Chapter 12
He’d seen her finger hastily curling back into her palm, and a dark scowl crossed his face.
A heavy silence settled between them. Normally, Rachel hated such tension, but for once, she wished everyone in the world would just shut up forever. That hope was dashed when Killian’s voice cut through the quiet.
“Princess, what was that just now?”
“Ah, well…”
“Well?”
“I, uh… there was a bug on my dress. I’m terrified of bugs, but since I couldn’t scream in front of someone as revered as Your Majesty, I just tried to quietly shoo it away with my hand.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“There really was a bug…”
Rachel insisted to the end. Admitting the truth would mean she’d be guilty of lèse-majesté—offending a member of the imperial family. The punishment was immediate execution.
Her parents, who cherished her dearly, might even break ties with the Empire to protect her.
But that would be unforgivable. She couldn’t betray the parents who had shown her nothing but love. Better to be executed than to repay their care with disgrace.
No wait, I don’t want to be executed. I’m an idiot… A complete fool…
Tears welled up in Rachel’s eyes as she thought of her parents. She blinked rapidly, trying not to let them fall. The sight of her struggling so pitifully, so miserably, gave Killian pause.
She’d be much better off if her behavior matched that delicate appearance… But this is strange. Why am I this angry?
He looked at Rachel as he tried to suppress the rage boiling inside him. Normally, something like this wouldn’t even faze him. In fact, under other circumstances, he might have even been pleased—an opportunity to leverage the princess’s disrespect politically by reporting it to the king.
No, he would definitely have been pleased.
And yet now, he was simply irritated. His lower half was tight and strained, and he didn’t want to draw attention to himself but it was becoming harder and harder to control the anger building up inside him.
Is this a side effect of the medicine?
Given his unusual physical condition and volatile emotions, Killian could only assume it was all the d**g’s fault. He let out a deep sigh and rubbed his temples. The silence lingered until Maria began slowly stepping away. She was headed to inform the king of the situation.
It was a perfectly natural move, but even that annoyed Killian. He couldn’t suppress his frustration anymore and raised his voice.
“I’ll ask again. Are you claiming my eyes were mistaken?”
“…It was because of the bug.”
“You raise your middle finger to swat a bug? I heard the king dotes on you, but perhaps he’s spoiled you to the point that you were never properly disciplined.”
“N-no, my parents—”
“If not that, then perhaps the rumors are true—that the people of Porhen are savages. Seeing you now, I believe it.”
Just then, one of the imperial attendants—who had been quietly observing the situation—hurried off to summon the royal physician.
The words that had just left the emperor’s mouth were powerful enough to spark a war. To speak of the king while questioning the princess’s upbringing—and even go so far as to insult her people as savages—was unthinkably inflammatory.
And sure enough, Rachel’s expression was darkening with fury. True, she had been in the wrong first. But even if she were to be executed, she couldn’t tolerate such a blatant insult to her parents and her kingdom.
“I clearly stated I was swatting a bug,” she said, her voice firm. “Your Majesty may be unwell and your vision may have faltered for a moment, but to respond by slandering my parents and my kingdom—how can you say such a thing? I ask that you retract your words.”
“What did you say?”
“I said retract them,” she repeated, unwavering.
Her voice rang clear, with no trace of the tears she had been holding back just moments ago. The tension between them thickened to the point of violence.
The attendants watching held their breath. With things escalating so fast, an armed conflict didn’t seem out of the question. Silence fell heavy over the space until suddenly, strangely, the quiet was broken by the sound of rough breathing.
What is that now?
Rachel quickly noticed that Killian’s face had flushed red and his breath was coming in harsh gasps. At first, she assumed it was anger. But as she looked closer, that didn’t seem to be the case.
That kind of breathing… happens when someone’s aroused. No way. There’s no way someone would… in this situation, unless he’s completely insane…
Still, she found herself glancing down just in case. And when her eyes fell on Killian’s lower half, she was startled before she could stop herself.
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