If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight Chapter 94

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I’m doomed! Raval realized he had made a huge blunder. In a moment of irritation, he acted arrogantly as he usually did when dealing with people around him. At this rate, he wouldn’t only lose a great deal of favor with Princess Silver Bird but might even earn her grudge.

 

No matter how hard he tried to think, he couldn’t come up with a way to recover from his rudeness. But this is because the princess keeps acting so high and mighty! Even when his own arrogant nature had been laid bare, he blamed someone else and felt wronged.

 

“Count.”

 

At that moment, the princess suddenly smiled radiantly, like a blooming flower. Raval, captivated by a charming smile he had never seen before, forgot the situation for a moment and felt his heart race. He even had a foolish thought. I-Is she seducing me right now? Did my advice get through to her?

 

The princess took a step closer. The shortened distance fueled Raval’s misunderstanding. At a distance so close he could almost smell her fragrance when he breathed in, the princess spoke provocatively.

 

“Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“You’re going to bid, aren’t you? You want to have me.”

 

“…!”

 

Raval was convinced. This had to be a sign of seduction. Pleased with himself for having delivered such a sharp piece of advice, he nodded vigorously while looking at Sasha.

 

“T-That’s right. As expected, I knew Your Highness would recognize my sincerity!”

 

“Of course I do. You even tried to poison Sir Regen just to bid for me, didn’t you?”

 

“…Pardon?”

 

The smile vanished from Raval’s face, which stiffened like stone. His eyes shook in confusion.

 

Watching his absurdly honest reaction, the princess grabbed him by the cravat as if seizing him by the collar. She pulled him close, looked straight at him, and whispered, “You’re trying to make me a trophy because of your inferiority toward Dominic, but you’re mistaken.”

 

“W-What is Your Highness talking about…”

 

She didn’t allow any flimsy excuses. “Shut up and listen carefully.”

 

“…”

 

“I swear on the name of Rosasia Trinite Magnarod. Raval Gawain, you will be my trophy.”

 

“…!”

 

As she finished speaking, a sigil of light appeared in the princess’s eyes. It was an oath of power. Having established the one to be sacrificed as a witness, the princess released her grip on his cravat without hesitation.

 

“W-Wait, Your Highness! Please listen to—”

 

Just as Raval desperately tried to grab Sasha’s shoulder, a tall figure intervened, seizing his presumptuous hand.

 

“Ack! You, wha—! Gasp, Sir Regen.”

 

“Her Highness is not someone a person like you can lay hands on so carelessly.”

 

The presence of the princess’s personal knight, who had appeared without a sound, was like that of a reaper. His flat, emotionless voice felt as though it were constricting Raval’s throat, making him hiccup and retreat.

 

In an equally cold voice, Sasha settled the situation. “Sir Regen will accompany me, so there’s no need for Count Gawain to escort me.”

 

The sight of the elegant princess and her knight walking away looked like a painting fading away.

 

Raval stood there in a daze for a long time before finally coming to his senses. The princess’s chilling threat echoed in his mind. Earlier, his heart had fluttered with excitement, mistaking her words for seduction. Now, it pounded with an inexplicable fear. To ease that fear, he chose self-justification.

 

What‘s the problem with me bidding for her? And what could a powerless princess even do to me anyway?

 

But death was approaching the one who brushed aside the problem so carelessly.

 

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I couldn’t help but glance at Regen, who was walking beside me. His uniform, usually neat and crisp, was slightly disheveled, and the ends of his silver-gray hair were damp. I recalled that his previous engagement had been training at the training grounds.

 

“Your hair is wet. Is it sweet?”

 

“I washed. I couldn’t possibly attend Your Highness in an unclean state.”

 

I had been bringing my hand, holding a handkerchief, toward his forehead to wipe it for him, but that answer made things awkward. I worried he might have seen through my ulterior motive of using it as an excuse to touch him.

 

When I hesitated, Regen gently wrapped his hand around mine and lowered it. It amazed me that even a refusal, telling me it was unnecessary, could be done in such a heart-fluttering way.

 

“You should have dried it properly before coming,” I commented, thinking this wet, handsome man was a bit too indecent.

 

Hamel, following behind, spoke up defending him. “It seems he was watching from Your Highness’s chamber and came out in a hurry.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

Regen nodded. “Yes. I saw Count Gawain getting too close to Your Highness.”

 

“I see.”

 

So that was why Regen’s uniform was less tidy than usual. I was grateful he had rushed to my aid to fend off someone being rude to me. However, as a princess who valued facts, I decided to clarify one thing.

 

“Count Gawain didn’t approach me first. I grabbed him by the collar.”

 

“Your Highness did?”

 

Regen seemed surprised by how forceful my actions had been, so I hurriedly added an explanation. “He was rude to me first. I think a little threatening is acceptable in that case.”

 

“To reward someone who deserves punishment.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“It’s nothing. What exactly did he do?”

 

The dowry auction was a sore spot for me. I hesitated to mention it myself, but Hamel interjected.

 

“If you keep this up, I won’t bid for you at the auction.”

 

“…”

 

“That’s what he said.”

 

I never knew Hamel could imitate someone else’s manner of speech so well. Since she always spoke with the calm, intellectual tone of a model assistant, it came as a shock.

 

“To think you’d use such a lovely voice to imitate garbage.”

 

“My apologies, Your Highness.”

 

Meanwhile, Regen looked extremely displeased. “I hope Raval Gawain’s end isn’t a peaceful one.”

 

That made me happy. I was glad I could give him a positive answer right away. “It won’t be. Sione will carry out my orders soon.”

 

“Your Highness is sending Miss Sione?”

 

“Taking revenge for her family is her right.”

 

“Then I’ll have to ask Your Highness to take care of my share as well.”

 

With smiles on our faces, we discussed plans to eliminate the enemies. It was a peaceful afternoon in the imperial palace.

 

✦

The day of the Founding Festival arrived. Starting with the splendid fireworks that painted the night sky last evening, the capital had been burning with festive fervor.

 

Today, the mad emperor paraded down the central avenue by carriage. The citizens gathered in droves to see the mad emperor’s outward splendor and the procession of more than a hundred imperial guards. Swept up in the festival atmosphere, the cheers of the people shook the avenue.

 

“Endless glory to the Great Emperor!”

 

“Long live to His Majesty!”

 

“May the Magnarod Empire last forever!”

 

Though rotten and festering from the core, the empire still appeared to be in its golden age. Some citizens even supported the mad emperor. Their fervent voices dominated the capital.

 

After the parade, a special event was prepared at the northern plaza closest to the imperial palace. The organizer, of course, was Marquis Zaken Osbond.

 

Two platforms had been set up in the plaza, which was packed with spectators. One was splendid, the other plain, a stark contrast. The former was a viewing stand prepared for the imperial family and nobility, while the latter was an execution platform meant to display the vivid deaths of the criminals.

 

The mad emperor took the central seat of honor, with the princesses (including me) on the left and the high-ranking nobles on the right. Each princess’s personal knight stood beside their mistress’s chair.

 

While everyone took their places according to their status, a long line of prisoners in handcuffs was led out beneath the execution platform.

 

Standing atop the execution platform as if it were a stage, Marquis Osbond spoke. “Thank you for waiting. Now, we shall begin the sacred ceremony of blessing the empire’s future with the blood of criminals.”