If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight Chapter 97

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Sione, having completed all the tasks assigned by Princess Silver Bird flawlessly, returned humming a tune as she took out some tea leaves.

 

“You seem to be in a good mood. Did you get your revenge?”

 

“Yeah, I did.”

 

“Lady Hamel mentioned that you made that guy drink something at the end.”

 

“Yeah, I did.”

 

“What was it? Poison?”

 

Sione’s hand came to an abrupt stop. “Oh my, Demia. Poison? How could you say something so scary?”

 

“It wasn’t?”

 

“Of course not. How could I even think of serving tea to Her Highness with hands that have touched something so vile?”

 

“That’s true. Then what was it?”

 

Sione’s lips curled into the same dark smile she had shown Raval that night. “Just water.”

 

“Huh? Then why did he die of dehydration?”

 

“Plain saltwater.”

 

“…Wow.” Demia clapped her hands.

 

Sione recalled Raval, who had reluctantly gulped down the saltwater after much hesitation. Dying of thirst, knowing it would be poison, he still ended up drinking the saltwater. A foolish and miserable end, befitting Raval Gawain.

 

Lowering her green eyes, Sione prayed as if gazing down upon the hell Raval Gawain must have reached by now. “May that water have been as salty as my family’s blood and my tears.”

 

11. Siblings Like No Other in the World

 

“Only two months left until the due date.”

 

“Time really flies, doesn’t it?”

 

“Shushu can’t wait to have a niece or nephew!”

 

At the tail end of summer, when the heat had finally begun to wane, the princesses, including myself, gathered in Sister Vivian’s room.

 

Sister Vivian, dressed in a roomy chemise dress, gently caressed her swollen belly. The sisters marveled at the fact that an 8-month-old life was growing inside her, and a few even asked for her permission to place their hands on her belly. Though the chance to feel a baby move from the outside doesn’t come often, they quickly became awkward and withdrew their hands.

 

“Is there anything you’d like to eat?”

 

“Hmm, not really. I’m fine. Thanks for always being so thoughtful, Sasha. You seem better than him.” Sister Vivian probably meant it as a lighthearted compliment, but at that moment, Nanaen’s expression turned icy cold.

 

“Is Lord Ronde not doing his job properly? Does he want to be ostracized from society?”

 

“Huh? N-No, it’s not like that! Calm down, Nana!”

 

After the commotion settled, Nanaen finally stopped huffing and puffing.

 

Sister Vivian groaned as she adjusted her posture, clutching her waist. It seemed like moving around was quite difficult for her due to her heavy body. “I’m worried since I’ve barely been able to attend social activities these days. Still, I should attend official events, right?”

 

“If it’s nothing important, wouldn’t it be fine to skip them? Father would understand.”

 

“Do you think so, Nana?”

 

“Of course. The nearest imperial event would probably be… um, what was it again?”

 

I chimed in. “The imperial memorial rite.”

 

As the word ‘memorial’ suggests, it was a day to commemorate the dead. On that day, the imperial palace set up a temporary altar displaying portraits of past imperial family members, where flowers were offered in remembrance.

 

“It’s not an event with mandatory attendance, so I don’t think you need to worry.”

 

“That’s true. You can just leave a flower for remembrance individually and be done with it.”

 

For once, Lilliana agreed with me without any snide remarks. We exchanged a brief, silent glance before quietly straightening our gazes.

 

Sister Orlette murmured softly. “It’s been a while since I’ve heard the word ‘memorial’. Until last year, we were holding funerals almost once a month.”

 

“That’s true…”

 

Perhaps our dulled senses were starting to return. We all fell into a solemn silence together.

 

Shumel brightened the mood by showing off her cuteness. “Uuh, Shushu hates the memorial rite because it feels like courage training every time. They hang up a bunch of portraits of dead people in dark hallways and even light incense. It’s so scary, like a ghost might pop out.”

 

“Really? Then, when I see Shushu, I’ll sneak up behind you and go ‘hihihi’ to scare you.”

 

“Eek! What’s wrong with Sister Nana? That mischievous soul doesn’t match that beautiful face at all!”

 

“Oh my, are you finally admitting that I’m a peerless beauty?”

 

“I never said you were a peerless beauty!”

 

As Sister Orlette watched the two bicker noisily with an affectionate look, she suddenly picked a fight with me. “Lilli, Saha, you two should try getting along like that too.”

 

“Are you our mother or something? Stoop nagging.”

 

For once, I found myself agreeing with Lilliana.

 

After chatting cheerfully for about half an hour, we decided to wrap things up when Sister Vivian began to show signs of fatigue. It was time to head back to our respective chambers, accompanied by our personal knights who were likely waiting in the parlor.

 

When I opened the door to the parlor, I saw six personal knights. But the atmosphere was strange. Bellinger, leaning against the window with his arms crossed, and Kilieon, sitting on the sofa, were glaring at each other fiercely. Anyone could tell they were trying to intimidate each other with their stares.

 

“Kilieon?” It was only when Nanaen’s voice called out that Kilieon relaxed his gaze and stood up.

 

The personal knights returned to the sides of the princesses they served.

 

I lightly placed my hand on Regen’s arm and was about to leave the Blue Wave room. But then, I felt a sharp gaze prickling at my cheek.

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

Bellinger, still in the same position he’d been in while glaring at Kilieon earlier, was now staring intently at me. There was no hostility or threat in his gaze, but it wasn’t exactly a pleasant look either. Just as I was about to ask if he had something to say, Bellinger lowered his eyes first.

 

Regen, noticing my discomfort, seemed to block Bellinger’s gaze with his back. “I’ll escort you to your chamber.”

 

I exchanged farewells with the sisters, agreeing to meet again during the memorial rite, and we each headed to our respective chambers.

 

As soon as I returned to the Silver Bird room, I sat down at the table and gestured for Regen to take the seat across from me. Demia brought in tea filled with a floral fragrance and glossy, sugar-coated madeleines before leaving us alone.

 

“Regen, what happened earlier at the Blue Wave room?”

 

“It was nothing serious.”

 

“It definitely looked like something serious. And judging by your reaction, it’s probably not something pleasant for me to hear. Was it related to one of the princesses?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“It’s okay. Tell me what happened.” Anything that could affect the relationships between the sisters was something I needed to know.

 

With a sigh, Regen confessed the truth. “Sir Bellinger is dissatisfied with his current position. He made a careless remark comparing the princess, and Kiki, being hot-tempered, was the first to snap.”

 

I flinched. “Kiki?”

 

“…”

 

“So you call him Kiki.”

 

“…”

 

Isn’t Kilieon’s nickname just too adorable?

 

Realizing he had revealed their closeness without meaning to, Regen panicked. “Ah, that’s—”

 

“How cute. I wonder if Nana knows about this. I’ll have to tell her the next time we meet.” I quickly changed the subject so that Regen wouldn’t feel the need to come up with an excuse.

 

Regen, who had been wearing a relieved expression, soon looked at me with a peculiar gaze. It wouldn’t do to give him time to gauge how much I knew about him.

 

I hurriedly steered the conversation back to the original, more detached topic. “Sir Bellinger is the type with a strong sense of competitiveness and ambition. But Sister Vivi openly stated that she wanted to withdraw from the competition and leave the imperial palace. Even though personal knights have no choice but to participate in the competition, from Sir Bellinger’s perspective, it probably feels like betrayal. Sister Vivi was trying to escape alone without leaving him a way out.”

 

I liked Sister Vivian, but at this moment, I couldn’t ignore her thoughtlessness. If I just let it slide, I wouldn’t be able to earn the trust of my personal knight as a liege.

 

At that moment, Regen hesitated for a bit before finally speaking. “It also seemed Sir Bellinger intended to betray Princess Blue Wave.”

 

“Betray?”