CPSMBD Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The Confused Crown Prince

The next day dawned, indifferent to yesterday's shocking events.

I arrived early at the office and immersed myself in work. The Aide's Office looked exactly as it always did—except for one jarringly out of place detail: The Crown Prince sat across from me, chin propped in his hand, staring at me with an unwavering gaze.

After Aila was dragged away by the Imperial Knights yesterday, I spent hours agonizing over how to handle the fact that the Crown Prince had consumed the Fairy’s Tears. Eventually, I decided to keep this information strictly between myself and the Emperor for now.

This wasn't just because of the sensitivity surrounding the Crown Prince's personal matters—I was terrified of what might happen if rumors about the Prince falling for me reached the Empress's ears. She had boldly declared that she would arrange a grand royal wedding for the Prince with whoever managed to catch his eye, regardless of who they were.

If word got out that the Prince had developed feelings for me... well, the Empress would likely rush to arrange our marriage, whether those feelings were genuine or induced by the Fairy’s Tears.

'No way! Absolutely not!'

Fortunately, only three people had been present in the office—His Highness, myself, and Aila. Though they say even palace walls have ears, this was a completely sealed room.

'Surely what happened in that private chamber won't spread.'

I decided to keep this secret until we could identify both the culprit and an antidote. However, the Prince's behavior wasn't making this easy—how could anyone not find it suspicious that he was neglecting his duties to sit in the Aide's Office, openly staring at my face?

"Your Highness, don't you have work to attend to?"

"No matter how busy I am, I'll always make time to see—"

Good heavens!

This was madness.

Brahe and Chief Aide Kuan were both present in the office. I hurriedly cut off the Prince's words by stretching dramatically.

"Ahhh! There's so much work to do today!"

Thanks to my quick thinking, we narrowly avoided a crisis.

'It seems the Prince, intoxicated by the Fairy’s Tears , has lost all sense of appropriate time and place.'

I needed to be more careful.

"I like you—"

I slammed my hands on the desk and stood up abruptly. Brahe and General Chief Aide Kuan turned to look at me with startled expressions.

'Please tell me they didn't hear what His Highness was about to say.'

Cold sweat trickled down my back. If I left the Prince here any longer, there was no telling what might happen.

"Your Highness, might I have a word with you?"

"Of course. Let's do that."

The Prince followed me willingly. I led him to a secluded corner of the palace where no one would pass by. He looked down at me with a gentle smile—the unmistakable gaze of a man in love.

This was going to take some getting used to.

"Your Highness, please listen carefully. These feelings you think you have for me—they aren't real."

"What do you mean?"

"You said you l-l-l-like me, right? But the truth is, you have no genuine feelings for me at all."

"You're not me. How can you presume to judge what's in my heart?"

"..."

"I love you, Violetta. These feelings are real. Trust me."

Have you ever experienced receiving passionate declarations of love from your superior who changed overnight? From someone who had shown absolutely no interest before? From someone you'd never even considered as a potential romantic partner?

Well, I have.

And I sincerely hope none of you ever experience this.

Because it is absolutely terrifying.

Goosebumps covered my entire body. I wanted nothing more than to submit my resignation and flee this place immediately.

'But if I quit, where would I go? The only thing I know how to do is being an aide.'

I took a deep breath to maintain my composure before speaking.

"Your Highness, please listen. Are you familiar with the Fairy’s Tears?"

"I've heard of them. Wait... are you suggesting that I've consumed the Fairy’s Tears and that's why I've fallen for you?"

The Prince asked with an incredulous expression.

At least the potion hadn't affected his sharp intellect—he'd immediately grasped the situation from just my mention of it.

This was truly fortunate, for the empire's future if nothing else.

"Yes."

The Prince furrowed his brow and rubbed his chin at my response.

"But I haven't consumed any Fairy’s Tears."

"Yes, you did. Yesterday, during your private audience with Lady Aila. She secretly added it to your tea."

The Prince pressed his fingers to his forehead, clearly troubled. Then he began to deny it.

"That's impossible. These feelings I have for you couldn't possibly be the result of some chemical reaction."

Ah. So even His Highness, despite all his intelligence and wisdom, had his limitations.

Potions were truly frightening things, able to manipulate people's will so completely.

"But that's exactly what it is—a chemical reaction."

The Prince looked directly into my eyes and spoke with unwavering conviction.

"No. You are the only person in this world I could ever love."

"Your Highness, think carefully. Before yesterday, did you have any memory of having feelings for me? You didn't, did you? Not once."

"That's not true. I've... I've liked you for much longer..."

"Then why did you never once confess or show any sign of attraction before?"

"That's..."

After hesitating for a long while, the Prince spoke again.

"Because my feelings for you suddenly grew so much stronger yesterday that I could no longer hide them."

"'Suddenly yesterday,' right? That's precisely because you consumed the Fairy’s Tears yesterday."

"No. I love you. Even without the Fairy’s Tears, these feelings would be the same."

This was hopeless. He simply wouldn't listen to reason.

Well, the Fairy’s Tears hadn't earned their reputation as a love potion for nothing.

Either way, this situation was dangerous. I couldn't just leave things as they were.

"Fine. I can't control your... f-feelings for me. We can't control matters of the heart, after all. But please, can we keep this secret from others?"

"Why should we? Loving you isn't a crime."

"No, but... it makes me uncomfortable."

At my words, the Prince nodded with a somber expression.

"I understand. I'll try."

Try? Not 'I will keep it secret,' but 'I'll try'?

'Why do I have such an uneasy feeling about this?'

There was simply no predicting what a love-struck Crown Prince might do.

We needed to find that antidote quickly.

Before rumors of the Crown Prince falling for me spread throughout the entire palace.

***

On our way back to the Aide's Office, we found the normally quiet entrance to the Crown Prince's office in chaos.

I spotted a middle-aged man kneeling in front of the office.

"Your Highness! Please grant me an audience!"

It was Baron Grita.

'It seems the Baron has heard about Aila being imprisoned in the palace dungeon.'

Well, there had been many witnesses.

With so many women present to see the Crown Prince when Aila was dragged away by the knights, it was inevitable that Baron Grita would find out.

Upon seeing the Crown Prince, Baron Grita rushed over and fell to his knees.

"Your Highness, what crime could my child have possibly committed to warrant imprisonment? How can someone be thrown in prison without any explanation?"

I stepped in front of the Crown Prince and addressed Baron Grita.

"I cannot share the details at this time. However, Librarian Aila committed an unforgivable act against His Highness. An investigation will begin soon."

Baron Grita's face turned pale as he clasped his hands together, begging desperately.

"She's just an innocent, naive child. She merely acted foolishly because of her deep admiration for Your Highness. Please, won't you show mercy for this humble servant's sake?"