Chapter 33
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 33
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
It was impressive how one could look ‘down’ on someone with a completely expressionless face and a voice devoid of even a shred of emotion.
And that was exactly what he was doing.
With that single, curt reply, the Crown Prince was indifferently signaling that the Empress’s words held not a grain of value to him—that she was merely wasting her breath.
There was no way Empress Carmi, standing right in front of him, could have missed the blatant disregard and contempt that even I had picked up on.
Her smile was already crushed, like a stem that had been snapped once before. It could never return to its original state.
And yet, Empress Carmi continued to smile. Still.
“Crown Prince.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Are you angry because of my concern?”
“I feel nothing in particular regarding Your Majesty’s words.”
“I see. In that case, you should call me…”
The Empress leaned forward slightly toward the Crown Prince.
The small golden ornaments in her reddish-brown hair clinked together, creating a beautiful melody.
“…‘Mother.’”
Her smile was as cold and smooth as a blade hidden in the snow; one felt as though they would be hacked to pieces the moment they faced it.
“Come now. Quickly.”
“Your Majesty.”
“…”
Ferdinand’s face remained a total void of expression.
Only a faint trace of boredom flickered in his eyes, suggesting he found this entire conversation tedious.
“My mother died a long time ago, Your Majesty.”
That was the maximum amount of courtesy the Crown Prince was willing to show Empress Carmi.
“Above all else, to someone who was nothing more than my mother’s maid…”
“…”
“How could I possibly call you ‘Mother’?”
“…”
“My lineage is simply not lowly enough for that.”
Whoa. He’s insane.
While I was busy swallowing hard, Empress Carmi’s smile didn’t falter for a second.
“I see. Crown Prince.”
Slap!
The Crown Prince’s head snapped to the side.
As he remained frozen in that position, the Empress spoke in that same affectionate, gentle voice she had used from the start.
“Come out once the swelling on your cheek has gone down.”
It was a cruelly kind gesture.
“The late Empress loved this place dearly, after all.”
Empress Carmi turned around.
Her extravagant silk dress, delicately embroidered with rose patterns, made a crisp rustling sound.
Her shoes, with heels backed in milky ivory, clicked coldly against the ground as she walked away.
The door closed.
Whether it was the Empress or the Crown Prince, orders must have already been given, as no one else entered the garden.
My brain was working overtime, spinning like a top.
Right. I see.
Chronologically, this was a time when the Crown Prince didn't have any real power to speak of.
So that’s why I’m seeing a side of him like this.
Even in the game, I had never seen such a direct confrontation—no, such a one-sided insult.
…Then again.
Before he spent his time roaming the battlefields, the Crown Prince was a figure who was secretly despised in this manner.
The current Empress, Carmi, wanted to place her own biological son, the Second Imperial Prince, on the throne. And more than anything…
“If that were the case, the Crown Prince wouldn't look like a young boy, but would have grown into a young man befitting his actual age. His Majesty the Emperor wouldn't have a reason to avoid the Crown Prince, claiming he finds it uncomfortable to look at him.”
Just as Empress Carmi had mocked, his appearance was the problem—
“Come out.”
My shoulders gave a violent flinch.
Ah, someone else must be hiding here besides me.
“I said, come out.”
Hurry up and get out, whoever you are, you jerk.
“You, behind the oak tree.”
Dammit.
It was me.
I debated running away for a split second.
But if I run now, I won't be able to raise his Favorability, and I’ll end up dead anyway.
Still, stepping out in front of a Crown Prince who had just been slapped was a bit…
I shuffled out from behind the tree, hesitating.
Even in this mess, I felt like crying with gratitude for the etiquette that was perfectly ingrained in Tulia’s body.
When facing royalty, stay five paces away.
Bow your head first, and bend your left knee halfway.
Lift the hem of your skirt with both hands, but only enough to show your shoes.
And wait until the royal speaks first to acknowledge you.
“Do you want to die?”
When you hear a death sentence instead of a greeting…
“No.”
Since that wasn't covered in the etiquette Tulia had learned, I went with a creative response.
“This is a place only royalty may enter. A mere noble has trespassed into royal territory.”
“I was not in the garden; I was merely passing by that way.”
“Do you call stopping and eavesdropping ‘passing by’?”
“The atmosphere seemed so serious that I hid myself without thinking. I am deeply sorry for that, but I heard nothing.”
“From here to there.”
I felt the Crown Prince gesture toward the tree with his chin.
“You’re saying the voices didn't carry that distance?”
“I was covering my ears as hard as I could.”
“…What?”
For the first time, his voice sounded genuinely dumbfounded.
For the record, I still hadn't seen Ferdinand’s face.
According to etiquette, one could only raise their head and make eye contact after receiving a greeting or permission from a royal.
Perhaps noticing that my knees were trembling slightly, Ferdinand spoke irritably.
“Lift your head.”
“Thank you.”
My legs were about to cramp, so I raised my head immediately and blinked.
Whoa.
Tea with strawberry jam?
Up close, Ferdinand’s eyes were a vivid, striking red.
And his hair was a light brown, like cocoa mixed with milk.
However, the reason I didn't think of them as "sweet" colors was because his gaze was so incredibly cold.
To put it nicely, his eyes were intense; to put it bluntly, they were the kind of eyes that made everyone—important or not—cower in fear.
Of course… what caught my eye even more was…
So this is Cupid’s Disease.
Eros Syndrome, or Cupid’s Disease.
The Crown Prince was currently three years older than Tulia.
That meant he was eighteen, yet he currently had the appearance of a boy younger than Tulia.
Did he look about twelve or thirteen?
This is the result of the Divine Power Hyperaffliction the Empress was mocking him about earlier.
The late Empress Olivia, Ferdinand’s biological mother, had been a woman of beauty, intelligence, dignity, and intellect.
The youngest daughter of a prestigious imperial family, she had been crowned Empress with nothing to envy in the world.
There wasn't a man who didn't love her in her youth, and Emperor Alexander was no exception.
Emperor Alexander had taken Olivia as his Empress, but he was always somewhat uneasy.
While Empress Olivia possessed an irresistible charm, she was also known as the "Ice Empress" for her cold and impartial nature.
Is it said that suspicion and love cannot bloom in the same place?
Emperor Alexander loved Empress Olivia, but his eyes eventually began to wander toward another woman who was the opposite of the cold Empress.
Unlike Empress Olivia, this woman was warm, soft, considerate, and kind.
A woman who seemed to stand on the complete opposite end of the spectrum from Empress Olivia.
That was the current Empress, Carmi.
The daughter of a Viscount and a maid to Empress Olivia, Carmi had initially seemed to push Emperor Alexander away, but she eventually spent a night with him.
A child was conceived from that single night, and Empress Olivia, who was also pregnant at the time, felt a profound sense of shock and betrayal.
The child Empress Olivia was carrying was Ferdinand, and it was said she nearly miscarried from the shock.
So, despite the pleas of the Emperor and her family, she requested the Temple to protect the baby in her womb with a massive amount of Divine Power.
Thus, the baby—Ferdinand—was born safely, but Empress Olivia died less than five years later.
And Crown Prince Ferdinand suffered from a unique condition called ‘Cupid’s Disease’ due to the excess of Divine Power in the womb.
Well, that actually gets resolved once he meets Corico.
To be precise, once he feels love for Corico, his body, which hadn't grown at all, shoots up all at once.
Anyway, the important thing was that even in this boyish form, Ferdinand was breathtakingly handsome and beautiful.
Except…
He’s very thin. Well, I suppose, since the Empress hates him.
With a personality like his, he wouldn't swallow his pride and tell the Empress he wasn't getting enough to eat.
“Are you done staring?”
…And his personality didn't seem great, either.
I bowed my head to Ferdinand and apologized.
“I am sorry. It is my first time meeting royalty.”
“You…”
It was then. Ferdinand’s words cut off as if a machine’s power had been severed.
“It’s raining.”
It was just as he said. Raindrops were suddenly falling from the previously clear sky.
Having been hit by a single drop of rain, Ferdinand turned his head away as if even the slightest interest he had in me had vanished.
“Go. If you go toward the gate, you’ll be punished, so find a back path on your own.”
It was a relief that Ferdinand was letting me go without further interrogation, but the timing was the problem.
Not only had I made the worst possible impression…
…Why does it have to rain right now?
Ferdinand’s Divine Power Hyperaffliction had one more side effect.
He temporarily loses his hearing when it rains…