Chapter 74
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Chapter 74
The moment my careless thought made heat rise to my cheeks, the final carriage door opened and a familiar face descended.
'The Imperial Princess!'
Since the Empress had been bedridden with illness for several years, the Imperial Princess was the only woman of the Imperial Family attending state functions.
Today, the Imperial Princess wore not her usual black robes, but a radiant dress—every inch the vision of royalty.
Though her appearance was undeniably beautiful....
'It just makes me realize how far apart we truly are, and somehow that feels a little disappointing.'
While I was lost in such thoughts, my eyes met those of the Imperial Princess, who had been looking in my direction.
Whether it was my imagination or not, the Imperial Princess looked directly at me and winked with one eye.
Seeing that signal, I burst into laughter.
The distance between the Imperial Princess and me, which had felt so vast moments before, suddenly seemed to close again.
But then.
'...What?'
I felt Allen's gaze from beside the Imperial Princess, looking at me with a peculiar expression.
'What, what is that look?'
Seized by an inexplicable sense of foreboding, I quietly averted my eyes from his stare, but that premonition proved devastatingly accurate.
* * *
And I came to understand the meaning of that look just before the Hunting Festival officially began.
"I shall make you the Lady of this Hunting Festival."
While the Duke had gone to prepare for the hunt, Allen, who had sought me out while I stood alone, made this sudden declaration.
What he meant by "the Lady of the Hunting Festival" was this:
The man who caught the largest game at the Hunting Festival receives a prize—the "Crystal Rose".
This "Crystal Rose" was a flower of extraordinary rarity, a gift from a Foreign Country to the Empire, blooming only in the Greenhouse of the Imperial Palace.
Its flower language was "eternal love".
Thus, receiving this flower from a man one loves is the dream of countless noble ladies....
But I found this situation utterly bewildering.
"Me...?"
All of a sudden...?
After all, I was meeting Allen for the first time today.
We hadn't even had a proper conversation until this very moment!
Yet Allen spoke as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Isn't it gentlemanly to give a commoner lady, who has graced a noble gathering for once, a pleasant memory?"
The way he came to me knowing full well that all eyes would turn toward us, the arrogant tone as though bestowing charity upon a beggar—
It was far less an act of gentlemanly courtesy and far more an intention to make me, a commoner, the object of ridicule.
'I have no desire to become the talk of High Society any further.'
I opened my mouth with a gentle smile.
"I am grateful for Your Highness's kindness, but I shall accept only your sentiment with gratitude."
Apparently not expecting my refusal, Allen's brow furrowed deeply.
"Why?"
"I fear that contrary to the Emperor's noble intention in creating this occasion to bless the love between sweethearts, it might be misconstrued as suggesting that love is no different from charity."
The only person who can suppress the Crown Prince in this place is the Emperor.
That's why I deliberately mentioned the Emperor.
No matter how much of a Crown Prince he is, he would hesitate to undermine the Emperor's intentions.
But contrary to my expectations that he would back down by now, Allen responded with unshakeable composure.
"Strictly speaking, if you admire me, the meaning doesn't change, does it?"
"...Your Highness?"
So flustered, my inner thoughts spilled out before I could filter them.
'What kind of nonsense is this?!'
But Allen merely smiled with self-assured confidence, as if amused by my reaction.
"Ha, really. You show such obvious affection, and now you're getting shy about it? I saw you staring at me the whole time earlier. I even laughed about it to myself."
"That was... because my eyes met with the Imperial Princess's...."
"...And then when your eyes met mine, you looked away, didn't you?"
Sigh.
If one more glance had been exchanged, he would've mistaken it as a marriage proposal.
I lost all will to argue further, utterly exasperated.
It was painfully obvious that this fool would believe whatever he wanted to believe.
But perhaps my stubborn refusal to yield displeased him, for Allen's expression twisted grotesquely from its previous composure.
"How dare this lowborn wretch keep talking back to me―"
Just as Allen approached me menacingly.
"That's quite enough, Your Highness."
The Duke, who had just finished preparing for the hunt, approached us.
"There are many eyes watching."
Only then did Allen become aware of the gazes upon us, and he lowered the hand that had been threatening me.
Instead, the fury he couldn't unleash redirected itself toward the Duke.
"So the Duke is so cheap that this lowborn wench dares to be insolent? Could this girl possibly be the Duke's concubine?"
"Contrary to Your Highness's vivid imagination, this girl already has a betrothed promised to her future."
I was startled by the shameless lie that flowed from the Duke's lips, but I wisely played along with it.
Yet even at the mention of my having a lover, Allen showed no signs of backing down; instead, he became even more overbearing.
"A betrothed... So that's why you're being so defiant?"
The fool stepped half a pace closer to me and continued with a threatening tone.
"But you see, all women in the Empire belong to the Emperor, right? That means...."
"...."
"If I desire it, you'll eventually have to become my concubine."
The Crown Prince's eyes gleamed with madness as he looked down at me.
It was at that moment when instinctive revulsion and fear surged through me simultaneously.
"That remark sounds rather dangerous, I must say."
The Duke, who had been silently listening to the Crown Prince's nonsense, stepped forward to shield me and finally spoke.
"If Your Highness believes all women in the Empire belong to the Emperor, then you're admitting you've dared to touch the Father Emperor's woman."
"That's not what I meant...!"
"Then if that's not what you meant, are you saying you already consider yourself the Emperor?"
The Duke's voice remained measured and composed as he spoke, yet his gaze carried an overwhelming sharpness that seemed to pierce through the air.
At the Duke's incisive observation, even the Crown Prince, who had been speaking with such force, visibly faltered.
And for good reason—to harbor thoughts of himself as Emperor while Father Emperor still lived and reigned in full vigor was...
'No matter his status as Crown Prince, such words would constitute treason.'
The Duke's verbal strike did not end there.
"Of course, I am certain that one possessed of such filial devotion as to accompany Father Emperor on his hunts each day would never harbor such thoughts regarding him."
Even as he mocked Allen's behavior—abandoning state affairs daily to hunt alongside the Emperor—he continued with practiced precision.
"Yet I felt compelled to speak, as a loyal subject concerned that others might harbor misunderstandings should such words reach their ears."
All of it packaged with the skillful veneer of sincere devotion.
It was a masterful display that reminded me anew that the Duke had once stood at the very center of power.
The Crown Prince hesitated, and just then, a hunting horn sounded—a signal that the Hunting Festival would soon commence.
The Crown Prince, who had been standing there with his mouth agape, finally stammered out a response.
"N-no, of course that's not what I meant. I won't speak a word of this to Father Emperor."
Wounded by his own words, the Crown Prince retreated like a coward, putting distance between us.
'Pathetic. So this was the male lead of the original story.'
The original Vivian must have been utterly blinded by infatuation.
There was no other explanation for how she could have fallen for a man so self-centered and contemptible.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org