CLWE 15

Chapter15

“So you didn’t come to see me after all.”

As if mocking me weren’t enough, the fact that she had some other ulterior motive made me deeply upset.

Feeling like there was no longer any value in continuing the conversation, I sharply turned my head away and said,

“I’m not interested in that anymore either. I’m not curious about my family at all. So go back.”

“…I’ll report your condition to the Duke for now. Including how sharp and hostile you are at the moment, my lady.”

Did she think that bringing up my father would make me shrink back, given that I’d been thrown out of the house? I smiled leisurely and replied,

“Tell him I cursed him out too. That I cursed him from the hair on his head to the tips of his little toes.”

“…Please get some rest.”

Even after I spoke like that, the nanny said only what she wanted to say and left. I let out a sigh.

“Somehow, it doesn’t feel like they’ll let this go easily.”

It was a bad feeling.

Kamin Mareschal is the Emperor.

No matter how much the previous emperor—Aurelian’s son and Kamin’s father—went to great lengths to build a teleport zone directly connecting the imperial capital to Faustine out of longing for Aurelian, the lord of Faustine, an emperor cannot remain in a foreign land forever.

And yet, Kamin had left the capital behind in order to obtain the Ego Sword. That was possible solely thanks to his two younger sisters, Susan and Liz.

—Are you listening to me, Brother?

In the round crystal ball Kamin was facing, a girl with long, flowing golden hair and glasses puffed out her lips. She was the First Princess, Liz.

At Liz’s barbed words, Kamin refocused his absent gaze on her. Liz grumbled as she pushed her glasses up.

—You seem especially lost in thought today. Did something happen?

Did something happen?

Yes. Something did happen—something that left his tongue tingling and his hands sticky.

“Liz, have you ever eaten hwachae?”

—Pardon?

Earlier that day, Kamin had sat together with his grandmother and eaten Liena’s special watermelon hwachae.

The sweet yet creamy, soft flavor lingered on his tongue. Recalling the memory the taste had left behind, Kamin spoke at unusual length.

“It’s a dessert where you scoop out a watermelon and fill it with beautifully cut fruits. It’s very delicious—try making it there too.”

At Kamin’s gentle recommendation, Liz narrowed her eyes. Her brother was originally mild-mannered, but recommending fruit of all things?

—Brother, you’re saying an awful lot of uncharacteristic things today. You’re famous for being picky, you know? You only eat fruit that’s firm, not too juicy so it doesn’t get on your hands, and can be cut into bite-sized pieces. And yet you ate something as troublesome as watermelon?

“Ah, well…”

Caught off guard by the sharp observation, Kamin stiffened awkwardly. Liz scanned his face with narrowed eyes, then shrugged.

—I didn’t have hwachae, but I did eat this year’s watermelon. Grandmother sent it the other day.

“I see.”

Hearing that Liz had eaten the same watermelon oddly calmed him. It felt like thinking you’d discovered a hidden gem of a restaurant, only to realize it was already famous.

Reading Kamin’s emotions keenly, Liz adopted a suspicious expression again.

—Why do you look so disappointed that your sister ate something delicious?

Sharp indeed. Kamin shook his head lightly and laughed it off.

“Not at all. The crystal ball must not be very clear.”

There was definitely something going on, but in the end Liz couldn’t find anything overtly suspicious in Kamin’s face. Of course, since even Kamin himself didn’t recognize his own feelings, it was only natural.

After giving various reports, Liz concluded with this:

—If you’re going to keep saying strange things, come back quickly. There are only two conditions under which you’re allowed to stay there. First, you’re persuading the Ego Sword. Second, you’re suffering from the fever of first love for the first time in your life.

“Nonsense.”

First love, indeed. Kamin snorted at his sister’s words. Liz replied,

—That’s my way of telling you to hurry back.

And with that, she abruptly cut off the crystal ball communication.

It had only been a few years since she’d thrown tantrums saying she wouldn’t sleep unless her brother sang her a lullaby.

‘She’s gotten so naggy.’

Now she was even the one ending communications first. For some reason, Kamin felt a bit melancholy, as though his presence in Liz’s heart had become very small.

Still, Liz’s nagging made Kamin realize something unexpected.

‘Did I really only like firm fruit that much?’

Thinking back, Liz was right. Day after day spent without even time to eat properly, cleaning up after a father who irresponsibly passed on the throne and drifted away.

If he had to eat while reading documents, of course he wouldn’t like juicy fruit. No—he barely ate fruit at all to begin with. As for vegetables, at most they were just what came tucked into a sandwich.

‘That’s right. It wasn’t a familiar texture. But it was very delicious. Then again, there’s nothing she gives me that doesn’t taste good.’

The vegetables that were crisp, nutty, and sweet.

The fruits that were refreshing, gently sweet, and cool.

Kamin pressed his forehead against the window. As he recalled those textures, the image of a woman with bright red twin braids and sparkling light-brown eyes naturally came to mind. Now, even just eating something tasty—not necessarily fruits or vegetables—made him think of her.

“I’ll call you Kamin too! Nice to meet you, friend!”

Why was she so cheeky like that? And yet, strangely enough, that cheekiness wasn’t annoying at all.

‘This is bad. Really bad.’

This was just a reflexive response from the satisfaction of taste. It had to be.

Reassuring himself, Kamin lightly knocked his forehead against the window a few times. Just then, a cautious voice sounded from outside the door.

“Your Majesty.”

It was Ancre, the captain of the guard who had followed him this far, and the man Liena called “squid.”

“What is it?”

“There have been suspicious individuals coming and going in Faustine. At first they were looking for Miss Liena’s house, and now they’re outright keeping it under surveillance.”

“Liena?”

Even a suspicious person would put him on edge, but hearing the very name he’d been thinking of made him all the more tense.

Seeing Kamin’s face wrinkle sharply, Sir Ancre looked slightly startled, then bowed politely and continued his report, trying not to show it.

“Yes. And today, a common woman visited Miss Liena. She seems clearly connected to the group that’s been watching her.”

“What do they hope to gain by watching her?”

Because of the Ego Sword, Kamin knew well from observing her himself. She was a complete workaholic. Since all her assets were entrusted to the bank, even threatening her would only yield something like the secret to growing excellent crops.

As the furrow in Kamin’s brow deepened further, Ancre spoke a shocking line.

“According to Lady Aurelian, it appears to be related to her former fiancé.”

“…Former fiancé?”

The color drained from Kamin’s face. In his ears echoed clearly something Liena had once said.

“When I was young, I was disgracefully dumped. I guess I was thrown away for being useless.”

So that bastard was contacting her now?

The moment he heard that, Kamin was furious to the tips of his hair.

‘He throws her away back then, and now he gets in touch?’

Why the engagement was broken, or for what reason, didn’t matter. In Kamin’s mind, the man was already an unforgivable villain.

‘She’s finally made a great success of farming and found her own path.’

Whatever Liena’s past life had been like, her present self was clearly happy.

But if the former fiancé who had hurt her were to appear before a woman who had clawed her way to happiness on her own…

With his face set hard, Kamin strode forward. Seeing him suddenly move before the report was even finished, Sir Ancre asked in alarm,

“Your Majesty? Where are you going?”

“I’m going to protect Liena—”

Just as he was about to answer naturally, Kamin suddenly came to his senses.

‘Wait, why am I this angry?’

He didn’t even know why that faceless former fiancé had come, yet he was about to rush off and grab the man by the collar without hearing a word.

But that would clearly be overstepping!

‘We did agree to be friends now, but… do normal friends deal with former fiancés too?’

To be honest, Kamin had never had a friend he could truly call close, so even asking himself yielded no answer.

After a brief inner struggle, Kamin hastily cobbled together an excuse in an awkward, trembling voice.

“Well, if she gets kidnapped, the Ego Sword would be taken too! So I’m just going to check on the situation.”

“Yes, understood.”

Kamin worried whether his excuse sounded convincing, but Sir Ancre, for his part, was deeply impressed inwardly.

‘As expected. Even befriending that farmer must be part of a grand plan to lower her guard and obtain the Ego Sword. Truly worthy of my lord.’

In the end, they were completely misaligned in their thoughts.

In any case, Kamin hurried. Normally meticulous about his attire before going out, today he didn’t even have time to straighten his clothes. That was how urgent his heart felt.

‘If that bastard shows up right now and tries to forcibly take Liena away!’

That was only the surface thought. Deep down, in a part of his heart even he didn’t fully recognize, there was another anxiety.

‘He might have finally realized Liena’s worth and come back, tearfully begging her to return.’

And a girl who always seemed strong, but was in fact lonely deep inside, taking his hand at such a request—one of the most common scenarios…

‘That can’t happen!!’

Not even knowing exactly what couldn’t be allowed, Kamin ran on, fuming. But contrary to what he’d imagined from the reports, the area in front of Liena’s house was completely peaceful.