Despite my attempts to stop him, the Crown Prince showed no sign of rising from the floor, his face calm as if he had given up on everything.
“Hey, Enoch, can’t you stop him too?”
“If His Highness is comfortable, we should respect that.”
Enoch, looking at the Crown Prince who was still lying on the floor silently shedding tears, sighed quietly and stood up.
Unlike me, who was flustered, he calmly opened the door to the sitting room and spoke.
“Let’s go, Cherrya.”
“…Just go?”
“What else should we do?”
Is it really okay to just leave like this?
Feeling very uneasy, I couldn’t easily take a step forward.
It was clear that the Crown Prince was suffering from a pain so severe that he couldn’t even confide in the Emperor, his father.
Even if it weren’t the Crown Prince, leaving someone in such a state felt deeply troubling.
‘If he could pretend to be fine in front of the Emperor, it means he can do the same in front of me and Enoch too.’
The fact that the Crown Prince wasn’t pretending to be fine in front of me and Enoch made it hard for me to shake the feeling that he was silently asking for help.
“Cherrya.”
Enoch called me once more, his voice clearly telling me to let it go this time.
I didn’t know the Crown Prince well, but Enoch had formed a bond with him after winning the youth division at the first imperial hunting event, where the Emperor personally introduced them.
Since then, Enoch had kept in contact with the Crown Prince. It felt awkward for me to step in when Enoch was staying quiet.
“Haaa, Alright.”
Eventually, I could only rise with a sigh.
As I hesitated and walked toward the sitting room door that Enoch had opened,
“Sniffle.”
The sound of the Crown Prince sniffing echoed in the quiet sitting room.
“……..…”
Wasn’t that a cry for comfort? That’s how it sounded to me.
I glanced at Enoch, and he, too, was frowning as he stared at the Crown Prince, apparently feeling the same way.
Now it really felt awkward to just leave him like this.
How could I leave this pitiful person who seemed like a lost lamb behind?
“Your Highness, excuse me for a moment.”
I slid my arms under the Crown Prince’s waist and knees and lifted him in one swift motion.
With my strength, I could easily knock down even tall and broad-shouldered knights these days.
The Crown Prince was tall, but so thin that he felt as light as a feather.
“Heuk!”
Startled, the Crown Prince stiffened in my arms, gasping as he was lifted into a princess carry.
His face was now so close that if he lowered his head even slightly, our faces would touch.
It was only then that I realized I had never observed the Crown Prince’s face this closely before.
He had always been surrounded by people at banquets, so I had only ever seen him from afar.
My gaze slowly traveled across the Crown Prince’s face nestled in my arms.
‘Should I take this opportunity to examine his face?’
His thin, soft golden hair clung to his tear-streaked cheeks.
Though he looked healthier now than he did as a child, his sharp jawline still seemed as if it could cut.
The Crown Prince’s trembling golden eyes, shimmering with unshed tears, had a strange power to stir people’s emotions.
He’s grown up well, really well.
I gently laid the Crown Prince down on the sofa and remarked,
“You’re even more handsome than I thought.”
“Th-that…”
Flustered, the Crown Prince stammered, unsure of what to do.
“Ah, no, everyone knows how unimpressive I am…”
“What are you talking about?”
People can have low self-esteem.
But shouldn’t he at least have an objective grasp of himself?
While the Crown Prince did seem thin and fragile, his features were still attractive. That, too, was a form of beauty.
“With this level of delicate charm, I’m sure there’s a line of knights willing to lay down their lives for Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince was truly the ideal knight in every sense.
With that pure face, as if one needed to protect him from all the filth of the world, and his gentle nature that couldn’t utter a single harsh word, his very existence seemed like something that must be safeguarded.
“I was just considering standing in the front line myself.”
If the Crown Prince weren’t the Crown Prince, anyone who called him unattractive with such looks would probably get hit by a passing stone.
I nodded firmly, thinking so, when suddenly, the Crown Prince burst into tears and muttered,
“To give up one’s life…”
I thought his tears had finally stopped, but they started again.
“Haaa, why again…”
With a deep sigh, I took out a handkerchief from my pocket.
I then brought it to the Crown Prince’s face and roughly rubbed it.
Under my rough touch, which carried a bit of personal satisfaction, the Crown Prince sputtered, unable to regain his composure.
“Blow your nose, Your Highness, blow!”
Caught off guard by my natural tone, the Crown Prince blew his nose and then blushed furiously as he snatched the handkerchief from me.
“Should I give you another one?”
“…Please do.”
When I handed him another handkerchief from my pocket, this time he accepted it without resistance.
Thanks to my own little dream of being a knight who might throw a handkerchief to initiate a duel, I still had about ten handkerchiefs left in my pocket.
Seeing the Crown Prince’s embarrassment swallow up his tears, I smiled in relief.
As he calmed down somewhat, the Crown Prince stared at my smile and finally spoke.
“Please don’t say that you’d give your life for me, Dame Emblem. Just because you’re from Emblem doesn’t mean you have to pledge loyalty to the imperial family. If you think that way, you should abandon it.”
The Crown Prince’s voice was bitter as he said this.
“Why do you say that? The Emblem family has always been loyal to the imperial family.”
“Why is Emblem loyal to the imperial family? Why would anyone give their life just because I am the Crown Prince…?”
The Crown Prince’s question made me pause for a moment.
But soon, I found the answer.
Though he seemed utterly confused, the answer was simple for me.
“As an Emblem, I can say this: Do you remember when we first met, Your Highness?”
“…I remember. It was when Dame Emblem and Sir Gray participated in the imperial hunting competition as the youngest participants.”
I smiled, nodding as if to confirm, and continued.
“At that time, Your Highness showed great interest in the history of Emblem. You said you wanted to become a ruler that Emblem could be proud of.”
I vividly remembered that moment when the frail Crown Prince, who looked as if he could collapse with a mere touch, suddenly spoke with gleaming eyes.
‘I may not be strong enough to be a hero like Emblem, but I want to become a ruler that Emblem would be proud of.’
It was just a bold ambition from a child, but it left such a strong impression that it remained deeply etched in my memory.
“You must have said that because you knew that only a ruler worthy of Emblem’s loyalty would be chosen by them.”
At my words, the Crown Prince nodded, as if recalling that moment.
I continued speaking.
“So, if Emblem is willing to give their life for you, it’s because you have become that kind of ruler.”
“……….!”
The Crown Prince opened his mouth and widened his eyes.
His already-red eyes, swollen from crying, welled up with tears again.
