Chapter 11

By Antoinette Vanessa November 14, 2022

Two months had passed since Daisy fell into her coma.

Ever since my engagement with Daisy was annulled, everything gradually went awry, as if a gear had gone missing. I have never had to do any work for the student council before, yet the workload increased, preventing me from being able to study properly. As a result, my ranking dropped significantly. To top it off, be it at the academy or the royal palace, everyone only gazed at me with contempt, adding to my frustration.

“From now on, there’ll be a change to my prince education. I won’t be able to assist with your duties anymore.”

Jake, who rarely visited my office, made the same smile as my mother during yesterday’s tea party.

“…What do you mean by that? How’s it going to change? No, rather than that, I don’t want my workload to increase any further.”

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have given such an answer in fear of being seen as weak. However, I was already so cornered, I did it without realizing.

“My brother, I admire your resoluteness.”

“…My resoluteness?”

“Indeed. After all, despite being aware of how much you needed Lady Daisy, you still dissolved your engagement with her for the sake of the kingdom.”

“What are you talking about? I chose Lula because she’s the one I truly cherish…”

“…Because of so-called ‘true love’, is it? How laughable. My brother, at this rate, even the nobles will jeer at you.”

“What did you say—!?”

“Even though I—the second prince, and Blake—the third prince, are prepared to marry anyone for the sake of the kingdom, here you are, declaring that you married because of true love despite being the first prince.”

“D-don’t forget, Lula is a saint…”

“That she is, and you married her for that reason, right? Not for your own vanity, but for the sake of this kingdom, right?”

“Y-yes, that’s correct… It’s for the sake of this kingdom, for I’ll eventually be crowned as the king.”

“I see, you intend to be king. Hence why I have to applaud your resoluteness—!”

“But it’s only natural that I, the first prince, will ascend to the throne.”

“Which means, you’ll have to master the language of the Alterna Empire and the Kingdom of Salt! You’ll also supplement it with other courses, right? And here I thought that you didn’t like to study much, but you’re willing to strive that far for the kingdom. As expected of my brother!”

I couldn’t understand what Jake meant.

“Why should I…?”

“Eh? In order to become the crown prince, you’re required to be proficient in at least three neighboring languages. If the crown prince himself doesn’t meet the requirement, then his fiancée is free to substitute for him. Until now, because your fiancée was able to complement you, you met the requirement. You know what I’m getting at, right?”

“…”

“Do you think that Lady Lula will be able to accommodate you the same way? In my opinion, she’ll just commit an even greater mistake. But if you think about it, her blunder also counts as your blunder, right? But who knows, for my brother’s ideal is too advanced for me to comprehend.”

I felt something else lurking behind Jake’s smile.

“In order to become the crown prince, you’ll have to dedicate yourself to your studies, right? Then, I shall consult with His Majesty the King about how you’re too preoccupied with other matters to do your work.”

“Stop—! Don’t say that to Father—!”

“Huh, but my brother is obviously busy, isn’t he?”

“T, that’s… I, I know! Once Daisy wakes up, everything’ll return to normal! She’ll fill in for me, and everything’ll be alright!”

“…Brother, you’re being incoherent right now. Please get some rest.”

“What—!?”

“Until now, you have been riding the privilege of having your fiancée to support you. However, things have changed. With something as shameful as that, there’s no way the parliament would allow a concubine to assume the crown prince’s duties. Moreover, there’s absolutely no way for Lady Daisy to be appointed as your concubine.”

“…What, why?”

“That’s just how it is. Besides, it has already been proven that Lady Daisy herself objects to it.”

“No, it’s absolutely what she wants. She’ll want to support me forever, even as a concubine.”

After all, Daisy truly admired me.

“Daisy, I swear that I’ll cherish you for the rest of my life. Therefore, always believe in me and stay with me.”

After all, when I said those words, she blushed profusely.

Since then, she never disobeyed me, and always did everything she could for my sake.

—Surely, nothing would change after she woke up.

As long as Daisy woke up and offered to be my concubine, everything’d be the same as before.

“The moment a miracle occurred to you, you lost sight of what was truly important. Had you asked anyone a single question, you would’ve been able to figure it out. No, had you spared a single thought, you would’ve been able to arrive at the truth.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Previously, didn’t you claim that you woke up thanks to the saint? You mentioned that amidst your suffering, you were graced with warmth.”

“Indeed, which is why I fell for Lula. Her warmth delivered me from the brink of death, and saved my life. For that reason, Lula is my one and only true love.”

“Also, you said that it’s only natural for you to fall in love with your benefactor, right? If that’s the case, then everyone should be falling in love with their doctors.”

“That’s…”

“The saint merely paid you a visit a moment before the miracle happened. Moments before that, Lady Daisy was the one accompanying you. For those entire two weeks, Lady Daisy held your hand, wishing for your recovery. There, I’ve said so much already. Surely, even you can understand that the warmth you felt came from Lady Daisy.”

Until the end, Jake kept on smiling, but I finally noticed that his gaze was as cold as mother’s.

“Since Lady Daisy isn’t a saint, she couldn’t possibly perform a miracle to cure your ailment. Despite that, if the warmth of her hands was what healed you, then that must be the true miracle.”

Upon hearing the full truth from Jake, my feet buckled from shock—

—everything I believed in was a lie.

…Even so, I still believed.

Surely, I could still make it.

Surely, once Daisy woke up, she’d support me as before.