Chapter 48
As the sun began to set, Anes became very serious.
“Has there been no word at all… from His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince?”
She asked the head maid, who had come to announce that it was almost dinner time. Anes knew the maid wouldn’t have come just to report the meal, so she hoped there might be some message for her.
But she noticed immediately. A troubled look had appeared on the maid’s face.
“There has been… no word at all.”
It was proper for the maid to answer when asked, but the hesitant reply only confirmed Anes’ fears.
Sigh…
She didn’t even try to hide the sigh that escaped. Her gaze turned away, as if looking out the window, while the maid hesitated, wondering whether to leave or ask if she would like to eat.
Suddenly, Anes spun her head and looked straight at the maid with a face that seemed firmly set in anger.
“I’ll visit His Highness’s office before dinner.”
Her calm voice, rather than an angry one, felt all the colder for its composure.
Bowing slightly, she followed the maid who led the way. As they walked through the corridor and the gallery toward the Crown Prince’s palace, Anes let out a long sigh.
He might have been busy all day and couldn’t come. Or maybe he thought yesterday’s matter was nothing, that I would have calmed down quickly…
If he was busy, there was nothing she could say, but if he thought she’d be over it by now, that would be quite upsetting.
Clearly, after the banquet yesterday, they had parted showing mutual displeasure. And it had started with him. She had honestly told him why she was upset; he had not.
If he truly didn’t care, then the one who cared had to act. With her firm expression unchanged, she just walked straight ahead.
He might have let it slide, but Anes felt she couldn’t continue like this.
Knock, knock.
“Your Highness, the Crown Princess has arrived.”
The maid had led her to the office, as expected. Though it was almost lunchtime and the maid could have waited for him to come out, he was still at work in his office.
There was no response from inside. The maid was about to report again when Anes gently placed her hand on the maid’s shoulder.
Click. The sound of the door latch breaking the quiet of the corridor and office. Anes opened the door herself and stepped in, with the maid peering in anxiously over her shoulder.
That gaze was cut off as Anes closed the door.
Despite the small commotion caused by opening and closing the door, he didn’t seem to notice, continuing to focus on the documents.
“I’ve come.”
“…I see.”
He barely responded, muttering a single word without looking up. It would have been nice if he had at least looked at her, asked what she was doing there at this hour.
But now, Anes thought, it doesn’t matter anymore. The trust built by his previous kindness seemed about to crack.
“I came to talk. Yesterday’s matter… we didn’t finish it, did we? I expected you to come first, but since you seemed busy, I decided to come myself.”
He finally raised his head. His gaze was still sharp and clear, though shadows under his eyes betrayed his fatigue.
Seeing that, she thought he must have been quite tired from work and didn’t comment further.
For a moment, she felt like a woman sulking over something trivial.
There was no need to pry into what he wouldn’t say. Anes bit her lip.
“I’m sorry if I bothered someone busy.”
She bowed and turned. Once she returned to the palace, she planned to send someone to arrange her meeting with Kirkan.
It wasn’t something requiring his permission, but she couldn’t help feeling uneasy about leaving after having caused him trouble.
At that moment, just as she grabbed the door handle to leave, a force suddenly spun her around. Wide-eyed and surprised, she saw Teowin’s stern face.
“…Your Highness?”
Even after spinning her around, he said nothing, only staring as if holding back something. What could he be thinking? He had ignored her before, but now he held her silently.
As she looked at him, a troubled expression flickered across his otherwise firm face. Watching, she saw him exhale deeply.
“This is a first for me. It clouded my judgment completely.”
After patiently waiting, she heard his low, melancholy voice. He had been struggling with yesterday’s events, just as she had been unable to shake her thoughts about him.
But why hadn’t he said so? Anes stayed silent, continuing to meet his gaze. Her eyes didn’t waver.
“Are you close to the magician who appeared at the banquet yesterday?”
She wasn’t sure if he was serious, but suddenly bringing up the magician left her even more bewildered.
“No. The one who bought this necklace I mentioned before… that was the magician. I didn’t know they were a magician at the time.”
She answered when asked, but she wondered what that had to do with him ignoring her all this time or worrying over her.
If it was unrelated, she might even get angry.
She answered only what he asked, without revealing more. Her voice began to harden slightly.
Teowin remained silent for a while, carefully choosing his words, though the grip on her arm tightened gently.
That careful grip seemed to silently say, please don’t leave, wait.
Despite the mix of emotions in his gaze, he retained his charisma, leaving her slightly puzzled. She simply looked up at him.
When she tensed her jaw, he finally spoke.
“Yesterday… at the banquet, why… were you so happy to see him?”
“…Excuse me?”
Ah, he had noticed. What had made her happy wasn’t the man named Kirkan, but the existence of a ‘magician.’
Explaining this might lead into a discussion about mana, which made her face look troubled.
“I was happy to see that person? So… Your Highness, you worried over me because I was happy to see the magician?”
Feeling encouraged to speak honestly, she continued. Even if it led to a discussion about mana, she was ready to answer. It was up to him to believe her or not.
“Indeed. You were so happy… I felt an inexplicable surge of emotion and had to hold it back.”
Anes still tilted her head in confusion. Seeing her puzzled, he continued:
“When you looked at the magician, your eyes shone so brightly that I thought you liked him.”
What? He’s jealous over that? Anes thought, utterly incredulous.
“Is that why… you were so cold all through the banquet yesterday?”
“…Yes.”
“Then… after the banquet, you asked me if I had nothing to say, just like that? Really?”
Anes’ disbelief made her voice shorter and sharper. Teowin raised his brows, letting out a short, soft sigh.
“Until then… I really thought so. I thought you liked him, so much that you couldn’t hide it even standing next to me… And yet you lied to me, saying you’ve never had feelings of love for anyone, despite having them…”
He didn’t look away while speaking. Seeing her increasingly incredulous expression, his words trailed off.
“You agonized over this until now?”
Was he trying to say he had been blaming himself all this time for that reason? Anes felt a flash of irritation but saw him slowly close his eyes and shake his head.
“Earlier… when you entered this room, I realized. I was wrong. You had every right to be angry with me.”
“And yet you say nothing? Not even meet my gaze?”
Pouting slightly, she got an immediate, earnest response:
“I’ve never been so embarrassed. I’ve never felt so sorry. I didn’t know… how to say it… I’m sorry.”
