Chapter 118
On the other hand, Sylaria, who was riding beside Euclid as they entered the capital, was completely bewildered. She blinked in confusion, looking around.
‘Am I not fully awake from my dream?’
But it felt too real to be a dream. Though if it were a dream, that would actually make more sense. She had gone to sleep, only to wake up and find that Euclid had become the Crown Prince.
What in the world had happened?
“Pfft.”
As Sylaria blinked in flustered confusion, a small laugh reached her ears. When she snapped her head toward him, Euclid cleared his throat and composed his expression as if he hadn’t laughed.
But Sylaria wasn’t fooled. She was far too familiar with Euclid’s mischief. With a stern and dignified face, she discreetly poked her fiancé’s side with her finger, not hard enough to hurt.
“Stop pretending and explain.”
“Puhah!”
In the end, Euclid couldn’t hold it back and burst into loud laughter. At the hearty, open laugh of the First Prince, no, the Crown Prince, the people wore dazed expressions. The First Prince almost never laughed in public.
Those who had been entranced by the smile of the handsome Crown Prince were momentarily silent, then erupted in a huge cheer.
“Uwaaaah!”
“Long live His Highness the Crown Prince!”
Euclid leisurely waved to those congratulating him. And then he grabbed Sylaria’s hand, which was glaring up at him, and lifted it.
“Waaaaah!”
“Long live, long live!”
Sylaria waved with him while wearing a ceremonial smile. Yet without moving her lips, she made a sound only he could hear, issuing a threat.
“Hrr uhp’n splain.”
(Hurry up and explain.)
At Sylaria’s quiet threat to explain immediately, Euclid flinched. Teasing her had been so fun that he must have gone too far. When they reached the entrance of the palace, he dismounted from the horse. Helping Sylaria down, he gently held her hand.
“I’ll explain. Don’t be mad.”
Sylaria narrowed her eyes sharply and glared at him. Startled by her pointed gaze, he folded his eyes into a soft smile.
“Hm, Sylaria?”
“…Alright.”
Sylaria answered with a sigh. When her handsome fiancé deliberately used his charms, resisting was impossible. Once she softened her tone and agreed, Euclid gave a low laugh and spoke.
“We’re going to pay our respects to His Majesty the Emperor now. I’ll tell you what happened on the way.”
Sylaria nodded. Walking the long corridor of the palace, she listened closely to Euclid’s voice.
There were two parts to the Crown Prince Selection: monster hunting and the Noble Council vote.
Euclid had first achieved an overwhelming victory in the monster hunt. While Sylaria was asleep, an accident had occurred among Arendtert’s group.
“What kind of accident? Did monsters appear again?”
At Sylaria’s question, Euclid shook his head. For some reason, he looked very pleased as he answered.
“You’ll see him in the audience chamber, so just ask directly.”
Sylaria pouted. She wanted to press further, but they were almost at the audience chamber, so she chose patience.
And so, Arendtert had been forced to withdraw in a hurry. By the rules of the Crown Prince Selection, each prince was followed by an observer from the Noble Council. Arendtert tried to cover up the incident, but he failed to catch the council’s observer.
In the end, word reached the palace. The vast majority of the Noble Council then cast their votes for Euclid. Even the conservative faction that supported the Empress expressed deep disappointment in the Second Prince.
Therefore, the competition ended sooner than originally scheduled. In a way, the story was simple.
“Now you understand, right?”
Euclid finished the brief explanation with a smile. But Sylaria still had questions.
What exactly had happened to Arendtert? An incident so severe he returned without slaying monsters and even lost the support of the Noble Council. No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t guess.
Sylaria’s curiosity was resolved the moment she entered the audience chamber.
Stepping into the wide room to greet the Emperor, she saw Arendtert and drew in a sharp breath.
At his appearance, which she could never have imagined, she raised a hand to cover her mouth.
Discussion
1 CommentReactions
RBluemoon238