I Transmigrated into the Nameverse, and My Name Came with a Time Limit - Chapter 8

Mina’s expression stiffened, then she mumbled as she avoided his glaring stare.

“But it’s not an entirely impossible assumption, is it? We were engaged for a long time, and His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress are Name manifesters too…”

In academia, the generally accepted view was that the children of a couple who were both Name manifesters had a far higher chance of manifesting a Name than those who weren’t. Of course, there were exceptions, but most cases followed that rule.

And although Names were said to appear at random, they also said they tended to manifest between people who had once loved each other, or who had some kind of bond.

Of course, it was a bit of a stretch to call Wilhelmina and Leopold people who loved each other, but in any case, there had been an engagement period of a full six years between them.

A relationship that couldn’t help but be closer than anyone else’s. Even if it did feel a little unfair that only Mina had manifested.

“I don’t have one. My father and mother do, of course, but I don’t.”

Leopold snapped, and Mina looked at him with suspicious eyes, and he growled at her.

“I know you don’t believe me. Then what do you want me to do? Strip right here and prove it to you?”

“No, Your Highness, I believe you. You don’t have to do that.”

Unexpectedly, when Mina refused, Leopold’s eyes lifted even higher, turning even more vicious.

That answer was suspicious beyond words. Just yesterday, she’d dragged him into some room in secret and tried to strip him like she was about to pounce, and now she was suddenly saying there was no need to check?

“You’re changing your story like this all of a sudden? What are you plotting? That Name manifestation thing, it was a lie, wasn’t it?”

As Leopold frowned deeply, Mina hurriedly whispered.

“I think I must’ve been mistaken. I completely forgot there’s one other person besides you who could use the nickname Leo. I’m sorry.”

One other person? In an instant, the face of his cousin, who’d been wearing a thick wolf pelt and throwing him an arrogant smile all throughout last night, flashed through his mind.

‘What? So you’re saying you’ll do the same thing to that bastard too?’

Leopold’s expression twisted even more harshly than before.

When did I ever say I’d cling to you? Mina sighed at Leopold’s stubbornness, but pleaded again.

“I’m sorry. The last time I saw him was eight years ago, so I ended up forgetting too. But since you say it isn’t you, I suddenly thought it could be him. I’ll be sure not to bother you with this matter anymore.”

“What are you talking about? You haven’t even properly checked with me. If it were anyone else, maybe, but the Crown Prince’s Name manifested on the older sister of his current fiancée, someone who’ll soon rule the Empire, and you think that’s something we can just brush aside?!”

Irritated by Mina’s very apologetic attitude, Leopold pressed her hard, his face twisted in displeasure.

It was because an abrupt surge of anger rose up when he imagined Mina showing her bare skin to his cousin, the triumphant general who’d swaggered in. For six full years, Wilhelmina’s walls had been so impenetrable that he hadn’t been able to see his fiancée’s bare skin, and he’d never even properly kissed her.

It was to the point that his reputation as the Empire’s most popular man felt meaningless.

So he came first. As her former fiancé, and also as the Crown Prince, that was what was proper.

Leopold ground his teeth, his face flushing red and blue with anger.

Mina was baffled. No, wasn’t Leopold himself the one who, just yesterday, had snapped that she shouldn’t dare try some ridiculous trick on the Crown Prince? Had he already forgotten?

But the most serious problem was that she still didn’t know which of the two was the real ‘Leo’. How was she supposed to live? To put it bluntly, did she have to openly keep two men on a line, like some cheating libertine managing a roster?

But in that moment, Leopold suddenly grabbed her hand on the table, gripping it tight. Then he whispered in a suggestive voice.

“Before you go to that bastard, confirm it with me first.”

That was when it happened.

“Huh? Confirm what…?”

Suddenly, from behind Mina, Rose’s voice echoed through the orangery.

‘Ack!’

At Rose’s voice, which came up behind her like an assassin aiming at her heart, Mina jolted in shock. Cold sweat ran down her back.

‘What do I do?’

Mina desperately worked her mind to escape the awkward situation. Rose’s suspicion was already severe, and there was nothing good that could come from getting caught in it. Remembering that this place was an orangery, Mina sprang up from her seat.

And at the same time, she flung away the Crown Prince’s hand.

It was violent, like she were shaking off an insect that had clung to her hand in terror. And in that motion, she accidentally knocked a teapot that had been within range. The teapot suddenly toppled onto the table with a vicious clatter, then rolled toward the Crown Prince, glug-glug, spilling every last drop of its contents.