episode_0023

Elaine’s father, Asterus Bart.

He was sitting on a chair next to his bed in his candle-lit bedroom. For quite some time, he had been silently gazing at the prince who was sound asleep.

“……”

How did it come to this, exactly?

Just a few hours ago, he had been sitting alone in the darkened study. He couldn’t forget the tears he saw in Elaine’s eyes from the carriage ride, and as a result, he couldn’t bring himself to sleep. Regret flooded in, wishing he had just pretended not to notice, causing an intense headache.

That’s why, in an effort to quickly erase the irreversible past, he was in the midst of emptying a glass filled with strong liquor. Then he heard it.

– Hey there! There’s an intruder over there!

The silence of the late night was undoubtedly shattered by his daughter’s voice filled with an unknown sense of danger. Peering out the window, he saw Elaine rushing in her nightclothes. Sensing that something was amiss, he too hurriedly dashed out.

And then, he saw it.

A brilliant light that covered the entire world, completely swallowing the darkness of the night. Intuitively, he knew. The awe-inspiring sight was a miracle of such greatness that it rivaled the descent of a deity. A tremendous sense of reverence surged passionately from deep within his chest, to the point where he felt like kneeling immediately. However, that overwhelming light did not last long.

In its place stood his daughter.

Yet, from this alone, he could not discern the whole truth. Clad in suspicious attire, the disheveled prince only served to further perplex matters. After all, rationalization always stemmed from ignorance.

For the viscount, there was no knowledge to connect the extraordinary light with his daughter. Therefore, he had no choice but to rationalize it as a natural disaster. Yet, at the same time, he couldn’t shake the rational suspicion that perhaps his daughter was the cause of this extraordinary light.

Suppressing any lingering doubts, he moved his daughter to the bedroom. He ordered his men to bring the prince to his own bed. The bloodstained clothes worn by the prince were replaced by his attendants.

Fortunately, no one else had witnessed Elaine and the prince together.

Words spilled out without concern.

The marquis sat, endlessly waiting for the prince to awaken.

Throughout the wait,

suspicions grew increasingly extreme.

In truth, the shocking situation made it hard to even speculate.

At first,

judging by the clothes and cloak pierced by a blade, it seemed certain that his heart had been struck.

Yet nowhere on the prince’s body

could a single breath be found.

So, the blood on the clothing must have belonged to someone else.

Of course, the pierced garments still posed a question, but

it was the most plausible inference.

Perhaps the crown prince had harmed someone.

That vague assumption,

unable to find a counterargument, ultimately solidified into a conclusion.

It was the result of the infamous pursuit of the crown prince’s misdeeds, but before he knew it, the marquis was convinced.

Old habits die hard, they say.

In the end, just as in the past, he had committed another heinous act.

It seemed clear that someone had killed and fled.

The blood on the clothing likely resulted from narrowly avoiding an attack.

Considering his childhood talents,

and if the opponent wasn’t particularly strong,

it was entirely possible.

With no shortage of blood on the clothes, it seemed highly likely that the opponent had died at the hands of the prince.

The conviction that emerged from this

was ultimately one of disappointment and disdain.

The marquis continued to glare at the prince, his lips firmly sealed.

The sigh that naturally wanted to escape quietly dissipated through his nose.

No matter how much he thought about it, this was no ordinary matter.

If the prince had secretly entered the marquis’s residence, he would have let it go.

But the fact that he came in covered in blood was a weighty issue.

If anyone were to disclose it,

it could lead to the perilous accusation of regicide.

And even if not,

Bart’s involvement in the prince’s misdeed could earn him infamy.

So, there was nothing but disappointment.

The empire’s prince’s actions were far too reckless.

Even though he was a fallen prince haunted by all sorts of infamy, the more one thought about it, the more severe his behavior seemed.

This was not only an insult to Bart, but also a disregard for Elaine. It was inevitable to look down on him. The Marquis felt deep suspicion. Is making such a heinous person the emperor really good for the empire? And even making his own daughter, whom he wouldn’t even bat an eye at, into the wife of such a person—could he do so without regret? These two doubts were constantly swirling in the Marquis’s mind. Then he remembered what the emperor had said. “He’s been studying for four years now. Not one or two, but a full four years.” As someone who had received reports about his daughter whenever there was a chance, this was something he couldn’t easily accept. Whenever Elaine left the mansion, she was always secretly accompanied by guards, yet he had never heard a report about her meeting the prince, not even once. So, it meant that they had been meeting secretly for a long four years within the walls of the Marquis’s estate, without the owner himself knowing. The Marquis’s face contorted into a cruel expression, akin to the leader of a band of thieves whose precious treasure had been stolen. “How dare he… with Elaine, and in my house, meeting secretly for so long!” With clenched fists, all sorts of unpleasant scenes kept flashing through the Marquis’s mind. From the scene of the two holding hands to their lips touching, and even embracing passionately. Countless fantasies emerged against the backdrop of the mansion. His anger boiled hotter than bubbling lava. Thinking that this heinous and repulsive crown prince had carried out filthy schemes in his own home, he felt blood rushing in reverse, a sensation of revulsion. He found the crown prince so despicable and abhorrent. If it weren’t for him being the crown prince, he might have desired to kill him immediately, dismember his body, and secretly cremate it. But still, this scoundrel was the only lifeline to make his daughter the most noble lady in the empire. Of course, it was quite rotten. However, as the emperor still favored him and had proven exceptional potential in his early years, if the rotten parts were cut away and replaced with new ones, with a little greasing, it could work.

It might become quite an interesting turn of events. No, it must be so. So, just wake up. “I will make your mind clear!”

***

It’s strange. I’m clearly conscious, but it feels awkward, like wearing the wrong clothes. It’s as if I’ve lost my physical form. No matter how hard I try to open my eyes, my eyelids won’t respond. Every part of me, from my hands to my feet, seems to be defying my will, as if staging a protest. Somehow, I felt like a marionette with its strings cut. Yet, the sharp pain coming from my left chest was still vivid. Of course, it didn’t actually feel painful. It seemed more like a memory of pain etched in my mind. Then, at that moment when I thought I might really have died, my eyes finally opened. Through my slowly expanding field of vision, I met the gaze of a middle-aged man with a fierce countenance looking down at me. I truly felt breathless. It was such a bewildering situation. So, even though I had seen his face several times before, it felt strangely unfamiliar, as if I were seeing it for the first time. “Your Highness, are you finally coming to your senses?” The moment I heard his voice, the revived memories revealed his identity. The man looking down at me with disdainful eyes was undoubtedly Marquis Bart. “……” Perhaps it was fortunate. My fingers and toes could wiggle, but I still couldn’t speak. The extreme speculation that I might have died and been brought back to life seemed plausible, as my bodily sensations were returning extremely slowly. Anyway, I was alive. Perhaps Elaine had saved me at the moment of death. That’s why I couldn’t understand the current situation in front of me. Why on earth was it not Elaine but her father who was looking down at me? And with such a stern gaze, as if facing a mortal enemy. “Your Highness, how long do you intend to remain in this state of feebleness?” His tone was polite, but his eyes and expression were filled with anger. Strictly speaking, it was more a look of disgust than anger. “There was something…happened…” Though weak, my voice finally came out.

“Who have you killed this time? Whose innocent life did you take to soil your filthy hands and dare to step into the Marquis’s territory?”

Powerful yet subdued, the voice was barely above a whisper. It was restrained to the extreme, almost as if it were murmuring.

“Weren’t you the one who proposed an engagement with my daughter? Yet despite that, why do you continue to cause such incidents? Is being stripped of the title of Crown Prince not enough for you?”

Perhaps the Marquis thought I had fled here after killing someone.

“Do you truly wish to annul the engagement with my daughter?”

The chilling voice cut through the air like a blade slicing through emptiness. In moments like this, prostrating oneself was the only recourse.

“I apologize.”

The effect of the apology seemed not entirely weak, as the Marquis showed a slight falter. The intense loathing that had been fluctuating in his gaze seemed to recede, replaced by sudden bewilderment. But the Marquis soon resumed his pursuit.

“Do you think I’m asking for such a meager apology? Answer me, Your Highness. Do you genuinely desire an engagement with my daughter?”

An engagement with Elaine… The path ahead of me was not a flowery road filled with laughter. I would have to conceal my identity from the Empress and the Crown Prince, while also preventing countless disasters from befalling the empire without a single misstep. I could face numerous crises in the future. Therefore, to survive, Elaine was necessary. I needed a legitimate reason to be with her without suspicion. It wasn’t my initial intention, but there could be nothing better if it could be done. I rose to my feet. My body had fully recovered without me realizing it. Energy surged through me even more than before. I needed Elaine to become even stronger, to overcome crises and strengthen my body. “Do you truly desire an engagement with her? Without her, I can never navigate this treacherous world. So, Marquis, please release your anger.”

I don’t know what’s going on, but Lord Bart wore an expression as if he had been struck in the back of the head with a hammer.

***

The first thing Elaine did when she came to her senses was to look for the prince. However, she couldn’t find him, neither in her bedroom nor where the prince had collapsed near the wall. His figure was nowhere to be found. It seemed as though someone had intentionally cleared away any traces, as not even a drop of blood remained. Then, suddenly, she discovered it. Faint light was seeping out from the Duke’s bedroom on the third floor of the mansion. Perhaps there, her father was watching over everything. Elaine hurriedly made her way to the Duke’s bedroom. It was still deep into the night, and there wasn’t a single servant around. Pressing her ear against the closed door, she could faintly hear her father’s and the prince’s voices murmuring. And then she heard it. The trembling voice of the prince sincerely desiring the engagement and the true feelings of the man who confessed that without confidence, he could never navigate this treacherous world. “Uh-” She hastily covered the gasp that escaped her lips with both hands. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t stop her legs from giving way, eventually ending up sitting on the spot. Her heart was pounding like crazy, and tears had begun to well up uncontrollably.