Chapter 243
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“……”
All the way back to his palace, countless thoughts swirled through Crown Prince Viren’s mind.
Why had His Majesty the King thrown a sword at him? Why did he hate Rufus Inferna so much? Was the request to think a little more about the people truly so unreasonable?
When he entered the palace, the Crown Princess, who had been waiting by the door, hurried toward him.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince… ah!”
The Crown Princess let out a small cry when she saw Viren’s face.
Why was she so startled? Viren looked down at her in confusion. The Crown Princess hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief and tried to wipe his cheek.
“What happened? Why is there blood on your cheek…”
Ah.
Only then did Viren realize he hadn’t treated the wound on his cheek.
“It’s just a small scratch. It’s not a serious wound, so please do not worry.”
“Your Highness…”
The Crown Princess quickly infused magic and healed the wound on Viren’s face. As she did so, she carefully wiped away the bloodstains with a handkerchief dampened with water.
“Thank you.”
Viren forced a smile and expressed his gratitude to his wife. Unlike the others, the Crown Princess was still wearing a black dress. She looked up at him with sorrowful eyes.
“What troubles you so deeply that you wear such a dark expression?”
“……”
How should he answer that question?
“…Many things happened.”
After hesitating for a moment because he didn’t know how to phrase his words, Viren took his wife’s hand and led her into the room. It wasn’t something to discuss where the servants could hear.
Once inside, Crown Prince Viren slowly explained what had just happened. He began with how the King had become enraged over Rufus Inferna purchasing the medicinal herbs, and ended with how the King had finally flown into a rage and drawn his sword against the Crown Prince.
As she listened quietly, the Crown Princess’s face gradually turned paler.
“How could such a thing…”
The King hadn’t only shouted at the Crown Prince but even tried to stab him with a sword. Overwhelmed with shock, the Crown Princess staggered slightly and buried her face in her hands. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably.
Crown Prince Viren quickly added words as if to calm his wife.
“Please do not worry too much. His Majesty the King seems unsettled because of the shock of losing two sons. After some time passes, he will surely calm down again.”
“But His Majesty raised a sword against Your Highness in front of everyone. He must have been deeply enraged. What if he decides to punish Your Highness severely?”
Her trembling voice slipped out from between the hands covering her face.
“That won’t happen.”
“Your Highness, no one knows what the future holds. Prince Camus and Prince Tarek also died suddenly—”
“Crown Princess!”
Viren rebuked his wife without realizing it. Even though she didn’t finish her sentence, what she meant was obvious.
What if Your Highness were to die suddenly as well?
“Please. Such a thing will never happen, so I beg you not to worry.”
Viren reassured his wife several times. Only after quite some time had passed did the Crown Princess regain her normal breathing and rise from her seat.
“I apologize for showing such unnecessary emotion. Your heart must already be heavy, so please rest alone.”
After saying that, the Crown Princess hurried out of the room. Through the narrow gap of the door as it closed, it sounded as if she was suppressing her breath while wiping away tears.
“……”
Viren remained standing in the room for a long time, unable to move.
His mind was in turmoil.
‘Will His Majesty the King really try to move the herbs in Inferna territory to the kingdom’s capital, even if he must use force?’
If that happened, what would become of the people?
‘No, this isn’t simply a matter of where the herbs are located.’
If the empire’s wrath wasn’t appeased immediately, problems like this would continue to arise. They had to capture Imperial Prince Erius as soon as possible and send him back to the empire, repair their relationship with the empire, restore the blocked trade, and then…
His thoughts were tangled. Like an ouroboros devouring its own tail, his thoughts kept circling endlessly back to the same place.
Viren closed his eyes. His head throbbed so painfully that he could no longer endure it while fully conscious.
He understood nothing.
He no longer even had the strength left to judge what was right or wrong.
His heart felt hollow. If he remained like this, he might lose consciousness and collapse.
‘Mother…’
Once again, out of habit, he whispered that still dearly missed name in his heart.
He missed her.
He missed his mother terribly.
If his mother were still alive, she would have grabbed his shoulders and shouted at him to pull himself together. Then she would have seated him at a desk and questioned every detail of what had happened. She would have helped him solve this problem step by step.
At that thought, Viren let out a bitter laugh.
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