I’ve Been Exiled, But I’m Alive and Well - Chapter 119 (Patreon)

His Highness Jerald, the First Prince of the Fall Empire.
It was four years ago that I became friends with him. It was a ball held in the Empire. I went to the ball as Cyril's fiancée, and that was the beginning of our friendship.

An hour had passed since the start of the ball. After a certain amount of greetings, I was looking around the ballroom with boredom in my eyes.
I didn't have any close friends or anyone I wanted to talk to. The imperial ballroom was full of flatterers. I understand that you want to get along with the next Crown Prince of the magic powerhouse, but I couldn’t help but feel annoyed when they were trying to win him over.
Prince Cyril, please come back as soon as possible.

“You look bored, Duke Olivier’s daughter.”

It was His Highness Prince Oudh, the third prince of the Empire, who approached me as I was looking for my fiancé, who was still making the rounds of greetings.

"No, it's not like that. I'm just looking for His Highness Cyril.”

I put on the mask of a lady and responded.
To be honest, I don't really like the imperial family. I especially don't like His Highness Oudh, who is the same age as me. I don't like the way he immediately looks down on others. And yet, he is not much of a man himself. I'm sorry to say this, but other than being a member of the imperial family, the only thing he has going for him is his good looks. He’s not educated, he’s not very good with magic or swords. He is too different from the second prince, who is black-hearted but full of talent to bring people together.
I don't care about that, though. The biggest problem for me is:

"His Highness Cyril is a horrible person to leave his lovely fiancée alone. I wouldn't do such a thing if I were him."

The fact that he's trying to make me his fiancée makes me extremely uncomfortable.
I'm not sure if I can say this about myself, but my strength in magic is highly regarded by the surrounding countries of the Ansanse Kingdom. He probably thinks that making me his wife will boost his own stock.
Rumor has it that His Highness Oudh has his sights set on becoming the next Emperor. It's a strategy to draw me in and increase the number of allies who will support him.
I don't mind that he's ambitious, but he should at least learn how to seduce women.

"Looking around, the first prince, His Highness Jerald seems to be absent today as well, huh?”

When I mentioned the name of a member of the imperial family member who was not attending the ball to change the subject, His Imperial Highness Oudh’s cheeks twitched, and he said, "He doesn't need to be here.”
Perhaps it was because they were half-brothers that he didn't think of his brother as his family. Even so, his attitude was too bad. This also applied to the second prince and the nobles of the Empire. I don't know the details, but the first prince is neglected, probably because he is weak, always on sick leave, and never appears on the stage.
I'm not sure if it was because the name of the person he disliked was mentioned, or if he really remembered his business, but His Imperial Highness Oudh said, "Excuse me, I have something to take care of" and left as if he was running away.

"I wonder what His Imperial Highness Jerald is like."

I muttered to myself so that no one would hear.
I began to be curious about the existence of a person whose name only appeared in the public domain.
But even if I was curious, I wouldn't be able to get much information from anyone in this room. More importantly, it wouldn't be a good rumor for someone who was here as His Highness Cyril's fiancée to be asking around about other men.
I decided to give up and resumed my search for His Highness Cyril. This time, I was able to find him immediately. I couldn't just disturb him while he was happily chatting with others, though.
I didn't want to stay in this suffocating place until he returned, so I called out to a nearby waiter and walked out of the hall.
I arrived at a deserted garden a short distance away. As I walked through, I found a bench and sat down on it.
Unlike the noise and heat of the ballroom, it was cool and quiet outside, and I felt quite calm.
I wanted to stay here until the ball was over.

“Who are you?”

As I was gazing at the moon in a daze, a voice suddenly called out to me and my body shook in surprise.
I looked over and saw a strange man standing there.

“And who are you?”

It was hard to see his face because he was behind a tree, but from his simple attire, he didn’t look like a ball attendee.
He’s not an intruder, is he?
When I gave him a stern look, the man checked his appearance as if in a panic. Looking closely, I could see that he was wearing a knight's uniform.

“My name is Jerald.”

I was wondering if it was someone from the knights guarding the outside of the venue, but the man told me his name was the same as the first prince.
That’s not possible.

“Jerald? That is the First Prince’s name, isn’t it?”

As I stared at him, half in disbelief, the moonlight illuminated his appearance.
His appearance and his widened eyes together with his bright red hair appeared in my field of vision.
In the Empire, red hair is a sign of Imperial family. One with such hair must be of the Imperial family
And with a name like Jerald, he must be the first prince. But I couldn't believe it.

“Would you tell me your name?”
“It’s Gabrielle. Gabrielle de Olivier.”

I was still stunned when he asked me for my name.
If he was a member of the Imperial family, I could not be disrespectful, so I rose from the bench and gave him a lady's bow.
I wondered if it was really His Imperial Highness Jerald.
He is a member of the Imperial family, but his appearance did not look like a member of the Imperial family. And more importantly, he didn't seem to be physically weak.

“I heard the First Prince was absent because of illness. Is that wrong?”
“I’m someone who is not supposed to appear before the public.”

You're not supposed to appear in public?
You mean you are not just sickly person?
I didn't understand what Jerald meant.

“I’m an unneeded human. That’s why I’m not allowed to appear in public.”

Jerald’s self-mocking smile looked as if he was about to disappear to nothingness.

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