Chapter – 07
No matter how skilled she was at waltzing, dancing with twenty people in a row was exhausting. In the end, she couldn’t avoid feeling a throbbing pain in her ankle.
When she entered the royal princess’s private resting room, completely exhausted, she was applying an ice compress to her aching ankle when—
There was a knock at the door.
“May I come in for a moment?”
“Duke Myers. You’ve come.”
Abigail and Dorothy, who had been by my side, tilted their heads with puzzled expressions, but at my command, they opened the door.
Cedric walked in with calm yet disciplined steps, then looked over all the attendants including Abigail and Dorothy and said,
“Princess. I have something to discuss with you alone. May I humbly ask you to dismiss the attendants?”
Before I could even answer, Dorothy gasped, and Abigail let out a faint smile.
Soon, Abigail leaned toward me and whispered quietly,
“Princess Charlotte, it seems Duke Myers has something he wishes to speak about privately.”
“Privately? He’s making it extremely obvious.”
“Then we shall withdraw.”
Though I was bewildered, I nodded. Soon, only the two of us remained in the princess’s resting room.
I gestured toward the sofa opposite me, inviting him to sit.
However, he immediately shook his head. Slightly awkward, I took a sip of the tea on the table instead.
But Cedric seemed… strange.
As always, his expression was stoic, but the cravat he usually tightened around his neck was loosened, and one of his gloves was missing, as if he had thrown it somewhere.
In other words, he looked quite tense.
“Duke, is something wrong? You don’t look well.”
“No. There is nothing wrong with my health. It’s just…”
Frowning slightly as he answered, Cedric shifted his posture a few times unsteadily before letting out a sigh.
“No, in fact, there may be something wrong with my health. As a holy knight who must control his emotions, this is abnormal.”
At that moment—
A loud commotion from beyond the door cut off Cedric’s words.
The moment I turned my head toward the door, Cedric’s face stiffened.
He walked to the doorway on my behalf and asked the guard knight,
“What is it?”
“The Sixth Prince of Blake has come to see the Princess.”
“His Highness Prince Leonard? To see me? Why?”
“We are not yet sure of the reason…”
The guard knight glanced at Cedric’s face, then asked me cautiously,
“Sh-should we send him away?”
“We can’t send a prince away. Tell him to wait in the reception room for a moment.”
After instructing the guard knight, I turned back to Cedric.
“So, Duke. What was it you wanted to say to me?”
It was a bit awkward to speak to him still standing at the door, but judging by his tense expression, it must have been urgent.
It would be better to settle it quickly and send him away.
But Cedric had already regained his usual indifferent expression. He bowed slightly, cloaked in his familiar calm.
“I will visit again.”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to speak today? Say it now.”
“No. I will come again next time.”
Ignoring my words, Cedric began to step out of the room.
To ignore a princess’s command—so his personality was as awful as ever, exchanged for his looks, I thought bitterly.
At that moment, Abigail quickly stepped back inside.
“Princess, please compose yourself.”
“Hm? Why?”
“If the Sixth Prince has come to see you personally, it may mean he has come to propose marriage.”
At Abigail’s words, my face turned pale.
“No way.”
“Historically, it is entirely possible.”
“Excuse me.”
At that moment, Prince Leonard suddenly entered the room.
Seeing Abigail and me standing awkwardly with stiff expressions, he raised his brows.
“I did say excuse me, but… did I really do something improper?”
Yes.
“No, Your Highness. Please, have a seat.”
I calmly returned to the sofa and gestured to the seat opposite me as before.
Prince Leonard strode over with wide, confident steps and sat down across from me.
Since it had only been about five minutes since Cedric had been sitting in that very spot, the comparison was unavoidable.
Prince Leonard was different from Cedric in many ways.
Cedric had the eyes of a silent, tranquil dawn, but the man before me had eyes that blazed like flowing magma.
If Cedric was a “perfect holy knight,” then this prince would be a “seasoned mercenary.”
He gave off a rough, even ruthless aura, yet remained relaxed and unbothered in every aspect.
He even leisurely looked around the resting room while sitting in front of me.
As I watched him anxiously, an unwanted thought slipped out.
“Princess, may I have a moment alone with you? Please dismiss the attendants.”
Was this really happening?
While I stood there stunned, Abigail and Dorothy casually led the attendants out. I grew even more anxious, fearing Abigail’s warning might be true.
“In fact, I have something I wish to give you.”
Prince Leonard reached boldly into the inside of his coat.
That motion—something I had seen many times before an event began, and likely would see many more times in the future—made me suddenly stand up.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness! I cannot accept your proposal!”
“…What are you talking about?”
“Huh?”
At my bewildered response, silence fell.
I lowered my gaze to the item in the prince’s hand.
It was a long, low rectangular box. Definitely not a ring case.
I slowly looked back up at Prince Leonard. One of his thick eyebrows lifted slightly in confusion.
In an instant, my face burned red, and I slumped back onto the sofa in embarrassment.
“……”
A long silence followed.
Gathering courage, I finally looked at Prince Leonard.
He had one hand covering his mouth, staring at the distant wall. But the trembling corners of his lips clearly showed he was holding back laughter.
Ah… what do I do? I want to die.
Drooping my head, I muttered in a voice barely above a whisper,
“P-please forgive my mistake…”
“It’s fine. I did say I wanted to speak alone, so it’s understandable. That was my mistake.”
Prince Leonard cleared his throat once and lowered his hand from his mouth.
But his lips were still curved in a smile. I once again felt like dying from embarrassment.
“The reason I asked for privacy is because I wanted to give you something special.”
“A special gift?”
Prince Leonard handed me the box. After a moment of hesitation, I opened it.
Inside was a stone the size of my thumb. But it was more like a jewel than a stone.
Depending on the angle, it shimmered in different colors, and it was breathtakingly beautiful. I couldn’t help but gasp.
“What is this?”
“I crossed the Resher Desert with my royal guard without using teleportation.”
“The Resher Desert? That’s not a place just anyone can cross.”
At my words, he simply smiled without replying. I understood that smile was one of arrogance, but I said nothing.
His arrogance irritated me.
“There was a magical ingredient I needed in the Resher Desert. And while obtaining it, I happened to acquire this . It is a mana stone with more magical power than most high-ranking mages.”
“Why are you telling me something so confidential… and why give me something so valuable?”
“You know I am currently in a power struggle with the First Prince. And the First Prince has already courted the Princess.”
“……”
“I am asking you to become my ally in this way.”
Leonard rested his chin on his hand and smiled brightly.
“I’m not proposing.”
“Ugh.”
“If you want, should I propose instead?”
His playful tone made me cover my face with both hands.
“Your Highness, please forget this ever happened.”
Unable to hold it in any longer, Prince Leonard burst into laughter.
At this point, I wondered if it might be the right thing to hit him on the head and make him lose his memory.
I was serious. Grinding my teeth, I clenched my fist inside my dress sleeve when—
His laughter gradually faded as he spoke again.
“So you won’t accept the proposal—but I hope you won’t refuse the gift. Will you refuse it?”
“…I’m not someone who refuses gifts.”
I replied primly and placed the box on the table.
“If you kindly forget what just happened between us, I’ll accept it.”
“Oh dear, did something happen between us just now?”
At his teasing expression, I finally let out a laugh as well.
“I’ll accept it well. But I’d like to give you something in return as well. Is there anything you want during the banquet, Your Highness?”
“Hmm.”
Leonard stroked his chin at my words, then spoke.
“Then… could you perhaps make time for me tomorrow?”
