If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight Chapter 151

Regen too had just been wondering about Bellinger’s whereabouts. When the two interested knights eyed him, the mad emperor answered indifferently.

 

“Aah, he became useless, so I discarded him.”

 

“His injuries from Sir Regen during the martial arts tournament must have been quite serious.”

 

“He recovered from those injuries quickly enough. But when I put him through more intense training, he couldn’t hold out. He went mad.”

 

“You mean…”

 

“The dog dared to bite its master.”

 

The one who had submissively obeyed was unable to withstand the brutal training and had suddenly gone mad. The mad emperor considered it an accident caused by a weak mind collapsing, leaving Bellinger unable to recognize his master. But Dominic and Regen thought differently.

 

“…I see. Then it seems I have reclaimed Your Majesty’s undivided favor once more.” Dominic conveyed his gratitude in a flat voice. Yet it was obvious that his mind was occupied with other thoughts. For instance, he was already thinking that he needed to reduce the number of imperial knights so that the mad emperor would not notice that there was a problem with the source of his power.

 

“…” Regen had no need to open his mouth, so he merely lowered his eyes in silence. Despite realizing the enormous revelation hidden behind the words that Bellinger had tried to harm the mad emperor, his outward appearance remained as tranquil as a lake in a windless land. It was an astonishing degree of emotional restraint.

 

The mad emperor casually spoke. “So, I’d like to acquire a new dog.”

 

“…”

 

Regen felt an unpleasant gaze settle upon him. It was because the mad emperor showed interest in him.

 

“I’ve already had a golden dog and a black dog. This time, I think a white dog would be nice.”

 

“…”

 

“There happens to be one right before my eyes. A white dog of a fine breed.”

 

“…”

 

Regen gave the best response he could. He suppressed his emotions to the extreme and bowed his head even deeper, as though overwhelmed by the honor. Perhaps disappointed by the lackluster reaction, the mad emperor’s attitude once again became indifferent.

 

“Leave.”

 

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

 

Regen and Dominic paid their respects and left the audience chamber simultaneously. The enormous arched doors closed behind them. The two men stood in the hallway, feeling as though they had just come face-to-face with something living at the bottom of hell. Neither of them looked particularly pleased. Since both were in poor moods, it would be best not to provoke the other. This was especially true because ever since the night they had stayed at the lord’s castle on the border, a current colder than a bitter north wind had flowed between Regen and Dominic. And yet, rather than going their separate ways, the two stood silently in the quiet corridor. Their gazes briefly met.

 

Dominic was the first to speak. “You noticed?”

 

“Noticed what?”

 

“Don’t play dumb. I’m asking if you noticed.”

 

“…” Thanks to Dominic’s words just now, Regen could be certain. “If you are referring to Sir Bellinger’s domination being released. Yes.”

 

“You’re a sharp b*stard.”

 

Regen did not seem particularly grateful for the compliment and asked, “When did this start?”

 

“Since the competition among the princesses began.”

 

That meant the mad emperor’s control had been weakening for well over half a year. And judging from the mad emperor’s complacent attitude today, it was clear that he was unaware of the serious change that had occurred within himself. It truly could only be the goddess’s blessing.

 

After taking a deep breath, Regen turned his head and looked out the window. The beautiful garden of the imperial palace was dyed in the colors of sunset.

 

“The sun of the empire is falling.”

 

✦

Sasha was truly sick. For nearly a month, she had ridden in a carriage every single day. Perhaps the tension had finally released itself the moment she accomplished her objective, because she began to fall ill during the carriage ride home. In the end, as soon as she lay down on the bed of the Silver Bird room, she came down with a severe fever.

 

“My whole body feels sore.”

 

It was only after three days that she became able to eat outside the bed. She still had not fully recovered, and even sitting up for a short while was exhausting. Wearing only a chemise dress that was little more than sleepwear, with her platinum-blonde hair slightly tousled and loose. Sasha was achingly beautiful even with her sickly pallor. After quietly sighing several times from the pain in her chest, she finally managed to finish her soup.

 

“Sister, you are more frail than I expected.” Nanaen, who had come to visit her, handed her a napkin. Her honey-blonde hair fell thickly around her, while she had gathered small sections of hair at either side of her face and covered them with a hairnet. She displayed a feminine yet lovely charm.

 

Sasha accepted the napkin and wiped her lips. “What a dishonorable misunderstanding. I pride myself on having greater stamina than the average noblewoman.”

 

“Come to think of it, I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen you this sick.”

 

“Perhaps it’s because I took a trip when I normally don’t.”

 

“Come to think of it, you hated going anywhere for fun too. You disliked trips to the villas and events outside the imperial palace.”

 

“Mmm.”

 

“I wonder what you like so much about the imperial palace.”

 

“It’s not that I like the imperial palace.”

 

“Yes, yes. Take your medicine.”

 

Sasha downed the potion contained in a small porcelain bottle in one gulp. When she slightly furrowed her delicate brow at the bitter taste that made her tongue tingle, Nanaen immediately pressed close to her and held out a piece of candy to cleanse the aftertaste. Sasha tried to take it with her hand, but Nanaen deftly pulled it away and held it to her mouth again.

 

“Say ah.”

 

Letting out a small laugh, Sasha accepted it.

 

Nanaen was being unusually attentive and coquettish today. The reason was obvious.

 

“You worked so hard accomplishing a great deed in a distant land. Shall I give you a massage?”

 

“I’ll accept the thought.”

 

It was because Sasha had dealt with Emilio Hwibrik on her behalf.

 

“Kiki doesn’t seem to have nightmares anymore. Maybe because he’s sleeping well, he’s less irritable and speaks much nicer than before.”

 

“That’s good to hear. Get along well with each other.”

 

“We’re getting along well these days. The last time we fought was a month ago.”

 

Sasha slightly raised an eyebrow. They fought, reconciled, and then fought again, yet maintained their closeness. It was strange that such a relationship, almost like that between friends, could exist between a princess and her personal knight.

 

Nanaen suddenly clapped her hands. “Ah, right. Kiki seems very grateful to Sir Regen too.”

 

“To Regen?”

 

“Actually, I thought the two of them had a bad relationship, but I guess that wasn’t the case. Lately, he’s been talking about Sir Regen a lot in front of me. Sometimes he even calls him ‘brother’. It sounded so natural. When on earth did they become so close?”

 

Sasha merely rolled the candy around with her tongue in silence. There was no way she could tell the puzzled Nanaen that they had actually been close all along. Nanaen did not know that Regen and Killian were cousins, nor did she know that Regen was a prince. Sasha had no intention of revealing that fatal secret, either. As a result, Nanaen slightly misunderstood the reason Sasha had personally gone to deal with Emilio.

 

“I didn’t know you would go all the way there just to gain dominion. Did you get as much as you wanted?”

 

“More or less.”

 

“I’m sure your dominion was about the same as mine when we were young. Should I try increasing mine too?”

 

“No. This sort of thing doesn’t suit you.”

 

It was something that required getting blood on one’s hands. Sasha wanted Nanaen to remain as she was.

 

Seemingly deep in thought, Nanaen asked. “Then what can I do?”

 

“…”

 

“I want to do something too.” It was easy to guess she was saying this because she had been deeply upset about what had happened with Shumel.

 

“For now.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Try smiling. Beautifully.”

 

“…” Nanaen blinked, then soon gave a small smile. “Okay. I will.”

 

Sasha was curious about what had happened in the imperial palace during the month she had been away.

 

Nanaen brought over a hairbrush and began brushing Sasha’s platinum-blonde hair. Because her actions were so natural, Sasha could not refuse her as she had the massage and simply listened to the news Nanaen relayed.

 

“Sir Ciel left the imperial palace.”

 

As expected, the greatest subject of interest was the boy who had been Shumel’s personal knight.

 

“He regained consciousness two days after you left for the border.”

 

“Did you do as I asked?”

 

“Ah, about that…”