Since my plans had already gone awry, the princess might as well be punished by someone else’s hand.
At least I can see how the balance of power between the princess and the Crown Prince stands.
From the looks of it, the Crown Prince was overwhelmingly superior to the point of being almost laughable.
“Bellonia.”
The Crown Prince’s low, chilly voice carried a warning all on its own.
“Go back.”
“Brother, I—”
“You are not to take a single step outside your bedroom until I return.”
It was then.
Huh…?
I felt mana quivering faintly between the two of them.
It lasted no more than an instant, but there was no way I could have missed it.
There’s a contract between the princess and the Crown Prince too?
Even if the balance of power had shifted so heavily in the Crown Prince’s favor, it was strange that the Emperor would allow such a thing.
Then…
I stared intently at the Crown Prince’s profile.
His handsome face, delicately sculpted with smooth, elegant lines, was incredibly familiar to me.
But that was separate from the matter at hand.
The angle of his brows and the subtle movements of his tightly pressed lips, much like his mana scent, could conceal secrets even he himself was unaware of.
The clues I had found in him on the night of the banquet were gradually taking on a more concrete shape.
“Just listen to me this once. You’re being deceived, Brother. Surely…!”
“I said go back.”
With tears welling in her eyes, the princess glared at the Crown Prince before abruptly turning around.
Then, after shooting me one last fierce glare, she walked away without another word.
She doesn’t realize how lucky she is.
She was foolish enough that she probably couldn’t even imagine what would have happened to her if the Crown Prince hadn’t arrived.
I clicked my tongue inwardly as I watched the princess’s retreating back.
Just you wait.
The Crown Prince would punish the princess in one way or another.
If I was lucky, I might be able to catch a glimpse of the truth behind the contract between the Emperor, the princess, and the Crown Prince in the process.
The brown-haired slave followed the princess, leaving only the Crown Prince and me behind.
“Ser.”
The Crown Prince let out a long breath as though calming his emotions before turning toward me.
“I will deal with the princess myself.”
“You seem to know what she was trying to do to me…?”
I glanced toward the Imperial garden behind the Crown Prince.
“That garden isn’t used for anything good. The foul sins of the imperial family have piled up there.”
“Is it really all right to reveal such a secret to an outsider?”
“An outsider…”
He took one step toward me.
“I told you this because I want to stop you from going inside.”
And then another step.
“Don’t obey just anyone’s orders so easily.”
The distance between us closed in an instant.
“How could I possibly refuse an imperial command?”
“If that’s the problem, you can just take my hand.”
The Crown Prince’s hand touched my cheek.
As though continuing the moment he had frozen in the lounge on the night of the banquet.
“Don’t you realize that I’m here for you?”
His hand caressing my face slowly moved behind my ear.
Rustle.
The sound of his fingers brushing against my hair echoed through the suffocating silence.
“I tried not to rush you, but it’s not easy.”
His thumb lightly brushed over the faint trace Elhardt had left last night before moving away.
“Do you like the hostage prince?”
I had been concentrating all my attention on figuring out the Crown Prince’s true identity, but that one question struck a nerve.
“…Why are you asking that?”
The prickly quills that rose like those of a hedgehog would only reveal the weakness hidden beneath them, so I had to force myself to suppress them.
“Do you really like me?”
The Crown Prince smiled at my sharp retort.
“You’re asking because you really don’t know?”
“……”
As he studied my sullen expression, the smile slowly disappeared from his lips.
“So it really is true. What on earth did you think of me?”
“Excuse me, but… a womanizer?”
The Crown Prince’s eyes shook violently.
“I hit the nail on the head, didn’t I?”
“My goodness, Ser…”
He looked genuinely taken aback.
“Did I really seem that way?”
“Yes.”
“Even though all my kindness was meant only for you?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never seen how you behave around other women.”
“Ah… so that’s how you’re going to play it?”
The Crown Prince withdrew his hand and stared down at me.
“At least I succeeded in changing the subject, Ser. I won’t ask you a question like that again.”
So he noticed after all.
I lowered my head and clicked my tongue softly.
“Actually, I don’t care who you like. There’s something more important than that.”
Wondering what he was hesitating to tell me this time, I glanced up at him.
He bent down and whispered into my ear.
“The fact that I like you. And that eventually, you will accept my feelings.”
Is he insane?
Is this how he confesses his feelings?
I stared at him with my mouth slightly open in disbelief, and the Crown Prince met my eyes from such a close distance.
“I like you, Ser. I mean it.”
…I could tell by looking into his eyes.
The emotions boiling at a feverish intensity, the deep and intense affection within them.
As much as I didn’t want to believe it, his words were genuine.
“I can do anything for you. If you want, I’ll place the whole world in your hands. So choose me.”
As I stared at that shameless face with my brows furrowed, his fingertips brushed against my hand.
They slipped smoothly between my fingers and entwined them tightly, leaving no space between us.
“Hmm? Ser…”
With a face resembling Mikhail’s, he narrowed his eyes into a smile, just as Mikhail had once done.
Then he tilted his head very slowly.
The tips of our noses brushed against each other.
We were close enough to hear each other’s breathing.
His gaze lowered as though he were about to kiss me at any moment.
He did not hurry, as if certain that I would neither move away nor be able to.
But at that very moment—
The air trembled ever so slightly.
It was almost as though I could hear the sound of something cracking.
A fissure appeared in the heavy, stagnant flow of time, and then it shattered completely.
“……!”
A wave of power surged in, forcefully sweeping away the mana that had been holding me completely still, allowing me to breathe again.
It awakened every single cell in my body and resonated with my very source.
The power the Goddess had bestowed upon me as a gift when I had wandered the world alone and lonely as an orphan.
Divine power.
Tap.
At the belated sound of approaching footsteps, the Crown Prince stopped moving and turned his head.
“Oops. It seems an old man has arrived at an inconvenient time.”
An elderly man with graying hair was walking toward us.
Far behind him, I could see someone running toward us, drenched in sweat. Judging by his attire, he appeared to be a cardinal.
Count Bellow, the head of the Foreign Affairs Department, was with him as well.
“……”
Just as the Crown Prince was about to tighten his grip on our intertwined hands, I slipped my hand free and took a step back.
You’re late, Carthaeus.
I could feel my expression turn strange, caught somewhere between wanting to complain and being relieved to see him.
But it probably didn’t matter.
“You must be the Crown Prince.”
The old man who had stretched his lips into a crooked smile didn’t seem like someone who would concern himself with such trivialities.
There shouldn’t be anyone on the Imperial side who would recognize Carthaeus as the first Pope. He said the Church had placed him under their highest level of secrecy, so there’s no way the information could have leaked.
If there was a possibility…
There might be only one person.
I stole a glance at the Crown Prince’s expression.
Once again interrupted at precisely the right moment, the Crown Prince couldn’t quite hide his irritation even with the new Pope standing before him.
Still wearing a frown, he greeted him.
“I’m afraid Your Holiness had to witness an embarrassing scene.”
“You’re young. Things like that happen. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
The Pope strode over and gave the Crown Prince several hearty thumps on the back.
I could practically feel how displeased he was.
He must have realized that the Crown Prince had seized control of the mana and restrained me so completely that I couldn’t move.
Even so…
…Is he really allowed to do that?
He was practically beating him up.
I had no idea what the relationship between the Empire and the Church was like in this era, so I couldn’t quite make sense of it.
Comments (0)