Prelude to War — The Prince's Confession
The date of Crown Prince Lindemann's return to the capital had been set.
Departure was tomorrow morning at eleven.
Duke Randert would be commanding the operation personally, but it was still a massive movement of troops — the kind of thing that was bound to draw every eye in the empire. As a precaution, the schedule remained a closely guarded secret known only to the Duke's most trusted circle. The palace soldiers and the escort detail would be notified of the departure time early tomorrow morning.
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
It was Hayes who had come to the bishop's chamber in the temple where Crown Prince Lindemann was staying. She opened the door, stepped inside, and offered the Crown Prince a respectful bow.
"Your Highness, you called for me?"
"Come here and sit down."
He guided her to the seat with the clearest view of him. Hayes, a faint edge of nervousness about her, perched on the edge of a chair across from the Crown Prince.
"You've probably heard already, but the date for the return to the capital has been fixed. If I simply left for the imperial palace like this, I feared we might not see each other again for a long while — so I begged your pardon and called you here."
Crown Prince Lindemann smiled and looked at Hayes directly. Meeting his earnest gaze felt strangely awkward, but Hayes did her best to straighten her shoulders like the knight she was.
"It's been a while since we've talked like this, hasn't it?"
"I am serving as Your Highness's guard on behalf of the Full Moon Knight Order even now. In fact, I saw you just this morning."
"Not from so far away, I mean. I wanted to see you up close — so that the memory would last."
This was the first time they had been alone together since the assassination attempt. His heart wanted to see her several times a day, but circumstances had never allowed it.
Under the Crown Prince's burning gaze, Hayes's cheeks flushed a soft pink. Unlike during the festival, the Crown Prince was remarkably forward today.
"Are you feeling well now? Your wounds?"
He remembered the scene vividly — Hayes standing against Vandine for his sake. The image of her throwing herself into danger even with a sword wound through her shoulder had left a deep impression on him.
"I still carry some internal injuries, but I have nearly recovered. Thank you for your concern."
"And I am the one who should thank you for being alive and whole before my eyes. For a moment there, I thought I was about to lose my first love, and my heart was in my throat."
"...I merely did what I had to do."
"Was it truly just duty?"
"Pardon?"
"I'm asking whether you did it only because I happen to be the Crown Prince."
"Well, naturally—"
Somehow, the words wouldn't come. Hayes had been drawn from the Full Moon Knight Order under orders to protect the Crown Prince. She had done what any knight ought to do. That was all.
Then why were her lips refusing to move?
Even to herself, the confusion was mortifying.
"When we return to the capital, I intend to speak to my father the Emperor."
"...?"
"He's already forever nagging me to marry as it is. So when I return, I plan to be honest with him and tell him that there is a woman who holds my heart."
"Your Highness! Surely you don't mean to speak of me to His Majesty?"
At the Crown Prince's startling declaration, Hayes felt her head spin.
"The moment Lady Hayes collapsed and lost consciousness, I finally understood. They say a man is a fool who only learns what matters once it's taken from him — aren't they? Hayes, I cannot be without you."
"But, Your Highness—"
"When I thought you might die, I realized there was nothing in this world more terrifying than that. I know it may seem as though I'm acting far too hastily. But without saying these words, I could not have left for the capital."
"It will pass, Your Highness — a passing fancy. So please, I beg you, take back what you've said."
This could not be. How could she and the Crown Prince ever be joined?
She admitted that he was, as a man, genuinely good. He was more than charming enough.
But he was someone Hayes could never hope for — and never allow herself to hope for.
"My father is not so rigid a man as all that. I know well what you're worried about, Lady Hayes. Still — shouldn't we at least try? And for that, I need your permission above all else."
Matters of the heart were not something even a Crown Prince could decide on his own authority. If the other person refused, the first duty was to step back. He was old enough to know that a person's heart cannot be won through force.
"...Do you truly believe that is possible, Your Highness?"
The man before her was none other than the heir to the imperial throne. Hayes, meanwhile, was a poor girl from a remote mountain village, and the only thing she could hold up in her defense was her membership in the Full Moon Knight Order.
The gulf in their stations was far too stark. It could never be.
"Trust me. If you feel even a fraction of what I feel — if your heart isn't entirely without me — then all you need to say is that you'll wait. That is the only answer I ask for."
"But—"
"The festival isn't over yet. Have you already forgotten that you promised me a chance until the festival's end?"
An accident had interrupted things before they could reach a proper conclusion, but for all intents and purposes the festival was already finished. This was simply the Crown Prince twisting her arm.
"We've both been through something tremendous, Lady Hayes. Can't you let it slide, just this once?"
At last, the Crown Prince was practically pleading with her. If she had been her usual self, she could have refused him firmly and then some.
But somehow, she couldn't.
Perhaps she had known all along — known that her own heart had already been given to the Crown Prince. She had simply never been able to express it, bound as she was by the limits of her station. Somewhere along the way, without her noticing, he had taken root deep inside her.
The truth was that Hayes had spent nearly her whole life training with nothing but a sword. Beyond fighting enemies, she was clumsy at everything else.
What if her own greed brought harm to her lord and the Full Moon Knight Order?
Even if the Emperor consented, would the court ministers really stay silent?
Just off the top of her head, there were dozens of worries. And yet, setting all of them aside, Hayes asked the Crown Prince:
"...Then let me ask you something, Your Highness. This feeling you hold for me — are you truly certain it will never change?"
"Of course. You were the first woman I ever looked at and thought, how magnificent. I give you my word — no woman more perfect than Lady Hayes will ever appear before my eyes."
"Then grant me one promise in return."
"Yes! Anything — say it!"
The moment Hayes showed signs of accepting, Crown Prince Lindemann hurried to press his advantage. If he could win her heart, what could he not do?
"If His Majesty opposes us too firmly — bend. Let the matter go."
"...!"
"I cannot enter Vergara while earning the Emperor's hatred. Please, think of my lord and my comrades as well."
"If that's all, then put your mind at ease. My father will surely take a liking to you, Lady Hayes. And I am confident I can persuade him to see it that way."
Crown Prince Lindemann was not so reckless as to charge headlong into catastrophe. He had a strategy of his own in mind.
"Thank you for being brave. I know how difficult this decision must have been for you, Lady Hayes. Right now I'm so happy I could shout for joy — but as Crown Prince, I must keep up decorum, so I'll hold it in. In place of that... how about this?"
"...?"
Without warning, Crown Prince Lindemann sprang to his feet and walked, quite unexpectedly, around to Hayes's side.
"Might I embrace you — just once?"
Hayes had a rather petite frame for a knight. Somehow it made the already tall Crown Prince seem taller than ever.
"It's a shame this is our last night in Carrington."
"I too will be accompanying Your Highness on the return to the capital."
"Could you guard me — right at my side?"
Crown Prince Lindemann, gazing down at Hayes, already looked as happy as a man who owned the whole world.
"That is a matter for the Duke's orders to decide. I cannot act independently — I ask for Your Highness's understanding."
"It's becoming unbearable, only ever looking at you like this."
"...Pardon?"
"Forgive my presumption."
Desire he had held back for so long surged up all at once, as if bursting its banks. The Crown Prince pulled the bewildered Hayes straight into his arms.
"...!"
Hayes had spent over a decade rolling and sparring with hundreds of men on the training grounds — but this was her first.
So this is what it feels like, to be held against the chest of a grown man!
Her heart was pounding like mad, but quite apart from that, she felt wonderful. An unfamiliar tingling raced through her, and strangely, strength drained softly from her body. Because of it, her petite frame sank all the more snugly into the Crown Prince's embrace.
To think they'd shared an embrace before ever holding hands. If word of this reached her comrades, she would never be able to show her face again. This absolutely had to be kept secret.
"Your Highness — Lord Bayul has arrived."
Just then, a voice from outside announced Bayul's arrival. The Crown Prince and Hayes sprang apart from each other, neither faster than the other.
"Ahem — show him in!"
The door opened at once, and Bayul stepped inside and bowed to the Crown Prince.
"...Ah. Lady Hayes is here as well. I didn't know — they told me outside that I could simply come in."
Those wretched rascals.
Curses rose unbidden in his chest, but Crown Prince Lindemann was a master of keeping his face composed.
"Welcome. I called for you so we could at least see each other's faces before I leave."
"It seems you have business with Lady Hayes — shall I come back later?"
The air in the room was thick with heat. Cool autumn wind was clearly drifting in through the open window, so Bayul could only wonder at what strange trick was at work.
"It's rather warm in here, isn't it? Are the two of you all right?"
A flush bloomed on the cheeks of Crown Prince Lindemann and Lady Hayes alike. Just as Bayul was debating whether to have someone bring in cold water, Hayes slipped past him with her head bowed.
"I have just finished my business here. Please, speak with one another."
Then she darted out the door as if fleeing for her life. She was simply embarrassed by her first embrace with her beloved — but unfortunately, Bayul had never once in his life experienced romance of any kind, an incurable natural-born bachelor.
Crown Prince Lindemann watched Hayes's retreating figure with evident reluctance, then guided Bayul to the sofa.