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Chapter 6
Count Cryant, Daniel Cryant, immediately wrote a letter to be sent to the Duke’s household.
To summarize: “I will re-educate my daughter within the family to correct her rudeness. I apologize.”
It was nothing more than a feeble excuse, but it would at least buy him some time before the next move.
Father and daughter, sharing a luncheon, talked about recent matters for the first time in a long while.
“Father, how is Elsior?”
“Your younger sibling? Don’t even mention it. Always beating up the other children—he’ll give me an ulcer one of these days.”
“Hehe, I suppose another letter must have arrived from the Academy.”
For Ellen, these moments—chatting with her family as if nothing was wrong—were more precious than anything.
Once, she had thought of her much younger sibling as nothing but a nuisance. But in this moment, talking with her father, she found herself aching to see that little sibling again.
Ellen peppered Daniel with question after question about family affairs, and Daniel, pleased that his daughter had come home, answered each one with patience.
It was just as the meal was drawing to a close—
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock came from outside.
Father and daughter exchanged puzzled looks.
“…Is there anyone who would come looking for us?”
At Daniel’s tense question, Ellen nodded slightly.
“The Duke, or the Crown Prince. It will be one of the two.”
Leaving only that short reply, she rose from her seat and went to the door.
“What is it?”
With permission granted, the servant waiting outside delivered his message.
“A gentleman who introduced himself as Keira says that, if Count Cryant is staying here, he wishes to meet him.”
At that, Ellen glanced at her father, then answered.
“If it’s not rude, please show him in.”
The servant bowed hastily and rushed off.
“The Crown Prince is more impatient than I expected.”
Normally, such a remark would have earned her a scolding from Daniel. But this time he was silent.
He had thought that perhaps, someday, he might truly meet the Crown Prince—but never had he expected that day to be today.
Before noon, early morning at the Imperial Palace.
Cayden made up his mind.
“…I’ll have to go.”
He jumped up and strode out.
His informant, the crow, had just returned with reports.
First, an investigation into Ellen Crembel.
At the Duke’s residence, there had been a complete replacement of the servants.
The crow speculated that this was likely due to the Duchess demanding a divorce and all the discussions that followed.
Cayden agreed. At this point, there was no other reason for such a sudden turnover of servants.
The next report concerned the gambling house.
It had been in operation for about two years already, with many victims. But the true leader behind it remained unknown.
Cayden dismissed the crow after hearing it all, and was advised not to act rashly.
Once alone, Cayden unleashed a string of colorful curses.
Damn it, damn it all, goddamn bastard…
So the Imperial family had been mocked right under their noses? He didn’t even want to imagine how much contempt the culprit must have had.
He swore to uncover the masked mastermind no matter what.
But as he cursed, another thought crept in.
How had a mere young lady known of something that had even escaped the crow’s deliberate investigation?
It didn’t make sense.
Could it really be Crembel…?
Questions only bred more questions.
The gambling house. Crembel. The Duchess.
The thoughts circled endlessly, and before long, his mind kept drifting back to her.
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.
What had happened to make the Duchess change so dramatically, as if she had become an entirely different person?
The girl who once only chased after her husband had, in just a few months, turned into a bold gambler.
So strange, so suspicious—he simply couldn’t get her out of his mind since that day.
And so, Cayden thought:
There was nothing certain yet, and the one holding the clues was close by.
He would have to confront her directly.
As he rose to leave, his chamberlain wailed.
“Oh, Your Highness! If His Majesty hears of this, he’ll surely be furious! My head will roll, truly!”
“My father isn’t so heartless. Go fetch Lord Koenheim.”
Koenheim, from his grandmother’s family, was currently his best card to play.
“Just leave the palace officially, then!”
“No. This isn’t the sort of matter for that.”
Cayden brushed off the protest and once again prepared to slip out of the palace.
Lord Koenheim, dragged along unwillingly, immediately contacted his close friend, Lord Cheshire, who could be trusted to keep quiet.
Of course, for Cheshire, it was an untimely summons. He arrived in a foul mood and cursed Koenheim to his face.
But the moment he saw the Crown Prince disguised outside the palace, he fell silent.
“Please, go back, Your Highness.”
The knights pleaded earnestly, but the Crown Prince’s ears were as thick as his skull.
In other words, he ignored them.
“Tell them, if Count Cryant is here, I wish to meet him.”
And so, once again, he boldly left the palace without leave.
The Crown Prince, holding the fates of his knights, chamberlain, and guards in his hands, finally arrived before one young woman.
Inside a quiet room.
Ellen broke the silence.
“You have business with me? What might that be?”
The Crown Prince glanced toward Count Cryant and the knights standing nearby.
“Is it alright to speak here?”
“I don’t mind.”
“Then I’ll be blunt. Would you consider working with me?”
The words dropped heavily into the silence.
Past father and daughter seated on the sofa, between two hulking knights standing shoulder-to-shoulder—
Their eyes met: her gaze and the brilliant blue eyes that shone brightly under the sunlight.
“So, Your Highness, what I just heard is…”
“I asked if you’d work by my side, helping me.”
The unexpected question left Ellen uncertain whether to feel pleased or uneasy.
She asked cautiously:
“And what exactly does this ‘work’ entail?”
“Nothing much. Simply that you’d provide me with the information you know, as you did last time.”
Clink. The sound of Ellen setting down her teacup rang out.
“You do still have such information, don’t you?”
Even without her reply, the Crown Prince already knew the answer.
So Ellen responded with another question instead.
“Information… It seems Your Highness trusts me.”
“Whatever intent you have in sharing it, I cannot allow such crimes to continue unchecked in the capital.”
“So, apart from trust, you mean you need me. Have I understood correctly?”
“You have. However…”
A faint chuckle slipped through his teeth.
It was nothing like his usual kind smile.
“In that case, let me ask you as well.”
His lips parted, sharp words spilling forth.
“After all, this was your goal, wasn’t it?”
“…!”
“Am I wrong, Lady?”
He pierced right to the heart of the matter, leaving Ellen genuinely surprised.
To strike so suddenly—
“You needed me, that’s why you sought me out. You wanted to use me to achieve something, didn’t you? Isn’t that so?”
The Crown Prince asked with a languid smile.
This man… died at Gillian’s hands, yielding his back?
The Crown Prince she had known was not like this.
He was the one who always wore a gentle smile, who teased her kindly, calling her family despite her isolation.
But perhaps the man she had known was a completely different person from the one before her now.
“Then let’s get to the point.”
He spoke clearly, like driving a nail into place.
“You want something from me. I’ll give it. But what you must give me in return is…”
Those eyes she had thought warm now gleamed sharp and cold, pinning her in place.
“…You.”
“…Pardon?”
Ellen froze.
Me? He wants me? What does that mean?
“I realized this: as Crown Prince, I have no other choice. I can’t ignore the clue sitting right in front of me.”
“So you mean… you want to keep me under watch?”
“The wording sounds unpleasant, but that’s not wrong.”
Cayden spoke calmly, denying nothing.
So that gentle smile was a mask, after all.
What a surprising side he was showing now. Part of her was even dumbfounded.
“Your temperament… is quite different from the man I knew.”
“That’s what I want to say to you. And without that decisiveness, I wouldn’t be Crown Prince at this age. So—will you work with me, or not?”
His intent was firm and unyielding.
Ellen hesitated.
Does he really not plan to interrogate me now?
There was so much he might ask—
How had she known such secrets? Was she telling the truth? If so, why had she sought divorce? Why share it all with him?
But unlike most royals, who tread cautiously and make others test the waters first, this man seemed to have no such doubts.
His clear eyes bore into hers.
“…Very well. Then, Your Highness, I have one condition.”
“Name it.”
“Guarantee the safety of myself and my family.”
“You state the obvious.”
“And aid me in my divorce from Crembel.”
“And that decision—why did you come to it?”
“You saw it yourself.”
Ellen smiled faintly.
“I judged that only then could my family be safe. In return, I will provide Your Highness with whatever funds and information you require.”
“Very well… Divorce aside, perhaps you didn’t understand me correctly. I said your price was you.”
“I’ll help you to the best of my ability. Of course, Your Highness also—”
“No, that’s not it.”
He waved a hand dismissively.
“I’m proposing marriage to you.”
“…Pardon?”
“Your Highness!”
Lord Cheshire, standing behind him, cried out in shock.
Count Cryant and Lord Koenheim’s eyes widened as well.
The only one who fully understood what had been said—was the one who had spoken it.
