Carlos’ golden eyes were truly boiling. She was even more embarrassed because her heart was so anxious that even the most oblivious person could not help but notice it.
‘Why on earth is this happening?’
She wasn’t this sad when she last met the crown prince.
‘It’s not like anything happened in between.’
No matter how much she became Duchess Blanchett, she couldn’t believe that the handsome and arrogant Carlos needed her.
‘This is absolutely ridiculous.’
“You need me?”
“Yes.”
“Why on earth?”
After her embarrassment subsided a little, she became truly curious.
“Your Highness wasn’t the kind of person who needed someone.”
“That…”
“Please let go of this hand first, it’s unpleasant.”
Carlos’ golden eyes were shaken by her irritated words.
“Are you offended by me?”
Carlos chewed his lip and looked as if he was thinking over her words.
“Wouldn’t it be unpleasant for you to suddenly appear and do this? It’s not like our relationship ended on good terms.”
“Why?”
Carlos asked, putting more pressure on his hand holding her arm.
“Why do you think we’re done?”
“So it’s not over?”
If Leandro had not even developed a proper relationship with her at all, the crown prince was mistaken in thinking that they had some kind of relationship.
“Well, we didn’t even have time to finish anything.”
“…Didn’t you love me?”
There was a strange affection in Carlos’ eyes as he looked at her.
“I still have the last letter you sent me.”
“…”
“That letter, isn’t that your truth? Didn’t you say that I’m the only one who can save you from hell?”
At that moment, she felt like her heart stopped.
Carlos and she exchanged quite a few letters. So she didn’t remember every single detail of the letter. But that last letter, she could never forget its contents.
“Your Highness.”
She asked with a light laugh.
“Did you read my letter then?”
“Yes. I read it all.”
The crown prince said, stroking her bangs with the other hand that was not holding her hand.
“I always read all the letters you sent.”
“You’ve never sent a proper reply.”
“I just couldn’t think of a proper answer to send.”
A strange anticipation appeared on the prince’s decadent face. He seemed to think that if she heard his story, something about him would change.
“So what?”
She roughly shook off the prince’s hand.
‘Ouch!’
Perhaps because she shook it too hard, it felt like her arm was going to fall off.
‘Why is my body so weak!’
However, she didn’t want to show her weak side to the crown prince, so she widened her eyes even colder.
“When did I ask about your circumstances?”
No matter what expression she made, it wasn’t even a threatening face, but she still sneered as sincerely as she could.
“The last letter, if you remember its contents, shouldn’t you know better than anyone else why I’m doing this?”
“…”
“What’s the use of letters and circumstances now, right?”
That last letter was the one she sent to the crown prince while she was imprisoned in Libertan. The letter she wrote when she couldn’t give up hope for the crown prince, somehow tricking him into sending it to the imperial palace and begging him to save her.
Memories that she had buried without even realizing it came to mind.
* * *
It was around this time that she remembered the original work.
At that time she was very impatient. She tried her best to escape Libertan, but none of the methods worked. But Libertan’s destruction was getting closer. She wanted to avoid the situation of marrying John at all costs.
‘There’s really no way now.’
So, she had her last hopes for the crown prince who was secretly friendly to her.
‘…I don’t know if His Highness the Crown Prince will save me.’
From the first time they met, Crown Prince Carlos had shown blatant dislike for her and belittled her by calling her ‘of low blood.’ The crown prince used to make her run errands like a dog under the pretext of apologizing. However, the crown prince sometimes behaved strangely.
‘Why is this lowly blood here? Because I called it.’
‘If I want, even someone of low blood can rise to a position more prestigious than anyone else. So even if I ignore it, it doesn’t mean someone like you can just ignore it.’
‘If you’re not even the crown prince, why do you act as you please?’
Sometimes he protected her from people who hated her, and sometimes told her sweet things about being the future crown princess.
‘Do you want to become the crown princess too?’
Especially as they exchanged letters frequently, she thought they had something in common.
‘Yes, if you have been dreaming, dream big, even if it means becoming the Crown Princess. Wouldn’t she be less miserable that way?’
‘If you try a little harder, maybe you can achieve that dream.’
But that was a complete mistake on her part.
One day, the crown prince called her and welcomed her, flirting with another lady.
‘Wait, until your turn comes.’
The crown prince needed new toys every time, and she was just the freshest and most fun toy at the time.
Still, the only person she could rely on right now was the crown prince.
[To His Highness Prince Carlos.]
She gave up all her misery and sent a final letter to the crown prince, asking for salvation.
[You may not believe it, but the fall of Libertan is not far away. If this continues, I might die. If you have developed some sympathy while exchanging letters with me, please be kind to me.
Please save me.]
Even in her opinion, it was a very lame letter. But at the time, she thought the Crown Prince was her final salvation. So she continued to wait for the crown prince’s letter. But, as if trampling on her expectations, the letter never came back.
‘Ah, I had a stupid idea again.’
That’s how she was able to sort out everything that happened between the crown prince and her. And she decided to come up with a new plan to survive.
* * *
That was it.
It was funny to see the crown prince making a pained expression without knowing the subject.
‘Both Leandro and the crown prince are really strange.’
Even though she hadn’t changed much from before, they acted as if she had changed so much that she was a precious gem that they had to get their hands on.
“Yes, it was my mistake not to save you. Because I thought I could live without you. I thought you were one of the many women I passed by.”
“You didn’t actually do that?”
“It wasn’t.”
Carlos said in a cracked voice.
“No other woman could fill the moments I had with you.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Seeing your face like this made me more certain. The fact that you, whom I thought was nothing special, was someone who should never be missed.”
Carlos’ eyes turned red and tears filled his eyes. The crown prince was looking at her with tears in his eyes.
“I can’t help it if you blame me for being late. Because I need you.”
“I don’t need you, Your Highness?”
She looked around, looking for a corner to escape to. Now she could see the unusual surrounding scenery. A huge magic circle appeared beneath the prince’s feet.
‘A magic circle?’
A magic circle that seemed to have been carved into the stone floor was spread all over the floor. What was unusual was that red blood was flowing between the pictures of the magic circle.
‘That blood…’
Surprisingly, the crown prince was at the starting point of the bloodshed.
She was so surprised by the prince’s words and actions that she didn’t notice, but it seemed like he was cutting himself to pour blood into the magic circle before she came.
‘What on earth is this place?’
Even now, blood was flowing from the crown prince’s body.
“Are you sure you don’t need my help?”
Carlos only focused on her, as if it wasn’t too hard.
“Can’t you see that the rumor about you being an evil woman still persists?”
Carlos’ voice subtly became thinner. It seemed like he was trying to gently entice her.
“Duke Blanchett can’t give you everything you want. But it is possible if you have a huge influence in the social world.”
“…”
“If it were me, I could take action now to save the lives of the Libertan Dukes. So that the Duke and Duchess can get out of prison again. It’s a wish that Duke Blanchett will never be granted.”
“What kind of bullshit are you talking about…”
Carlos, who was momentarily immersed in sentimentality, opened his eyes wide as if surprised when he heard her voice.
“I’m sorry, but my relationship with Your Highness is over. If this is difficult for you to understand, I will say it in another way.”
Carlos seemed to mistakenly believe that she loved him. That’s how much she tried to match Carlos’s wishes as much as possible.
‘But I understand after meeting John.’
She never loved Carlos. She just thought he was her only salvation, so she even lied about her feelings about herself in order to impress him.
“As you know, I am married.”
Carlos’s proud face fell as if it were falling apart.
“Why me…”
Keying-
A strange sound spread throughout the cave. Carlos, who had a shocked expression on his face, stumbled as the sound spread like an echo.
‘The atmosphere is getting a little strange.’
An unusual energy was spreading from the magic circle.
‘Well, what is that?’
Carlos leaned back on the floor.
“Fairy.”
Carlos’ golden eyes were colored with purple light.
“Last fairy, you were here.”
A black energy crept up onto the cave wall where Carlos was leaning. And it became a picture. It was a picture of a monster that seemed to have all kinds of magical beasts messily glued together.
‘That’s not the crown prince.’
She got goosebumps and started running without even looking back.
“I want that sacrifice.”
Shadow-like things crawled up the cave wall as if dancing.
“Offer me your final sacrifice.”
Fortunately, she started off a little faster. She circled around the corner of the cave to avoid the touch of the monstrous shadow.
‘But if things continue like this, it won’t be long before I get caught.’
She had to find a way to escape from here.
Her breathing became increasingly rough. A shadowy hand rose from the cave ceiling wall and reached towards her.
At that time, a low voice that she was not expecting at all reached her ear.
“Estelle?”
Just as the shadow hand was about to grab her.
“Why are you here?”
John appeared before her and burst his shadow. She opened her eyes and looked at John.
“John, how did you get here…”
“You were supposed to go to the temple today. Also, where do you put the bracelet I gave you?”
John twisted his sharp eyes and checked her wrist, which had red marks.
“What happened to you?”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Huge footsteps were heard from behind. John frowned for a moment, then hugged her tightly and pushed her into the cave.
‘We collide!’
She closed her eyes tightly to prepare for the impact, but when nothing happened, she opened her eyes in confusion.
‘There is a space like this inside the cave?’
It looked like a cave wall, but it was a camouflaged wall with space to hide. It was big enough for just two people to hide.
John put his index finger to her lips.
“Shh, be quiet.”
Outside where they were hiding, the monster made a thudding noise and moved away. She followed John’s lead and managed to calm her breathing.
‘But why is John here?’
Just as he said she was going to the temple today, John said he was going to the imperial palace today.
* * *
Erich said coldly.
“What are you going to do now?”
Erich looked at the cardinals and priests and growled a warning.
“If our lady does not wake up, my lord will never forgive the Temple.”
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on July, 15.
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