Chapter 29
The crown prince, who loved the crown princess too much, would one day end up keeping watch over everything that so much as glanced her way. Guarding, wary, and suspicious, he would eventually lock her up in a tower.
And then what if the crown princess were to take her own life, or somehow manage to escape? Or… what if, just as he feared, another prince really did appear, rescued her, and left the Kroffen Empire with her? Seeing that, the crown prince would fall into madness, lash out, or even abandon all state affairs, leading the empire to ruin…?
The story was already starting to sprawl grandly. I should try writing a proper romance-fantasy novel myself someday.
Not that I’d have anywhere to publish it.
“Ah, I see… So, giving me this necklace while saying you thought of my eyes when you bought it could actually be considered more natural.”
Anes repeated his words to herself and steeled her resolve. This was now to be her final, final, truly final answer regarding marriage.
“This amber stone representing my eyes—that part is true. But there’s one difference… It’s about approach.”
Saying this aloud made her cringe inside. It wasn’t as though they were madly in love or anything, and yet she was about to deliver a line like that…
Still, from how he showed jealousy and such, it was clear he did like her. Since he couldn’t bring himself to confess in these embarrassingly sweet ways, maybe she should make some allowances for him.
“And what is that other approach?”
Yes… she’d have to overlook the fact that he was completely missing the point here. After all, she was the one fumbling and failing to express herself clearly.
“This necklace… I bought it. A necklace that resembles my eyes… to give to Your Highness.”
Biting her lip hard, she couldn’t quite bring herself to finish the sentence neatly. Please—don’t ask again. Just understand properly, right away.
Teowin sat there, unmoving, expressionless. Watching her, it seemed as though the words she had just spoken were floating around him, scattered like fragments.
Because he was silent, Anes’s heart began to pound. Did he not like the necklace? Or was he the sort of man who never wore jewelry at all—so much so that the very idea of wearing it bothered him?
Her thoughts bounced here and there in a restless flurry. She’d hoped for a certain reaction, but since it didn’t come, she was growing antsy.
“Thank you.”
Huh?
Anes, who had been staring elsewhere in embarrassment, quickly turned to him at his curt reply.
She hadn’t expected elaborate words filled with flowery expressions—she herself had never used them, and he didn’t seem like the type, either.
But to end it this succinctly? That, she hadn’t expected. A tiny—really tiny—prick of disappointment stabbed at her chest.
“Ah… yes.”
With nothing more to say, Anes let the conversation drop.
She’d given him a gift, and somehow the atmosphere had only gotten more awkward.
Of course, people reacted differently to presents. Some, like Tarin or Marquis Rejern, showed gratitude so openly it was almost dazzling. Others, like Teowin just now, expressed thanks in the briefest, most clipped way. Well… yes. That’s just how it was.
“I’d been worrying over how best to give this to you—whether I should wait until the banquet—but you showed up at just the perfect time.”
Anes broke the stiff mood in an instant.
“I suppose I arrived at just the right time. Somehow… I found myself missing you.”
At those unthinking words—I missed you—Anes’s heart gave a fierce thump. When given voice in his deep tone, the words struck her far more powerfully than their literal meaning.
Teowin carefully lifted the necklace from its box.
His gaze fell upon it in much the same way Marquis Rejern had gazed down at his own necklace that morning, proudly shining against his chest.
So, his brief thanks hadn’t meant dislike—it seemed to mean he truly liked it.
“Did you never find yourself missing me?”
After a long moment studying the necklace, he shifted the topic. His hand still toyed with the box.
“Well… yes, I suppose…”
She had always thought of him. If she were to list the things most important in her life right now—the story she’d read about the empire’s ruin, her own existence in this world—Teowin was a figure who could never be left out.
But even with such a vague, unsatisfying answer, he wasn’t disheartened.
Instead, he simply watched her for a while, then called her name again. When she lifted her gaze, his face bore a faintly solemn look.
“This necklace…”
In his hand was the chain he’d taken from the box. Long and sturdy, clearly meant for a man, he regarded it for a moment.
“Yes?”
But his words trailed off. What about the necklace?
While she furrowed her brow in confusion, he silently extended it toward her.
“Ah!”
Anes shot up from the sofa. Striding quickly forward, she took the necklace from him.
“You… want me to put it on for you, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
So easily had he uttered shameless lines earlier, and yet now, why was he suddenly so shy?
Regardless, she slipped the necklace around his neck. Though it looked wide enough to just slip over, most necklaces ended up catching on the head if you tried that.
He was the crown prince—she couldn’t have him looking undignified. So she unclasped it, draped it around his neck, and fastened it neatly at the back.
Click. The faint sound of chain meeting clasp, and the gemstone resembling her eyes now hung against his chest.
Standing before him, she found her hand moving of its own accord. Her fingers brushed the jewel that rested on his broad chest.
It was small—its clear blue shade evoking the vividness of an eye even more strongly.
As her fingers lingered, a warm breath brushed across her arm. Snapping out of her reverie, Anes realized—she was standing before him, hand upon his chest as if stroking it.
Since the necklace lay there, she had, in effect, touched his chest directly.
“Ah, I… this was just…”
Before she could finish, his hand gently closed around her wrist. With the slightest pull, her defenseless body was drawn forward—until she found herself seated softly on his thigh.
“Y-Your Highness…?”
Flustered, Anes called to him. But he said nothing—only looked down at her quietly, then lifted his free hand.
He took the hand she was leaning on, raised it slightly, and drew her head gently onto his shoulder.
Without resistance, her head fell against his broad shoulder.
“…It feels comfortable. Steady.”
Closing her eyes, Anes murmured her answer.
It was a little sudden, but she felt no urge to push him away. Perhaps she really had grown to like this man in the short time they’d known each other.
And once again, she realized how much strength it gave her, simply being held like this.
She had never told him, but he didn’t rush to close the distance, nor did he press her feelings forcefully. Even just now—had she resisted his pull, he would surely have stopped.
The reason he could draw her closer, seat her, rest her head upon his shoulder—it was because she herself had chosen to yield and stay by his side.
Would this tsundere yet tender-hearted crown prince ever realize that?
“Each time I see this necklace, I will think of you. Will you allow that?”
See? This man sounded as though he had stepped straight out of a romance novel, not a romance fantasy.
“That wasn’t the meaning I bought it with… but I won’t stop you.”
Saying so, Anes let her lips curl into a slight smile. She was a little pleased with her own reply. When her eyes met Teowin’s—him looking at her as though amused, smiling faintly—she smiled more brightly in return.
Could she… include him among the people she wanted to protect?
The very first memory she’d had upon arriving in this world was of Teowin, and a name beginning with Ki.
Could that have been a warning? A name to avoid?
She had never seen Teowin as the tyrant the story described. But if the empire’s downfall were truly tied to him, then the imperial palace would surely be where it unfolded. And the likelihood of the crown prince being involved was… uncomfortably high.
Still—whatever the novel said, whatever the future held—here before her now was a man who clumsily but earnestly expressed his feelings, who always thought of her, who was gentle.
Innocence was easily corrupted, but he was a steadfast man. Perhaps he truly could become someone she could rely on.
“This will be my first time attending such a banquet.”
She had never gone to anything so grand before. With no social life to speak of, she rarely attended gatherings—but thanks to Rejern’s fame, her name was still fairly well-known.
“Are you looking forward to it?”
His words rumbled through the shoulder she leaned against, as though she could hear them twice—once through her ears, once through her body. It was comforting simply to feel his warmth, but hearing his voice this way was especially grounding.
“Y-yes… I am. I am allowed to look forward to it, right?”
That banquet would be the day their political marriage was formally announced. The emperor’s invitations had already declared it, and many nobles would attend. Some might even come intending to disrupt. No one could know who it might be.
Her question, then, carried that hidden concern.
“Of course. You may look forward to it.”
And as always, his reply was steady and dependable.
