Chapter 30: Chapter 30 - I Suppose You Two Already Know Each Other

Chapter 30 – I Suppose You Two Already Know Each Other

“Y-Your Grace?” I said in a startled voice.

“…”

I stared at the door with a confused look. It was definitely Claude standing beyond Xavier’s shoulders.

However…just a second ago, Claude’s face had been full of laughter, but now an unpleasant frown creased it. At first I thought he frowned when he looked at me, but that was not the case. The more correct assumption was that his expression hardened the moment he saw Xavier.

I slowly stood up from my seat and walked to the door. I was worried, but fortunately, I made it fine except for the slight stumble when I first got up.

“What’s wr—” I began, but was suddenly interrupted.

“Your Grace, the Crown Prince is already ins—”

Florinda, late, appeared behind Claude. Her eyes widened as if she judged that this was not a matter for her to interfere in, and she quietly backed away.

No wonder I thought it was weird. It looked like Claude forced his way up for his ‘surprise’.

“…”

“…”

An awkward silence hung between the two as I looked alternately between them. Judging by the situation, this was not the first time they met. The atmosphere felt heavy and strange.

It was Claude who opened his mouth a long time later. He bowed to Xavier with an unusually blank face.

“…Greetings to the Little Sun of the Great Yonas. Glory to His Highness, the Crown Prince.”

That was the correct response according to common sense. Anyway, Xavier had a higher position as the Crown Prince. No matter that Claude was a duke, he was not comparable to Xavier, the future emperor.

“Duke Escliffe,” Xavier replied curtly.

“I heard you were busy.” A smirk twitched on Claude’s face. “I suppose not. I didn’t expect to see you somewhere other than Thurman Palace.”

“What about you? Why are you here?”

“As you can see—” Claude glanced towards me “—I am here to meet Lady Maristella.”

“…”

At that, Xavier’s eyes turned hostile, and only then did I realize his cold side. Because he was always kind and polite to me, I rarely had the chance to see his ‘cold and heartless’ side that was introduced in the novel. I didn’t expect to encounter it like this.

The sudden oppressive atmosphere made me intensely anxious.

“You?” Xavier demanded.

Claude paused for a moment before answering. “…Yes.”

“Why?” the Crown Prince said tersely.

Claude stared at him and soon turned his gaze to me. As our eyes met, I gave him a slight frown, while he smiled.

“Because we promised to meet every day,” he said in answer to Xavier’s question.

“…”

When did I?

Confused, I opened my lips to say something to Claude, but he interrupted me before I could even put in a word.

“I wanted to compensate her for mental damage, but she refused, saying we weren’t that close yet. So I have been visiting Bellafleur mansion every day lately to become friends with her.”

Xavier, who caught a strange part of Claude’s remark, raised one of his eyebrows. “Mental damage compensation? What do you mean?”

“Just like I said, the Great Crown Prince. I have hurt her mentally.”

“…Enlighten me.”

“Firstly, I haven’t been able to attend the noble meetings for a month.”

“…”

Xavier looked surprised as if he just heard about that today. “I didn’t know,” he answered in a low voice.

“I’m sure you didn’t. You’re not interested in me. But His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor may have told you…I suppose he didn’t.”

“…”

The expression in Xavier’s eyes looked scarier than before. The air felt thick and suffocating from their war of nerves. I didn’t know what was going on between them, but it was clear that they were not bosom friends.

“Do you want to know why I could attend the noble meetings?” Claude asked.

“Do I have to know that trivial reason?” Xavier replied.

“Well. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know.” Claude smiled and shook his head. “But it’s better if you do.”

“Don’t beat around the bush. Just get to the point. You still can’t fix that habit of yours,” Xavier criticized.

“You’re the one who’s too blunt and direct. But then again, does it not matter because you’re not in a position where you have to beat around the bush?” Claude said.

“…”

“Let me just get to the point. I’m the perpetrator and victim of the carriage accident.”

Xavier’s eyes widened in anger, and a split second later he grabbed Claude by the collar before I could do anything.

Both Xavier and Clause stared at each other with furious intent. I was alarmed about whether I should intervene or not. I clearly had to stop this, but I sensed that I shouldn’t interrupt them or else the situation might escalate.

“Was that your doing?” Xavier snarled.

“…”

“I asked if it were you that almost killed Lady Maristella, Duke Escliffe.”

Claude remained un-intimidated by Xavier’s overbearing atmosphere, and he responded with a calm look. “…Your Highness, as I told you before, I am both the perpetrator and victim. It was an accident, and I had to spend more than a month in bed.”

“Your well-being is of no importance to me. The important thing is Lady Maristella was seriously hurt by you. Not even anyone else, but you.”

“The horse accidentally ate the hallucinogenic grass. I take responsibility for not caring for the horse properly. I have nothing to say about that.”

“…”

Claude’s voice then turned into icy annoyance. “Would you mind letting me go? I don’t think this is something that even the supreme Crown Prince should do.”

Xavier shot him another fierce glare, then quickly released his hand as if he had lost his energy. After Claude was straight on his feet, he smoothed out his crinkled jacket with his hands.

“I decided that she should be compensated for the damage she suffered from me. As a result, I was trying to pay back for financial damage as well as mental damage,” he explained.

“And you’re doing that by talking to her once a day?” Xavier said. The cynicism in his voice was evident. “Nice excuse. Someone might think that you’re causing the accident on purpose.”

“…Be careful of what you say, Your Highness,” Claude warned.

“Hah,” Xavier scoffed. He gave Claude with a level stare. “You have grown bolder since you became a duke. How dare you tell me to watch my words?”

“Because what you said is likely to discredit me. I know you hate me, but isn’t spreading false rumors unbecoming?”

“…”

Xavier was silent, and only then did I find the opportunity to get my foot into the conversation.

“Um, it’s better if you continue inside. We don’t want the servants to hear…”

The two young men looked at me, and the softness in their gazes were so unlike how they looked at each other that I was surprised.

I smiled awkwardly, grabbed each of them by the wrist and dragged them into my room. Of course, I didn’t have the physical strength to actually drag two adult men in, but maybe they agreed with me, and they moved their feet in the direction I walked.

My, my, should I say thank you?

“Okay, both of you, sit,” I ordered.

I went back to my bed and seated them on opposite sides—Xavier on the right and Claude on the left. The two ended up facing each other, but I had no choice, as the mood would only get worse if they sat on the same side.

“Okay, have a cup of tea and calm down.” I sipped my own cup of cold tea in example. The taste wasn’t as bright as before, but it was still okay.

I looked at them. Fortunately, both seemed a little more relaxed than before. I blew a long sigh from my lips, and randomly picked a topic to turn the mood around.

“I suppose you two already know each other.”

“…”

“…”

No answer. Were they ignoring me? I blinked my eyes at the unexpected awkwardness of the situation, when finally someone spoke.

It was Xavier.

“We graduated in the same class in the Academy,” he said.

The Imperial Academy was an educational institution attended by the children of noble or royal families from the ages of 9 to 19. Admission was voluntary, as it was not a compulsory educational institution, and one could opt to homeschool. In Empire Yonas, due to its somewhat paradoxical social perception, girls were mostly homeschooled, as well as a portion of boys.

For boys who would enter politics in the future, entering the Academy was a necessity, as there was no better place to build social connections to benefit one later on. There, school relations, regionalism and kinship reigned.

“Yes, Lady Maristella,” Claude answered with a sigh. “Unfortunately, we’re in the class of 52.”

“…”

Xavier tossed Claude an annoyed look, probably offended by the word “unfortunately.”

Claude ignored his gaze and continued. “Our relationship at that time has been going on this far.”

Clearly, Claude had returned to his original side.

I released a sigh of relief in my mind. “You are both huge pillars of the empire. So I think it’d be good if you can get along well.”