CH 81.1

‘Will they come to find me?’

I paced around the room, waiting.

‘They said I should go alone to receive the prophecy, but surely someone will come to find me, right?’

But such a thing actually happened.

‘Not even a creaking sound.’

I pressed my ear against the door for a long time, but eventually gave up.

Am I… going to live here like this? There’s no way that’s going to happen. I looked around the room.

‘Is there no way to get out? Ah!’

I found a protruding brick on one of the walls. That…!

‘It’s a ventilation duct!’

The material with the perforated holes. That’s it.

The size of the ventilation duct seemed spacious enough for a child to fit through. I dragged a chair over and climbed on top of it.

‘If I go through the structure of the rooms earlier…’

It seemed like I could go a little further through the ventilation duct and shout for someone to help. I’m not sure how I ended up in this situation, though.

“Oh!”

The ventilation duct passage was short. I leaned my body out of the exit of the ventilation duct.

Where am I?

In that moment, I locked eyes with someone.

Very mysterious, unforgettable violet eyes. The owner of those violet eyes was standing on the opposite side of the window in the room.

‘…Cedric?’

It was definitely Cedric.

The older brother of Lavigne, the second prince.

Cedric was leaning on the window frame, with white curtains fluttering behind him, and his platinum blonde hair shining in the sunlight. It was sparkling, almost as brilliant as gold.

“…Princess?”

Cedric murmured as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. The thought that came to my mind at that moment was this.

‘This room has a window. If my room had one too, I wouldn’t have to resort to using the ventilation duct.’

But that’s not the important thing.

‘Was he just running away through the window?’

The shock of Cedric being here subsided for a moment as I assessed the situation.

I was halfway out of the ventilation duct, as if my body was protruding from the wall. It was truly a humiliating sight!

“Hello, princess.”

Cedric, who had been looking at me with wide eyes, smiled mischievously.

“We always seem to meet in strange situations.”

“That’s true.”

Why does it always end up like this when I meet this beautiful child?

Ugh, I bit my lip.

“Could you help me out first?”

Cedric held back his laughter and approached me.

Cedric grabbed my arm. Since the ventilation duct passage was high up, Cedric had to hold onto my waist and lower me down.

‘Even though he’s young, is he strong because he’s a boy? He has quite a bit of strength.’

Thud.

I leaned against Cedric’s chest and set my feet on the ground.

‘Did you grow taller?’

It seems like he has grown taller since I last saw him.

I looked into Cedric’s eyes. At this rate, he might catch up to Jade.

“Was the royal descendant who came here to hear the prophecy today the prince?”

The tunic I was wearing had been covered in dust.

After brushing off the dust for a while, I spoke. Let’s try to act casual if possible.

‘Because I’m already embarrassed.’

I held my head up high. I tried to imitate Callan. The demeanor of a noble, the demeanor of a noble.

“Yes, it was me.”

“But why did you…?”

It definitely looked like an escape pose.

“What about you, princess?”

“I came to listen to the prophecy too.”

“Oh, so the princess was the first one this year to receive the prophecy?”

“Yes.”

I answered briefly. Now it was Cedric’s turn to answer. Cedric wiped away his smile.

“I just didn’t want to hear it. I don’t believe in prophecies.”

“So you tried to run away?”

Saying it was an extremely expensive prophecy?

“Did you, by any chance…”

“Oh, no. It’s just that my room door was locked. So I was in the middle of escaping.”

I waved my hand. We’re not escape comrades. I added timidly.

“There’s no window in my room.”

Cedric tilted his head. I knew it sounded absurd.

“But is it allowed to escape?”

“Is there a reason it wouldn’t be? Prophecies don’t resonate with me. It feels like someone else dictating the future.”

Cedric’s response was unexpected.

He seems dignified and kind for a prince.

“Besides, it’s a waste of national funds. How much does a single prophecy cost?”

Prince Cedric is quite a good royal… Well, if you think about it, it’s a waste of taxes.

“Do they offer refunds? Besides, I heard prophecies can change.”

“If a prophecy can change, it’s even more of a waste of money. But, did someone lock the door?”

“We’ll find out when we go out, won’t we?”

I shrugged my shoulders.