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Chapter 37
“Mm, do you think we can really finish everything today? I feel like the schedule’s too tight.”
At Jaelyn’s cautious question, Sasha replied with confidence.
“Of course. As long as we keep track of time, we’ll be fine. Let’s have fun today!”
With a bright smile, Sasha looped her arm around Jaelyn’s.
“Uh, right.”
Faced with Sasha’s cheerful friendliness, Jaelyn couldn’t bring herself to say anything more.
“Don’t you ever get tired living like this?”
Adrian, who had been staring down at his papers, shook his head wearily.
“Not at all. Why would I be tired? I’m not tired one bit!”
“You’re really sticking with this plan?”
“Of course! Absolutely.”
Sasha answered while leaning her head affectionately against Jaelyn’s shoulder.
Adrian, realizing that the soft-hearted Jaelyn had already caved to Sasha, looked away at once.
He sent a desperate glance to Stephan and Lionel for help, but Stephan silently avoided his gaze, while Lionel only gave him a mocking grin.
Both Lionel and Stephan were all too familiar with this situation.
Lionel had known Sasha for a long time and was well aware of this side of her. Stephan, on the other hand, had suffered through it endlessly during their mock monster exams.
Normally, Lionel might have tried persuading Sasha to adjust the schedule somehow.
But since he was planning to drop out of the grueling afternoon march anyway, he felt no need to bother with the hassle.
“Seriously? You’re okay with this?”
Adrian protested, shaking Sasha’s itinerary right in front of their noses.
But the others, knowing how stubborn Sasha could be, simply resigned themselves to the situation.
“Alright! Chop-chop, move it! We’ve got a lot of places to hit.”
Sasha’s voice rang out, brimming with energy.
Under her command, Jaelyn and the rest sluggishly shuffled along like stretched-out springs.
Their suffocating schedule had begun.
Fortunately, the Imperial Palace wasn’t too far, so they managed to arrive right on time, exactly as Sasha’s itinerary dictated.
The entrance was packed with citizens of the Empire, all eager to catch a glimpse of the palace.
Normally, only the royal guards, palace servants, and officials serving the Flannel Empire were allowed inside, but today was one of the rare occasions when part of the palace was open to the public.
As long as one could prove their identity, they were allowed inside to view the open areas.
Jaelyn’s group joined the long line for identification. The line moved quickly.
Adrian stood with his arms crossed, tapping one foot nervously. Standing right behind him, Sasha noticed.
“What’s wrong? Are you cold? Why are you shaking your leg like a tree in the wind?”
After a pause, Adrian finally spoke.
“I need to use the bathroom.”
“You need to poop, Adrian? Our turn’s almost up, so hurry back!”
Stephan’s tactless shout drew stares and chuckles from people around them. Adrian’s ears immediately turned bright red.
“Are you insane?”
“What’s there to be embarrassed about? It’s a natural bodily function. Everyone—mmph!”
Adrian swiftly clamped his hand over Stephan’s mouth.
“Shut. Up.”
“Mmmph mmmph!”
Stephan flailed to pry Adrian’s hand off, but he wasn’t strong enough to break free.
“I’ll let go if you promise to stop.”
Eyes wide, Stephan nodded frantically. Adrian released him, and Stephan gasped for air.
But once Adrian stepped back, Stephan’s mouth immediately started running again.
“See? That’s what makes Adrian cute. He looks like the type who wouldn’t care at all about this stuff, but then he gets super embarrassed.”
Adrian’s face flushed crimson, as though blood might burst from his neck.
“Want to die?”
“Nope. But you’re in a rush, so go take care of business.”
“If I hear a single word while I’m gone—”
“Relax. I won’t say a thing.”
Stephan pretended to zip his lips. Adrian glared for a moment, then finally left.
“Our Adrian’s cute, isn’t he?”
Stephan’s cheerful voice made Lionel frown slightly. Sasha shuddered and flatly disagreed.
“No way. Where exactly? I seriously doubt your sense of aesthetics.”
Lionel silently agreed. The guy was huge, dark, and brooding—what part of that was supposed to be cute? Lionel simply couldn’t understand Stephan.
His eyes lingered briefly on Jaelyn. Beneath her high ponytail, her slender neckline was visible.
A few loose strands of hair fluttered against her ribbon, catching the sunlight streaming through the windows. Fine downy hairs on her neck shimmered like they were dancing.
Cute… that was something small, soft—something like that.
“It’s the contrast. He looks like he wouldn’t get embarrassed about something like this, but then he totally does. That’s the cute part.”
“…Sure. You can keep thinking that.”
Sasha replied dryly, completely unconvinced.
Time passed, and Adrian still hadn’t returned. It was almost their turn for identification, yet he hadn’t shown up.
“Why isn’t Adrian back yet?”
“See? Told you. The fact that he hasn’t come back proves it’s the big one.”
“At this rate, he’s manufacturing it himself in there.”
In the end, Adrian missed the ID check entirely and didn’t rejoin them until later.
“Do you think he’s okay? Nothing bad happened, right?”
At Jaelyn’s worried voice, Lionel, who was calmly reading the palace guidebook, reassured her.
“He’ll find his way in. We can start without him.”
The palace was dazzling. Even more so than the storybook illustrations Jaelyn had patiently waited to see as a child.
In the antechamber, grand chandeliers of crystal and gold hung from the ceiling, and the arched halls were covered wall to ceiling with delicate floral patterns and vines.
Everywhere she turned, there were marble sculptures and golden ornaments. Not a single corner was untouched by an artist’s hand. The palace itself was a masterpiece—a pinnacle of extravagance.
Jaelyn was lost in awe. Before long, they arrived in a room where portraits of past emperors lined the walls.
The portraits varied in height, hair color, and features, but they all had one thing in common: crimson eyes.
“They say all members of the imperial bloodline are born with red eyes. That way, no one can fake the bloodline.”
It was Adrian, who had rejoined them at some point.
“I see. That’s amazing. I wonder if there’s a portrait of the current prince.”
“You mean Prince Kaiser?” Sasha asked while standing next to Jaelyn.
“Mm-hm.”
“Probably not.”
“Aw, too bad. I was curious.”
“What’s the point of looking at his face?” Adrian muttered. He looked thoroughly uninterested in the palace, bored even.
“Just… curious. When I was little, the storybooks always had princes. You know, the prince shows up and saves the princess in danger. He’s always cool and kind. So I wondered what a real prince might be like…”
Jaelyn’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Seeing them made Adrian’s mood, which had been tolerable up to now, plummet sharply.
Did she seriously expect some cliché fairy-tale prince to appear out of nowhere and rescue her?
That sort of thing didn’t exist. No one should ever expect it to.
Frowning down at Jaelyn, Adrian finally spoke.
“What’s so special about him? Do you really think a real prince would save anyone? He’ll be too busy saving himself. Storybook princes are pure fantasy. In reality, no one’s a princess. The only one who can save you is yourself.”
“I—I know. I just meant, fairy tales are full of beautiful things, and princes are always described as so wonderful, so… I was just curious.”
Sasha, who had been listening, scolded him.
“Ugh, Adrian, you really don’t know how to talk nicely, do you?”
“But it’s the truth. How old is she? How long is she going to keep drowning in fantasies? Isn’t she past the age for that?”
“See? Grumbling again. That mouth of yours is the problem! So what if she has a few fantasies? And it’s not like Jaelyn ever asked to be rescued. Why are you putting words in her mouth?”
Stephan sided with Sasha.
“Exactly. As a citizen of the Flannel Empire, Jaelyn has every right to be curious about the royal family.”
He nodded solemnly, then added:
“And what’s wrong with fantasies? I’d love for a prince to just pop up out of nowhere and shower me with money.”
At that moment, Lionel, who had been silent until now, joined in with a sly smile.
“Maybe the prince of Flannel isn’t confident he can live up to the perfection expected of a storybook prince.”
His words carried a certain weight. Sasha agreed.
“That’s true. Now that I think about it, I’ve never actually seen Prince Kaiser’s face either. What if he’s really ugly? You’d think someone of his status would at least show up at an official event once in a while, but he never does. Isn’t that strange? Lionel, have you ever seen him?”
“Yeah. A couple of times when I was a kid.”
“Oh? What was he like? Tell us, I’m dying to know!” Stephan asked eagerly.
“Well… it was so long ago I barely remember. Hmm…”
Lionel paused, as if choosing his words carefully, then spoke again with great caution.
“I don’t know if I should say this, but… yeah, he was really ugly. Just like you said. And his personality was awful. Even at that young age, he was selfish and willful.”
Lionel gave a troubled laugh.
