RFNM 08

Chapter 08

“Did you have a good conversation? Any results?”

William, who had been waiting, asked as soon as Leonhard returned.

Leonhard tossed his gloves onto the table and said,

“We agreed to have tea together tomorrow.”

“Has Your Highness really been charmed by her face? The princess must have terrible taste.”

Eric, who was cleaning a dagger nearby, asked in surprise, but Leonhard ignored him lightly.

William then asked him,

“Your Highness, does the princess already know that we crossed the Lesher Desert?”

“It didn’t seem like she knew. It was right to make the first move. Or perhaps she is pretending not to know.”

Leonhard sat on the sofa and clasped his hands behind his neck.

“The princess is the one who found and killed Noctis Glaston, the Dark King. We need to keep a close watch on her.”

“How did the princess even find out that classified information about Noctis Glaston being the Dark King?”

“She is the royal artifact administrator. She likely has access to other sacred relics we don’t know about.”

Leonhard then straightened up and pulled out a sheet of paper from inside his coat.

It was filled with unreadable characters, just like the parchment he had previously thrown to his subordinates.

“The princess has no holy power, but she has actively taken part in many incidents. She might be the most dangerous—and also the most necessary—person for us.”

His low, heavy voice echoed through the study. His expression was extremely serious.

However, that solemn look soon disappeared as he suddenly burst into laughter, remembering something.

“Your Highness? What is it?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

Even William and Eric were puzzled by the sudden laughter, but even Leonhard himself seemed surprised.

He quickly stood up and used the excuse of changing clothes to head into the bedroom.

Yet in his mind, the image of the girl who had suddenly stood up earlier kept replaying vividly.

—I cannot accept Your Highness’s proposal…

Was she extremely narcissistic? Or simply tired of receiving too many proposals? Or both?

Of course, the princess was very beautiful.

He had heard that Saint Aurora was so beautiful it could make one go blind, but Princess Charlotte was no less.

Her cloud-like pink hair made one want to reach out and touch it. Her gently curved eyes and round green irises looked like star candies that trembled when poked.

Her personality, however… was apparently on a completely different level compared to other princesses from different kingdoms.

She had even seemed ready to punch him while still smiling.

Charlotte did not know it, but Leonhard had clearly noticed her tightly clenched fist hidden in her sleeve.

—Before leaving, his younger brother’s words suddenly came to mind like lightning.

“Brother, Princess Charlotte is famous for her beauty, but also for her strange personality. She’s probably as terrifying as the women of Blake.”

Who in the world would even consider hitting a prince of another empire? Normally they would slap him for disrespect or call their attendants.

“…She didn’t look like someone who would be choosing a husband at a founding banquet.”

She seemed more suited to looking beyond vast lands rather than being confined to a small estate and tending to its people.

Leonhard shook his head lightly.

“What am I even thinking? Did William’s suggestion about proposing mess with my head?”

He changed clothes and sat at his desk to finish the remaining documents.

A few hours later, Aurora visited the princess’s palace.

Aurora approached me suddenly and said without even catching her breath,

“Charlotte. Don’t get close to Prince Leonhard. If possible, don’t even talk to him before he returns.”

“Why?”

I had just had a pleasant conversation with him and even set up a tea time for tomorrow, so I asked in confusion.

“Did you hear from the Owls? He crossed the Lesher Desert with his royal guards. There must be some reason.”

“I heard that, but I heard it directly from Prince Leonhard himself, not the Owls.”

Aurora blinked in disbelief as I explained everything that had happened.

“Aurora, Prince Leonhard doesn’t seem like someone we need to be that cautious about. He even gave me a gift.”

I took out the gift and handed it to her.

“It’s a mana stone called the Tear of Deligno. They say it can be used to create powerful magical items.”

Since Singkester was a sacred kingdom, most citizens used holy relics, and Aurora, the Saint, was not very familiar with mana stones.

“…Let me check if there’s any trap magic on it.”

Aurora placed her hand above the stone.

A golden butterfly appeared on the back of her hand, and golden threads extended from her fingers into the mana stone.

It was Aurora’s sacred power.

“Your holy power is always so beautiful.”

“Ah… I see.”

Perhaps feeling awkward in front of someone who couldn’t use holy power, Aurora quickly withdrew it.

But I truly didn’t mind.

It had already been nine years since I lived without holy power, and honestly, having power usually meant getting dragged into troublesome situations.

“Aurora, is there no magic on it?”

“No. But that makes it even more suspicious. It feels like he revealed this to you just to cover the fact that we already discovered his movements.”

“You’re being too suspicious. He only crossed the Lesher Desert.”

“He’s still a prince of Blake. People from that country are not to be trusted easily.”

Then Aurora suddenly grabbed my hands.

“Charlotte. Since you’re planning to leave anyway, it’s better to forget royal duties. But… I still feel sad that you’re going on a journey.”

“Aurora.”

“You’re like my sister. Do you really have to go?”

“There’s no real reason… not to go.”

“There are plenty of handsome men in Singkester. If you stayed, His Majesty would even support passing polygamy reforms in the noble council.”

I was impressed by her kindness, but also a little guilty.

“I want multinational handsome men. And I have to travel the world to find them.”

“I’m going crazy.”

“Just kidding.”

I stood up and hugged Aurora tightly.

“I’ll be back. This is still my home.”

“…Alright. But still, don’t lower your guard against Prince Leonhard.”

Since I had accepted the gift and agreed to meet him, I couldn’t cancel the tea time with Prince Leonhard.

Not because he was handsome—really not.

I had once refused his visit due to dress preparations, and refusing again could escalate into a diplomatic issue.

Even Erdan said it was better to go.

I prepared tea and desserts on the garden terrace and waited.

However, Leonhard arrived exactly 34 minutes late, which made my maids frown.

Just as I was about to complain, I noticed several royal knights behind him and widened my eyes.

“Your Highness, why are there royal knights behind you?”

Leonhard looked slightly different from his confident self yesterday. After hesitating, he admitted,

“I got lost… and received help.”

“Pardon? Really?”

His face turned red, and this time I was the one who burst out laughing.

“How do you even get lost in our palace? Isn’t Blake much bigger? Ten or twenty times larger than Singkester!”

“Let’s not talk about that. It’s not interesting.”

He sat down with a displeased expression.

Despite his large build, he awkwardly sipped tea like a child, which only made him look even funnier.

‘Well, without a map app, it’s not surprising someone gets lost in a palace this big. Fiction characters really must have antennas in their heads.’

His slightly flushed face was far too amusing and oddly cute.

I barely held back my laughter with a fan.

“Alright. I’ll forgive your lateness this time.”

“…Thank you.”

Leonhard reluctantly thanked me, and I couldn’t help but laugh again.