I rose from my seat and bowed respectfully toward the Emperor. While paying my respects to the Emperor, I did not forget to try to remove the Crown Prince's hand from my shoulder.
"You may go now. I need to rest a bit before I leave."
The Emperor waved his hand dismissively.
He was the Emperor who commanded the empire. He held a position where he could manipulate many cunning officials, high and low, with a single hand. There was no way he could have failed to notice my actions. Although the Emperor knew, he ultimately respected my wishes in the end. I bowed quietly to the Emperor and withdrew.
"How far do you intend to follow me?"
Even after passing through the garden and leaving Baharot Palace, the Crown Prince was still following behind me. I turned around and glared at him.
"Isn't it a natural courtesy for a fiancé to see his fiancée off outside the palace?"
"That is a thoughtful gesture that hasn't been seen before."
He smiled faintly. I openly frowned at him. He approached me.
I stepped back as much as he had come closer.
"I never imagined you would use the deceased as a shield, Bee."
His red lips curved upward. It was a smile slightly different from a mocking one. His golden eyes stared directly at me.
I met his gaze without avoiding it.
"Would anyone compare to Your Highness, who used His Majesty as a weapon?"
The reason the Crown Prince summoned me to the inner chambers of Baharot Palace was clear. He intended to use the Emperor to pressure me. The me of the past might have followed the Emperor's orders to avoid troublesome friction. However, the time for leisure had already passed. Now that the fire had been kindled, it could not be stopped until it was completely consumed.
His eyes widened in surprise. The Crown Prince, who had been stiff for a moment, gradually parted his lips, and finally, he began to laugh loudly. His eyes curved like crescent moons.
"Hahaha, well. I really got hit hard."
He smiled brightly, as if finding it truly amusing. It was the first time in the entire history up to now that the Crown Prince had laughed so heartily. Was it because of his laughter? Even though I had clearly pulled a fast one on him, I felt a lingering sense of unease, as if I had been tricked.
'Just as I expected, I'm cursed. Curse.'
I left him, who was still smiling, and turned around.
'It's best not to associate with a guy like that.'
He grabbed my arm. I instinctively tried to shake him off, but my attempt was thwarted by his firm grip. I had no choice but to face him again.
"I clearly warned you not to provoke me, didn't I?"
His eyes shone brightly. His deep golden eyes were like golden beads crafted with the utmost care by a master artisan. My reflection was perfectly visible within his golden beads.
I glared at him defiantly.
"I never granted Your Highness permission for my nickname."
"I never thought I would be rejected by my fiancée for a nickname, even though we are already engaged."
He leaned his face very close to mine. His smooth nose was almost touching mine. I wanted to push him away with all my might, but there were too many eyes watching. The palace maids stationed throughout the palace pretended not to be looking, but they were all secretly watching me and the Crown Prince with great interest.
'If I had my way, I’d just throw it away...'
Although they were far away and couldn't hear our voices, there was no way they wouldn't see the Crown Prince being thrown around.
"Since we are engaged, you should be even more polite."
His brow twitched.
I smiled brightly at him. And I whispered softly in his ear.
"Sometimes, even the prey can bite the hunter, Your Highness."
I shifted the weight of my entire body onto my toes. No one would be able to see it because it was hidden by my long skirt, but his feet were situated beneath my toes.
'Pfft, if I had been wearing killer heels, I could have smashed his feet to pieces.'
I really regretted not wearing high heels today.
"Miss... Ugh!"
As we left the inner palace, Marie, who was waiting in the carriage, reflexively sprang to her feet and hit her head on the roof. She clutched her head and slumped to the ground.
"Even after several years, you are still just as clumsy."
"I'm sorry, Miss."
Marie became sullen at my rebuke. She hurriedly got out of the carriage and walked further ahead of me. I walked past her and got into the carriage.
"You're going straight home again today, right?"
Marie asked as she closed the carriage door. I shook my head at her.
"To Biveldy Street."
"Biveldy Street?"
"Yes."
Marie looked curious, but I did not answer. My mind and body were too exhausted to explain things kindly. When I remained silent, Marie did not ask any further questions and told the coachman the destination through the small front window. I leaned back deep into my seat.
Meeting the Crown Prince was always tiring, but today was twice as exhausting. The unexpected meeting with the Emperor wore me out even more, and the ending was...
"Ha."
"Miss?"
Startled by the sound of my sigh, Marie came over to me. I waved my hand to indicate that I was fine.
"Are you really alright? You don't look well. Should I tell the carriage to turn around?"
“No, that’s enough.”
I shook my head at Marie and closed my eyes. Marie didn't speak to me anymore. Certainly, up until the moment I stepped on the Crown Prince's foot, the satisfaction I felt was indescribable. I even felt a thrilling pleasure when he furrowed his brow at the retaliation I had poured the full weight of my body into.
However, that joy was short-lived.
'You are a really troublesome person.'
Although the heels were low, he was bearing the full weight of my body. There was no way he wouldn't be in pain, yet he looked at me and smiled faintly as if nothing were wrong. It was such a radiant smile that it gave me the illusion of flower petals fluttering around him.
Feeling a strange sensation, I tried to shake his arm off, but he was faster. The Crown Prince wrapped his other hand, which wasn't holding my arm, around the back of my head. It happened in an instant, before I could even react.
The moment I felt the Crown Prince's face drawing closer, I felt a soft warmth on my forehead.
'This is really troublesome, Bee.'
His voice, tinged with laughter, was as sweet as honey.
I rubbed my forehead with my finger. I could still feel the touch of soft lips.
“Haaa.”
A sigh rose from deep within me. I simply could not understand the Crown Prince's actions.
'What on earth does the Crown Prince want to do with me?'
Is he really trying to fall in love with me? I felt uneasy, as if I had touched a spot that shouldn't have been touched.
I was sure I had landed a knockout blow, but his reaction didn't seem like that of someone who had been taken down. To make matters worse for me—who had delivered what I thought was a decisive strike—he even looked amused. I couldn't even begin to guess where things had gone wrong. It felt just like hitting a grand slam only to suffer a comeback defeat.
"Miss!"
Marie called out to me at the sound of my sigh escaping again. I shook my head at her.
"It's okay."
Even after I said it was okay, Marie hesitated and glanced at me. She fidgeted with her fingers and mumbled timidly.
"Uh... that's not it. We arrived at Biveldy Street."
"..."
Truly, nothing went right when it came to the Crown Prince. I shook my head and pushed him out of my mind. As I prepared to get off, Marie, who had been watching my reaction, quickly opened the carriage door for me.
Biveldy Street was lined with shops catering to the aristocracy. As befits a street that catered to the nobility, the street was clean and antique.
"Miss, where shall we go?"
I pondered for a moment at Marie's words. There were various kinds of shops on the street. Clothes, jewelry, stationery, weapons, and so on—the variety was vast. I scanned the shops. There was nowhere that particularly appealed to me.
It was Landt's birthday in a few days. To be precise, it was the day Landt came to the Elliot family, but Landt and I celebrated that day as Landt's birthday.
Landt did not know his exact birthday. It was said that his mother had died of illness when he was very young. Landt, who had lost his mother and was living like a serf on a farm, was found and brought back by a subordinate acting on the Marquis's orders.
Landt could not even clearly remember the mother who gave birth to him. He told me with a calm expression that the only image of his mother he remembered was the face of a woman weeping sorrowfully. Landt did not show sadness or distress while speaking about his mother. He simply spoke calmly, so composedly that he appeared almost indifferent.
Thrown among serfs without parental protection before he could even perceive the world, the child learned the hardships of life before emotions. Landt barely knew how to cry or laugh. In the harsh lives of the serfs, there was no one to look after such a frail child. Landt seemed to have never even learned how to speak properly. The child stammered slowly and awkwardly, barely managing to answer my question.
It was only then that I realized why Landt had neither cried nor resisted despite my severe bullying back then. Ah, he didn't even know how to resist someone who was hitting and tormenting him.
I held Landt in my arms. Although he has grown into a huge dog now, when I first met him, Landt was small and frail enough to fit right into my arms.
Landt, held in my arms, stiffened up every time I held him for a long time afterward. He had never been held by someone before.
The child with no memory was at a loss, flustered and not knowing what to do. I took my time, slowly taking the time to feel it intact in every joint.
I used to stroke Landt's back as he slumped over. As time passed, the child's body, which had been stiff for quite some time, loosened up little by little. Landt listened hesitantly. The child's small hand gently stroked my back. Landt was mimicking my actions exactly.
"This side is faster... ugh!"
"Miss!"
As I was pondering what would be a good birthday present for Landt, something struck me hard from behind. I nearly tumbled forward but managed to regain my balance. Marie, who had been standing in front of me, quickly approached and grabbed my arm as if to support me.
"Miss, are you alright?"
“Yeah, it’s okay..."
"Oh, what to do!"
Marie, who had been looking around to see if I was okay, let out a scream. I was startled by her shrill scream. Just as I was about to scold her, Marie pointed at my skirt and made a tearful face.
"Miss, your clothes..."
I looked down at the hem of my skirt that Marie was pointing to. The light green dress was covered in bright red liquid. I frowned reflexively. The red stain on the green dress was horribly awful to look at.
"What on earth are you doing!"
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