If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight Chapter 85

“Re-Regen?”

 

“Yes, Sasha.”

 

As he answered, a vibration traveled from the back of my neck. That confirmed it. His lips had touched me. It was just a light brush, nothing more, yet my heart trembled despite all the far more intimate things we had done before. A part of me wished his lips would move lower.

 

“Sasha.”

 

“…”

 

I couldn’t even muster a small response. If I opened my mouth, I felt like my heart would leap out instead of words.

 

“Have you ever thought about wanting to keep something all to yourself? What people call possessiveness.”

 

There was probably no one who understood that better than I did. After all, even though I already had Regenhart Lohengrin to myself, I still wanted to possess him even more.

 

“That feeling is probably the farthest thing from loyalty or reverence.”

 

He was absolutely right. Such noble virtues of a knight were not something the daughter of a tyrant like me should dare to covet.

I decided to take the risk of spilling my heart because I needed to defend myself. “Is that really such a bad thing?”

 

“…”

 

“If you let the other person possess you just as much, wouldn’t that make it fair?”

 

The moment I finished speaking, I almost let out a moan. It was because of the sensation of his lightly sucking at the skin of my neck.

 

“Sasha is right.”

 

“…”

 

“I was worrying over nothing.” Regen’s hand brushed against my hair ornament. The hair I had gathered over one shoulder spilled down my back, spreading out widely.

 

I turned around and looked up at him. With my gaze, I silently asked why he did that. After a brief hesitation, Regen confessed his guilt with an apologetic expression.

 

“I left a mark.”

 

“…Ah.” Instinctively, my hand went to the back of my neck. There was no way I could feel anything, but I was so flustered that I did it anyway.

 

“If you wish to punish me, I will accept it willingly.”

 

“…It’s fine. This counts as a kiss too, doesn’t it?” I pretended to forgive him, as if I were being lenient. No, I even slightly encouraged it, hoping he would catch on to my intentions.

 

“Let’s return to the chambers.”

 

The early summer breeze did little to cool the heat on my face. I quickened my pace, walking slightly ahead, hoping Regen wouldn’t notice my flushed expression.

 

✦

That day, everything was as usual. I attended the lessons required of me as a princess and received reports from Hamel about the happenings inside and outside the imperial palace.

 

“The public sentiment in the capital is deteriorating. Under the pretext of maintaining order, citizens are being indiscriminately arrested.”

 

“The captain of the guard is Raval Gawain, right? It seems he’s trying to curry favor with His Majesty ahead of the Founding Festival.”

 

“The Gawain family has always thrived by offering up the innocent as sacrifices for their own gain, so it’s no surprise.”

 

I agreed. After all, he was someone who had risen to his current position by branding even his relatives and close family as traitors and selling them out. One of the victims was Sione’s family.

 

“When one isolates oneself, it only becomes easier to deal with. Let’s wait and see. The day he shoots himself in the foot will come soon enough.”

 

“I’ll keep an eye on it.”

 

“What about the person who supplied the poison to Gwendellin?”

 

“We’re tracking it. I’ll report as soon as we find any leads.”

 

“Keep up the good work.”

 

Just as the report concluded, Sione entered the office, holding a pink letter in her hand.

 

“What’s that, Sione?”

 

“It’s an invitation to a tea party from Princess Amber.”

 

“Shumel?”

 

The relationship between the sisters isn’t particularly close. The only ones I had a quiet tea time with were Sister Orlette and Nanaen. Sister Orlette even went so far as to host princess tea times to try to improve the bond between the sisters.

 

Shumel isn’t exactly the type to be active in social gatherings. I’ve never heard of her taking the lead in organizing something like a tea party. Thinking how unusual this was, I took the invitation.

 

“So, when is it scheduled?”

 

“Well, about that…”

 

While Sione hesitated, I opened the invitation and froze.

 

“I guess I’ll have to teach her how to write an invitation properly.” With a sigh, I stood up.

 

The time written on the invitation was ‘right now’.

 

“Is Your Highness going to go?”

 

“I don’t have any plans for the afternoon anyway.”

 

To show some courtesy as a guest, I changed into a dress. I chose a lavender dress with a side slit and paired it with a pure white lace bolero. As I stepped out of the dressing room, Regen, who seemed to have already heard the news, extended his hand toward me.

 

“I’ll escort you to the Amber Room.”

 

Since it was located in the same annex, we arrived quickly. Guided by Shumel’s maids, I moved to the parlor.

 

Shumel, who had been inspecting the centerpiece on the table, jumped up and greeted me warmly. “Welcome, Sister Sasha.”

 

“Yes.”

 

As always, Shumel looked absolutely adorable. The orange dress with its voluminous puffed sleeves and a large ribbon as an accent suited her perfectly, and her twin tails, styled with waves and tied low, were utterly charming.

 

If I had hair like that, could I pull off twin tails too? With such trivial thoughts in mind, I took a seat across from Shumel. The table, laden with an assortment of refreshments, still had two empty chairs even after Shumel and I sat down. However, there was no need to wait for any other guests.

 

“Sir Regen, please have a seat. Ciel too!”

 

“Am I the only guest?”

 

“Yes!”

 

I must reiterate that Shumel and I don’t have a personal relationship where we casually visit each other. There had to be a reason why I was specifically called here.

 

Two princesses and their direct knights. Four teacups in total were filled with tea. I took a slow sip. The black tea, likely blended to Shumel’s taste, had a sweet and creamy aroma, almost like milk tea. Once I felt the minimum formalities were out of the way, I got straight to the point.

 

“What do you want?”

 

“Huh? What do you mean?”

 

“I doubt you’d ask to see me without a reason.”

 

Shumel blinked her green eyes adorably, as if to ask what I was talking about. It seemed my reasonable guess was wrong, and I felt a bit flustered too.

 

At that moment, Shumel’s personal knight, Ciel, who was sitting to my left, stepped in. “Forgive me for interrupting, Princess Silver Bird. Princess Amber simply wanted to express her gratitude and arranged this meeting for that purpose.”

 

“Gratitude?”

 

Shumel, with a slightly flushed face, reminded me of something I had completely forgotten. “Sister transferred the right of immunity, remember?”

 

“Ah.”

 

“I really wanted to thank you, but I never got the chance… But then I heard it was your birthday recently, and I thought I shouldn’t delay it any longer.” Shumel handed me a luxurious velvet box, saying it was a birthday gift she had prepared for me. “I picked it because I thought it would suit you. Please show me when Sister wears it later.”

 

“Thank you.” Judging by the box, it seemed to be some kind of accessory. I tried to make sure my voice carried genuine gratitude as I responded.

 

As I took another sip of tea and thought about it, I realized I shouldn’t be the one receiving Shumel’s thanks.

 

“You should thank Sir Regen for the right of immunity instead of me. Strictly speaking, the one who owned it and transferred it to Sir Ciel was Sir Regen.”

 

“Yes! I’ll do that!” As if she’d been waiting for those words, Shumel scooted her chair closer to Regen and leaned forward dramatically. “Sir Regen! Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you so much!”

 

Isn’t that distance a bit too close for comfort? Maybe it’s just me who finds it awkward.

 

Regen, unfazed, responded with a relaxed smile. “Your Highness is too kind. Just conveying your gratitude to Princess Silver Bird is more than enough.”

 

“It’s not just about handing over the right of immunity. I heard that during the competition, Sir Regen even used a potion on Ciel. Back then, Ciel had a serious head injury, and it could’ve been disastrous. Thanks to Sir Regen, he survived. I’m really grateful.”

 

This was news to me.