“Do women really become so sensitive if they don’t read romance novels?”
Ludwig asked Leo, seeming genuinely curious, and he appeared to ponder for a moment.
“Well…”
Ludwig had first met Marisa when Elias started keeping him company at the age of ten.
Even though she was only six years old back then, Marisa had the grace of a refined young lady. Her table manners were impeccable, and she could articulate difficult words fluently, not at all seeming like a typical six-year-old.
“Haha, you crazy prince…”
Ludwig laughed, mimicking Marisa’s words.
For the first time, Marisa felt like a living, feeling person with real emotions. He even felt grateful for her criticism, as if it had given him some sort of absolution.
He was unsure how to respond to the questions posed during the noble council meetings.
At some point, the balanced rhythm of his heart had started to waver and tilt.
“If I’m not like her, I may end up harming Rapunzel…”
He should just ask her directly and get it off his chest.
“Rapunzel…”
Ludwig called out to Rapunzel cautiously, but there was no response.
“Rapunzel…”
When there was still no reply after calling again, Ludwig, who had been lying on the sofa, abruptly sat up, annoyed.
“Rapunzel, this kid has gotten lazy. I told him not to wander too far.”
Looking around with a displeased expression, he noticed Rapunzel squatting in the courtyard, peering at something.
“Rapunzel, what are you doing?”
As Ludwig sat down next to her, Ariel suddenly turned her head, their faces nearly touching. Their eyes met, and Ariel’s eyes were like sparkling gems, reflecting Ludwig’s image as clearly as a mirror.
Thump, thump, thump… In the silent stillness, the sound of their hearts resonating could be heard.
Ludwig’s face suddenly flushed.
“…What are you staring at like that?”
“Your Highness.”
“I-I mean, don’t you see this face every day?”
Why was he stammering like an idiot? How embarrassing.
“Well, I do see it every day, but today I noticed a little mole next to your eye for the first time.”
“What? There’s no way there’s a mole on my face.”
Ludwig said, sounding annoyed, and Ariel made a surprised expression.
“It’s so cute!”
Cute? Did Rapunzel just call it cute?
At Ariel’s words, Ludwig felt his mood lighten, and he forcibly pulled the corners of his lips down, trying to hide his feelings.
“You, I told you to come running when I call, but you didn’t even answer. What were you doing?”
“I was looking at the roses. There was a bud a few days ago, and today it finally bloomed.”
Ariel said, looking genuinely excited.
“What do you like the most?”
“Among the flowers?”
“No, I mean what you like the most in general.”
No, I mean, do you like me?
“That’s a bit of a tough question. I like the wind that always plays tricks on me and the patience of a rose waiting to bloom in its mysterious bud.”
“Yes, yes, I see,” Ludwig replied dismissively.
He felt foolish for asking the perpetually positive Ariel what was the best thing in the world.
“I like you too, Your Highness.”
“Huh?”
Ludwig looked at her with disbelieving eyes.
“I like you, and I like Lord Leo, and Lord Robert is fun, and Lord Elias is strict, but…”
“Enough!”
“Pardon?”
“You have a tendency to ramble on too much, so I’ll just take ‘I like you too, Your Highness’ and leave it at that.”
Ludwig forcibly cut off Ariel’s words. Deciding to interpret it in his favor, he turned away.
‘Since Rapunzel said he liked me, I’m all good.’
***
The atmosphere in the noble council chamber was starkly different.
The faction supporting Justin, led by the Duke of Charmant, was flaunting their power as if the prince was about to become the emperor himself. In contrast, the faction of the Duke of Carmen remained silent.
The attitude of the “Ian faction” centered around Duke Dominic was cautious.
Their goal was to establish Ian as the emperor, not to depose Ludwig and make Justin the crown prince. After all, in their eyes, Ludwig and Justin were two sides of the same coin.
Ludwig was immature and excessively lavish, while Justin had a cruel disposition and was prone to becoming a tyrant.
Ludwig arrived with his aide, Elias, just before the meeting was set to begin.
“The agenda for this session is regarding the recent controversy surrounding the crown prince, his Highness.”
“…”
“There are rumors of his Highness’s alleged homosexuality, and if proven true, this could even be grounds for abdication. Please feel free to voice your opinions.”
The Duke of Charmant raised the issue, and the chamber immediately erupted into a ruckus, like a marketplace.
“It is a disgrace to the Romanov Empire.”
“He should be deposed.”
“We must ascertain the truth of the rumors and hear his Highness’s side.”
“Prince Justin should be appointed the new crown prince.”
“Now, now, settle down. Let us first hear from his Highness the crown prince.”
The Duke of Charmant said, and all eyes turned to Ludwig, who stood up with a frustrated expression.
He couldn’t understand why it was important to determine whether he was homosexual or not. The idea of people’s love being judged by such standards was distasteful to him.
“I am not homosexual. The rumors of impropriety with a servant are completely unfounded. My personal servant wears a mask due to burn scars on his face, which is likely the source of the misunderstanding.”
Ludwig spoke emotionlessly, as if reading from a script. The content was exactly what Elias had written for him to say.
In his heart, he wanted to say, “I don’t know if I’m homosexual or not. But if the person I’m drawn to is a man, then I suppose I would be.”
But he had to consider Rapunzel as well.
‘Am I just a coward?’
A cold, self-mocking smile spread across Ludwig’s face.
“I anticipated his Highness would respond this way, so I have requested a witness.”
The Duke of Charmant nodded towards Duke Dominic, a temporary ally.
“Lady Marisa von Carmen, please take the witness stand.”
“Lady Marisa!”
All eyes turned towards the entrance of the council chamber, but Marisa did not appear. Instead, the palace butler rushed in and whispered something to the presiding Duke of Charmant.
Suddenly, the Duke of Charmant’s face twisted into an ugly expression, and he relayed the information to Prince Justin.
“Hah, this is absurd… The servant is a woman?”
Justin muttered under his breath, but the hushed nobility listened intently, and his words rang out crystal clear.
Upon hearing this, Ludwig’s expression hardened in shock.
“What? Rapunzel is a woman?”
***
While Ludwig was in a strategy meeting preparing for the noble council, Ariel was in the crown prince’s garden, looking at the roses. She then rode Phil, her horse, to the dock.
Previously, when she had plunged into the sea to retrieve the criminal’s severed head and bracelet, something strange had happened–the transformation had been undone, and she had reverted to his female form. And of course, the burn scars on her face were gone as well.
Not understanding the reason, she had hurried back to the palace, covering her changed appearance with a cloak. Upon reaching the dry corridor, she had reverted to Rapunzel again, using the handkerchief in her pocket to cover the area where the scars had been.
Ariel had been thinking of ways to help Ludwig for the past few days, and it seemed that proving she was indeed a woman was the surest way to quell the rumors.
Of course, she wasn’t sure if she would face other punishments for having lied about being a man, but she had to live through this first.
Ariel had tried bathing and soaking, but the transformation wouldn’t undo. So she felt she needed to recreate the exact same conditions as last time. That was why she had come to the docks, with Anna preparing a fishing boat as agreed.
Ariel arrived at the docks, tying up Phil to a post. While looking around, she spotted a small boat.
“Princess, I’m here!”
Anna called out from the boat, and an elderly man who seemed to be a fisherman was with her.
Ariel climbed aboard, and the old man rowed the boat out into the sea. When they reached a certain point, Ariel plunged into the water. She resurfaced moments later, grasping Anna’s hand to climb back in, she had transformed into a woman.
“Goodness! Princess!”
Anna exclaimed joyfully, covering her face with her hands. Thinking Ariel might never return to her previous form, her tears of relief flowed.
“Anna, we don’t have time for tears.”
Ariel soaked several cloaks in the seawater, to keep her body from drying out and reverting to Rapunzel. Then she and Anna rode Phil at a gallop back to the palace as fast as they could, needing to meet the head butler before the council session ended.
Out of breath, Ariel, still in a soaked cloak, arrived at the palace. The maids, recognizing her despite her mask, led her to the head butler.
“What business brings you here?”
The butler regarded the wet, bedraggled Ariel with distaste.
“Please confirm it,” Ariel urged urgently.
“I am a woman. Therefore, I am not homosexual. Please confirm it.”
The butler, about to dismiss this absurdity, paused at Ariel’s resolute gaze, and quietly called a maid over.
“Take this servant and verify if she is a woman.”
***
Marisa climbed back into the carriage, her brows furrowed in displeasure. She was irritated not only because the noble council meeting was imminent, but also because her dress was covered in mud.
“Oh dear, what will we do about this ruined dress?”
Lotte asked sympathetically, but Marisa, seeming angry, remained silent with her lips tightly pressed together.
What to do? There’s no way she can attend the council like this… but it’s too late to turn back now.
Suddenly, she remembered hearing that Baroness Marin’s daughter had become Princess Josephina’s lady-in-waiting at the palace.
Perhaps she could ask for help? The princess may be unpleasant, but this seems to be the only option.
As soon as they arrived at the palace, Marisa stepped out of the carriage and instructed Lotte to go find Baroness Marin’s daughter in the princess’s quarters and request her assistance.
“Where might the young lady be?”
“I’ll just wait here and get some air.”
“Alright, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
As Lotte rushed towards the princess’s quarters, Marisa finally looked around her surroundings.
This was the separate palace where Ludwig and his servant had often spent time together. The colorful silks fluttered in the breeze, making a soothing, rustling sound almost like a song.
“Oh dear, oh dear, miss!”
Lotte came running back, breathless, and Marisa looked at her curiously, surprised by how quickly she had returned.
“That was fast.”
“Well, on my way to the palace, I ran into the librarian, and he said the book ‘
Hmph, so someone had a conscience after all?
Marisa eyed the book disapprovingly, and Lotte looked at her strangely.
“Aren’t you pleased? Isn’t this the book you wanted to read?”
“What could the crown prince possibly be doing at night? We all know what men get up to at night.”
Marisa snatched the book and motioned for Lotte to hurry back to the princess’s quarters. Lotte quickly dashed off.
Prince Johannes’s feelings were steadily growing stronger. But he didn’t know how to convey them. He was simply too awkward and old-fashioned.
The mere accidental brush of a finger was enough to make him shiver. And he felt that a gentle touch would be more than enough to express his heart.
Every night, Johannes trimmed his nails, soaking his hands in warm water infused with lavender, hoping the flow of the water could become the path to reach her heart.
“Haha, how amusing. The crown prince trimming his nails every night…”
Marisa was shaking with laughter, when Lotte came rushing back, dress in hand.
“Miss… Please, hurry and put on the dress. We’re already running late.”
“Shh, Lotte. Keep it down.”
As she read through the novel, Marisa felt strangely at peace, finally realizing that she was just an eighteen-year-old girl who could laugh and cry over a simple romance novel.
The poison in Marisa’s heart gradually melted away, overflowing in tears. Drenched in the warmth of wishing for Prince Johannes to be the one she desired.
“Waaah, sob, sob, what is this? I can’t even attend the council meeting, and everything’s a mess… all because of a romance novel…”
🍉🍉🍉
