Chapter 18: The Prince
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 18: The Prince
“…Dame Noel. Are you alright?”
Stella asked, her voice laced with concern.
It was a fair question. Noel’s face had been deathly pale for a while now.
Even when they stood on the bloodiest battlefields together, Noel had never shown this level of agitation. Yet, she had been a nervous wreck ever since the Imperial Prince pulled Aiden away earlier in the evening.
“If you’re feeling unwell, please, take a moment to rest. I can make excuses to the others.”
“…Then, I’ll step out for just a moment.”
Forcing a weak smile, Noel stood up.
She slipped out of the banquet hall. Away from the stifling noise and extravagance, the cool night air brushed past, scattering her hair in the breeze.
“…”
Noel looked upwind, her expression hardening.
With her superhuman senses, she could pierce the veil of darkness. There they were. Aiden. And the Imperial Prince.
They sat across from each other at a secluded table, deep in conversation.
She took a ragged breath.
I have no right to interfere.
None at all.
No matter what was being said, she had no authority to stop the Prince. Considering the “past” that bound her to him, it was only natural. There was a reason she had let Aiden go with him so easily.
She turned her back, trying to put distance between herself and the two men. With her enhanced hearing, she would catch every single word of their conversation even from here.
“Break off your engagement with Lionheart.”
…Or she would have kept walking, had those words not reached her ears.
“In return, I will grant you anything you desire, Aiden.”
“—”
Noel froze in her tracks.
Instinctively, her gaze snapped to Aiden’s face. She didn’t know why her first impulse was to check his reaction, but she felt an overwhelming compulsion to look.
He was simply staring back at the Prince. His face was a blank mask, his thoughts completely unreadable.
“…May I ask why you are making such a request?”
At Aiden’s subdued tone, the Prince clasped his hands and rested his chin atop them.
“Dawn is coming, Aiden. Soon, many interesting things will happen in the Imperial Capital.”
A faint, inscrutable smile played on his lips.
“I simply do not wish to see a good, upstanding citizen like you get caught up in the crossfire by staying beside such a wicked woman.”
“Are you saying Dame Noel is wicked?”
“Ah, but of course. Naturally.”
Then, like a viper flicking its tongue, the Prince’s voice slithered into Noel’s ears.
“The explanation is a bit long, but to put it simply… that woman ruined my future.”
For a split second, Noel’s breath hitched.
“That woman known as Lionheart. She is a coward, a traitor, a failure, a murderer, and a runaway. Even she wouldn’t dare deny it.”
“Isn’t that reason enough to call her wicked?”
“…”
“Separating you from a woman like that is something you should be thanking me for, wouldn’t you say?”
“…”
“Besides, I know who you are, Aiden Kellermain. And I know what you want,” the Prince said, his smile widening. “Getting involved in things beyond one’s station always invites disaster. Aren’t you currently shouldering a burden far too heavy for you?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean I want to grant you peace.”
Aiden froze.
Even to Noel, who hadn’t spent much time with him, his expression was unmistakably that of a man caught completely off guard.
In stark contrast, the Prince simply continued to look at him with that same gentle, poisonous smile.
“I am telling you to go home and rest. Leave the difficult matters to the great, and stay far away from mortal danger.”
The words fell one after another, dripping with absolute certainty.
As if it were only natural for Aiden to agree. As if he were merely stating an undeniable fact.
As if reminding him that he had been ‘forced’ to shoulder a task that had never suited him in the first place.
“And, above all else.”
As if that weren’t enough, the Prince paused, letting the silence stretch before speaking again. As if promising to give Aiden the one thing he truly wanted.
“No matter what happens in the future, I will protect your family. No matter what. Even if it costs me my life.”
“…”
“I swear it on the honor of the Imperial Family. If you still cannot believe me, I will even forge a covenant before the Patron Deity Carva. I always keep my word.”
“…”
“Throw that woman—the one who dumped such a… ‘cruel’ fate onto you—to me, and return to your original life.”
Noel clenched her fists so hard her fingernails nearly bit through her palms.
He wasn’t wrong.
Everything Aiden Kellermain was going through right now had started the moment he met her.
It wasn’t because he wanted this. It was because of her that this nightmare had begun.
“…”
She let out a ragged breath and hung her head.
Having heard all of that, it was blatantly obvious what Aiden’s response would be.
And yet, a visceral sense of rejection welled up from the depths of her chest.
…Why?
She didn’t understand why she was reacting this way.
She and Aiden were bound by nothing more than a contract. There was zero reason for them to support each other emotionally.
If Aiden accepted the Prince’s offer, she could simply find someone else to fill his place. Their relationship held no greater value than that.
But.
I don’t want to hear it.
She didn’t want to hear him utter those words of rejection.
For reasons she couldn’t fathom, the thought completely consumed her. She wanted to turn and flee immediately, but her legs felt rooted to the spot, completely devoid of strength.
And as Aiden quietly opened his mouth, Noel squeezed her eyes shut.
“Your Highness.”
—But.
“You certainly speak quite freely about my fiancée.”
The words that followed shattered her expectations entirely.
…Noel’s eyes snapped wide open.
* * *
A chilly silence settled over the table.
It was only natural for the atmosphere to freeze after speaking so bluntly to a direct member of the Imperial Family.
“…It seems you still do not understand.”
Despite the blatant disrespect, the Prince broke the brief silence without a single shift in his gentle demeanor.
“Her public reputation is indeed spotless. But that is only because the Imperial Family and the military ‘fabricated’ it that way. But—”
“There must be propaganda mixed in. There were probably many terrible things done during the war. I never expected Dame Noel to be flawlessly innocent from the start.”
“…”
“As Your Highness says, Dame Noel might be a completely different person from how she is portrayed. I won’t deny that,” Aiden replied calmly.
“But even so.”
Calmly, yet resolutely.
He let the words fall like iron.
“I have no intention of breaking off the engagement.”
Truthfully, everything the Prince had brought up was completely unexpected.
There was clearly some severe bad blood between him and Noel in the past. It was the only explanation for such blatant, venomous hostility.
But no matter how dark or massive those past events were, Aiden had a very specific reason why he could absolutely never give up on this marriage.
— Quest Info
▶ Failure to complete the events listed in this category will result in a massive penalty!
◈ Sham Marriage
— You have been chosen as Dame Noel’s spouse. Maintain the contract with your partner until the end!
Because the reason he could never give up was floating right in front of his eyes, clear as day.
Is this bastard trying to get me killed…?!
No matter what, he couldn’t sever his relationship with Noel…!
His only option was to push through, do or die…!
“…You will find yourself facing many things you cannot handle.”
Seeing the Prince speak with such a heavy, ominous air, Aiden gritted his teeth inwardly.
No, I get what you’re saying, but…
If I break off the engagement, I’ll die on the spot…!
Masking his sheer desperation with a relaxed smile, he countered smoothly.
“I am prepared.”
At the immediate response, the Prince fell silent.
His gaze sharpened, sizing Aiden up as if trying to fathom what on earth the man was thinking.
“…You had better think carefully.”
The Prince’s voice dropped to a chilling whisper. It was a blatant warning that they were about to become enemies.
So what…?!
It’s better than dying right now, you bastard…!
“I don’t care.”
When Aiden answered without a fraction of hesitation, the Prince just stared at him, momentarily struck speechless.
“…What is your reason for going this far? You are merely bound to Dame Noel by a contract.”
What do you mean, what’s my reason? I’m doing it because I literally have to…
But there was no point in explaining the system. No matter what excuse he gave, the Prince would likely keep pestering him.
So, he needed to use his head.
He didn’t know why the Prince was so hellbent on demanding an annulment right now, but he had to stop the man from interfering in their relationship moving forward. It was annoying and incredibly troublesome.
The absolute best excuse to shut this down once and for all would be…
Ah.
There was one.
Even if it wasn’t the truth, it was a pretext that would completely block any further attempts at “persuasion.”
“I…”
Aiden smiled brightly.
As if speaking with absolute, unadulterated sincerity.
“I love her.”
…He lied through his teeth without batting an eye.
It was the shameless, brazen confidence of a man whose day job was being a con artist.
“…”
For the first time, the smile completely vanished from the Prince’s face.
He looked as if he had never, in his wildest dreams, expected such an answer.
“…You love her?”
“Yes.”
“…For such a trivial reason, you would make an enemy of the Crown Prince? The man who will one day rule the Empire?”
“Yes.”
Silence fell over the table.
It was far heavier and far deadlier than before.
After a long, suffocating moment passed…
“Ha.”
A short exhale escaped the Prince’s lips.
“Ha—hahahaha!”
A burst of roaring, unhinged laughter echoed into the night.
— System Message
▶ You have made contact with ‘The Usurper’, Arden Brimstone Lionel.
▶ Malice Level has increased by 1!
▶ A new function of ‘Weaver of Fate’ has been unlocked.
▶ Copying a ‘Mutated Skill’ from the target!
“…?”
Aiden’s face contorted as the system windows popped up in his vision.
These were prompts he had never seen before. Until now, he had only ever copied skills as Affinity increased. What on earth were “Malice Level” and “Mutated Skill”?
But before he could even finish his train of thought, a barrage of new windows popped up.
— System Message
▶ Affinity with target ‘Noel Astria Seimurs’ has increased.
▶ The increase in Affinity is extremely high!
▶ Bond Level has surged from Level 3 to Level 5.
▶ Your available skill copies have increased by 2!
▶ The accumulated Bond Relationship is sufficiently high. The application method of ‘Weaver of Fate’ will change soon!
▶ Related content will soon be added to the Main Quest!
▶ A new objective has been added to the quest ‘Sham Marriage’!
“…”
Why is she reacting like this too…?