Born as the Hidden Daughter of a Villainess and the Male Lead

<Episode 78>

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¹I have decided to change the male lead name from the previous Ashamed to Ashmed for obvious reasons 😅

Ashmed was waiting for me, dressed in a black suit with silver embroidery and a cravat fixed with a dark blue jewel that seemed to have been made from his own eyes.

“This is our first time attending a banquet as partners, isn’t it?”

Because we both wanted to avoid people’s chatter and eyes.

Ashmed answered the question I suddenly asked while walking along the wide, quiet corridor leading to the banquet hall.

“You haven’t officially debuted, but you are now twelve years old. Until last year, you entered with your father.”

“……..Ah. I really hated that atmosphere. The Grand Duchess always looked like she was going to fall into the ground and crawl away in tears, and ‘father’ kept talking to me in an annoying way.”

As Ashmed entered his growth period, his previously similar eye level rose significantly, and unlike me, who retained the appearance of a child, he grew up to be a boy with a glimpse of a young man.

But we had no difficulty linking our arms.

So, rather, it should be said that it was a perfect height difference.

With a renewed sense of anticipation, I looked up at the boy who had changed a lot from when I first met him.

“……I heard a funny story. Have you ever heard of a lineage of peerless handsome men that has been passed down from generation to generation in the Roshan Empire?”

“What?”

At the playful remark, Ashmed asked with an expression that seemed like he was going to hear something strange.

“The previous generation said it was none other than my grandfather. They said he was a handsome man with a healthy, wild beauty that was on different level from the feeble gentlemen like appearance of the aristocratic men.”

“……Yes. Your maternal grandfather is still strong.”

Ashmed muttered with a look of understanding.

“And now the most handsome man in the Roshan Empire is……my father.”

“……I can’t agree with that.”

When I first heard about this, I was shocked, but I was able to immediately agree with the maids’ legendary accounts of my grandfather, but Roberick.…

“Right? I also thought that in my head, but maybe I can’t agree with it because of my ill feelings. Is he that attractive?”

I think Meinhardt is just as handsome as Roberick.

But because of that *** family…… he had to keep living in hiding without being recognized.

“When you mentioned the Hailien Archduke, my trust level dropped significantly. Don’t listen to such nonsense either. It seems like they’re just judging on things based on their appearance.”

“……They say the next handsome man is you.”

“……What?”

As I quietly recited the words, Ashmed’s steps suddenly stopped.

I smiled brightly, looking up at the deep blue eyes widened in shock, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“I agree with that. I don’t know much about what young nobles look like, and I’m not interested, but I think you’re the most handsome.”

“…….”

Still, when I look at him, it feels like a cold chill seeps into me.²She is indicating that he is a cold beauty…

The boy, who had a strange and mysterious beauty, pursed his lips, showing an inexplicable agitation at my words.

“Come on, let’s go. If we keep going like that, we will be late.”

He was more surprised than I thought.

I tapped Ashmed’s arm and encouraged him to walk.

Until we arrived at the banquet hall, Ashmed did not say anything for a long time.

 

***

 

As Ashmed and I entered the banquet hall, I felt an eerie sensation of countless gazes on my body.

I sighed inwardly, looking up with a faint smile at the Emperor, who was glaring at Ashmed without even trying to hide his facial expression.

“May you shine with an everlasting flame, Your Majesties the Emperor and Empress of the Roshan Empire.”

“Welcome, Second Prince. Grand Princess Edith also came with you.”

The Emperor did not respond in any way, but the Empress welcomed us in a friendly way.

“I couldn’t take my eyes off you for a moment as you walked towards me and his Majesty. What a perfect pair you are.”

“That’s too much praise, your Majesty.”

The Empress, who was from the family of Count Elticia, had a third prince, but she realized early on that her own son was not worthy of competing for the throne with the two princes left behind by the deceased Empress, so she showed friendly attitude towards the Second Prince, Ashmed.³Oh, a sensible queen, how rareෆ⁠╹⁠ ⁠.̮⁠ ⁠╹⁠ෆ

Perhaps that was why the Emperor glanced at the Empress with a disapproving look in his eyes, but did not say anything.

Since I had always had a good relationship with the Empress, I smiled and exchanged a few words with her before leaving.

“……Let us never be separated from each other.”

Feeling the burning gazes coming from all directions, I whispered softly with a smile on my face and linked my arms more tightly. Ashmed sighed softly and answered in a low voice.

“Okay. Hold on tight.”

Sure enough, the first person to approach was Roberick.

“Edith…….His Royal Highness the Second Prince also came with you.”

Roberick, who was still looking down at Ashmed with disapproving eyes, immediately stretched out his hand towards me and said.

“You entered with His Highness the Second Prince, but you are still young and have not even had your debutant yet. Please stay with your father.”

“……..”

Why don’t you suggest that to the Grand Duchess who is staring at me so intently from behind that it makes me feel uncomfortable?

“No, his Highness the 2nd Prince and I have grown up together like a brother and a sister since childhood. There is no need to worry, so father can staying with the Grand Duchess.”

Even if you had done that, I wouldn’t go with you.

“……Edith.”

Roberick’s face hardened at my refusal and he opened his mouth as if to persuade me again, but then, as if considering the attention pouring in from everyone around him, he withdrew his hand and muttered softly.

“In that case, you should stay for about an hour and then go back. This is not the place for you to stay alone for a long time.”

“…..Yes”

Since she had no intention of staying for long anyway, she answered appropriately, and Roberick finally relaxed his stiff complexion a little and left.

“He’s overprotective.”

“….It is so noisy”

Ashmed, who observed the entire situation, briefly commented.

I twisted my mouth and whispered quickly.

“When do you plan to start what we have been preparing?”

Ashmed said as he shifted in his seat.

“……Well, first…….”

“Our Crown Prince is offering a very precious gift for his father!”

At that very moment, the Emperor shouted in a loud, exaggerated voice.

Ashmed and I looked back at the Emperor.

In front of him, the Crown Prince was kneeling on one knee, looking up at the Emperor.

“After thinking about what kind of gift I should give to my father on his birthday, I offer him a legacy from the old Kingdom of Dryas, a plant that, if it succeeds in blooming, will be the most beautiful in the world.”

“Yes! I am very satisfied. I will do my best to make this Clytie, which was gave to me with a great care as a gift from the Crown Prince, bloom.”⁴Wow, I never knew he was a drama queen, lol.

The Emperor handed a small pot containing a seemingly unremarkable plant with green stems and leaves sprouting to his servant, and spoke as if for everyone in the audience to hear.

“It is a plant that looks ordinary on the outside, but if it succeeds in blooming after a lot of effort, it becomes that much more special and beautiful. It’s much more precious compared to other flowers that bloom and fade after a short period of time, even though they are easy to grow.”

“……Ashmed.”

As I listened to the Emperor’s words with narrowed eyes, I soon grasped the true meaning of what he wanted to say to everyone present at the banquet and softly called Ashmed.

“Let’s do it now.”

A flower that can be easily bloomed but blooms and fades quickly is a metaphor for Ashmed.

Clytie, which appears ordinary on the outside but can become the most beautiful in the world if he succeeds in making it bloom after a long period of effort, was likened to be the Crown Prince.

Even though he was a prince who did not receive the blessing of the spirits, what did he mean by claiming that he possessed a special talent that could not be compared to anyone’s else?

“Now?”

“Yeah. People are giving him gifts now, so we should give it to him too.”

But that analogy was wrong.

From what I could understand, did that mean that the Crown Prince is a being of such special value that he had to go through a long period of hardship and raise him with great care?

This ridiculous play was staged just to put a nice spin on the Crown Prince who did not receive any spirit blessings.

In reality, Crown Prince Valerian Heine Ruairi is nothing more than a weak son who cannot achieve anything without his father.⁵I don’t know why she has such a strong opinion about him, he didn’t do anything to her until now…

“Your Majesty the Emperor, His Highness the Second Prince and I also wish to offer a gift to commemorate Your Majesty’s birthday.”

Ashmed and I advanced in front of the Emperor.

When I announced my intention to offer him a gift, a slight look of anxiety and caution flashed through the Emperor’s eyes.

“…… Grand Princess Edith prepared a gift for us⁶Yeah, it’s not a typo, he referred to himself like this because of his status. with the 2nd Prince. Of course, I should accept it happily.”

He immediately answered with a benevolent smile.

“Thank you, then…”

I uncrossed my arms and took a few steps away from Ashmed.

Just as we prepared.

After exchanging glances with Ashmed, I stretched out my hand into the air.

Rumble-

“Oh my god!”

“This is……….”‬‎

As a clear sound struck my ears, a thin stream of water appeared in the air at the edge of the vastly spacious banquet hall, shining brightly as it passed through the colorful lights.

While people’s eyes were all turned toward the sky, the water that floated gently in the air as if dancing reached the center of the banquet hall.

It gathered above the Emperor and me and merged into one, forming a huge spherical shape.

Pop-!

“Aaaah!”

‎“Oh my, that is…….”‬‎

It seemed as if it would soon explode, splashing flying water droplets, but what was left there was none other than…….

A huge bird carved out of transparent, shimmering water.

“A phoenix……?”

It had the appearance of a phoenix that any citizen of the Roshan Empire could recognize.

Exclamations came from everywhere.

Those who were appreciating the beautiful appearance of the Phoenix shining like a messenger of light through the light of the chandelier soon opened their mouths in a daze when they noticed pure white frost starting to bloom in the air.

The moisture I had spread in the air while carving the image of the Phoenix froze like snow falling from the sky, and It climbed up to where the Phoenix was floating in the air with its wings spread.

Wooosh-

“!”

The moment the frost touched the body of the phoenix, it quickly spread white through it and the frozen bird shape was soon completed as a phoenix carved out of ice.

“Is this……..His Highness the 2nd Prince?”

“The phoenix, which was clearly shaped from water…… Previously, turned into ice.”

Ha-

Ashmed let out a white, frozen breath, walked towards the Emperor, knelt down on one knee, and said.

“I am dedicating a statue of the Phoenix, made of water and ice, together with Grand Princess Edith, in honor of my father’s birthday.”

“……Why was Roshan’s symbol, the Phoenix, sculpted with water and ice rather than fire?”

The Emperor, who was looking up at the giant phoenix floating in the air with a stern expression, spoke to Ashmed in an almost reprimanding tone.

“After the Spirit King of Fire disappeared, the power of fire that the Emperor controlled was weakening day by day.”

Ashmed raised his cold blue eyes and spoke, further aggravating the Emperor’s distorted face.

“Although I cannot create the image of a blazing phoenix like my ancestors because I do not have the blessing of fire, I have tried to recreate the ancient glory to the best of my ability.”

“………That is not the true Phoenix!”

The Emperor responded by shouting loudly.

Then the surrounding was caught in a suffocating silence.

“No longer can anyone carve the image of the Phoenix, shining with an eternal flame, as described in ancient books. However, if we were to give up and stop the long tradition of honoring the Phoenix, the spirit of the Roshan Empire would be lost.”

The Emperor’s expression gradually became perplexed as he listened to Ashmed’s explanation calmly.

“Even though we cannot create it with fire, whatever the method, if we do not give up on our ancestors’ tradition of honoring the Phoenix and strive to continue…… Even if the Fire Spirit King has left, the spirit of the people inherited from the First Emperor of the Roshan Empire will not be cut off and will continue forever.”

 

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TL:

This chappie was so long. >⁠.⁠<