Chapter 59
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: The Princess and Destiny (4)
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The interior of a serene teahouse, utterly free of noise. The golden sunlight of dusk streamed through the window, transforming the floating dust motes into sparkling jewels.
The faint aroma of tea tickled the tip of my nose, but this was no time to leisurely savor it.
Across the table sat none other than the Empire's princess.
Erze sipped her tea with elegant poise before silently setting down her cup.
"This is the teahouse I first visited after enrolling at the Academy. I hope it suits you too, Luke."
"How could it not? You've graciously brought me here yourself, Your Highness."
"I learned everything here—how to dry the tea leaves, how to brew it. In a way, the owner might even be considered my teacher."
Erze covered her mouth and let out a soft "huhu" laugh.
I returned a smile to match, but it was purely out of courtesy. My mind brimmed with questions, leaving no room for anything else.
"Calling you 'Your Highness' feels strangely distant all of a sudden."
"That wasn't my intent. My apologies."
"No need to apologize. I can understand it well enough."
Erze's slender fingers slowly traced the rim of her teacup. The reddish tea inside rippled gently.
A tense silence hung in the air for a moment before her tightly sealed lips finally parted.
"Luke, what do you think it would be like if you could peer into someone else's heart?"
Her usual playfulness was gone, replaced by an utterly serious tone. This was no joke.
Then I should respond with equal gravity. Not that I'd ever been anything less.
"I doubt it'd be pleasant. There are plenty of times when it's better not to know."
There's a proverb for that.
Ignorance is bliss.
For instance, what if Master Wonhyo had gulped down that cool water without realizing it was in a skull? It would've stayed a fond memory forever.
Knowledge isn't always the straight path to happiness.
"You're truly remarkable. Nothing like anyone I know."
Erze slowly lifted her eyelids. Her revealed eyes gleamed like stars embroidered against a golden night sky.
I'd glimpsed them a few times before, but they still felt profoundly mystical.
"Just as you suspected, I can read other people's minds. They call it the Eye that Sees Truth... or something like that. My memory's fuzzy, but yeah."
"So it really was true..."
I'd suspected as much many times, but hearing it straight from her was still a shock.
Reading others' minds? For an ordinary person, it's beyond imagination.
"Then always keeping your eyes half-closed..."
"Sadly, it's not by choice. Normally, I dial it back just enough to see ahead."
Erze smiled nonchalantly, but beneath it lurked negative emotions. She must have endured immense pain to wear that smile. Pain she couldn't confide in anyone, that no one could truly empathize with.
'This is awkward...'
Even words of comfort felt like an intrusion. Yet staying silent made me feel like I was sitting on a bed of nails.
I couldn't even grasp why she was sharing this with me. It was far too heavy a burden for a mere attendant.
As if reading my thoughts, Erze flashed her usual playful smile.
But the words that followed were brutally intense, clashing with her expression.
"By the way, I knew all about you sizing up my chest. You definitely thought, 'Were they originally this big?' didn't you?"
"...I have nothing to say, even with ten mouths. I'm sorry."
"Oh, I don't mind at all? I'm pretty proud of this figure, actually. I could even let you touch them if you want."
Erze cupped her breasts from below with both hands. The soft mounds jiggled gently up and down.
My gaze flicked there instinctively, but I barely clung to reason and turned away.
It was an act utterly unbecoming toward a princess—not to mention, even a momentary glance would hand her endless ammunition for teasing.
I absolutely couldn't allow that.
"Your Highness, if I may be so bold, you should treasure your body a little more..."
"You seem to be misunderstanding something. I don't do this with just anyone."
Then don't do it with me either...!
The words surged to the tip of my tongue, but I somehow held them back. No—I had to.
A princess's body was far too precious for the hands of a baron's son to touch.
If I gave in to desire and groped her? Someone severing my wrist on the spot wouldn't be the least bit surprising.
"There's no one here to chop off your wrist, you know...?"
"...Still no."
"Well, it was a joke anyway. I figured you wouldn't touch me regardless."
"How can you even joke like that...? What if I had?"
"I wouldn't have minded. But those two lurking in the alley? They'd probably lose it."
The two in the alley meant Elena and Ivi. I'd suspected they were tailing us since leaving the Academy, and sure enough, they'd followed right up to the teahouse.
Of course, Elena—who flew into a rage at any whiff of improper romance—would make it irreversible if I touched Erze's chest.
Not that it would ever happen.
"Then, Your Highness, just one question."
"Yes, go ahead."
"Why reveal such a secret to me?"
Her ability to read minds had to be a major secret.
Not even a whisper among nobles who thrived on gossip.
The Academy crawled with them; even for a princess, rumors should've swirled.
Erze let out a thoughtful hum, then smiled sheepishly.
"I promised to send you back not too late, but I might have to break that."
"I'll handle the explanation to the young lady somehow."
"Good. It might drag on a bit—bear with me."
Erze slowly began to unburden her story.
From how she'd gained the Eye that Sees Truth, to what she'd done with it, and the feelings it stirred in her.
I simply sipped the tea before me and listened in silence.
How much time passed after that?
"The man the old woman spoke of—the one whose mind I couldn't read—was you. Your heart was pitch black, shrouded like something veiled it."
"But you read my mind just fine, Your Highness."
"Only for the briefest instant. Like a deep lake swallowing a pebble—it shows, then vanishes."
"I see..."
It was hard to buy. Everyone's hearts visible to her except mine?
And that wasn't even the half of it...
"Am I really the one destined to change the Empire's fate?"
Not being readable tied back to what the old woman said: the one who'd alter the Empire's destiny amid crisis.
How could I swallow that? A mere attendant saving the Empire?
Even novels would get flak for a plot like that.
"I understand the situation. But no matter how I think about it, I don't see myself with that kind of power. Maybe it's a student enrolling next year..."
"Maybe. But my gut tells me..."
Erze's finger slowly rose, pointing my way.
"...you're that person. I have killer intuition. So, you can trust me."
The Empire's fate hanging in the balance, and she's picking a hero on a hunch?
Nothing this ridiculous had ever happened in my life. Even Elena's whims weren't this extreme.
"If I am that person, I'll give it my all. But right now, I truly, honestly don't know."
"Don't sweat it too much. If it's fate, you'll change the Empire's destiny whether you want to or not."
"Meaning my path is already set."
"Yes, that's a fair way to put it."
I'd end up on that road regardless of whether I stepped up or not.
Not welcome words. It felt like someone else puppeteering my life.
That aside, there seemed little point in dwelling on it—or rather, I had zero interest. Getting tangled in hassles was a hard pass.
"I'd love to say that's everything... but one more thing."
Darkness had already blanketed the world outside.
Erze's lips curved in a mischievous smile as she murmured softly.
"I once vowed that if someone whose mind I couldn't read ever appeared, I'd keep them by my side—no matter the relationship, no matter the form."
The princess desires it.
At the time, I had no idea just how violent a declaration that was.