If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight

Author: alyalia

“Ha…”

Regen felt that his current state was dangerous. His impulses had reached their breaking point. Expecting him to simply continue kissing her while she greedily explored his body was no longer feasible. In the end, Regen couldn’t hold back any longer and removed her hand.

“Ah!” Sasha, opening her eyes, finally realized what she had done, and her face turned bright red. “S-Sorry.”

“…”

Her light sky-blue eyes wavered, as if she herself was shocked by what she’d done.

When Regen stared quietly at her, Sasha tried to pull her hand away, like someone attempting to run away.

“Sasha.”

“…”

Regen clasped her hand tightly with his fingers intertwined. His voice, calling her name and urging her to stay on the bed, was much lower than usual. That heavy tone effectively suppressed her embarrassment and let excitement rise again.

“…”

In the quiet bedroom, their gazes locked deeply. The atmosphere was unbearably tense, teetering on the edge. Just then, a knock interrupted them, and the door creaked open slightly.

“Sir Regen, is Her Highness not awake yet?”

“…!”

At Hamel’s voice, Sasha and Regen jumped apart in surprise.

“I’m up, Hamel.” Sasha cleared her throat. Once she regained her senses, she felt terribly embarrassed at how heated she had gotten first thing in the morning.

Hamel pulled back the curtains, brightening the room, and prepared water for washing up. Regen, who had been standing awkwardly for a while, straightened himself and bowed.

“I’ll take my leave first.”

“Y-Yes,” Sasha replied hesitantly, letting him go.

Regen stepped out of the bedroom and closed the door behind him. Before he could even sigh in relief at his successful escape, Demia spoke to him with innocent curiosity.

“Oh? Sir Regen, your uniform seems a bit wrinkled.”

“…I’ll go change.”

Feeling like he was retreating further and further, he hurried back to his room.

“Huff…” Leaning against the door, the handsome man ran a dry hand over his face. Where the remnants of excitement had been swept away, worry now took its place.

This was the problem with Regen. Unholy desires, inappropriate for a knight, were growing within him.

✦

The Imperial Opera House, located in the main palace, was packed with high-ranking nobles tonight. Amid the audience’s curiosity and anticipation, the stage lights turned on. Standing in the spotlight was a stunningly beautiful woman. Her black hair, as if she had cut a piece of the night itself, was loosely tied back, and she wore a golden dress that elegantly revealed the silhouette of her body, resembling a goddess of the moon. The opera house was filled with gasps of admiration. However, their awe was directed only at the beautiful ornament she appeared to be, completely stripping her of her humanity.

“Thank you for waiting. The final auction item is the right to take Lady Gwendellin Yvonne as your wife.”

The dowry auction began.

“…”

Gwendellin swallowed dryly and looked toward the darkened audience. Countless eyes were fixed on her. It’s okay. I’ll be okay. Even in her nervousness, she tried her best to lift the corners of her lips into a bright smile. Among the audience were young lords who would bid for her. She had to look as beautiful as possible. That was why she had dressed up to her absolute best tonight.

As she forced a smile, she felt a slight surge of confidence. Looking back, she had truly put in a lot of effort. To win the favor of the young lords, she had laughed at all their jokes, always thought from a male-centered perspective, and displayed boundless understanding. In reality, many of the young lords had been favorable toward her. She had been praised for being someone who seemed like she would serve her husband well and be obedient. Surely, everything would turn out fine.

They’ll bid a lot for me. Replacing her anxiety with anticipation, she straightened her shoulders confidently.

The auctioneer looked at her with a mix of pity and admiration before speaking. “Behold this figure, befitting the title of ‘New Moon’ she held as a princess, like a goddess of the moon. The right to take such a noble and elegant woman as your wife! The starting bid is 1 million gold.”

Listening to the flattering words, Gwendellin waited for the bids to come in. However, the silence in the room, as if time had stopped, left her bewildered.

“Is there no bidder? Then we will restart at half the price, 500,000 gold.”

Gwendellin reassured herself, reminding herself that even Sehera, who had been auctioned earlier with her dowry, had experienced a failed bid once. Surely, she, who was more demure and composed than the brash and un-princess-like Sehera, would fare better. At this point, Gwendellin wasn’t too worried.

“If there are no bidders, we will restart at half the price again, 250,000 gold.”

“…!”

Gwendellin’s heart sank. Why…? Why? How could this be? She couldn’t believe that she wasn’t even worth half of Sehera’s price. But it was too soon to be shocked. Still, no bidder stepped forward, and instead, unsettling murmurs began to rise from the audience.

“She used poison, didn’t she? I thought she was gentle…”

“Something about her feels off. What if she kills her husband if things don’t go her way?”

“Even her personal knight refused to acknowledge her as a lady and took his own life, didn’t he?”

“I heard her reputation among the noblewomen isn’t good either.”

As the slander poured in, cracks began to form in Gwendellin’s smile.

“Hoho, it seems there are no bidders. This is quite a predicament. We’ll have to request His Majesty to make a decision, so please be quiet and wait for a moment.”

Unbelievable as it was, this was her reality. Gwendellin’s dazed eyes trembled with shock. “Why…?” As if she’d forgotten she was supposed to stand there prettily like a doll, her face twisted in utter misery. “Why won’t anyone bid on me…?” She looked around the audience, as if genuinely unable to understand.

Gwendellin searched for a man who would bid for her, but there was none. “Bid on me! I said, bid on me!”

“Now, now, Princess—no, Lady Gwendellin! You can’t cause a scene like this!”

“Let go of me! What about all the things you said back then? Now you’re going to pretend you don’t know me? How is that fair! Bid! Bid on me right this… mmph!”

In the end, she was silenced and subdued.

“His Majesty’s decision has just been announced! The auction for Lady Gwendellin Yvonne is hereby canceled!”

Fa-Father…! Gwendellin’s face lit up with hope. But that fleeting hope only served to make the fall into despair even more devastating.

“Instead, we will now proceed with the auction for the exclusive mining rights to the iron mine in the territory of Lohengrin! As a bonus, the winning bidder will also receive the rights to Lady Gwendellin Yvonne!”

“…!”

In other words, she was being thrown in as an extra.

The nobles, who had been indifferent to the auction so far, suddenly changed their attitudes. The exclusive rights to exploit the resources of the territory were too tempting to ignore, and they began raising their paddles in fierce competition.

The lively bidding only served to highlight Gwendellin’s pitiful situation. She cried and struggled, but the muffled sounds escaping her gagged mouth were drowned out by the fervor of the auction. The nobles couldn’t care less about Gwendellin’s misery. The only ones who showed any interest in her were the princesses.

“Gwen…”

“It’s hard to watch…”

Before long, the auction was over. The rights to exploit the resources were won by a certain count’s family, a household infamous for the poor reputation of its men, from the father to the sons.

“Looks like she’ll have to hope her husband drops dead suddenly, like Sehera’s did.”

At Orlette’s words, the other princesses turned to her in shock.

Lilliana spoke up on their behalf. “What do you mean? The viscount was old, but he died already?”