Episode 53
Translator : Missme Editor : Aru
I blinked and then opened my eyes.
The prince was looking straight at me. As if the greenery had been transferred, my image was transparently reflected in his blue-green eyes.
The next moment, a different sense of embarrassment came in.
âHuh?â
My head moved on its own, so I gave out an interpretation of what I just heard.
âSo, itâs because of me? Heâs come down here in a hurry by using space-movement magic simply because heâs worried about my health?â
âThatâ¦â¦â¦â
blink oneâs eyes hard at the moment, not knowing what to say He spoke out.
âIâm glad to see youâre welcomeâ¦?â
For some reason, the end went up as if it were a question mark.
The crown prince grinned. I couldnât immediately understand why he was laughing.
âI donât mean to burden you. I just wanted to say that I did.â
âOh, yes.â
I couldnât find another suitable answer, so I nodded.
Then there was an awkward silence.
If I had a teacup, I would have grabbed it. The hand I put under the table crumbled subtly because I couldnât find a place to put them.
âWhat is this?â
I felt confused.
âThis is a littleâ¦.. isnât it?â
Iâm not mistaken, am I?
âItâs kind of like that, right?â
There was a sense of something strange about the Crown Princeâs present attitude toward me.
No, Iâm not only âsensingâ it but he is openly and obviously strange toward me?
âHe came all the way down here because he wanted to make sure I was okay.â
Yeah, heâs too obvious about it. If itâs not about it then what?
If The Crown Prince had said such words to anyone without meaning or consciousness, he would have been famous as Casanova in The Empire.
âBut Iâve never heard such a rumour.â
The situation has been identified. Itâs like that. I mean, well, itâs real like that.
âWhy?â
The embarrassment doubled.
Why did it happen? This could only have been a natural question.
The Crown Prince and I have only seen each other three times today.
Except for the fact that we have glanced at each other at the public meeting with several people.
âEven the first meeting was when it was spilt with the enchanted cloth.â
It was hard to find when the Crown Prince and I had a chance to sprout something like that.
âThe effect of the enchanted cloth is still⦠No, that really wouldnât be.â
My head is spinning.
Thatâs how I lost my words.
The Crown Prince opened his mouth with a bit of difficulty as to how he interpreted my attitude.
âI didnât want to make it uncomfortable. I think I shouldnât have said that before. You donât have to keep it in mind.â
âYes? Oh, no, itâs not like that.â
I shook my head first and then thought about what to do.
âLetâs talk about something else.â
Itâll only deepen the awkwardness by keeping my mouth shut. Okay, letâs get out of this difficult atmosphere for now.
âI should shift the subject to treatment for the sinner.â
âThe, the sinnerâ¦â¦.â
It was only when I started my words, the parlour room door opened.
The door was behind me. I only knew it was open because of the noise, but I couldnât tell until I looked back.
âIs it Bessie?â
I thought she brought the tea out.
However, it was so surmising that an unexpected word came out of The Crown Princeâs mouth.
âThe Duke?â
My shoulders are stiff.
A familiar voice rang in my ear.
The heart sank and then began to beat so fast.
âWhy didnât you call me when you got here, Your Highness?â
Suddenly, something seemed to have happened to my neck. I couldnât look back at all.
I turned into a statue in my seat.
âWhy, why?â
Isnât it time to relax yet?
Iâm telling you the truth now, but in fact, I ran away from the room where Ash was earlier.
I was running away.
The reason was simple. Because I wasnât confident Iâd see Ash with a straight face right now.
With a completely different feeling than I did when I woke up from a nightmare earlier.
And it was the same now.
âI heard you were hurt. Is it okay for you to come out like this?â
âAs you can see, not to the point where I couldnât move.â
Ashâs voice gradually came in close range.
The sound of my beating heart was loud. If the distance is closer than a certain distance, I think that the person next to me will hear it. The moment my thought reached it, I sprang up.
âPrincess?â
âNoonim.â
I did it without realizing it. I didnât think about what to do next.
I stood up from my seat and contemplated a belated excuse.
âIâm not feeling well. Excuse me, but Iâll get up first.â
There is no better excuse than this. It was an act that couldnât be said to be in line with courtesy, but now I couldnât care about it.
I said so and then hurried out of my seat, looking neither side.
I walked in a hurry as if I were catching something.
âCrazy.â
My heart was about to burst.
âPlease, Lydia.â
The dream came back to my mind again and again.
The mere hearing of the voice brought all the senses back unexpectedly.
It had nothing to do with the doctor. I did it beyond my control.
My lips were burning hot.
Not long after that, the corridor was quiet, with few people walking by.
I hastened to walk with my backhand covered as if to conceal a face that no one else saw.
***
Prince Iggret Hayden kept his eyes open at the entrance of the parlour room.
A slender figure simply shot herself out of his sight.
Far from being caught, there was no time for a similar attempt.
When he felt a sense of despondency in the sudden event, he could hear a voice of inhumanity pushing through the gap.
âWhat did you talk about?â
âHmm?â
It gave me a look. The Duke of Widgreen was staring at him, as he did when he first appeared here.
In those eyes, Iggret thought casually.
âHe really doesnât seem like a human being at all times. He has no humanity.â
There would be no more suitable words to express his opponent than that.
Iggret could have made a bet on this.
Heâs sure thereâs no one he knows whoâs less humane than him.
âI donât know. How can he not change every time I see it?â
He wondered exactly where this inhuman impression came from.
Not just because his opponentâs appearance seems to be unrealistic.
âAlthough, he looks especially human to his sister.â
In terms of caring for a family.
Iggret opened his mouth at ease.
âIt wasnât a big deal. The Duke didnât have to worry about it.â
âYour words are misleading.â
âWhat do you mean misleading?â
âThereâs nothing about my sister that I donât need to worry about.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âNo matter how trivial it may be.â
The Duke, who said so in a calm tone as if to bring up a very ordinary story, soon bowed his head to Iggret.
It was a simple movement. But even that strangely enough, there is no human warmth with it.
âFor the next time, I hope you talk to me instead of this matter.â
ââ¦â¦..â
âThen, when the left sinners arrive, you can go.â
Then, the Duke, who raised his head straight, left the parlour room first, saying, âStay at ease until then.â
Iggret remained in his seat and muttered, looking where his opponent had been just a moment ago.
ââ¦â¦did he just give me a warning? Donât talk to his sisterâs time without him knowing?â
âThatâs what it sounds like.â
The woman, who stood silently covering her whole body with a generous robe, agreed lightly.
âThereâs nothing unusual about this.â
Iggret, who laughed in vain, leaned his back on the chair.
His posture was looser than usual because no one was watching.
âI didnât expect that kind of unobtrusive nonsense to come out of his mouth. I feel like Iâm some kind of a bad guy.â
âDidnât you know he really cared about his sister?â
âI didnât know it was that much.â
The woman shrugged at the remark.
She couldnât see it from Iggretâs perspective.
âHe/She was a beautiful person.â
âWhich one do you mean?â
âI like the humane one. Not someone who seems to be able to separate the neck from the body without even a blink of an eye.â
It was obvious who she was talking about.
Iggret grinned for a moment.
âYou have good eyes.â
Iggret, who praised her so much, soon settled down.
A figure came to his mind without a word.
âSheâs a beautiful woman.â
Lydia Widgreen.
She was an interesting woman. For him, sheâs interesting in many ways.
âItâs not wrong, but.â
When they first encountered each other in the temple, she simply looked pretty.
She was an objectively beautiful woman.
However, Iggret was not easily impressed by the appearance of a human being, perhaps because of his good looks.
So at first, he just felt new and strange.
He was also curious. It was a good thing to have such an impression of being pretty at first sight, even though it was extremely rare in his life.
âAnd then they met again in the Imperial Garden.â
Now that he thought about it, the second meeting was half-intentional and half-accidental.
First of all, Iggret deliberately sent an invitation to the other party in time for the Imperial party. With that intention so far.
But then he didnât expect to get lost in the garden where he went for a walk with a light heart before the party started. Coincidence from there.
âThe palace garden is a place that I donât usually look for.â¦â
Itâs a shameful excuse, but he didnât expect the structure to be that different from what was in the main palace.
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