CH 25

Eyes that hid malice were entangled with each other. It wasn’t something to hide anyway. Frinel raised the corners of his mouth slyly, resting his chin.

“Did the rumor spread that much already? It’s just Duke Gracie who has found his lost granddaughter.”

“That’s a good thing. Hasn’t he been in pain for a long time because of his sick granddaughter?”

“That’s right.”

“His sick granddaughter recovered from her illness and even got a new granddaughter…” Lawrence spun the teacup round and round as if he were thinking of something.

One of Frinel’s eyebrows slowly raised as he looked at him. Lawrence would spin the teacup like that whenever he found something to attack him with.

“Why don’t you visit sometime? No matter how distant our cousin is, don’t care about it too much—”

“It is said that chick is a commoner with a holy power.”

Frinel’s mouth, which had risen, slowly hardened at Lawrence’s words.

“Is that correct?” He was already fully convinced of the information he had heard and ended his sentence.

Frinel chewed the cookie in his mouth with a crunching sound. Then, he tried to hide his displeasure and smiled. “Leave out the word ‘chick.’”

“Since when did you care for women so much?”

“Are you going to call your mother a chick too?”

One of Lawrence’s eyebrows slowly raised under his pressure. As he expected, Frinel had a completely different look than before.

“Older Brother is right.”

For some reason, Lawrence quickly accepted his words with his hands up as if he had surrendered. Then he changed the topic slyly. “By the way, she cured the disease of Princess Gracie at once, which even the famous doctors couldn’t cure… If she really has that much holy power…”

His long, slanted eyes closed softly. “I can understand why Older Brother is putting so much effort for her.”

“What are you talking about?”

Even though he knew what Lawrence meant, Frinel pretended not to know.

“Holy power… No matter what excuse you made, it’s ridiculous.”

After blurring his words for no reason, he finally spoke out frankly. “It could be that she’s a descendant of the Shinsu clan… Well, don’t you think so?”

Lawrence was smiling, but a menacing aura was emanating from him.

“Descendant of the Shinsu clan…” Frinel swept his chin, blurring the end of his words. Was there a rat in Gracie Duchy?

No matter how fast the rumor spread, the fact that Lawrence even heard that Bella was cured meant that a rat hiding inside the duchy had delivered words. Well, even if they were in a hurry to hide it, it was something that would come to light someday.

The power of the Shinsu clan was something powerful. It was to the extent that Lawrence came up to the capital and looked for him.

“Well, if you can somehow find the Shinsu clan, our father, who regrets the incident, might raise Older Brother to become the crown prince.” He continued his speech in a relaxed manner. “Gracie’s family is also on Older Brother’s side…”

“That’s right.”

“…Pardon?”

There was a ripple in Lawrence’s calm eyes. Could it be that you’re going to reveal your claws now? He slowly opened his folded eyes and stared at Frinel. Before he knew it, the smile had disappeared from Frinel’s face.

“If, as you say, she is a descendant of the Shinsu clan, it might be easier for me to ascend to the throne than eating cold soup.”

“…I beg your pardon?”

“So don’t worry too much.”

His blue eyes coldly turned to Lawrence.

“If you only trust the generous power of Duke Bonitare, you will likely end up like a dog chasing a chicken.”

The lion who had been crouching up until now rose up.

Feeling goosebumps all over his body, Lawrence pressed his lips together.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Finishing his duties at the imperial palace, Frinel returned to Gracie Duchy. He was very tired, perhaps because he confronted Lawrence. He already set fire to it, so there will be another movement from them soon.

Frinel frowned slightly as he got out of the carriage. Moreover, since he hadn’t finished his work yet, he had to return to the capital to do the necessary papers. He could have ordered Alter, but there was a reason why he came here again.

“Hmm?”

As soon as he got off, he could see the garden in the distance beyond the fountain in the center. There, Lobelia was busy working her quill. It seemed like she was doing her assignment.

Frinel drew a gentle smile, completely forgetting that he had been frowning a little while ago. Then he immediately waved his hand and shouted, “Lady Lobelia!”

Concentrating on my task, I raised my head. I hadn’t seen him for about three days, but a welcoming feeling slipped into my heart. He was the emperor’s son who killed my family, but I didn’t hate him. Am I weird?

I nodded my head slightly as I pressed the corner of my mouth that was about to go up. “You’re here.”

“Yes, I came back quickly because I missed Lady Lobelia.”

“…Ah, yes,” I responded stiffly and sat back in my seat. “Go ahead and get some rest. I have to do my assignment.”

“I’ll help you.”

“It’s not good to just get help every day.”

“You even bought me eclairs, so I must pay for them.”

“You’ve already paid a lot.”

I kept putting it on the iron wall, but Frinel banged it and sat across from me.

“Let’s see. What was the assignment that filled your face with worry?”

He stuck his head forward and looked at the parchment I was writing. Frinel, who had even snatched my quill pen before I knew it, smoothly turned it and corrected my assignment.

“It’s like this here… This is wrong. This is not an opinion here.”

I stared at him as he helped me with my assignment. This felt new, but surprisingly, there was nothing that he couldn’t do. He was so good in swordsmanship that even the duke recognized him, sword skills that I saw with my own eyes, history, philosophy, and theory classes.

I didn’t know about Patricia’s son because I never see him, but at this level, I wondered if her son would stay still if Frinel became the crown prince.

“Hmm?”

Frinel, who was correcting my assignment, felt my gaze and rolled his eyes. “You see me like that again. Don’t stare at me like that, even if I’m so handsome. Because it will make me happy.”

“…I didn’t stare at you because you were handsome.”

“Then?”

“It’s just…” I blurted out my words for no reason. “I don’t think Your Royal Highness will have any difficulties. You’re good at everything.”

“You don’t think I will have any difficulties? Do you think I’m such a perfect person?”

You’re perfect. At least, that’s what I’ve seen so far.

Shortly after hearing about his past, I briefly witnessed Frinel flirting with the maids of the mansion. He said it was image-making, and I thought he just liked women, but the reality wasn’t like that.

“If there is any rumor about Marquis Hamilton, please report it to me. I will pay one gold coin for each piece of information.”

“R-really? But why the marquis?”

“Haha. I need to gather some strength. To be close.”

“Kyaa, does it really matter?”

“Of course. Whether it’s Marquis’s private affairs or such secret matters… that only the servants could know about. Anything is fine.”

A matter that only the servants of the mansion could know. He was trying to get the information for me. His head must be hurt just thinking about the succession to the throne, but after seeing him like that, my hardened heart seemed to be softening.

What if he has a handsome appearance, outstanding ability, and a warm heart? Feeling annoyed for nothing, I turned my head without replying.

“Everyone is like that. They’ll ask what’s so hard when all I had to do is smile.”

“…Your Royal Highness.”

“There were bloody efforts behind it.”

“… I’m sorry.”

I made a mistake. Nothing in the world would have been easy. Didn’t I also stay up all night to the extent of getting nosebleeds to do my assignment and training?

It was a moment when I hated myself for saying such a thing to the other person even though I knew it. “I didn’t mean anything bad. It’s just… Of course, you must have worked hard, but I think you’re also talented…”

“Aaah, it’s okay. I didn’t mean to see that expression. Of course, my golden talent doesn’t require much effort compared to others…”

Frinel spoke at length, looking at my sullen face. Even in this situation, I smiled without realizing it because he was cute for being considerate of me.

He paused for a moment and stared blankly at my figure. “But there is definitely something I find difficult.”

“…What is it?”

At that moment, the wind blew my hair wildly. Frinel smiled grimly as he tucked my hair behind my ear.

“I find you difficult. The most difficult thing I ever met.”

My eyelashes trembled unconsciously. My heart was pounding like crazy.

“Now, I’ve corrected all the assignments. Unfortunately, I have to go to the capital for a few more days.”

“…yes. I see.” I accepted my assignment and answered firmly.

“Will you wait for me even if I miss you for a few days?” Frinel rose from his seat with a light smile. Then he waved excitedly and soon disappeared from my sight.

Don’t be shaken. I clenched my fist, staring at his disappearing back. Don’t believe it. You can’t believe nobody. I kept repeating it over and over to myself.  

Love. It was the last feeling I needed now.

The distance between us gradually increased. I hardened my face coldly, took my assignment and the quill pen, then turned my back from him without realizing that the distance in our hearts had suddenly become closer.