If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight Chapter 106
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I headed toward the main palace. It was the route leading to the mad emperor’s audience chamber, but I had no intention of facing him. When I knocked on the parlor door, the person I wished to meet revealed himself.
“Princess Silver Bird?”
It was the chief chamberlain.
“What brings you here? Forgive my boldness, but I do not think it wise to seek an audience with His Majesty at this time.”
“Chief Chamberlain, I came to see you.”
“In that case.” He ushered me into the reception room and offered me a seat on the couch.
“No need for tea.”
“Understood.”
He must have realized that I wished for a conversation that would leave no trace of my visit.
On the table before the couch stood a vase filled with roses. As he inspected each luxuriantly blooming flower, he said, “I was trimming the damaged petals.”
“Pay it no mind. Continue. I merely came to hear your thoughts.”
“My thoughts, you say…” Murmuring, he lowered his gaze to the vase. “My thoughts carry little weight, but if Your Highness is curious, I can at least serve as a conversational partner. What is it you wish to know?” It was not something a man who had cleverly manipulated the mad emperor’s will to enforce his own intentions should say.
Pretending not to notice the arrogance hidden within excessive humility, I asked meekly, “How do you think His Majesty will punish Sister Vivi?”
“Well…” The chief chamberlain mercilessly plucked away a single withered petal. “Though she may have lost her sanity, she displayed disrespect toward His Majesty. It will not be easy for her to avoid severe punishment.”
“Of course.”
At my immediate nod, he seemed rather taken aback.
“Did you not come to plead on her behalf?”
“I only came because I was curious about your thoughts. I have no particular intention, nor would my intentions matter even if I did.”
“That means…?”
“In this imperial palace, the opinion I value most is yours, Chief Chamberlain.”
“I see.” He replied calmly to the flattery. Yet I saw it. His hand mistakenly tore off a perfectly fine petal. “First, she must be excluded from the succession competition. From the beginning, she lacked the qualities to sit upon the throne.”
“Indeed.”
“Insulting His Majesty is a grave crime. Had she not been his daughter, she might have been handed over at once as material for Marquis Osbond’s artistic projects. Still, as a favored daughter, if she shows repentance, she may purchase a measure of mercy.”
“Sister Vivi will not repent.”
“…You sound certain.”
Behind his monocle, his eye measured my intent. This was the crucial moment. I imitated a treacherous courtier and slandered my own eldest sister.
“What could she know, having grown up sheltered within the imperial palace? She has no idea how miserable one can become after losing His Majesty’s favor. She believes she has been a noble princess since birth, so she doesn’t even possess the concept of ‘misery’.”
“Is that so?”
“Foolish, isn’t it? Surrounded only by beautiful and precious things thanks to His Majesty’s grace, she has lost her sense of reality. It’s not only her problem. Many members of the imperial family are the same.”
“Your Highness speaks as if you aren’t a member of the imperial family…”
“I am different from the others. You recognized that, did you not?” I smiled meaningfully as I uttered such shameless words.
My nonsense words yielded fruit. The chief chamberlain smiled in satisfaction.
“Then what does Princess Silver Bird believe would bring Princess Blue Wave to repentance?” He was asking for my opinion. That was a very good sign.
Feigning nonchalance, I answered, “She must be taught the squalor of reality.”
“And how would you suggest that?”
“There happens to be a place where one spends the day in meager labor and repentance without pleasure, is there not? Send her there.”
“You mean a convent.”
Having voiced the answer I had guided him toward, the chief chamberlain nodded as if in admiration. Of course, that admiration wasn’t directed at me, but at himself for arriving at the correct conclusion. And in his self-satisfaction, he would likely mistake my suggestion for his own profound insight. That misconception worked very much in my favor.
Looking at a perfectly groomed rose, I spoke. “A flower that has bloomed fiercely has only withering left. If one wishes to preserve it a little longer, one must hang it upside down and dry it well.”
“…”
As I concluded with a plausible metaphor, his eye gleamed behind the monocle. He seemed pleased.
“What are your thoughts, Chief Chamberlain?”
“Aah, I…”
For the next ten minutes or so, I listened to his lengthy discourse and offered appropriate reactions.
“Then please take care on your way.”
Declining his escort, I left the parlor. The door closed behind me.
As I let out a long breath, my shoulders sagging, Regen approached.
“Your hand.”
He supported me more firmly than usual. I resisted the weak impulse to lean on him completely.
“I’ve finished what I needed to do. Let’s go back.”
“Did it go as you intended, Sasha?”
“I can only hope.”
I began walking toward my chambers. With both body and mind exhausted, the distance from the main palace to the annex felt unbearably long. Then I encountered someone who made my steps even heavier.
“Princess Rosasia.”
There was only one person who would dare to call me by name while knowing full well I was a princess.
“…Ha.” In a secluded, quiet place, a blond knight suddenly appeared and blocked my path. I was utterly drained, so I did not hesitate to sneer. “You lie in wait like an ambush. I thought you were an assassin, not a knight.”
“There is something I must say.”
“I have nothing to hear.”
“It will only take a moment.”
All I wanted was for Dominic to disappear from my sight immediately. I was already at my limit just restraining myself from hurling vicious insults at the man who had carried out the mad emperor’s filthy command.
“Sasha.” Regen’s low voice calmed my frayed nerves. “It would be best to hear him out.”
“…”
Only then did I realize Dominic’s demeanor was different from usual. His sly attitude was gone. His eyes were sunken.
“Speak.”
When I granted permission, Dominic glared at me as if offended. “I didn’t kill him.”
“…What?”
“You seem to have forgotten that I am a knight. Do you think a knight would kill a child?”
“…”
The words were impossible to believe. My mind went blank. And yet, Dominic did not seem to be lying.
My confusion slipped out as a question. “You are the emperor’s knight.”
“…”
“You’re imprinted.”
“…You don’t need to tell me that. I’m well aware of it myself.”
“And yet you defied his order?”
“…”
Dominic schooled his expression and fell silent, as though answering at all were forbidden.
At that moment, Regen stepped in, almost as if defending him. “The mad emperor said to deal with the baby, not to kill it.”
“Then that blood…?”
“Ask Sir Dominic to remove the glove on his left hand.”
Startled, I looked at Dominic’s left hand. The black leather glove appeared faintly damp.
Dominic hid his left hand behind his back and ran his other hand roughly through his blond hair. His crimson eyes glared at Regen as if he wished to kill him. “You’re annoying. Why don’t you shut up?”
“Close your ears then. I am speaking to Sasha.”
“You’ve been irritating from the start. Who are you to address the princess so familiarly?”
“I’m her personal knight.”
“…”
“…”
The air between them turned sharp. Before it could escalate, I intervened. “Sir Dominic.”
“Yes, Princess Rosasia.”
“Take off your glove.”
“…May I take something else off instead? My jackets, perhaps. That would be more worth seeing.”
“…” Ignoring his nonsense, I waited.
With a resigned sigh, Dominic complied. The blood-soaked glove peeled away with a wet sound. On his palm, I saw a deep cut. The blood on the dagger he had presented to the emperor as proof seemed to have been Dominic’s.
As I stared silently, he clenched his fist to conceal the wound. “What’s so interesting about that?”
“…”
“Anyway, now do you believe—”
“Thank you.”
Dominic’s eyes widened.
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