CH 34

A mischievous smile spread across Lewicia's face. The escort knight who followed him like a shadow every day asked allusively.

“Are you having a good day?”

"Me?"

"You've been smiling since earlier."

"I usually smile a lot."

"Still, this is the first time I’ve seen you smile like that alone while walking."

"Did I smile like a pervert?"

Lewicia looked at his reflection in the window glass. His face was not particularly different in his eyes, but his escort guard behind him laughed and said, "You probably won't know".

"Lady Yulia is coming this way."

At these words, Lewicia felt a tingling sensation in his heart. He was just imagining it by himself, but it felt like his thoughts had been exposed.

"Your Highness."

"What is going on?"

Lewicia put his hands behind him, and straightened his back. His voice, which was originally soft, came out in a low-pitched tone. He was satisfied with how he looked like a prestigious member of the royal family.

However, Yulia spoke without even making eye contact with him.

"The Liberation Army is apparently distributing inflammatory handouts at the port. Right now, the Department of the Royal Household is agitated because of that. Did you know?"

"Right, the liberation... The Liberation Army?"

"Yes, I brought a copy."

Yulia held out the paper she was holding. Lewicia accepted the paper with a sour face. It was densely packed with words that appeared to have been copied by someone.

"I am not very interested in these guys."

"Then you should pay attention from now on."

"Why?"

"The commander of the Southern Fleet is going to be replaced soon. It means that a new admiral will be appointed, but if Ortega's youth is stirring up the people by spreading things like this at the port..."

"He will be dumbfounded and angry."

"The Emperor will hear about it."

Lewicia quickly hardened his expression.

Ortega was the only country that preserved its borders without any damage during the war of conquest initiated by the Baikan Empire.

It was because the King fell on all fours and crawled in front of the Emperor at the time.

Instead of conquering Ortega, the Emperor, who had received a declaration of surrender before a fight could even break out, turned back, satisfied with having his imperial fleet stationed in the southern sea.

The 'protective alliance' was actually a fancy term that the King made up to appease the nobles, and Ortega was treated no differently from a vassal state or colony in the Baikan Empire.

The Liberation Army. As soon as the newly appointed admiral reports to the Emperor that there are disturbing forces in Ortega and that they are dreaming of independence, the entire Southern Fleet will open fire on Ortega.

Lewicia, who had become serious, asked Yulia.

"My father probably already knows?"

"It seems that the Department of the Royal Household reported it right away. He is probably reading this by now."

"Are they all going to be killed?"

Lewicia asked coldly. But when he said that, he looked sick like a person whose face had been stabbed with a knife.

"The King will order their execution."

Yulia didn't speak in a roundabout way.

In all of her past lives, the Liberation Army was always brutally executed. One time, the square in front of the palace was filled with the bodies of the young men of the Liberation Army, to the point that there was no day for the blood to dry up.

It won't be different this time either. Since Carus Lankea appeared a year earlier in this lifetime, the movement of the Liberation Army was likely to accelerate accordingly.

"I need to go to a place where nobles gather."

Lewicia murmured. It seemed that he wanted to go around the nobles' social meeting places outside the palace and find out what they thought about this matter.

Yulia nodded her head in agreement. Lewicia was a person who had to take a different path from the King or Marjoram, so it was better to listen to as many people as possible for now.

"You have to go there in secret. If rumors circulate that Your Highness is meeting nobles and asserting independence from the Empire, you will be attacked before you even become a candidate for the throne."

"I am from the royal family. Is it even possible to go out secretly?"

Lewicia's escort knights nodded as if they agreed with his words.

All royal outings were to be recorded. And for the safety of the royal family, escorts and attendants followed in line behind them.

"I wonder if I could disguise myself as someone else..."

Just then, a very good idea came to Yulia.

"Put on a dress."

Lewicia asked back.

"A dress?"

Prince Lewicia was a beautiful person. He wasn't a glamorous or powerful beauty, but he had thin lines and a soft appearance for a man. That's why fancy clothes and jewelry always looked good on him.

Yulia said confidently.

"No one will recognize you."

Lewicia looked like he didn't know what to say.

"Still, it's a little bit..."

He was a man. There were many physical differences between men and women. But Yulia confidently said that a simple trick could make up for those differences.

"I’ll transform you into a completely different person."

It was not difficult to obtain a dress. There were several sets of clothes meant for guests in the Prince's palace, and among them, there was a dress made to be worn by anyone, regardless of body shape, as it could be fastened with a string.

They used Coco's cosmetics and wig, and the Prince already had many accessories.

"Look."

Yulia, who finished dressing him up, spoke confidently.

Lewicia had truly become a different person.

The black dress, diamond-encrusted necklace, pearl-colored gloves, and layered belt were alluring.

Coco looked at Lewicia's appearance, speechless. He stood close to the mirror, and was busy looking at his face. Since earlier, exclamations had been pouring out of his mouth.

"I kind of..."

"Do not say anything."

"...look pretty."

Coco couldn't find any words to refute. Because he was indeed pretty.

His long blonde hair was curled up and hung to one side, and his rich bangs and braided hair were connected with a decorative wig. Dark eye makeup was applied to reveal a little decadent beauty and contrasted with the pale lips while the face was shaded to look rounder.

His musculature was hidden while his skinny wrists and collarbones were exposed, and a thick necklace was wrapped around his neck.

In that way, Prince Lewicia disappeared, only leaving a seductive lady in his place.

She thought that he was originally a beautiful person, but after dressing him up like this, she came to believe that Ortega's most beautiful woman was not the King's favorite concubine, but his son, Prince Lewicia.

"What if I go out like this and men fall for me? It's giving me goosebumps just thinking about it."

Coco wanted to retort by asking him what kind of nonsense he was talking about. If a woman had said that in front of her, she would have laughed out loud.

However, she couldn't laugh now as she thought that such a thing might actually happen.

"I might fall in love with myself."

Lewicia smiled in satisfaction. His sullen attitude, which bordered on anger, when she first offered to dress him up as a woman, had completely disappeared.

"Yulia is right. No one will recognize me. If someone finds out, then they're a really weird fella."

"You can freely mingle with anyone, and it will be advantageous when going in and out of the palace. While the outings of the royal family draw a lot of attention, at least dozens of unknown ladies come and go every day. It won't even be recorded."

"Right. It means that I didn't have to try that hard going out secretly?"

"Try not to talk as much as possible. Pretend to whisper in my ear when I'm with you. Then I'll make up a story accordingly. If anyone asks, I'll say you have a sore throat."

"Good."

"Try to act arrogant like a lady. People who like to talk pretend to be indifferent, and want to tell more to those who listen in moderation."

The preparations were over. Yulia put her long hair up in a hat, and dressed like a maid who was serving Lewicia.

"Shall we go?"

Yulia reached out to Lewicia without much thought.

He stood still and stared at Yulia's hand.

"Your Highness?"

"It's nothing."

Lewicia grabbed Yulia's hand.

"I can't help it until I get used to these shoes. I might be caught if I fall in an unsightly way."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Don’t let go, hold on tight."

He could have hold the escort knight's hand. Yulia remembered the escort knight who followed Lewicia like a shadow.

But then again, men don't like holding hands with other men.

"I will hold it well. Don't worry."

"If I fall, it's your fault. Understood?"

Yulia nodded without much thought this time as well. With one hand, she was holding Lewicia's hand tightly.

Coco, who had been looking at the scene without a word, sighed loudly as if to let others hear it on purpose, then lowered the corners of her mouth, twisted her lips in an oblique line and began to speak sarcastically.

"Are you three years old? Those shoes don't even have heels, and the soles are soft. Why would you fall when you purposely chose to wear comfortable shoes to avoid looking too tall and standing out? If you fall while wearing them, Your Highness has learned to walk incorrectly."

"It’s because I’m not used to it. Besides, the dress is heavy and uncomfortable."

"Why would that dress be heavy? The light armor that Your Highness wears whenever he goes out must be much heavier than that? Did you suddenly lose your strength? Oh my god. Shall I spoon-feed you now, Your Highness Baby Lewicia?"

"Coco, shut up."

"I don't want to."

"Don’t be jealous that we go out to play together. Why are you taking out your anger on me for not having friends?"

Yulia saw Coco swear silently again. Thinking that they would start a fight before having a chance to go out, she hurriedly pulled Lewicia's hand.