Chapter 154
Though not much time had passed since he left the Duchy, the Third Prince had already grown taller and broader in the shoulders.
Moreover, the look in his eyes had changed as well.
There was no longer anxiety or fear in his gaze. It had become much more solid.
When she first met him, his eyes had been full of hurt, like an abandoned puppy.
Now, while not quite a fearsome tiger, he was at least something like a lynx.
‘Our Third Prince has matured so much.’
As Alice was privately marveling at the Third Prince’s growth, he smiled and spoke first:
“I’ve prepared tea in the reception room. Shall we go, Duchess?”
The Third Prince extended his hand as if he would personally escort her.
For a royal to personally escort someone was to treat them as valuable as royalty themselves.
It was an exceptional and special gesture.
And special occasions were best made widely known.
Alice took the Third Prince’s hand with a smooth smile, making sure the palace attendants who had come out with the Third Prince to greet her could see.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
And so, with confidence, Alice stepped into the Astel Palace.
In the reception room of the Astel Palace.
“Please be seated.”
The Third Prince did not sit first, but offered a seat to Alice.
According to protocol, the Third Prince should have sat first, but having personally escorted her, he wished to show her perfect respect until the end.
“Yes. Please sit as well, Your Highness.”
Alice replied with a faint smile, and they both took their seats.
As soon as she sat across from the Third Prince, Alice spoke:
“Your Highness. I’ve brought a gift that Sienna prepared for you.”
“…Lady Meltain prepared something for me?”
The Third Prince’s eyes widened slightly.
Instead of answering, Alice gestured to Ruyd, who was standing to one side of the reception room.
At her signal, Ruyd approached the sofa and placed the picnic basket he had been holding on the edge of the table.
The table was already set with tea and desserts that the Third Prince had prepared with Alice’s tastes in mind.
Alice carefully took out the chocolate tarts from the picnic basket and placed them next to the three-tiered tray of desserts.
“This is…”
The Third Prince trailed off with a surprised expression as he recognized the chocolate tarts.
Alice completed his unfinished sentence:
“These are chocolate tarts from Mont Blanc Bakery, which Your Highness likes. Sienna went out this morning to buy them.”
“Lady Meltain went personally?”
“Yes.”
Watching the Third Prince’s lips move in disbelief, Alice added:
“Sienna said that Your Highness must be very busy these days, so she hoped you could relieve your fatigue, even briefly, by enjoying your favorite dessert.”
“I’m grateful that the Lady thinks of me that way.”
“Oh, Your Highness. Sienna thinks of you so much. Don’t you feel the same way?”
“Yes. Of course I think of the Lady a lot too… No, I mean, ahem. What I mean is that I’m grateful for all the help she gave me at the Duchy, that sort of thing.”
The Third Prince faltered as he inadvertently spoke his true feelings in the naturally flowing conversation.
Though he hurriedly changed his words as if embarrassed, Alice had already heard his true feelings.
“Your Highness, don’t worry. I absolutely won’t misunderstand that you have different feelings for Sienna. Ho ho.”
Alice laughed, covering her mouth.
All while shooting a look at the Third Prince that said she knew his true feelings no matter how much he denied them.
At that, the Third Prince awkwardly avoided her gaze and unnecessarily rubbed his neck.
Alice felt completely satisfied watching the Third Prince’s ears turning bright red.
It was adorable how flustered he was.
Yes, this was exactly the reaction she had wanted from Sienna.
The love play of young lambs who don’t know what to do with their first love and become shy.
Nothing was as entertaining as watching the fresh love play of others, just like watching a fire at someone else’s house.
Sienna had become composed too quickly.
But the Third Prince had filled that enjoyment in Sienna’s place, so Alice was very pleased.
Alice finally lowered her intense gaze toward the Third Prince. So that he could collect his embarrassment more quickly.
Eventually, the somewhat recovered Third Prince spoke:
“In any case, please convey my thanks to the Lady, Duchess.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
As a servant took away the tarts, the Third Prince offered tea to Alice.
“I remember that the Duchess likes sweet tea, so I prepared some, but as it was hastily brought from what’s available in the palace, I’m not sure if you’ll like it.”
After taking a small sip of the tea, Alice curled up the corners of her mouth and set the teacup down.
“It’s delicious. Perhaps because Your Highness specially prepared it, it has an even better flavor.”
“I’m glad.”
The Third Prince also smiled and drank his tea.
And when he set his teacup down, Alice carefully said:
“Your Highness, I have something important to discuss. Could you ask the palace attendants to leave us for a moment?”
Though it could have been seen as a rude request, the Third Prince immediately told the attendants to leave.
Ruyd, who had been briefed in advance by Alice, also quietly left the reception room with the attendants.
Thus, with the doors closed, a calm settled over the reception room where only Alice and the Third Prince remained.
It was Alice who broke the silence first.
“Your Highness, the reason I suddenly sought an audience with you today is because of the First Prince.”
She broached the subject without hesitation. After all, the reason she had asked for the attendants to leave was to discuss this matter.
And the Third Prince opened his mouth with a composed expression.
“I know.”
“The Border Count wouldn’t have mentioned it…”
“The Border Count merely swore loyalty by presenting the Latrang family heirloom, without discussing anything else.”
“Then as I thought, Your Highness figured it out yourself.”
“Yes. The Border Count is my brother’s maternal grandfather, and I know about the Duchess’s holy power.”
The Third Prince answered calmly. Alice wasn’t surprised and gave a faint smile.
In truth, Alice had also thought that the Third Prince would have roughly guessed about this matter.
Although the Third Prince still lacked education, he was naturally intelligent and quick-witted.
So when Count Latrang suddenly came to swear loyalty, he would have naturally predicted.
That the Count’s oath of loyalty would be related to the Dearrut Duchy.
More precisely, to Alice, to himself.
After all, the Third Prince had never even met Count Latrang before.
Moreover, as the Count had said, he was the First Prince’s maternal grandfather.
It was strange for him to suddenly swear loyalty to the Third Prince when the First Prince hadn’t even died yet.
Probably not just the Third Prince, but all the nobles who heard the news would have initially thought it strange.
Then they would have recalled that the Dearrut Duchy was behind the Third Prince and accepted it.
That Duke Dearrut and Count Latrang had made some kind of deal.
Of course, the truth was that it was Alice, not Kylus, who had made the deal.
But the nobles, not knowing about her holy power, would think that way.
But not the Third Prince. He knew about Alice’s holy power.
After all, it was Alice who had saved his beloved pet, Butler.
He probably also guessed what the terms of the deal were.
The Third Prince continued calmly:
“In exchange for the Border Count swearing loyalty to me… the Duchess will use her holy power on my brother?”
As expected.
Just as Alice had anticipated, the Third Prince had guessed everything.
Alice took a deep breath in and out, then answered with a solemn expression:
“Yes, that’s right. In exchange for Border Count Latrang offering the loyalty of the south to Your Highness, I promised to save the First Prince.”
“…So my guess was correct.”
The Third Prince lowered his gaze.
Was he disappointed?
From the Third Prince’s perspective, he might feel hurt. Just as Alice thought of the Third Prince as special, the Third Prince also thought of her as special.
Moreover, Alice knew that the Third Prince relied on her greatly.
So he couldn’t help but feel hurt when Alice, whom he believed was on his side, said she would save the First Prince, who could potentially become his adversary.
And knowing this, Alice had come to see the Third Prince personally today.
If he heard such news from someone else, it would hurt even more, so she wanted to prevent the Third Prince from being wounded.
Alice spoke before his mood could sink further:
“Your Highness, the reason I made this deal with the Border Count was because of you.”
“Because of… me?”
The Third Prince raised his eyes. While he had guessed the terms of the deal, he apparently hadn’t guessed why she had done it, as his opal-colored eyes were filled with puzzlement.
“Yes. Because Count Latrang is the Southern Border Count and holds the most fertile territory in the empire.”
“That’s…”
“If such a prestigious figure supports Your Highness, wouldn’t your path to becoming Crown Prince be shortened even more? That’s why I made the deal with the Count.”
The Third Prince, seemingly surprised, moved his lips for a moment before speaking:
“…For the sake of my future. I didn’t expect that. Actually, I thought you might be setting up alternative options.”
“My goodness, Your Highness! That’s absurd. Why else would the Border Count, who is the First Prince’s maternal grandfather, swear loyalty to you? It’s obvious that would be disadvantageous to the First Prince later.”
“Ah… That’s true.”
The Third Prince nodded with an embarrassed face.
It seemed that the Third Prince had focused more on the fact that Alice was saving the First Prince rather than the meaning behind Count Latrang’s oath of loyalty.
Afraid that the Dearrut Duchy might abandon him, he hadn’t been able to make a completely rational judgment.
Having just begun to establish himself as a lynx, it was too much to expect perfection from him.
Especially with the wounds of abandonment from his childhood.
It was already remarkable that he had grown so wonderfully in such a short time.
It would take more time for the anxiety, which was practically a childhood trauma, to completely disappear.
“My thinking was limited.”
“Not at all. You could have misunderstood. But don’t worry, Your Highness.”
Alice smiled gently at the embarrassed Third Prince and said:
“Count Latrang has already promised that when the First Prince wakes up, he will renounce his right to succession. And the oath of loyalty the Border Count made, having presented his family heirloom, is absolutely irrevocable.”
Alice continued speaking to the Third Prince, who was quietly acknowledging her words:
“So even if the awakened First Prince has different intentions, his support base would be much weaker than Your Highness’s. Don’t worry.”
“Ah, I’m not worried. In fact, when you think about it, my brother is more suitable for the Crown Prince position than I am…”
“Your Highness.”
Alice cut off the Third Prince’s words.
