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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Curious
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“Still, something feels off…”
The sky was painted with the faint colors of sunset.
Standing in the shade, listening to the blades of grass rustle in the cool breeze, my eyes busily followed Karhel.
“The King of Gamel must be very pleased. Both of his sons are so distinguished.”
“Hahaha. You’re too kind. This is the first time he has made a public appearance—”
Karhel, who was chatting with some ministers not too far away, turned his head as if he’d felt my gaze.
It was as if he had eyes in the back of his head.
His chestnut eyes met mine precisely, as if he knew exactly where I was.
[What’s wrong?]
It wasn’t as if we were lovers sharing a secret conversation. I raised an eyebrow at the sight of Karhel mouthing words at me, when—
“What are you staring at?”
A large hand, big enough to cover my face, suddenly appeared before my eyes.
My vision was blocked in an instant. As I fluttered my lashes and tilted my head back, the back of my head touched a solid chest.
“Ah. Enoch.”
After meeting his pale eyes staring straight at me, I turned my head again.
Then, I grabbed the large hand covering my eyes and muttered dejectedly.
“I’m sure there’s something strange about those gloves… To be honest, I don’t trust Prince Karhel.”
“…”
The lack of a response made my voice lose even more of its conviction.
A few days ago.
Arun had confirmed there was nothing wrong with the gloves Karhel gave me, but my unease about him hadn’t faded.
Because of that, I’d spent the last few days of the banquet tailing Karhel, but all I’d managed to find was just…
“Hahahaha! Shouldn’t you be getting married soon as well, Prince Karhel? What do you think of my daughter?”
“I would be honored.”
Just him, chatting with that good-natured smile on his face.
Something was definitely off, and it was frustrating that I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was.
Was my memory wrong? In the original story, could the reason Enoch went berserk have been something other than the gloves?
Maybe I was just being overly sensitive about Karhel…
Lost in thought, I lowered Enoch's hand, feeling completely dejected.
“I'm sorry. I made things difficult for you by jumping to conclusions without any real proof… and I'm still doing it.”
“Hmph. I told you not to apologize.”
At my words, Enoch lightly rested his chin on the top of my head.
“Besides, didn't the Master of the Magic Tower agree to investigate the gloves more thoroughly?”
“But…”
“You're usually so energetic, bouncing all over the place. Why are you so down over something like this?”
Enoch gave my head a gentle tap with his chin and wrapped his arms around my waist from behind.
“And I don't like that Karhel fellow one bit either.”
“You too, Enoch?”
At his words, I quickly lifted my head, and his gray eyes wavered slightly.
He must have been looking down at me while resting his chin on my head, because the tips of our noses were now perilously close, almost touching.
“…Yes. I looked into it, and the head of this envoy was originally supposed to be Crown Prince Kante.”
“Huh? But Prince Karhel is the one leading the Gamel Kingdom's envoy.”
“Exactly.”
The position with my neck craned was uncomfortable, so I turned to face him. Enoch pulled me into his arms.
“As if suddenly changing the head of the envoy to the Empire wasn't enough.”
Enoch, who was gazing down at me as he spoke, raised a hand and plucked a flower petal that had fallen onto the bridge of my nose.
“The replacement is the second prince, who has never once made a public appearance… Don't you find that strange?”
“Yes. Very strange.”
“Until now, nothing was known about Prince Karhel besides his name. Not even his appearance.”
Enoch paused, fiddling with the white petal stuck to his finger.
“So your feeling that he's suspicious is probably not wrong. I feel the same way.”
Finishing his sentence, Enoch tucked the petal from his hand behind my ear and raised the corners of his mouth into a bright smile.
“It's pretty. It suits you.”
Because of that, all my attention, which had been focused on Karhel, shifted to Enoch. I covered my blushing face and pushed him away.
“Ah, I get it, so let's put some space between us.”
“Why should we?”
“Because…”
Why else.
I didn't think I needed to spell it out, but seeing that Enoch had no intention of moving away, I gestured to our surroundings with my eyes.
“People keep looking. They must already have a bad impression of me after the scene I caused.”
“Ah. You don't need to worry about that.”
…What is that supposed to mean?
When I looked up at him, unable to understand, Enoch pressed even closer, as if to make a point.
“The human mind is simpler than you think. It tends to remember only the most stimulating events.”
“What?”
“What I mean is—”
Rustle.
Enoch's hand, which had been touching the petal, gently brushed my hair back, his fingers grazing my earlobe.
“In those people's minds, the Prince of Gamel's gift, you snatching the prince's gift—none of that remains.”
“Then what does remain?”
As if entranced by his fluid movements, I asked, and his red lips curled into a beautiful smile.
“That the emperor, utterly smitten with his lovely paramour, cast aside a gift and vanished with her in his arms. That seems to be all that's left, no?”
“W-What?”
As I squirmed in his arms in surprise, Enoch let out a low, amused laugh.
“You've already earned me a new nickname, you know. 'Doting fool.'”
A doting fool.
My jaw dropped at the shocking word.
“Why? You don't like it? It's still the best nickname I've had so far.”
“I-I'm so sorry! I told you to blame it on me.”
I couldn't bring myself to look Enoch in the eye.
I had originally expected a barrage of criticism aimed at me for acting like a spoiled child clinging to the emperor.
Why was Enoch the one being gossiped about, and not me, the one who caused the trouble…?
“This won't do! Who on earth gave you a nickname like that? I'll go find them and explain that's not what happened. Tell me who it was, quickly!”
“Hmm… It's nice that you're getting angry on my behalf, but…”
Enoch smiled, a slightly troubled look in his eyes as he crinkled their corners.
“I don't think that will be necessary.”
‘It's not entirely wrong, after all.’ Enoch added quietly, but I didn't quite catch it and stomped my foot in frustration.
“What do you mean, it's not necessary! You can't let this slide, Your Majesty. Who calls the emperor a doting fool? And you just let them?”
Finding my reaction amusing, Enoch's shoulders shook with laughter as he took my cheeks in his hands and turned my head to look around.
“The reaction isn't as bad as you think. In fact, you could say it's rather good.”
“What do you mean?”
“The way people look at me has become quite gentle. It seems they prefer a 'doting fool' to the man who used to cause a scene at the slightest touch. What do you think? Isn't that right?”
It seemed Enoch wasn't just saying things.
The gazes directed at him did indeed seem to have softened.
The problem was that those softened gazes were also filled with curiosity and interest in the two of us.
“B-but… this could cause problems later…”
Somehow, my plan to keep a reasonable distance and then make a clean break with Enoch once this was all over seemed to be flying further and further away in real time.
In any case, it was a relief that my actions hadn't put Enoch in a difficult position,
but when I thought about the future, this didn't seem right either.
While my head was spinning, Enoch, looking perfectly serene, tucked another flower behind my ear.
“Later? What's the problem? If it comes to it, you can just become the empress. Ah, or if you don't like being the empress, would you like to be the emperor?”
***
“Ugh… honestly.”
While Enoch was away for a moment, I found a secluded spot, squatted down, and chugged the champagne I’d brought with me.
“Seriously, why does he talk like that?”
Honestly.
At this point, I seriously began to wonder if I needed to completely overhaul Enoch's way of speaking.
I just couldn't understand why he kept picking the perfect words to make people misunderstand.
“Anyone who heard him would think he actually likes me… Hup.”
Having blurted out the thought that had been blooming in my mind, I clamped both hands over my mouth.
I quickly scanned my surroundings, and upon confirming no one was there, my face turned beet red.
There's a limit to how delusional one can be.
Enoch is just naturally kind. How could I have such a ridiculous fantasy?
“Ahem! Ahem! Get a grip. How absurd would Enoch find it if he knew I was thinking this? Huh? So conceited, really.”
As I cooled my flushed face in the gentle breeze, I took off the shoes that had been stinging my feet.
Perhaps because I'd been walking around too long in high heels while spying on Karhel for the past few days, my feet were swollen.
And that wasn't all.
The tender skin on my heel was scraped raw, with a bit of blood welling up.
“Agh. What a pain, all this trouble from following that Karhel guy.”
I was grumbling to myself as I pressed a handkerchief against my heel, when—
“Were you talking about me?”
A gentle voice I had no desire to hear drifted over.
“I was passing by when I heard my name. We meet again.”
Startled by the sight of Karhel striding toward me, the handkerchief in my hand fell limply to the ground.
He was already in front of me. He picked up the fallen handkerchief and offered it to me.
“You've been lingering around me for the past few days, haven't you?”
“No, I think you've misunderstood. Our paths just happened to cross, that's all.”
“I don't think so. You were staring at me just a moment ago.”
Smiling with his eyes curved kindly, as always, Karhel bent down and took my foot in his hands.
“Are you curious about me? Because I'm curious about you.”
