Chapter 15

“Are you alright, Miss?”

 

My body stiffened at the blue eyes smiling with curved lids. The Crown Prince had asked me in a concerned tone, but his question didn’t register in my ears.

 

‘What is going on…?’

 

I couldn’t understand the situation before me. Just then, I felt a strong hand gripping my waist and the scent of black musk wafting to my nose, making my eyes widen in surprise.

 

“I don’t mind staying in this position, but the others around us are all looking at just the Miss and me.”

 

At his words, I rolled my eyes around. The young ladies nearby were staring at the Crown Prince and me. Their gazes were full of hostility, and I realized all those stares were directed at me. I quickly stood up, wanting to escape the Crown Prince’s embrace.

 

“Th-Thank you.”

 

“Not at all. Here you go.”

 

The Crown Prince smiled brightly at my words. He extended the wine glass, which he held in his right hand, toward me. I cautiously took the wine glass and quickly scanned the Crown Prince’s face.

 

‘How could the Crown Prince save me…? Does this even make sense?’

 

I had only planned to approach the Crown Prince. I hadn’t expected him to come to me.

 

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

 

“No, thanks to you…”

 

The situation was strange, with the Crown Prince’s worried gaze and his questions about my well-being. Looking at the Crown Prince, who was still standing in front of me and smiling, I quickly realized.

 

‘Oh right…! I haven’t introduced myself.’

 

I quickly put the wine glass on the table, lifted the sides of my blue dress with both hands, and bowed according to etiquette.

 

“Thank you for saving me. I am Lilithia, the daughter of Baron Baimery.”

 

“Miss Lilithia, I am Ivailo Lundberg.”

 

Ivailo placed one hand on his left chest and bowed. I was flustered by Ivailo’s unexpected action of introducing himself. He looked at me with a slightly crestfallen expression.

 

“Do you perhaps not know me?”

 

“No! Of course, I know you; you’re the Crown Prince.”

 

This banquet was held to commemorate the Crown Prince’s successful Northern subjugation. It would certainly be strange not to know the Crown Prince.

 

“I was only joking.”

 

My plan to approach the Crown Prince and pour wine on him had failed. However, I saw Ivailo’s mischievous smile as he playfully looked at my flustered expression.

 

‘Nazlee was supposed to face danger when she went outside…’

 

My eyes sparkled, and I cautiously looked up at the Crown Prince.

 

‘I just need to hold the Crown Prince here until Nazlee disappears from the area.’

 

The current situation was certainly strange. But it was definitely a fact that the problem of separating the Crown Prince from Nazlee had been easily solved.

 

Since the Crown Prince had walked into my net himself, it didn’t seem like there would be any hindrance to the plan. Though I was deeply concerned about what to talk about to keep him occupied…

 

I looked around and checked for Freyer’s location. I saw Freyer standing in a darker corner of the banquet hall, having not yet retreated to the terrace. I clenched my fist at the sight of him.

 

‘I’ll hold the Crown Prince here! Freyer, you must save Nazlee!’

 

 

***

 

 

While I was absorbed in countless thoughts about what to talk about with the Crown Prince, he started talking about the Northern subjugation. I had memories of my younger brother’s military stories being truly boring whenever he came home on leave, so I wasn’t interested in the Crown Prince’s subjugation story either.

 

‘No. Just for this moment, I can bear it…!’

 

Starting to listen with this resolution, my eyes grew bright. Contrary to my expectation, the Crown Prince’s subjugation story was genuinely fascinating.

 

Since I had lived in a world without monsters, the Crown Prince’s story felt like a movie. Moreover, as he described the subtle details and his feelings, I lost track of time.

 

“So you were anticipating the orc horde stationed in the canyon? Wow, that’s truly amazing.”

 

“I wouldn’t have known if it weren’t for the strategist’s prediction.”

 

The Crown Prince denied my praise, saying the merit wasn’t his. Seeing this attitude, I realized once more that he was truly a respectable person.

 

The novel ended after he ascended to the Emperor’s throne, but it was certain that he lived a life dedicated to the Empire afterward. The Crown Prince looked around and then asked me.

 

“However, I don’t see Baron Baimery near you, Miss.”

 

“My father is currently abroad on urgent business for the trade guild. I don’t know if Your Highness the Crown Prince has heard of it, but… our Barony runs the Baimery Trade Guild.”

 

“I’ve never heard of it. If the Baron, who is the Guild Master, is abroad, the trade store must be managed by the Vice Guild Master.”

 

“Ah! I’m currently the acting Guild Master in my father’s stead. Our trade store is in the busy district!”

 

“You are, Miss Lilithia? If you are there, I might have to visit the trade guild sometime.”

 

My eyes sparkled at his words.

 

‘Gasp. The Crown Prince is going to visit our trade guild?’

 

The Crown Prince’s visit means the success of the trade guild.

 

It was a golden opportunity. I had come to the banquet to find a solution for the struggling trade guild. I never imagined I could solve this problem through the Crown Prince.

 

If the name of the store visited by the Crown Prince spread widely, surely many people would visit the trade guild…! A halo seemed to shine from the Crown Prince.

 

‘I can’t miss this opportunity…!’

 

I desperately wanted to bring out all the goods in the trade store’s warehouse right now and introduce them to the Crown Prince. I began to chatter about the store to entice him to visit.

 

“It would be an honor if you visited…! Our store has a variety of teas, and also…”

 

However, the Crown Prince stroked his chin, seemingly uninterested in my story.

 

‘Was he just being polite?’

 

He wasn’t actually interested in visiting the trade guild, but was he pretending to be interested so as not to embarrass me? The Crown Prince was the type of person who prioritized others’ feelings.

 

I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up… The fleeting hope I had was snatched away. I looked at the floor in disappointment, and the Crown Prince, having finished his contemplation, smiled and spoke to me.

 

“Since you mentioned tea, I am curious and would like to taste it right away. But I was concerned because I will have difficulty going outside the Imperial Palace for a while due to postponed official duties. If I invite Miss Lilithia to the Imperial Palace, could I taste the tea then?”

 

My cloudy mood brightened up like a sunny day at the Crown Prince’s words.

 

“Of course! If you invite me, I will bring the tea to the Imperial Palace! Please call me anytime!”

 

“That is good.”

 

The Crown Prince smiled, seemingly amused by my reaction of holding my hands together in delight.

 

“I believe we have talked enough.”

 

At his words, I stomped my feet in frustration. I kept checking whether Nazlee was still in the banquet hall.

 

‘Nazlee is still in the banquet hall. This shouldn’t be happening…’

 

There was still time before Nazlee’s episode was due to happen. If I didn’t hold the Crown Prince here, the original story would unfold… The story would be that the Crown Prince saves Nazlee, and Freyer, who has fallen in love with Nazlee at first sight, watches their love unfold.

 

In other words, my plan for Freyer’s happy ending was a complete failure. But I had no further reason to hold the Crown Prince.

 

‘Should I just stagger and faint out of frustration…?’

 

Pretending to have anemia and collapsing was my last resort. As I cautiously raised my hand to my head to feign dizziness, I was bewildered to see the Crown Prince’s hand extended toward me. Then, my pupils shook violently at his words.

 

“Would you give me the honor of having a dance with Miss Lilithia?”

 

 

***

 

 

Now, I was standing face-to-face with the Crown Prince in the middle of the banquet hall.

 

‘I never thought the Crown Prince would ask me to dance…’

 

I vigorously expressed my refusal to the dance proposal, but I was naturally led by the Crown Prince’s hand to the center of the banquet hall. I tried to just close my eyes and dance once, but what couldn’t be done just couldn’t be done.

 

“I’m sorry. Dancing is truly too much for me.”

 

“Were you continually refusing because you didn’t want to dance with me, Miss Lilithia?”

 

At my words, the Crown Prince’s shoulders drooped forlornly. The Crown Prince looked down at me with moist eyes.

 

‘How can you act so hurt just because I refused a dance when you don’t know what’s going on in my heart!’

 

I squeezed my eyes shut and shouted at the Crown Prince.

 

“I told you already… I’m really bad at dancing. I will definitely step on Your Highness’s foot!”

 

I had lived my entire life being called uncoordinated. The only dances I could perform were the morning exercises I learned in school, which were ambiguous to call dancing, and the dog-leg dance I learned in kindergarten.

 

‘Of course, it’s not like I didn’t take dance lessons when I decided to attend the banquet…’

 

The original Lilithia must have been clumsy too, as my whole body creaked like a log. Even with Winnie diligently stretching my whole body, my flexibility was close to zero.

 

This body was so uncoordinated that even the steps I usually took well would stomp the floor as if to break it the moment the music started. I had committed to standing in the banquet hall after the Crown Prince’s dance request, but I was constantly worried.

 

‘What if I accidentally step hard and break off the flawless Crown Prince’s toenail!’

 

If that happened, I would clearly be dragged off to prison for harming the Imperial Family.

 

“Hahahaha.”

 

I slowly opened my eyes at the sound of laughter. The Crown Prince wiped his moist eyes with a finger, laughing.

 

“Since you say that, it seems you really are not good at dancing.”

 

“Yes! So, I think it would be better to go back!”

 

In a flash, the Crown Prince grasped my hand and wrapped his other arm around my waist. My eyes flew open at his sudden touch. The cold temperature transmitted to my neck felt like my body temperature was dropping.

 

“It’s alright. I have extensive training in this area. You don’t need to worry.”

 

The Crown Prince curved his eyes like a bowstring, looking at me.

 

“Just trust me and follow along.”

 

Since the Crown Prince said this much, it was hard to refuse any further…

 

It was clear that I had crossed the limit of refusal. I sighed inwardly and answered with a resigned heart.

 

“Please take good care of me.”

 

The music changed, and the atmosphere in the banquet hall shifted. The Crown Prince let his body move to the music and carefully led me. I followed him, internally hypnotizing myself.

 

‘This is really just my scheme to hold the Crown Prince here…’