If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight Chapter 132

“Afraid?”

 

“Yes.”

 

I was a little surprised. Never did I expect the hero of Lohengrin to utter the word afraid. For the moment, I hid my agitation and replied cautiously. “Hmm, I think I need a little more explanation…”

 

As if the shawl alone wasn’t enough, Regen even tidied my platinum-blonde hair. The sensation of my hair slowly slipping through his fingers felt strangely intimate.

 

“I mean exactly what I said. It feels as though it’s within reach, as though I could grasp it if I tried. But I don’t know whether taking one more step will lead me onto a staircase or over a cliff. Not until I take that step. So I remain where I am, with what I desire right before my eyes. What should I do?”

 

“Aah.”

 

Uncertainty was something everyone feared. It was an extremely common and human concern. The simplicity of the question felt very much like him. Wasn’t it the sort of question a seeker would ask, someone contemplating what attitude to take toward life?

 

“Will you give me an answer, Sasha?”

 

The low resonance of his voice was far too sensual for a seeker, and I nearly flinched for a moment. Still, I answered sincerely.

 

“I make it a principle not to become desperate, but there’s one thing I know.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Only when you’re prepared to lose everything can you finally gain everything.”

 

“…”

 

A different light flickered across his golden eyes. His slightly widened eyes curved into a calm smile as soon as he absorbed the realization.

 

“A wise answer.”

 

“Did it help?”

 

“Yes. Very much.”

 

Regen looked deeply satisfied, to the point that I felt oddly fulfilled myself. His mood lifted mine as well, so I smiled back at him. It felt as if the two of us were sharing a moment of intimacy through our gazes. Apparently, I was the only one who thought so.

 

“Sasha.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“It’s late.”

 

“…Ah.”

 

A roundabout dismissal was issued. It was time for me to return to my room. Wasn’t it a bit unfair to say that while we were smiling at each other? It felt like an ambush. I wanted to stay a little longer with him.

 

“Yes… It really has gotten late…”

 

“Yes. It’s time to sleep.”

 

“Right…”

 

Even to my own ears, regret dripped from my voice. Still, I tried to pull myself together. Stop this. Maintain your dignity and composure. You’re a princess. Don’t bother him when he’s tired. Return to your room gracefully.

 

“Good night, Regen.” After hesitating for quite some time, I finally resolved to rise from my chair. Just as I gripped both armrests—

 

“Sasha,” Regen called my name. Then he said, “Stay the night.”

 

“…”

 

Startled, I turned toward him. There was the face of a dignified and handsome man. My heart pounded. Through ears that had gone strangely numb, a voice pierced through, proving that I had not imagined it.

 

“Stay the night. Here.”

 

My mind became a mess.

 

✦

From the moment she entered his space, the princess had been tempting him every passing second. Her hair, loosely tied into twin tails, revealed a different sort of charm. Part of him wanted to keep looking at it forever. Another part wanted to untie the ribbons himself and watch her platinum hair spill down.

 

The thin shawl kept slipping from her shoulders. Every small movement, like turning her head toward him, slightly twisting her waist, and leaning forward, made it refuse to stay in place. At this point, Regen was beginning to doubt the shawl’s actual purpose. It certainly didn’t seem intended to keep her warm. Its purpose appeared to be either displaying that tantalizing sight as it slipped down or making him aware that even her shoulders were adorned with ribbons that could be untied. One of the two was certain.

 

Suppressing a sigh, Regen pulled her shawl back into place. He tried to direct his gaze elsewhere, but she continued to enchant him with every gesture. The graceful line of her neck as she turned to look at him. The gentle movement of her wrists, like a butterfly fluttering its wings. Even the subtle glimpse of her ankle bone as her leather slippers slipped off. To him, everything was a temptation.

 

“What about you, Regen? Don’t you have any worries or concerns?”

 

I do. Right in front of me.

 

A woman who entered a man’s bedroom late at night without the slightest sense of caution. A woman who allowed him to touch her skin under the pretext of adjusting her shawl without so much as a tremble.

 

Regen wanted her. He wanted to hold her. But he had asked once before and been rejected. He had even been warned never to bring it up again.

 

The relationship between him and the princess was delicate. Even after their game of pretending to be siblings ended, she still allowed various intimate things under the excuse of treating his mana core. If they tried to clearly define their relationship, there would be many contradictions that would have to be swept under the rug. That’s why if he grew greedier here, he might lose even the things that were currently being tolerated.

 

Fear became hesitation, keeping Regen firmly in place. Unable to determine whether the road before him led to a dangerous cliff or a staircase upward, it urged him to remain satisfied with the present. But desire could not be restrained so easily. His longing for her only grew with each passing day.

 

Since he couldn’t find the answer himself, Regen decided to leave the decision to the princess.

 

“Only when you’re prepared to lose everything can you finally gain everything.”

 

“A wise answer.”

 

A deep smile spread across his face.

 

Sasha had no idea how much courage she had just given him. Nor what he intended to do with that courage.

 

At that moment, the shawl slipped from her shoulder again, provoking him.

 

“Sasha.” And so he said it. “Stay the night.”

 

“…”

 

“Stay the night. Here.”

 

Regen watched her reaction. Sasha had gone completely still, like a statue. At first glance, she seemed calm, but her eyes trembled ever so slightly. Watching the ripples stirring in those blue eyes, Regen waited. He gave her enough time to process the meaning and intent behind his words. It was an intensely nerve-racking moment for Regen as well. It felt a little different from awaiting judgment and sentencing from the most noble and sacred being in the world.

 

At last, Sasha spoke. “Could it be…”

 

“…”

 

“Do you mean attending to…?”

 

“No.” He denied it immediately.

 

The suspicion and disbelief vanished from her eyes, replaced by surprise. “If not…?”

 

“…”

 

“If not, then…?”

 

“…”

 

Expectation, excitement, and the fear of disappointment drifted through the air. Regen could not tell whether those emotions belonged to him or to the princess.

 

Swallowing dryly, he reached out toward her. The place his fingertips deliberately moved toward was the ribbon tying her hair. When he tugged on the provocative wine-colored ribbon, her platinum hair cascaded down. Even as he untied both sides, there was no trace of rejection in her light sky-blue eyes.

 

Encouraged by that alone, Regen brought up once more the proposal she had rejected before, this time in a different way. “I will give myself to you, so give yourself to me.”

 

“…”

 

“I want to hold you.”

 

“…”

 

The flames in the fireplace surged. A long time passed as they gazed at each other, their faces flickering in the firelight. Regen’s composure rapidly dried away within the silence.

 

After a long wait, Sasha finally reached out to him. The place she touched was only his forearm. Through the single layer of his shirt, he could feel her warmth and trembling. Bound by that pitifully weak grip, Regen drew in a deep breath.

 

At that moment, her lips parted. “Hold me.”

 

Thud. The chair Regen had been sitting in toppled backward. The next instant, he was claiming her lips from the front. Bracing both hands tightly on the armrests as if imprisoning her in the chair, pressing her back against the backrest so she had nowhere left to retreat, he crushed his lips against hers.

 

Having finally obtained the consent he had long desired, Regen no longer held back. The breath he had taken earlier became his last hesitation. Every trace of doubt died completely within him.

 

The long night began.