Ch.292Chapter 292 – Meeting with the Crown Prince

Hearing the Crown Prince’s request to seriously meet with Princess Karen made my head spin a little.

Wasn’t it the unwritten rule in situations like this for someone to tell others to stay away from their sister?

I couldn’t understand the Crown Prince’s behavior, which was far from what I expected.

“Your Highness, I believe Princess Karen could surely meet someone better than me.”

“Someone better than you among the young nobles in this empire? I see you’re quite the jokester.”

The Crown Prince seemed to think my words were a joke.

Wait, why me of all people? What about the sons of ducal families? Where are the heirs of other marquis families, and why me?

Besides, I already have two people I’ve promised marriage to, and it seems like a third might be added soon.

It’s not just my self-consciousness—there’s already someone sending me tremendous signals.

“I already have two people with whom I’ve promised a future.”

“I know. The Chancellor of Glesius Academy and that famous Divine Horse from the Eastern Continent, correct?”

Wow, he even knows that Cheonhyeryeong is the Divine Horse?

Does someone of the Crown Prince’s status have their own intelligence network? Other people don’t know that Cheonhyeryeong is the Divine Horse.

“You seem surprised that I know. I am the Crown Prince of this country. Isn’t it basic to know who stands beside someone talented enough to influence the empire’s future?”

“Ah, well…”

“It’s a necessary virtue for someone who must appoint talented individuals. When you know who surrounds the talent you wish to appoint, you can truly understand what kind of person they are.”

Oh, I see. So when he becomes Emperor… he’s saying he wants to use me in a high position!

No, I want to retire young and live a life of leisure every day!

I lived such a hard life in my previous one—don’t I deserve to take it easy this time around?

“Your Highness? I wish to retire young and live a leisurely life.”

“Then you should seriously consider my proposal, Marquis. Think about it. If you don’t connect with Karen, and I inherit the throne, what will our relationship be?”

That’s obvious without even asking.

“The relationship between a monarch and his subject, Your Highness.”

“Exactly. But what if you become Karen’s husband? As the husband of a princess, you could rise to the position of Grand Duke. Who would dare say anything to a Grand Duke who is the princess’s husband? Even I, as Emperor, couldn’t summon you carelessly if you rose to the position of Grand Duke.”

Hmm, that’s tempting. But wouldn’t reaching the position of Grand Duke mean I’d already be deeply involved in imperial politics?

I want to live leisurely without much involvement in politics.

“If I became a Grand Duke, wouldn’t I already be deeply immersed in imperial politics by then?”

“Don’t worry. Being a Grand Duke doesn’t come with mandatory participation in politics. In the Celebrio Empire, the position of Grand Duke is more of an honorary title.”

Hmm, so I could hold the title without doing anything?

That does sound appealing.

“And don’t forget what I said earlier. Who in their right mind would try to order around a Grand Duke who is the husband of a princess? Moreover, Karen is the First Princess. The husband of the First Princess is essentially the third most powerful person after the Emperor and the Prime Minister.”

“Your Highness, I understand what you want. However, it takes two hands to clap, and a hammer needs something to strike to create anything.”

“So, are you agreeing to meet my sister?”

If I keep refusing, who knows what the Crown Prince might do, so I’ll pretend to agree for now.

Besides, Princess Karen might have developed an interest in me, but there’s no way she’d develop genuine romantic feelings, right?

“Since Your Highness pleads so earnestly, as a subject of the empire, I will agree to meet her once.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But please understand that if things don’t work out, that’s just how it is.”

“Hahaha! I’m not the type to interfere in every little thing. I won’t say anything if your meetings with Karen don’t develop into a continuing relationship.”

Before leaving, he left me with these words:

“Please look at Karen without prejudice. This is a request from her brother.”

Why do the Crown Prince’s parting words leave such a bitter taste in my mouth?

‘Look at her without prejudice…’

Sigh, when someone says something like that, it’s impossible not to think about it.

How can I ignore a request from the future ruler of the country I’ve decided to live in, asking me to get along with his sister?

He said with his own mouth that he wouldn’t hold me responsible if things don’t work out, but what if Princess Karen gets upset because of this?

Ugh, it’s terrifying just to imagine. Usually, people who claim they don’t hold grudges end up being the most vindictive.

‘I guess I’ll have to at least pretend to get along with Princess Karen to avoid getting on the Crown Prince’s bad side.’

After defeating the great enemies—the Demon God and the Demon Cult—now I have a new obstacle in front of me: the Crown Prince.

Where did my plan to enjoy a leisurely life with the money I’ve earned go?

‘Sigh, what did Princess Karen do to deserve this?’

Princess Karen merely showed interest in me out of curiosity, but the Crown Prince seems to have misinterpreted it as romantic feelings for me.

‘How am I going to explain this to Regina and Hyeryeong?’

I was already struggling with how to bring up Etherna to them, and now Princess Karen is added to the mix.

Every man dreams of becoming popular with women, but I never imagined it would happen like this.

For now, I should try to enjoy the banquet. When food is served, you should eat it, right?

After the Crown Prince left, many people shifted their attention away from me and went to talk among themselves, allowing me to take a brief rest.

I stepped out onto the balcony attached to the banquet hall to catch my breath when someone approached me.

“I’m sorry, but I’m taking a break right now, so perhaps we could talk later…”

“Oh? Am I not allowed to talk to you either?”

“Professor Emelda Carmen?”

Surprisingly, the person who approached me on the balcony was Professor Emelda Carmen.

Unlike before when she wore tight leather clothing, she was now wearing a form-fitting silver dress, appropriate for the banquet.

She was holding a glass containing something like champagne, which was slightly empty as if she had taken a sip.

“Professor, what brings you here?”

“I’m attending the banquet as the Academy’s representative on behalf of the Chancellor. This is a celebration for a student of the Academy, but the Academy is busy planning for the new year, you know?”

Professor Carmen was right. Regina was originally planning to attend the banquet but had to be dragged away by Shannon to work on detailed plans for running the Academy for the coming year.

‘Hiing, I want to go to the banquet with Pathos too…’

‘You can do that after you retire as Chancellor.’

Regina had no choice but to go plan due to Shannon’s iron-clad defense, and it seems Professor Carmen came in her place.

“It’s quite interesting. Since I can’t call you a student here, I’ll call you Marquis Severio, shall I?”

“You may call me whatever you prefer, Professor.”

“Hehehe, thank you. Personally, I’m grateful to Marquis Severio.”

“For what?”

When someone suddenly says they’re grateful, I have no idea what they’re grateful for.

These things need to be explained clearly…

“I personally had a grudge against the Demon Cult. It was a circumstance I couldn’t tell others about, but thanks to Marquis Severio eliminating the Demon God and completely dismantling the Demon Cult, the knot in my heart has finally been untied.”

“Is that so?”

This is the first I’m hearing of this, but since she said it was a circumstance she couldn’t tell others about, it seems no one but her knew about it.

“It’s an incident I don’t even want to remember, so I don’t recall it clearly anymore. When you try to erase something but it keeps coming back, you eventually forget it by not thinking about it at all.”

Professor Carmen gave a bitter smile and brought the glass to her lips, emptying its remaining contents.

“Thank you for avenging my hometown friends.”

Suddenly, I felt something soft touch my cheek.

“Huh…?”

“I’ll repay that debt later. I don’t think I can interfere today. See you later.”

I was so busy saying goodbye to Professor Carmen as she suddenly left that I only realized later that what had touched my cheek was Professor Carmen’s lips.