Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Secret Meeting
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“Crazy, crazy!”
Right after the ball ended, Carnivella fled to her room. As soon as she entered the guest quarters provided by the imperial palace, she clutched her head.
Rainen was the most beautiful person she had ever seen in her life. To think she had kissed a man she’d just met! Her face flushed strawberry red.
No matter how isolated her life had been from the world, she wasn’t so oblivious that she didn’t know what this meant. Her heart raced. She’d thought she’d never feel this fluttering sensation in her lifetime.
She was so blissfully ecstatic that her heart felt like it might burst, leaving her unable to collect her thoughts. It wasn’t quite the “bells ringing in her head” that people talked about, but everything in the world seemed beautiful, and stars exploded before her eyes.
“…….”
But when she regained her senses, a sigh escaped her. In her current situation, where romance was nothing but a pipe dream, with her promise to the little one and her worries about Lucamin weighing on her. All sorts of thoughts churned in her mind.
“This isn’t the time for me to be like this…….”
She sighed. This feeling was something sweet, like a dream. For the first time, she desperately wanted someone, and he wanted her too. Yet the complicated circumstances surrounding her made her unable to even dream of pursuing it.
“What should I do…….”
She sighed again. And so the night passed.
Meanwhile, Rainen entered his bedroom but could only stare at the moon reflected in the window.
“It wasn’t a dream, was it……?”
For the first time, he desperately wanted someone, and she wanted him too. But he was anxious. Afraid that it all might vanish like a mirage. Afraid she might slip away because of his own mistake.
He recalled that day when he lost the person he loved due to his own error. He had committed an irreparable act, and because of it, they were gone.
That was why he wanted to confirm this wasn’t a dream. That this special day was reality. He had already realized it was love, and during the kiss, he had felt it.
I can’t live without this person.
He prayed that the day he had experienced wasn’t a dream. He could still feel his heart pounding. If it was a dream, he wouldn’t be able to go on living.
Please be my reality.
And so their night passed.
* * *
The next day arrived, and Carnivella needed to sort out her thoughts. Should she run away right now, or observe the situation a bit longer?
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
“Who is it?”
“From His Highness the Crown Prince.”
She received a letter from the servant through a small crack in the door and unfolded it.
[I’ll somehow sneak out of the hall, so please wait for me at Reika Square in front of the plaza by 7 p.m., dressed in casual clothes.]
She pondered for a long time. Should she go, or not? But she soon made up her mind. She only had a week left anyway.
So why not enjoy it until then?
He was like a rest to her. Someone who let her set aside her duties and goals, even if just for a moment, and simply breathe. That was why she decided to accept his invitation for a date. Besides, there was nothing she could do during this week anyway.
She sent a reply through the servant, saying she understood.
Ding-dong!
Time flew by, and soon it was the appointed hour. The bells signaling 7 p.m. began to ring. She covered her face with a robe and stepped out to the plaza.
She immediately spotted him standing by the fountain. He was somehow wearing strange casual clothes. The all-black outfit made him look like an assassin.
“We need to go shopping for clothes.”
Her eyes widened in surprise at his words. He headed straight to a nearby clothing store as if he’d been waiting for her to say it. The shop was famous for dealing only in nobles’ attire, restricting entry based on status.
She doubted whether he could even enter dressed like that, but they welcomed him without issue.
“Have you come for the clothes you left with us?”
“Yes. Give me my clothes, and pick out a dress suitable for this lady.”
With that, he disappeared. Before she could even grasp what he meant, the staff led her to try on various outfits.
“The clothes here don’t do her justice. It would be better to make one from scratch.”
They dressed her in outfits of various colors—ones that looked stunningly beautiful to her—and discarded them all. Then they began taking her measurements. In the meantime, one employee fetched a woman who appeared to be the madam.
The madam bowed politely to her and said,
“I am Kasha, owner of Burants Boutique. I will make a dress for you now, so please choose the fabric and color you like.”
Caught off guard, she had come to pick up his clothes and ended up getting measured for her own. No matter how much she refused, saying it was fine, they were persistent. It made her think this was all part of his plan.
He had deliberately worn eye-catching clothes to lure her here and have a dress made for her.
‘What’s going on? Why for me……?’
His excessive kindness made her uncomfortable. With her personality that couldn’t stand owing debts, she had no idea how to repay this favor.
Moreover, she wasn’t in a position to stay here forever. Once the ball ended, she would follow the little one who wielded that “miracle” to the place they would lead her and begin her full pursuit of the truth. She gave a wry smile.
It would probably take a long time. After devoting everything to uncovering the truth, she would likely forget him. Once it all ended, she’d look back on this happy time as a fond memory.
She agonized. Should she stop them, or pretend not to notice and enjoy the moment?
‘For now, I’ll pretend not to notice.’
She didn’t know why he was having such an expensive dress made for her with high-end fabrics, or what his intentions were, but she decided to go along with it.
After staring at the array of fabrics for a while, she chose one with a soft pink hue that was beautifully subtle. Then she received a book of dress designs and selected one with a plunging neckline from top to bottom.
Due to the scars from childhood abuse, she didn’t usually like revealing clothes, but something drew her to it. The pale pink color was so lovely it evoked the feeling of a garden filled with beautiful flowers.
The madam held the fabric against her body, praised it as an excellent choice, and left.
“How is it? Is there a dress that suits this young lady?”
He had reappeared in appropriately flashy attire and quietly asked the owner.
“There is no dress here fit for this beautiful young lady. They all pale in comparison. So we’re making one.”
“I see. Then charge it to my account. Have that dress ready in five days. It’s for her to wear on the final night.”
She couldn’t quite hear his words clearly, so she didn’t understand what he planned to do with the dress. Was it just a simple gift? What did he intend to do with her by giving her this dress?
She wanted to ask but couldn’t. She didn’t want to pour cold water on him when he seemed so excited.
“All done.”
He smiled, took her hand, and led her outside. Their real date was about to begin.
* * *
“Wow!”
Stepping outside the palace for the first time, everything was wondrous to her. The food smells she’d never encountered before intoxicated her nose, and the bustling scenes stimulated her ears. The people were lively, and their lives reached her through a cacophony of sounds.
She kept turning her head, gazing with fascination at everything in sight. Her sparkling eyes lifted his spirits.
“That looks delicious.”
Her eyes soon landed on the lamb skewers people were holding and eating. Unknowingly, she licked her lips. Seeing this, he immediately went to a stall and bought some food. Though she initially refused, she reluctantly took a bite at his urging.
And she discovered a whole new world of flavor. It was a taste she could never have in the palace.
“It’s delicious.”
She ate with relish. She thought of the suffocating, tense meals she’d wolfed down before for fear of getting caught, and how this contrasted sharply. Though the food was simple, it tasted even better because her heart was at ease.
He watched her eat contentedly and wiped the sauce from the corner of her mouth.
“Oh!”
Her face turned red, thinking she must have eaten so messily. But he casually licked it off and said,
“Delicious.”
The sight was electrifying. His tongue licking the sauce, his soft crimson lips savoring it. She felt her face flush without realizing it.
‘Can a man be that sexy?’
But he acted as if nothing had happened, taking her other empty hand with his free one and walking forward. She tried to calm her emotions. The burning sensation faded. Soon, she smiled again, looking at his hand.
‘It feels good.’
No matter what her situation was, she would enjoy this now. This moment was too happy. That was her resolve.
So she smiled. Her smile made his heart race. He thought bringing her out was the right decision.
“Wow, look over there. It’s a fairy!”
“Those are nobles for you.”
“So envious…….”
People’s gazes focused on their striking appearances and auras, but no one knew they were the crown prince and the troublesome princess of the Rasoni Kingdom. They enjoyed their time together amid the envious stares of the crowd.
“Come on, come on! Last chance if you miss it today! Your final opportunity to own this Rasoni Kingdom flower bracelet!”
Street vendors were calling out to passersby. At the words “Rasoni Kingdom,” her gaze involuntarily turned. He noticed her staring quietly at the flower bracelet beside him.
“Will you let me give you that bracelet?”
“No, it’s fine.”
She spoke curtly, but he caught her interest from her expression. He immediately signed up for the arm-wrestling contest, won first place as expected, and returned with the bracelet. She smiled at his proud expression.
“Let’s go see a play.”
There was still plenty of time left. As she looked around wondering what to do with him, she spotted a theater packed with people. Having never gone out for cultural activities like this, she grew intrigued.
“Did you want to see a play?”
He slipped the prize bracelet onto her wrist. Then, taking her hand, he led her into the theater. She laughed and agreed with him.
“It’ll be fun!”
She exclaimed upon seeing the title of the play. It was a somewhat corny name: *Love Weeps, But It Won’t Leave You!* She sat down with a childlike smile, as if seeing a play for the first time.
Heh.
He didn’t like plays. They were mostly melodramas. He disliked shedding tears even in stories meant to be enjoyable. They stirred up sorrow and made him recall that time over and over.
But seeing her delight beside him lifted his mood as well.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Seeing you smile like that makes me happy too.”
His words felt overly dramatic to her, leaving her a bit embarrassed. All she’d done was laugh and cry watching the play? Still, she was very satisfied that her choice of venue had pleased him.
He sat beside her, stealing glances at her profile from the start to the end of the play. Her laughing and crying along with the characters made her look like an angel descended from heaven.
Watching her clap, sharing in the characters’ misfortunes, he resolved that he must marry this woman.
In truth, the reason he had attended this bothersome masked ball was at the pleading of his father, the emperor, and the empress.
“Nen, my dear. Isn’t it time for you to marry and produce an heir?”
The empress said to him one day at dinner. He had been putting simple food in his mouth and momentarily lost control of his expression, staring at her.
“Indeed. You’re at the age where you should marry out of duty, aren’t you?”
The emperor chimed in. Sighing at their pressure, he wanted to say,
‘Isn’t there Raibus?’
But he could never accept Raibus, the empress’s son, becoming crown prince. This position had been passed to him from his brother Rainel. For the brother who died without becoming emperor because of him, he couldn’t let go of this seat.
Moreover, they weren’t wrong. At twenty-two, he was already quite late. Hadn’t the emperor himself married his mother at fourteen? He gathered his thoughts and said,
“I will marry. But on one condition.”
“Speak.”
“Regardless of family, looks, status, or anything else, allow me to marry the person I choose.”
I want to spend my life with the one I desire.
He had only seen her for a brief time. Yet he was certain they could hold onto each other. After the play ended, he secretly escorted her back to her assigned room and said,
“How about we spend the remaining week together like this?”
She nodded, saying yes. He kissed her forehead and promised to send a messenger again tomorrow.
She entered her room happily, removed the bracelet he had given her, and placed it in her palm.
“No matter how our parting turns out…… I hope tomorrow comes soon.”
It was the first time in her life she wished for tomorrow to hurry up. And in her dreams, she was enjoying their next date with him.