Chapter 95
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Chapter 95
"Your Highness, Crown Prince."
Allen had arrived at precisely the right moment and was receiving greetings from the nobility.
'Why did he get here so quickly?'
With no chance to escape, I found myself facing him directly, my lips pressing together anxiously. Allen, noticing my distress, strode toward me.
"I've been losing sleep since last night just thinking about seeing you. I never expected to run into you the moment I arrived."
I forced a smile toward Allen, whose expression carried an unsettling edge, and offered a composed greeting.
"Your Highness, Crown Prince. Welcome."
"And who is this beside you? Is he the fiancé you mentioned?"
Alphonse then delivered the prepared introduction.
"I've been occupied with business in the Kingdom for some time, so my apologies for the delayed greeting, Your Highness. I am Alphonse Ronent."
"Your accent suggests you're from the Kingdom?"
"Indeed, I am."
After Alphonse's response, Allen studied his face intently before raising a question.
"But as I understand it, you grew up in a rural village and would have had no opportunity to meet anyone from the Kingdom."
"Occasionally, merchants from the Kingdom would pass through our village."
It was the question I'd anticipated, and I had prepared this answer.
My response, delivered without the slightest hesitation, caused Allen's gaze—which had been regarding me with intrigue—to turn glacial in an instant.
"You."
He then leaned close and whispered so only I could hear.
"How about we stop with the obvious lies? You're starting to irritate me."
The instinctive fear born from the difference in status and physique seemed to press down on my shoulders.
Yet I met his gaze without flinching.
"If you truly doubt me, wouldn't you prefer to send someone to our village to verify?"
Of course, even if Allen sent people to the village, there would be no evidence anywhere to prove my meeting with Alphonse. But....
'Deception thrives on audacity!'
Perhaps surprised by my unflinching composure, Allen let out a hollow laugh. The moment his lips parted—
The previously hushed surroundings suddenly erupted into murmurs, as if ice water had been thrown over everyone.
"My, who is that man? I don't believe I've seen him before."
"I have no idea. With a face like that, how could anyone forget?"
Allen's attention, along with Alphonse's, naturally shifted toward where the crowd's gaze was directed.
Following their eyes without thinking, I discovered the source of this commotion.
My eyes widened in shock.
'Lahedis...?'
Lahedis had just descended from his carriage and was approaching us.
His gaze was unusually cold, fixed directly upon me.
'Why is Lahedis here...?'
Wasn't he supposed to avoid gatherings of the nobility at all costs?!
Faced with this unexpected development, I could only blink. Lahedis came to a halt before me.
"You quarrel with me and then bring another man to such an official occasion? How does that make sense?"
Then he wrapped my hand in his and pressed a kiss to the back of it.
So naturally, as if....
"I was wrong about everything, Vivian."
Like a true lover.
Before I could react, Lahedis pushed Alphonse aside entirely and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
Allen, who had been watching the scene unfold with the same bewilderment as I felt, let out a hollow laugh and spoke.
"What is this now? I don't recognize your face, so you're not nobility, are you?"
"It is my first time making your acquaintance in this form, Your Highness."
Lahedis then bowed with proper courtesy.
"Lahedis of Edelwein, formally presenting myself to Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Yet the look in his eyes was sharp as a blade, anything but courteous.
"Edelwein...you say?"
"Ah."
At Allen's question, Lahedis corrected himself with a cold smile.
"You would be more familiar with the name 'Rachel' than 'Lahedis.'"
Rachel of Edelwein.
That name, spoken from Lahedis's lips, sent shockwaves through Allen and everyone around us.
"Rachel? Isn't that the name of the dead princess?"
"So that man is the Princess of Edelwein who was said to be dead?"
"The princess was a man, not a girl?!"
As everyone stirred at the truth finally revealed, Allen, whose mouth had been hanging open, asked in disbelief.
"You're... the Princess of Edelwein...?"
"I suppose that would make me a prince now."
I stared at Lahedis, who responded so calmly, with hollow eyes.
In the end, everyone had found out.
Your identity—the one I had wanted to protect.
* * *
Dazed by the unexpected turn of events, I only came to my senses once Lahedis had led me into the carriage.
Once we were alone in the quiet carriage, the full weight of what had just transpired finally hit me.
I confronted the culprit sitting beside me, who wore a composed expression despite the chaos he'd caused.
"How could you reveal your identity right there? Now the Emperor will be coming after you again, won't he?"
"Probably. He's been afraid of me his whole life, after all."
His voice was casual, as if speaking of someone else's troubles.
Unable to contain my frustration, I raised my voice without thinking.
"Lahedis!"
"Are you worried about me?"
But oblivious to my burning anger, Lahedis merely smiled and smiled.
It was only my next words that dimmed the light in his eyes.
"You don't look worried at all? Your recklessness has put you in danger because of my scandal!"
"Why do you call it 'just' your scandal? It's a problem that involves you."
At just those words, Lahedis's voice, which had been playfully evasive all this while, turned grave.
"What do you mean to me?"
His voice was soft as he spoke, yet there was no mistaking the anger beneath it.
As though he could not bear that I had dismissed someone precious to him as nothing at all.
In that moment, the conversation we had shared at the Imperial Palace banquet came flooding back.
[...When you fall in love with someone, the entire world fades away, and only that person remains.]
As I recalled the question I had never managed to ask, I saw my own reflection in Lahedis's eyes before me.
As though in his world, only I remained.
It was then that I suddenly understood.
Since when have you been looking at me like that?
As if answering that question, Lahedis, who had been gazing at me quietly, opened his mouth.
"I love you, Vivian."
...
"I have for a very long time."
The moment I met those blue eyes that held only me.
In my world too, only he remained.
Like magic.
"When we met again, the reason I hid my true identity wasn't to escape the Emperor."
...
"It was because I couldn't bear to see you hurt because of me again. And...."
...
"I was afraid that if you learned I was a man, you would stop loving me."
Of course, it was a cowardly excuse.
In Lahedis's eyes, as he spoke in a murmur, self-deprecation and fear were intertwined.
So unlike his usual composure.
Simply because he feared my rejection.
"I know you're still very confused. I won't ask for an answer right now."
...
"When your heart settles, answer me then."
I stared blankly at Lahedis as he said this.
I was still confused.
That the girl who was somewhat prickly yet tender, and this smooth-talking man, were the same person.
But one thing was certain.
Both Rachel then and Lahedis now loved me very much.
And I, too, in the past and now....
'Have loved you unchangingly, so very much.'
As I realized this truth, I no longer wished to hide the heartbeat I had always been desperate to conceal.
Rather, I wanted you to hear it.
That my heart beats the same as yours.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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