Chapter 52:…………………………………………….
The Imperial Princess and the Crown Princess
Surely the breakfast at this restaurant, recommended by the inn staff, would have been delicious. The eggs were soft, the bacon savory and crisp—surely it should have tasted wonderful.
But she couldn’t taste a thing.
‘He’s engaged to the Imperial Princess…’
Zenya chewed mechanically out of habit, feeling nothing. It seemed the same was true for Lumiere, who sat across from her.
They had somehow made it to the restaurant, but ever since, Lumiere had only been watching her cautiously.
Which meant that if this stiff atmosphere was going to be broken, Zenya would have to casually start a conversation.
The problem was—she absolutely didn’t want to.
‘Even if he didn’t know about my relationship with Jeremiah… shouldn’t he have told me he was engaged the moment he confessed?’
What if she had decided to accept his feelings? Wouldn’t she have ended up unknowingly dating a man who already had a fiancée?
‘Of course, I had no intention of dating him!’
Ah. So that was why he said he liked her but never asked her out? Because he already had a fiancée?
Fury surged again. Zenya shot Lumiere a glare before letting out a long sigh.
Honestly, this wasn’t something she had the right to be angry about. In the end, she and Lumiere weren’t anything to each other.
So it wasn’t right to get angry like this. Since they weren’t particularly close, maybe he hadn’t felt the need to mention his engagement.
‘No, that doesn’t make sense…’
She pressed down the anger rising again.
Why was she this upset?
Because she didn’t get along with Jeremiah? Was she irritated that someone she was fairly close to was entangled with him?
‘Maybe.’
But wasn’t that childish? I don’t get along with him, so you shouldn’t either—wasn’t that the logic of a child?
‘So let’s just resolve this.’
Zenya lifted her head and looked at Lumiere.
He had been stealing glances at her, and the moment their eyes met, he hurriedly lowered his head.
“Lumiere.”
At her call, he snapped his head up, blurting out as if chased:
“Zenya, I’m sorry!”
The sudden apology made the crease between her brows, which had just barely relaxed, furrow again.
“…For what?”
She forced herself to unclench her jaw. The atmosphere was turning harsh again, and worry filled his face. After hesitating briefly, Lumiere spoke.
“For everything.”
Ah. I can’t take this.
She squeezed her eyes shut. She had barely steadied herself—why did he keep provoking her?
Zenya let out a long breath and opened her eyes again, forcing a bright smile.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was never angry.”
“…What?”
No one had even asked if she was angry. Saying she wasn’t just made it obvious that she had been. Resisting the urge to bite her tongue, she lifted the corners of her mouth again.
“Anyway, what I’m trying to say is… I’m fine.”
It felt like she was broadcasting to the world that she absolutely was not fine. She clenched her fists, trying to show him a flawless smile.
“Yes. You’re fine, Zenya.”
Fortunately, Lumiere caught on to what answer she wanted. Though she’d practically forced it out of him, she was at least acknowledged as being fine.
Zenya decided to end this already-ruined breakfast here. If she said anything more, she might end up lashing out at someone who didn’t deserve it.
But Lumiere apparently had no such intention.
“Zenya, I have something to say about the engagement.”
A thin layer of frost settled over her face again.
“I don’t think I need to hear it.”
“It wasn’t an engagement I chose.”
She didn’t want to hear it. But before she could speak, Lumiere continued.
“It was something I was informed of afterward. I was injured and unconscious. When I woke up, the engagement had already been concluded.”
Zenya, who had been about to retort that engaged was engaged regardless, blinked in surprise.
“…What?”
“They must have thought it would be bad if I stayed out of sight for too long.”
As if he didn’t want to be hated, he bit his lip.
“If I had died, strengthening the alliance between the Empire and the Union would have benefited the Temple.”
His blue eyes carefully scanned her expression.
“They created a stand-in for me and held a grand engagement ceremony. Thanks to that, news of my injury didn’t spread.”
Carefully, Lumiere reached across the table and took her hand.
“Public support for the Temple and the Imperial family rose as well…”
When Zenya didn’t pull her hand away, faint hope flickered across his face. It was fleeting; soon his expression turned gloomy again.
“I’ve only met her a handful of times. And even then, we didn’t speak about anything special.”
The large man lowered his eyes, looking oddly fragile. Strangely enough, it suited him well enough to draw a small, incredulous laugh.
“After the early period of the engagement, I was too busy to make appointments…”
His voice trailed off. He looked at her with watery eyes.
“I even forgot that I was engaged. That’s why I didn’t mention it.”
The long explanation continued.
But she wasn’t irritated anymore—despite having been so angry before.
Her emotions boiled unpredictably. For a moment she felt disgusted with herself for being so fickle, but there was something she needed to confirm first.
“…Does that happen often?”
“Hm? What does?”
Suppressing her frustration, she asked as gently as possible:
“Getting injured and collapsing unconscious.”
“Well… since my wounds rely on natural healing rather than holy power…”
He answered with a puzzled look, as if he didn’t understand why she was asking.
Zenya knew that holy power didn’t work on him well, and magic wasn’t very effective either. Still, she had somehow assumed he rarely got hurt.
‘All we ever received in the Demon Realm were reports of Lumiere’s victories.’
To Zenya, Lumiere was a hero with an undefeated legend.
She had been naïve. She knew how strong demons were—she had lived among them and felt it to her bones. She knew how even serious wounds healed quickly for them.
‘Idiot.’
Had living among demons made her insensitive to injury? But now wasn’t the time for self-reproach. She raised her brows and continued.
“How long were you unconscious that time?”
“About a month.”
That long? Her eyes widened, and Lumiere quickly added:
“Ah, that time I was especially badly injured…”
It wasn’t his fault he’d been injured. She couldn’t very well scold him for not fighting properly and getting hurt.
She exhaled deeply.
“Then why didn’t you object to the engagement?”
He had woken up to find it already concluded—formal enough to use a stand-in and hold a full ceremony.
If he’d claimed afterward that it wasn’t really him, he would’ve been treated like a madman. Knowing that, and knowing he must have felt wronged, she still asked spitefully.
But his answer lay outside her common sense.
“I just… didn’t think it mattered.”
“What?”
Her voice rose involuntarily.
“They’re not really the kind of people who ask for my opinion before acting anyway.”
She was dumbfounded. It wasn’t that he’d stayed silent because it couldn’t be undone—he’d let it go because that was simply how things always were?
“Lumiere.”
He tightened his grip on her hand.
“If I had known I would meet you, I wouldn’t have done that.”
He had completely missed the point. With her free hand, Zenya pressed her forehead.
“That’s not what’s important right now…”
She couldn’t believe she had to explain this.
“Haah.”
When she fell silent mid-sentence, Lumiere apologized again.
“I’m sorry, Zenya.”
“You didn’t wrong me. You wronged yourself.”
“…What?”
Like teaching a child, she tried to speak gently, keeping her personal feelings out of it.
“You didn’t even attempt to claim your own rights.”
Fearing he might argue, she quickly added:
“Even if it wouldn’t have worked, you should have tried something, at least.”
As she spoke, her temper rose again. It hadn’t truly gone out—just smoldered, ready to flare.
“Even if it failed, you should have shown them you’re not someone who can just be pushed around—!”
Her voice cracked slightly. Getting more worked up would only look ugly.
“No, sorry. Maybe it wasn’t a situation where you could. Judging by the way things are, it’s obvious what the people around you are like.”
She had already guessed. Lumiere hadn’t completely hidden his past, and she’d often sensed something strange in his behavior.
The Saintess his parents had trusted and relied upon so much—the one she’d imagined—wasn’t a good person.
Lumiere called her mother, but it didn’t seem as though she had fulfilled the role of one. The other priests likely followed her lead.
Otherwise, there was no way Lumiere would think like this.
“Why is everyone around you like that?”
The more she thought about it, the more her anger rose. As she tried to empty her mind, Lumiere muttered softly:
“…Because.”
She hadn’t heard him clearly.
“What?”
Though her voice sharpened slightly, she braced herself for another frustrating answer.
But that wasn’t what he said.
“The person by my side now is different.”
His blue eyes curved sweetly.
“Zenya, you’re the first to worry about me.”
The moment she saw the deep trust shining in his gaze, she fell silent.
Did she really deserve that trust? Did she have the right to condemn the people around him?
I’m not nearly as great as you believe.
But she couldn’t speak. She didn’t want to shatter that trust—or that happy smile.
“I really, truly like you, Zenya.”
And so, even as she heard those sincere words, Zenya cowardly kept her mouth shut.
