I’m Just a Counselor Chapter 60

Kianton’s introduction caused the crown prince, who had been looking out the window, to turn his head.

 

His brilliant red hair was the first thing I saw, followed by a gorgeous face to match.

 

His piercing golden eyes stared back at me. I locked eyes with him for a moment, mesmerized.

 

‘That’s enough to tell you’re the crown prince from 100 meters away, isn’t it?’

 

I thought to myself, in awe, not only of him, but also of the fact that it would be obvious to anyone who saw him.

 

“I’ll have your escort wait here with me.”

 

Kianton said, stopping Shane as he tried to leave with me.

 

Shane, stopped by Kianton, raised his eyebrows in disbelief, but soon shrugged and took my hand.

 

“I can’t. Vanessa, let me borrow your hand for a second.”

 

He traced a circle in my palm. As my eyes followed his lightly moving fingers, I realized he was drawing a magic circle on my palm.

 

Then he laid his hand over mine, pressed it firmly, and winked at me.

 

I gave a small laugh and asked, keeping my voice low so Kianton wouldn’t hear.

 

“What did you do?”

 

“Um, just as a precaution, I’m out here as Vanessa’s escort, so I’m definitely responsible. You can do whatever you want with this.”

 

Shane said confidently. There was no way he was going to do anything bad for me anyway, so I nodded and walked toward the crown prince.

 

He had seen me coming and was still sitting with his arms folded. I stopped, puzzled for a moment.

 

‘Should I greet him first? …I mean, I’m in front of royalty, right?’

 

I grabbed the hem of my skirt and bent slightly in front of him.

 

“It is an honor to meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”

 

As soon as I finished, the crown prince moved. His arms loosened, and he jerked his jaw at the empty seat across from him.

 

“You must be Vanessa Asell. Have a seat.”

 

It was only two sentences, but I recognized it instantly.

 

The innate arrogance in his tone. The crushing gaze of someone in power who had never been down from the top.

 

His shining golden eyes scanned me as if sizing me up.

 

‘You really do look like a crown prince from a hundred meters away.’

 

I clicked my tongue and took the seat he indicated. As I sat down, the crown prince frowned and said,

 

“Is the man with you an escort?”

 

“Ah. Yes, Your Highness.”

 

“So Kianton is not to be trusted, seeing that you have brought an escort? I am sorry to hear that, for that would make him suspicious of me, his master.”

 

Ah, is that so? Of course, it’s not just because Kianton is unreliable that I brought an escort, but…

 

I started by apologizing to the offended crown prince.

 

“I apologize, Your Highness, but I have my own reasons…”

 

“The escort was given to you by the duke?”

 

“What? Ah… yes, that’s right.”

 

Shane is a duke’s man, so technically yes.

 

I nodded, and the crown prince’s golden eyes sparkled with interest.

 

“I see. The duke himself has assigned you an escort. And a mage.”

 

“No, that’s not actually correct…”

 

My eyes narrowed at the crown prince’s words. This was the first time anyone had ever realized that Shane was a mage.

 

I asked in surprise.

 

“Shane… No, how did you know he was a wizard?”

 

“Because I can see the magic flowing around him. A wizard is someone who manipulates magic.”

 

“Oh…”

 

‘Is this some kind of ability the main character has?’

 

I glanced back and forth between the crown prince and Shane. The crown prince gave me a languid smile, as if satisfied with my surprise.

 

“Well, the Duke seems to care quite a bit about you, to have a mage as an escort.”

 

“……?”

 

No, Shane isn’t my escort because Jeremiah put him there, he just came out with me because I asked him to…

 

“Kianton told me all about it. Jeremiah Oppenheim has a special place in his heart for you.”

 

“What?”

 

I asked, unable to believe my ears. ‘I don’t know about Estella, but Jeremiah? Does he care about me?’

 

“Is something weird going on here…?

 

‘Kianton, what the hell did you say?’

 

I glanced at Kianton, who stood with Shane in the distance, dumbfounded.

 

I’ll have to try and find out what he said to the crown prince later.

 

Just as I was thinking that the crown prince spoke up.

 

“Actually, being a fallen noble is kind of funny in its own way, because I didn’t expect the duke to be like this.”

 

“No, I mean…”

 

“Ah, you must have been confused, because out of the blue, an invitation flew in from the imperial court, and as you should know by now, I’m the one who sent it to you.”

 

“No…”

 

“As a fallen noble, you could never dream of such a thing. But you can skip the thank yous and the honorifics, for now.”

 

“……?”

 

‘What, dude… Why do you keep cutting people off?’

 

I stared at him, unable to hide my disbelief.

 

Of course, I didn’t think he was playing a joke on me. The crown prince tilted his head slightly and spoke in a very serious tone.

 

“I was wondering, too, what kind of woman the duke favors.”

 

“No, I mean, not Jeremiah.”

 

I cringed at the crown prince, who seemed to be firmly in the wrong.

 

As he continued to interrupt me, I was tempted to cut him off and just say what I had to say, but… the man in front of me was too much of a prince for that kind of behavior. I’m just a lowly nobleman.

 

“I asked to see you today because I wanted to make a proposal, and for him, there should be no duke.”

 

“And what proposal are you making?”

 

“Viscount Asell is a nobleman of the Isles, not of the North, and I’m sure you’ve found life in the North difficult, so why don’t you pack up and come back here, and I’ll help you.”

 

“What…”

 

“Even if the Duke cares for you, the Duke’s castle is not an easy place to live. Perhaps you’re experiencing some sort of injustice? It’s okay, you can be honest with me without fear.”

 

“……?”

 

“You don’t have to feel intimidated because I’m a crown prince.”

 

I’m not scared, I’m not burdened, and I’ve never been wronged at the Duke’s castle in the first place…

 

“Are you trying to get me to confess to something Jeremiah did wrong?”

 

I guess I’m right. He’s talking to me like I’m scared of Jeremiah, like I’m keeping my mouth shut.

 

I blinked and looked at the crown prince. Even if we’re going to pretend that Jeremiah doesn’t care about me or something, I’m going to have to let this go now…

 

“Your Highness, Your Imperial Highness, with all due respect, let me say something.”

 

He keeps saying this as if I should be grateful to him. I can’t stand it when he acts like I owe him something.

 

I opened my mouth firmly, and naturally spoke quickly, fearing that the crown prince would cut me off.

 

“It is true that I am from the Isles, but life in the north is not as hard as you have made it out to be, and I am no stranger to it now, and I have never suffered any injustice in the duchy.”

 

“You…”

 

“It’s not that I’m afraid of anyone, or that I’m afraid to tell your highness, it’s just that choosing the North was entirely my choice, and I hope you won’t disparage my choice.”

 

I winced slightly at the crown prince’s narrowing of his brow, but I continued.

 

I have Shane, so I have nothing to fear, and the crown prince would never raise his hand against a woman.

 

“And I don’t need your help, I’m quite capable of handling myself, don’t you believe me? Because I’m a fallen noble?”

 

“Ha. Probably because you already have the Duke’s favor, so how dare you talk to me like this…”

 

“You keep saying that the Duke favors me, but I think you should ask Lord Kianton about that again.”

 

I blurted out, unable to contain the irritation that had been pent up for a moment, and the crown prince stared at me.

 

I felt a chill run down my spine as those golden eyes bore into me, but…

 

‘If I cower now, I’ll look even worse.’

 

Estella had told me that the crown prince must be looking at me funny.

 

At the time, I thought it was natural, but now that I’d seen his arrogant demeanor in action, I was getting angry.

 

I thought to myself, ‘I did it out of conviction, but… this is the way it is.’

 

I made up my mind and didn’t avoid the crown prince’s piercing gaze.

 

The crown prince locked eyes with me for a moment, like we were having a snowball fight, but then he snorted and stood up.

 

“I look forward to seeing you at the New Year’s Ball.”

 

“…….”

 

“My offer will still stand until then, so you’d better think about it, for it’s an opportunity that may not come your way again.”

 

He seemed confident that I would change my mind at the ball.

 

As I squinted at him, trying to gauge his intentions, Kianton followed closely behind him as he strode away.

 

‘If I hadn’t come alone, I would have walked all the way to the mansion.’

 

I glanced out the window, which was now dark, and stood up, feeling exhausted. Shane came to stand beside me.