“I’ll go too.”
“You will?”
Marisa, who had requested an audience, insisted on going to Charden, making Ludwig tilt his head in confusion.
‘Why on earth does Marisa want to go to Charden?’
There wasn’t anything particularly appealing there for her…
“Yes.”
“But why do you want to go to Charden?”
“I have a reason to go to the Kingdom of Charden.”
“And what might that reason be?”
“The queen has invited me.”
“An invitation from the queen… You know her personally?”
“Yes, I’m a member of the imperial sewing circle.”
“There’s such a group, huh?”
“Yes, it’s a gathering of noblewomen from the empire. The Queen of Charden and I are close, and I’ve agreed to lace her wedding dress.”
“If it’s a wedding dress, you can bring it back when you return from the empire.”
“I need to take her measurements.”
“…”
Unable to find a reason to stop her, Ludwig closed his mouth and inwardly regretted agreeing to Marisa’s audience.
He’s been strangely hurried since the Emperor mentioned the wedding. Now she’s insisting on going to Charden, which is unlike Marisa.
‘Rapun might be uncomfortable with Marisa there…’
“That’s unlike you.”
With a sigh of resignation, Ludwig expressed his thoughts.
Leaving the audience chamber, Marisa smiled wryly.
‘What exactly is being like me? Am I supposed to be like the palace trees, tables, or sofas, barely noticeable? If that’s what being me is like, then I quit.’
Marisa bit her lip until it bled.
After seeing Ludwig and a servant intimately together in the detached palace, Marisa had assigned her cousin and bodyguard, Camel, to stay by his side.
A few days later, she learned that the Crown Prince was going to Charden, the servant’s homeland.
Her whole body trembled at the news.
Ludwig had never been involved in any scandals concerning women, so she had thought he loved no one but herself. Therefore, even though she had never received a warm look or touch from him, she had accepted it.
Being a fiancée in name only was fine.
But the way he looked at and touched the young servant was clearly love. The moment she witnessed that, her rationality flew out the window.
A man, and a servant at that. She couldn’t stand the thought of losing Ludwig.
Now, all Marisa had left was her pride.
***
—Gale, the empire’s Crown Prince is coming to Charden. What should we do?
While enjoying champagne at a ball, a leaf gently landed in his wine glass.
Gale’s original purpose for visiting the Prolands Empire—arranging a marriage between Alexei and Ariel—had yielded no results.
He had mentioned Ariel to Alexei, but his interest was only in the politics, military, and economy of the Romanov Empire. He also asked in detail about Ian, the mage tower master.
And since Alfred was Ian’s brother, Alexei had allowed him to stay in Prolands.
Alexei’s younger sister, Liriana, followed Alfred around, incessantly asking about Ian.
Although he didn’t achieve his original purpose, Gale enjoyed his time as a minstrel, and Alfred as a painter.
Thus, Ariel’s tearful leaf message was ignored.
“Why on earth is the Crown Prince going to Charden? Have they found out I’m an accomplice?”
“My parents aren’t flexible enough to cover for me, what should I do?”
“I have no choice but to go to Charden.”
***
Ludwig’s face was full of displeasure, on the verge of exploding. The summoned mage had repeatedly failed to cast a tracking spell on Ariel.
“Why isn’t it working?”
“It seems someone has already placed a tracking spell on him.”
“What? Who? Then just remove it and recast it.”
“That’s not possible. The previous spell is too strong.”
“Is that so? Who else in the empire is a stronger mage than you?”
“The mage tower master.”
“Hmm, Ian, huh?”
Despite his thoughts, Ludwig couldn’t shake off the suspicion that Rapun and Ian knew each other or had met. On the day Rapun was late, Ludwig hadn’t asked who he was with or what had kept him.
Ludwig feared that meddling and inquiring like lovers had become a habit, an everyday occurrence that might entrap him. The emotions he felt towards someone were undeniably intense, emotions he had never experienced before, and he didn’t want to define them. Defining them felt like they would solidify and consume his fearful self.
Ludwig thought that whatever the emotion was, it didn’t matter. Whether it was sympathy, pity, or something else entirely, as long as Rapun was before his eyes, that was enough.
“Shall I call the mage tower master?”
“No. Let everyone leave except Rapun.”
Ludwig slowly approached Rapun, placed his hand on her head, and closed his eyes. After a moment of silence, he opened his eyes and spoke seriously.
“Do you feel it?”
“What?”
“I’ve cast a spell.”
“…”
“It’s a spell that, no matter where you go or who you’re with, you will always come back to me.”
“What kind of spell is that?”
“Desperation.”
Ludwig’s eyes were truly earnest as he spoke. Ariel felt a sudden heavy drop in her heart. It was an emotion more dangerous than exhilaration.
***
Preparations for the trip to Charden were slower than expected.
It took days to pack the belongings of the Crown Prince’s entourage, the knights, and Marisa’s maids and bodyguards. Because of the time taken just to prepare, Rapun’s leave was nearly over.
Ludwig had wanted to go to Charden to spend the vacation with Rapun, but various delays and the end of the vacation made him anxious.
The day after Rapun’s vacation ended, they had to host a banquet for delegations from various countries.
“Knights: Robert, Joseph, Piotr…”
“I’m not going.”
“What?”
“I said I’m not going.”
“…What did you just say?”
Elias looked flabbergasted. Ludwig felt guilty but decided to push through.
“Have you forgotten that the delegation arrives the day after tomorrow? When exactly do you plan to go to Charden and come back? Even if you wanted to, you couldn’t go.”
“I told you I was tight on schedule, but you insisted on going to Charden.”
“Did I? Why would I do that?”
“You often do.”
“Did I?”
Ludwig quickly got up from his chair and left the office before Elias could continue.
Inside, Elias, trying to calm the angry knights, could be heard as Ludwig moved away, seemingly enjoying himself.
“Where might Rapun be? Should I go see Rapun?”
Ariel was in her room, packing her bags and making sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.
When Ludwig arrived and mentioned they might not be able to go to Charden, Ariel looked like she might cry.
“Really?”
“Do you want to go?”
“Yes, I really want to go. I’ve prepared a lot for it.”
“Next time… That won’t work, will it?”
“No, I really want to go.”
“I’ll think of something.”
Ludwig turned away and sighed, berating himself for his rashness.
He hadn’t considered Rapun’s feelings.
“Should we use teleportation magic?”
That would have been the best method, but he couldn’t use magic, and even if he could, the distance to Charden was so great he’d be exhausted upon arrival.
Unable to think of a better solution, Ludwig sneaked into the imperial treasury, thinking that there must be a way there. It was risky to be caught, but it seemed like the best option.
As he entered, wearing an invisibility necklace and bypassing the guards, he felt a thrill.
***
“Wow.”
The magic carpet carrying Ludwig and Rapun flew through the dark sky.
The carpet sped towards Charden, slicing through the wind at the speed of light. Their schedule in Charden was only from the evening to the next morning, just enough time for them to sleep.
Both were satisfied for different reasons.
“This is quite nice.”
Ludwig decided he would have to use the carpet more often, sneaking away with Rapun to avoid the eyes of the courtiers and knights.
Ariel, though feeling sorry for Anna, was thrilled to be going to Charden. She believed the items she had packed would be very helpful there.
‘But when do I tell His Highness? That I want to quit being a servant.’
Upon arriving in Charden, while Ludwig was being served tea in the reception room, Ariel took a stroll in the royal garden to catch some fresh air. Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her into the shadows, causing her to struggle in surprise.
“Shh, it’s me. Gale.”
“Gale? What’s going on?”
Ariel, startled, asked as she caught a glimpse of Gale’s face in the moonlight.
“What about you? What are you doing here? Don’t tell me you’ve been caught?”
“No, the Crown Prince has come to Charden for an inspection.”
“An inspection?”
Gale looked at her incredulously and led her to a brighter spot.
“What’s happened to you?”
“What do you mean?”
Gale’s gaze lingered on the mask.
The mask looked overly luxurious, as if it had been crafted for a ball. It was so finely made that it gave off an impression of enhanced beauty, making her face seem even more radiant.
“Ah, this mask? The Crown Prince had it specially made for me.”
“Really? That Ludwig?”
“Do you know the Crown Prince?”
“No, don’t ask. A skunk, a crown, a snake.”
“You mean you used that curse you learned from your brother on the Crown Prince?”
Ariel looked at Gale incredulously.
He considered whether to tell her the truth.
As a child during the Emperor of Romanov Empire’s birthday week, a festival lasted for seven days, and the royal family of Charden had gone to pay homage. During the festival’s last day, Gale, who was studying at the Imperial Elton Academy, visited the Romanov royal palace.
That day, while Gale’s parents were distracted, he searched the palace grounds for Ariel, who had gone missing.
Moments later, Gale spotted Ludwig and Ariel standing opposite each other in the royal garden.
Ludwig handed a young Ariel a bouquet of flowers.
“Will you accept my flowers even when you grow up?”
As Ariel shyly smiled and accepted the bouquet, Gale felt a surge of resentment towards Ludwig.
‘Ariel is my precious twin sister…’
Hidden behind a tree, Gale cursed at Ludwig.
“Skunk, crown, snake.”
These were things Gale despised the most.
At kindergarten, he had once been paired with a boy who constantly farted, a boy he detested and nicknamed ‘skunk.’
And ‘crown’ and ‘snake’ were added because he thought the prince was a devious person messing with his sister.
Originally, it was ‘skunk, crown prince, snake,’ but he dropped ‘prince’ to avoid any potential punishment for insulting the royal family.
Ludwig and Ariel seemed to have completely forgotten that incident.
‘Well, it was just a fleeting connection from childhood. There’s no need for me to remind them.’
The royal family tabooed twins, so Ariel’s existence was unknown publicly, which is why Ludwig didn’t realize Ariel was the princess of Charden Kingdom.
However, if he saw someone who looked like Ariel, it might be a different story, and Gale knew he had to disappear quickly from Charden.
“Ariel, I have to go.”
“Gale?”
As Gale turned to leave, Ariel quickly grabbed his arm.
“Why? I need to go quickly.”
“It’s been a month and the spell hasn’t worn off.”
Ariel spoke despondently, prompting a visibly flustered reaction from Gale.
“That shouldn’t be…”
“Can’t you lift the spell?”
“Just a moment…”
Gale appeared to ponder briefly before reciting a spell, but Ariel’s appearance remained unchanged.
“That’s strange, this spell should definitely work…”
What now? It seemed like something had gone wrong.
Gale had combined his knowledge from the Charden royal family and the Imperial Elton School to cast the spell.
“Did it change?”
Ariel asked hopefully, and Gale hesitated in his response.
“Uh, Ariel, it seems like there’s a slight problem… I’ll look for a solution.”
Gale hastily hid himself as he saw Ludwig approaching from outside.
“I might not be able to return you to your original form.”
Though he downplayed it as a minor issue, Gale’s use of such language indicated it was either difficult or impossible to resolve.
Ludwig approached a forlorn Ariel. He stood under the moonlight in the dark landscape, his figure both mystical and beautiful, bringing tears to Ariel’s eyes.
All this time it had been fine. Being monstrous and hideous, even when children threw stones at her. It was bearable because it wasn’t real, it was fake. Even if Ludwig’s treatment of her was merely curiosity or perhaps clumsy sympathy, she didn’t mind being with him.
But if she couldn’t return to her original self, if she had to live as a man, she couldn’t stay by Ludwig’s side.
If she remained by his side in the guise of a man, he could lose his position as the Crown Prince, and in the worst case, his life could be in danger.
She tried to hold back her tears, but her nose began to run instead.
“Rapun, what’s the matter?”
Ariel sniffled.
“I’m just… so happy…”
“Do you get a runny nose when you’re happy?”
“Yes… that’s right.”
Ariel sniffed hard, and Ludwig, frowning, unfolded a handkerchief and brought it to her nose.
“Blow hard, it’s not like you have nothing to eat that you have to sniff back your snot…”
Ariel grabbed the handkerchief and blew her nose. Ludwig watched the scene, his expression sour at first, but then he burst out laughing.
🍉🍉🍉
