When the Main Protagonists Broke Up

“It’s not polite to come empty-handed, it’s prepared, but it’s not that big of a deal.”

“It’s the first gift the princess gave me! Whatever it is, it’s important to me.”

Saying that Adela carefully received the box and opened the lid with a face full of anticipation.

“And!”

And seeing the contents inside, Adela let out a deep exclamation.

A headdress in the shape of a white lily, the size of two fingers, was in her hand.

“So pretty. It’s so pretty that I think it would be a waste to wear it.”

I felt ashamed for a moment when I saw her liking it so much for a lightly prepared gift.

“I thought it would suit Princess Bayern well, so I made it myself through a craftsman.”

Then is it the only hair ornament in the world?

”Well, that’s how it is.”

I feel like crying. It’s the first time I’ve ever received a gift like this.

”Tears welled up in Adela’s eyes when she said that.

‘It’s very emotional.’

I roughly expected it to be, but it was more than I thought.

“Would you like to?”

“Yes?”

Adela suddenly presented me with a headdress.

“It would be nice if the princess could do it, but is it impossible?“

“Uh….”

”After thinking about what to do for a while, I nodded slightly and accepted the hair ornament.

Because the expression on her face as she looked up at me was so desperate.

I moved closer to the bed.

“Excuse me.”

And I put the hair ornament I had gifted on Adela’s head.

As expected, it matched her neat appearance very well.

“How is it? Am I pretty?”

“Yes, it is pretty.”

What about Aiden? How do I look?”

“Is beautiful.”

“Aiden, can you get me a mirror over there?”

Aiden took a small mirror from the table and gave it to Adela.

Adela moved the mirror from place to place, examining herself carefully.

“Thank you, princess! I really will cherish this gift for the rest of my life.”

Her face was slightly emaciated from pain, but her beauty was not hidden.

And Adela replied with a most beautiful smile.

Looking at her, I felt like I only thought of her in the worst way, so a corner of my chest was stabbed.

She was the key to Kane’s reason for breaking up with me.

So, considering the original work, Adela was not a person that Belit could speak well of even in passing.

However, leaving the original work, the girl I faced in person wasn’t bad, it wasn’t bad, it was pretty good.

‘Perhaps….’

To the point where I thought it might be a really good relationship.

Thinking of that reminded me of the purpose of my visit to the hospital today.

So I looked up at Aiden for a moment, then at Adela, and opened my mouth.

“I want to talk with Princess Bayern for a while, just the two of us, that okay?”

Sure! I also wanted to talk with the princess alone.”

Adela motioned for Aiden to leave. But Aiden acted slightly hesitantly.

“Aiden.”

Adela called out to Aiden once more, and Aiden nodded.

“Then I will go out first.”

Before he closed the door and left, his gaze intertwined with him.

He was staring at me with a face that I couldn’t read my mind at all like he had seen before.The door closed slowly and he disappeared.

“A princess?”

When Adela called me, I straightened my head and looked at her.

“Confucius takes good care of the princess.”

“It’s probably because I haven’t been feeling well since I was young. But Dad and Aiden are too much. Doesn’t it look like that?”

“Well, I don’t know about the Duke of Bayern because I haven’t seen it, but the case of Prince Bayern doesn’t seem too exaggerated. I don’t know because I don’t have any brothers, but if I had a sick brother, I would have acted like Confucius.”

“As expected, Gongnyeo is a sweet and kind person. I would be very happy if I could become friends with such a princess.”

Adela said with a broad smile.

“Oh, sorry. I said it without even noticing again.”

Then, perhaps remembering what I had said to her, Adela hurriedly apologized with tears in her eyes.

“Um, I’ve been thinking about it.”

Now, when Adela spoke first, it was an opportunity.

“Yes?”

“The other day, you said that we wouldn’t be friends….”

“Ah yes. I’m OK. I am…I mean, I was so insensitive. I should have thought that the princess was deeply hurt by me… I only thought of myy feelings and situation and made a big mistake for the princess.Sorry.”

Listening to Adela, it seemed to her that she could see properly now. And, as I thought, she was a pretty decent person.

“At that time, I was too distracted, so I reacted too emotionally. I will also apologize.”

No! The princess apologized to me. You can’t do that!

“No, I didn’t feel comfortable because I also seemed to have hurt you with my words.”

“Ah….”

“So that’s the point. I also want to be friends with Princess Bayen.Friend…I’m still not sure I’ll be able to become, but I’ll try as much as the princess approaches me first.”

“…Really?”

Adela answered in a weeping voice. I nodded slowly.

“Ah…What should I do? I like it so much, I feel like I’m going to pass out because I’m so happy.”

She was genuinely happy, smiling with a teary face.

“Oh, you can’t faint.”

I really worried for a moment that Adela might lose her mind.

“I am so happy. Thank you, princess. I will be good to the princess.”

No, I don’t even need to….I tried to spit out the words I thought, but I kept my mouth shut.

It’s because I couldn’t bear to say something to someone I liked that much. However, I had to say this, so I quickly organized what I was going to sayy in my head and opened my mouth.

“But I have something to ask you.”

Something? I’m ready to defend anything. If I can be friends with the princess.

”Kane…It’s about Duke Maximus.”

At the mention of Kane’s name, the smile on Adela’s face appeared in an instant.

“Ah yes. Please speak….”

“As I said before, I have no feelings for Duke Maxius. I can guarantee that he will never enter my heart now and never in the future.”

“But the Duke….”

“I don’t know why the duke suddenly did that, but I’m sure you’ll understand the duke’s feelings at that time. But his heart is his, so I can’t do anything about it. But my heart is also my own. I can swear to the princess right here. I will never put the duke in my heart.”

“If it’s because of me, I….”

“No, it’s not because of Princess Bayern. After my engagement was broken off and I went on a trip, I cleared my mind about DukeMaxius. I don’t have a single lingering attachment to him. So don’t think it’s because of the princess.”

“….”

“The reason I said this even though I know it will be uncomfortable for me is that I don’t want Duke Maxius to get in between us in the future.”

I took a moment to catch my breath and continued.

“Whatever the duke says or does to me from now on, I want you to regard it as having nothing to do with my intentions. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to do something to make the princess and the duke work. Princess, if you still have feelings for the Duke and want to capture his heart, do it. I’m not interested in your business at all, so don’t mind me. You know what I mean?”

“Yes…. I understand what you mean.”

“Thank god. If we want our relationship to be harmonious, I want the princess and I to focus only on each other and not worry about other external things. If we do, we can be good friends.”

“Friend…yo. This?”

“Yes, my friend.”

When I finished talking, I felt relieved and smiled without knowing it.

“Well then, I have a favor to ask of you….”

Adela’s expression subtly changed after hearing that I was a friend.

“Tell me.”

“Why don’t we call each other by our first names? I want them to be called Belita and Adela instead of Princess Heitz and PrincessBayon.”

“Great.”

“Yes?”

“Okay, Adela.”

It wasn’t difficult to call him by name.I immediately answered by calling Adela’s name.

“Thank you, Belita.”

We looked at each other and smiled softly.

* * *

We talked a lot after that. Adela wondered a lot about my trip, as if she was sincere in saying that she wanted to go on a trip the other day.

So, most of the stories were about what I saw and where I went on my trip, but I had a good time.

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

“Next time, I will go to the Duke of Heitz.”

“I do.”

“Goodbye, Belita. Sorry to see you off here.”

“No, it’s okay. Take care of yourself, Adela.”

After saying goodbye to Adela, I came out of the room. Aiden stood at the door.

“Why are you here?”

“I will take you there.”

“Are you okay . I can go alone.”

“But that is not polite. Let’s go.”

Without listening to my answer, Aiden took the lead.

Thinking about it, I thought it would be better to tell Aiden about my affair with Adela, so I kept my mouth shut and followed him.

As I quietly followed behind, Aiden slowed down and walked alongside me.

“Did you have a good time with your sister?”

“Yes, it was good.”

“I see.”

“Adela, we decided to call each other by first names.”

“Is that so.”

“Yes, I was misunderstanding Adela a lot. You know, of course, but I did. Because the situation is the situation. Did Adela hear about our relationship?”

“Yes, I heard.”

As expected, I thought the attitude was a little different today, but Adela talked to Aiden.

“Then I believe you will at least understand why I did it. That’s why I wasn’t very happy with Adela and Adela’s younger brother, PrinceBayan. But after talking with Adela and listening to her thoughts, we learned a lot about each other.”“Thank you for thinking of my sister again. By the way.”

“Yes?”

“You agreed to call me by name with my sister, but you keep calling me Prince Baian.”

“That…Because it is Prince Baian.”

These siblings care a lot about the names they call each other. As was Adela earlier, and now I’m guessing from Aiden’s words, he seemed to want me to call each other by name.

“I also want to call the princess by name.”

He spoke to me right away, without any hesitation.

“That’s a bit like that.”

“Why?”

Aiden asked with a disapproving expression.

When asked why, he had nothing to say.

But still, it’s a bit difficult to name….

“I didn’t think we were too close to call each other by name.”

I just answered him exactly as I thought.

“To be honest, the princess met me before my sister.”

That was right. However, since I knew who he was, I wanted to be wary of getting too close to him unnecessarily.

“It’s still a bit like that, though.”

When I refused, Aiden’s expression darkened dramatically.

“All right. It’s not polite to keep forcing someone who doesn’t like it, so I’ll stop.”

His voice seemed to have grown cold. In the carriage back home, we had minimal conversation.

Those were meaningless words.

Looking at his expression all the way, he seemed to be in a pretty bad mood.

Though I wondered if I had made noise with him, I reassured myself that it was not, that I did well.

And when the carriage arrived at the gate of the mansion, Aiden prepared to get off the carriage.

His horse followed the carriage, so he was to ride back to the Duke of Bayern.

But before he went out, he looked back.

“Something happened and I will be away from the capital for a while.”

“Ah, I see.”

I think he said

It means that they are not attached to the original capital for long.

But this time, it seems like it’s been around for quite a while, but now it seems that something has happened.

“Have a safe trip.”

“…Yes, then.”

His voice seemed a bit weak.

So when I saw him about to get off the carriage, I thought I was staring at him.

Aiden opened the door and got out of the carriage, but his expression stuck in his mind.

‘Why do you look like that….’

It’s just that I didn’t let you call my name, so I’m going to have a good time.

I didn’t know him well, but it didn’t seem like him.

‘I guess the name doesn’t matter.’

Anyway, I thought that it would be okay if I was Adela and Aiden and got to know each other in moderation.

It was the moment the carriage was about to pass through the gate.

“Stop!”

I stopped the carriage and hurried out.

Fortunately, he and his horse stayed where they were.

“Wait!”

I called out to Aiden in a loud voice, afraid he might start off. Aiden looked back at me from his horse.

“I have something to say.”

I approached the horse.

As Aiden tried to dismount, I stopped him.

“No. You don’t have to get off. You can just listen.”

Aiden nodded.

“Next time, next time we meet again, let’s call each other by our first names.”

His eyes widened in surprise at my words.

“…Is that true?”

“Yes, so take care of yourself.”

“All right. I will finish my work quickly and come back soon.”

No, you don’t have to….

However, the pitiful expression from earlier was gone, and seeing him smiling with an excited face, I stopped laughing as well.

“But which of the two should I call you?”

“Yes?”

“Because I know two names.”

“Ah, please call me by my original name. I will do the same.”

“Yes, I will, Belita.”

He suddenly called my name.

My name that came out of his mouth unexpectedly was strange, so I just stared at him blankly.

“Then let’s go, Belita.”

He got on his horse and left quickly.

Looking at his back, I muttered to myself involuntarily.

“Goodbye, Aiden.”

* * *

These days, every day has not been bad.

However, even after a month had passed, Adela’s body had not recovered.

Adela’s body seemed much weaker than I thought.

So, as promised, she never came to the Heitzes, but we still corresponded often.

In the letter she said

He said he was very precious to me because he was the first friend I made since I was born.

That’s why I don’t want to lose that connection.

My father seemed to disapprove of my contact with the Bayern family.

However, on the day I returned from the Bayern duchy that day, my father said one last word to me and hasn’t said anything since.

– I’m sure you’ll be fine , but don’t get too close to the Bayern people

.It was a request and a warning. Even though I remembered those words all the time, my heart would weaken again whenever I received a kind letter from Adela.

I’m a human being too, so I couldn’t help but feel a little bit attached to the person who said I liked it. Adela’s letter also mentions Aiden, who has not yet returned to the capital.

‘He hasn’t come yet.’

As Aiden said, Adela said that once he left the capital, he would not come back soon.

I asked how long it would take this time, but he said he couldn’t tell me exactly.

But for some reason, this time he said he would be back soon, so it was written that he was so happy that Aiden would come soon.

Aside from that, I was gradually establishing myself as a member of the ducal family, helping my father with his work.

Today, as part of that, I went out to run errands for my father.

The destination was the imperial palace.

This time, among the new businesses my family started, there was a part that required permission from the imperial family.

These days, the emperor is entrusting quite a few things to the crown prince, so today I had to go see the crown prince.

I felt it at the last banquet, but the prince was a bit different from the emperor.

This is just my feeling, but he seems to have a different idea than the emperor, who conforms to the current power structure, where the three dukes have more power than the imperial family.

I hadn’t talked about it, but there were times when I could tell what a person was thinking by the feeling that emanated from them.

Prince Ediel Winston Baltheus had sharp eyes and strong spirit.

So somehow it was hard for me to erase the thought that the crown prince would get into a big accident someday.

Anyway, I haven’t noticed anything yet, so it’s just my guess.

It’s just speculation, but going up against the current structure meant going up against our family.

That’s why it was necessary to carefully watch the crown prince.

While thinking about many things, the carriage entered the imperial palace and soon arrived at the palace where the prince was staying.

I got off the carriage and passed the long hallway and stood in front of the prince’s office.

The servant who was guarding the front of the office bowed his head to greet me.

“Please wait a moment.”

“All right.”

The attendant entered the office.I looked around until he returned.

The banquet he hosted the other day, and the clothes he was wearing, I thought he liked pretty flashy things, but the place he was staying was calm and quiet.

Then the door to the office opened.

“His Highness the Crown Prince says to come in.”

When the attendant gave way, I slowly went inside.

When I was fully inside, the door closed behind me.

As soon as I entered the prince’s office, what came into my sight was the large desk he was working on.

The prince sitting at the desk was looking at me.

I lowered my gaze slightly, and without realizing it, I looked at the top of the desk.

On the desk, papers were piled high in layers.

“Welcome, Princess Heitz.”

“Meet Your Highness, Crown Prince Ediel Winston Baltheus, the brilliant little sun of Baltheus.”

I bowed my head and bowed to the prince.

“Wake up. Please sit over here.”

“Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

The prince sat down at a table larger than the desk on the right side of the office.

I took a seat facing him.

“Thank you for taking your precious time, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

“No. If it’s the Duke of Heitz’s business, you should be willing to give up even the time you don’t have.”

Is it an illusion that horses have bones? It was hard to listen to what he was saying, probably because I had made my own judgment about him.

“I won’t take up much of your precious time. This is the business plan that my father talked about earlier.”

I handed him the papers I was holding.

“I didn’t know the Duke of Heights was interested in children. An orphanage is quite surprising.”

“My father is always ready to do anything for the empire. And this business is what I suggested to my father.”

“Hmm, princess?”

“Yes, in my travels I have seen countless children roaming the streets without homes. That’s why I thought that a place to protect such children was needed more and more, so I am promoting the business.”

It was true.

During the trip, not only the children rescued from the circus, including Lian, but also the streets were overflowing with children who had nowhere to go.

Of course, the place I live in is a world where monsters often attack.

They invaded at any time and devastated the village where people lived. As a result, many children lost their parents and wandered the streets.

I knew better than anyone the sadness of not having anyone to take care of me and not even a home.

My heart ached and felt sad every time I saw children begging for food in the street while traveling.

So, after returning to the ducal family, if there was anything I could do, the first thing I wanted to do was to build or sponsor orphanages throughout the empire for such children.

When I told my parents about my thoughts, they readily agreed with me.

They are really my parents, but they were warm and thankful people.

“But there are enough orphanages in the Empire. I wonder if it would be a waste to build more here.”

The prince must have grasped the true situation only through the documents that came up to him. In fact, looking around, many children were exposed to danger.

“I thought so too, but it wasn’t. Everything necessary for this business will be taken care of by the Duke of Heitz.”

“I heard that Princess inherited Grace from the Maxius family the other day.”

Why are you asking about my land all of a sudden? Was it because I was wondering if I had enough money? The prince’s curious eyes made him feel quite uncomfortable.

However, the opponent was the crown prince.

And it wasn’t good to reveal my feelings at a point where I couldn’t accurately judge the intention of the words.

“Yes, that’s right. Received as alimony for break-up. As you know,  Grens has a huge diamond mine. So you do not have to worry about the finances of this business.”

Even if that wasn’t the case, the Heitz family’s wealth was sufficient for the orphanage-related business.

It’s a little strange, but the prince seemed curious, so I mentioned the diamond mine and emphasized that the business could go smoothly once more.

“Anyway, that would be it. By the way.”

“Yes?”

“Are the diamonds really full enough to kick in?”

“Ah yes. I also went to Grence for the first time during my travels, and it was truly amazing.”

“Hmm, that’s right.”

“Therefore, I would like Your Highness to review this business in a positive way.”

Even a duke standing at the top of the empire could not ignore the procedure.

Anything related to public facilities other than a small private business selling goods, no matter how scarecrow the imperial family was, needed their permission.

However, even so, the imperial family would not be able to openly interfere with the work of the duchy.

My father said it was just a nominal procedure, so I wasn’t too concerned.

“All right. We will review and contact you.”

“Thank you.”

I received an answer, and all that remains is to wait for permission to be issued.

There was no reason to stay here any longer.

After answering, I got up from my seat.

“Then let’s go.”

“Go carefully, princess.”

However, a meaningful smile hung on the lips of the prince who said goodbye to me.

I pretended not to see that smile and left the office.

I was walking out of the office and near the carriage.

‘Ah, what is it?’

Why the hell is that man over there?

When I saw a man I didn’t want to see standing on the way to the carriage, I stopped for a moment, not wanting to go near it.

But he must have heard footsteps and turned his head in my direction.

“Princess Heitz.”

As soon as he saw me he came quickly towards me.

“Duke Maxius.”

‘That’s why you laughed at me.’

From the other day, I suspected that there would be some kind of deal between Kane and the crown prince….

Seeing him here today turned that doubt into certainty.

“What is the princess doing in the palace of Her Highness the Crown Prince?”

What is it, aren’t you too bad at acting?

The expression was awkward, the expression.

It was clear that he had come to know that I was here, but he was very hateful for pretending not to know.

“I came here because I have something to tell you.”

I answered roughly, thinking of getting out of this place as soon as possible, leaving behind the unpleasant feeling.

“Is that so. It’s been quite a while for us.”

“Yes, but I am a little busy. Let’s go first.”

“Gongnyeo, wait!”

I was walking toward the wagon as fast as I could, but Kane chased me from behind.

“Let’s talk for a minute.”

What is this person always asking to talk about?

“I have nothing to say to the Duke.”

I answered by looking straight ahead and continuing to walk.

“I have something to say to the princess.”

What he has to say, what to say.

It was obvious.

I didn’t want to hear much because I knew what he wanted to say to me.

“I think our conversation is over then.”

“I am not done yet.”

It was completely at the level of talking to the wall window.

I stopped walking, looking back at him, not hiding the disgust on my face.

“No matter what the duke says, I won’t change. Are you going to keep coming out like this? You know how disgusting this kind of behavior can be.”

“…So shouldn’t the princess also take care of me?”

“Yes?”