Chapter 47
Inside the carriage that was shaking as it moved along the road,
Eunice looked at Cecilia with a worried expression. Cecilia was staring blankly out the window, lost in deep thought.
‘Her Majesty the Empress and the First Prince were really too much.’
Since Eunice had been waiting outside, she didn’t know what Cecilia and the Empress had talked about. But from Cecilia’s comment that she had been lectured about proper behavior, Eunice could guess what kind of things had been said.
And the First Prince too. Why did he have to speak so loudly in a garden with no walls or ceiling, as if he wanted the whole world to hear?
“I’m talking about the rumor that you shamelessly follow my younger brother around everywhere.”
It wasn’t completely false.
But Eunice felt wronged. She knew Cecilia did not follow the Second Prince because she liked him.
‘My lady only sees His Highness the Second Prince as a giant magic stone to recharge from…!’
As she suppressed her frustration, another thought suddenly came to her.
‘If the truth comes out, wouldn’t that actually be worse?’
A duke’s daughter chasing the Second Prince because she loves him,
or a duke’s daughter chasing him to drain his magic power.
…If they truly cared about Cecilia’s reputation, maybe it was better for people to think it was the first reason.
Anyway, no matter how the rumors spread, Eunice was relieved that Cecilia didn’t truly like the Second Prince.
‘…Right?’
Suddenly, Eunice became curious.
Did her lady really have no feelings for the Second Prince?
From what Cecilia had said so far, it seemed like she didn’t. But who knew?
“Miss, may I ask you something?”
“……”
“Miss?”
“Ah, yes?”
Cecilia finally turned her head after staring outside for a long time.
Worried that she might still be thinking about what happened at the imperial palace, Eunice carefully asked,
“What were you thinking about so deeply that you didn’t hear me?”
“Ah, nothing much. I just realized I feel exactly like a supporting female lead in a romance novel.”
“Pardon?”
Seeing Eunice’s confused face, Cecilia continued explaining.
“Look. First, Rio is the male lead. Handsome, capable, high status — the perfect male lead.”
“Yes.”
“And the female lead… let’s say she’s some commoner girl. Cheerful, positive, always smiling brightly and lighting up the atmosphere.”
“That sounds like—”
Before Eunice could say, Isn’t that you?, Cecilia continued.
“One day, the male and female lead meet by chance. Maybe the female lead saves him when he’s badly injured, or he saves her when she’s about to be sold off by debt collectors. Anyway, they’re drawn to each other. But they can’t easily be together. Why do you think that is?”
“Because of their different social status?”
“That’s a major conflict, yes. But the biggest problem is that the male lead already has a fiancée! A fiancée from a political marriage that he has no interest in!”
“Ah…”
“The male lead doesn’t care about his fiancée. But the fiancée loves him. She clings to him, but he treats her coldly. Then she sees how close he is to the female lead. So she starts bullying the female lead, and in the end, she gets punished by the male lead!”
“I see.”
Eunice wasn’t sure if she fully understood… but she thought she got the idea.
After thinking for a moment, she asked carefully,
“So… are you worried that another woman might suddenly appear and steal the Second Prince’s heart?”
“Huh? No.”
Cecilia shook her head firmly.
“The woman Rio will fall in love with is me. That’s certain.”
“……”
“Don’t look at me like that! I’m not being narcissistic or anything. I’m serious! Rio will love me so much that he’ll become obsessed with me!”
“Of course. You two are destined. I have no doubt.”
“I’m serious!”
“I believe you. Of course I do.”
Of course, Eunice did not believe her. She only felt more pity.
‘So she doesn’t just see His Highness as a magic stone for charging…’
That must be why she spoke so confidently, as if she were trying to convince herself.
‘Of all people, she had to fall for someone like him.’
In Eunice’s opinion, Lionel was the type of man who would respect his wife but never truly love her.
‘My lady deserves a warm and affectionate man.’
If only it were possible to change her fiancé even now. But that was impossible.
Knowing the real reason why Cecilia had to be engaged to the Second Prince, Eunice could only swallow a long sigh.
Lionel was at the Northern Temple.
‘I wonder what kind of volunteer work he’s doing here.’
The largest temple was the Central Temple, but the other four weren’t small either.
Fortunately, Cecilia had a tracking magic tool. Together with Eunice, she followed the direction the compass pointed.
‘Ah, there he is!’
Lionel was at the training grounds.
Young apprentice holy knights stood in lines, swinging wooden swords. Lionel was correcting their stances one by one.
Just like he had taught children letters at the orphanage before, today he was teaching swordsmanship to apprentice knights.
‘The temple really makes him do all kinds of volunteer work.’
Even though she was crazy about magic power, now didn’t seem like the right time to interrupt.
There was a long bench outside the training grounds. She turned to sit there and wait until Lionel finished.
“Eek!”
Oh no. Her toe caught on one of the tiles along the edge of the training ground.
Before she could regain her balance, her body tilted forward. She flailed her arms and squeezed her eyes shut.
‘I’m going to fall!’
She clenched her teeth, preparing for the pain—
But someone caught her firmly in their arms.
“Ah, thank you, Uni—”
Wait. Not Eunice?
Her hands were pressed against a broad male chest. Startled, she looked up — and her eyes widened even more.
“Rio?”
“Yes.”
Huh? Huh?
‘It’s really Lionel?’
She glanced back at where he had been standing just moments ago. He had been beside an apprentice knight striking a dummy.
‘When did he get here?’
“Are your toes alright?”
“My toes? Yes, they’re fine…”
Still dazed, she lightly tapped the ground with the tip of her shoe. Then she felt something strange.
“But why my toes? Don’t people usually ask if I hurt my ankle in this kind of situation?”
“I heard the sound of your foot kicking the tile.”
“I didn’t kick it on purpose! You’re supposed to pretend you didn’t hear that!”
If anyone else had said that, she would think they were teasing her. But since it was Lionel, she became slightly worried.
‘Are my toes really okay?’
She turned her foot in a small circle while checking it. Then she heard a soft cough behind her.
She turned around. Eunice was giving her a meaningful look.
‘Why is she— …Ah!’
Her hand was still on Lionel’s chest!
‘At this rate, people will spread rumors that I molested the prince!’
She didn’t care about rumors usually, but being known as the woman who groped a prince in broad daylight was a bit much.
She quickly stepped back to create distance.
But—
“Ouch!”
Something pulled at her hair.
Tears formed in her eyes as she looked — her hair had gotten caught on one of the buttons of Lionel’s jacket.
‘They say when you’re unlucky, you break your nose even falling backward!’
Lionel seemed to notice as well.
“Your hair is caught.”
“I’m so sorry. Just a moment.”
In a hurry, she grabbed the middle of her hair with her left hand and tried to pull the part caught on the button free with her right.
Instead of loosening, it tangled even more.
Naturally, the distance between them became even smaller.
Close enough to feel Lionel’s breath.