Chapter 30
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Chapter 30
Crown Prince Kiaros nodded slowly.
After all, he had come to understand her thoughts.
She wanted to marry him. It seemed he had done well to inquire about the ceremony hall situation.
Namia Loapi smiled faintly and bade farewell.
"Well then, I'll be going now, Kibon. Thank you so much. Oh, and thank you for transporting that box back then too."
"...No. It's only natural to do what my superior asks."
At the mention of the box, Crown Prince Kiaros's gaze deepened slightly.
This would likely be the last time he would meet her in Kibon Altes's form.
[Actually, I assigned her a task, but she seems to dislike it. I wondered if she even disliked talking to me....]
So this was the only chance to clear up the misunderstanding.
I wanted to tell her.
That I didn't dislike her—that I actually held her in very high regard.
"That department seemed so chaotic, and I felt there was nothing to learn there."
"Ah...."
"It was absolutely not because I dislike you. Rather, I'm curious why you remained there so quietly."
"It's because I'm not in a position to overstep...."
"Is that so? In any case, should I ever return there, I would very much like to learn from you."
"Learn? You just need to follow orders well."
Namia Loapi answered with her characteristically vacant eyes.
Of course, Crown Prince Kiaros had now resolved not to misinterpret that expressionless face.
"In any case, I'll be going now."
With a brief farewell, Namia Loapi turned and entered the Trial Court.
Crown Prince Kiaros gazed blankly at her receding figure.
'It seems she has no intention of telling that foreign Intern the truth of that moment.'
From her perspective, Kibon Altes was naturally not close to her.
Crown Prince Kiaros slowly made his way inside the building and, avoiding others' eyes, headed to the Restroom once more.
The form of Kibon Altes was no longer necessary.
'Besides, there's no reason to wear this face again now....'
After changing his appearance and removing the hood, the familiar visage of Crown Prince Kiaros reflected in the mirror.
He tidied his disheveled hair once and exited the Restroom.
That was when it happened.
"Your Highness!"
It was the loyal Aide he had sent to the Imperial Palace Ceremony Hall before the trial began.
The Aide approached him and reported immediately.
"I have inquired about the Imperial Palace Ceremony Hall's reservation status."
When Crown Prince Kiaros gestured for him to continue, the Aide spoke on.
"It is booked through next autumn, Your Highness."
"What? Next autumn?"
"Yes. The Imperial Palace Ceremony Hall is one of the tremendous benefits available to civil servants. Many high-ranking nobles wish to hold their weddings there as well."
Still, I've heard reservations are difficult to get, but not to this extent!
Crown Prince Kiaros clicked his tongue, and his Aide continued.
"However, it appears there is one opening two weeks from now on a weekend."
"What? You said it was booked through next summer."
"A couple who were planning to marry broke their engagement and cancelled in a hurry. It seems this slot will likely fill up soon as well."
"Is that so?"
Crown Prince Kiaros furrowed his brow slightly.
[If His Highness the Crown Prince could marry in his current situation, it seems he would.]
Up until now, his reasoning had been sound.
She had certainly said that marrying the Crown Prince would be good.
'Then... she might want the marriage to happen as soon as possible.'
I heard he had severed ties with his great-uncle, Baron Loapi.
Might she want to form a new family quickly?
Crown Prince Kiaros gave a low command to his Aide.
"Just in case, go ahead and make a reservation for that slot at the Imperial Palace Ceremony Hall."
"Yes? Under whose name?"
"Under my name—no, wait. Rumors might spread unnecessarily, so put it under your name for now."
"...Yes?"
The Aide's pupils wavered.
He too was unmarried.
So being suddenly ordered to put his name down at a wedding venue when he didn't even have a partner yet was certainly bewildering.
"Nothing is certain yet."
Crown Prince Kiaros spoke in a soothing tone, sensing the Aide's confusion.
After all, if Namia Loapi turned out not to be that girl, or if she later said that was just something she said and she actually didn't want to marry him, he planned to cancel immediately.
'Everything is merely preparation for unforeseen circumstances.'
No matter how I thought about it, it was perfectly reasonable.
"Once something is decided, I plan to change it to my name right away."
"Yes, I understand. However, we will need the bride's name to make the reservation."
"The bride's name? Do we absolutely have to include it?"
When Crown Prince Kiaros looked flustered, the Aide answered.
"Well, if she is a commoner from a provincial area whose birth registration is not properly filed, we could enter a nickname or pet name for now."
"Then put in a nickname."
"What should the nickname be?"
Crown Prince Kiaros, who had lived his entire life in the Imperial Palace seeing only conventional things, could hardly be expected to know much about nicknames.
Crown Prince Kiaros furrowed his brow and muttered whatever came to mind.
"...Nami? Would that work? Or Mia?"
"Hm?"
The Aide's eyes widened in surprise.
"Could it be that you are considering Namia Loapi as the bride?"
At those words, Crown Prince Kiaros was also startled.
He furrowed his brow and muttered under his breath.
"...You're not particularly perceptive, are you?"
"I have some awareness, Your Highness. My apologies."
The Aide offered a respectful apology and answered earnestly.
"So the rumors were true. I heard this morning that the two of you are getting married."
"If the Crown Prince's own Aide doesn't know about a rumor, doesn't it occur to you that it might be baseless gossip?"
"I did consider that. But it seems I was lacking in judgment."
The Aide's expression shifted as if he'd just realized something.
"Ah, so that's why Your Highness wore such an amused expression throughout the trial. Because Namia Loapi was present."
"Amused?"
Crown Prince Kiaros spoke curtly.
"This is an important trial involving the Empress. I simply found it somewhat interesting, that's all."
"My apologies. In any case, there was a reason you kept watching Namia Loapi."
"Kept watching? I was merely observing because something seemed off. Because she's suspicious in every conceivable way."
"My apologies. Yet you're simply observing quietly what this suspicious woman is doing."
"Simply observing? I'm leaving her be because she seems useful to me. Besides, she's my benefactor who saved my life."
"My apologies. But you've already reserved the ceremony hall without consulting with your benefactor about marriage."
"That's—"
The Mystery Girl from the Southern Region might not have been Namia Loapi.
If that were the case, I would naturally need to cancel the ceremony hall.
"I can cancel it. I'm uncertain, so that's why. If it doesn't seem like it will happen, we'll cancel immediately then."
"My apologies. However...."
"Go, quickly. The trial will start soon."
"Yes, understood."
His Aide, lacking in perceptiveness but fiercely loyal, immediately turned and rushed out. Crown Prince Kiaros let out a soft chuckle and cast his gaze forward.
'Well, I'll watch this to the very end.'
I had suspected that she was scheming alongside Lady Fron in this ridiculous trial.
Only one person had been speaking—Lady Fron.
But I could distinguish between Lady Fron's words and Namia Loapi's words.
'Namia Loapi, you....'
A gaunt bureaucrat with vacant eyes, slumping her body without strength.
Suspicious and strange, utterly impossible to pin down—my benefactor.
Perhaps... the woman I've already promised to marry.
'How on earth will she navigate this bizarre trial?'
Until this morning, I thought the trial would only be troublesome.
But with Namia Loapi's unexpected appearance, it had become fascinating.
[That's not a position I'm qualified to speak from....]
The Scroll Management Department where she barely scraped by made me even more irritated.
'Once this trial ends, I'll need to settle this matter then.'
If Namia Loapi was indeed the Mystery Girl from the Southern Region, I planned to bring up marriage immediately.
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