CH 100

“Ri!”

Ophelia spat out the first syllable of Richard’s name and hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand.

It came out like a dying scream, so everyone’s eyes focused on her for an instant.

But Ophelia smiled awkwardly, took a step back, and only shook her head.

Normally, both Iris and Cooper would have turned to her and asked what was going on.

But wasn’t it a completely different situation now?

The gazes, which reflexively turned to the loud sound, focused on Richard again.

“Your Highness? Your… Your Highness?”

Stunned, Cooper only called out to Richard. Iris added a few more words after that.

“Your Highness, now… that’s…”

However, she couldn’t bear to say the word ‘love’, so she just opened and closed her mouth again and again.

It was natural.

In a place she never thought of, at a time she never thought of, she heard something she never thought of.

What she heard was nothing else.

“The one you love?”

Cooper’s mouth opened, and he spluttered like a baby saying his first words.

“Oh my God, my God. Lord.”

Muttering to the god he only looked for in the temple, Cooper appeared as though he had lost his mind, but as if he had finally recognized reality, he swallowed dry saliva and asked.

“Will I be able to serve Her Highness?”

“I never told you not to attend.”

“That means she’s interested!”

“Yes.”

At the simple and neat answer, Cooper unknowingly raised both hands in hurray, but managed to recollect himself in a second and get them down.

“Ah, ahem. Then I’ll prepare it one by one. First of all, a small gift and a letter.”

“Not required.”

“Your Highness! No, I’ve been telling you for a while, you have to show sincerity…”

“She prefers to be with me rather than gifts and letters.”

“What?”

“What? Are you already that close?”

This time, not only Cooper, but also Iris, who had been listening with bated breath, asked back in surprise.

And Ophelia, who was by Iris’ side, just bowed her head, covering her reddened ears with both her hands.

A satisfied smile spread on Richard’s lips as he glanced at such an Ophelia.

Smiling to the point his eyes curved… anyone could see that he was smiling! Seeing that, Cooper and Iris said,

“Your Highness, please tell me which family the crown princess is from so that I can pay her, no— say thank you.”

“Please let me know so that I can go to the crown princess.”

Ophelia shook her head as she drew a ‘X’ mark with her arms at Cooper and Iris’ earnest request, who casually called someone who they still didn’t know ‘crown princess’.

At that, Richard also shook his head.

“She says she’s not ready yet.”

“What does she need to prepare? We will do the preparations! I will serve her very well. Yes! I will stick with her for the happiness of Your Highness!”

Richard easily put a stop to the ramblings of Cooper, whose eyes flashed and enthusiasm burned.

“Cooper.”

“Yes!”

“Please stay here and control the smell and sound. It will take more time from the looks of it.”

After quite naturally separating Ophelia and Cooper, Richard went out without saying anything further.

“Your, Your Highness! Your Highness!”

Then Iris hurriedly followed, and Ophelia shot Cooper a pitiful expression for a moment, and followed with quick steps.

Eventually, only two remained in the room.

“Hey, Sir Aide. To start the experiment right now… uh, Aide? Sir Aide… You’re not listening.”

—

By the time the pharmacist couldn’t stand the awkward air with Cooper floundering in the pit of chaos, and wiggled his hand and broke an empty vial…

The person who was sorting the documents going up to the crown prince’s aide’s office stared at one document, his brows furrowing.

“Hey.”

“Hmm?”

“Should I classify it separately?”

The colleague who received the document he handed over also nodded as soon as he read the first page.

“I guess so. Isn’t this the fifth case already?”

“And with additional investigation data coming up.”

“Addition?”

“Let’s see. Ah, the contents of the criminal servants and the testimonies of the people around them.”

“Isn’t that originally there?”

“Before, there was only data on the damaged family.”

The very first page of the document that went back and forth from their hands began with the phrase ‘the murder of the next family head by a servant’.

.

An hour after seeing the pharmacist.

Ophelia was sitting alone in the aide’s office.

Cooper did not return from the pharmacist’s room, and Iris followed Richard into his office and did not return.

Although Ophelia had to work…

“I can’t believe it!”

Unknowingly, Ophelia let out a loud noise and immediately fell limp in her chair.

She burst out laughing, then she sighed and started laughing again.

If others saw this, they would think she was completely out of her mind. Although she knew full well that she was being strange, she couldn’t stop laughing or sighing.

“The one I love.”

That sentence brought color to her cheeks and made her smile.

But when she thought of the storm after that, she let out a sigh.

Ophelia, who was playing drums by herself, let out a long sigh.

(TL/N: ‘playing the drums by herself’ = ‘self-directed act’)

“What should I do?”

It was common for a man and a woman to love someone and miraculously become lovers through each other’s hearts.

However, if the person was the crown prince, it made anything and everything uncommon.

“Why is it so complicated?”

With a despondent expression, Ophelia let out a sigh. Then laugh pointlessly.

“As the world perishes, Hah, I can’t even see a breakthrough in the infinite regression, yet I’m worried about this.”

The gutter-like reality before her hadn’t changed at all.

Same with the feeling that her feet were floating and that she would fly away if someone gave her a little lift showed no signs of subsiding.

Ophelia drank the cooled tea in one go, and then forcibly read the documents she hadn’t finished.

—Tachak.

As she turned the third page of the papers, she heard the door open.

Ophelia, who had not been able to concentrate at all, immediately stretched her neck out to check who it was.

“Iris.”

“Ah, Ophelia.”

Iris seemed to have suddenly become exhausted in a very short time, but her face was overflowing with unconcealable joy.

She sped over to Ophelia and opened her arms to hold her tight.

It was sudden, but as if familiar, sobs were heard in Ophelia’s ears as she hugged Iris’ back.

The startled Ophelia grabbed Iris by the shoulder, pulling away quickly.

“Iris? Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Um… His Highness. Um… ugh…”

“His Highness? Did His Highness do something?”

Ophelia asked, ready to grab Richard by the throat, but at Iris’ continuation, she calmly stopped her feet.

“Finally, he brought Her Highness.”

When her sobs turned into wails, Ophelia patted Iris on the back with an inexpressible expression.

If someone else saw it, they would mistakenly believe that Iris had a crush on Richard, was heartbroken and cried out loud… 

“Oh my God, finally… the person who was more dry than dried squid! I don’t know who Her Highness is, but really, I…!”

“Yes, yes.”

“I will serve her really well! Uheuh…”

Iris was really, really serious.

Who could have imagined that Aide Fillite, who was always strict with everyone with a cold expression, would be like this.

She, as much as Cooper, had long been troubled by the empty seat next to Richard.

Ophelia really didn’t know what to say at the tsunami of emotion that emanated from her loyalty.

—The person in front of your eyes is the Crown Princess! Hahahahaha! 

She couldn’t say that, but she also couldn’t praise ‘the crown princess’ like Iris was doing right now.

She had no choice but to pat her on the back, listening patiently to Iris’ about Richard’s past, which was drier than a dried squid.

Eventually, Iris, who calmed down somewhat, apologized slightly, rubbing her eyes as if she was embarrassed.

“I’m sorry. You must have been surprised.”

“No. Don’t rub your eyes, it will hurt more if you do that.”

Ophelia removed Iris’ hand and hurriedly put her handkerchief cooled with water next to her. She was about to say something when there was a knock.

—Tok tok.

Iris hurriedly sat down, covering her face with the handkerchief, while Ophelia stood in front of her and asked.

“Who is it?”

“I brought the papers.”

Both aides sighed in relief at the reply and responded immediately.

“Leave it at the door.”

“Yes.”

How long had it been. Ophelia and Iris, who were wary of presence outside, even unconsciously suppressing their breaths, burst into laughter when their eyes met.

“He is not going to come in, so why were we so cautious?”

“I don’t know. It just happened that way.”

The two giggled and soon began to hold each other’s hands and move the papers piled neatly in front of the door.

Was it a coincidence or was it inevitable?

As Ophelia moved the papers to Cooper’s seat, a bundle of papers that had been sorted came into view.

“This…?”

IMPORTANT! I’m going on a trip for about 2 weeks. Updates will be as normal as I’ll schedule the posts. That being said, it means that you might see “broken” links in the projects page or in the next button. Rest assured, they are not broken, they will work in due time.

Ame: Happy 100 episodes! ^^ Time for me to start choosing my next project hahaha there are so many i want to pick up, but there’s not enough time for all ;_;

Dea: I can’’t believe we’re already on the 100th episode, I’m going to be sad when this novel ends T^T