If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight Chapter 162

“Come to think of it, I suppose it might not have been Regen after all. I thought the man who spent the night with me was a prince who knew proper bedroom manners. But judging by how he left at dawn without saying a word, I suppose I must have slept with another man.”

 

“…”

 

It was the first time the princess had ever hurled such cutting words at him. Regen felt lightheaded, yet at the same time, a wave of relief washed over him. After all, this reason paled in comparison to the dread that had made his heart sink just moments ago.

 

Sasha wasn’t pushing him away. She was simply angry. And that anger was a minor thing, easily cleared up with just a few words.

 

“I believe there has been a misunderstanding, Sasha.”

 

“A misunderstanding?”

 

“Don’t you remember? I clearly told you before I left at dawn.”

 

“…”

 

Sasha blinked at Regen with a dazed expression. Seeing a woman who had just uttered such wicked words look so lovely and beautiful made Regen feel a bit absurd at his own reaction.

 

Sasha was confused. She tried to fill the gaps in her memory with logic. “No, wait a moment. Why did you go back to your room, Regen? You’ve never left like that in the middle of the night before. You’ve always held me until morning.” It was an interrogation, implying that his story was suspicious and likely a lie because it deviated from his usual behavior.

 

“Umm…” Regen found it difficult to answer. It wasn’t that he couldn’t come up with an excuse, but rather that he wished to avoid bringing up an embarrassing topic. He recalled the events of last night.

 

Regen had already taken her several times. When Sasha said she was tired and breathed out in short, ragged breaths, he had tried his best to restrain himself. Yet the princess, drunk on her own haze, murmured with her lips that she couldn’t take any more, while her arms and legs wrapped tightly around him in a dizzying embrace.

 

“Wait a moment… Don’t leave… Stay like this…”

 

For a long time, Sasha tormented Regen that way. She had even stroked his back with an affectionate touch without realizing it. For her, it had been the afterglow of intimacy. But for Regen, it had been a tormenting foreplay.

 

Under normal circumstances, Regen would have endured it with his thoroughly disciplined patience. He would have stayed by her side, effortlessly suppressing any desire to recklessly possess her as he pleased. He could have pretended to be a noble lover, or the most well-trained, gentle beast in the world. But last night was different.

 

Regen was anxious, and thus he felt relieved only when she clung to him with both arms. Naturally, his threshold for patience was low. He lacked the confidence to lie quietly while buried deep within her, where he could feel her every heartbeat. Isolating himself from his precious lady was the best course of action.

 

Regen explained the unavoidable circumstances of that moment with well-refined words. “Sasha was exhausted, but I was not tired in the slightest. I feared that if I stayed, I might end up hurting you. So, I withdrew with your permission.”

 

“…Really?”

 

“Yes. I swear it.”

 

Sasha’s cheeks flushed a rosy red. “I-I see. So, you were holding back…” Her eyes, glancing subtly up at Regen, held an equal mix of joy and apology.

 

Regen smiled faintly, giving her a way out without losing face. “It’s understandable that you don’t remember. It was my fault for making you so tired, so I will be more mindful.”

 

It was also true. Last night, Regen had acted a bit out of his mind. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he looked ready to devour the princess whole. Looking at her swollen lips, which bore the clear traces of his actions, it seemed he truly was the one who ought to apologize.

 

Meanwhile, even after Regen had given her absolution, Sasha seemed to still feel guilty. She quietly offered an excuse. “It wasn’t that I stayed in the study just to be spiteful on purpose.”

 

“Yes. You must have had a lot of work piled up.”

 

“I didn’t expect you to wait standing up, either.”

 

“I know you had no intention of punishing me.”

 

“You weren’t angry?”

 

“At Sasha? How could I possibly be angry?”

 

At his claim that he didn’t even know how to be angry with her, Sasha drew in a small breath as though her heart had been stirred. But Regen didn’t stop there and drove the point home.

 

“From now on, I will always remain by your side until morning.”

 

“…”

 

Sasha stared up at Regen. Certain words particularly resonated in her ears. From now on, he said. She was naturally present in the future he envisioned. True to someone who had casually sworn eternity, Sasha felt a slight tightness in her chest. Once again, she realized she couldn’t do without him.

 

In the unstable and frightening imperial palace, Regenhart Lohengrin was one of the very few beings who brought her a sense of security. Now, for Sasha to breathe in this palace, he was an absolute necessity. Dominated or not, she couldn’t let him go.

 

Now that Sasha had realized her own hunger, she had no intention of acting spoiled or complacent any longer.

 

“Sasha?”

 

It seemed she had been staring at him for too long without realizing it.

 

“It’s nothing. Shall we sit down for now? I’ll ask them to prepare some refreshments.”

 

“If it’s alright with you, how about delaying the refreshments for a bit and getting some fresh air?”

 

In response to her consideration for him, who had been standing all this time, came his consideration for her, who had been sitting the entire time.

 

“A walk? I’d like that.” Sasha nodded. There were things she wanted to discuss with him alone while walking through the fall garden.

 

✦

It was the period transitioning into late fall. An extraordinary splendor always comes to an end. Most of the leaves on the garden trees, which had been dyed in burning red and gold, had fallen to the ground. Of course, that did not mean green was entirely absent from the imperial palace.

 

Their footsteps headed toward the area planted with evergreens. Strolling along the path between the camellia trees coming into bloom, the two conversed. As if the precarious and anxious moments on the bed last night were a lie, gentle, everyday words passed between them.

 

“It seems you had a lot of work piled up. Have you finished it well?”

 

“Almost. I think I’ll finish clearing the backlog by tomorrow, but since I have to resume lessons and social activities, I’ll be busy from now on.”

 

“Do not overexert yourself. You must not fall ill.”

 

“I won’t. I’m sick of lying in bed.”

 

“…” Regen found himself gazing quietly at Sasha’s side profile.

 

Sensing his gaze, she added in a whisper, “Ah, I don’t mean lying down with Regen.”

 

“…”

 

“I like that one…”

 

“…”

 

A faint blush rose on Sasha’s cheeks as she stared straight ahead, looking embarrassed.

 

Regen felt his heart thud heavily. Her words, allowing him into her most intimate place, seemed to contain a hint about the future of their relationship.

 

“Sa—”

 

“Wait a moment, Regen.”

 

Just as Regen was about to speak to her, Sasha quickened her pace alone as if she had spotted something. Next to his hand, which couldn’t bring itself to catch her, her platinum-blonde hair brushed past.

 

Watching the princess move away from him, Regen felt a momentary sense of loss. Even over something trivial, the princess could shake him to his core with the smallest gesture. Calming the turbulence in his heart, he slowly approached Sasha. She was looking at a camellia bud whose white petals were subtly showing through.

 

“Look at this, Regen. It’s a white camellia.”

 

“I haven’t seen this here before. It seems to be newly planted.”

 

“Yes. It will be very pretty when it blooms in winter.”

 

“Would you like to come see it together?”

 

“Of course. Ah, I think there’s a yellow camellia over there too.”

 

Hardly a moment after he had approached, Sasha was drawn to another flower and pulled away to a distance once more. As Regen let out a sigh, his eyes caught sight of a hair ornament lying on the ground. It was an exquisitely crafted butterfly-shaped pin. He felt he could understand the anxious heart of the man pursuing the lady who had dropped her glass slipper. Regen carefully picked up the ornament and wiped it clean.

 

“Sasha, you dropped this.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Regen personally pinned the hair ornament back into Sasha’s platinum-blonde hair.

 

“Would you like to walk a bit more?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Finally, they were able to leave the garden of sunbirds lured by the camellias. Now, it would be much easier for him to receive her attention. Walking at a leisurely pace, they shared a couple of everyday topics.

 

In the meantime, the two arrived at a special location. It was a beautiful stone bridge constructed on higher ground than the rest of the area. The Bridge of Oath. It was also a place where members of the imperial family were incapable of telling a lie.