Chapter 35
‘If that happens, what do I do? Every single thing I’ve said and done so far could become a problem. What if he finds some excuse later and makes my life miserable…? This is seriously worrying.’
As she became aware of the irritating reality, her vision suddenly spun. The Name symptoms she had briefly forgotten while trembling in front of Tilda returned. Heat rose through her entire body and cold sweat began to form.
When Mina reluctantly shook her head, unable to completely dismiss even the smallest possibility, Leopold puffed out his chest proudly as if to say, ‘I told you so.’
“So at the very least, shouldn’t we check whether that possibility exists or not? If you just sit there doing nothing and a different result comes out later, what will you do then? Why are you being so stubbornly foolish? Do you want to die like this?”
Seeing Mina’s expression finally waver slightly, Leopold sneered inwardly. As expected, pushing hard works. Women, honestly! Leopold recalled the instructions Karl had given him earlier.
“Regardless of what your mother says, you should cling to Lady Wittgen and pretend to flirt with her as much as possible. If Leonhardt really believes she is his Name pair, he won’t just sit still and take it. Then we can accuse him of attempting to assassinate the Crown Prince and create a convincing justification to remove that thorn in our side. You understand what I mean, don’t you?”
It was something Karl had secretly told him after Tilda and Mina had left. It was a brilliant idea. Leopold had no intention of letting that damn cousin take anything from him. Besides, he was the Crown Prince, far more noble than some Grand Duke!
Leopold subtly leaned closer toward Mina. Like a hunter closing in on prey, he narrowed the distance and bent his upper body toward her as he continued in a suggestive voice.
“So in order for us to figure that out—”
“Mina!”
A deep, low voice rang out loudly behind them.
Startled by how close Leopold had suddenly come, Mina jumped to her feet and quickly turned her head toward the voice.
Not far away, Leonhardt was stepping into the courtyard. His sharply raised black eyebrows and deeply furrowed brow seemed to reflect his displeased mood.
“You’ve finished talking, right?”
Leonhardt walked straight toward Mina. Completely ignoring Leopold who was sitting beside her, he extended his hand toward her. Mina took his hand without a word.
“Wait a moment! We were just in the middle of talking…!”
Leopold immediately raised his voice.
“You said you had something important to discuss with my partner?”
Leonhardt replied calmly while pulling Mina’s hand toward him. A faint sneer curved along his tilted lips.
“Then say it now.”
“Uh…”
Leopold seemed momentarily at a loss for words.
“What’s wrong? You said you had something to say, so I deliberately waited.”
As if he had expected this, the corner of Leonhardt’s mouth lifted wickedly.
“Was it just an excuse after all?”
Mina looked at the speechless Leopold and let out a quiet sigh. Important conversation? As if. There was no way he could openly reveal his dirty intentions. But right now this was the perfect opportunity to escape.
“No, we’ve finished talking.”
Speaking firmly, Mina bent her knees slightly and offered Leopold a polite curtsy.
“Your Highness, then…”
Holding Leonhardt’s hand, Mina immediately turned away. She wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible. As she hurried forward while Leonhardt silently kept pace beside her, he suddenly spoke.
“Shall I guess what you were talking about?”
Startled, Mina quickly looked up.
“Leopold probably claimed that he should also be included as a potential pair. And the Empress must have threatened you to stay far away from her son.”
His tone was as casual as if he were commenting that he had eaten an omelet instead of fried eggs this morning. Mina’s mouth fell open.
“How did you know?”
“The way those two think is obvious.”
Leonhardt answered indifferently as he escorted Mina into the carriage. Honestly, he had suspected it from the moment Tilda started talking about a sudden tea invitation and giving advice.
Tilda’s personality wasn’t the type that would offer someone sincere advice out of goodwill. He had assumed she had some other hidden motive. The only reason he hadn’t stopped it earlier was that he lacked a proper excuse to openly oppose the Empress.
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