Chapter 34

Yes, A Beautiful One I Can’t Forget

“Since there was no one downstairs, I came up to see why you were so fervently against it.”

“Let me tell you, Reti, you might not know, but when Mother was alive, Empress Dowager often came with Herald and spent time here. Up until then, the nobility and the imperial family were hostile to each other, but after that, the relationship improved. Even now, if there are any official matters, they sometimes stay at the Deneuve estate.”

Sat gently tried to console Reti, who had stopped in her tracks when she saw Herald. Anyone who didn’t know the detailed history between the Empire and the Deneuve family would have reacted the same way as Retie did. It wasn’t easy to share the estate with the Imperial Prince.

“Herald is staying here because it’s more convenient than the Deneuve estate. With the Swordsmanship tournament approaching, there are many people gathering in Leblem, and finding accommodations is difficult.”

Despite the continued public rivalry between the Empire and the Deneuve’s, they weren’t as antagonistic as before. Some speculated that eventually Deneuve would return to being a pro-Empire family. Their close relationship seemed to support this view.

“…It’s already decided anyway. I just mentioned it.” Reti, who pushed the luggage with her foot, pursed her lips. She had been jumping around excitedly, but now she was crestfallen.

Whenever the subject of the late Dowager Duchess came up, she felt powerless. Even though she had passed away from illness, it felt as if she had been robbed of her place.

“Greetings are late. I greet His Highness, the Imperial Prince, the small sun of the Empire. It may be lacking compared to the imperial palace, but I hope you have a comfortable stay.”

Even though there might be a reason for his visit, Reti turned her head away from the Imperial Prince, who was staring at her intently. She hesitated and then offered a belated greeting. As she held her skirt and slightly bent her knees, she didn’t meet his gaze. Looking into his crimson eyes felt like it would expose her complex emotions.

“Everyone seems to be lingering in the ladies’ rooms. Can you go now? I’m a bit tired from getting up early.”

“Oh? Uh, yeah. Rest. Dealing with suitors since the morning must be exhausting.”

“Thank you, big brother.” Reti chased away the three men who had filled her room. Even though they had only been together for a few minutes, it was as exhausting as dealing with suitors all morning. As soon as she was alone, Reti sat on the bed and put her hand over her rapidly beating heart.

“Why do I feel so flustered when I have no relationship with the Imperial Prince? If there’s no relationship, then I shouldn’t feel any emotions.”

She was confused about why her heart raced when she saw the Imperial Prince. When she saw him with other women, she felt a sense of loss. She had been avoiding him all this time, and now these feelings suddenly surfaced.

Translators: Stardust. Read on moonlight novels only

‘Do I really like him?’ Reti blinked her eyes wide open and shook her head vigorously. No, that couldn’t be it.

‘No way… it’s impossible.’

The more she denied it, the clearer the image of the Imperial Prince became in her mind. His face that she saw every time the faint moonlight reached their dark bedroom, his voice that whispered sweet, his hands that wrapped around her waist when they danced the sensations he had given her began to resurface one by one. As she confronted the emotions she had been avoiding, an involuntary moan escaped her lips. She pressed her burning cheeks with the back of her hand and lowered her gaze.

“What’s wrong with me, seriously.”

Does she really like him? Reti blurted out her thoughts as if she were vomiting out her emotions. It felt like her complex feelings were suddenly untangled, like a tangled ball of yarn.

* * *

“What did you do to Reti?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing, yet she hates you so much?”

The three people who had been chased out by Retina into the reception room sat on the couch and had a serious discussion. Well, to be precise, only two of them were serious.

“Reti is usually kind to handsome men.”

“Come to think of it, she was terrified of Herald from the beginning. She tried to run away and fell over. I thought maybe she was embarrassed, and that’s why she started to like Herald… but…”

“It’s not that she likes him, she just couldn’t take her eyes off him because she disliked him so much.”

“Maybe it’s because Reti doesn’t like blondes.”

“But Illiyan is blonde too, and she got along with him just fine.”

“Maybe she just doesn’t like Herald.”

“Seems like it…” Sat and Haint, who were discussing this with their heads together, slowly turned to look at Herald. Herald, who was staring blankly into space, looked like he was extremely angry at first glance.

“Well?”

If anyone else had seen this, they would have been scared to approach the vicinity of the Crown Prince, but the two of them casually discussed Herald’s reputation.

“Reti knows how to read people.”

“She must have felt it while partnering with him. Ah, it’s not him.”

“Well, Herald looks like a bad guy at first sight anyway. Phew, I worried for nothing. What if she followed Herald around like Marie did?”

Translators: Stardust. Read on moonlight novels only

Sat and Haint, who had concluded that Retina hated Herald so much that she even hated staying in the same mansion as him, sighed in relief. Since Herald and Retina were unlikely to meet in the mansion during the competition, they considered it fortunate.

“But why did you suddenly decide to stay in the capital during the competition?”

Sat, who turned towards Herald and rested his elbows on his knees, asked. Only today did he find out that Herald, who had been planning to commute from the imperial palace until preparations were completed, had suddenly changed his residence to the mansion.

“In case any problems arise during the competition.”

“Problems?”

“This.”

Herald tapped his head lightly with his index finger.

“Your head? Why? It seemed fine recently.”

“It was fine. It was fine, but I feel like the symptoms are slowly coming back.”

He said it casually, but the prodromal symptoms were undeniable. The headaches that seemed to have improved returned day and night, and his fingertips tingled, leaving his mind distant on more than one occasion.

“Even if you take medicine?”

“It only suppresses it to some extent.”

“But it seems like the medicine is becoming less effective over time.”

“They said that taking it builds resistance.”

Herald shrugged his shoulders as he spoke. The madness that had plagued the Rudenheim royal family for a long time had been the subject of research by imperial doctors for a long time, but the treatment effects were still minimal. The pills they took were more like suppressants than cures.

“They said we should increase the dosage next time. That’s why I came here. If I have a seizure, the symptoms will be gone for a while.”

That’s why the nobles with symptoms always took pills for the rest of their lives. Increasing the dosage gradually Perhaps because of this, the lifespans of past emperors were not particularly long.

“First, we need to successfully complete the competition.”

Herald was putting a lot of effort into the swordsmanship competition, as it was the first event he was hosting. If he were to have a fit of madness during the competition, all their efforts would be in vain. That’s why he had come to the capital with the Deneuve brothers, who could help him control himself.

“Your madness is always there, so let’s assume we can prevent a seizure. But what about Marie? Since she’s in the capital, you can’t just avoid her, right?”

“I just visited the duchy.”

“And Marie didn’t say anything?”

“She’s staying at the duchy, not the marquis state.”

Herald chuckled and leaned back, seemingly amused. Illiyan had never been able to stop him from having seizures. In the first place, there were very few people who could restrain the crown prince. Anyone who showed even a hint of fear or tried to harm him while he was in a state of madness risked their life.

“How long are you going to drag this out, then? If you don’t plan to open your heart, it’s not a good idea to keep stringing her along. You don’t really intend to make Marie your crown princess, do you?”

“I should start wrapping things up. This should be enough to fit nicely into a lie.”

Marie’s lies were easy to spot even after a brief conversation. Her story didn’t add up, and whenever she pretended to recall something, her memory seemed to change. Marie also avoided discussing her strange words by claiming she didn’t remember them well. However, she made it clear that when this charade ended, it was time to confess.

“It seems like you’ve remembered who that woman is, judging by how confidently you deny that it’s Marie.”

“Yeah, I remembered.”

“So what are you going to do? We should go see her right away.”

“I’m still considering what to do.”

“Who is she that you’re doing all this thinking?”

Haint leaned in closely, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. Herald, however, continued to look at Haint with curiosity but didn’t reveal who this person was. The words “your sister” didn’t come out so easily.

“There is someone. Someone I can’t forget because she’s so beautiful.”

Herald turned his head with a sigh to hide his trembling lips, then put on a deliberately gentle smile.

Translators: Stardust. Read on moonlight novels only