Chapter 61

The Crown Prince’s Fiancée – Chapter 61

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“No.”

The Crown Prince’s office.

She had even gone to the trouble of securing Empress Ludmila’s permission this time, yet Adrian flatly refused.

“Ugh, why not! Are you the stumbling block in my life, Brother? What’s gotten into you lately?”

“No means no.”

“Ugh, Brother!”

“Mind your manners, Marie.”

“Oh, honestly. Please, Your Highness, Crown Prince Adrian!”

“Still, no.”

Marie pressed her lips together and glared at him, but Adrian didn’t budge.

Adrian smiled lazily and mocked her.

“It’s obvious without asking. Odds are you coaxed my gentle fiancée into helping you satisfy your own greed.”

“I did not coax her!”

Marie felt wronged, but since it was half true, she had nothing to say.

“Regardless, no. I can’t give you permission.”

“Who are you to give permission or not, Brother?”

“Who am I?”

Twisting his lips into a smile, Adrian declared it with pride.

“Arti’s fiancé.”

“Oh, right.”

Marie stared at the overly proud Adrian with cold, jaded eyes and muttered.

“Having to marry such a petty man… I feel sorry for my sister-in-law.”

“What?”

“What? Did you hear something?”

He had clearly heard her insulting him, yet Marie was acting so brazen that Adrian narrowed his eyes.

She must have known that piercing gaze, but Marie smiled as if nothing were wrong.

“Now go back to your palace.”

“Ugh, I really can’t go out with my sister-in-law?”

“No.”

“Then I can’t even play with her?”

“No.”

“Ugh, why! Why are you so cold to my sister-in-law, Brother?”

Adrian’s smooth forehead creased.

He was being kinder to her than anyone, so what was this nonsense about being cold?

“If you won’t let her interact with anyone at all, what’s she supposed to do? How is she going to survive on her own in this harsh world?”

“I’m here. Why would she have to survive on her own?”

“What if you’re not?”

“There’s no chance of me not being there.”

“Honestly. There’s no talking to you.”

Marie shook her head.

If anything, her sister-in-law, who put up with a man like this, seemed like an angel without wings.

“You really have to treat my sister-in-law well, Brother.”

“You don’t need to tell me. I’m already doing it just fine.”

“If it weren’t for her, you’re the kind of person who couldn’t even get married.”

“You’re stating the obvious.”

“You’re actually admitting it?”

Marie was dumbfounded, but Adrian showed no sign of remorse.

Marie genuinely began to pity her sister-in-law.

“Anyway, you can’t protect her forever, Brother. You can do it now, but once she’s Crown Princess and then Empress, it’ll be impossible. Don’t you learn anything from watching Mother?”

“No.”

Marie glared at Adrian, furious.

Adrian smiled as if to ask what she planned to do about it, and Marie warned him.

“You’ll regret this, Brother.”

“Regret is for the incompetent. Do you think I’d regret something like this?”

Marie hoped that someday Adrian would regret something about Arti down to his very bones.

‘Such a kind sister-in-law is far too good for my brother.’

If Arti left Adrian, that would be the icing on the cake, and even if she didn’t, Marie wanted him to regret it for certain.

‘In a way that’s not bad for my sister-in-law, definitely!’

No one tried to join the conversation of the close-knit siblings, at least not Diano and Essen.

Essen, who had been eating the tangerines Diano peeled for him, suddenly met Marie’s eyes as she glanced at the two of them.

Marie tilted her head.

“Sir Essen. It’s been a while. Are you fully returning now?”

“Yes.”

“You’re as radiantly beautiful as ever.”

“Yes.”

“But somehow you look strangely familiar…”

Marie’s eyes narrowed.

Essen himself remained calm, but Diano and Adrian grew tense for no good reason.

Adrian hurriedly ordered Marie to leave.

“Marie. Disappear, now.”

“Ugh, I’ll go even if you don’t tell me to. Don’t worry.”

“Then why are you still standing there?”

“Because I’m happy to see Sir Essen after so long.”

Marie smiled warmly, but Essen only gave a small nod.

Adrian found it amusing. The two had grown up seeing each other often since childhood, but if you counted the number of fights Marie had with Essen, she was no less of a rival than Adrian himself.

How badly had Marie clung to Essen and made a nuisance of herself when she saw him dressed as a girl, saying she’d always wanted an older sister?

“By the way, where have you been all this time? Were you off on the southern subjugation? Or was it Brother’s secret mission? Or were you recuperating?”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

Essen frowned at the absurd questions, and Marie burst out laughing.

“It’s a rumor going around the palace, and everyone has had different opinions about what Sir Essen was up to when he disappeared for a while.”

At Marie’s words, Adrian’s expression hardened.

He couldn’t tell whether it was simple curiosity or a deliberate probe, but this subject was dangerous.

Just as Adrian was about to show his displeasure and drive Marie out by force,

“I ran away from home after fighting with him.”

Essen answered in a flat tone.

“Him?”

Having suddenly been cast as the “him” in “I ran away from home after fighting with him,” Adrian frowned, unable to tell whether he was supposed to confirm it or deny it.

That alone was enough for Marie to work out the rest on her own.

“No wonder. There’s no other reason for you to vanish for so long.”

Marie clicked her tongue at Adrian as if telling him to ease up. Adrian scowled.

“When are you leaving?”

“I’m leaving now. Why are you so desperate to kick me out? Is something going on?”

“No, nothing.”

Marie eyed Adrian suspiciously. Then her gaze shifted back to Diano and Essen.

“Ah! I remember now!”

Marie suddenly clapped her hands and said with a bright smile.

“Sir Essen, you resemble my sister-in-law.”

“…!”

Diano and Adrian choked at the same time. Essen asked back calmly.

“Are you talking about the future Crown Princess?”

“Yes! Maybe it’s because your eyes and hair are similar in color? You seem alike somehow… But you look more like she did when she first came to the palace than like she does now.”

At Marie’s cheerful words, Diano and Adrian coughed in unison.

Amid all this chaos, only Essen stayed composed.

“I kept feeling that my sister-in-law reminded me of someone I knew, and it was you, Sir Essen!”

As Marie’s misunderstanding went on to great acclaim, Diano and Adrian quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Essen, not caring either way, took the tangerine from Diano’s hand and ate it.

“Anyway, I’m glad you’re back, Sir Essen.”

“Marie.”

“Ah, fine. I’m going.”

After saying her goodbyes, Marie reluctantly returned to her own palace under Adrian’s nagging.

Adrian glared at Essen for a moment but said nothing more.

Essen propped his chin on his hand as if asking what Adrian planned to do about it.

“I heard Mother cracked down on this, so it’s strange that the rumor still spread.”

“Someone must have leaked it on purpose.”

Essen said it with certainty. Diano tilted his head.

“What could anyone gain from a rumor like this?”

“I can’t say exactly what the intent is, but they’re probably trying to damage Arti’s reputation.”

“If his fiancée’s reputation drops, Adrian’s drops along with it.”

At Essen’s words, Adrian looked at him.

‘So the one who knew everything acted like that all this time?’

Adrian’s eyes narrowed at the look that asked what he was staring at. Essen asked.

“What did Terni say?”

“You can tell from the fact that he isn’t here, can’t you?”

“So he’s tracing the source of the rumor.”

Of course Terni would handle it well on his own, but Essen still found himself worried.

It was probably simply because Arti was now a gentle, adorable person, like a herbivore.

Even having heard the whole story, to Essen, Arti was “a poor soul who’d simply gotten caught up in all this.”

Diano, who had been diligently peeling tangerines, spoke to Essen.

“Sir Essen, please spar with me.”

“What are you talking about? No.”

“Ah, Sir Essen. I want to become stronger.”

“Just peel more tangerines. If you keep eating them, you’ll want to spar someday.”

“Yes, sir!”

Adrian shook his head as he watched the two.