Chapter 7: ABORF

No matter how skilled she was at waltzing, dancing with twenty people was exhausting. By the end, Charlotte could only feel a throbbing pain in her ankle.

She had entered the princess’s private lounge, tiredly icing her sore ankle, when a knock came at the door.

“May I come in for a moment?”

“Duke Myers. You’ve arrived.”

Abigail and Dorothy, who had been attending her side, tilted their heads in confusion at Charlotte’s command but opened the door nonetheless.

Cedric walked in with calm yet disciplined steps. After glancing over Abigail, Dorothy, and all the attendants, he spoke.

“Princess. I have something I wish to discuss with you in private. If I may be so bold, could you dismiss the attendants?”

Before Charlotte could even answer, Dorothy inhaled sharply while Abigail smiled faintly.

Soon Abigail leaned closer and whispered quietly into Charlotte’s ear.

“Princess Charlotte, it seems Duke Myers has something he wishes to say in private.”

“In private? He’s making it completely obvious.”

“Then we shall withdraw.”

Though bewildered, Charlotte nodded. Soon only the two of them remained in the princess’s lounge.

With a gesture, she pointed to the sofa across from her, inviting him to sit.

But Cedric immediately shook his head. Feeling awkward for no reason, Charlotte took a sip of tea from the table.

Still, Cedric seemed strange.

His expression was as stoic as ever, but the cravat he always kept obsessively tight around his neck was disheveled, and one of his gloves was missing as though he had tossed it aside somewhere.

In other words, he looked quite nervous.

“Duke, is something wrong? You don’t look well.”

“No. There is nothing wrong with my health. I merely…”

Furrowing his brows, Cedric shifted uneasily several times before letting out a sigh.

“No, actually, perhaps there is something wrong with my health. It is strange for a holy knight who is supposed to control his emotions to behave like this.”

At that moment—

A loud commotion outside abruptly cut him off.

Charlotte’s head turned toward the door, and at the same time Cedric’s face stiffened.

He walked toward the entrance instead and asked the guard knight,

“What is going on?”

“His Highness the Sixth Prince of Blake has come to see the Princess.”

“His Highness Leonard? Me? Why?”

“We do not know that much yet, but…”

The guard glanced cautiously at Cedric’s face before asking Charlotte,

“S-should we send him away?”

“We can’t possibly turn away a prince. Ask him to wait briefly in the reception room.”

After relaying the order, Charlotte turned back to Cedric.

“So, Duke. What was it you wished to say to me?”

It felt awkward asking while he stood stiffly by the doorway, but judging from how tense he looked, it must have been urgent.

Wouldn’t it be better to settle it quickly and send him off?

But by now Cedric had already regained his indifferent expression. With his usual composure restored, he lowered his head.

“I shall return another time.”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to tell me today? Tell me now.”

“No. I shall come another time.”

Ignoring her words, Cedric began walking toward the door.

Ignoring a princess’s command. Once again Charlotte was reminded that all male leads must have traded their manners away in exchange for their good looks.

At that moment Abigail rushed back to her side.

“Princess, please come to your senses.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“The fact that the Sixth Prince came to see you personally may mean he has come to propose marriage.”

Charlotte’s face turned pale at Abigail’s words.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Historically speaking, it’s quite plausible.”

“Excuse me.”

At that moment, Prince Leonard suddenly stepped into the room.

Seeing Charlotte and Abigail standing there awkwardly with stiff expressions, he raised an eyebrow.

“I did say excuse me, but have I truly interrupted something?”

Yes.

“Not at all, Your Highness. Please, sit.”

Charlotte calmly returned to the sofa and gestured toward the opposite seat just as she had done earlier.

Prince Leonard strode over with long, confident steps and sat down across from her.

Since Cedric had been sitting right there only five minutes ago, comparisons were unavoidable.

Prince Leonard was very different from Cedric.

Cedric possessed eyes like the quiet dawn, while the man before her had blazing eyes like flowing lava.

If Cedric was a “perfect holy knight,” then this prince was more like a “seasoned mercenary.”

He exuded a rough and ruthless atmosphere, yet there was an ease and detachment in everything he did.

He even leisurely looked around the lounge with Charlotte sitting right in front of him.

As she nervously observed him, words she absolutely did not want to hear came out of his mouth.

“Princess, there is something I wish to discuss with you alone. Would you dismiss the attendants?”

Could the impossible really happen?

Before Charlotte could even react, Abigail and Dorothy had already ushered the attendants outside on their own. Charlotte grew increasingly anxious that Abigail’s warning might actually be true.

“In truth, there is something I wished to give you.”

Prince Leonard boldly slipped a hand inside his coat.

Charlotte had already seen that motion countless times since the banquet began, and she would probably see it many more times in the future—

So she had no choice but to leap to her feet.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness! I cannot accept your proposal!”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Huh?”

Silence fell alongside her dumbfounded reply.

Charlotte lowered her gaze to the object in the prince’s hand.

It was a long, flat rectangular box.

At the very least, it definitely was not a ring case.

Charlotte slowly raised her eyes again to look at Prince Leonard. One of his thick brows had lifted slightly in confusion.

Her face instantly flushed bright red, and she collapsed back onto the sofa in embarrassment.

“……”

For a while, silence lingered.

Gathering her courage, Charlotte finally looked at Leonard again.

He had one hand covering his mouth while staring off toward a distant wall. However, his trembling lips made it obvious he was holding back laughter.

Ah… what do I do? I want to die.

Practically burying her head downward, Charlotte muttered in a tiny voice.

“I-I would be grateful… if you could forgive my mistake.”

“No, it is understandable. I said I wished to speak alone with you, so confusion was only natural. The mistake was mine.”

Prince Leonard cleared his throat once before lowering his hand from his mouth.

But his lips were still curved upward. Charlotte wanted to die from embarrassment all over again.

“The reason I wished to speak privately was because I wanted to give the Princess a special gift.”

“A special gift?”

Leonard extended the box toward her. Charlotte accepted it and hesitated briefly before opening it.

Inside was a stone about the size of a thumb.

But rather than an ordinary stone, it looked more like a jewel.

It shimmered with different colors depending on the angle, so beautiful that Charlotte unconsciously gasped in admiration.

“What is this?”

“I crossed the Resher Desert together with my royal guard, without using teleportation.”

“The Resher Desert? That’s not a place just anyone can cross.”

At her words, he merely smiled silently.

Charlotte realized the smile meant “self-confidence,” but she did not respond.

His arrogant attitude somehow irritated her.

“There was a magical material I needed from the Resher Desert. And while obtaining it, I acquired this as an extra—‘Deligno’s Tear.’ It is a magic crystal containing more mana than even most high-ranking mages possess.”

“Why are you telling me such confidential matters… and why are you giving me something so valuable?”

“You are aware that I am in a power struggle with the First Prince, are you not? And the First Prince has been courting you.”

“……”

“I am asking you to become my friend in this manner.”

Leonard rested his chin on his hand and grinned brightly.

“Though I am not courting you.”

“Ugh.”

“Would you like me to court you?”

His teasing tone finally became too much for Charlotte to bear, and she buried her face in both hands.

“Your Highness, please forget about it.”

Unable to hold it in any longer, Prince Leonard burst into loud laughter.

At this point Charlotte genuinely wondered whether striking the prince on the head hard enough to erase his memory might actually be the right thing to do.

She truly meant it.

Grinding her teeth, she clenched her fists tightly inside the sleeves of her dress.

Then Leonard gradually stopped laughing and asked,

“So, even if you reject my courtship, I hope you will not reject the gift. Will you refuse it?”

“…I’m not the type to refuse gifts.”

Answering with a haughty expression, Charlotte closed the box and set it beside the table.

“I’ll accept it if you completely forget what happened earlier.”

“Oh? Did something happen between us just now?”

At his playful expression, Charlotte finally burst into laughter as well.

“I’ll accept it gratefully. In return, I’d like to repay you somehow. Is there anything you wish to do during the banquet, Your Highness?”

“…Hmm.”

At her words, Leonard rubbed his chin thoughtfully before speaking.

“In that case, would you perhaps be willing to spare some time for me tomorrow?”