Broken Engagement and Punishment 2
On that day, my life as the n.o.ble known as Alta Cezara Lindsey Rufus ended. Or at least, that"s how it should have been.
As punishment, I was forced to drop out of the Royal Academy and I was banned indefinitely from high society. The Rufus family, of course, was left alone.
For someone who had incurred the wrath of the second prince, I was almost disappointed by this remarkably light punishment. But, if you really think about it, my so-called crime was merely pestering someone at school. Not to mention, since I"m a Duke"s daughter and she only a Baron"s, the difference between social standing is like heaven and earth, so this level of punishment is not too surprising.
There had been one case of severe bullying, when Miss Anna had become slightly injured from being pushed down the stairs, but only that event had no eye-witnesses. If there had been any proof of this, that would have been reason enough for them to cause an uproar. They probably would have been calling for my public execution right about now. But it seems that even the girls who had been there and testified had no idea what really happened.
For that same reason though, there was nothing stopping Miss Anna from claiming it was me who pushed her. She made quite the fuss about it and gained a lot of followers in the process.
But even with all that and having the prince for a lover, to punish a Duke"s daughter, someone at the top of high society, for the sake of protecting a mere Baron"s daughter is unheard of.
Moreover, it was the prince who was in the wrong to begin with. None of this would have happened had he not found a lover while already being engaged in the first place. To make matters worse, this engagement was of great political importance. I heard His Majesty the king himself apologized for all of this.
And to whom you may wonder?
To my enraged father, the head of the Rufus family, of course.
As for the person who was cheated on, fell much too easily into a childish trap, didn"t bother asking for a compromise, and didn"t even try to refute the crime…? I was scolded mercilessly.
And by whom?
That, as well, was my enraged father.
I sat there obediently and listened to his reprimands for half a day before my beloved little brother came into that Library of Doom and somewhat a.s.suaged my father"s anger. I really can"t thank him enough for that.
In the end, I did have my engagement to the prince annulled though, so even if his anger was somewhat appeased, my Father still decided to send his disgraceful daughter away. So for the last two days, I"ve been jolted in a carriage on my way to our closest territory.
In the carriage with me was my little brother. After coming up with this and that for reasons, he finally got Father"s permission to come along with me.
“But, Sister, why didn"t you object?” he asked, his head leaning on the crook of the carriage wall. “They couldn"t possibly have had the upper hand, right?”
“Cause~ Liechten. That would have been bothersome. I mean, it"s not like I want to become queen anyway. And His Highness hates me, so I figured if he somehow managed to get together with his lover, that would mean I would be liberated from high society. Isn"t this what you"d call a win/win scenario?”
“Sister…. you"re too much… I thought it might have been something like that, but still! Do you know just how much effort Father and I had to put in because of this!? Please give me back all those hours of sleep I missed.”
“Fu fu, sorry~ And thank you~ My cute little Alten Liecht ❤ There"s still several days before we get to the territory, you know. Your Big Sister will hold you nice and tight, so feel free to sleep as long~ as you like.”
Hearing that, my adorable little brother"s ears turned red, and when I spread my arms wide, he scooted further away from me.
“Please stop. Until when are you going to keep treating me like a child!? I"m only two years younger than you. And in terms of height, I"m already taller!”
“Oh? I guess you might be right.”
“I am!”
Thanks to Liechten, I experienced the impossible. Our 5 day long journey was over in a flash, and somehow it was even enjoyable.
T/N: I can"t decide if I like the j.a.panese words like Onee-san and Otou-san for familial words, or if I should stick with Sister and Father. Thoughts? Preferences? Drop me a comment ? Also, I"m sorry for saying Liecht gave this and that for reasons, and for saying that he and their father “put in effort”, and other such vagueness. That"s what it says in the raws, and I can"t even try to imagine what they did or said, so it can only stay like that.