– 21-
When I asked seriously if he liked me, I thought he would stop, but contrary to my expectations, Eden was not an easy guy.
Astonishingly, Eden looked me straight in the eyes and said with an even more serious expression than mine.
“I will do as you wish.”
It was getting more and more absurd.
They said he was a playboy, and it seemed he was working his charm effortlessly.
It seemed that neither sarcasm nor seriousness worked on this guy.
In the end, I had no choice but to respond bluntly.
“I decline, Your Highness. My mind is already very complicated right now.”
I’m currently tangled up with Leon, and it’s complicated because I’m not tangled up with Calix.
I don’t have time to think about a sudden romance with the Crown Prince of a neighboring Empire.
“Hahaha. You’re cold. Honestly, Lyn, you’re my type from head to toe, even your taste in books.”
‘Ha…’
A deep sigh naturally came out.
“Thank you for saying so, Your Highness.”
You know what irony is, right?
“Hahaha. You’re welcome.”
He laughed cheerfully.
Are you pretending not to understand irony too?
This handsome guy was really annoying.
Annoyed by his laugh, I turned my head towards the window.
Ah!
A pair of beautiful eyes were looking at me from outside the window.
Calix?
It was really Calix!
Next to him was Rajiv.
Oh my gosh!
I could feel my face burning up instantly.
It seemed they had coincidentally passed by the cafe and made eye contact with me.
Even though there was a glass window between us, this was the first time I had faced Calix after realizing all the blunders I had made with him.
“Kailyn-…….”
In my extreme embarrassment, I couldn’t take my eyes off Calix and heard a strange sound.
Huh?
What was that?
Who was talking?
Wait a minute….
!!!!
Ah! Eden was here, wasn’t he?
I was so focused on Calix that I momentarily forgot about Eden in front of me.
Only then did I snap back to reality and look at Eden again.
“What did you say?”
When I asked Eden again, he replied with a puzzled expression.
“I said, it’s Crown Prince Calix.”
“Oh…! Right, he is the Crown Prince.”
My dazed response made Eden mutter again while looking at Calix.
“That’s strange. Since when has he been standing there?”
What’s so strange about that?
He must have passed by.
I followed Eden’s gaze and looked out the window again.
Now Calix’s gaze was directed at Eden.
Suddenly, I wondered if Calix knew that Eden was in Everen.
Eden had said he had come to the Everetian Empire for a leisure trip, not an official visit, so perhaps Calix was just now finding out about Eden’s presence in Everen.
Eden suddenly stood up.
I awkwardly stood up as well and bowed towards Calix outside the window.
I debated whether I should go out and greet him formally, but I figured Calix wouldn’t welcome that anyway.
Contrary to my expectations, Calix said something to Rajiv beside him and started coming into the cafe.
I was completely flustered.
Why is he coming in?
Fortunately, almost at the same time Calix entered, Eden also began walking towards the entrance of the store.
In hindsight, it made sense that the Crown Prince’s couldn’t just pass by each other without exchanging greetings once they made eye contact.
Phew….
At least that’s a relief.
You two can meet in the middle.
For the first time, I felt grateful to Eden for leaving quickly before Calix could come closer.
Of course, Eden probably went that way because he couldn’t just stand still and wait.
Eden and Calix talked for a short while.
From my seat, I couldn’t hear their voices, so I assumed it was just a brief exchange of pleasantries.
After their short conversation, Calix left the cafe, and Eden returned to me.
As Eden sat back down across from me, I couldn’t help but turn my head towards the window.
I saw Calix walking away from the cafe, and just at that moment, he turned his head, and our eyes met again.
Oh, not again!
I quickly turned back to look at Eden.
“Why is your face so red, Lyn?”
Eden asked.
“Oh… it’s just, you know, some stuff.”
“Does this ‘stuff’ have anything to do with Crown Prince Calix?”
Wow, Eden catches on quickly.
“No, it’s just that I made a few blunders on my own…”
I mumbled, trying to brush it off.
“Blunders? Do you even do those?”
“Yeah, sometimes.”
Stop asking. It’s a complete black mark in my past.
Eden seemed to scrutinize my face for a moment before changing the subject.
“Rin, it’s nice being out together like this. Where should we go tomorrow?”
“Huh? You’re coming out with me again?”
No way!
“Yeah, I didn’t plan on it initially, but the plan changed suddenly.”
“???”
Plan changed? What does your plan have to do with my walk?
I looked at Eden with a confused expression.
“The Crown Prince Calix asked me what I was doing in Everen.”
What does that have to do with a change of plans?
I felt a sense of unease creeping up again.
I asked nervously.
“So, what did you say?”
“I told him I came to court you.”
“What???”
What is he saying?
Is he serious?
“Did you really say that?”
“Yeah, I couldn’t think of anything else to say.”
Oh, dear God.
Lord, calm my murderous intent.
I was so furious that I wanted to punch Eden right in the face.
How could he drag me into this just because he couldn’t think of anything else to say?
Who gave him the right to say that?
What will Calix think of me now?
He’ll probably think I confessed my love to him and then, as soon as I got rejected, started dating the crown prince of another empire!
Even Leon mentioned marriage, and now he’ll think I threw myself at him.
Rejected and already with the next guy?
What, do I have a thing for royal men?
Ah, this is driving me crazy.
This reckless bastard Eden.
“There should be a limit to lying! How could you just say something like that so carelessly?”
I barely managed to suppress my urge to scream.
“If you don’t like lies, should we start dating for real?”
Wow…!
He looks not just normal but ridiculously handsome, yet he’s a total nutcase.
“No way!”
Not wanting to talk to him anymore, I whipped my head away.
I heard him chuckle from across the table.
That guy is completely insane! Unbelievable.
I didn’t even make eye contact with Eden until we left the cafe.
*****
My irritation didn’t subside even as the night deepened.
Thinking about how Calix might view me as the kind of a persistent woman, obsessive lover with overt sexual preferences and no loyalty, chasing after royalty like it’s a relay race made my mouth go dry.
He’d probably take even more pleasure in killing me later.
Though things were already messed up, they felt even worse now.
Was I doomed to face his blade without any way to fix this?
Should I really escape from Everetian now and seek asylum?
The lack of visible ways to survive made my mind wander to all sorts of thoughts.
Ha! Asylum….
A hollow laugh escaped me.
I’m not some political prisoner.
!!!!
Wait! Asylum?
Asylum……..
Suddenly, my mind started whirling like a washing machine on spin cycle.
Asylum.
A word I thought of without any serious intention, but then I realized.
If I had any options left, it was this.
Until now, I hadn’t considered escaping the Everetian Empire, I only thought about surviving within it.
But with Calix not loving me and my father refusing to stop his rebellion plans, perhaps the only way to survive was to flee the empire.
Of course, I hoped that my father and brother could survive too.
But if I couldn’t convince them, I couldn’t just wait helplessly for my impending doom.
If I couldn’t persuade them, I wanted to survive, at least.
Just me….
Once the idea of asylum entered my mind, it became increasingly clear as the only answer.
Eventually, I started to think concretely about it, as if seeking asylum was already a given.
In reality, the question of “Where should I seek asylum?” was both the beginning and end of my concerns.
There were many small kingdoms surrounding the Everetian Empire.
One of those small kingdoms?
No, no way!
The small kingdoms wouldn’t bear the burden of accepting the daughter of a high-ranking official from the powerful Everetian Empire as a refugee.
Even if they did, if my status changed to that of a traitor’s daughter, they’d quickly extradite me to show their loyalty to the Empire, even before Calix demanded it.
To seek asylum from the Everetian Empire, I’d need to choose a nation with comparable power.
But if it were an empire… the Darkus Empire is the closest.
It was the only empire that shared a border with Everetian.
It had equivalent national strength.
The Darkus Empire, Eden’s country….
However, I’d need to consider several things about the Darkus Empire.
Unlike the Minor Kingdoms, the Darkus Empire had the system and capacity to ensure the status and safety of refugees.
So, how would my status as the daughter of a high-ranking official from a rival empire be received in the Darkus Empire?
Perhaps for symbolic or practical reasons, the Darkus Empire would have no reason to reject me.
But a year and a half later, after my father’s death, what would my standing in the Darkus Empire be?
Daughter of a traitor to a rival empire….
If Calix, upon becoming emperor, demands the extradition of a traitor’s daughter, what then?
Would the Darkus Empire protect me, unlike the small kingdoms?
Would I be worth protecting?
No, no.
Even for the Darkus Empire, there would be no reason to risk refusing Calix’s demand to protect someone of no real value.
Furthermore, a year and a half from now, just before my father’s death, the two empires engage in a small-scale skirmish at the border.
The result is a victory for the Everetians.
Naturally, the defeat in the skirmish would weaken the Darkus Empire’s position against the Everetians.
So, does this mean there’s no place for me to seek asylum after all…?
That night, I wrestled with this dilemma repeatedly.
My mind was exceedingly restless as I calculated and recalculated various factors deep into the night.
