The Scoundrel of the Holy Kingdom (3)

"..."

"..."

The attendant, David Capuson, had a disloyal thought for a moment.

He wanted to leave his master and get out of here right away.

He was the person who had been supporting the Imperial Prince for the longest time, and, as the Chief Attendant of Romero Palace, had the ability to maintain his calm and handle any and all situations.

However, even he had never faced something like this before.

Imperial Prince Cédric seemed to find it uncomfortable to be around young lady Christelle de Sarnez, but he could not figure out why.

The problem was that the young lady seemed to find the Imperial Prince to be extremely unpleasant as well.

A suffocating air brushed past in the room next to the reception room.

"Here is your coffee, your Royal Highness, and yours, young lady Sarnez."

"Thank you very much."

Young lady Sarnez thanked the attendant respectfully.

The Imperial Prince thanked him with a gaze. It was back to silence after that.

David debated whether he should step out and leave the two of them alone.

The only thing he could think of being responsible for this bad relationship between the two of them was the breaking of the engagement.

However, it wasn't like they were going to be married because they had feelings for each other. He had heard that things with the House of Sarnez were resolved pretty well.

They even danced together at the Spring Ball when they first met.

Of course, the Imperial Prince was skilled in acting as a member of the Imperial Family, but...

– Clack.

He could hear the ice moving inside young lady Sarnez's coffee cup.

David snapped out of his thoughts and looked toward his master out of habit.

The Imperial Prince's face was even stiffer.

"David."

"Yes, your Royal Highness."

"Go rest."

He was being asked to leave.

He thought about how the two of them had turned the interior training ground into a mess, but this was the Empress Palace.

Furthermore, Lady Sarah Belliard was in the reception room right next to this one.

There was no way that they would cause such an issue. The attendant bowed respectfully before stepping away.

"..."

"..."

The room became suffocatingly calm again.

Christelle de Sarnez, well, the soul of Ham Ga-in inside her, barely managed to stop herself from scowling.

The art of keeping a poker face that she had learned from her 31 years of life and crafted in her long time in the workforce, was quite useful here as well.

She did not like the man sitting across from her but she maintained a smile on her face.

Everybody she met after the transmigration was a first meeting and a new person to her, but it was the first time she did not like someone for no reason like this.

"Huuuuuu."

Christelle quietly took a breath. She did her best not to think about the Imperial Prince.

The reason she did not immediately return to the Sarnez Residence in the Imperial Capital after saying goodbye to Prince Jesse was not to have this unnecessary mental battle with this man.

She could clearly feel the ether of the prince in the next room even without focusing very hard.

As someone who has not been officially ordained as a Holy Knight yet, the only time for her to use her ability was during the lessons. She had never experienced what it felt like to be lacking ether.

As a result, this was closer to a form of aromatherapy. The vocal equivalent would be ASMR.

Being exposed to the prince's ether calmed her heart and made her feel as if the waves inside her settled down.

The other priests she had met had extremely precise ether control and their ether was not this pure.

It was more like the Imperial Prince's...

'Wait a minute. The Imperial Prince?'

"..."

"Did you want something?"

Imperial Prince Cédric looked disgruntled as she looked at him with her large eyes.

He did not openly frown at her, but there was no goodwill whatsoever visible on his pretty face.

The cause of her discomfort started to reveal a faint outline.

Christelle oddly felt a sense of victory as she started speaking.

"You are not a priest, your Royal Highness."

"..."

"But it feels as if you have ether."

Cédric Riester was silent at this sharp deduction.

There had been no Holy Knights in the Empire until now.

That meant that there had been nobody who could sense his fire attribute ether.

Even healing priests had to open a special circle and release their ether to confirm his condition.

However, Christelle de Sarnez was different.

As expected, this woman was reacting sensitively to his fire.

This was going to be annoying.

*

"The collision of forces at the border was Crown princess Elise acting on her own?"

"I have a hundred birds feeding me information, your highness."

Lady Belliard smiled brightly and said that random phrase after hearing my question.

I took a sip of the dried lime tea that an attendant had brought for me, and tried to control my facial expressions.

The sweet taste made me feel as if I could focus a bit again.

"About twenty of them told me that was the case. They said that Prince Consort Werner had nothing to do with that incident, and that the crown princess was solely responsible."

"Even if what you said is true and the incident was solely caused by Crown princess Elise, it does not change anything."

That was my response. It was the truth.

Even if the Prince Consort did not order her to do it, I was here because the crown princess went against the agreement.

It just meant that the father and daughter acted with the same goal in mind.

Who cares if they didn't seem to work together for a single incident?

"I guess so, your highness. But five of my birds... they said something different. No, it may have been six birds."

She mumbled about how numbers became sort of blurry as she grew older before lowering her voice.

I could barely hear what she said next.

"They say that the crown princess does not agree with what the Prince Consort is trying to do."

"You are saying some dangerous things."

I felt chills down my back, but made sure to still respond calmly. This was new information as well.

I'm sure it was just a rumor, but there was a difference between knowing that these rumors were out there and not knowing anything at all.

Crown princess Elise is two years older than Prince Jesse.

I have no idea what kind of relationship the two of them had.

However, I did not believe that the three siblings of the Holy Kingdom would have been close, as Eunse described Prince Jesse's family as if they were a ridiculous family in a Korean drama.

They were probably only friendly on the outside, as half-siblings often do in the shows, with behind the scenes political battles occurring in the palace.

At least that was how it was in the Chinese drama that my brother was watching.

"His royal highness, the Prince Consort, cherishes Princess Elise more than his own life."

I said something that pretty much everybody knew about.

"But do you think that the crown princess feels the same way about the Prince Consort?"

Lady Sarah Belliard asked in a profound way.

Her green eyes looked as if they could pierce through a person's soul.

However, there was nothing she would be able to get from me.

"I do not know."

I didn't know anything. I calmly said that before bringing the teacup to my lips. No, I tried to put the cup to my lip.

– Splash...

The liquid in the teacup moved oddly. I was shocked but clenched my teeth not to say anything.

"..."

"You don't know about that either."

"Lady Belliard, it is probably best to stop asking about the political situation in the Holy Kingdom. It may impact the relationship between the two nations."

Benjamin sternly interjected.

Lady Belliard sounded shocked before she shrugged her shoulders.

I was unable to take my eyes away from my teacup even at that moment.

I was the only one who saw this, because Lady Belliard rejected a drink saying that she does not drink anything during an interview.

What happened just now did not happen because my body or the ground shook.

I was sure that the tea in my cup shot up before it fell back down.

It was completely still now, as if nothing had happened, but it felt like something you would see in a movie...

– Clang!

I heard the sound of glass breaking on the other side of the wall. I jerked my head up.

Lady Belliard, who was flipping through her notebook, and Benjamin and Ganael who were standing behind me, looked shocked at the unexpected noise as well.

"I guess they are not finished cleaning the next room. It sounds as if the attendants made a mistake."

Benjamin calmly commented. I looked up at him with confusion.

Ganael thankfully explained things for me.

"The next room is where you got ready this morning, your highness. This reception room and that room share a fireplace."

I peeked toward the fireplace behind Lady Belliard.

We seemed to be able to hear the other side, because the fireplace was open and therefore connected the two rooms together.

It made sense now because I didn't think that the walls of the Empress Palace would be thin enough to allow sound to travel through so easily.

"Weren't we much farther in the morning? I don't remember Her Majesty's office being so close."

"That's because we moved through the eastern staircase, your highness. It is much closer, and it seems different if you use the central staircase as we did just now."

"I thought that it was a completely different floor."

"Mm, your highness..."

Ganael looked at me with pity. Benjamin quietly sighed.

"I know I'm bad with directions, but..."

"This is an interesting story."

Lady Belliard's eyes sparkled at my comment. I shut my mouth but it was already too late.

"The prince who is known as the Moon of the Holy Kingdom is bad with directions. Or maybe directionally challenged is better?"

She put her glasses back on her face and started moving her quill pen.

'Damn it, this isn't what I wanted.'

"...I am pretty average with directions."

I wanted to say that I had nothing to fear with the map app on, and that I could get around on my own with no problems.

It felt so unfair that I could not say anything because I transmigrated into this body.

It looked as if my weaknesses would be revealed in my attempt to get information out of her.

– Crackle!

I saw the fire in the fireplace burn fiercely behind Lady Belliard at that moment.

"Uhh..."

Ganael seemed to have witnessed it this time as well.

The fire soon returned to normal but I could not shake this odd feeling in my mind.

Lady Belliard turned her body to look behind her after seeing the stiff expressions on our faces.

"Umm, did you hear the story about the Divine beast?"

I quickly threw her some bait.

The Managing Editor of the < Biweekly Riester > looked back at me with an amused gaze.

"When you say divine beast, are you talking about the animal that you took in instead of sending to the Duhem March?"

"Yes ma'am."

I know it made no sense, but I had a strong feeling that I could not let her find out about this possessed teacup or the suspicious fireplace.

The Riester Imperial Palace was made with anti-magic stones in the walls and the floors to prevent magic from being used anywhere other than the training grounds.

The temple was an exception as it was under the Pope's authority.

Basically, it meant that what happened just now was not because of magic.

"His name is Demy. I let him play in the garden when I come to the Empress Palace..."

I started going off about things she didn't even ask me and succeeded in keeping her gaze focused on me.

I didn't care whether they poured oil or alcohol into the fireplace from the other room.

However, there was a clear culprit for the tea giving me a show.

And, based on what I knew, her abilities should not be revealed just yet.

'Why did she not go home yet?'

"He sounds very cute."

"Yes, he is very cute. He's lately shown interest in the meat I eat..."

I pushed back against my jaw that was going stiff, and continued my chat with Lady Belliard.

I ended up biting my tongue trying to get new information out of Lady Belliard while simultaneously not revealing much about my personal life and protecting Christelle de Sarnez's secret.

I would probably only feel better if I told her she owes me a meal for helping her out, but I couldn't even say that, as it might make us get closer.

'Damn it...'

*

Friday with the fierce fireplace came to a close and it was already Monday.

It was raining outside.

"Welcome, my little prince."

"It is my pleasure to be in your presence, your noble Eminence, Madam Cardinal."

11 a.m. I received Cardinal Boutier's warm welcome as I entered her office.

Two guests who had arrived before me were seated on the couch.

One bastard said nothing as he looked at me, while the other stood up and respectfully greeted me.

"Hello, Prince Jesse."

"Hello, young lady Sarnez. Hello your Royal Highness."

"..."

Unlike Christelle, who was acting like an adult, Imperial Prince Cédric looked quite upset.

It was at least good that he wasn't trying to provoke me as usual.

"My godson's condition is bad because of the rain."

'Because of the rain? Does this punk have spring fever?'

I did my best to maintain my poker face as I sat down far away from the two main characters.

It was good news to hear that the main character of a romfan was struggling with spring fever.

'Use that 'heat' to light up your romantic life and start dating her already.'

"I'm sure he's even more upset because he's been placed on probation."

"Your Eminence."

The Cardinal quietly chuckled after hearing the Imperial Prince's stiff voice.

I blinked a few times after hearing that word for the first time since coming to this world.

'The Imperial Prince is on probation? Why?'

"I also received probation."

Christelle leaned in close to the table and whispered.

Her smiling face was so pretty yet so ominous.

"How... Did the two of you cause an incident?"

The Imperial Prince scowled at my question. The main character's clear laughter echoed through the room.

—