𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓𝟑: 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬
It felt like a thunderbolt had struck my brain, leaving me reeling from a tremendous shock.
Lord Montyver was actually Princess Marion.
Surely, once it was pointed out, one could see the resemblance to the beautiful young girl in the portrait.
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“Why were you raised as a princess, not as a prince, Leon-sama?”
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My voice trembled as I asked the question.
Once this was asked, there was no going back. Was that fear causing me to tremble?
Did Lord Montyver notice or not? He calmly returned my question with a faint smile.
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“That’s because my life was in danger.”
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A chill ran through me at his words. This was not a topic to be spoken about so casually.
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“My mother, Anne, was a concubine, and she was immensely loved by the king. More so than the queen.”
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A concubine loved more than the queen ―― it was exactly like the present situation.
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“The queen had long been troubled by infertility and had no children. Amidst this, my mother became pregnant with me.”
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While the king was presumably delighted, the queen must not have been.
Whether it was connected to the queen’s feelings, it’s not certain, but after the pregnancy was discovered, it seems incidents of abortion-inducing poison being slipped into Anne’s meals began to occur.
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“It seems some of them could have been deadly, but my mother was naturally suspicious and sharp-witted, so she didn’t die.”
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Amidst all the terror, some joyous news arrived for the country.
It was the queen’s pregnancy.
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“Coincidentally, a month after my mother’s pregnancy was confirmed, the queen also became pregnant.”
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After that, mysteriously, the poisoning of Anne’s meals ceased, he said.
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“It wasn’t just joyous that the queen was pregnant.”
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The king declared to Anne that “If your child is a boy, I’ll grant him the right of succession.”
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“Because a prince, a successor, hadn’t been born in years, the king was probably excited. It was nothing but trouble for my mother and me.”
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From that day on, Anne prayed, “May my child be a girl.”
But her wish did not come true――
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“I, a boy, was born.”
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Being born before the queen’s child, he effectively became the first prince.
But Anne, having handed a gold coin to the wet nurse, gave an order.
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“Tell the king that a princess, not a prince, has been born. That’s what my mother said.”
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If I were recognized as the first prince with the right of succession, the child born at last would be in danger. She must have judged this in a flash.
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“So, your mother decided to raise Lord Montyver as a princess to save his life.”
“Well, it probably also had self-protective implications.”
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A month later, the queen gave birth to Prince Engelbert.
Because Lord Montyver had become the first princess, Engelbert became the first prince.
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“My mother wanted to raise me in a place far from the capital, but the king didn’t allow it.”
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It seems the king was deeply in love with Anne. Even the desire to have just Lord Montyver away didn’t come true.
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“Under those circumstances, I was raised as a princess. Of course, it wasn’t a smooth upbringing.”
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It seems Lord Montyver questioned why he had to wear female dresses and live delicately compared to Engelbert, who was born in the same year.
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“When I rebelled, not wanting to act like a princess, my mother said in desperation that I would be killed if it was revealed I was a boy. Even as a princess, danger was always at hand.”
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But the days he grew up in were always peaceful, and he never faced any danger to his life.
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“For years, I didn’t understand why my mother raised me as a princess. It was tough and painful. So, when my mother died, while I was sad, I felt relieved that I didn’t have to act like a princess anymore.”
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I had heard about his upbringing in a repressed environment before.
Despite his cheerful conversation, he must have been brought up in an unimaginably oppressive environment.
Once the mourning period ended, Lord Montyver summoned the king and queen and revealed his secret.
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“The king and queen were quite surprised. Then, they offered kind words, saying it must have been difficult all these years.”
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From now on, you should live as a prince, they said.
It seems that although he was not allowed to claim the title of the first prince, he was granted permission to be announced as the second prince. What’s more, he was even granted a right to the throne. He was to follow Prince Engelbert, second in line.
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“Having understood and being recognized as a prince, and even receiving the right to the throne, I was greatly relieved. At the same time, I became completely careless.”
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On the day of the debut as the second prince, Lord Montyver faces his first crisis.
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“The snacks in the waiting room were poisoned.”
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It seems that a lethal dose of poison had been liberally applied.
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“I ate it all, but as soon as I tasted something wrong, I spat it out.”
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It seems that even a small taste could be deadly.
He repeatedly vomited, and in the end, he was said to have been throwing up blood.
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“A normal person, even if they threw up right away, would have died. But, I survived.”
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There was a reason for that, it seems.
According to the maid who was by his side, Lord Montyver’s meals had contained small amounts of poison since he was a child.
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“Without realizing it, my body had developed a resistance to poison.”
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But still, he survived through what felt like a near-death experience.
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“In that state, I realized for the first time the danger of being a prince, and if I continued to live as the second prince, I would be attacked in situations like today.”
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In a delirious state from the poison, Lord Montyver called for the king and told him he would renounce his life as the second prince.
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“Of course, I respectfully returned the right to the throne as well.”
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The debut was canceled. It was originally a surprise announcement planned by the queen, so it seems there was no impact on various parties.
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“The queen said it would be fun to surprise everyone, which was strange, but when I was about to be killed, I figured out that this was the target.”
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Lord Montyver, who had renounced the right to the throne and given up living as the second prince, apparently had no intention of returning to being Princess Marion.
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“If I have to be a princess, it’s better to live as an ordinary man. The king lent me the name Leon・Von・Montyver in response to my argument.”
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It seems he is using the alias with the king’s approval.
Perhaps those who didn’t think well of him spread rumors that he was part of an underground organization.
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“From then on, I dedicated myself to training to become a knight.”
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Apparently, he had been taught to protect himself from the time he was a princess.
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“All I had left when I was no longer a princess was my sword.”
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Living as Leon・Von・Montyver, being recognized as a full-fledged knight, an unexpected decision was made for him.
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“The king tried to appoint me as the guard knight for Prince Engelbert.”
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While he was trying to follow the order, Lord Montyver heard that the queen was opposing it.
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“They can’t put a child like me, born of a concubine, by the side of the precious future king.”
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Pressured by the queen, the king accepted it.
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“It was shocking. I was trying to live as Leon・Von・Montyver, but they only saw me as a child of a concubine.”
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Unable to find a response, I held his trembling hand in mine.
His hand was unbelievably cold.
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