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“ What?”
“You said you were going to look for your brothers, yet I saw you with the prince of Raglas the entire time.”
The crown prince was acting strangely. He placed a hand on the pillar Retina had been leaning against and bent toward her. His usually sharp, hawk-like eyes softened slightly as he looked at her.
“You seemed to like him quite a bit. You brushed off the other nobles so coldly they couldn’t even talk to you, yet you spent ages conversing with him.”
“I only talked with the prince briefly because there were things we needed to discuss.”
“For you, is ‘briefly’ the time it takes to dance three waltzes?”
Some people had been forced to dance nonstop with clingy young ladies, without even a break—
Herald leaned close, until their noses were almost touching, refusing to listen to Retina’s excuses. His tone dripped with sarcasm, and she frowned in irritation.
What’s gotten into him all of a sudden?
Looking him straight in the eyes, Retina caught a faint whiff of alcohol on his breath. He’s drunk? But aside from picking a fight with her, he seemed perfectly lucid. No one else seemed to have noticed anything either.
She mentally counted on her fingers. One glass when the party started, another after dancing. Two glasses of champagne with her, so even if he drank more while dancing with other ladies, it couldn’t have been more than five in total.
Party champagne is low in alcohol. That amount shouldn’t get him drunk this much…
“What are you thinking about right now? Is Raglas’s prince so enchanting that you’d stand before the empire’s jewel and still think of another man?”
What on earth is he talking about?
Retina shoved away the hand that had gripped her chin and gave him a once-over.
“What are you even saying? I only met the prince for the first time today.”
“You’re the one who said you didn’t want to marry some noble husband, didn’t want a loveless match, weren’t interested in men at all—and yet you stuck by a prince you just met for three whole dances without showing the slightest caution?”
“I don’t know what Your Highness saw, but I treated him with proper courtesy and never behaved familiarly.”
“Didn’t you turn away every other young noble who tried to approach you? You must have had a reason for staying with the Raglas prince so long.”
Yup, he’s drunk.
Watching Herald nitpick about her time with the prince, Retina was convinced. She didn’t know why he was acting like this, but he seemed especially wary of Norden. Considering Raglas had been an enemy state for over a hundred years, it wasn’t surprising that there were no warm feelings between them.
Still, was it really okay to show open hostility to an invited royal guest?
“You can think whatever you want, Your Highness. But I can only tell you that it wasn’t like that.”
She couldn’t exactly admit that she’d been curious because the prince’s silver hair was the same color as hers. And even if Herald distrusted the prince, that didn’t explain why he was mad at her.
Why doesn’t he go take this out on the woman he’s actually looking for?
She snorted softly and reached for a champagne glass. After the talk with Norden and now bickering with the crown prince, her throat was dry.
“Ah!”
Herald suddenly snatched the glass from her and downed it in one gulp. That was mine! She was just about to scold him for stealing her drink when his head suddenly drooped forward as he stared at her.
“My head hurts.”
“Your Highness? Hey—Your Highness! Wake up!”
He muttered those few words and then collapsed against her. His body lost all strength as his face buried into her shoulder.
Now Retina was trapped between the pillar and the prince. She tried shaking him awake, but he only leaned more heavily on her, unmoving.
They might be hidden for the moment, but if anyone saw this, rumors would spread instantly. And if gossip started about her clinging to the crown prince at a party, her social life would be ruined. She had to get him off her, but he wasn’t waking up at all.
Why is he so heavy?!
Her arms, more accustomed to carrying textbooks than men, were no match for his build. She was more likely to fall over than to push him away.
Should I just leave him here? He was the crown prince—someone would pick him up eventually. Royals always had guards, didn’t they?
“Does the crown prince not have any bodyguards?”
“That’s not the case.”
She flinched at the sudden voice. A knight stepped out of the shadows.
“H-How long have you been there?”
“Since His Highness began talking about the Raglas prince.”
So… the entire time.
“You saw everything?”
Their childish bickering? Retina widened her eyes. The knight’s silence was answer enough.
Great. He saw everything.
At least it was a guard and not a gossip-hungry noble. Otherwise, scandalous rumors would already be flying.
“You’ll keep what you saw to yourself, right?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I was going to say.”
She helped the knight move the prince, draping Herald’s limp arm over his shoulders. She stood back and watched them head down a side passage—except Herald’s hand wouldn’t let go of her.
“Uh…”
She tugged at his hand, but it stayed locked around her. The knight gave her a look that clearly said, Pathetic.
I know this is ridiculous! But what am I supposed to do if he won’t let go?!
“…Will you accompany us to his chambers, then?”
Retina glanced at her aching feet. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to drop the royal deadweight, but it was better to move quickly than linger here.
“…Fine. Let’s go.”
They half-dragged, half-carried the prince through deserted hallways. The knight clearly knew these back routes well; this wasn’t his first time.
“This is His Highness’s bedchamber,” the knight finally announced.
They’d crossed the palace to the crown prince’s private wing. Retina barely kept her balance; she’d resisted the urge to fling off her glass slippers halfway there. Honestly, she wanted to throw him off more.
The servants opened the door in shock at the sight of their prince slumped between a knight and a young lady. As soon as they entered, Retina dumped Herald unceremoniously onto the bed and collapsed onto a stool.
“Are you badly hurt?”
“A little. The glass slippers are so hard, they made it worse.”
Her feet were already red and swollen, even with her shoes still on. By tomorrow they’d probably be too swollen to fit into anything.
“Would you like to rest here for a while?” the knight offered.
She wanted to. But this was the crown prince’s chamber.
“Are you sure that’s okay? This is His Highness’s room.”
“It will be fine.”
For you… he muttered, too quietly for her to catch. She tilted her head, but he didn’t repeat it. He simply told her to rest and left the room.
Click.
The moment the door shut, Retina kicked off her shoes without hesitation. Gone was her earlier hesitation about being in the prince’s room.
“Ugh, tomorrow’s going to be rough.”
Her feet were in worse shape than she’d expected. She lay back on the stool, exhausted. All the accumulated fatigue since arriving in the capital seemed to crash down at once.
“You seem awfully comfortable for someone who hesitated to lie down here earlier.”
Her eyelids snapped open at the sudden voice.
“You’re awake?!”
“Someone threw me onto the bed a little while ago. You were surprisingly rough—sobered me right up.”
He rubbed his head, wincing. She was about to apologize when she remembered why she was even here in the first place. She lifted her chin and shot back,
“Oh dear, I must have underestimated how heavy you were. If only Your Highness had fallen on that strapping knight instead of a delicate lady.”
She wanted to shove her swollen feet in his face, but the thought of her etiquette teacher made her hold back.
“You could’ve just left me with him.”
“Your imperial muscles wouldn’t let go of my neck. As a loyal citizen, what was I supposed to do?”
“That combative tone… You sound just like your brother.”
“Well, Sart was born that way. I just choose who I talk to like this.”
“Are you saying I’m someone worth choosing?”
Retina looked away, lips pressed shut. His eyebrow arched, clearly provoked. He thought for a moment, then asked,
“And the prince? He’s not someone you’d be cautious around?”
Seriously? That’s what’s on your mind?
She laughed helplessly. She’d expected him to be serious and boring, but he was surprisingly stubborn and petty. Once he fixated on something, he couldn’t let it go—apparently, Norden was that “something” this time.
Feeling mischievous, Retina sat up straighter, scratched her cheek, and pretended to hesitate.
“Well… if I’m being honest, the prince is someone I find appealing.”
Herald’s eyebrow shot up again.
