Secrets with Crown Prince 25

I spoke to my adoptive father about the conversation I had with Argan.

In fact, I conveyed my strong unwillingness to be engaged to Argan. I even prepared myself for the worst-case scenario.

My adoptive father remained silent for a while, seemingly taken aback. I placed both hands on my knees and calmly waited for his response.

There was a suffocating silence.

And when the tension was about to dissipate, my adoptive father tightly grasped my hands.

“You must have had a hard time.”

His unexpected and unfamiliar response bewildered me, and I couldn’t reply immediately.

My adoptive father gently patted the back of my hand in a comforting manner, as if understanding my feelings completely, and he affectionately stroked my head with a compassionate smile.

“To not fully understand my daughter’s heart… I am sorry.”

It wasn’t just empty words; my adoptive father sincerely felt sorry for me.

He, too, must have had his own thoughts and prepared himself before adopting me and deciding on the engagement.

It wasn’t just me who went through hardships. Nevertheless, he respected my opinion above all else.

“I will always be on your side, Ena.”

While I was emotionally overwhelmed and moved to tears, my adoptive father suddenly asked.

“Ena, do you want to become a crown princess?”

I blinked, wiping my eyes surprisedly, and paused before lowering my head.

“No. I’ve already told you before, it’s not that.”

“But, the two of you…”

My adoptive father trailed off, closing his lips, but his face seemed to have said a lot already as he looked at me.

I shook my head firmly.

“There may be misunderstandings, but it’s not that kind of thing.”

“His Highness Reynold showing interest in someone is a first-time occurrence, and more people than you think are watching you.”

My adoptive father muttered with a slightly sunken face, then sighed with exhaustion.

“It’s probably not what you wanted. But you are already being mentioned as a potential crown princess…”

“Me? A foreigner like me can’t easily ascend to such a position. Surely not.”

“Well… You might have heard rumors, but His Highness Reynold isn’t engaged to any lady. The noble families that offered their daughters for engagement are no longer around…”

I started imagining how Ena, a candidate for the crown princess position, faced a terrible accident.

Besides, from the beginning, it is said that Prince Reynold wasn’t interested in women since childhood.

Some even thought that his sexual preferences were different from others.

“It’s an interesting hypothesis,” I thought, chuckling inwardly. Still, I remember never seeing Do-hyuk in a relationship, even when he was a producer.

….The hypothesis might be correct, right?

                                                            ***

Reynold was quite helpful in preparing for the entrance exam at Alpine University.

While Reynold was solving math problems for me, I suddenly remembered what Argan had told me.

“PD-nim, do you happen to know what ‘Florence’ means?”

Reynold, who had been deeply absorbed in something while sitting on the sofa, raised his head at my question.

“Menopause?”

“Pardon?”

“Florence means menopause.”

I simply stared at Reynold with a dumbfounded expression.

Ah, so Duchess Roadwald is going through menopause.

“Why are you asking?”

“Duchess Roadwald is going through menopause.”

Upon hearing that, Reynold finally understood and nodded.

“It’s quite a well-known story that Duchess Roadwald has been suffering from menopause since last year.”

I didn’t know. What did I say when Argan talked about “Florence”?

“Oh… It must be challenging for you to take care of her. I hope she recovers soon..”

What I said was fine, but it showed that I had no idea “Florence” had to do with menopause.

After realizing that, I lowered my head and pulled at my hair in frustration.

Ah! How embarrassing! I should have asked instead! What kind of care is involved in menopause? I pretended to know for no reason.

“I should prepare a gift. I heard pomegranates are good for menopause…”

“It’s not easy to find pomegranates in Alpine. It’s a fruit from the northern continent.”

I could barely hear Reynold’s words. I was too busy screaming internally.

Meanwhile, Reynold asked me another question.

“The Empress suddenly suggested having a meal together last week. Just the two of us.”

He stood up from the sofa and leisurely walked towards me.

“There was bulgogi at the table. With gimbap.”

Reynold leaned one arm on the desk and grabbed the back of my chair with his other hand.

Somehow, I felt trapped in his embrace.

Feeling overwhelmed, I moved my chair backward, but he swiftly caught it and pulled it closer to him.

Kkak.

He rested both hands on the armrest of the chair.

This time, I was truly trapped by him.

A handsome face came into view. His face approached mine closely. I felt a strange sensation as if my breath was caught in my throat.

“It was your doing, no?”

Reynold’s pleasant, deep voice softly questioned me.

I cautiously avoided his gaze.

“Of course, it’s me. Who else would it be? Besides, who else in this world knows the recipe for bulgogi and kimbap?”

I muttered in a sigh-like tone. Reynold stared at my face intently and spoke.

“I think they made the rice wrong. Although they carefully plated the side of the kimbap, it seemed like the ingredients inside the kimbap were all separate… Sigh… It wasn’t tightly rolled.”

“Huh? Pffft.” I burst into laughter.

As I laughed heartily, Reynold also smirked and let out a chuckle.

“Don’t laugh. You should’ve seen it yourself. That wasn’t Kimbap. Do you know how pitiful it looked?”

Did it taste good? I imagined the pitifully stretched-out kimbap and burst into laughter once again.

And as Reynold stared at me intently, he suddenly asked.

“Mouse Bell, shall we go on a picnic?”

“Aren’t you busy?”

I asked back because I was too lazy to go to the picnic.

According to my adoptive father, he has been swamped with work lately.

However, Do-Hyuk shook his head with a bright smile.

“I just need to finish everything the day before if I’m busy. I’m capable of doing that much.”

I pondered his words for a moment and nodded.

“Yes. Before it gets colder, maybe once…”

In response to my answer, Reynold smiled brightly as if he’d been given the whole world. However, contrary to his wishes, we couldn’t go on a picnic just yet.

Both he and I had too much to do.

                                                            ***

I headed to the capital coffee house to meet Armand.

“Long time no see, Ena!”

Armand, who was sitting at the Coffee House, noticed me and got up from her seat. She straightened her dress and cutely greeted me with a slight bow.

Armand Audrey Ovidus. A name that was easy to remember as a whispered Lullaby.

Maria, who followed me, sat with Armand’s maid at another table for tea.

Armand and I calmly ordered desserts and drinks, exchanging greetings.

Since the last exam at the Imperial Academy was over, and there were no more classes to attend, it was difficult for me to see Armand.

“I received your letter. Lord Ovidus sent it to me.”

In response to my words, Armand blushed embarrassedly and smiled.

“I’m sorry. I was so rude. But I haven’t had time to meet you lately. I thought the letter would get buried among other letters…”

I was about to assure her that it was okay when I remembered Rioel’s rampage.

“Lord Ovidus threatened my older brother.”

“Huh? Threatened?”

Armand, who was delicate, pressed her hand to her chest, looking at me in surprise.

“I don’t know what it’s about, but could you please tell Lord Ovidus not to do that?” I asked, holding her hands gently.

In response, Armand looked at me with eyes full of gratitude.

“Yes, of course! Don’t worry about Chris!”

Ah, I guess Lord Ovidus’ name is Chris. Well, that’s fine.

Coincidentally, the coffee I ordered and the hot chocolate Armand ordered arrived.

I watched in disbelief as various desserts like macarons and éclairs were brought out.

I didn’t order these.

“Oh, I ordered them. Before you arrived, Ena…”

She scratched her cheek as I glanced past the dessert at her hot chocolate.

“I really wanted to eat them…”

“We agreed not to eat together, remember?”

I drank my hot coffee as quietly as possible, furrowing my eyebrows.

The sweet smell was tantalizing, and the temptation of the desserts was overwhelming.

“Armand, that’s betrayal. We agreed not to eat them together. It’s really torturous for me to control my weight alone.”

“But how can I resist this?”

Armand bit into a macaron, looking tearful.

I don’t just like sweets; I love them so very much.

Knowing that I enjoy sweets, my father fed me sweet things like a pet, causing me to gain tremendous weight.

“Ena, you have such a thin frame that I honestly can’t understand why you would struggle with weight gain.”

Armand looked at me with an expression of envy. She used a fork to break a crispy sablé, scooped up the vanilla cream inside, and put it in her mouth with a satisfied expression.

She noticed my gaze as she happily enjoyed the dessert, and her eyes widened.

She looked like a chipmunk.

“Would you like to try it?”

I swallowed my saliva as I watched Armand bring the plate of mille-feuille in front of me with a bright smile.

I want to eat, I want to eat!

“Should I feed you?”

The sudden familiar voice startled me as I reached for a plate of mille-feuille.

On the other hand, Armand had a more exuberant reaction than me.

I looked at her, puzzled, as she screamed and fell backward along with the chair.

Maria and Armand’s maid were startled and rushed out.

Fortunately, before Armand could roll onto the floor, Do-Hyuk caught the chair.

This wouldn’t have happened if she had been sitting on the two-seater sofa. Should I have switched seats?

Do-Hyuk straightened Armand while holding the chair and looked at me with a strange expression.

“Is there anything surprising about this? You’re making people embarrassed.”

“You’d be surprised too! What if I suddenly popped out like that?”

I grumbled, pushing the mille-feuille plate that was in front of me.

Do-Hyuk sat close to me on the sofa, picked a macaron with his fork, and placed it in my mouth.

“You like sweet things. Just eat it. What’s all this weight control about?”

“But how do you know about that?”

As I mumbled with a mouthful of macaron, my pronunciation became muffled. It was a sight that would make my elocution teacher cringe.

I watched Armand, with a beet-red face, finally sit properly on the chair, and I handed her a handkerchief.

She thanked me in a small voice, unable to lift her lowered head.

“I stopped by the LubicheMansion, and I heard that you went to meet Lady Ovidus.”

I finally saw sweat dripping from his temple and rolling down his chin.

I quickly wiped the sweat off the tip of his chin with my sleeve. He laughed out loud.

For a moment, I was captivated by that laughter, but then I snapped back to reality.

“Then, did you search all the nearby cafes?”

“If you know that already, tell me where you’re going next time.”

Do-Hyuk complained to me after pulling a macaron crumb off the corner of my mouth.

I stared blankly as he licked the macaron piece off his hand with his tongue; I only regained my senses after hearing someone cough.

At the moment, I totally forgot about Armand.

“I-I’m s-s-sorry. I, uh, I couldn’t drink the b-beverage properly…”

Armand apologized to Do-Hyuk with a pale face.

She looked so scared, huddled up like a squirrel. It was pitiful.

But she’s so cute!

I shouted inwardly while pushing Do-Hyuk, sitting next to me, with my hip, and then I turned to Armand.

“It’s okay, Armand. But wasn’t there a reason you wanted to see me today?”

In times like these, it’s best to quickly finish the matter and send her away.

Do-Hyuk, pushed away by me, extended his hands and looked at me with bewilderment.

Then, without thinking about getting up from his seat, he put his arm around my waist and leaned his face on my shoulder.

“What are you doing?”

“There’s no room.”

In the end, I gave him my seat.

“Is it better now?”

He looked disappointed as he momentarily eyed my food, then turned his gaze back to Armand.