Chapter 71
Kasselard flung his pen aside, and Christian skillfully caught it and set it in place, though he couldn’t prevent the ink from splattering.
At his gesture, attendants hurried forward to wipe away the ink stains, and in the meantime, the Crown Prince strode toward the office door. The attendant standing outside quickly opened it at Kasselard’s impatient signal.
There was no need to even take time to adjust his clothes. In a good way, the Crown Prince’s face was his greatest weapon.
“Ephie.”
“I greet Your Highness, the Empire’s Small Sun.”
“Enough with greetings like that. We’re not strangers. Come in.”
At the sight of Baroness Linier through the wide-open door, the Crown Prince immediately reached out and took her hand. His attendants suppressed warm smiles and did their best to maintain neutral expressions.
Kasselard ordered tea and refreshments and then drove all the officials out of the room. It didn’t matter, since his workday was nearly finished anyway.
He offered Ephinia a seat and sat beside her. She was only wearing an outing dress, yet he had the illusion that she had dressed up just to show herself to him.
“What brings you here? You don’t usually come in the morning.”
“Her Majesty the Empress summoned me, and I was on my way back after having tea with her. Which reminds me, for a moment…”
Ephinia glanced at the remaining people, signaling discreetly. Kasselard immediately understood. Clearing the room completely was something he very much wanted as well.
Once Christian and all the attendants withdrew and the door closed, Kasselard stretched out his arm and pulled Ephinia into his embrace first. Since this kind of contact from him was no longer unusual, Ephinia quietly rested her head against his chest.
“I wish you would stay at the Crown Prince’s Palace. Then I could see you more often… Is that not possible? The Lanas ducal house is unfamiliar to you anyway.”
“I’ve become quite accustomed to that place.”
“You could get used to my palace too. It’s much better than the Lanas manor. Since we’re at it, would you like to look around? I’ve already finished all my duties for today.”
“More importantly, there’s something I want to tell you. It’s something Her Majesty told me…”
The news that the Nabel Empire’s delegation had departed with the intention of arranging a political marriage between Kasselard and their Imperial Princess had already been quietly spreading throughout high society. Kasselard had warned Duke Lanas in advance to prevent the information from reaching Ephinia’s ears, but he had been tense.
He believed that if she heard it, Ephinia would surely be angry. If her feelings for him were deep, he thought she might even be afraid.
After all, a noble of commoner origin was hardly in a position to compete with an Imperial Princess. Whether she was truly the biological daughter of the Nabel Emperor needed to be confirmed, but on the surface, that was how it appeared.
“I heard that envoys will be coming from the Nabel Empire. They say an S-Class Guide Imperial Princess is coming to arrange a political marriage with Your Highness?”
At the sudden mention of the news he had wanted to hide, Kasselard’s expression stiffened. She had just come from meeting the Empress, and she had heard that?
“Ah? Ah…”
“Her Majesty hopes that before they arrive, Your Highness will be in the best possible condition, since they may attempt something or try to test you.”
She spoke as if she were mentioning that a neighbor’s cat had wandered in. Seeing Ephinia’s expression, which showed neither anxiety nor anger but almost a hint of happiness, Kasselard felt a deep shock.
Because he realized it.
‘You…’
You have no feelings for me. At all.
It was clear that she had grown somewhat comfortable with him as an acquaintance and as a Transcendent she needed to guide. But it seemed she had no intention of sharing a future with him.
It felt as if she was ready to let him go at any time. Their relationship wasn’t a push and pull between them. It was nothing more than him clinging on to her one-sidedly.
‘And I’m only realizing this now.’
Why? I treated you well. I’m the Crown Prince of the Karnan Empire. I’m this handsome, and there’s so much I can give you. I genuinely like you.
Was it because of that ball, the one he had never apologized for?
He knew there was no other man. No matter how badly he had behaved, with a face like his, there was no way she would turn her attention to another man.
That would be unrealistic.
“Doesn’t it bother you at all?”
When the Crown Prince, who had been staring at her, asked this, Ephinia recalled how he had recently been unusually persistent in telling her that he liked her. She had thought it was simply an aftereffect of guiding, but he himself might have meant it sincerely. Or…
‘Sure, maybe he does mean it. But so what?’
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