SSCP | Chapter 5

Episode 5

The soft sound of turning pages reached my ears and then faded away.

Rustle, rustle. Soon after, I heard the sound of a quill moving and the rustle of clothes brushing against the chair as someone shifted.

Then came the steady footsteps of someone walking, followed by the sound of them hesitating in front of a bookshelf, and finally, a shhkk as they pulled out a thick book. Though it was all nothing more than peaceful white noise, to me right now, it felt only distracting and unsettling.

I sighed, brushing back the hair that had fallen over my shoulder.

I couldn’t concentrate at all. The image of a man, drenched in blood and standing alone amidst the crowd, kept popping into my head.

I shouldn’t be like this right now. The quarterly Royal Academy exams were a heavy burden for me. On top of everything else, I had to study languages that no one else bothered with. Books others could read in an hour took me three.

I stuck the quill back into the inkwell and rubbed my wrist. I should ask my adoptive father to get me a fountain pen.

“Did you hear? There was a huge mess at the Royal Guard entrance exam site.”

While taking a break and drinking water in the lounge, I overheard two men whispering by the window. It was a topic I’d been trying hard to forget.

It had already been a week since then, and I’d heard that the incident had sparked a lot of talk among people. Public opinion wasn’t exactly favorable toward Chadoreyn. But why?

I glanced sideways at the whispering men. The lounge was fairly spacious, and plenty of others were talking, too. Perhaps that’s why they didn’t seem to care that someone might overhear them. In fact, I seemed to be the only one paying attention to their conversation.

“Prince Reynold, right? Don’t you think it’s kind of pitiful? A crown prince standing on the training ground as a selector for the Royal Guard. Even if he’s good at swordsmanship, isn’t that too low a position for someone like him?”

“What’s pitiful about it? He killed people like it was nothing.”

“Well… that’s true. It’s just a shame about those innocent knights.”

Innocent knights? I sipped my water, pretending not to listen, and frowned.

Though Chadoreyn did hurt those knights, it was self-defense. It’s not that I’m trying to defend him, but blaming him this way felt a little off.

No—wasn’t it even stranger that the knights had attacked him with the clear intent to kill right in the middle of the training ground?

Chadoreyn is a royal. A crown prince with a claim to the throne.

This felt like the rumors had been fabricated. Like someone had intentionally left out key details when spreading them.

“If someone like Prince Reynold becomes emperor, he’ll be a tyrant, not a benevolent ruler.”

I frowned at their harsh words. Sure, people curse leaders behind their backs, but this was just too unfair.

I suddenly wondered if this was how Chadoreyn ended up with the title of “the mad crown prince of the Alpine Empire.”

In other words, that image was deliberately manufactured. Because he and the Empress lacked power.

While I was lost in thought, a long shadow fell over my head. Someone had approached me from behind. I turned my head in surprise, just as a pleasant baritone voice rang in my ear.

“Whether he becomes a tyrant or a benevolent ruler—shouldn’t we wait and see? That judgment seems rather harsh.”

A silver-haired man dressed in a deep green formal uniform looked at the two men by the window with languid eyes.

He lazily loosened his cravat and smiled faintly at the panicking men. His expression held the mercy of a predator indulging its prey.

“M-my apologies, Your Highness!”

“Please spare us! Have mercy…!”

The two men, faces drained of color, finally grasped the situation and bowed low.

A suffocating silence filled the lounge. I watched as not only the people already inside but even those who had been about to enter fled the room, and I let out a sigh.

Of course I know how scary PD Cha Do-Hyuk can be. But that doesn’t mean he deserves to be treated this way. At least from what I saw in the four years I worked under him.

“That’s enough. Let’s go, Bang-Wool.”

Chadoreyn quickly lost interest in the two men and took my hand.

And then I saw it—the expressions of people who, while sighing in relief, looked at our clasped hands and my face in shock.

The rumors that had started from the disaster relief fundraising party had spiraled out of control, and now it seemed I wouldn’t be able to avoid them again.

The headline from that time’s newspaper was absolutely ridiculous. What was it again?

“What Is It About the Stranger That Has the Mad Crown Prince So Helplessly Enchanted?!” or something like that.

Following that bizarre article was an interview with Lady Serinne, who was attending the Royal Academy with me. The reporter who wrote that piece was none other than Eleanor, who always seemed desperate to tear down Crown Prince Reynold.

“Everything About Lady Rubiche According to a Fellow Academy Student!” was the title, and the contents were nothing but absurd. To put it simply, it was an open smear campaign, like saying one rotten fish spoils the pond.

Come to think of it, Lady Serinne wasn’t the only one who didn’t look kindly on my sudden entry into noble society.

In that sense, I wasn’t all that different from Chadoreyn. I followed quietly behind him, lost in that thought.

Chadoreyn and I exited the library building and walked toward the garden of the Royal Academy. Since it was exam season, the garden was deserted.

I didn’t ask him anything about what had happened at the Royal Guard selection ceremony, and he didn’t say anything either. We also didn’t speak about what had just occurred in the lounge.

He sat me down on a glossy wooden bench that looked new.

“What brings you here?”

I looked up at him as if in a trance and asked. His lips moved hesitantly, and after a pause, he finally opened his mouth.

“I wanted to see you.”

The words spilled out so sincerely that I was startled. He seemed surprised himself, covering his mouth with one hand and freezing in place.

“Is that really the reason?”

Chadoreyn roughly loosened the cravat hanging crookedly around his neck. Sweeping his silver hair back from his forehead, he looked at me with a face full of subtle anticipation.

“Is that so wrong? I keep needing to confirm whether you really exist in this world. I can’t believe it.”

He rubbed his neck slowly. The movement was raw and unrefined.

He was a man who could project his overwhelming presence without even meaning to. I felt like a rabbit facing a giant predator.

He then fell silent and looked at me with unreadable eyes, as if he were thinking about something. His gaze was tangled with countless emotions, making it look terribly complicated.

“PD-nim, you really seem like a different person. If we hadn’t talked about Korea, I would never have guessed you were Korean in your past life.”

At my words, he made a bitter expression. A gentle breeze blew in between. Chadoreyn’s silver hair was tousled roughly.

His messy appearance, his clouded expression, and his disheveled hair—all of it made him look out of sorts. And somehow, it felt like it perfectly reflected how he felt inside.

“So, I’m actually very flustered right now.”

“I understand how you feel.”

Well. Just as I can’t fully understand Chadoreyn, he probably can’t completely understand me either. When you meet a fellow Korean in a foreign country, it’s nice, sure—but that doesn’t mean you suddenly become best friends.

Of course, this situation is a bit different. I met a fellow Korean in a completely different world. And on top of that, it’s someone I knew.

I do feel a special sense of connection that goes beyond just being glad. But still, I was cautious.

I don’t even fully know PD Cha Do-Hyuk, let alone PD Cha Do-Hyuk who had become Crown Prince Reynold. I wasn’t sure.

“When I’m with you, I feel at ease.”

I couldn’t respond to Chadoreyn’s words. Nothing came to mind to say.

I felt the same, though not with the same intense emotion he seemed to feel for me.

“I want to stay by your side. I hope you’ll allow me.”

The gentle golden eyes seemed to pierce right through my face. He was sincere.

Well, has he ever not been sincere? Even in the past, while he often joked, he was never one to speak empty words.

At his words, I avoided his gaze and scratched my cheek.

“Um… I think that might be a bit difficult.”

“May I ask why?”

“I have my own schedule too….”

“Stick to your schedule. I won’t get in your way.”

As he said that, Chadoreyn rubbed his face with one hand as if tired and subtly glanced at me. That action, like a puppy watching its owner for cues, made me let out a short laugh.

“Looking at me like that won’t work. It’s still too much.”

He took a step back and stared at me with a contemplative face.

“Then how about this? I’ll help you adjust to this world. You’re preparing for the entrance exam for Alpine University, right?”

Only then did I consider his offer seriously.

The Crown Prince Reynold, if I recall correctly, was famous for his swordsmanship, but he was also known as a genius since childhood. It made sense—an adult’s mind in a child’s body. Considering he had been recognized as a genius even in Korea, it wasn’t a bad offer at all.

After some hesitation, I finally nodded.

“If it’s something like that, it’s not a bad offer. Deal.”

At my words, he burst into laughter as if he had heard a word that brought him great joy.

After that day, Chadoreyn showed up at the Rubiche estate every single day.

About a month later, he even moved his residence into the estate’s VIP guest room. Not only was he always in the mansion, but he also stuck to me like glue whenever I went out.

One day, from morning till evening, he clung to the Rubiche estate like chewing gum, until finally, a man claiming to be his aide came to drag him away.

He even shamelessly followed me to a social tea party that was supposed to be for women only. The problem was, this Chaedorun guy was intimidating enough to the properly raised young ladies just by sitting there doing absolutely nothing.

Wasn’t Chadoreyn the ‘mad Crown Prince’ who was frightening just by existing? And unfortunately, since he was royalty, I couldn’t exactly lock him up somewhere—honestly, it was driving me crazy.

“When you said you wanted to stay by my side, is this what you meant? You’re being way too disruptive.”

I tugged at my hair in frustration as I asked him.

Then that shameless guy casually crossed his legs, shrugged his shoulders, and replied with a relaxed face,

“All I’ve done is sit next to you. That hardly counts as interference, don’t you think? I’ve done practically nothing.”

I was left speechless. Because it was true. The real problem had been the young ladies who freaked out just from seeing him.

I let out a deep sigh. Right. Give and take is the unchanging truth of life, no matter the world.

Whether he knew what I was thinking or not, Chadoreyn leaned against the carriage window frame and enjoyed the view outside.

How sentimental. I rested my chin on my hand and admired his looks.

The view inside the carriage was quite nice.