Chapter 93
“I greet Your Highness, the Star of the Empire.”
“Duchess, please don’t stand on ceremony.”
“Oh my, Your Highness. Don’t get up. You must still be unwell.”
Alice quickly spoke as the Third Prince moved to rise. However, the Prince insisted on getting out of bed to greet her.
“I’m quite alright. And it would be impolite to receive my benefactor, the Duchess, while lying down.”
The Third Prince approached Alice and spoke courteously.
As Alice had expected, the Third Prince had not yet left the Duke’s residence. And his eyes were full of affection towards her.
His gaze trembled slightly, seemingly overwhelmed with gratitude.
She knew he would be grateful, but she hadn’t anticipated such an intense reaction.
Alice was taken aback by the powerful emotion conveyed through the Third Prince’s eyes. Then he bowed his head.
“Duchess, thank you so much for saving Butler.”
“Ah, Your Highness! You mustn’t bow your head to me. This isn’t right.”
Alice exclaimed in surprise, raising her hands.
But she couldn’t dare to lift the Third Prince’s chin, so her hands hovered awkwardly in the air.
While Alice was at a loss for what to do, the Third Prince completed his bow properly.
When he raised his head, his face was very serious.
That must mean he’s sincere. And that sincerity probably stems from his affection for that puppy.
Alice looked at Butler sitting on the Third Prince’s bed.
Butler wagged his tail happily and gave a soft “woof” as if greeting her.
Looking between the Third Prince and Butler, Alice finally lowered her hands with a faint smile, as if admitting defeat.
“I did promise you, didn’t I? Since Your Highness saved me, I said I would save you once in return. I’m just keeping that promise, so please don’t think too deeply about it, Your Highness.”
“That promise… It’s not true that I saved you that day, Duchess.”
Alice hesitated at the Third Prince’s words, but fortunately, only the two of them were in the room at the moment.
“…”
It seemed that’s why the Third Prince brought up the truth about that day.
When Kylus and Sienna were present, he had gone along with her version of events.
“For someone like me to come to you for help was quite shameless.”
The Third Prince lowered his eyes slightly as if apologetic and continued speaking.
“But Butler is like family to me… Seeing him dying, you were the only one I could think of. So, despite my lack of shame, I came to find you.”
“You came to the right physician.”
Alice said playfully, and the Third Prince’s heavy expression softened.
“Ah…”
“Besides, Your Highness, although you may not have known it at the time, I truly received great help. In fact, your very existence is a huge help to me.”
“Pardon?”
The Third Prince looked confused.
Of course he wouldn’t understand.
How could he know that he was a lifeline for her future?
Alice smiled brightly and opened her mouth.
“So if you ever have any troubles in the future, please feel free to come to me anytime. More importantly… is Butler really alright now?”
Alice naturally changed the subject so the Third Prince wouldn’t be suspicious.
Fortunately, the Third Prince nodded with a faint smile.
“Yes, thanks to you, Duchess, Butler has fully recovered. Thank you.”
At that moment, Butler barked loudly as if to say he was really fine.
Alice smiled at Butler, then spoke to the Third Prince who kept expressing his gratitude.
“If you keep thanking me like this, I might have to leave out of embarrassment, Your Highness.”
“Ah, that wasn’t my intention at all.”
The Third Prince hurriedly waved his hands.
“Then let’s consider that the last of the thank yous.”
Alice winked, and the Third Prince smiled.
“Still, I should repay you somehow, Duchess… I don’t have anything to give you right now, but I promise to return the favor in the future.”
“Hmm, I’m not really someone who wants anything in particular… If you insist, how about visiting the Duke’s residence often from now on? Both I and the Duke would like to become closer to Your Highness.”
Alice suggested casually while feigning an innocent expression.
For the sake of natural encounters with the Third Prince.
Although Sienna had been seeking out the Third Prince, it hadn’t yielded much results, so she couldn’t miss this opportunity.
Alice gazed at the Third Prince with pure eyes, as if to say she absolutely had no other intentions.
But the Third Prince hesitated.
Surely he wasn’t going to maintain a cold distance, separating this from that?
We were getting along so well just now.
Just as Alice was looking at the Third Prince with a wistful gaze, his chapped lips parted.
“You haven’t heard yet, Duchess… I, I’ve decided to stay at the Duke’s residence for a while and receive various lessons from the Duke.”
Staying at the Duke’s residence… receiving various lessons.
That meant the Third Prince had resolved to become the Crown Prince.
To think that what she had hoped for had come true overnight.
Alice’s eyes widened at this unexpected good news.
“Really?!”
“…Yes.”
“That’s wonderful!”
Alice exclaimed joyfully, grasping the Third Prince’s hand. Surprised by the sudden contact, the Third Prince flinched but didn’t pull his hand away.
He seemed a bit flustered by Alice’s intense reaction, his expression turning awkward.
“Um, I didn’t expect you to be this happy…”
“Of course I’m happy. Your Highness will be the Emp…”
The male protagonist who will eliminate the Empress for me.
Alice swallowed the unfinished words. But the Third Prince, who had heard her last word, tilted his head curiously.
“Emp?”
“Emp…eror’s… son. Since you’re the noble and lofty Prince, of course it’s a joyous occasion that you’ll be staying at the Duke’s residence.”
Ha ha.
As Alice let out an awkward laugh, the Third Prince said sheepishly,
“I’m not such a noble member of the imperial family…”
“You will be.”
Alice emphasized forcefully to him as he trailed off.
She looked straight into his slightly wavering opal-colored eyes and continued.
“So don’t doubt yourself, Your Highness. You will become a person who shines brighter than anyone else.”
It wasn’t just because she had seen his future in the book.
The Third Prince’s eyes were already shining with intelligence.
With Kylus’s help, he would become even more impressive as he grew.
“Ah, thank… no, um… yes.”
Seeming to remember Alice’s words not to thank her anymore, the Third Prince quickly changed his response.
Then he lowered his gaze diagonally, unable to properly meet Alice’s eyes.
Seeing his ears turn red, it seemed he felt embarrassed by her praise, finding it awkward.
How cute.
Although he was a head taller than Alice, his behavior was still naive.
Still clumsy and unable to hide his emotions well.
Perhaps because she was used to seeing Kylus, who was always composed like a mature man in everything, the Third Prince seemed even more adorable.
I want to pat his head. But that would make things really awkward, wouldn’t it?
As Alice was suppressing her impulse, there was a knock and the door opened.
“Sienna?”
The person who opened the door and entered was none other than Sienna.
“My lady…”
Sienna began to approach her but stopped in her tracks.
Her gaze, which had been fixed on Alice, shifted to the side. Then she stared blankly at Alice’s hands.
More precisely, at the spot where Alice was holding the Third Prince’s left hand with both of hers.
She had forgotten to let go of his hand while engrossed in their conversation.
Alice saw Sienna’s fine eyebrows rise at an angle.
Oh no.
Alice immediately released the Third Prince’s hand she had been holding.
“Ah, this is, well…”
To think that the female lead would catch her holding the male lead’s hand.
This scene was quite easy to misunderstand, wasn’t it?
Feeling like she should make some excuse, Alice hurriedly opened her mouth, but Sienna was already striding towards her.
With a stiff, hardened face at that.
No, isn’t this reaction too extreme?
As far as she knew, Sienna and the Third Prince weren’t close enough to get angry at each other over something like this.
Could there have been some sudden, drastic change in their relationship last night?
Alice unconsciously took a step back at Sienna’s ominous aura.
And for good reason—she was approaching with the force of a wife about to slap her husband’s mistress.
How scary!
“Sienna, don’t misunderstand…”
Just as Alice, overwhelmed by Sienna’s intensity, hastily opened her mouth, Sienna stood in front of her.
With her back turned.
Huh…?
Alice blinked slowly as she looked at Sienna’s straight back.
So Sienna was facing the Third Prince, as if shielding Alice behind her back.
It wasn’t Alice’s cheek she was about to slap, but the Third Prince’s.
This is somewhat different from what I expected.
“…Sienna?” she called softly. But Sienna, as if she hadn’t heard, spoke to the Third Prince.
“Your Highness, I see you were speaking with the Duchess.”
“Yes, I was expressing my gratitude to the Duchess.”
“Gratitude… I see. You must have been truly thankful. Even holding her hand and all.”
Alice thought, ‘as expected,’ at the clear sarcasm in Sienna’s voice.
She seemed angry at the Third Prince.
It was a truly surprising and bewildering reaction, but still.
Although she didn’t know why Sienna was angry at the Third Prince rather than at Alice, the current atmosphere was a bit dangerous.
It was similar to when the Third Prince had rolled out the door.
Things were going well, and they couldn’t afford to fight again.
Alice opened her mouth to explain the situation to Sienna.
“No, that was because I—”
But at that moment, the Third Prince cleanly cut off Alice’s words and answered.
