Chapter 44
The head steward of House Lanas, who had been gauging his expression closely, quietly saw him off, and the guard knights led the carriage he rode back toward the imperial palace.
“Christian.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Kasselard looked at his aide, but the words would not come easily. It would not be an exaggeration to say his pride had fallen to the ground and dug its way underground.
But he had to admit it. Because he was already regretting it.
“I… think I like that woman. What should I do?”
“Pardon me, but who are you referring to?”
He could guess who it was, but if he misunderstood the person, a great disaster could fall on him, so Christian asked again to be sure. At that, Kasselard snapped.
“Who else would it be at a time like this! Baroness Linier!”
“A doomed love…”
“What?! It’s not doomed yet!! Don’t say such unlucky things!”
Kasselard flared up, but Christian looked at him with an ambiguous expression. In Christian’s opinion, Ephinia seemed very strong-willed, and his lord had already completely ruined his first impression with such a young lady.
“The entire Empire supports this marriage! The imperial family is cheering for it too! What could possibly go wrong?”
“Um… you did ruin the Baroness’s debutante ball.”
Since it seemed he had completely forgotten, Christian brought it up. Kasselard’s face immediately turned pale. Judging by his reaction, it was not that he had truly forgotten.
“Do you think she’s still thinking about that?”
“Even when the Baroness becomes an eighty-year-old grandmother, she will probably never forget her resentment toward Your Highness…”
“What did you say?!”
When Kasselard grabbed Christian by the collar in agitation, Christian waved both hands in surrender. He truly felt wronged.
“I-It was just an expression! A debutante ball is extremely important for a noble lady, isn’t it?”
“She’s not even a noble lady.”
“That’s a dangerous thing to say. She is a Baroness, so she is a noble.”
“Tch.”
Clicking his tongue, Kasselard muttered that he wished she would forget about it soon. As if things would go that conveniently.
“What do you think I should do to make Ephinia like me?”
At Kasselard’s sudden question, Christian rolled his eyes. Seeing that reaction, Kasselard clicked his tongue again.
“Does it look that hopeless?”
“Yes. No! A joke! Just a joke! Ha ha…”
Christian had answered without thinking and quickly tried to cover it with an awkward laugh, even slapping his own mouth, but it didn’t work. Kasselard protested, sounding genuinely aggrieved.
“Why?! I’m the Crown Prince! I’m handsome and capable!”
“Ah, yes… you are capable.”
Among the Transcendents, he was SS-Class, overwhelmingly strong. No one could deny that he was the strongest swordsman and mage on the continent.
“And you’re saying there’s no chance? Huh?”
‘Is dating something you win with power…’
No matter how outstanding a man was, winning someone’s heart was another matter. Unless Kasselard realized that truth, this was a hopeless battle.
Of course, as long as the imperial family stood behind it, Baroness Linier would not be able to stop being the Crown Prince’s Guide.
‘Still, winning her heart is a different matter.’
With the expression of someone who had reached enlightenment, Christian soothed Kasselard and entered the Crown Prince’s Palace. Moonlight was pouring down over the palace roofs as evening began to fall.
* * *
“A confession? Why would I do something like that?”
Kasselard said with wide eyes, as if the idea were absurd. Christian doubted his own ears.
“Then… what are you planning to do?”
“I’ll make Ephinia confess to me.”
It was the answer to whether he would confess to Baroness Linier. Christian’s first thought was whether he was in his right mind, but he forced himself to come up with something else to say.
“That won’t be easy.”
“She’s my Guide. The odds are on my side.”
It was not something that should be said by someone who was already acting dazed from being intoxicated by guiding. Christian didn’t bother to argue with the lord he served and instead delivered new information.
It concerned a major breach that had opened in the Nabel Empire, a nation that could only be reached after passing through two kingdoms to the west. Kasselard had met that empire’s Crown Prince before, so his neatly shaped brows drew together.
“They have quite a few S-Class Transcendents though. They couldn’t handle it?”
“It seems that even what they call their ‘last resort’ was not enough to fully contain it. At present, all of their S-Class Transcendents have gathered to build a barrier. They’re just buying time now.”
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