189 - Pieces of the Broken Glass Slipper
Shattered Glass Slipper Shards 189
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I felt nauseous at the Crown Prince's brazen attitude, as if he were bestowing a great favor, but I held it in.
At the same time, it was strange that someone like him was swayed by the Witch's prophecy, and I thought it was quite despicable that he acted as if God could go to hell if it was for his own benefit.
A normal person would have been suspicious that I, who had been standing perfectly fine, suddenly collapsed and stopped breathing.
Wouldn't it be ridiculous to pass off such a thing as a miracle, given all the intelligence I've accumulated? Especially for the Crown Prince, he should have a more intuitive way of thinking and see through the incident.
But where did his moral concern for people disappear to, as he only talks about things for his own sake?
Since waking up in the hall and being carried here in his arms, I have never once heard the Crown Prince ask if I was okay. Rather, he thought I could easily abandon Sir Ayres to stand in a higher place.
How on earth has he seen me so far that he commits such rude acts without hesitation? I am furious at his assumption that I should do so without even asking for my opinion. My body was trembling.
"Aren't you curious as to how I collapsed? Doesn't Your Highness care about my health at all?"
The voice that flowed out naturally was lower and rougher than before. As my rapid breathing mixed with my words, my shoulders heaved greatly and my head spun. If I could, I would love to slap that brazen and rude face.
"Of course I'm worried. But you woke up, didn't you?"
His calm answer made me breathless again. The words that came out of the Crown Prince's mouth were worth less than a stone rolling on the street, to the point where I felt foolish for asking the question.
In fact, even with a mere beast, affection tends to develop after struggling together for a year. Memories accumulated over time cannot be ignored, and one cannot help but give up a corner of one's heart.
But such absurd treatment... Does that mean I'm not even worth that much? I think the saying "to be so absurd as to die" refers to this.
Above all, the Crown Prince's actions were tantamount to ignoring Sir Ayres, who was also his friend. He concluded on his own as if it were an object he could reach out and take, and even spoke as if unilaterally informing me... If he regarded me as the same as the other women who warmed his bedroom, he was making a big mistake.
The Crown Prince, noticing my hardened expression, asks as if puzzled.
"I don't know why you're making that face. I will find out why the Bischwartz Young Lady collapsed. So why don't you ease your expression?"
"What kind of face am I making, Your Highness? I'm just having a hard time because my heart hurts."
"Do you feel like you can't breathe again?"
"No. It's because I'm thinking of Sir Ayres. I'm worried about how he will take today's events."
At the ambiguous words, the Crown Prince's face now hardens coldly. His brow furrows slightly, as if my answer was quite displeasing.
But that was only for a moment, as he continued to speak nonchalantly as if nothing was wrong.
"Didn't I tell you before? That I coveted you. I even said that I thought I wanted to trample on my friend's fears without a second thought."
His long fingers, made of elegant lines, supported my chin and lifted it slightly. His eyes, shining fiercely like a beast, were those of an ambitious man full of conquest. A predatory beast, flaunting a relaxed posture, begins to smile crookedly.
"But now that I have a plausible justification, wouldn't it be enough to test the loyalty of my vassal?"
The Crown Prince's face slowly approaches, and his lips touch my ear. Even if I twisted my shoulder to resist, I was instantly suppressed by his other hand and could not move.
Due to the sudden weakening of my body from the previous incident, I was easily subdued even by a small force. My chest, rising and falling roughly due to fear, was now so painful that I could hardly breathe properly.
"I am not very generous to those outside my line. I am also very kind. If you want, I can even play the role of a sweet lover that no one would envy. Because there are no loose ends. But if you come inside the line, it changes. It's quite annoying to have to protect things externally. So I have no choice but to treat you badly so you'll fall off on your own. In that respect, you were very resilient. Surprisingly so."
The moist voice of another person touching my earlobe spreads throughout my body as a sweet yet chilling tickle. The solid scent emanating from his body and the damp yet eerie fragrance were mixed together to the point of dizziness, melting into my body.
The most terrible thing is the man's hair touching my cheek and the hot skin that is so close that it almost touches. A situation that others would misunderstand enough is continuing.
"Easy. Don't worry, I don't have a hobby of taking women by force. I'm a gentleman, you see. I just want to talk. Now, listen carefully. As you can feel, I am not very good at trusting someone. The only ones I trust are Mel and Lüce, but even then, I think I can't help but break that trust for the sake of the greater good."
He seems to be speaking lightly in a defensive tone, but this was a coercion to accept his nature as it is. It was typical of the Crown Prince, who only knows himself.
"You may think it's despicable, but this is the world I was born and raised in, so I have no choice but to live like this. So, would you please be generous and accept it?"
Some may think that only vulgar jokes or curses are verbal violence, but from the victim's point of view, this unilateral injection is no different from a terrible assault.
I barely opened my trembling jaw and lips. Now, even the air entering my mouth was painful.
"Your Highness."
Having barely opened my mouth, I gasped for breath and slowly continued. My body, overwhelmed by him, must have been pale and no different from a corpse.
My ice-cold fingertips tell me this. The Crown Prince now felt scarier than when I was dragged away by him because of Roena's incident, and I felt like I was about to cry.
If I were to become a snake, hiding my venomous fangs and aimlessly sticking out my red tongue, he would roughly growl and spit out a murderous warning, as if he would bite everything off. As if he wouldn't hide his ferocious temper.
Is that why? The earlobe and cheek that touched the flowing breath, and everything fragile that made me up, felt like they were being torn to shreds. The fear that I thought I had overcome raised its head again and mocked me. I was sweating profusely just by moving my lips.
"I didn't know you would believe the words of such an insignificant woman. You said you weren't good at believing things, so you should be able to dismiss such absurdities without a second thought."
If the Crown Prince had even a little respect for me, he would have explained why he came to believe the Witch's words and asked for my help. The meaning of the words to keep me close doesn't necessarily refer to a lover.
Therefore, I should just stand by the Crown Prince's side like Lady Roshan has been doing. While receiving the envious gazes of many women.
But he goes one step further and even becomes very greedy. If he had shown me interest in the past and showed signs that he could move forward in this way, I wouldn't know, but the fact that he can extend this far with only a few words he said in the past can only be considered that he has some ulterior motive. So I have no choice but to be wary.
Besides, next to this son of a bitch? How is that different from a declaration to kill me by drying me up?
"Just say you covet me. Don't betray Sir Ayres with such a ridiculous excuse."
I barely raised the corners of my lips and smiled mockingly. Even if the beast's fierce teeth were to bite me, I felt like I had to return this much ridicule to feel satisfied. So I mustered all the courage I could and continued.
"Be honest, Idi."
The hand pressing down on my shoulder suddenly tenses. At the same time, the Crown Prince's face is quietly lifted, and his face, which doesn't feel even a speck of emotion, is chillingly calm as he stares at me.
I looked at him without blinking an eye, as if I wouldn't give in. My shoulder, pressed down on one side and buried in the bed, hurt a lot, but I tried to maintain my composure as if nothing was wrong.
If it were someone else, they would have scratched or bitten the dirty hand holding me and escaped, but the reality that I had no choice but to be unconditionally subjected to the person who is being considered as the next Emperor is so frustrating and humiliating. It was truly miserable that I was naturally becoming powerless because I was a woman and because of my low status.
After a while, the Crown Prince opens his mouth and says.
"...You always make me happy."
But even though the word "happy" came out, the voice flowing through his parted lips was very low. It was a dry and hard sound, as if chewing and spitting out the dry sand of the desert.
"So this time, I'm going to do as you wish. No one has ever drawn this much interest from me, so I should give you a reward. So let me say it again politely, Bischwartz Young Lady."
Who said it before? That a kiss near the crown of the head implies that you have fallen in love with the other person.
The Crown Prince slowly removed his hand that had been holding my shoulder, and with his other hand, he pressed down on the pillow I was resting on and slowly lowered his head. And he gave a light kiss on my head, where I couldn't even breathe properly due to fear.
"Yes, I covet you. Don't you also feel that the name Cishe de Divoshe Echinacia is more attractive than Cishe de Aires?"
"Well, where would there be a woman whose heart would flutter at a confession that doesn't feel genuine at all? At least for now, it's Cishe de Bischwaltz."
"Not Aires?"
"If you covet me, anyone is willing to become a Bischwaltz."
I slowly blinked my eyes and whispered to him. The Crown Prince's face was already collapsing because of my answer, so he shrugged his shoulders and laughed silently as if he was very pleased.
"Is that a refusal? I can't become a Bischwaltz, so what should I do? How about you change your mind a little more?"
I reached out and gently pushed his body back. Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince did not refuse my touch and slowly raised his body.
As if the kiss just now was a lie, he was now pushed to the bedside, standing with only his legs leaning against it.
"I don't think you'll have such mercy on me. You're not going to force me, are you?"
"Why do you think so?"
"It's nothing else. It's a really petty and embarrassing answer, but I'll be honest with you."
My throat seems to be parched with tension. I was dying to drink a glass of cool water.
But since the problem is to deal with this man first, I accurately pointed out the point he dislikes the most.
"You can't do that because of Sir Ayres. He should always be Your Highness's sword. So you thought it was the best way for me to change my mind and go to Your Highness. You think it's enough for me alone to receive the criticism. Isn't that right?"
Such a person is the next Emperor. I clenched my trembling hands, wanting to slap the Crown Prince's cheek as he nodded nonchalantly as if my answer was correct. And I arrogantly raised my chin and said to him.
"What are you going to do if I don't change my mind? I really don't know why you're making it so difficult when you could just not believe that damn prophecy."
"Huh?"
"So why don't you give it a try? I have a strange conviction, so I'm about to become very happy now."
As long as the Crown Prince tries to keep the Witch's prophecy, and as long as he tries to wear the mask of a gentleman because of his external reputation, half of the initiative has already passed to me.
I don't know why he's trying to put his neck into the snare called me, but if I have the definite card called Sir Ayres, I was convinced that even if he was the designated next Emperor, he wouldn't be able to treat me carelessly.
Only laughter flowed out at the situation that had been reversed in an instant. It was the first time that my shoulder, which was throbbing as if it was bruised, felt so sweet today. The hilt of the sword is in my hand.
