RAMHM Chapter 85

If That's What You Call a Friend, I Never Had Any

The Crown Prince's shocked expression was quite something to behold. The moment I challenged him on the very law he had championed with his full support, he fell silent as a mute who'd swallowed honey, his gaze shifting to Rhodness. His eyes pleaded for help. I followed the Crown Prince's gaze to Rhodness as well. Rhodness looked equally flustered. I smiled faintly at Rhodness. Watching the corner of my mouth lift, Rhodness sighed deeply enough for me to hear and nodded.

"It appears so, Your Highness."

Words lending me his support. When even Rhodness—his last hope—sided with me, the Crown Prince looked truly troubled, pressing his hand to his forehead. Yet even then, he kept glancing at Rhodness for quite some time. Perhaps their relationship had grown awkward after Novian confessed that the Crown Prince had pressured him into marrying me. The Crown Prince drummed his fingers on the sofa's armrest for a long while before finally speaking.

"I will consider it, Madam."

"……."

Even I thought my proposal was rather sudden. But since my words were not wrong, it was natural for the Crown Prince to be deeply troubled. To object simply because I was a woman would ensnare the Marchioness of Wynster—his grandmother and one of his greatest power bases. Of course, I had calculated precisely that far before speaking, which was why I held my head high with confidence.

"Even if it were approved, there would not be much you could do immediately, Madam. If you simply wish to avoid having your future decided through marriage again, I understand completely, but……."

"No. I wish to serve Your Imperial Highness closely."

"……."

"I am certain I could be of tremendous help to Your Highness."

Bardenaldo's eyes flickered with interest for the briefest moment before it faded. He seemed to realize this was not the place to show such curiosity.

"I am certain there are matters where you will need my assistance."

At those words—spoken with such strong conviction while looking him straight in the eye—the Crown Prince's eyes rippled once more. And exactly one week later, Ninth Prince Epero, who had been studying abroad in Ellaconia, returned to Ronteaux without any prior notice whatsoever.

The moment Gaspar received the newspaper, he rushed to the dining room. Bliea sat there oddly, eating her meal like the mistress of this estate.

"Madam! Look at this!"

The news of Ninth Prince Epero's return occupied the front page. Bliea finished her meal without particular reaction and rinsed her mouth.

"Madam! Why do you say nothing?"

"What should I say?"

"I…… I did what you commanded……."

"Butler."

At the hastily begun words, Bliea hardened her expression and shot him a look. Gaspar fell silent, watching Bliea glare at him with one eyebrow raised high in displeasure.

"What did I command you that has you making such a fuss?"

Ah. This vixen of a woman was going to pretend ignorance. Gaspar recalled exactly one week ago. He had been overjoyed when Bliea said she would take him to the Imperial Palace. It had been a helping hand extended when he was dejected that he could not contact the Crown Prince. But Bliea's help had not been pure goodwill.

'Write a letter to Prince Epero.'

'Pardon?'

'In Novian Trovika's handwriting. The Emperor's birthday is just around the corner—how can a son have sent not a single word? Say His Majesty misses him greatly.'

'Madam!'

'You have already been abandoned by His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince. If he cared for you, would there still be no word after all this time since the Grand Duke's fall? Even if you did receive contact, at best you would be sent to some nameless corner of the north following His Grace the Grand Duke. According to protocol, should you not be going to attend His Grace the Grand Duke?'

When she entered the palace, he had entered with her and confronted the attendant in charge of the Crown Prince's correspondence. The attendant's eyes widened the moment he saw him, immediately making excuses. Since the Grand Duke's fall, letters had flooded in like a tide, and most private correspondence had been filtered out—such was his excuse. With keen perception, Gaspar realized he had been abandoned. So just as Bliea had instructed, while the attendant briefly stepped away, he placed the letter he had written to Ninth Prince Epero inside an envelope from the Crown Prince's palace, stamped it with the letter wax seal, and left it among the letters to be sent by carrier pigeon. Now the results were in his hands! Gaspar still lost sleep just remembering that day. He had been terrified of being caught. Recalling those anxious hours made him feel wronged. But whether he did or not, Bliea rose from her seat and rang the bell. The maids who quickly brought her outerwear moved with crisp efficiency.

"I will enter the palace today, so please take good care of the estate, Butler."

"Madam, please do not just pretend not to know……."

Wanting recognition for his contribution, Gaspar approached a bit closer. That was when it happened.

"Madam! Second Prince His Highness has arrived."

Neil's booming voice entered the dining room. Startled, Bliea's eyes sparkled as she grinned at Gaspar.

"……So it seems. If I tell Second Prince His Highness about your contribution……."

"Have a safe journey."

The moment he heard the Second Prince had arrived, Gaspar reflexively felt suffocated. Being noticed by him or having Bliea speak to that prince about him—both were absolutely unacceptable.

The moment I shook off the clinging Gaspar and stepped outside, Rhodness stood there. Wrapped in black fur, Rhodness resembled a massive, beautiful black panther.

"Thank you for coming, Your Highness."

Without asking why he had come, I immediately offered my thanks. Neil had undoubtedly shared my schedule with him. Without greeting me, Rhodness simply stood there staring down at me, waiting for more words. When I kept my expression pleasant and remained silent, his handsome brow gradually narrowed.

"Is that all?"

"……Are you angry with me about something?"

"Not at all."

As if. After staring at me wordlessly for quite some time, Rhodness walked with slightly angry steps, yanked the carriage door open, and extended his hand to me. Throughout the entire ride to the Imperial Palace, Rhodness glared only at my mouth. Unable to bear it any longer, I snapped in a low voice.

"What on earth is the matter? If you have complaints, say them aloud!"

"I have no complaints."

I narrowed my eyes in a face that showed complete disbelief.

"……I missed you after not seeing you for a few days. Is that acceptable?"

I lost all words, staring at Rhodness who turned his head to look out the window the moment his words ended. Propping his arm on the small carriage table, gazing out the window as if indifferent—at first glance he appeared composed, but his red eyes, flickering and gleaming each time sunlight passed over them, rippled with complex emotions. These past few days, I had been holed up in the Grand Ducal Estate organizing my thoughts, maintaining no contact with anyone.

"……Are you normally this indifferent to your friends?"

Still looking out the window, he tossed out those words, pretending to be nonchalant.

"Am I indifferent?"

"No matter how long I waited, there was not a single letter."

An indifferent face that did not want to show sulking but desperately wanted me to understand his feelings—it struck me directly in the eye like a poke.

Cute.

……Oh no. Had I lost my mind? A man several times my size. With sharp eyes and chiseled features that left no opening, who constantly frowned and hurled harsh words at his aides. That such a man roundaboutly asking if I was being indifferent to him felt unbearably cute.

'Does he want to hear me say I missed him again?'

He had mustered such courage to say it……. I fidgeted with my fingers, debating whether I should or should not say those words again in this situation. Somehow my scalp felt tingly. I suppressed the emotion trying to rise and covered my mouth with my fan. I felt as though a pfft of laughter might escape any moment. If Neil heard me thinking Rhodness was cute, he would pretend to vomit, but that was how he looked to me. A face I wanted to rush over to, embrace tightly, and stroke his cheek immediately. I finished managing my expression, lowered my fan, and primly made my excuse.

"No, I think I am quite an affectionate friend?"

"……In what way."

He still would not look at my face.

"I once had a friend I liked most in the world."

At the words "a friend I liked most in the world," Rhodness's eyebrows crumpled mercilessly as he gave me his gaze with quite a rebellious expression.

"Who."

"Almost every day, I wrote letters to that friend like writing a diary. When I was sad, I wrote letters whining that I was sad, and when I was happy, I wrote letters as if boasting that I was happy."

"Who is it, that person."

"I am embarrassed, but for the first time in my life I held hands with that friend. We even kissed."

Rhodness's face hardened terrifyingly. The arm that had been casually propping his chin now firmly crossed over his chest, and he sat with his legs crossed as if closing the door to his heart, his jaw trembling slightly as he pretended otherwise and lifted his chin slightly as if to say, go on.

"Is this not quite an affectionate friend? So please do not misunderstand that I am an indifferent person."

"If that is what you call a friend, I never had any."

Even though the carriage had stopped in front of the Crown Prince's palace, Rhodness simply looked at me with a face full of stubborn defiance, as if daring me to continue. I laughed softly and extended my hand to him first.

"Who is it, why will you not answer? If I meet His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince like this, I will not be able to hear the answer."

His voice had turned sulky, and laughter rose to the tip of my throat, too much to contain any longer. I extended my hand further.

"Who else? An. It is you."

"……What?"

Suddenly embarrassed, I jumped down from the carriage without an escort. Thud-thud-thud—the sound came along with Rhodness hastily following after me. I tried to hurry into the Crown Prince's palace, but he grasped my arm firmly enough not to hurt and turned me around. Rhodness's face looked slightly dazed but flushed.

"I…… remember holding hands. When did we ki…… do that?"

"You will not remember."

When I spoke primly again and tried to turn away, Rhodness's grip tightened.

"That cannot be."

"It can. I did it secretly while Your Highness was dozing off and ran away."

This time I shook free lightly, and my arm came free. His roughly rippling red eyes looked at me as if unable to believe it, even containing a hint of betrayal.

After standing dazed for quite some time, Rhodness followed close on my heels. When we arrived, the audience chamber doors were already wide open. Looking straight ahead with a faintly flushed face, I was startled to see the people inside the audience chamber.

"You have arrived, Madam."

Beside the Crown Prince, whose face looked drained of energy, stood people I had never seen before in my life. One I could identify immediately. Ninth Prince Epero. The handsome youth who was the spitting image of Crown Prince Bardenaldo's red hair and blue eyes was unmistakably Ronteaux royalty itself. The difference was that unlike the Crown Prince's gentle impression, he had fiercely upturned eyes and disheveled hair. He wore accessories dangling all over his body so chaotically that he could hardly be considered royalty.