RFNM C8

Chapter 08

“Did your conversation go well? Any results?”

As soon as Leonard returned, William asked as if he had been waiting.

Leonard tossed his gloves onto the table and replied,
“We agreed to have tea together tomorrow.”

“Did she really fall for Your Highness’s face? The princess must be blind.”

Eric, who had been polishing a dagger nearby, asked in surprise, but Leonard lightly ignored him.

William then asked,
“Your Highness, do you think the princess already knows that we crossed the Resher Desert?”

“Doesn’t seem like it. It was the right move to act first. Or perhaps she’s pretending not to know.”

Leonard sat down on the sofa and clasped his hands behind his neck.

“The princess is the one who tracked down and killed the Lord of Darkness, Nox Glaston. She’s someone we need to watch closely.”

“Just how did the princess uncover the secret that Nox Glaston was the Lord of Darkness?”

“She’s the royal keeper of sacred relics. She probably possesses other relics we don’t know about.”

Soon, Leonard straightened up and pulled a sheet of paper from his coat.

The paper was filled with indecipherable characters, just like the parchment he had thrown to his subordinates before.

“The princess may lack divine power, but she has taken the lead in handling many incidents. She might be the most dangerous… and the most necessary person for us.”

His low, heavy voice echoed quietly through the study, matched by an equally serious expression.

However, the moment he recalled what had happened just minutes earlier, a small laugh escaped him, and that solemn expression vanished in an instant.

“Your Highness? What is it?”

“…It’s nothing.”

The sudden laughter startled not only his subordinates but Leonard himself as well.

He quickly stood up and retreated to his bedroom under the pretense of changing clothes.

Yet the image of the woman who had hurriedly sprung from her seat earlier kept replaying vividly in his mind.

—I cannot accept Your Highness’s proposal…

Is she full of narcissism? Or simply tired of receiving too many proposals? Or both?

Of course, the princess was very beautiful.

He had heard that Saintess Aurora was so beautiful it could blind one’s eyes, but Princess Charlotte was no less so.

Her cloud-like pink hair was so lovely it made one want to touch it. Her slightly upturned eyes, like a puppy’s, and her round green eyes sparkled like candy whenever they moved.

Though her personality… he had heard it was on a completely different level from princesses of other kingdoms—and it certainly seemed so.

Wasn’t she practically preparing to punch him just because he kept smiling?

Charlotte may not have noticed, but Leonard had clearly seen her clench her fist tightly within her sleeve.

—Brother, Princess Charlotte is famous for her beauty, but she’s also known for having a strange personality. She’s probably just as terrifying as the women of Blake.

His younger brother’s words from before he left flashed through his mind like lightning.

Who in the world would even think about hitting a prince of another empire? At most, one would slap his cheek for rudeness or summon their guards.

“…She didn’t look like someone choosing a man to marry at a birthday banquet.”

Rather than being confined to a small estate, tending to her people, she seemed more suited to gazing out upon the vast world.

Lost in such thoughts, Leonard shook his head lightly.

“What am I even thinking? Have I lost my mind just because William told me to propose?”

After changing his clothes, Leonard sat at his desk to review the documents he hadn’t yet finished.

A few hours later, Aurora visited the princess’s palace.

She approached me abruptly and spoke without even taking a breath.

“Charle. Don’t get close to Prince Leonard. If possible, don’t even talk to him before he leaves.”

“Why?”

I had just had a very pleasant conversation with him earlier and even scheduled tea for tomorrow, so I asked Aurora in confusion.

“Did you hear from the owls? They say he crossed the Resher Desert with his personal guard. There must be some reason for it.”

“I heard that too, but I heard it directly from Prince Leonard, not the owls.”

Aurora blinked in disbelief, so I told her everything that had happened.

“Aurora, I don’t think Prince Leonard is someone to be that wary of. He even gave me a gift.”

I took out the gift he had given me and handed it to her.

“It’s a mana stone called <Tears of Deligno>. They say you can create powerful items with it.”

Since Singcaster was a holy kingdom, its people relied more on sacred relics, and Aurora, being a saintess, wasn’t particularly familiar with mana stones.

“…Let me check if there’s any trap magic on it.”

Aurora placed her hand over the stone.

A golden butterfly appeared on the back of her hand, and soon a thread of golden light extended from her fingers into the mana stone.

It was Aurora’s unique divine power.

“Your divine power is always beautiful.”

“Hm? Ah…”

Perhaps feeling sorry for using her power in front of me—someone who couldn’t—Aurora quickly withdrew it.

But I truly didn’t mind.

I had lived without divine power for nine years, and besides, wasn’t it practically a rule that having power only dragged you into troublesome situations?

“Aurora, there’s no magic on it, right?”

“No, but that makes it even more suspicious. Don’t you think he revealed it to you to cover up the fact that the owls already discovered it?”

“Aren’t you being too suspicious? He just crossed the Resher Desert.”

“He’s still a prince of Blake. People from that country need to be doubted again and again.”

Then Aurora suddenly clasped my hands tightly.

“Charlotte. Since you’re going to leave anyway, it’s right to forget your duties in the palace. But… honestly, I’m still sad that you’re going on a journey.”

“Aurora.”

“You’re like a sister to me. Do you really have to go?”

“It’s not that I have to…”

“There are plenty of handsome men in Singcaster too. If you don’t leave, His Majesty would even actively support passing polyandry in the noble council.”

I felt both grateful for Aurora’s kindness and guilty at the same time.

“I want multinational handsome men. And I have to travel the world to achieve that.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

“I’m kidding.”

Smiling, I stood up and walked over to her. I hugged her tightly as tears welled in her eyes and whispered softly into her ear.

“It’s just a short trip. I’ll come back to Singcaster. After all, this is my home.”

“Charlotte…”

I placed my hands over hers and smiled again.

“I’ll be back.”

“…Alright. I guess it can’t be helped.”

After letting out a sigh, Aurora gently held my hands again.

“But still, don’t let your guard down around Prince Leonard.”

Since I had accepted his gift and even made an appointment, I couldn’t break my promise to have tea with Prince Leonard.

It wasn’t because he was handsome.

I had already refused one of his visits before while changing dresses, and refusing again could escalate into a diplomatic issue.

Even Erdan said it would be best to go this time.

I prepared expensive tea and refreshments on a beautiful terrace in the garden and waited for Prince Leonard.

However, he arrived exactly thirty-four minutes late, drawing frowns from my maids.

I was about to say something, feeling displeased, when I noticed a couple of knights behind him and widened my eyes.

“Your Highness, why are there palace knights behind you?”

Leonard looked slightly different from his confident self yesterday. After hesitating for a moment, he bit his lip and confessed.

“I got lost… and received help.”

“…What? Really?”

His face turned red as he finished speaking, and this time, it was me who burst into laughter.

“How do you get lost in our palace? Isn’t the Blake Empire much bigger? At least ten—no, twenty times larger than Singcaster!”

“Let’s drop the subject. It’s not amusing.”

Prince Leonard sat down with a displeased expression. His attitude was sulky, but it only made me want to laugh more.

Despite his massive, rock-like build, the way he awkwardly sipped his tea felt almost childlike.

‘Well, there’s no map app here. Of course you’d get lost in a palace this big. Characters in novels must all have antennas in their heads or something.’

His slightly flushed face was far too amusing—and oddly cute.

I barely managed to hide my smile behind my fan.

“Very well. I’ll generously forgive your lateness.”

“…Thank you.”

Leonard expressed his thanks reluctantly, which made me laugh once more.