Chapter 26: Chapter 26

”Pfft! What?” Elizabeth said.

At first, Elizabeth held on to her stomach while she giggled, as if her stomach could pop out of her corset at any given moment. However, her laughter grew as she looked at Layla’s earnest expression.”

“How can a witch be this naive?! You should really be careful about a fire pit. Just one slip and you’ll catch on fire within a blink of an eye.”

Elizabeth continued to laugh and insult Layla for some time as if it brought her immense pleasure in doing so.

“Just answer me. Do you love Bioust?”

“Certainly not. He may be admirable but for all I care, he could be a pig with just faeces in his head. I’m only engaged to him because he is the Crown Prince,” Elizabeth snorted at Layla as if she was pathetic.

Layla’s eyes shook upon hearing Elizabeth’s answer.

“You cretinous witch. Are you that ignorant? All I desire is to be the Empress. For as an Empress, I will be the woman of the highest status in this entire empire. I will reign over all. As long as I have that, it does not matter who I stand next to.”

“Then what about Bioust?”

“What?”

“You said that being crowned as the Empress would make you happy. Then what about Bioust?”

“What about him?”

Layla frowned and Elizabeth, who was watching her expression, laughed.

“How should I know if the Crown Prince will be happy?” Elizabeth scoffed.

Layla clenched her fist at Elizabeth’s reply.

* * *

“Is the food unappealing today?” Bioust asked when he saw Layla picking on her salad with her fork.

Raising her gaze to meet Bioust’s, she noticed the worry in his eyes.

“It’s not like that.”

“But it looks like you haven’t been eating much since a while ago.”

“I-I just have something on my mind…”

“What are you thinking so deeply about?”

“Just this and that,” Layla answered vaguely as she resumed picking on her salad with her fork.

“Layla,” Bioust said in a rather soft and sad tone, “Have I done something wrong?”

“What?”

“I’d selfishly brought you here merely because I couldn’t leave you alone. However, if you’ve lost appetite and even felt lonely, it makes me wonder if I’d indeed committed a mistake. If the lifestyle here doesn’t suit you…”

“Oh, no. It is not like that,” Layla answered quickly.

It has been about fifteen days since Layla had arrived at the palace and for the first time ever, she was indescribably happy.

Everything was in abundance, especially since she did not need to eat sparingly so that the little morsels she had obtained would last a little longer and thus, allow her to survive another day.

Furthermore, in this new place, no one had criticized her, and were surprisingly kind. In particular, Bioust had shown Layla kindness that she had never received in her entire life.

“Is there something worrying you?”

Layla looked up from her plate to see Bioust’s face filled with concern.

‘He is a sweet person and I am grateful for that. I didn’t want to admit it at first, but my heart races every time I look at him,’ Layla thought to herself.

“If you’re uncomfortable, shall I call for Cecil instead?”

“Cecil?”

“Yes. If it is something you’re unable to discuss with me, you can do so with Cecil. I don’t know what problem it may be, but it may be easier to talk about it with Cecil… You know, woman-to-woman…?”

Upon saying that, Bioust abruptly stood up and placed down the knife he was using to cut his steak.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“How could I continue eating if you aren’t eating?”

“No… I… I’ll eat. Please sit down.”

Although Layla had never expressed it, she had always enjoyed having meals together with Bioust.

‘What Cecil said was correct. It is much more delicious and enjoyable when there is someone to eat and talk with. Even Bioust has once said the same thing. If it weren’t for him, I’d have spent my whole life without ever having the chance of dining with another person.’

“No, I’ll eat when you’re feeling comfortable. Just pushing your food back and forth says otherwise. It would be good if you could tell me what is upsetting you… If you wish to, of course. I know that I’m being greedy,” Bioust said as he smiled bitterly, “But it is still uncomfortable to tell me, right?”

“I-It’s not that, but…”

“Perhaps I still seem like a stranger to you?”

“It’s not that either…”

“Well, it can only be expected since I did forcefully bring you to the Imperial Palace…”

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“It was not forced! I like it here!” Layla half-yelled before Bioust was even finished talking.

“What was I even thinking…” Bioust, who was still self-dejecting, paused and looked up at Layla’s face.

Layla watched as the shock on his face slowly turned into a warm smile.

“The truth is that I met your fiancee.”

“Elizabeth?”

Layla’s heart broke the moment Bioust indirectly admitted that he had a fiancee.

A few days after the encounter, Layla lost the will to eat whenever she remembered the name. It had also caused her to have sleepless nights since.

‘I thought that maybe… just maybe… that she was lying… It was all just a delusion as I was merely in denial because I like Bioust. But there is no denying it now. Bioust has just confirmed that she is really his fiancee,’ Layla thought with an aching heart.

“How did you meet Elizabeth?” Bioust asked.

“She came into the library.”

“She did? …Did she by any chance say something?”

Layla nodded wordlessly.

“I hope that you can understand a little. You see… Elizabeth can be quite blunt about things.”

‘She wasn’t just blunt about things,’ Layla thought to herself but just nodded again.

“I don’t know what Elizabeth said but judging from your reaction, it wasn’t anything nice…”

Layla reluctantly nodded her head.

‘As expected, he will take his fiancee’s side.’

“You…” Layla started to speak but stopped.

Although it was barely audible, Bioust was still able to pick it up.

“I’m listening, Layla.”

Just hearing him say that nearly brought Layla to tears.

‘He is such a caring and kind man. I don’t want him to be unhappy.’

“She said that she doesn’t love you,” Layla blurted out the truth.

‘I’d thought that it was none of my business and that it wasn’t right of me to get involved. I only want people to stop caring about my stench and have thought that it would be stupid and bad of me to meddle with someone else’s personal matter… But it will be better that I do something stupid and bad than to let Bioust have an unhappy marriage.’

After hearing everything from Layla, Bioust did not say anything. For a brief second, Layla thought that she saw Bioust’s expression turn to anger.

‘There is no man alive who likes hearing bad things about his fiancee, regardless of it being the truth… Now that I’ve angered him, he will probably order me to return to the forest immediately.’

“Do…” Layla said hesitantly.

She was scared but she needed to ask.

‘I may be kicked out of this comfortable place to go back to living alone in the forest for the rest of my life… I may have to even live with those people that blamed me for being smelly… but… I need to know if Bioust will be happy with the marriage…’

“…Do you love her?” Layla finally asked.

Layla looked at Bioust and gone was the usual gentle smile.

It was instead a sad smile.

At that moment, Layla knew. Bioust did not love Elizabeth but was still going to marry her.

“You don’t like her, do you?” Layla asked.

Although she was almost certain of the answer, she still wanted to confirm her suspicions.

“Are you both perverts? Why are you marrying her if you don’t even like her?”

Slowly, Bioust began to explain.

“To fully explain the reason I’m marrying Elizabeth, I must first explain the politics and diplomacy of the Orlion Empire. Moreover, I will have to explain the current location of the Remote Duchy, as well as the Duke himself. However, it does not end there. There is a need to talk about the ongoing battle between the Duke and the Marquis, which will also include the neutral noble families. Let us not forget about the imperial family that stands in the middle of these matters.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“Yes, it is a difficult situation. However, skipping all of that and getting straight to the point, you’re correct. I don’t love Elizabeth, but I have to marry her,” Bioust said and gave a small sigh.

Bioust may have talked as if the matter did not concern him, but his sigh indirectly expressed the sadness he felt and that alone made Layla’s small chest hurt again. It was painful for her to see the bright-faced Bioust looking like this.

“If you marry a person like that, you will be unhappy.”

“Perhaps.”

“It is making you unhappy, so why are you talking as if it is someone else’s business?”

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“That is because I am the Crown Prince. My destiny has been determined the moment I was born,” Bioust replied as he picked up the wine glass and sipped the red liquid.

‘His fate was decided upon birth. After he was born and had passed infancy, he became the Crown Prince, and was now to be the next Emperor.’

Layla and Bioust continued their meal in silence.