Chapter 166
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 166
Ferdinand habitually averted his gaze from those who stood there, holding their breath.
He had grown up in a palace that was its own kind of battlefield, enduring abuse under his father’s silent approval. For the past year, he had survived by tooth and nail on actual battlefields filled with slaughter, barely managing to close his eyes on a hard cot in a military tent.
Thus, the frozen faces of those fragile nobles stirred no emotion or sentiment within him.
In just one year, Ferdinand had become like a tyrant accustomed to crushing enemies and seizing spoils. He led Tulia Frezier straight out of the room.
Sophia Frezier, who had been unable to even breathe, along with Aubrey and her relatives, turned pale and stiff, yet none dared to stop the Crown Prince’s stride. The servants were no different.
Following the open hallway out, the Crown Prince looked up at the graying sky and mocked himself inwardly.
Damn it.
What rotten luck.
“Lead the way.”
“Pardon? Oh, lead the way where?”
The sharp nerves that had been on edge since he arrived calmed slightly the moment he heard that dazed voice.
Tulia Frezier was definitely not the type to act like that.
Upon returning from the war, the first thing Ferdinand had checked was the movements within the Imperial Palace, followed by which side the high-ranking nobles were lining up on.
Yet, ridiculously, the noble making the biggest waves in the capital lately was neither a majestic Duke nor a Marquis, but the granddaughter of a Grand Duke.
The White Tulip Salon was raking in an astronomical amount of money, and Tulia Frezier was driving countless nobles to desperation with her unbelievable business acumen.
In his childhood, the small, cheap handkerchief she had pressed into his hand was still with him.
While this girl had ascended to the celestial realm to receive everyone’s adoration, he had struggled through blood and mud just to protect his status as Crown Prince, finally returning to this spot.
He recognized the difference now, but he felt no jealousy or resentment.
It was just...
How should he put it?
A fleeting thought crossed his mind: he was glad their situations weren't reversed.
But the thought was quickly forgotten as a raindrop fell squarely onto Ferdinand’s cheek.
* * *
No, seriously, what is wrong with him?
Why is he making me look so clueless?
I could overlook him saying he’d take me as his fiancée. He might have just snapped after hearing people call him a monster or a cripple.
Actually, considering the Crown Prince’s cold nature, couldn't that whole thing have been a political performance?
He surely checked the Empress’s status as soon as he returned to the palace, so it wouldn't have been hard for him to figure out she was trying to pair me off with Dave.
But still.
To just drag me out like this and say "lead the way" without context—what am I supposed to do with that?
The most powerful man in the Empire really doesn't care if people understand him or not.
And to top it off, it’s starting to rain.
It was enough to drive me up the wall.
Ferdinand loses his hearing when he gets hit by rain.
And very few people knew that fact.
If I played my cards wrong, I could be interrogated—or in the worst-case scenario, killed.
I decided I needed to get away from him as quickly as possible. Ironically, though, I had to stay as close as possible to speak to him right now.
“Where shall I lead you, then?”
My tone came out a bit submissive, but what choice did I have?
“Somewhere out of the rain.”
“You don't want to go back inside, right?”
I kept my words to him as short as possible.
Ferdinand stared at me for a moment before answering.
“No.”
“Understood.”
These short, brief sentences were my own way of being considerate toward him.
More than anything, I didn't want to go back inside either.
“The garden would be best.”
I led Ferdinand deep into the Grand Duke’s garden.
The Frezier estate employed over fifty gardeners alone. We walked together along a path where flowers bloomed in profusion.
One drop, then two.
As the rain fell from the sky, the beautiful flowers became soaked, and their unique scents grew heavy in the air.
Roses, lilacs, acacias. Water hydrangeas, peonies, and even Golden Moonflowers.
The surroundings turned as lush as a watercolor painting, and for a moment, I felt as if I were walking through a secret garden no one else knew about.
Perhaps it was because of the Crown Prince, who followed me so obediently. He looked like a stone statue modeled after a god.
Suddenly, Klaus and Benjamin came to mind.
Klaus was still lanky, but he kept his signature height, and the young Benjamin had been even thinner than Ferdinand...
But they’ve grown up completely now. They look like people meant to be loved and adored.
Yet Ferdinand alone remained unchanged, as if he were a person granted a different flow of time.
Was this what Ferdinand’s mother—the late Empress Olivia—had wanted?
A beautiful statue frozen forever in time...
With cold eyes that remained unshaken even when everyone treated him with justified contempt or bizarre worship, and even when his own fiancée sobbed while calling him a monster.
We reached a pavilion. I pulled out a handkerchief and held it out to him.
“Wipe your face. You’re getting wet.”
If the noble Crown Prince catches a cold right before his victory ceremony, the Grand Ducal House will have to take the blame.
Ferdinand didn't take the handkerchief immediately. He hesitated for a split second. I spoke again.
“Wipe the rain off.”
Not knowing why he was just staring instead of taking it, I looked down at the handkerchief myself.
What now? It was a fancy, pretty handkerchief that anyone could see belonged to the granddaughter of a Grand Duke.
Just as I was about to ask what he didn't like about it, Ferdinand took the handkerchief and...
“...?”
He wiped my wet cheek.
Startled, I froze like a stone, only my eyes moving. The way Ferdinand wiped my cheek was... how should I put it? It was like he was grooming the coat of a prized stallion...
Scrub. Scrub.
In short, it was a bit rough, as if he were handling a beast...
W-What is he doing...?
“...”
I just stood there like an old tree on a hill. As my face became dry, the handkerchief became soaked with moisture.
Only after the handkerchief was half-drenched did he seem satisfied. Only then did he bring it to his own wet eyes and begin to wipe.
As soon as I snapped out of it, I thought:
What is he actually thinking?
I couldn't understand his heart at all.
I wanted to check his Favorability, but the cooldown was still active because I had checked Benjamin’s just a short while ago.
Talk about a Male Lead with terrible timing.
It’s hard enough to meet him as it is...
Ah. I’ll see him again at the victory ceremony anyway.
I could check it then.
I couldn't even begin to guess how much Favorability he had toward me.
Given how few times we’d met, it should normally be low, but then this kind of... ticklish behavior didn't make sense.
If a high Favorability score popped up, that would be a mystery in its own right.
Ugh. I have so much to say, but how do I summarize it and ask him?
It was then that a voice, slightly raspy perhaps from the rain, pierced my ears.
“It’s raining hard.”
“Ah. Yes.”
“I should head back. I’ll return the handkerchief later.”
“Pardon? Oh, yes.”
I wasn't particularly surprised by Ferdinand’s sudden statement.
Since he couldn't hear, he probably wanted to get back quickly.
Technically, as the one representing the Frezier estate and hosting Ferdinand, it was proper etiquette in the Brillant Empire for me to see him off.
So I tried to follow him to where the carriage would be.
“I don't need it, so don't follow me.”
“Yes, sir.”
I stopped immediately at his words.
Thinking that I should leave a few umbrellas in the pavilion from now on, I stared blankly at the boy’s back as he moved away into the rain.
He wore the noble formal uniform of the Crown Prince, a garment permitted to only one person in the Empire, but the rain pouring from the sky easily stripped away the shadow of that thin, expensive cloth.
Like the Eros of myth, I stared at Ferdinand’s thin back—he who looked as if he would remain a boy forever—until a moment later.
I blinked as I spotted Adel and a group of maids looking around with umbrellas in the distance.
Seeing me, Adel rushed over.
“Lady Tulia! His Highness the Crown Prince told us to come here. Aren't you cold?”
When did he even find the time to give orders to the maids?
I told Adel I was fine as she wrapped a thick towel around me, but then I felt a sudden sense of curiosity.
Adel was smiling. I knew instinctively it was because of the Crown Prince.
“Adel.”
“Yes, my Lady?”
“What did the Crown Prince say?”
Adel covered her mouth and giggled softly.
“He said your master looks like a wet pink mouse, so we should run over quickly.”
“...”
Late the following afternoon.
I received a letter from Ferdinand.
It was a request for the first dance at the victory banquet. It was completely out of the blue.
Why does he keep catching me off guard?
First of all, isn't the first dance usually reserved for the Empress, and didn't I already promise the second dance to Benjamin?
Then I’d have to give him the third. He won't get offended and say I insulted a member of the Imperial Family, will he?
I was a bit worried, but society is society. Unless you’re the Emperor, you can't just ignore the order of a dance card.
And I couldn't just forget my loyalty to Benjamin.
But seriously, what if the Crown Prince refuses to accept the third slot?
The thought suddenly made me uneasy, and I scanned the contents of the paper in my hand over and over.
I don't know. Ferdinand isn't the type to be that petty.
I wrote a reply to Ferdinand, a letter containing a polite refusal.
Then, late at night, I looked through the numerous dresses displayed in my bedroom and finally chose the one I would wear to the victory banquet.
“Hey. Don't wear that.”
Who would have thought that familiar voice would suddenly come from behind me?