I Stole the Prince's First

Chapter 19.

 Not in My Right Mind

Prince Herald’s palace office.

The Herald, who had his chin in his hand, looked up from the ledger he had taken over from the Emperor.

“It’s uncomfortable.”

He shifted the position of his feet under the desk with a groan. Even after several days, the bruise on the back of his heel from the injury during the ball still throbbed. He couldn’t help but think, ‘I’ve faced assassins without a single hiccup, and now this happens at a ball.’

“Herald, is there any discomfort anywhere?”

Sat, who continuously furrowed his brow, looked at Herald. Sat had raised his voice from the slanted desk, where he had pushed up the glasses that had come down below the bridge of his nose.

“I feel like my head is going to explode from looking at all these documents. Should I go out for a round?”

“But weren’t you supposed to attend as the Vice Commander of the Second Knights today? Please stay put.”

Haint, who was on the other side of Herald, took the opportunity to pat Sat’s shoulder to hold him back. There had been more than a few times when Haint had to stop Sat from rushing at the prince.

“Hehe, as expected, there’s never a quiet day when the Duke’s family is involved.”

A laughter echoed from the other side of Sat in the cramped office of the prince, even though it was spacious. Herald, Sat, Haint, Teton, and finally Illiyan, who wore glasses as if to open his narrow and long eyes, made up the F4 of the Evelyn Academy. Even though there was ample space, the office felt stifling.

“Your Highness and everyone else seem tired. Shall we take a short break?”

It was getting to the point where concentration was fading. Illiyan stretched and lowered his glasses. Even after the Royal Ball had ended, they had gathered in the prince’s office every day, toiling away, and it seemed like the lingering effects of the ball hadn’t fully dissipated yet.

“We only have three days left until the debutante ball, and you want me to handle the swordsmanship tournament that follows it right away? I’m already swamped, especially with Retina’s debutante preparations!”

“Then go tell the Emperor yourself that you can’t do it.”

“W-who said I couldn’t do it? It’s just a tight schedule…”

Haint, who had jumped up from his chair in exasperation, grumbled at Sat’s remark. Who could dare go to the Emperor and dispute this? The only person who could refuse the Emperor’s offer was himself, but Herald had no intention of opposing the Emperor, who was gradually passing on his authority to the Crown Prince.

“Poor Retina. She already had a hard time dealing with the venomous snakes in the Duke’s mansion. Now, as a brother, I can’t even help her.”

Haint sighed as he tried to make up for the absence of the Duchess, who had declined to attend parties and instead taken Retina, representing the Duchess, to greet the ladies.

With Herald taking charge of the event following the Debutante Ball due to the three nobles assisting him, they couldn’t even attend the remaining parties, and they were stuck in the office.

“Illiyan, your sister is also making her debut this time, right?”

“Yes. It’s her debut in high society, so she seems very nervous. Although she has been accompanying Mother to such events since she was very young, it seems that the debutante ball is different.”

“Well, greeting people as a debutante is quite different from being a lady accompanying someone.”

Translator: Stardust. Read on moonlight novels only

Even Retina, who they thought wouldn’t get nervous, has had a pale face ever since she returned from the Duke’s mansion. She tried her best to hide her feelings.

“She seemed to be trying not to show it, but her expressions gave everything away. Haint, who wore a more troubled expression than Retina, slumped on the desk.

“It looks like we’ll meet Lady Retina for the first time at the Debutante Ball.”

“Oh, right. You’ve been in the fiefdom all year, so you haven’t seen Retina, have you? Don’t just fall for her at first sight. I might want to paint those eyeglasses of yours completely black.”

Illiyan’s casual tone made Haint bristle as he warned him. Illiyan, who had been in the fiefdom all this time and only arrived a few days ago, had never seen Retina, the subject of much gossip.

Being the only younger sibling of the Deneuve twins was enough to make him a hot topic. Becoming the Crown Prince’s partner after just one month of social events, not to mention the curiosity about young Ladies that took up an entire page of the gossip magazine, was reaching a fever pitch.

“Lord Haint, you make me even more curious when you say that. I’m looking forward to it.”

Illiyan smiled with narrowed eyes. He was looking forward to it. Haint twisted his ankle in pain as he rotated it left and right.

“I should try to step on his foot with each step to satisfy that curiosity.”

That was what he thought, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Retina. A peculiar woman—that was Herald’s overall assessment.

She hadn’t been abandoned by the Deneuve family, but she hadn’t received a title either. She had thoughts closer to commoners than nobles, looked down on noble men with her unusual behavior, had perfect etiquette, but couldn’t dance. Her strangely odd actions in response to that subject naturally drew attention, making her impossible to ignore.

“She’s oddly annoying.”

Perhaps it was because of that day. Herald, whose concentration had waned due to the guys chatting in the middle, put down his ledger and rubbed his sore eyes.

The face that has kept coming to mind since he regained his focus that had looked at him with a mix of confusion and tension refused to disappear.

Lying on his bed, he closed his eyes, revealing thin collarbones extending down to his shoulders. This unfamiliar memory overlapped with something he couldn’t quite place. A scene that seemed vaguely familiar, a feeling of not being relieved, and constantly sensing his surroundings

‘I must be going crazy.’

Herald muttered as he loosened the buttons on his shirt, suffocated by the tightness in his throat. It was because of the incident at the royal ball that Retina kept popping into his mind whenever there was a gap in his thoughts.

‘I am unable to remember the person I should remember.’

He had doubted Retina, but in the end, nothing was confirmed. He pressed his forehead firmly. He had been questioning and searching for her for a whole month, but there was no one who claimed to have seen her. If it hadn’t been for the state of the bedroom, which they had spent the whole night in, he might have thought it was all a dream. She was nowhere to be found.

“Teton.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Do you have any information about the lady since that day?”

Teton answered the prince’s call, and his shoulders trembled slightly. He said, “No,” flatly, turning his gaze elsewhere.

“What about you?”

“We asked the young nobles while talking about what happened at Penelope Manor, but we found nothing. Most of the young nobles who left the room had clear alibis.”

“What about when she first entered high society?”

“We tried asking through my younger sister, but even among those she knows, there was no one who knew. Besides, at the Penelope Manor parties, only the invited ones attended, so even the newcomers were all familiar faces.”

“Penelope Lady won’t reveal the guest list, even for the sake of the lady’s secret.”

“Are you absolutely certain you don’t remember anything?”

Herald raised his head in response to Illiyan’s question. He couldn’t remember anything, but he couldn’t give up. The longer he searched for her, the more intense his unquenchable thirst became. Even though he couldn’t remember that day, the emotions remained vivid.

I want to check again. The persistent illness of the Rudenheim royal family, said to have inherited the power of the sun. Can this incurable madness be cured by anyone?

“Let’s give up for now. If nothing comes up after all this effort, there must be a reason they’re hiding that lady. Do you have any leads? Any idea which noblewoman she might be?”

Translator: Stardust. Read on moonlight novels only

Sat’s family was the worst-case scenario as far as Herald was concerned. Even if he were lucky enough to find her, he couldn’t move on to the next step.

“Until the debutante ball. No, until the end of the social season, let’s keep looking.”

“Do you really plan to make her the Crown Princess if you find her?”

“It’s not confirmed. But I can’t guarantee I won’t do that.”

If she could calm his madness, he would give her any position and wealth, even if he had to announce it to others. However, he couldn’t reveal it to others yet.

“He’s not in his right mind.”

Sat grumbled, shaking his head. If a woman were to appear and claim that she was the person the Crown Prince was looking for, how would Herald handle the consequences? He touched his forehead at Herald’s attitude of not giving a clear answer, even though he knew the results. Above all, the key was whether the Empress, who was already anxious about the Crown Prince’s marriage not taking place, would recognize her. Yet Herald was acting as if he must find her no matter what, causing a headache.

“It’s possible.”

In response, Herald leaned to one side and rested his chin on his hand, smiling wryly.