Episode 65

Standing at the bottom of the staircase, I lightly bowed my head in greeting.

Rosalind, who had guided Kenneth, rolled her eyes from behind him.

“You need to go down. Will you be alright?”

Her lips mouthed the words.

It seemed Rosalind had some tasks left to attend to downstairs.

I nodded slightly in response.

Before turning to descend the stairs, she turned back as if she had forgotten something, placing a finger over her lips.

It was a signal to keep silent.

I knew well enough what she meant—she was telling me not to mention the other body of mine that was in my room.

“Hmm.”

I had been looking at Rosalind and momentarily forgot the Crown Prince standing before me.

He quickly climbed the stairs and was now right in front of me.

Facing those golden eyes from such a close distance, I instinctively shrank back.

His face was still strikingly intimidating.

“If you don’t intend to talk here, I can lead the way.”

Although it had been just over ten days, his condition seemed to have improved considerably.

His face looked better than before.

“This way.”

I led him to Rosalind’s kitchen, where we usually had our breakfast and dinner at a small table.

The table had always been sufficient when it was just the two of us, but now, with him sitting there, it suddenly felt cramped.

Worried he might be uncomfortable, I lifted the teapot in a silent offer.

“No tea, just sit.”

Kenneth said, and I obediently took the seat opposite him.

“So, what is it you wanted to discuss?”

He crossed his long legs and asked.

Even in such a modest setting, he did not lose his grace and remained very elegant.

He was nothing like me, who had lost much of my noble demeanor in just over ten days.

“I cannot fulfill your request, Your Highness. I apologize.”

I lowered my eyes and spoke my refusal.

Although I had left Igon, I could not betray him.

Even if Igon had truly intended to use me, I had already received too much from him to do such a thing.

“Is that so?”

I didn’t think Kenneth would be enraged by my refusal.

However, I also didn’t expect him to take it lightly.

I anticipated some anger, but his expression was much calmer and more composed than I had imagined.

“I had hopes when I called you here. I see.”

“You’re not surprised?”

“Not very much, no.”

“How come?”

“I knew you might waver, but I also knew you wouldn’t be able to stab the Duke in the back.”

He spoke as if he had already known everything.

His tone implied that even if I realized Igon had betrayed me, he knew I wouldn’t be able to abandon him.

“Of course, there was a slight hope that you might, though.”

“Then…”

I began to speak but stopped.

If Kenneth had anticipated everything, if he had predicted my refusal, why did he plant doubts in my mind?

As that thought crossed my mind, I furrowed my brow.

“Are you angry with me?”

“If you knew everything, why did you say such things to me? If you knew I wouldn’t change, then why did you…”

I couldn’t finish the sentence.

A whirlpool of conflicting emotions overtook me.

“Seeing you here like this, it seems I wasn’t wrong.”

“…”

“Was it different from what you assured me of?”

“Are you mocking me?”

“Did I lie to you? I only warned you of what I knew.”

Despite my intentions, my words slipped out in a cold, unrefined tone.

“Are you upset because I was right?”

“…Leaving the Rodore family wasn’t just because of Duke Rodore.”

In my agitation, I let slip a hint of something more in response to the Crown Prince’s words.

Immediately, I questioned whether I should have said that.

However, Kenneth seemed to dismiss my words as mere bravado.

A crooked smile appeared on his lips.

An unbearable sense of revulsion stirred within me.

It felt as though he was treating my misery as some sort of game.

“If you used me simply for your amusement…”

“Is the Lady quick-witted or lacking in perception?”

Kenneth turned his head, laughing as he met my gaze.

“Do you really think I would have gone through all that trouble that night just for some fleeting amusement? Do you believe I put in that effort merely to plunge you into despair?”

I had no answer.

If that wasn’t the case, then why?

Why did he make such a meaningless proposal and give me a reason to come here?

“If not that, then what?”

“Think about it carefully.”

I pondered for a moment but soon shook my head.

“I don’t understand.”

He placed his clasped hands on his thigh.

His gaze lingered on me, slow and leisurely, like a predator eyeing its prey.

“There are several reasons, but pushing you to the edge was my way of possessing you.”

It was an unexpected response.

My lips parted slowly, and I inhaled sharply.

I stared at him.

Kenneth’s mouth was smiling, but his eyes were serious.

What was his true intention?

It didn’t seem like he was merely talking about personal affection.

“To pull you out of the Duke’s grasp, either he had to abandon you, or you had to abandon him.”

My mind went blank for a moment.

My head spun.

“Did you anticipate that I would run away?”

If he knew I wasn’t the type to betray Igon, he likely also realized I wouldn’t just sit quietly and pretend not to know anything.

Perhaps he had even predicted that I would escape like this and had planned accordingly.

“No, I expected you to be confined.”

Confined.

Hearing that word, memories of being locked in the Duke’s room resurfaced.

The memory of his cold back as he turned away, leaving me in the room, tore at my heart.

Kenneth’s prediction had been somewhat accurate.

“If you had indeed been confined, I would have used magic to free you, just as I reached out to you through the letter last time. I assumed that your resentment towards the Duke would have made you willing to follow me.”

That might have been true.

Had Kenneth appeared while I was confined, I might have taken his hand to escape Igon.

As my thoughts slowly began to fall into place, it all started to make sense.

The answer wasn’t hard to find.

“You intended to use me.”

Kenneth had planned to use me to pressure Igon.

Even if I were just a tool to Igon, I was still officially recognized as a lady of the Duke’s house.

With my nominal status and the insider knowledge I had of the Duke’s affairs, Kenneth could have exerted considerable pressure on Igon.

Although I realized that both Igon and Kenneth intended to use me, the realization didn’t hit me as hard as it had with Igon.

Instead, I felt rather indifferent.

“That’s part of it.”

“Part of it?”

So, there was another reason?

“The Duke has you in his grasp, and you’re content within it. What other method did I have?”

I furrowed my brow, struggling to make sense of his words.

As I lowered my gaze in thought, something caught my eye: the hilt of a sword resting beside the table. Attached to it was a peculiar decoration. It was a crude, strange ornament, poorly crafted.

I was about to dismiss it when something made me look again.

Though my memory was hazy, I recognized it.

It was the ribbon knot I had made as part of an invitation decoration at the Princess’s palace.

My head spun as I felt dizziness wash over me, pressing my hand to my forehead.

I never imagined he would attach something like that to his sword hilt.

I hadn’t seen it before—certainly not during the hunting festival.

A thought began to take shape in my mind.

“Your Highness.”

He looked at me silently as I called out to him.

Staring into his golden eyes, I asked bluntly, “Do you have feelings for me?”

A faint smile played on his lips, but that was all the answer I needed.

Though I had somewhat expected it, the realization hit me like a tidal wave.

I couldn’t think of anything to say.

I had known Kenneth felt some affection for me, but I had never imagined it could be this deep.

I had always thought his feelings were more akin to friendship or mere curiosity.

“Why?”

Unable to understand, I tilted my head.

“Who knows?”

He stroked his chin as if pondering the question.

His narrowed eyes and thoughtful demeanor seemed genuine.

My face heated up, though I couldn’t tell if it was out of anger or disbelief at his audacity.

I shook my head, struggling to grasp the situation’s reality.

I wanted to believe that everything he was saying was simply out of spite because I had refused his offer.

“If all of this is true, Your Highness, you’ve made a grave mistake with me.”

“Is there such a thing as a mistake that shows you the way to survive?”

“You’ve shattered my comfort.”

Kenneth leaned back deeply in his chair, laughing as if the idea was absurd.

I didn’t care if he was mocking me.

I waited for his response without wavering.

“Do you still call that false peace, that illusion blinding your eyes, ‘comfort’?”

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand him.

By my standards, Kenneth’s words and actions didn’t make sense if he truly had feelings for me.

Even his plan to use me contradicted that notion.

“Your Highness… you’re strange.”

“I know. Didn’t I tell you that last time?”

My mind went blank, leaving me at a loss for words.

Silence hung over the empty table.

“…I will not go to you.”

“Indeed, it seems that way.”

Kenneth nodded at my carefully chosen words.

“If the Duke had acted as expected, perhaps I would have had a chance. But you ran away on your own, and now that opportunity is lost forever.”

This wasn’t like him.

His tone and demeanor were unlike anything I had seen before.

His arrogance, which had never faltered, suddenly seemed diminished.

He looked weak—uncharacteristically so.

In front of me, of all people, he showed vulnerability.

A thought briefly crossed my mind.

Amidst the confusion, I realized his weakness, and a hint of selfishness stirred within me.

“You owe me a great debt, so please grant me a request.”

“A request? After rejecting all my invitations and requests, you now want me to fulfill yours?”

“You promised that even if I refused you, you would still take my side.”

I offered him a faint smile, and he rubbed his face with his hand, laughing heartily.

“You’re cunning.”