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Chapter 5
“That’s a relief. I was worried you might have already chosen someone before I had the chance to propose.”
“…Pardon?”
What had he just said?
For a moment, Adora wondered if she had misheard him.
She glanced around. The servants who had gathered in the entrance hall were all staring blankly at the prince’s stunning appearance. Men and women alike were equally captivated. Even John was among them.
So this is the kind of beauty that can enchant even men.
She could understand their reaction, but she couldn’t afford to lose her one and only butler. Reaching over, she lightly smacked John’s arm.
Startled, John looked at her.
Adora widened her eyes.
John, get a hold of yourself!
At that moment, footsteps approached.
Her gaze returned to the prince.
Without her noticing, the distance between them had narrowed until he was standing right before her. He looked as though he couldn’t take his eyes off her for even a moment.
Holding the bouquet he had carried the entire time, he extended it toward her.
Instinctively, Adora accepted it.
The vibrant red roses were breathtakingly beautiful, their fragrance gentle and sweet.
Yet somehow, the bouquet felt unbearably heavy in her hands.
“Sir Alfred—no… Lady Alfred.”
Adora’s eyes widened as she met his gaze.
The smile had vanished from Lionel’s face.
Seen this close, his gray eyes seemed tinged with blue, giving them an almost mysterious quality.
A sense of foreboding rose within her.
Unfortunately, she realized it too late.
“Will you marry me?”
By the time the words registered, Adora’s face had already gone pale with shock.
Adora struggled to process the situation.
The current king had two official mistresses in addition to Queen Tatiana.
One was Lirin Sylvester, the cherished daughter of the Marquis Sylvester family.
The other was Countess Anais Leonic.
The son born to the famously beautiful Anais was none other than Prince Lionel.
Lionel had inherited his mother’s stunning appearance and had been famous since childhood.
Yet along with that beauty came many less flattering titles.
The Shame of the Royal Family.
The Half-Prince.
The Ornamental Rose.
Born prematurely, Lionel had been frail from birth.
Just how frail?
He could barely walk.
After only a short distance, he would become breathless, clutch his chest, or even faint. Running was completely out of the question.
Rare medicinal ingredients had been gathered from across the kingdom for him when he was an infant, but none had improved his health.
The nickname Ornamental Rose was another form of mockery.
Though many ridiculed him as a disgrace to the royal family, his beauty was said to be sculpted by the gods themselves. Thus people called him a rose that was best admired from afar.
And now that very rose was sitting before her, calmly drinking tea.
Adora stared at his face somewhat rudely.
His sudden proposal had once again plunged the entrance hall into silence.
Adora had frozen with her mouth hanging open.
John’s eyes looked as though they might pop out of his head.
Even the servants watching nearby could only gasp in disbelief.
Eventually, it was John who regained his composure first and suggested moving to the drawing room.
Only after sitting down did Adora notice another guest standing behind the prince.
He was a young man dressed in fine but understated clothing.
Standing silently with perfect posture behind Lionel, he appeared either to be an attendant or perhaps a bodyguard. His sturdy build and sword at his waist made the latter seem more likely.
Ignoring the fragrant tea before her, Adora gulped down cold water while observing the two men.
As John prepared refreshments, he quietly approached her.
“Master, how exactly do you know the Fourth Prince?”
“I briefly served as his escort before I left for war. We do know each other from then, but…”
Adora recalled her connection with Prince Lionel Leonic Glorious.
Before she departed for the battlefield, she had briefly served as the guard of a small, prickly prince who had seemed like a newly budding flower.
They had a connection, certainly.
But not one close enough for him to personally come and propose marriage after hearing rumors that she was searching for a spouse.
After studying the kingdom’s esteemed prince, John quietly asked,
“Would you like me to stay with you?”
After a moment’s consideration, Adora shook her head.
Lionel, who had been watching John, then instructed his own attendant to wait outside as well.
Once the man left, only the two of them remained.
A strange tension filled the drawing room.
Adora cautiously observed Lionel.
Meanwhile, Lionel leisurely savored his tea.
After setting down his cup, he raised his head.
Their eyes met.
He immediately smiled at her.
Adora slightly furrowed her brow.
Why does he keep smiling like that?
“I hope I haven’t been too rude by showing up so suddenly.”
“Not at all, Your Highness.”
Showing up without an appointment was absolutely rude, but Adora concealed her thoughts and took another sip of cold water.
“I was in a hurry. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
The hand holding her cup froze.
Had she heard that correctly?
She suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to clean out her ears.
Because otherwise, it made no sense.
“So? What do you think?”
“…What exactly are you referring to?”
“My proposal.”
“…”
At last, Adora lowered her cup onto the table.
Taking a steadying breath, she spoke carefully.
“Your Highness Lionel. If this unworthy subject has somehow earned your favor, I can only feel honored. However, I would like to know why you proposed to me.”
“Because I want to marry you.”
“No, I mean why do you want to marry me?”
The word marriage felt so absurd when applied to herself and the Fourth Prince that she nearly bit her tongue.
Unlike her disbelief, Lionel looked genuinely puzzled.
“Must there be a specific reason?”
Yes.
Absolutely.
At the very least, there needed to be a reason strong enough to explain why he had rushed over without even making an appointment after hearing rumors about her marriage prospects.
If the Alfred family were powerful…
If they possessed immense wealth…
Or if she were an extraordinary beauty…
Then perhaps she could understand.
But none of those applied to her.
“Is it truly so strange that I proposed? Or that I wish to marry? Most people my age start thinking about marriage eventually.”
That much was true.
Among the nobility, engagements were usually arranged in childhood, followed by marriage upon reaching adulthood.
If no engagement existed, a suitable spouse had to be found.
Adora had lost her parents before any engagement could be arranged and had devoted herself entirely to revenge afterward.
Naturally, she had never found a partner.
She also knew that Lionel had never had one.
Most likely because of his health.
When the Fourth Prince was born, physicians claimed he wouldn’t survive a single day.
Then one day became two.
Two became months.
Months became years.
Eventually, rumors spread that perhaps the prince was only pretending to be ill in order to survive palace politics.
But the Fourth Prince Adora had personally met had been genuinely frail—so weak that it wouldn’t have seemed surprising if he had closed his eyes and never opened them again.
And now that same prince had grown into a man speaking seriously of marriage.
As a loyal subject, she should have been delighted.
If she were thinking as a subject, that was.
“I’ve reached marriageable age myself, so discussions have begun. I wanted to choose my spouse personally. While considering my options, I heard rumors about you.”
“So after hearing those rumors, you decided to marry me?”
Adora asked skeptically.
Lionel nodded cheerfully.
“When you served as my escort, didn’t we get along quite well?”
…
This time she was certain she had misheard.
Otherwise there was no way those words could have come from the Fourth Prince.
We got along well?
Really?
Adora was speechless.
Completely speechless.
Meanwhile, Lionel simply continued smiling as though every word he had spoken was the absolute truth.
She desperately wanted to ask whether he had lost his mind since she’d last seen him.
Suppressing the impulse with great effort, she gripped her cup again.
The cold water had long since turned lukewarm, but it gave her time to organize her overheated thoughts.
Finally, she set the cup down.
“Your Highness. This may sound abrupt, but my family isn’t wealthy.”
Lionel blinked.
“Hm?”
His face clearly asked what that had to do with anything.
Swallowing nervously, Adora continued.
“I won’t say we’re poor. We live comfortably enough. We have family assets, a small territory, my inheritance, and the salary I’ve saved from my years in the knight order… but compared to other noble houses, we’re rather average.”
It felt absurd to explain her family’s finances in such detail, but Adora had never been more serious.
The Alfred family possessed enough wealth to live comfortably.
Not enough for luxury.
Their lands consisted only of the local estate and a villa where she had occasionally vacationed with her parents.
Though descended from one of the kingdom’s founding heroes, the family now retained little beyond its honor.
“That doesn’t mean we’re wasteful.”
She hurried to clarify.
Her parents had been humble people with few ambitions.
They had never complained about lacking higher titles.
They had been perfectly content with a comfortable noble life.
“And we’re not incompetent, either.”
She quickly added that as well.
She didn’t want him thinking their modest wealth was due to a lack of ability.
Lionel listened patiently, arms crossed.
Then he gestured for her to continue.
“Furthermore, our family’s status isn’t especially high. We were once recognized as a prestigious martial house, but that’s all in the past now. We’re no different from any ordinary noble family. We aren’t particularly influential. We’re completely average.”
“So?”
“So… I don’t think I possess the power to fulfill whatever it is you truly want.”
Adora was completely serious.
Ever since receiving his proposal, she had been thinking it over.
No matter how she looked at it, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something behind it.
Whatever his goal might be, she simply didn’t have the ability to help him achieve it.
That was the truth.
Yet Lionel, who had remained quiet until now, suddenly burst into laughter.
His hearty laugh sounded strangely cheerful considering the situation.
Adora blinked.
What exactly was so funny?
“I was wondering where all this was going.”
After laughing for some time, Lionel looked at her with amusement still lingering in his eyes.
The fact that such enjoyment was directed toward her felt oddly unsettling.
“So you thought I might be aiming for the throne.”
Not exactly.
But if she had to guess a motive behind his proposal, that was certainly the first possibility that came to mind.
The kingdom already had a Crown Prince born to Queen Tatiana, as well as the Second and Third Princes born to Lirin Sylvester.
Though the Crown Prince was the official heir, everyone knew succession struggles still existed.
The Second Prince’s ambitions for the throne were common knowledge among the nobility.
The Fourth Prince was the furthest removed from that contest.
Which made the idea oddly plausible.
The weak prince whom everyone dismissed as a half-prince might secretly desire the throne.
He had every right to.
Perhaps he simply hadn’t shown that ambition before.
Of course, the notion that he had chosen her as a political ally was absurd.
“Or perhaps you simply thought this looked troublesome and wanted to reject it before becoming involved.”
That observation was disturbingly accurate as well.
It was as though he had peered directly into her thoughts.
Though inwardly embarrassed, Adora maintained her composure.
“Your Highness, I’m not particularly clever.”
“You’re asking me to state plainly what I want.”
“Is there something you want?”
Her voice was calm but sharp.
Lionel smiled faintly.
“Have you never considered the possibility that I proposed because I genuinely care for you?”
Adora blinked.
The question caught her completely off guard.
Her carefully maintained composure cracked.
The emotions hidden beneath surfaced unexpectedly.
“But Your Highness…”
Her words trailed off.
Her gaze lowered.
She could still remember it clearly.
The first time she had ever entered the royal residence.
The magnificent palace beyond a garden overflowing with crimson roses.
The young prince standing alone amid all that splendor.
Red petals swirled around his feet.
And among them stood the child prince, proud and untouchable.
When he looked at her, she had seen a trace of displeasure in his eyes.
“You don’t like me, do you?”
The atmosphere changed instantly.
The relaxed mood sharpened like a blade.
Even the air seemed to harden and press against her skin.
Sensing the shift instinctively, Adora’s body stiffened.
To be continued…
