Chapter 2
The Queen’s Wish
“What did you do with that beautiful woman?”
“I invited her.”
“…I’m appalled. Choose your words with a little more modesty. You are the crown prince.”
“No, but… that’s how much I—”
“You liked her. I understand. But then why is she not here now? At your side?”
“That is…”
The morning after that night.
The woman who had spent the night in the crown prince’s chambers vanished during the short moment he stepped into his study.
Her dress, shoes, the jewelry she had worn—nothing was left behind.
Only one thing.
When he whispered words of love, she had begged him for a token to believe them. So the two of them exchanged rings.
It was common for nobles to wear multiple rings to adorn both hands.
Her ring had unfortunately not fit his finger, but the ring Robert gave her fit perfectly on her ring finger.
And, barely noticeable unless one looks closely, the boy in the photograph was wearing Robert’s ring on his finger.
There was no talking his way out of this.
“She disappeared the next morning. I had them check the guest list for her name, but it wasn’t there.”
“…Vanished like magic? Are you saying it might have been fraud?”
“For nearly a year, I searched for her. But I never found her. So I convinced myself I had simply been deceived by a masterful con artist.”
“But what did she steal from you?”
“No, that—”
Aside from the ring.
Aside from that wonderful night.
She stole nothing.
Only Robert’s heart had been deeply wounded.
His pride—never once rejected by a woman until then—had been damaged.
That was all.
“It should have been impossible for someone not on the invitation list to enter a royal hotel’s masquerade ball without being—”
“Oh, I see. Then yes, that would indeed be fraud. But that is the hotel’s responsibility. Not something you should say aloud.”
“…Yes.”
“Well, anyway,” the queen said, pulling away from his ear.
She extended her hand toward the attendant.
A prepared document was handed to Robert.
“I had everything investigated that could be investigated. Listen carefully. You mustn’t force anything. You abandoned the child’s upbringing for six years.”
“No, that’s— I didn’t know!”
“That is a very convenient excuse for men. This time, I will not allow you to push responsibility onto anyone else.”
“….”
“I’ve overlooked much until now. And to the loyal retainers who paid for your mistakes on your behalf, I personally offered apologies, pardons, and reinstatement. Though you probably didn’t know that!”
“Ah… my deepest apologies, Your Majesty.”
“Acting proper only at times like this won’t help you. More importantly, you need to speak with her properly. If she wishes it, she may live in the kingdom. In the royal palace. Together as a family.”
“But Your Majesty, I already have a fiancée!”
“The Imperial duke’s daughter, isn’t she?”
“Yes. Lady Reyna of House Urbancl.”
“Now, what to do…” the queen murmured as she slowly ascended the steps to her throne with the butler’s support.
Though she still held immense authority in the kingdom’s politics, age was catching up with her.
Robert’s father had died twenty years ago in the war with the Empire.
Since then, she had ruled alone.
But her long reign was finally beginning to wane.
“That is why I said it already. If the woman and the child wish it, they may live here in the palace. If they refuse, then I simply wish to visit them myself.”
“And what of succession rights?”
The queen sighed.
The crown prince seemed to understand and yet not understand at all.
Breaking an engagement with the Imperial royal family now could very well spark a war.
“You need not worry about that. Their blood connection to the royal line would be very distant. Granting succession rights would cause an uproar among the nobles at home and abroad.”
“But if it becomes known I had a hidden child, it will surely turn into a scandal…”
The mother and child might even be forced out of the Empire.
Thinking that far, Robert realized the queen’s intention.
She did not actually want Imperial blood in the royal family.
So this suddenly discovered great-grandchild—Imperial by birth but not of the Imperial royal house—would be far more convenient.
In the future… he could become king.
Or Robert himself might ascend first and later pass it on to the boy shown in the photo.
He could more or less see her plan.
“Then I should act quickly—”
“No. Do not rush.”
“Huh?”
“The faster you move, the more misfortune you bring the mother and child. He is only six—very young. If they are to come here, it can be when he enters the academy at twelve.”
“A grace period, then.”
“Yes. You will become king, and your fiancée, the queen. After that, bringing them here will cause far less trouble.”
A woman’s resentment can be terrifying.
She spoke in a whisper, then commanded:
“For now, you must show the mother and the child—the ones you shared love with—the proper attitude of a father. If you cannot do that, perhaps you are unfit to be king.”
“Grandmother!”
“I’m joking. But politics aside… I wish to meet that child. Will you convey that to her?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
If the woman refused to come to the kingdom… what should he do?
If he failed in this task, he would certainly lose the position of crown prince.
In Robert’s mind appeared the vision of that woman—
the one with crystal-blue eyes and beautifully arranged silver-blonde hair as soft as silk…
Sena.
Her silhouette flickered hazily in his memory.
