Chapter Seventy: Matching Purposes
“Why haven’t you named your price? You’ve accepted too easily. Are you planning to deceive me with mere lip service?”
“No, that’s not my intention.”
Because Karen had accepted so readily, it seemed like she responded half-heartedly. Though she immediately denied it, Waltride spoke suspiciously:
“You were hired by the Ehlertt family and came here. You must have been instructed by your employer to treat my body. So why would you go against that request?”
“It’s not like I have a proper reason—”
“Even if I have nothing, I am still a princess. It’s one thing to refuse, but to treat a royal’s words lightly is unforgivable. It’s an insult to the royal family.”
“I truly have no such intention…!”
“Then explain what your intention was.”
Having unexpectedly angered Waltride, Karen panicked for a moment before resolving herself.
“…I don’t want Your Highness to lose weight because I’m afraid Master Julius might fall in love with you if you become a beautiful, slender princess.”
“…That’s quite a reason.”
Waltride stared blankly at Karen, looking utterly exasperated. Karen immediately covered her face with her hands.
“That was incredibly rude of me! I’m so sorry!”
“No, well… it’s not so much rude as it is ridiculous.”
“To my commoner ears, Your Highness was rumored to be an incomparable beauty, with rumors of a romantic relationship with Master Julius. But upon seeing Your Highness, I realized those were just rumors, which made me feel guilty. I was intending to treat you with all my might—”
“But?”
“If Your Highness herself says so… maybe I don’t need to treat you. I don’t want to see you becoming a beautiful couple with Master Julius…!”
“I haven’t heard about your engagement, but are you two dating?”
At Waltride’s words, Karen looked up in shock.
“Absolutely not! We’re not dating at all! He proposed to me for my abilities, but I have no intention of marrying! Truly! I’ve decided to dedicate my life to alchemy!”
“But you don’t want Julius’s heart to belong to me if I become beautiful.”
When this was pointed out again, Karen was overwhelmed with such embarrassment that her entire body heated up.
“Honestly, isn’t he already yours? Every time I hear Master Julius speak about Your Highness, it’s a storm of praise, and he seems desperate to have you treated!”
“That’s a misunderstanding.”
At Waltride’s firm reply, Karen peeked at her through the gaps between her fingers.
“…Are you sure?”
“Yes. Julius’s treatment of me is because he is a part of the Ehlertt family.”
“Because he is a part of the Ehlertt family?”
“Before I go on, know that what I’m about to say is what I believe the Ehlertt family think—not some kind of complaint on my part.”
With that introduction, Waltride explained:
“To put it simply… if there had been a queue for the magic-sealing artifact, Sieg receiving it would’ve meant it was taken from me.”
“Oh…”
“In reality, there is no queue. His Majesty decided I should not use the artifact. In my case, it was not life-threatening, while Sieg’s situation was. If there were a priority, Sieg should be first. Still, the Ehlertt family has always taken me into consideration.”
Waltride looked terribly apologetic as she spoke.
“They’ve been very kind to me. The Ehlertt family just wants to repay me for what they think I deserve. There is no need for Julius to concern himself with someone like me—especially a princess who avoids fighting.”
The Ehlertt family had united as one to obtain the magic-sealing artifact for Sieg’s sake. If this meant taking it from Waltride, those kind people would surely be unable to ignore the guilt.
“Besides, after producing someone like Sieg—a child born with the Bloodline Blessing—the Ehlertt family will likely avoid marrying into royalty for generations. The next generation would no doubt also suffer from that blessing. There’s no way anything could ever happen between Julius and me.”
“I don’t think potential marital inconveniences matter. It’s ultimately about the heart’s attraction.”
“Your sincerity is coming through clearly, Karen.”
When Karen spoke with a steely gaze, Waltride nodded.
“Seeing your attitude, I can be at ease.”
It seemed Karen had convinced Waltride that she wasn’t insulting the princess or the royal family. But in return, Karen felt like she had lost something precious.
“If you don’t want to lose weight, the current concern is that face powder. Something mixed in it drains magical power, so if you use it carelessly, Your Highness might lose weight as your magical power turns to fat… But I avoided using it because it’s toxic, all right!? It had nothing to do with me being worried that you’d grow closer to Master Julius!”
“I understand, I understand. I’m more reassured than by any sweet talk, Karen. It’s utterly absurd, but clearly crucial to you.”
“I’m terribly embarrassed…”
“Hahaha. I feel we’ll get along well from now on.”
When the maids returned and saw Waltride laughing cheerfully and Karen teary-eyed, they tilted their heads in confusion but judging it wasn’t anything serious, they quietly resumed their respective tasks.
Shouldn't losing excess weight be for health concerns? Like, staying a little chubby but still professionally diagnosed as healthy is one thing, but obesity is an actual life/death concern and gets a lot harder to control as one gets older. If she's so bad that MC likens her to those absurd tv cases, MC should at least make her aware of the health risks. It actually kind of makes me dislike MC to put her crush over sm1's life like this.
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