Secrets with Crown Prince 29

“What should we do?”

I calmed down the flustered Armand, who had a squirrel-like expression, and whispered to her.

“Do you want to go somewhere else?”

“But…”

Armand kept glancing at Lady Serene and Lady Wipfler with a worried look.

Although it was entertaining to see the two glare at each other with such hateful gazes, I didn’t want to be stuck in the crossfire and see something unpleasant.

Fortunately, we didn’t have to go very far and avoid her.

“There you are.”

It was because Prince Verdi appeared. A man with curly dark blue hair stood before Lady Serene.

He was someone I had only seen from a distance at parties and official events hosted by the royal family.

Until last year, I rarely attended events with many people, making it even harder to see aristocrats.

“Congratulations on your graduation, Rika.”

That was what people affectionately called Frederika Anne Serene. 

Prince Verdi kissed her hand as if he wanted to draw attention, even though it was just a simple greeting.

Whether he enjoyed being noticed or intentionally sought it, his actions were quite noticeable.

“To be honest, I can’t understand. Both of them have someone they love, yet they decided to get engaged. That’s impressive.”

Armand said in admiration. It seemed like Prince Verdi was using Lady Serene’s reputation.

“A generous person who embraces and gets engaged to a woman even though she was with another man.” He rebranded himself with that image.

I couldn’t help but find such an attitude quite laughable, especially since he also had another woman.

“Should we move to another spot? It’s too conspicuous here, right?”

Armand took my hand and led me away. Her attempt was good.

If Prince Verdi hadn’t approached me, we would have successfully moved to another seat.

“Oh, are you ‘that’ rumored Lady?”

I turned around to find a man with golden eyes looking at me. His gaze met mine, and I noticed his eye color was like Do-hyuk’s.

A displeased expression briefly flickered across Lady Serene’s face.

But soon, she composed her emotions and cheerfully introduced me to Prince Verdi.

“That’s right, she’s the rumored Lady Lubiche. She has a unique appearance that’s hard to forget after you see her.”

Did she really have to add that last part? It was pretty racist, but considering that there were no Asians here, I tolerated it with mild annoyance.

“Yeah. The girl that Claude is crazy about.”

Prince Verdi’s manners were no better than Lady Serene’s.

He approached me, touched his chin, and blatantly scrutinized my face.

“Indeed, what a mysterious appearance. No wonder she’s called a Nairu Fairy.”

I furrowed my brows at the mention of the fairies, a term that always came up when describing my appearance.

In the history books I’ve read, there were only descriptions of their appearance; there were no portraits or pictures.

I should find a portrait of a Nairu soon.

I forced myself to regain composure and greeted him.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness Verdi. I am Ena Knox Lubiche.”

“Your voice is beautiful too. I like it.”

What am I supposed to do if you like it? I barely held back a profane retort.

“I understand why Claude is crazy about her. Lady Lubiche, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Prince Verdi greeted me belatedly and pressed his lips on my hand.

I know this is the greeting etiquette among nobles, but Prince Verdi’s greeting was particularly displeasing.

I had to be mindful of Lady Serene’s reaction as Prince Verdi’s lips lingered slightly longer on the back of my hand than usual.

However, to my surprise, she seemed to find Prince Verdi’s attitude more unpleasant than I did.

I recalled a hypothesis I had before. Perhaps Lady Serene was being controlled by Prince Verdi and Marquis Serene.

Her disapproving gaze landed on Prince Verdi’s side profile.

But as soon as Prince Verdi turned his head, her expression swiftly changed to a smile.

She was quite an extraordinary woman.

I wanted to wipe my hand.

“Claude is nothing special.”

Then, Prince Verdi blatantly stared at an empty space as if he could see the invisible Prince Claude.

There’s no point in gossiping about someone who’s not even here.

“You have only been in the Alpine Empire for a short while, so you probably don’t know…”

Prince Verdi gave a sly look and smiled.

“When he ascends the throne, he’ll definitely become a tyrant. Alpine with Claude as the Emperor will never prosper.”

I listened quietly to his words and pondered.

“In that case, Your Highness, what do you mean by not prospering?”

“Obviously, it means that the Alpine Empire will be at a disadvantage.”

I wanted to ask who would be at a disadvantage in the Alpine Empire, but I suppressed the question.

“How can you be so sure that Prince Reynold will become a tyrant?”

More eyes were watching than I thought.

If I don’t address this matter here and now, I might appear to be agreeing with him.

I didn’t want Cha Do-hyuk to hear about this incident later and misunderstand it.

“If he feels like it, he’ll commit murder. He even tried to kill me, his own brother,  how could he become an Emperor? Ha!”

Cha Do-hyuk commits murder when he feels like it?

“Lady Lubiche must not have heard a single thing about my half-brother.”

I sighed at Prince Verdi’s words. I don’t know why he keeps seeking my agreement.

I am the person who knows Prince Reynold best.

Does he want to hear about his flaws from me? Especially in front of so many people?

“If you meant that he’s often fighting off assassins, then I have heard.”

My response made Prince Verdi furrow his brows.

According to Rioel, Cha Do-hyuk has an unusually high number of assassins coming after him.

In contrast, not a single assassination threat was received by Prince Verdi.

While hunting, visiting temples, or even having a relaxing meal, assassins would attempt to kill Cha Do-hyuk.

Most of them ended up dead at his hands, or so I’ve heard.

However, no one had actually witnessed Do-hyuk killing them.

Moreover, it was odd that Prince Verdi and the public put someone who kills in self-defense on par with murderers who kill innocent people.

The same was true for the incident during the public Guard initiation exam.

In every situation, it seemed like everything was meticulously orchestrated to portray Cha Do-hyuk as a murderer.

I had heard that Prince Verdi’s influence was higher than Do-hyuk’s, but could he really be blind and oblivious to such manipulations?

“It’s good that you’ve heard. Leave that guy behind and come to me.”

Upon hearing Prince Verdi’s words, Lady Serene, who had been standing uncomfortably, glared at him with a cold expression.

In response, Prince Verdi smiled, like he was trying to dispel misunderstandings, and kissed her.

“Don’t misunderstand, Rika. It would be a good thing if the Lubiche family sides with me.”

Only then did Serena relax her tense expression but didn’t entirely fall for Prince Verdi’s sweet talk.

However, the neutral nobles who had declared their position along with the Lubiche family seemed to become more hostile.

『Prince Verdi was trying to put political pressure on the Lubiche family, a neutral party! The turbulent political situation in the Alpine Empire… Is this the calm before the storm?』

Considering the commotion caused by that article at the time, I couldn’t say such words here.

In my opinion, Prince Verdi was closer to being a puppet.

“Young Lady, if you keep defending Claude like this, you might end up being just another murderer. Remember that fact.”

Seeing me remain silent and unwilling to give a satisfactory answer, Prince Verdi seemed frustrated.

“At the very least, the Reynold I know is someone with a strong sense of responsibility, he’s not the type to abandon his morals. And you are not someone that would label a person a murderer without an authentic truth.”

Suddenly, I recalled the past when he tried saving a child and ended up dying in a traffic accident.

Even if it meant distancing myself from Prince Verdi, I would do what it takes.

I had no choice but to choose Cha Do-hyuk, and I didn’t want to do it halfheartedly.

Just as Prince Verdi’s face became increasingly irritated and he started to retort, there was a commotion behind us.

The crowd parted like the Red Sea did for Moses.

And through the crowd, a man with neatly brushed back silver hair walked toward us, rolling up his sleeves roughly.

Our gazes met.

As his smooth gaze shifted away from me and landed on Prince Verdi, it twisted mercilessly.

With eyes filled with suppressed anger, he glared at Prince Verdi and then turned his gaze away with annoyance.

Upon witnessing this, the onlookers averted their gazes. Thanks to them, the attention focused on us disappeared instantly.

Impressive presence. I momentarily admired his appearance, which overwhelmed the surroundings.

“Long time no see, little brother.”

Cha Do-hyuk greeted Prince Verdi and then glanced down at me.

“There you are, Ena. I’ve been looking for you for a while.”

As I saw the beads of sweat forming on Cha Do-hyuk’s forehead, I thought, ‘Why does this man always go to such lengths to find me?’

Even though I knew the reason, I couldn’t help but keep asking the question.

Moreover, why was it that his persistent pursuit of me didn’t make me feel bad?

He looked around and glared at Prince Verdi before extending his hand toward me.

“I heard you attended a boring party, so I came to check it out.”

When his face, contorted with anger as he stared at Prince Verdi, turned towards me, it looked as lovely and radiant as a dandelion seed floating in the bluegrass.

“How was the party? Was it fun?”

He asked me. All the ears around us were tuned in, making the attention on me and Cha Do-hyuk feel burdensome. Numerous ears were waiting for my next words.

“No, it was boring.”

A nearly tearful smile stretched across Cha Do-hyuk’s lips in response to my answer.

It was unbelievably beautiful and charming.

His face was radiating with energy.

I stared at Do-hyuk, who could not control his overflowing emotions and felt slightly unsettled.

There was a tingling sensation in the depths of my heart, and strangely, I didn’t mind it.

“Okay. Then, do you want to leave with me?”

I hesitated as I looked at his hand still held out to me.

“Yes.”

Without hesitation, I took his hand. Would this be the answer Prince Verdi wanted?

At least, at this moment, I didn’t want to abandon Cha Do-hyuk and remain neutral for the sake of a prince like him.

“I-I’ll come too.”

And Armand hastily followed behind me.

Poor Armand, she almost passed out from an anxiety attack.