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Chapter 119
The servants quietly excused themselves.
Karl, who had lost a great deal of blood, seemed to be taken away to the imperial physicians.
The members of the Lotte Society who had rushed toward Vivian did not even have time to enjoy their reunion before the door behind Hemel closed.
“Apologize.”
After the situation had been mostly settled and silence returned, Vivian spoke softly.
Her quiet voice drifted through the moonlight.
For invading the kingdom.
For killing her father.
For deceiving her.
The list of things for which Hemel should apologize was endless.
She had been hurt enough to deserve countless apologies.
Because of him.
And yet, she had missed him so much that a single apology felt as though it could forgive everything.
“Yes. I’m sorry, Vivian.”
Hemel gazed quietly at the fragile woman who looked as though she might collapse at any moment and readily offered his apology.
The man who had brought so much misery into her life was both unbearably hateful and dearly beloved.
Only now did Vivian realize that two completely opposite emotions could exist at the same time.
“I’m sorry.”
Once again.
Surprisingly simply.
He acknowledged every one of his sins.
“What makes everything so easy for you?”
Vivian approached him while clutching the sleeve she had used to wipe away her tears.
“You’re the Crown Prince now. Soon you’ll be Emperor. Someone like you shouldn’t apologize so easily…”
“Why not? If a simple apology can win me the princess, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do.”
“Why did you do it? Why?”
“I’m sorry.”
A gentle smile appeared on Hemel’s lips.
Vivian repeated the whispered apology echoing in her ears.
While she did, Hemel guided her toward the sofa.
Curled up tightly, Vivian leaned against him.
Faint moonlight filtered through the curtains.
Until she slowly drifted to sleep, Hemel’s warm hand patted her back in a steady rhythm.
And when Vivian finally woke after losing consciousness in that comforting touch, Hemel was still beside her.
“…What about my father?”
Having just awakened, Vivian decided to resolve her biggest question first.
Hemel was not pleased by how she always seemed to ask the most difficult questions.
Vivian’s father had been an operative raised by the Empire.
That was why the Empire had known so much about the internal affairs of the Rose Tea Kingdom.
But he had fallen in love.
He married Iela Rose Tea.
In the end, he had betrayed the Trahafut Empire that had raised him.
Should he tell Vivian this?
Hemel did not hesitate long.
Because he had hidden his identity, he had lost Vivian until the beginning of winter.
He did not want to earn more of her hatred.
Even if it hurt, he would tell her the truth.
He knew it might make her hate him again.
But he also knew that hatred would not be the worst outcome.
“Your father was an operative dispatched by the Empire.”
“That can’t be true. My father came from a kingdom across the continent—”
“No.”
Hemel cut her off firmly.
Every word that left his mouth was shocking.
As he continued, Vivian had to swallow deep sighs and hold the back of her aching head.
According to him, her father’s very birth had been fabricated.
The reason her father, such an outstanding swordsman, had been defeated so easily by Hemel during the invasion was also simple.
The Imperial master who had taught her father swordsmanship had taught Hemel even more advanced secret techniques.
Why can’t I even miss my father freely?
The immense fate and burden surrounding her felt unbearably heavy.
“There was no reason to spare your father. He was a traitor. When I departed for the campaign, killing him was one of the objectives I was ordered to complete.”
“Stop… It’s fine. You don’t have to tell me any more.”
There were many reasons for Vivian to resent Hemel.
Yet every one of them came with reasons he had no choice but to follow.
No matter what she asked, it was the same.
Why he had remained alive without aging.
How he had met the witch.
Only after every question had been answered did Vivian let out a hollow laugh.
“…I see.”
Hemel gently stroked her hair.
As they talked, the terrible night passed and morning arrived.
“May I come in?”
It was time for Hemel’s schedule to begin, yet he still had not left the bedroom.
A servant had come to fetch him.
At that moment, Vivian suddenly remembered the first night they had spent together at the Governor-General’s residence.
Back then, too, she had been battered and exhausted.
Hemel had been beside her.
And they had been on a sofa.
Noticing her reddened cheeks, Hemel burst into laughter.
He seemed to have remembered the same thing.
With an elegant bow toward Vivian, he said,
“I can let him in, right? There aren’t any scandalous traces left behind.”
*
What kind of absurd situation is this?
Everyone gathered in the conference room shared the same thought.
Everyone except Hemel.
The officials were shocked that Crown Prince Hemel Batirenium had appeared together with the missing Princess of Rose Tea.
Vivian, meanwhile, was shocked that absolutely no progress had been made regarding the reconstruction of Rose Tea Kingdom.
For entirely different reasons, Vivian and the officials exchanged stunned looks.
“We deeply remember and appreciate Your Highness’s generosity.”
Vivian was the first to restore order.
She shot Hemel a sharp glance before walking past the seat prepared beside him and sitting one seat farther away.
Immediately, Hemel stood up.
What is His Highness planning now?
He’s not about to suggest investing an entire year’s budget into Rose Tea Kingdom again, is he?
The officials watched nervously.
Then their jaws dropped.
Hemel left the Crown Prince’s seat and calmly moved to the chair beside Vivian.
“You remember my kindness, yet you’re running away?”
He pulled a report toward himself and casually flipped open the first page.
“Running away? I’m merely observing proper etiquette.”
Vivian shook her head.
Seeing him behave like this in front of everyone, she knew there was no changing his mind.
“Then please explain what happened while I was gone. How is it possible that not a single aspect of Rose Tea Kingdom’s reconstruction has progressed?”
“T-That’s because! Your Highness ordered us to stop all work!”
One official shouted.
He was the person responsible for the reconstruction project.
Vivian looked toward Hemel.
“Because the princess wasn’t here.”
Hemel shrugged as if the answer were obvious.
“How could we rebuild the kingdom when the future queen herself was absent?”
“…”
“I waited for you.”
His gaze softened.
“A great deal. Very, very much.”
The officials’ mouths fell open.
The face hidden behind the mask that had inspired countless strange rumors was beautiful enough to be called a blessing from the gods.
And that man was speaking such affectionate words.
No—was he even capable of speaking like this?
“We’ll continue the meeting tomorrow. It seems none of you have any desire to continue today.”
“Pardon?”
“The meeting has not even lasted an hour yet…”
“Then that’s all the more reason to stop. We haven’t discussed anything important, so there will be no interruption. Continuing tomorrow won’t be difficult.”
“…”
“Or perhaps my words aren’t being heard?”
Hemel’s gentle question sent the officials fleeing from the room.
Since today’s meeting would have to continue tomorrow, they already knew the meetings held during Vivian’s absence would become much longer.
All of them silently prayed that the Princess of Rose Tea would stay here for a very long time.
“What exactly are you trying to do?”
“This.”
Hemel lifted Vivian’s hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it.
He leisurely admired her reddening cheeks.
“So—”
“Marry me.”
The words sparkled like the morning sunlight.
Hemel sounded perfectly calm.
His expression was no different from when he had changed seats or dismissed the meeting.
That was why Vivian remained frozen for a long time.
“Don’t you think that’s unfair?”
“Hm?”
“The Crown Prince of a great empire proposing without even a ring.”
For a moment, Hemel simply stared blankly.
Then he replayed Vivian’s answer in his mind.
Vivian let out a sigh mixed with laughter.
“The truth is, I wanted to stay by your side too.”
That was why she had left the observatory.
The fact that he was Hemel Batirenium.
That he had killed her father.
That he had deceived her until the very end.
The feeling those truths had created was betrayal.
A feeling she never would have experienced if she had never trusted him.
They had spent longer apart than intended.
But this had always been her plan.
From the moment she allowed him into the Lotte Society, this future had already been decided.
“But later.”
She smiled.
“After everything has been settled.”
Looking at Hemel, whose smile now seemed as though he had gained the entire world, she returned the words he often used himself.
Even after hearing them, the smile on Hemel’s lips did not disappear.
When everything was resolved, they would hold an imperial marriage.
The secret promise made in the conference room would eventually become a legendary story told throughout both nations.
Hemel gently pulled Vivian’s hand.
As she smiled like a clear sky on a beautiful day, he whispered of eternity and kissed her.
Of course, Vivian did not believe him.
She knew that people who promised eternity usually failed to keep that promise.
Even so, she felt willing to be fooled.
After all, this was Hemel—the man who had saved her again and again.
