What Happened When I Gave Everything to the Girl Who Sold Herself as a Prostitute After Losing It All - Chapter 4.1
Chapter 4.1
Seven days had passed since I picked up Fine.
Just seven days.
But the air in the detached palace already felt completely different from before.
“Your Highness, here is today’s schedule.”
As I sat down for breakfast, a single sheet of paper was placed in front of me.
Of course, the one who handed it over was Fine.
“Wake up, breakfast, sword practice, classroom study, preparation for audience, lunch, document check, magic training, one tea party, and in the evening a meeting with Lady Elwina.”
“Wait.”
“Yes.”
“Why do you know my entire schedule perfectly?”
“It would be a problem if I didn’t.”
“Who decided that?”
“I did.”
She answered right away, sharp and clean.
It’s morning, you know.
At least look a little sleepy.
Besides, this girl had said stuff like “Please give me the room next to Your Highness” and “I want to analyze your speech and behavior” at the beginning. And in just one week, she had actually started doing it.
She had figured out my food preferences.
She had noticed my unconscious habit of tapping the desk while working.
She even claimed she could tell if I was in a good or bad mood by how fast I drank my tea.
Lately, before I even said anything, she would calmly have sweet snacks brought out first, saying “Today you’ll want these.”
It was scary.
No, it was helpful, sure.
Helpful… but still scary.
“Your Highness.”
“What?”
“Today there is a small tea party hosted by the Third Prince’s palace.”
“I know.”
“I have prepared a list of participants, their photos, family trees, interests, factions, and speech patterns from the past three years.”
“Why do you even have something like that?”
“I made it.”
“In seven days?”
“If I cut back a little on sleep.”
“Don’t cut it!”
When I said that, Fine lowered her eyes just a tiny bit.
“…If Your Highness dislikes it, I will refrain from now on.”
“Stop talking like that. It makes me sound like the bad guy.”
“Isn’t it the truth?”
“No, it’s not.”
Fine tilted her head slightly.
“I am only choosing the fastest way for Your Highness’s sake.”
“That’s exactly the problem.”
I pressed my forehead.
“Why do you go all out like this?”
“I believe I already told you.”
“Told me what?”
“That I will use everything Your Highness gives me to answer your wishes.”
Her voice was still quiet, as always.
She wasn’t raising her voice or getting emotional.
It just didn’t waver.
“If you are hungry, I will fill you. If you are bored, I will make sure you cannot say you are bored.”
“That’s why every single thing you say feels so heavy…”
Gareth was standing behind me, silently shaking his shoulders.
He’s laughing, that guy.
“Your Highness.”
“Yeah yeah, what?”
“There is a tea party today, so please fix that sloppy way of sitting soon.”
“Hasn’t the way you treat me gotten a bit rude?”
“We are equals, after all.”
“That’s such a convenient excuse!”
＊＊＊
A small tea party isn’t as casual as the name sounds.
The location was the greenhouse garden in the main palace.
The guests were sons and daughters of high-ranking nobles close to the imperial family.
Future factions, marriages, deals, information exchange, keeping each other in check.
It was a very troublesome gathering where all that stuff got wrapped up nicely in the scent of tea.
Normally, I hated places like this.
“Oh my, Prince Leonhardt.”
“You look splendid today as well.”
“We always hear about your wonderful achievements.”
—Shut up.
I was sick of hearing that kind of thing.
But today was a little different.
Because Fine was standing half a step behind me.
“Posture, Your Highness.”
“Yes.”
“Eyes slightly higher.”
“Yes.”
“Smile at about thirty percent.”
“Your instructions are really detailed.”
“Forty percent and the other person might misunderstand.”
“Misunderstand what?”
“You will understand soon enough.”
Today she was wearing a pale gray-blue dress we had prepared for her at the detached palace.
The decorations were modest.
But the tailoring was excellent.
It matched her ash-silver hair perfectly. Even I, who had seen her in those rags when we first met, thought she looked like a different person for a second.
And yet, the way she stood hadn’t changed at all.
Quiet, straight, and never backing down.
“Are you nervous?”
“No, I am not.”
“Liar.”
“Just a little.”
“Why don’t you hide it?”
“Because Your Highness would see through it anyway.”
Lately it felt like that was all she ever said.
“This is basically your real debut at court, right?”
“Yes, it is.”
“If you don’t want to, you didn’t have to force yourself to come.”
“Why not?”
Fine looked genuinely puzzled.
“There is no reason for me not to come when Your Highness is attending.”
“No reason, huh…”
“I need to know how Your Highness is usually treated and who approaches you with what intentions. That is the highest priority.”
“Yeah.”
“And also…”
“And also?”
“It would trouble me if unpleasant people filled the spot next to Your Highness.”
She said it so smoothly that I was speechless for a moment.
“…You have quite a strong possessive side, don’t you?”
“I think I do.”
“You just admit it?”
“It is faster that way.”
She said it lightly, but it still felt heavy.
What is with this girl?
＊＊＊
The tea party became annoying after just three minutes.
“Oh my, is this the one?”
“Yes. I heard she is the guest His Highness recently welcomed to the detached palace.”
“She is very beautiful.”
“Whose daughter might she be?”
Curiosity, probing, appraisal, calculation.
Everything hidden behind their smiles was way too easy to see.
Sitting right in front of me was Liliane, the daughter of the Prime Minister’s family.
Next to her was Celestia, the second daughter of the Knight Commander’s family.
And a few others.
All around the same age.
All very good at smiling.
Fine gave a perfectly graceful bow from half a step behind me.
“My name is Fine. I am still quite unlearned, but I am honored to be granted this opportunity to meet you.”
“Oh my, what a lovely way of speaking.”
“From whom did you learn etiquette?”
“I studied a little at the detached palace.”
Good, perfect.
At least on the surface.
“It must be quite hard serving so close to His Highness?”
“Yes.”
She answered instantly.
I almost burst out laughing.
But Fine didn’t change her expression at all.
“It is hard. His Highness sometimes underestimates his own worth.”
“…Huh?”
“If the people around him start thinking that is normal, it becomes dangerous, so I must always check.”
“Uh, um…”
“But including that side of him, he is someone I simply cannot take my eyes off.”
The air froze for a second.
Hey.
Hey hey hey.
What are you saying right from the start?
Liliane kept her smile and slid her gaze toward me.
“Your Highness, you have picked up quite a devoted person.”
“Yeah. She says so herself.”
“His Highness is so kind. You simply could not leave someone in need alone, could you?”
“No, it was mostly for my own convenience.”
“Your Highness.”
“Ow.”
Fine lightly stepped on my foot from behind.
It actually hurt.
But no one else could see it.
This girl really does it.
“His Highness is only joking.”
She said it with a sweet smile while still pressing down with her foot. Stop that.
“What exactly is your position in relation to His Highness, Lady Fine?”
Celestia asked, her voice soft.
But there was a needle in it.
Guest? Maid? Potential concubine? Just a whim?
She probably wanted to know where the line was drawn.
Before I could answer, Fine spoke.
“I am the person His Highness desires.”
“Pfft—”
I barely managed to swallow the tea I had almost spit out.
It was painful.
“Excuse me. What?”
“I am the person His Highness desires.”
“Saying it again doesn’t make it safer.”
“But it is the truth.”
“Every way you slice it sounds dangerous!”
All the young ladies’ eyes turned to us at once.
Ah, this is the bad kind.
But Fine stayed perfectly calm.
“His Highness wished for conversations not clouded by status or calculations.”
“…”
“So I am here to answer that wish.”
Ah, I see.
As an explanation, it wasn’t wrong.
Not wrong, but she put zero effort into choosing her words carefully.
Liliane hid her mouth behind her fan and let out a small laugh.
“My, my. So that means you are special to His Highness.”
“I am special.”
Instant answer.
And she said it with total certainty.
This time, everyone’s gaze completely changed.
“H-hey, Fine.”
“Yes.”
“Could you maybe… soften it a little?”
“Why?”
“Why? Because…”
“His Highness gave me the position of guest, the chance to learn, wealth, and a future.”
“Yeah.”
“He even saved the lives of my younger brother and sister.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“So I believe I am special to His Highness. And to me, His Highness is also special.”
It was quiet.
She wasn’t raising her voice.
She just stated the obvious like it was obvious.
And yet, it rang out strangely.
The young ladies around us kept their social smiles but had lost their words.
They had probably heard “special” plenty of times when it came with calculations.
But someone saying it straight to the face, with no embarrassment and total seriousness, was rare.
Even I thought it was rare.
Actually, it was heavy.
When it hit you head-on, it was seriously heavy.
“…Fine.”
“Yes.”
“Show a little shame at least.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m the one getting embarrassed.”
“Isn’t it already too late for Your Highness to get embarrassed?”
“The fact that I can’t deny it hurts.”
At that moment, Celestia cut in with a smile still on her face.
“However, claiming to be special to His Highness… isn’t your position a bit weak for that?”
“My position?”
“Yes. No matter how kind His Highness is, the court has its own balance to maintain.”
Ah, here it comes.
She wasn’t being blunt, but basically she was saying “Your background isn’t enough.”
Just as I was about to speak, Fine answered first.
“Please rest assured.”
Fine smiled gently.
“I do not think I am balanced with the current situation either.”
“…”
“So I will work until I am.”
“Huh?”
The young ladies opened their mouths in shock.
“I will learn, acquire the necessary skills, gather what I need, and become someone worthy of standing beside Your Highness.”
“Wait a second.”
“In the shortest time possible.”
“I said wait.”
How many times now?
The young ladies had gone completely silent.
Of course they had.
Normally in a place like this, people would modestly downplay it or laugh it off.
No one says straight out, “I’m not enough, so I will fill the gap.”
And this girl was serious.
I was the only one who knew.
She never said things like this as a joke.
“Your Highness.”
Fine looked at me.
“Would taking the top spot at the academy be enough for now?”
“Don’t check that here.”
“Public evaluation is an easy-to-understand measure.”
“Do you even know what ‘reading the room’ means?”
“I do.”
“Then why does it turn out like this?”
“I thought it was unnecessary in front of Your Highness.”
Stop it.
Don’t say that kind of thing outside.
Seriously stop.
But the young ladies’ reaction was unexpected.
Before they could get annoyed, they looked confused, then a little intimidated.
They had probably seen it too.
That Fine wasn’t just reaching beyond her place. She really intended to get there.
Liliane set down her teacup.
“…Your Highness has placed quite a formidable person by your side.”
“I’m the one who knows that best.”
“It seems you will not be bored.”
“Yeah, no kidding.”
When I answered from the heart, Liliane smiled a little more genuinely than before.
＊＊＊
The second half of the tea party.
Just when the air had started to relax a bit, the incident happened.
It was a short moment when I was alone near the edge of the greenhouse garden, by the rose trellis.
“Your Highness.”
The one who called out was a young noble boy.
About sixteen years old.
Arno, the second son of a frontier count’s family.
I at least remembered his name.
“What is it?”
“There is something I would like to tell you.”
“That face doesn’t look like it’s anything good.”
“Excuse me, but it is about the person by Your Highness’s side.”
Ah, so it finally came.
That was quick.
“What about her?”
“Having someone of unknown background so close to you seems dangerous. It is your freedom to grant temporary favor out of pity, but when thinking about the future—”
That was as far as he got.
“Heh.”
A quiet voice cut in from the side.
Arno’s shoulders twitched.
Before I knew it, Fine was standing there.
“One moment of favor.”
“…”
“When thinking about the future, you say?”
“I-I wasn’t speaking to you.”
“But it was about me, wasn’t it?”
She was smiling.
Smiling, but there was no warmth at all.
It was the same eyes she had when we first met at the slave market.
That look was sitting right inside her beautiful smile.
“Fine.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
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