CH 76

And as Ophelia expected, Lawrence was staring at the two with an expression of bewilderment, astonishment, doubt, and so on.

But of course.

The aide called out the crown prince’s name and hit him on the arm. It would be stranger to not be surprised.

For now, Ophelia tried to deal with it.

“Oh… are you okay? You must have been very surprised.”

…It was so awkward, even if she read a Korean book, it would be more natural than that.

Moreover, in the meantime, a certain distance was maintained, so there was no way that anything would be delivered properly.

Lawrence struggled to raise his voice.

“Just… now. Didn’t you… call His Highness’ name?”

His jaw still rattled, and his pronunciation leaked a bit, but unfortunately, what he said could still be heard.

Ophelia tugged on Richard’s sleeve with a very panicked expression.

“How do I fix this…!”

“You don’t need to.”

“Huh?”

Richard directed a very simple nod towards Lawrence.

“You heard it right. She called my name. Ophelia is the only one in this world who can do that.”

Depending on how he heard it, no, if anyone heard it, they would take it to mean that him and her had each other in mind, and that they were in a relationship.

Frankly speaking, he was telling the truth as it was, but Ophelia was the only one who knew that fact.

‘Besides, even though I know he’s saying it as it is…’

Again, Ophelia involuntarily pressed hard against her heart. She couldn’t help it, for it tickled as if she had swallowed the fluff of a dandelion.

Then, she opened and closed her mouth over and over until she lowered her head.

How long had it been since the indescribable air descended into silence?

Lawrence managed to open his mouth.

“As expected, he didn’t just take you in as an aide.”

“Yes. Not just an aide.”

That was also… true. Before Ophelia was his aide, she was the only colleague who shared the damn bond of infinite regression with him.

However, the words Richard uttered this time were also enough to be misunderstood by anyone who heard them.

Ophelia knew very well that things were progressing strangely, but it was truly a bizarre situation that couldn’t be called a lie at all.

Furthermore… 

Ophelia had no intention of actively explaining that what Lawrence was thinking was just a misunderstanding.

She was very confused herself.

‘Why is my heart beating so fast?’

It swelled up like it was about to explode. Badump, badump, badump. Again, it was pounding.

Still, she wasn’t so flustered that her cheeks turned red or she couldn’t look directly at Richard.

The blue eyes, resembling the clear sky without a single cloud, were unexpectedly capturing Richard meticulously.

Something felt odd.

‘Him.’

Ophelia thought something was different.

‘Richard.’

It wasn’t an illusion or a feeling.

Yet, it also didn’t seem that peculiar and different.

Ophelia opened her mouth, but her throat choked up and she said nothing.

Instead, Lawrence spoke up.

He nodded with a subtly dejected expression.

“As expected.”

“As expected?”

“The reason Your Highness keeps Lady Bolsheik by your side.”

The reason why Ophelia suddenly became an aide without any verification or procedure, and why she had to stay by the crown prince’s side even though she was afraid of him.

In addition, in the situation where she was kidnapped, she was with him, and calling him by name.

Couldn’t it all be explained in one single word?

However, it wasn’t right to forcibly keep a young lady who was afraid of him, no matter if he was the crown prince.

Now was not the time to say such a thing, but as the next head of the Marquisate of Sheffield, he must speak directly to the next emperor.

The three people who were involved in the story, which was brought up based solely on facts, were diverse.

The usual calm and indifferent Richard.

Lawrence, realizing something, but not really at the same time.

And even Ophelia, who became serene because her head was whitened and empty from confusion.

Time ticked without anyone saying anything, having lost themselves in their own thoughts.

Richard held his hand out to Ophelia, and she reflexively clasped it.

Huk, it was like she was sucked into his arms. He whispered before she could even open her mouth.

(TL/N: I believe the first sentence is the author’s fancy and cute way of describing ‘he suddenly pulled her closer’ ^^)

“Come.”

No information on who, where, or what was coming, but Ophelia’s face hardened and she nodded.

“I’ll pretend to run away.”

“Good.”

It was easier than eating a piece of cake for the two of them to match their actions with just a few words on the spot without a plan.

After all, hadn’t they spent a lot of time together as they experienced the many regressions?

“Where I will be, you can see it, right?”

“Yes. Four, three… one.”

The moment Richard closed his mouth, Ophelia disappeared from his arms.

It was only natural that Lawrence’s eyes, which had not left them the moment their frames overlapped, widened to the point of tearing.

He couldn’t find Ophelia hiding in the dark, let alone her shadow.

It was unbelievable that her slender body, which seemed like it couldn’t even twist a chicken’s head, had been trained.

As Lawrence frantically scanned Ophelia’s vanished shadow, Richard said,

“You won’t be able to find her with your eyes. You should just stop.”

“How…”

“Don’t ask, because you won’t get any answers even if you ask.”

Lawrence’s lips parted again, but Richard raised his hand and put it on his shoulder.

“And the criminal who kidnapped Ophelia will appear right behind you, so focus on that.”

Lawrence clammed up at the ghastly voice that flowed through his ears.

—Tak.

—Tak. Tak. Tak.

The sound of heels hitting the stone floor was heard, and only a few minutes later…

The two men faced Raisa.

Seeing the figures covered entirely in cloaks, Raisa waved her hand without thinking.

“Back off.”

Until Ophelia was kidnapped, the only people who could come around here were her tools.

Whether or not they covered their faces with their cloaks, Raisa wouldn’t have had to check them.

Raisa took a step towards the warehouse, where Ophelia was locked up, and paused.

“What is it? Making me ask you to leave twice…”

She froze, unable to finish her words.

It was because, as if they had planned to do so, the two figures took off their cloaks and revealed their faces at the same time.

Raisa pursed her lips, but said nothing. This was something she never expected.

Since she kidnapped Ophelia, the crown prince’s aide, she expected that someone would come to find her.

However, the festival was in full swing, so she was confident that even if a large number of people were mobilized for the search, she would still have time to play with her.

She intended to play with her a little, then regress, play with a little more, then regress again, and play as much as she wanted until she felt better.

But… 

“Lady Neir.”

She never imagined she would ever hear a voice so low and sharp that it chilled her whole body, enough to convulse, as if a knife had entered her neck.

“My God, Neir? Raisa, of the Marquisate of Neir?”

The shocked voice that followed was also not what Raisa wanted to hear here.

“…Prince… Your Highness the Crown Prince. And Sir Sheffield.”

For the first time since Raisa discovered regression, she was at a loss for what to do.

What should she say to explain why she was in a place like this?

No, wait.

A place like this?

‘Where is this place?’

It was not a bloody storehouse of infinite pleasure. It was just a street corner.

Just passing by, she ran into the crown prince and the next Marquis of Sheffield.

‘Ah, the story will be simple.’

Just as Richard crossed the human category through countless infinite regressions, Raisa was no longer the Raisa of old.

She immediately put on a slightly frightened expression.

“Oh… how fortunate. I was just pretending to be strong because I was afraid to be alone in a place like this!”

Raisa spoke as if she had gone the wrong way and ended up in this place, and the two men’s reactions were markedly different.

Richard didn’t even flinch, his expression was the same as at the beginning, while Lawrence couldn’t seem to hide his confusion.

It wasn’t because Lawrence was stupid or lacking.

He simply didn’t know.

Except for Richard and Ophelia, no one knew that Raisa had changed enough to threaten Marchioness Neir, and even if they did, kidnapping the crown prince’s aide was a completely different matter.

Judging by the situation right in front of his eyes, Raisa Neir was an ordinary young lady who, drunk with the heat of the festival, strayed and wandered into this place, trembling in fear but trying to deal with it resolutely.

It might seem absurd to say that the only lineage of the Marquisate of Neir was ordinary, but she, like Catherine, had no power to defend herself in this alley, so in that respect she must be considered ordinary.

However, the words of His Highness the Crown Prince… 

“…the criminal who kidnapped Ophelia will appear right behind you…”

There was only one person who could be called the culprit.

Ame: I just love how the author constantly reminds us that it isn’t strange for Lawrence to not put it together immediately. Had she not done that, quite a few of us readers (who go through so many stories that we probably don’t remember half the things we read lol I’m guilty of that) will scold him in the comments (￣▽￣*)ゞ The whole regression raisa/neir/richard/ophelia thing ain’t 1+1, it’s an entire algebra differentiation problem worth 20 marks in the final year examinations 

I should put this in my NU review, I like how it flows off my tongue

Dea: Honestly i feel like Lawrence is quite intuitive, he figured out Richard likes Ophelia fairly quickly (Ophelia is still oblivious to it all… but i have hope she will see the light), and fair enough Lawrence did get some bits wrong but the spirit was there haha

I wonder how they’ll deal with Raisa now, will they just let her walk away?