Chapter 453

Chapter 453

Princess Mia at the Edge of the Ring... Takes a Stray Arrow

“Prince Echard! I’m supposed to be marrying Prince Echard!”

“...Huh?”

Mia was stunned by what Esmeralda just said.

H-How? What in the moons is going on?

Before she could figure out what to say, Ludwig spoke up and said, “I’m sorry, Your Highness. I should have expected this. This is a horrible mistake on my part.”

He even bowed his head as if he had done something very wrong. This made things even more confusing, and Mia wanted to scream out loud in her anger. She didn’t, which is a miracle. Even though she was teetering on the edge of the ring, she managed to keep her balance and stay in the fight.

.

Wait! Not so fast! If I say the wrong thing here, I could send Ludwig into a downward slide and make him useless.

Just for a second... Then another... Then another. After many seconds passed, she still couldn’t figure out what Ludwig could have done wrong. So, she told the truth.

“A mistake? I’m not sure I get what you’re saying, but...”

If you’re not sure, ask. She didn’t act like she knew what was going on. In front of Ludwig, that was especially dangerous.

To her shock, he didn’t answer right away. Instead, he closed his eyes and kept his head down, as if he was trying to hold back some strong feeling.

“I didn’t think they’d really bring me a prince,” she muttered, her face turning red and her hands twitching.

It was clear that the idea of marrying a prince made her feel the same way most girls do when they hear a fairy tale. She was losing her cool because things from fairy tales were becoming a reality. Out with the big sister and in with the young woman who is in love.

“Oh, I see. If Sion becomes king, Echard would be like an Archduke. In that way, I guess you really are being given a title higher than Duke.”

Not only that, but if something happened to Sion, her possible husband could easily become king.

Taking into account what happened in the Princess Chronicles, does this mean Echard did it on purpose? He killed Sion to become king. That could be the reason... Or maybe Echard really doesn’t want to marry Esmeralda and this is a very extreme way for him to say so?

Echard might have been relieved that this incredibly negative picture of his character was soon taken down.

No, that’s not it. After all, Esmeralda is related to me, and she has the looks to prove it. She is a pretty young woman. So long as she stays quiet and keeps her ego in check. But he couldn’t have known that ahead of time...

“Uh... Mia-sama?”

“Huh?”

Mia woke up from her thoughts to see Esmeralda acting so shy that she seemed to be the younger sister.

“What... What do you suggest I do?”

Her usual courage was gone.

“Well, if you don’t want to get married, you should just tell them no.”

Ludwig stopped their talk by shaking his head grimly and saying, “That might be difficult. Could you tell me what His Imperial Majesty thinks about this?”

“Huh?” Mia had stayed inside the edge of the ring, but now a stray arrow went flying straight for her.