Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Invitation
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'Marriage...? Is she crazy or what?'
Jeon barely swallowed the urge to argue back as he saw Katrina smirking slyly at him while he startled back in surprise.
But even so, he couldn't hide his bewilderment.
This wasn't some noble family from a remote province—it was the daughter of the emperor, who could be called the master of the empire.
For such a person to suddenly bring up marriage.
As Jeon failed to hide his fluster at the completely unforeseen remark,
"Hehehe, finally cracked that resolute facade of yours?"
Katrina let out a pleased laugh, clearly delighted by Jeon's reaction.
"...Are you saying that just to fluster me?"
"Why? Were you excited thinking it might be real?"
Jeon took a deep breath and exhaled, quickly regaining his composure at her fox-like antics.
'...She's no pushover.'
Among the imperial family members Jeon had seen so far, Lucian was clever but still young, and Lucius had been a brainwashed punk wastrel.
But Katrina was different from those two—she had a sly, formidable side.
He never imagined someone who would casually bring up marriage just to shatter his calm determination.
'She's cute.'
But contrary to Jeon's assumption that she was just tossing out insincere words to disrupt his poise,
Katrina wasn't being entirely flippant.
'The more I look, the more I'm drawn to him.'
The sensation of her blood reacting whenever she looked at Jeon.
It grew stronger the more she gazed at him.
Of course, Katrina thought this feeling was a bit different from what people commonly called love...
'Who cares?'
She didn't believe she could find a true partner through something as fleeting as love anyway.
She was the empire's second imperial princess.
It was practically a foregone conclusion that she'd enter a political marriage for numerous reasons of state.
In fact, her older sister, the first imperial princess, and her younger sister, the third imperial princess, had already been married off politically.
'My match hasn't been set yet... but it will be soon enough.'
Somehow, the third princess—next in line after her—had gotten engaged first.
But it was obvious Katrina would marry before she got much older.
Yet amid all that, feeling this pull toward Jeon sparked a tiny rebellious thought deep inside her.
'A pull like this might be a different story.'
She had no intention of being swayed by emotions like love.
But this deep-seated attraction from within was another matter.
Compared to love, which changes and fades over time, perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to indulge this primal pull just once...
"So, still gonna keep denying it?"
But setting aside those inner thoughts,
Katrina quickly refocused on the present situation.
Jeon did the same.
"...I truly have no idea what you're talking about."
Separate from his fluster at her sudden behavior, there was still no evidence linking Jeon to Lucius.
So Jeon continued to dodge her questions.
"Hm, gonna keep denying it to the end?"
Seeing Jeon unshaken even after she'd rattled his composure once, Katrina shrugged.
"Is denying everything a White Tower tradition or something?"
When she'd visited the White Tower after learning of Lucius's change,
Katrina hadn't believed the announcement that the third prince had caused an incident in the tower's dimension.
Who was the lord of the White Tower?
It was Luke, who had always gone to great lengths to avoid political entanglements.
So Katrina never thought Luke was involved in this mess.
'But he denied it to the end.'
He'd refused to meet her personally, so she'd only spoken with the vice tower lord, Morgan.
But contrary to her expectations, no matter how much she pressed, Morgan repeated the same line: the third prince had an incident in the tower dimension, forcing him to stay longer than intended.
'Wonder why he denied it so vehemently...'
Before Jeon arrived,
Katrina had done a rough investigation on him.
The results: a young genius affiliated with the White Tower.
Being a recognized young talent even in the prestigious White Tower—not some local mage guild—was impressive specs indeed.
'But that's not all there is to him.'
The second imperial princess, Katrina, was a mage herself.
A genius on par with Ralph, having reached the 5th Circle at a young age.
But to her eyes, Jeon showed no shortcomings compared to her.
And the mysterious allure that stirred something deep within her blood elevated her evaluation of him sky-high.
'The future leader of the White Tower.'
In the end, Katrina had accurately gauged Jeon's value.
'That look in her eyes... it's not quite right.'
And Jeon felt an inexplicable unease at her gaze.
It was like she was eyeing him with desire, though he couldn't pinpoint why.
"Well... if you're gonna deny it this hard, nothing I can do."
Regardless of that gaze,
Katrina seemed to give up the interrogation, turning toward the sofa in the corner of the room.
"Too bad... Guess I'll leave without finding out who restored Brother Lucius."
She muttered loudly, as if for Jeon to hear, then plopped onto the sofa and refilled her wine glass.
'...She's giving up this easily?'
But Jeon didn't let his guard down at her act.
The sly fox from moments ago didn't seem the type to just walk away.
"Still, it's a relief. Couldn't find that person, but I found someone I like instead."
She flashed a bright smile as she said it.
'...So her suspicions are confirmed, and she's just gonna push forward anyway.'
Luke played dumb, Jeon played dumb—so she'd give up on identifying who restored Lucius.
But for Jeon, whom she'd pegged on suspicion, she'd find some other pretext to get involved.
Of course, no ordinary person could pull that off.
Jeon was one thing, but his affiliation was the White Tower.
Even major noble houses couldn't just bully them recklessly.
But the problem was that she was an imperial princess.
"Glad to hear it."
So even knowing her intent, Jeon brazenly played along.
'I have no idea what you're on about, so if you really want something, spit it out yourself.'
That was his attitude.
"Haha, you're one tough nut."
Katrina burst into laughter, clapping her hands once.
Her expression and demeanor were far more relaxed than before as she looked at Jeon.
"Fine, fine. You win."
She even raised both hands as if surrendering for real.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You know exactly, and you're playing dumb to the end?"
At Jeon's persistent denial, she shot him a playful glare.
'...She's ridiculously pretty.'
Whether her tension had eased or she'd truly dropped her guard,
Jeon couldn't help but admire her beauty as she glared at him in that relaxed state.
"I get your intentions now. I won't pry anymore."
With that, she took a light sip of wine, rummaged in her bag on the sofa, and pulled out an envelope.
"So just take this."
"...Do I have to?"
"Yeah. If you don't, I'll pout."
Pouting at his reluctance, she stood and handed the envelope to him directly.
Approaching with a much more casual gait than her earlier graceful one, Jeon accepted it.
"Can I open it?"
"Yeah, go ahead."
At her permission, Jeon peeked inside.
There was a small gold coin-like object and a neatly folded piece of paper.
"This is..."
Jeon first pulled out the gold coin to inspect it.
Engraved on it were the words "Certified by Princess Katrina" along with the imperial crest.
"It's an ID in my name."
"An ID... meaning?"
"Simple. You can use it to enter other cities or the capital. The difference from regular ones? It lets you into our imperial palace."
"The imperial palace...?"
Jeon made a somewhat incredulous face at her words.
An ID that granted access to the imperial palace.
Even high nobles needed prior procedures to visit.
Yet this coin let a commoner like Jeon bypass all that.
"Of course, only parts of the palace—where I stay."
It had limitations, but that alone was extraordinary.
Its value as an ID was immense.
Jeon's status was already vouched for by the Silvermont ducal house, but this went beyond that.
"If you're in a pinch, show it at an imperial bank for a loan up to 50 million credits in my name."
And loans too?
Truly, holding this coin was as good as a guarantee of good character from Princess Katrina herself.
Not quite an Imperial Guardian Medal, but for someone she'd just met today, it was overly generous.
Stunned by the coin's value, Jeon then pulled out the paper.
Unfolding it revealed the writing inside.
As he read, wrinkles formed between his brows.
"Birthday party... invitation?"
Unlike the coin's immense value, the paper was an invitation to Princess Katrina's birthday party.
"Right. My birthday's coming up soon. I'd love for you to come. The coin's like a bribe to make sure you do."
She grinned innocently, her smile pure and sincere—none of the earlier slyness.
"...I'll think about it."
Jeon put the invitation and coin back in the envelope and tucked it into his pocket.
"Okay, thanks!"
Even at his noncommittal response—neither acceptance nor refusal—
She grabbed his hand and shook it childishly.
'Totally different person.'
Still, it was clear she bore him no hostility.
So Jeon made an awkward face but didn't pull away as she shook his hand.
'Her birthday's about a month away... Plenty of time to decide.'
In any case, Jeon hadn't lost anything from this meeting.
He could mull over the rest later.