believe my brother said such things. I didn’t raise him like that…”
Since the other proactively apologized and took a low posture, it seemed the problem could be resolved easily, which was fortunate.
But there was too much unnecessary talk, so I felt slightly annoyed.
“I’m not interested in how you raised your brother, so get to the point. Quickly, before my patience runs out.”
“Ah, I’m sorry!”
Only after I frowned and openly showed my displeasure did the other say what he originally intended.
“When I questioned my brother about why he said such things, he claims he never said them. As his older brother, I can’t just blindly disbelieve him… So I ask, did you personally hear my brother say those things?”
It seemed the Villain brothers were planning to insist that Hailga had lied.
“I didn’t hear it myself; I heard it from a girl named Hailga.”
“Hailga? Isn’t she the girl who gathered a crowd a few days ago, screamed that she hated my brother, insulted him, and even challenged him to a duel?! She must have made up those words to frame my brother!”
As expected, the other’s words matched my speculation perfectly.
“Do you really think so?”
“Why would my brother badmouth His Grace the Duke in front of a baron’s daughter? Right! That doesn’t make sense in the first place, does it?”
‘Could it be that this man didn’t hear the full truth from his brother, but only a distorted version?’
That question flashed through my mind for a moment.
To correct this, I should first clarify the misinformation the other has.
“First, according to what I heard, your brother didn’t directly mention my father. I heard he criticized Baron Vitnir for not remarrying.”
“But why……”
For the first time, dissatisfaction appeared on the other’s face.
He seemed to want to argue that Dyuf was the one insulted, so why was I, a complete outsider, making an issue of it.
“Even if he didn’t directly mention my father, I heard him consider the head of the house not remarrying a flaw and link it to the family’s problems. Are you saying I should have just let it go?”
“Ah, no… that’s not it… but even that could be a story made up by Lady Hailga. She might be using the few common points between you and herself as a weapon to frame my brother.”
‘Does this man truly trust his brother’s words completely?’
‘Or does he know his brother is a rotten person but plans to shift the blame onto Hailga to cover up this issue?’
Either way, he is making an effort to side with his brother.
Compared to the guy sitting next to me quietly drinking tea, this one at least seems like a much better ‘brother’.
I hope Yor gets some snacks at lest it would be kinda awkward to just sit there