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Chapter 33
“Yes, Your Majesty, the Empress.”
With a blank face and a voice devoid of any emotion, he could look down on the other person.
That was it.
With just a short reply, the Crown Prince casually made it clear that all the Empress’s words held no value to him, that she was merely wasting her time.
There was no way Empress Karmi, standing right there, didn’t notice the disdain and contempt I had sensed.
It was like a crushed leaf stem—her smile, already broken once, could never return to its original state.
And yet, Empress Karmi was still smiling.
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
“Yes, Your Majesty, the Empress.”
“Were you angry because of my concern?”
“I have no particular interest in Your Majesty’s words.”
“I see. Then, you should…”
The Empress bent slightly toward the Crown Prince.
Small golden ornaments in her reddish-brown hair clinked together, making a beautiful sound.
“You should call me ‘Your Majesty.’”
Her smile was like a knife hidden in her eyes—cold and soft at the same time. Facing it felt like you might be cut at any moment.
“Go ahead. Quickly.”
“Your Majesty, the Empress.”
“……”
Ferdinand’s face still showed no expression.
Only a faint glimmer in his eyes suggested that this conversation bored him.
“My mother passed away long ago, Your Majesty.”
That was the utmost courtesy the Crown Prince could show to Empress Karmi.
“To someone who was merely my mother’s maid, above all.”
“……”
“How could I call you ‘Your Majesty’?”
“……”
“My lineage is not so lowly.”
‘Wow. This is insane.’
Unlike me, who kept swallowing dryly, Empress Karmi’s smile did not falter at all.
“I see, Crown Prince.”
Slap!
At the same time, the Crown Prince’s cheek turned.
Standing with his head still turned, the Crown Prince heard the Empress speak in her initially gentle and soft voice:
“Come out when your cheek has calmed down.”
It was cruelly kind consideration.
“Because the late Empress really loved this place.”
Empress Karmi turned away.
The elaborate silk dress embroidered with rose patterns rustled as she walked.
Her shoes, with milky ivory heels, made a chilling click as they receded.
The door closed.
Neither the Empress nor the Crown Prince had anyone enter the garden, as if commands had already been given.
Only my mind was rolling tirelessly.
I see. That’s how it is.
Timing-wise, the Crown Prince had no significant power yet.
‘So this is why we see him like this.’
Even in the game, I had never seen such a direct confrontation—or rather, a one-sided insult.
‘……Well.’
Before going to the battlefield, the Crown Prince had always been someone secretly despised in this way.
The current Empress, Karmi, wanted her second-born son to sit on the throne, and above all…
“If that were the case, the Crown Prince would have grown not as this boy, but in a young man’s form fitting his actual age. There would have been no reason for the Emperor to feel uncomfortable seeing him now.”
As Empress Karmi mocked, this appearance was the problem…
“Come out.”
Instantly, my shoulders jumped.
Ah, someone else must be hiding here besides me.
“Come out.”
Go out quickly, whoever you are.
“Behind the oak tree, you.”
Damn.
It’s me.
My hesitation to run was brief.
‘If I run, I won’t improve my favorability anyway, so I’ll just die.’
But stepping out in front of the Crown Prince, who had just slapped his cheek, was a bit…
I timidly walked out from behind the tree.
Even so, I was grateful for the etiquette ingrained perfectly in Tulia’s body; it almost brought me to tears.
When facing royalty, stay five paces away.
Bow your head first, and bend your left knee halfway.
Lift the hem of your skirt with both hands, only enough to show your shoes.
And wait until the royalty speaks first to greet you.
“Do you want to die?”
When it was not a greeting but a death sentence…
“No, Your Majesty.”
Since Tulia’s etiquette did not cover this, I answered creatively for now.
“This area is only for royalty. How can a mere noble trespass into the royal domain?”
“I was not going into the garden; I was just passing by that side.”
“Do you call standing still and eavesdropping ‘just passing by’?”
“It seemed serious, so I instinctively hid myself. I sincerely apologize for that, but I heard nothing at all.”
“This area extends from here to there.”
I could feel the Crown Prince nod toward the tree.
“Even from there, you couldn’t have heard anything.”
“I had my ears tightly covered.”
“……What?”
For the first time, a voice of disbelief slipped out.
By the way, I still hadn’t looked at Ferdinand’s face.
Because according to etiquette, I could only raise my head and meet his eyes after he greeted or permitted me.
Noticing my knees were trembling slightly, Ferdinand spoke irritably:
“Raise your head.”
“Thank you.”
I immediately raised my head, blinking, my legs nearly cramping.
‘Wow.’
Tea with strawberry jam?
Up close, Ferdinand’s eyes were truly vivid red.
His hair was a light brown like cocoa with milk.
But the color didn’t feel sweet; his gaze was too cold.
In a good sense, his eyes were intense; in a bad sense, the kind that makes everyone freeze.
Of course… what caught my eyes most was still:
‘This is Cupid’s syndrome.’
Eros syndrome, or Cupid syndrome.
The Crown Prince was currently three years older than Tulia.
So he was 18, but he appeared as a boy younger than Tulia.
He looked around 12 or 13.
‘This is because of the overuse of sacred power the Empress mocked earlier.’
The late Empress Olivia, mother of Crown Prince Ferdinand, had been beautiful, smart, and dignified.
She was the youngest daughter of a prestigious family and became Empress without envy.
No man could resist her in youth, including the current Emperor Alessandro.
Emperor Alessandro married Olivia as Empress but always seemed uneasy.
Olivia had unmatched intellect and grace but was cold and just, earning the nickname “Ice Empress.”
They say suspicion and love cannot bloom in the same place.
Alessandro loved Olivia, but her cold nature drew his attention elsewhere.
Unlike Olivia, this other woman was warm, soft, considerate, and kind.
The exact opposite of Olivia—this was the current Empress, Karmi.
Daughter of a viscount, Karmi had been Olivia’s maid but initially resisted Alessandro, eventually spending a night with him.
That night, she became pregnant. Olivia, already pregnant, felt shock and betrayal.
‘Olivia was carrying Ferdinand and nearly miscarried from the shock.’
Despite the Emperor and family’s objections, they asked the temple to protect the baby with immense sacred power.
The baby—Ferdinand—was born safely, but Olivia died in less than five years.
Crown Prince Ferdinand developed a unique condition called Cupid’s syndrome due to excessive prenatal sacred power.
‘Well, that would eventually resolve when he met Corico.’
Specifically, when he felt love for Corico, his body that hadn’t grown suddenly matured.
Anyway, the important point: even in this boyish form, Ferdinand was stunningly handsome and beautiful.
However…
‘So skinny. Well, the Empress hates him.’
He wouldn’t lower his pride for lack of food given his personality.
“Have you finished watching?”
……His personality doesn’t seem great either.
I bowed and pleaded to Ferdinand.
“I’m sorry. This is my first time meeting royalty.”
“You…”
At that moment, Ferdinand stopped speaking as if a machine had lost power.
“It’s raining.”
He was right. The clear sky had begun to drizzle.
A raindrop hit Ferdinand, and he seemed to lose all minimal interest in me, turning his head away.
“Go. If you go to the door, you’ll be punished, so find a back way yourself.”
It was a relief in a way that he let me go without further questioning, but the timing was bad.
After making the worst impression…
‘……Why now, of all times, is it raining?’
There was one more side effect of Ferdinand’s excessive sacred power.
‘He can’t hear for a moment when it rains…’
