Upon seeing the person who entered the hall following His Majesty, I furrowed my brows.

(…Is that my older brother?)

The one who appeared alongside His Majesty, the King, was none other than my brother, Marquise Mireld Gasstark.

Did my brother come to the royal castle without participating in the commemorative ceremony and bring His Majesty with him?

…But for what purpose?

“What is this commotion about?” inquired His Majesty, noting Crown Prince Judrich embracing Lady Isla.

“I suspected as much, but… it seems Marquise Gasstark’s story was true. Judrich, what are you up to?”

“Father…”

With a tense expression, the Crown Prince responded, “I intend to annul my engagement with Lady Mireille Gasstark. After informing you, Father, I planned to report this after notifying Mireille.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mireille is a selfish coward. She has numerous character flaws and is unfit to be the Crown Princess. Therefore, I am breaking off the engagement with Mireille to choose a truly suitable woman as the Crown Princess.”

Following Crown Prince Judrich, Isla also appealed to His Majesty.

“That’s right, Your Majesty! Mireille-sama discarded the flowers I gave her! It’s absurd for a woman who shows such disrespect to become the Crown Princess of this ‘Flower Kingdom’!”

“Stepped on the flowers? Mireille, what does this mean?” His Majesty intended to question me.

…This seems to be taking an unfavorable turn.

As I was about to answer honestly with a troubled expression, my brother interjected with, “I regret to say—”

“My sister Mireille was furious about receiving a bouquet from Baron Donovan’s daughter and trampled on it. I have confirmed this to be an undeniable fact.”

I felt as if I were plunged into the depths of a valley.

So, my brother was indeed on Isla’s side…

My brother’s voice continued to resound clearly—

“In fact, today I have prepared the same flowers that Miss Donovan presented to my sister. As a gesture to His Highness the Crown Prince and Miss Isla, I would like to present them.”

With a snap of his fingers, my brother signaled, and dozens of servants entered the hall with large white bouquets. The servants handed them to the Crown Prince and Isla, and the excess bouquets were piled up at their feet.

Isla, for some reason, turned pale.

A massive amount of white bouquets

They resembled roses but were slightly different, and I didn’t even know their names.

Nevertheless, the bouquet my brother prepared was unusually massive.

As if there were some intention behind it—

His Majesty, upon seeing the flowers, frowned unpleasantly.

“Is this… the ‘Farewell Flower’?”

“That is correct, Your Majesty.”

…Farewell Flower? What are they talking about?

My brother, as if flaunting it to those around him, took one of the bouquets and raised it high.

“This is a ‘Farewell Flower’—wildflowers that commoners pack in coffins to mourn the dead. Miss Donovan sent this to my sister.”

“That’s a great impoliteness,” remarked His Majesty and my brother, piercing Isla with disdainful gazes.

Isla tensed, her shoulders stiffening.

“N-no, that’s not true! The flowers I gave were just roses… I wouldn’t give funeral flowers, right?”

“Hmph, transparent lies,” the brother interjected with a contemptuous look, as if looking at trash.

“Donovan informed me of her’regular flower shop’ before. On Mireille’s birthday, you ordered a ‘Farewell Flower’ bouquet from that shop—confirmed in the store’s ledger.”

As Isla appeared to be at a loss for words, she finally blurted out, “….! Y-you lied, Mireld!”

I couldn’t make heads or tails of what was happening.

Was I really given funeral flowers as a gift…?

The king’s angry voice echoed.

“If you’re handed such flowers, it’s natural for Miss Mireille to be furious! Did you deliberately provoke Mireille, inciting trouble? You, Miss Donovan, are the despicable one.”

Isla collapsed on the spot, and Crown Prince Judrich stood still with a puzzled expression.

“Truly lamentable, Judrich! To not only inflame such a shallow young lady but also falsely accuse the flawless Miss Mireille. While she excels academically, Mireille has achieved great success both within and outside the school. In the meantime, what have you been doing?”

“F-Father, I…”

“I have received a report from Marquise Gasstark. It seems you were fooling around with the Baron’s daughter. I cannot entrust the throne to such a foolish person! The first prince, Judrich, will be stripped of his title, and the second prince, Regal, will become the new Crown Prince.”

“Regal!? W-wait, he’s only five years old!”

“Even at five, he is far wiser and more thoughtful than you. In other words, you are below the age of five.”

“B-below five!? Father, that’s a lie. I’m definitely smarter. Please reconsider, Father—uh!”

King mercilessly struck down Crown Prince Judrich, who was attempting to cling to something, with his scepter.

“This disgrace!! Judrich, you are banished from the capital. The Baron’s daughter there is also guilty! Guards, escort both of them.”

“S-scream!!!”

Surrounded by guards, the two were dragged out of the party hall.

“Stop it! I am the Crown Prince!”

“Let go! I’m the heroine! If anyone should be banished, it should be Mireille!”

The surrounding people openly displayed their disgust at the two making a scene.

Then, Isla noticed an elderly woman in the crowd, her face lighting up. Resisting the guards, she reached out to the old woman.

“Granny! You’re Duchess Meldel, right!? Please help me!!”

Unlike in the game, she hadn’t even met her in this world.

Duchess Meldel looked puzzled and covered her mouth with a fan.

“Granny! Actually, I’m your granddaughter. So please help me!! Your son, Pavel, eloped with a commoner woman, right!? I’m the child they had! Don’t our faces resemble each other?”

This is a bombshell… society believes Pavel died of an illness.

Duchess Meldel raised her voice in protest.

“How insolent! If you intend to insult our family, I won’t allow it! Guards, quickly escort them out.”

“N-no way!”

“Hey, stop twisting my arm! Stop it!”

“Ahh, it hurts, it hurts, stop!”

The voices of the two being dragged out gradually faded away from the party hall.

His Majesty, the King, addressed my brother and me.

“Marquise Gasstark and Miss Mireille. I deeply apologize as the king for this incident.”

And then His Majesty promised to annul the engagement and compensate the Gasstark family.

“We’ll decide on the details later. Miss Mireille, is there anything you’d like to convey at this moment? We want to accommodate your requests as much as possible.”

Given the opportunity, I decided to make one request.

“Since Prince Judrich left without giving the toast, the party has yet to begin. You don’t have to consider our house right away, so please start the party. Everyone has been eagerly waiting.”

In response to my words, the graduates cheered.

After requesting the king signal the start of the toast, I decided to leave.

…I wasn’t in the mood for a party at this point.

Escorted by my brother, I left the party hall.