Chapter 145
“Aren is looking for me?”
At Cora’s report, Sylaria knit her brows. Arendtert. Just hearing his name made her stomach turn.
In the past, she would have worried the moment he summoned her. But now Arendtert was nothing but a nuisance. Without even lifting her eyes from the book she was reading, Sylaria said,
“Tell him I’m busy.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Cora bowed her head at her mistress’s cold decision. Bathed in warm sunlight, Sylaria leisurely turned another page.
Arendtert had been ordered by the Emperor to remain in self-reflection. The only place he was allowed to go was the temple. Then the Emperor collapsed, so his disciplinary order had not yet been lifted.
So he must be bored out of his mind and trying to call her over. Sylaria brushed it off without much thought.
But the next day, and the day after that, Arendtert sent for her again.
Persistent. Insistently persistent.
“Go with me.”
After hearing Sylaria’s dilemma, Euclid gave a clear answer. Arendtert would never give up unless she showed up, so they might as well go together.
So the two of them visited the Second Prince’s Palace. And Sylaria was deeply grateful for Euclid’s company. Had he not been at her side, she might have collapsed from trying to hold back at Arendtert’s nonsense.
“…What did you just say?”
Sylaria doubted her ears. Arendtert, sprawled over the sofa while she and Euclid stood before him, grinned shamelessly. He popped a fresh grape into his mouth and said,
“I asked why you haven’t come to greet me.”
“You really have gone mad.”
Standing at Sylaria’s side, Euclid shot back coldly. Looking down at his pitiful half brother, he added,
“You’re just a mere Imperial Prince, and Sylaria is the future Imperial Crown Princess. So who should be visiting whom?”
“She isn’t Crown Princess yet. And I did something for her. She should have come to thank me.”
“Was there ever anything you did that I ought to thank you for?”
Sylaria barely stopped herself from pouring the wine on the table over Arendtert’s head. He straightened and smirked unpleasantly.
“I killed your father for you.”
At his words, strength tightened in Sylaria’s gaze. She stared at him with a cold, sharp look.
Her stepfather, Wilder Rainier.
He had been executed for escaping the underground prison and causing a commotion in the palace.
And the date of his execution.
It might well have been the same day Arendtert first summoned her.
‘I forgot.’
Sylaria drew in a small breath. Once, he had been her greatest terror in the world. Yet she hadn’t even checked when or how he died. No, she had forgotten entirely. That was how insignificant he had become to her now.
“You’re quite the daughter. They say you didn’t even show up at the execution grounds for your father. But you went to Grizelle’s, didn’t you? Was your father less valuable than a friend?”
“You know the answer. Why bother asking?”
“So. The thank-you, then?”
“You want thanks from me that badly? You must really have nothing better to do.”
Sylaria laughed coldly. Euclid wrapped an arm around her shoulders and said,
“You’ve humored him enough. Let’s go.”
Sylaria nodded and turned away. She and Euclid were just about to leave the Second Prince’s Palace when Arendtert’s shout exploded across the room.
“You would choose to be an ungrateful wretch?”
Enough already. Sylaria bit down on her lower lip. She turned and shot him a glare. Arendtert sprang to his feet.
“Sillie. You’re close with Countess Faustina Lacroix, aren’t you? Write to her. Tell her to find a match for the Second Prince. That’s all.”
“What…?”
It was an absurd request. Whether he knew she associated with Faustina was one question. But the nature of the request itself was sheer nonsense.
“How long has it even been since Grizelle died, and you’re already looking for another woman?”
“That’s exactly why I need to look. She’s dead. What, am I supposed to leave the position of consort empty?”
Arendtert answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Euclid clicked his tongue in disgust.
“Are you that crazed for women?”
“I wouldn’t have had to go this far. If someone hadn’t stolen my fiancée, that is.”
Even at Arendtert’s petty jab, Sylaria and Euclid didn’t waver. Their attitude, as if wondering which dog was barking, only aggravated him further.
“Fine, if you won’t help, forget it!”
“…You must live such an easy life, Arendtert.”
“What?”
“To think something like this is your biggest concern. I’m saying I envy you. Your fate must be so very blessed.”
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