Chapter 35
Deep in the night, in Crown Prince Marius’s office.
“Your Imperial Highness, Chief Mage Peles has arrived.”
The attendant announced from outside the door. The Crown Prince leapt up from his desk and said,
“Let him in.”
As the attendant opened the door, the chief mage entered.
“Is there something you need?”
“Leave.”
At the attendant’s question, the Crown Prince waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly.
Click.
The door closed, and a clandestine meeting between the Crown Prince and the chief mage began.
“I want to use the brainwashing gem.”
As the Crown Prince got straight to the point, Peles’s dark eyes gleamed behind his glasses.
“Are you planning to use it for another assassination?”
The Crown Prince shook his head. With a wild glint in his eyes, he spoke.
“I need to brainwash Marion to make her love me again.”
* * *
The next morning.
“How could you not give me a single hint?”
From the morning, I was sweating profusely, trying to placate Lady March.
Lady March, who had been at the Baltstein Grand Duchy, rushed to the capital’s ducal residence as soon as she heard the news of my engagement and pregnancy with Kaiden.
She said she nearly fainted upon arriving in the capital and seeing the sensational news in the papers.
Feeling like a sinner, I did my best to answer her questions.
“I had no choice but to keep it a secret, my lady.”
“I was right there beside you! When and where did you two fall for each other?”
“When people work together outside, they… end up falling for each other.”
As I answered earnestly, Bled muttered.
[You sound like a husband caught cheating on his wife.]
His words were absurd, but since the entire situation was absurd, I just let it go.
‘But the only places Kaiden and I could’ve fallen for each other are while slaying magical beasts or sparring at the training grounds.’
[That’s true.]
“Sir Marion! Are you listening to me?!”
Lady March’s thunderous voice snapped me back to attention.
Memories of her strict etiquette lessons from my childhood resurfaced, and I immediately straightened my back, ready to listen attentively. Only then did Lady March seem satisfied.
“How far along is your pregnancy?”
“About ten weeks, I think.”
“Good heavens, so you were fighting magical beasts in that condition?”
“Yes. I didn’t know at the time.”
“When did you find out you were pregnant?”
“About a month ago.”
I answered her questions diligently.
Lady March was a long-time vassal of the Baltstein family and its most loyal servant.
As my etiquette teacher, she always taught me to know my place. I could only imagine how displeasing it must be for her to see me, pregnant with Kaiden’s child.
I was prepared to accept whatever harsh words she might say. I could never repay the kindness and teachings she had given me over the years.
And as the price for this lie, I was ready to endure this much.
“You must have gone through so much heartache.”
“Huh…?”
I looked at her with surprised eyes. The middle-aged woman’s face was filled with sympathy.
“You had to keep it to yourself for a whole month. How frightening that must have been.”
Lady March took my hand. My guilt deepened even further.
[The people of the ducal family really have kind hearts.]
I was already dying of guilt, and Bled was scraping at my conscience.
[You could tell just by how they put up with your troublemaker antics all this time.]
Damn it.
Yes, I’m trash. How could I do such a despicable thing to such good people? Overwhelmed with self-loathing, I wanted to bury my head in the ground.
At that moment, Kaiden’s aide, Vito, knocked on the drawing room door.
Knock knock.
“Sir Marion, a gift has arrived for you.”
“A gift?”
With a puzzled expression, I took the gift box Vito handed me. It was a small black box with a red ribbon.
“Who sent it?”
“I’m not sure. A messenger just delivered it.”
“Really? That’s strange. I don’t know anyone who’d send me a gift…”
Tilting my head, I turned the box over in my hands. A card was attached, and when I opened it, it simply read, ‘To the red-haired knight.’
Seeing it, Lady March clapped her hands in delight.
“Could it be a gift from an anonymous fan congratulating you on your engagement?”
“Huh? An anonymous fan?”
When I reacted with disbelief, Lady March exclaimed excitedly.
“You have fans who admire you, Sir Marion! According to the capital’s newspapers, they’re calling you the ‘Star of the Devil!”
The Star of the Devil? What’s that…? My eyes grew hazy.
“Open it quickly!”
Unable to resist Lady March’s urging, I opened the gift box. Inside a ring-case-like box was a radiant red gem.
“Is it a ruby? But people don’t usually send just a raw gem as a gift.”
Lady March muttered in a puzzled tone. I agreed with her. Usually, such gifts would be crafted into something like shirt cufflinks or a pin.
It was when I touched the gem with my hand.
‘I love His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince. He’s all I have. Oh, Crown Prince Marius, I love you! I love you!’
A voice echoed in my head.
“Argh!”
“Sir Marion!”
“Call the physician!”
I screamed in agony and collapsed from the sofa to the floor. Lady March rushed to support me, and I heard Vito open the drawing room door, shouting for a physician.
‘Your Imperial Highness! My love! I’ll love only you for the rest of my life! I can’t live without you!’
“Argh! Stop it!”
I clutched my head, writhing in pain. It was excruciating. My head felt like it was splitting apart. Some enormous presence in my mind was urging me to love the Crown Prince.
I tried to resist the command. But the more I fought, the louder the voice screamed for me to love the Crown Prince. The entire world seemed enveloped in love for him.
Tears streaming down my face, I muttered,
“…Your Imperial Highness… I love you…”
* * *
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“No need. Take care of the east.”
“Yes, don’t worry. I’ll be off then.”
After a private audience with the Emperor, Kaiden left the reception room. He walked through the palace corridors with light steps.
When he left the ducal residence early that morning, he had run into Lady March.
She looked like she had a mountain of things to say, but since Kaiden had to go to the palace, he managed to avoid her nagging.
‘Marion must be taking my share of the scolding.’
Kaiden felt a bit sorry for Marion. But he had no choice, as he had a lot to do regarding their marriage.
Since Marion was supposedly pregnant, they needed to hold the wedding as soon as possible. Noble marriages required the Emperor’s approval, so Kaiden had gone to see him immediately.
In exchange for getting what he wanted from the Emperor, Kaiden agreed to be temporarily dispatched to the east, where magical beasts were running rampant.
“Grand Duke.”
At Princess Caroline’s call, Kaiden turned around. Despite his indifferent gaze, she approached with a beautiful smile.
“Princess Caroline.”
“Are you here to see His Majesty?”
“Yes.”
“For the wedding preparations?”
“That’s right.”
“Ha.”
Caroline let out an incredulous sigh. Kaiden found the sound grating but didn’t show it.
“Do you have something to say?”
“Are you certain the child in that commoner’s womb is yours?”
Kaiden furrowed his brow.
“Please refer to her as Sir Marion. And yes, the child is mine.”
4“Ha. Even though everyone in the world knows that woman has been reckless with her body?”
“Princess Caroline.”
Kaiden’s voice lowered. It was a warning not to speak carelessly.
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By Anna 💓
