Chapter 113

(Lurelia’s Belated Bonus – Update 11/14 🎉)

 

“Do you know the difference between attraction and curiosity?”

‘But I was spouting such nonsense.’

How pathetic. Embarrassingly so.

Anyway, someone I don’t like.

But…

Aiden let out a deep sigh.

After several breaths, his eyes changed. They hardened.

“My lady.”

He briefly checked toward the soldiers.

From the lakeshore, voices calling for him and Angelina could be heard. They were starting to make a commotion as the time behind the parasol grew longer.

Watching those using magic to come this way and launching new boats, Aiden spoke again.

“Make one promise with me.”

“What kind of promise?”

“That you will remain my person until all of this is over.”

“Your Highness, that’s…”

“This is about breaking the power structure of the Imperial Palace. Then I should have at least one rope to grab when all my footing collapses, shouldn’t I?”

Angelina pressed her lips tightly.

His words were right. Honestly, Aiden could continue living comfortably under the Empress’s protection without any issues.

The Order plotting to harm the people might be a thorn in his eye, but it was also something he could simply ignore by turning a blind eye.

‘Even if he is a Crown Prince who would do anything for his people…’

In the book, it was often expressed that his heart for protecting the people was unlike that of a villain.

But even so, asking him to oppose the Empress based solely on that heart for the people was not an easy thing.

“…One year.”

So Angelina told him the time limit she hadn’t told anyone else.

“Until my twentieth birthday, I’ll be a rope you can hold onto without doubt.”

“You think that can be done in a year?”

He frowned.

But Angelina spoke with an even more resolute face.

“That’s why you should build a foundation that won’t collapse within a year. Until then, I’ll do my best too.”

“…”

Aiden was dumbfounded that she would say such momentous things but only give him a year.

But her gaze on him was so resolute… No, rather than her gaze, her expression was so sad that he couldn’t question further.

What is this woman hiding? That face is no different from the expression of those who feel a despair they can’t share with others.

‘The day I realized that the world I lived in was merely a well created by Mother…’

It seems my expression in the mirror that day was exactly like that.

“My lady.”

“Besides, Your Highness already has one rope.”

Angelina glanced beyond the parasol.

She could see Dominic arguing with the Empress’s soldiers who had gathered.

Some trying to come to the center of the lake and others blocking them. The ones blocking were, of course, Angelina’s maids and guards using the excuse of “danger.”

Meanwhile, Dominic was awkwardly intervening, struggling to ensure Aiden could spend time with Angelina.

“My lady, Dominic is…”

“A fool.”

“…What?”

Aiden’s face went blank at this unexpected statement, and Angelina smiled slightly.

“Lord Dominic likes Your Highness. Sincerely.”

“….”

“If he did something strange, it was probably a foolish mistake made while trying to protect Your Highness.”

“….”

Aiden’s eyes wavered.

“So trust him. And ask him.”

“…Ask him.”

Angelina nodded.

A fact she knew from having read the original work.

Dominic, who becomes estranged from the Crown Prince due to the Empress’s meddling in the latter part of the work, but who thought only of the Crown Prince until the end—a somewhat foolish minor villain role.

To the protagonists, he may be a villain, but from the Crown Prince’s perspective, there is no more loyal servant.

“Even if fools are stupid, their loyalty is remarkable.”

He might seem suspicious, but that’s because he follows Aiden. There must be his own reasons and difficulties, so listen to him.

Aiden looked at Dominic.

Could that really be true?

In fact, what had been troubling Aiden most recently was Dominic. Because he felt like he had lost the one person he truly thought he could trust.

That’s why he had asked Angelina to stay by his side.

Because having just one person to trust allows a person to have much greater courage.

“How can you say such things?”

Had she known that he had been suspicious of Dominic recently?

“Your Highness is not as good at acting as you think.”

“…Then he must have noticed too.”

If Angelina had noticed it enough to point it out, then Dominic himself would have noticed it faster than anyone.

No wonder he had been trying not to leave his side recently and had been stubbornly asking him various questions.

He thought it was because Dominic had less to report to his mother since he was pushing him away…

“Are you ready then?”

“Hmm? For what… Ahhh!”

The boat flipped over.

***

Haley used magic to pull Angelina and Aiden out of the water.

“Cough! Cough!”

The suspenders and cufflinks Aiden had been wearing were gone from his body as he spat out water.

But the maids were too busy checking on Aiden, who had swallowed water, to pay attention to this.

Angelina returned to the lakeshore, walking on ice with a blanket that Laura and Haley had draped over her.

“Your Highness, are you alri… Ah, achoo!”

“Pfft, hahaha!”

Aiden finally burst into laughter at the sight of Angelina checking on his well-being while looking like a drowned rat.

She truly is an unpredictable woman.

Not a single moment is ordinary. How did she even think of flipping the boat?

Yet she offers him a future.

“Your Highness cares more deeply for your people than anyone else does. Is that not true?”

She notices that he ignores the nobles who are busy looking after their own interests and offering empty flattery.

“Aiden. The Rose of Grandonia must look after the world. You must love your people. That is the promise we must keep and our destiny, understand?”

His father and grandfather had emphasized this one thing dozens, thousands of times, if nothing else.

That’s why Aiden had lived with that as an unwavering pillar in his heart.

He took her hand because she recognized this aspect of him that even the Empress ignored.

“My lady, next time, how about going to a valley instead of a lake? I know several places with beautiful scenery.”

“…I don’t like exercise.”

“Hahaha!”

Soaked through, Aiden felt freedom for the first time. He could see a way to live.

“Um, Your Highness. Are you alright? You’ll catch a cold. Here’s a blanket…”

“It’s fi…”

Aiden’s hand, which was about to reflexively refuse the blanket Dominic offered, paused.

“Trust him. And ask him. Even if fools are stupid, their loyalty is remarkable.”

After briefly looking at Angelina receiving care from her maid, he turned to Dominic.

“Your Highness…?”

A smile finally escaped at the sight of Dominic fidgeting anxiously.

“Give it to me.”

“Pardon? Ah, yes. Here it is. Let’s go inside quickly, Your Highness. The maids have prepared bath water…”

The nerves that had been on edge until just a few hours ago now settled. All suspicion had melted away at her words.

‘If I’ve been bewitched… I’m certainly walking the path to ruin.’

Aiden self-deprecated.

That’s when it happened.

“Lina!”

A voice he never expected to hear came through.

***

“B-Brother?!”

Angelina was surprised.

They hadn’t fought, but they had ended their conversation somewhat awkwardly, and she had come to the Imperial Palace almost as if escaping. She hadn’t thought her brother would follow her.

“What brings you here?”

“Ah, well…”

Just as he glanced at the soaked Angelina and Aiden, another voice cut in.

“I called for him.”

“Her Majesty the Empress…!”

The maids and guards all bowed their heads at once. Angelina also gave an appropriate curtsy.

“I had matters to discuss with the Marquis. But what happened here that has left my son and the young lady so wet?”

“I begged His Highness to go boating, and then…”

“It was my fault for rowing poorly. Don’t scold the young lady too much, Mother.”

Aiden, thinking only that he needed to protect Angelina, stepped in front of her.

However, the Empress smiled gracefully, appearing largely unconcerned.

“Hoho. It’s a good time, isn’t it, Marquis?”

“…Yes.”

Though Ante’s expression clearly showed his displeasure.

“When you’re young, action comes before words. My lady, did you enjoy your conversation with Aiden?”

It was evident that she was bothered by the conversations she hadn’t heard. Of course, to those unaware of the devices’ existence, it would have seemed like simple pleasantries.

“His Highness seems to worry about Your Majesty a lot, so it was a heartwarming conversation.”

An answer that seemed to say, ‘Nothing like what you’re thinking happened, so don’t worry.’ The Empress looked at Angelina and Aiden briefly, then smiled again.

“I’m sure it was. The young lady has spent little time with her mother, so it might have appeared that way to you.”

‘She’s going to tackle that here?’