The Duke’s Daughter Is Hated

Chapter 9

9. I'm the exact opposite of her rumors

Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV

「Ollie, I found a great chocolate store. Let’s go together sometime.」

「Okay. Let’s go there.」

Ihmut and I started going out together frequently in the city.

It was the first time for me to go out with a friend from the school, so it was a lot of fun.

Ihmut seems to be a very well-informed man, giving me information about the best pastry shops in town. And he takes me with him.

Incidentally, I have spoken in such a normal, broken tone in the school library, but I made sure there were no people around. I think I saw a few more people last year, but not many students these days.

It was a little strange to see so few people, even though it was an area at the end of the library.

Speaking of which, Ihmut… It seems that he is attending this school as a commoner, but looking at her behavior, and such, I feel that he is somehow different. It seemed to me that he was just going here as a commoner for some reason.

I don’t really want to interfere with that, but I think he was doing it for some reason.

In the library, Ihmut and I talk about many things. Sometimes it’s about my studies, sometimes it’s about my family.

I heard that Ihmut has an older brother and a younger sister. It seems right in the middle, he said, and he loves his family. He spoke in such a way that he respected his brother and adored his sister.

「It’s good to have a close family. I’m jealous of you because I get along well with my parents but not with my brother.」

「I thought he believed the word of the Crown Princess and hated Ollie. I think if he had a normal conversation with Ollie, he could at least get a sense of your personality.」

「To him, no matter how I act, it’s all just a bad girl acting out… So be careful, Ihmut. If he sees you talking to me, he’ll say I’m deceiving on you.」

「It’s all right.」

I am saying this out of concern, but that’s what Ihmut told me.

He was kind of light, isn’t he? I wondered if it was really alright… and so on I thought.

「If he sees you with me, I’ll be in trouble, and then I’ll pretend to be someone else and shoo you away.」

「…Ollie is really kind.」

「… I’m not being kind to someone.」

He looks straight at me and I turned away, somewhat embarrassed because it’s not often that I was called kind and such.

Even though he heard rumors about me, even if he knew rumors about me—— Ihmut smiled at me.

Even recently, there were rumors that I was the mastermind behind the commotion in the school. I don’t know if Ihmut understands that I’m not doing it, or if he doesn’t care if I’m doing it or not, but he never asks me about it.

「You’re kind. And you’re beautiful to look at, top of your class, and very smart. The royalty and aristocracy of this country have no discernment.」

「… You’re not going to get anything out of me if you keep praising me. Some commoner friend of mine told me the same thing.」

「I mean it. Because I think your crimson hair and your eyes as blue as the sky are beautiful.」

Ahh, it’s already embarrassing. At any rate, it’s just plain embarrassing.

As a disliked person, I was rarely praised as beautiful by people my age in this way.

I had been told by Father, Mother, and the servants of the mansion, but that was probably because of family favoritism.

Still, I have a feeling that Ihmut is used to dealing with women, as he says this kind of thing so casually to the opposite sex of his age group.

「Anyway! I heard that Nathe-sama has made contact with that prince!」

「I see that Ollie is still concerned about Nathe-sama as usual. That wasn’t so much a contact as it was a contact from the second prince’s side. Just because she is the Crown Princess’s favorite.」

「I’m just worried about Nathe-sama. The prince and the others are so popular in this academy, you never know how things will turn out. I don’t think they would do anything stupid against the Crown Princess’s favorite… It must be a terrible burden just to go from being a commoner to a noble, and it’s hard to get caught up in that kind of aristocratic mess.」

That’s right.

Nathe-sama is cared for by the Crown Princess.

Because of this, the students of this school are concerned about her. Because the Crown Princess wished to be kind to Nathe-sama.

——And that was reason enough for the Prince and the others, who were delusional about the Crown Princess, to make contact with her.

The Prince and his friends have not made their fiancées by the Crown Princess’ word. Therefore, aristocratic daughters are eager to take their place as wives.

In such a situation, if the Prince and others were to talk to Nathe-sama, it would be a very serious situation.

「That’s correct. If a child who was originally a commoner were to easily approach someone in such a position, it would not be interesting for the daughter who was originally aiming for the position of wife.」

「That’s right. So, I think she’s going to have a hard time… And I’m curious about it.」

「Well, but if she’s going through a rough patch, Ollie shouldn’t have to worry about it, right?」

「No, it still bothers me. I’m not comfortable seeing her in that kind of trouble in the first place.」

When I said that, Ihmut was still smiling in amusement.

I wondered what he was enjoying so much.