Chapter 30
Self-Preservation
“That’s impossible.”
The general manager of Hotel Gazarick, Alex, flatly rejected Robert’s request.
“Why not? This concerns the royal family!”
Robert pressed in on his friend, voice tense.
It was midday on the same day Sena had disappeared.
After she vanished, Robert searched everywhere frantically, but her whereabouts remained completely unknown. Desperate to find her, he had come up with one possible method.
“A matter involving the royal family? There’s no ‘incident’ yet, Robert. I’ve known you for years, but that doesn’t mean I can just leak customer information at my own discretion.”
“Why don’t you understand? I am the Crown Prince! The future king of this country! Why won’t you comply with a request from me?”
“…Are you trying to throw around royal authority?”
Of course I am, Robert nodded without hesitation.
Alex let out a heavy sigh at that arrogance.
He had been happy when Robert dropped by the office—thinking perhaps he’d come to invite him out for lunch. And yet this is what it was. Even for a royal, this selfishness was going too far.
Robert’s unreasonable demands went beyond mere frustration—Alex felt anger rising.
Don’t think you can get whatever you want just because you say so!
Suppressing the urge to shout, Alex opened the desk drawer, pulled out a stack of documents, and set them in front of the high-handed crown prince.
“This I can give you. It’s the guest list we created at your request for the event. Since you are directly involved in that matter, I’m allowed to hand it over.”
“No, that’s not it. What I want is the list of current hotel guests staying here right now!”
“That’s impossible, Robert.”
Alex shook his head sadly at his friend’s plea.
“Revealing a guest’s stay information would destroy the hotel’s credibility. Even if the request came from the Emperor of the Empire or the Queen of the Kingdom, it would be treated the same. This hotel is operated under Imperial law, not the kingdom’s, per the agreement between both nations.”
He said this as the general manager, not as Robert’s friend. And of course, Robert knew it.
The only reason he had been allowed to get away with so much mischief in this hotel was because it was one of the few places under extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Under Imperial law, any member of the Imperial family or nobles of equivalent rank, regardless of nationality, were granted certain privileges within the suite rooms.
“What does that have to do with this, Alex?”
“I cannot disclose a guest’s stay status. If necessary, bring me a search warrant issued by the judicial authorities of this country. If this involves a crime, I’ll cooperate fully. Did she get into some kind of trouble?”
“No… she just disappeared without a word. She might have been kidnapped!”
“I can’t act based on mere possibilities. And if this really involves the royal family, this is the wrong place to come. You should be seeking the Queen’s help right now. How long has she been missing?”
Robert checked the clock on the wall.
It was just past noon.
Sena had disappeared shortly after four in the morning.
It had already been eight hours.
“About eight hours.”
“That’s strange, isn’t it?”
Alex pointed out the contradiction, criticizing his friend’s behavior.
Robert frowned, unable to see what he meant.
“If she’s truly important to you, you wouldn’t be wasting time here. You’d be going straight to Her Majesty to beg for help. You would explain that the woman who spent the night with you suddenly vanished—and that you’re worried for her safety, so you want permission to invoke your royal privileges.”
“The Queen would never easily allow me to exercise that kind of privilege…”
“See? That’s what I mean—it’s strange. Are you really worried about her?”
“…What does that mean?”
Alex pointed a finger sharply at him.
“You don’t love her at all, do you? You’re here only to protect yourself.”
“That’s not true. I… that’s not…”
But why was he shaken? Why did his heart waver?
He had acted for Sena’s sake—or had it all been for his own sake?
Seeing Robert’s panic, Alex lowered his eyes in troubled resignation.
His friend didn’t understand his own heart.
He was simply acting on emotion—impulsive, without thought. That might have been acceptable back in their student days, but as adults in positions of responsibility, it was inexcusable.
“If you were thinking of her even a little, you would have gone straight to the palace. The Robert I know would have done so. What are you afraid of?”
“I’m not afraid of anything.”
“No—you are. I’ve known you for years. In all that time, I’ve almost never heard of you having trouble with women. You’ve always been proper in that regard… but this time is different.”
“I am worried about her. I’m—”
“No, you aren’t. Or maybe you are—but before that, there’s something else you care about more.”
What? What was so wrong about what he was doing?
Those crimson eyes of Robert’s burned with pride and anger.
Even being glared at like that, Alex didn’t back down.
“Crown Prince. Succession rights. Those issues are clouding your judgment. Am I wrong?”
“Hold on. I’m not weighing her life against my own position!”
He still doesn’t understand.
Alex, who had stepped into adulthood earlier and carried far greater responsibilities, looked at him with sadness and pity.
“Cool your head and think. Now leave.”
“You’d better stop this nonsense… You’ll regret refusing my request someday…!”
“Even my close friend is throwing parting threats at me now?”
“I didn’t think you’d turn me down. I’m disappointed.”
Leaving those resentful words behind, Robert walked out of the office.
Watching his retreating back, Alex almost wanted to tell him that the guest information he sought… was no longer here anyway.
Lady Palstein.
The young duke’s daughter who had been bedridden in a suite recently—she had checked out and departed the hotel early that morning.
“Make the right decision… Your Highness.”
Feeling an emptiness and sadness, Alex murmured toward the door that had been slammed shut moments earlier.
