Show Your Face, Prince! Chapter 73

“Lady, what are you doing?”

Lucy approached Letier, who was fiddling with something at her desk.

Letier was so focused on what she was holding that she didn’t even notice Lucy approaching.

“Lady!”

“Ah, you startled me.”

When Lucy called out loudly once more, Letier put down what she was holding and turned her head.

“What were you doing that had you so focused?”

“Ah… I was running a simple test using a new ingredient.”

Letier picked up a small beaker she had set down.

A white, glimmering liquid shimmered under the light as it flowed in the beaker, moving with Letier’s hand.

Lucy’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the new formula.

“Wow, it’s pretty! You went out with Efron this morning… did you buy that processed dragon bone you mentioned before?”

“Yeah. I kept thinking about it… and in the end, I just went out and bought it.”

“Good for you! I think it’s really unique and nice. It fits perfectly with our new product line concept!”

“Really?”

Letier tilted the beaker the other way, letting the liquid flow again.

Lucy watched the beaker with a dreamy look in her eyes, then spoke.

“As expected, no one can match your love for ingredients, Lady. You even keep visiting ingredient shops in this faraway land.”

“Ah, uh…”

Letier mumbled in response and subtly turned her head to avoid Lucy’s gaze.

Well, that’s because…

‘The truth is, I don’t go to the ingredient shop just to buy ingredients…’

Letier cleared her throat awkwardly and glanced at Lucy.

It was true that she’d been visiting the commercial district often lately.

But it wasn’t for the reason her diligent assistant thought.

Actually, it was…

“Hey Lucy, do you remember Crown Prince Aiden’s hair color?”

“His Highness’s hair color? Of course I do! How could I forget that magical shade!”

Lucy looked upward thoughtfully as she answered.

“Silver… it’s not just plain silver, it’s kind of mysterious, right? Bright and smooth silver, isn’t it? I haven’t seen it many times, but it definitely left an impression. It’s that beautiful.”

“Exactly. So do you think that kind of hair color is common?”

“Absolutely not! Besides Her Majesty the Empress and His Highness the Crown Prince, I’ve never seen anyone else with hair like that! I even thought such beautiful hair must be a privilege of the royal family! Well, except for Prince Dante…”

Lucy trailed off awkwardly.

Letier gave a small nod, agreeing with her.

‘But the thing is… I saw someone with that kind of hair at the ingredient shop the other day…’

Lucy suddenly lifted her head and asked,

“But why are you asking about His Highness’s hair color all of a sudden?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing! This dragon bone… it, uh, just suddenly reminded me of his hair…”

“What? This? I mean, it’s pretty, but it looks totally different…”

Lucy muttered with a puzzled face, but Letier deliberately ignored her.

“Can our Lady really tell colors apart properly…”

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

Darkness settled into the room.

Letier, who had been silently staring up at the high ceiling, slowly blinked her eyes.

I can’t sleep…

She quietly turned her head and gazed at the bright moonlight coming through the window, then gently got out of bed.

After placing a light blanket over Lucy, who was dozing off at the desk, Letier carefully left the room.

Click.

She softly closed the door behind her, making sure not to wake Lucy inside.

Maybe a walk would help…

“Letier…?”

Just then, a familiar voice echoed from across the hallway.

Letier lifted her head in disbelief.

“Your Highness?”

There stood Dante, leaning against the corridor wall, his expression just as surprised.

He blinked his red eyes slowly before rising and walking toward her.

“…Feels like it’s been a while.”

His pleasant, low voice tickled her ears.

Letier felt a mix of both welcome and awkwardness as she took a step forward.

It was the first time seeing him since their awkward last encounter.

“What brings you here this late at night instead of sleeping?”

“I couldn’t fall asleep, so I was walking the halls… and somehow ended up here.”

“Ah… You must’ve been very busy lately. You look tired.”

“Ah.”

Dante raised one hand and rubbed his roughened face.

“Do I look that bad?”

“What? Oh, no, that’s not what I meant…”

“I’ve been staying up preparing for the conference these past few days. My days and nights are all messed up.”

He murmured.

Letier quietly watched him mutter in that low voice.

He did, indeed, look somewhat dazed and tired.

“And what about you? Where were you sneaking off to at this hour?”

“I ended up napping too much during the day, so I couldn’t sleep either. The moonlight was so bright I thought I’d take a stroll in the garden.”

At her words, Dante hesitated, then cautiously spoke.

“If it’s alright with you, shall we walk a bit?”

His low voice asked gently.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Letier slowly nodded, as if coming to a decision.

She realized she couldn’t continue being awkward around him forever.

Through this walk, she hoped to sort out her own tangled thoughts and ease the tension between them.

“Alright!”

Soon after, Letier stepped into the quiet garden lit by moonlight.

With only the two of them there, the night garden was deeply silent.

The soft brushing sound of her light shoes against the grass reached her ears clearly.

“Letier.”

Dante called from behind.

She turned her head and looked up at him standing on the steps.

Dante looked quietly down at her before slowly descending the steps and meeting her gaze.

He hesitated briefly, then opened his mouth.

“I suppose I should say goodbye.”

“Goodbye?”

“I don’t think I’ll be around for the next few days.”

“…Where are you going?”

At her question, Dante’s eyes widened slightly, then returned to normal.

“I didn’t think you’d ask about the destination.”

“I’m just curious.”

“It’s as I explained last time. The meetings about the alliance terms are over, and the negotiations with the north have just wrapped up. So now I’ll start looking into the Empress in earnest. Officially…”

He frowned mid-sentence.

It wasn’t something pleasant to tell Letier.

“Officially?”

“…Officially, I’ll be said to be traveling with Rubia.”

Letier quietly turned her head.

For some reason, her chest ached.

It wasn’t unusual for a prince to travel with his fiancée to her homeland.

Even if Princess Rubia had said they were nothing to each other…

She looked down and rubbed her foot against the grass, unsure why she felt so bad.

What do I even want from him…?

“You can do as you wish. Stay in Eustian and continue studying cosmetics ingredients, or if you’d like… I’ll send you back to the Trillante Empire.”

Letier stopped moving.

He would send her… back to the Trillante Empire?

‘What is this…’

The words were so unexpected and absurd.

Her face flushed as she bit her lower lip in a sudden surge of emotion.

Her breathing quickened as she stared at the grass.

She was overwhelmed by a feeling she hadn’t experienced before—something close to anger.

She exhaled quietly to calm herself.

She couldn’t let herself get angry at the prince again.

“…”

But Dante, mistaking her silence for agreement, continued.

“It seems you’ve seen a lot of new ingredients here in Eustian that you hadn’t encountered before. I know you’ve been going to the commercial district with that secretary… and visiting the library often. I really hope your time here has helped your business in many ways.”

At this point, he felt like bringing Letier to Eustian had been purely out of selfishness.

Letier was a scientist who found happiness in studying cosmetic ingredients.

She wasn’t someone who should be kept by his side just to fulfill his own desires.

Dante had sincerely resolved to let her stay or return to Trillante, depending on what she truly wanted.

But Letier, who had been listening silently, finally opened her trembling lips.

“Your Highness…”

“Yes?”

“Are you playing with me right now?”

“…What?”

He wasn’t sure if he’d heard her right.

As if he’d just been struck, Dante stared blankly at Letier, who looked even paler under the moonlight.

Even at a glance, she was clearly angry.

He felt cold sweat trickling down his back at her reaction—something he had never seen before.

Letier, glaring at him, finally spoke.

“So now that you don’t need me anymore, I can either stay in Eustian or go back to Trillante—just do whatever I want, is that it?”

“What…?”

Dante, who had been quietly listening, suddenly scowled.

Letier saw his baffled expression and felt a strong urge to stop, but her mouth wouldn’t obey her.

“How could you say that?”

“You said it yourself. Before we came to Eustian, you said it had to be me—not anyone else, but me—and that’s why you wanted me to come…! You tempted me with those words…!”

“You think I tempted you?”

The more he listened, the more ridiculous it sounded.

Dante closed his eyes tightly and raised a hand to his forehead.