Chapter 65
“Nice to meet you! Lady Eniel! Everyone!”
The fool of high society — April.
She was like a clear mountain breeze that blew in just before one would burn under the sun’s heat.
“I was running away from a monster and ended up here! I’m so glad I found you all.”
Just looking at her made it easier to breathe.
April didn’t put on an act. She genuinely showed kindness to people.
She seemed to consider the crown prince as a friend.
When their eyes met, she smiled with a pure and innocent smile, without a speck of pretense.
It was dazzling.
Of all the crown prince’s relationships, April was the only one not artificially attached to him.
Eniel, assigned by the emperor as a childhood companion the moment her brilliance was noticed.
Max, raised as a loyal subordinate to help him seize control of the imperial palace.
Sian, attached to him from a young age due to his excellent intellect and magical talent.
He didn’t hate them.
But the beginning of each relationship had been meticulously calculated.
Only April was different.
Only April had approached first, with no agenda, and called him a friend.
Unlike him, full of suspicion, she enjoyed everything around her as it was. That made it easier to breathe.
He began to feel something.
But so much of him had been torn apart long ago, he didn’t even know what that feeling was.
Then, when he decided to leave April behind in the dungeon with the demon, he had been shaken.
‘Didn’t I like Lady April precisely because she was someone I wouldn’t have to care about even if she got hurt?’
Ajeph hadn’t seen April as someone to protect.
Rather, she was an object of admiration — someone who could still shine brightly in this dark world. Deep down, he had hoped she’d survive it all.
He knew it was selfish.
And finally, April returned.
Stronger than ever — someone who could never be broken again.
From the moment he thought he no longer needed to lose her, his emotions swung wildly.
He knew in his head that he’d done something terrible, but his heart was ecstatic.
Yet at the same time, it hurt — painfully so, like being stabbed with a spike.
April had become stronger… now that he wouldn’t lose her, he could—
That outrageous thought that he could now freely love her scared him senseless.
At first, it had just been fun watching her.
She would, without hesitation, yank the hair of Max — the imperial symbol and watchdog the emperor had tied to his side — and honestly, it had been refreshing.
Or she would make people laugh with her bizarre but innocent answers.
Yes, at some point, when he was with April, he was just Ajeph — not the sun.
And he began to realize that loving April wasn’t just a pleasant feeling.
It was when other men began appearing around her that he finally understood the feeling of jealousy.
Ajeph Aquilium, not the Sun, was deeply jealous, deeply suspicious, and hideously wanted to lock April away.
It wasn’t a pure or pretty feeling.
Only then could he admit he simply loved April.
The emotions Ajeph had buried under the weight of the sun whispered softly.
You did something unforgivable to someone you love.
Ajeph realized, just as he had discarded that part of himself long ago when he was a child.
April had been a good friend. She had cared for him. She had offered sincere affection and friendship. She had healed the hearts of everyone in their group.
And in return, they abandoned her.
Guilt and remorse sank into him.
He realized that April was a truly good person.
And the one who destroyed such a person — was himself.
The lackeys the emperor had sent would not have left April in that dungeon had Ajeph objected.
He had no idea regret could hurt this deeply.
The more sincere he became toward April, the more he acknowledged that sincerity, the harder it was to face her. Every moment felt like their first meeting.
He couldn’t treat her carelessly anymore.
She was too precious for that.
And he regretted, over and over, having hurt something so precious.
“Lady April.”
April’s eyes shimmered.
It felt like the whole world was falling away.
“Why are you crying? Are you hurt? Did something happen?”
“I’m not crying, you know?”
Just seeing her long lashes tremble as if a tear might fall was enough to drive him mad. If a single tear actually did fall, he felt like his heart might stop.
Now, he couldn’t understand why he had ever treated April the way he had before.
He felt like he’d give up the entire empire just to make those tears stop—
That nothing else mattered if only she could be happy.
Affection Status:
▶ Crown Prince: 97% (Unrequited Love)
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Favorite gift: Anything given by [■■■]
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Feelings toward [■■■]: Treasuring, Regret, Admiration, Desire to Confine, Obsession…
Tip: In Hard Mode, status screens are not available!
Tip: Detailed affection status cannot be accessed!
Affection Status details are hidden from the ‘Player’!
[Uh-oh—you’re only on the third floor. They’re still waiting for you.]
Administrator Privilege: Affection status details will continue to be restricted!
‘Why isn’t he waking up?’
Because Max hadn’t regained consciousness, everyone naturally gathered around him.
Half-joking, half-serious, I asked cheerfully:
“Your Highness, can I poke Sir Max in the eye? They’re a cool white color!”
“If Max goes blind, that’d be a problem. But if Lady April really wants to, I suppose it can’t be helped.”
The crown prince hesitated before answering me. I tilted my head as if I didn’t understand.
“Hmm? So is that a no or a yes? I’m not sure.”
“I’m saying, if Lady April wants to, there’s nothing she can’t do.”
The more I thought about it, the more absurd it sounded. I seriously considered poking Max’s eye.
Who’s the stray cat again? If anything, the crown prince is the stray.
Sure, I raised his affection score, but he’s the one who went full trash-level obsessive male lead on someone who didn’t do a thing to him first, isn’t he?
It was a moment of slight resentment.
“I do know how to wake him up. Max, Melissa is here.”
A woman’s name.
At that, Max gasped and snapped his eyes open instantly.
“I told you not to come! Huh…? Wait, was that a dream…?”
His face turned pale. The crown prince teased:
“Did you have a nightmare? One where someone cut off your head, perhaps?”
Max, now fully awake, clutched his neck and head in panic.
“Eek—m-my head! My neck! Still there! Thank goodness!”
“Pfft.”
Yurell exhaled through her nose with a straight face.
