If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight Chapter 102

“Did you receive punishment?”

 

“…”

 

“If you released a prisoner, that would mean you violated military law…”

 

For a long while, Regen simply gazed at me in silence. I felt as though I might swallow dryly, so I lifted the crystal glass to my lips, pretending to take a sip to hide my expression.

 

After no short deliberation, he answered. “I was punished. My brother flogged my back with a whip.”

 

“…”

 

The tips of my fingers trembled around the glass.

 

“Did you get hit a lot?”

 

“It’s alright.”

 

I am not a fool. I know that was not a denial.

 

I felt like covering my face. My eyes burned, and my lips seemed ready to tremble. But there was nowhere to run, so all I managed was to turn my head aside.

 

“It truly is alright.”

 

“…”

 

“Sasha.”

 

“…”

 

“It seems I should not have told you. I have only caused you worry.”

 

The gentleness in his voice only made it harder to bear. Something kept surging up inside me. I had to put in a lot of effort to sound as I usually do. “Did it leave any scars?”

 

“Probably not.”

 

“What do you mean by probably?”

 

“I have not examined my back closely.”

 

“Then.” I rose from the couch. “I’ll look.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

I thought I had to see it. The price Regen paid to save me would become my responsibility and my debt entirely. I shouldn’t avoid its traces, but confirm them and carve them into my memory.

 

Driven by a powerful sense of duty, I moved to sit beside him. When I placed a hand on his shoulder, his eyes widened in clear surprise. “Are you serious?”

 

“Yes. Take it off.”

 

“…”

 

“Shall I take it off for you?”

 

Come to think of it, it seemed like the right thing to do. Since it was about confirming my responsibility, shouldn’t I take care of it with my own hands? Though I had never attended to someone’s clothing before, if it was Regen, it felt as though it might be alright.

 

“…Ha, Sasha.” Regen let out a long sigh. Then he firmly grasped the hand resting on his shoulder and lowered it. “I will show you next time.”

 

“When is the next time?”

 

“When the opportunity arises.”

 

“And when will that be?”

 

“…”

 

He stared at me silently before suddenly lifting my crystal glass from the table and placing his lips against it. His murmured words, tinged with curiosity, echoed in my ears. “It’s definitely non-alcoholic.”

 

“I’m not drunk.”

 

“Then calm yourself.”

 

“…Ah.”

 

Only after hearing that did I coolly realize my state. Because of the guilt that had weighed on me for so long, I must have behaved flusteredly before him. Duty and responsibility, those were entirely my own burdens. How strange I must have seemed to the startled Regen. It was always like this. In front of him, I became a foolish lady without composure.

 

I am Princess Silver Bird. A princess said to be unmatched in coldness and indifference. How in the world did I end up like this?

 

Sitting stiffly in my place, feeling upset, I stared straight ahead. I meant to avoid looking at Regen beside me, yet the orange roses he had brought seemed to stand in for him.

 

“Eat.” Regen held a cashew up to my lips.

 

I stared at it for a long moment before carefully taking it between my lips, making sure not to let my teeth touch his fingers. I ate one, then two, and saw a third already waiting before me. It seemed that tonight, he kept recalling feeding that scruffy little chick.

 

“I’ll only eat this one. Stop giving me more.”

 

“Yes.”

 

I heard him chuckle softly as I accepted a final slice of dried orange with my lips.

 

“Sasha, do you know something?”

 

“…?”

 

“There are no siblings in this world like this.”

 

“…”

 

I froze with the dried fruit between my lips. Turning my head, I saw him watching me with a faint smile.

 

What do you mean? The question would not leave my mouth, and the silence stretched.

 

Lowering his gaze as if to avoid mine, he overlapped his lips with mine to take the other half of the dried fruit. His voice overturned everything I had believed until now.

 

“An ordinary older brother and younger sister shouldn’t be doing things like this.”

 

“…”

 

My heart pounded. I could not tell whether it was from danger or anticipation.

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

“I mean it literally. It seems Sasha does not quite understand.”

 

There were still too many things I did not understand. As I continued to demand an explanation with my eyes, he offered something entirely different.

 

“I have a confession, Sasha.” He uttered the same word as the meaning of the orange roses. Yet what followed was closer to a confession of guilt than a declaration of love. “In truth, aside from the training grounds, I visited another place today.”

 

“Where…?”

 

“The memorial altar of the princesses.”

 

“…”

 

Countless possibilities surged through my mind with anxiety, yet they did not stretch far. As though granting mercy with a single stroke, he dismissed the situation in one sentence.

 

“My chick was not there.”

 

“…”

 

His chick. That was enough for me to understand. Regen had realized it.

 

As though robbed of my voice, I could only stare at Regen. Though I dissected his handsome face with a relentless gaze, strangely, I could not find even the slightest trace of reproach. Rather, he even seemed pleased as he gently adjusted the hair by my temple.

 

Regen spoke. “It seems it is time to properly introduce myself.”

 

“…”

 

“My name is Reinhardt Lohengrin.”

 

“…”

 

The name of a hero, like a forbidden word, rode upon his voice. It struck my heart directly.

 

✦

Her delicate lips opened and closed soundlessly several times. After a long, deep breath, Sasha finally spoke properly. “How much do you know?” Though she seemed to have already stitched up her agitation, her eyes and voice were calm. Yet Regen unsettled her again at once.

 

“Everything.”

 

“…”

 

Her light sky-blue eyes widened.

 

“That you don’t have an affectionate older brother. That you recognized me from the beginning and took me in as your personal knight. That you are the princess from back then… If I know that much, can it not be called everything?”

 

Fortunately, it was not everything. Very fortunately, her unrequited love had not been discovered.

 

Sasha did not commit the foolish act of sighing in relief. Skillfully concealing her feelings, she lowered her gaze. “Yes.”

 

As though satisfied with the answer, the corners of Regen’s lips curved softly upward. His face showed no sign of interrogation, gradually easing Sasha’s wariness. Eventually, he even lowered himself. “First, I must offer an apology.”

 

“An apology?”

 

“For calling you a chick.”

 

“Ah.”

 

Sasha’s composure broke for an entirely different reason. The tips of her ears flushed red. The memory surfaced of her snapping indignantly that no princess could be called scruffy upon hearing that description. The more she had denied any connection, the greater the embarrassment now that it had been uncovered.

 

Sasha then feigned nonchalance. “I don’t mind.”

 

“I did mind. Will you accept my apology?”

 

“I’ve forgotten it all. An apology is unnecessary.” The first statement was a lie, but the latter was sincere. Sasha’s eyes shone seriously. “I should be the one offering thanks for saving my life. Thanks to you, I survived well enough to grow into a princess secretly preparing a coup.”

 

“It is my honor.” Regen’s expression was utterly solemn, as though it were no mere polite reply. “Sasha.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“There is something I am curious about.”

 

Fearing he might ask about her first love, Sasha grew tense. Fortunately, Regen’s question avoided her most vulnerable point.

 

“When you took me in as your knight, why did you say it was because I resembled your older brother?”