Chapter 78: The Choice is Yours
The Crown Prince, Enoch, did not like his half-brother at all. To be exact, he hated him. Enoch had no worries until Sigren arrived. The emperor had no other sons, and no one tried to offend Enoch or become his only enemy. But after Sigren came, that all changed. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
‘That bastard Sigren, Sigren.’
The new prince’s arrival was too splendid. Perhaps because of that, his name was heard from all directions. Even the people in the palace praised him, calling him a hero who had slain a dragon.
‘At least that bastard is a bastard.’
Enoch wouldn’t have minded if Sigren had been like a dead mouse. However, Sigren was flaunting himself in noble society. Even the women who liked to coyly flirt with him when he approached blushed when they made eye contact with him. His anger soared even more when he overheard whispers that Sigren was better than the crown prince. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com. However, what angered Enoch the most was the moment Sigren had dared to grab him by the neck just for talking about a woman. That moment was the greatest insult to Enoch, who had been upheld as the crown prince his whole life. Enoch vowed that if he ever became emperor, the first thing he would do was put Sigren to the guillotine.
But such a day was still far off.
‘Is there any way to make him suffer?’
Enoch knew it was pointless to confront Sigren directly.
Fiona Heilon.
The only woman who could cause emotional agitation in Sigren.
Enoch liked her appearance, but he had never seen her properly because that annoying Duke Abel Heilon was always with her.
‘If something goes wrong, he’ll be hit hard.’
If everyone could see Enoch’s face right now, they would know immediately that he had something on his mind. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
‘Let’s make a move.’
It was difficult to deal with her openly because of the Duke of Heilon, but it didn’t matter, as Enoch had power in the capital. He didn’t have to get his own hands dirty anyway.
If there was one thing Enoch had learned most from his childhood, it was how to mistreat others.
He pulled a string.
“Get my aide here right now.”
Enoch grinned. He had a good idea. If it worked out, that was great; if it didn’t, he could always cut off the tail. Either way, it was fine.
In this country, no one could question the crown prince. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
***
Lately, I’ve been quite busy. The number of people interested in me kept increasing, likely due to the buzz created by my performance in the hunting competition. There was nothing wrong with that, though. Since I chose to settle in the capital and accepted this high-profile position, I had no reason to refuse these invitations.
One thing I noticed was how many people admired Abel Heilon. They even referred to him as the strongest shield in the north. However, he had plenty of enemies as well. Abel was never one to shy away from conflict; in fact, he often seemed to be the source of it.
In short, my adoptive father was a double-edged sword.
Sigren grinned after hearing my grumbling. “Still, it would be helpful if you went around with him.”
Did he really find this funny? I was serious.
“I’m not joking. He’s really, really blatantly sarcastic. I didn’t know Abel was so eloquent.”
In Heilon, everyone looked up to Abel, often remaining silent until he spoke. But the capital’s socialites were not from Heilon, and Abel had to make them quiet himself. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“I know, but cultivating that kind of character is expected. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to protect Heilon for so long.”
Surprisingly, Sigren defended Abel.
The more I observed them, the more it seemed that rather than having a teacher-student relationship, they acted more like bickering siblings. They were always arguing over trivial matters.
‘But you should acknowledge what needs to be acknowledged.’
I stroked Sigren’s cheek as a compliment. Unhappy with my gesture, Sigren narrowed his eyes. Then he took my hand and gently kissed the palm.
Chuu~
A rather blatant sound echoed.
I widened my eyes at the unexpected action. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“….”
“Don’t be surprised,” Sigren said indifferently.
“You’ve decided to go out with me, so I’m going to take whatever you feed me from now on.”
I stuttered, “When… when did I feed you…”
“Your hand, just now.”
He was so shameless. Yet, whenever I touched him first, he was always startled. This… I still believed that someone must have been wearing a mask of Sigren’s face.
I looked at him suspiciously.
‘My child has changed.’
“You’re thinking strange things again, aren’t you?”
I shook my head quickly. His eyes were very perceptive. I must have underestimated his intuition all this time. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“No, I’m not. I’m thinking you’re so cool.”
“Suddenly?”
It seemed that this statement was effective, as he didn’t ask any further questions. It was good, but at the same time, it worried me a little.
“Your Majesty The Prince!”
Then, someone called Sigren. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
Sigren clicked his tongue. “He’s good at finding people.”
“Who?”
Sigren replied with a dissatisfied expression, “The guy I told you about last time. The one pushed into my palace by Marquis Erez. Kane Erez.”
At the same time, a knight seemingly in his mid to late twenties appeared.
“Found you! Please, don’t run off and avoid me every time it’s my turn to escort you—”
The knight named Kane Erez stopped speaking when he saw me. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“Oh, there’s someone else. Pardon me.”
He smiled kindly and greeted me briefly.
Well, he was too polite and neat to be considered a spy.
‘It’s someone I don’t know.’
Although the meeting was abrupt, I greeted him normally.
“My name is Fiona Heilon.”
“There’s no need to introduce yourself to an escort,” Sigren said with an uncomfortable expression. “You, I don’t need you here; just go.”
“But why is it ‘no need’ only when I’m in charge…?”
It seemed Sigren had been harassing him lately. I remembered Sigren saying he couldn’t get rid of that knight because he had nothing to criticize. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com. So, was Sigren trying to make him give up on his own?
I watched Kane clinging to Sigren with an intrigued gaze, while Sigren responded coldly. Kane was the first stranger who could interact with Sigren like this.
‘I hope he’s not from the Erez family.’
If he weren’t here because of his family, they could have become close friends. Kane seemed like the type who could get along with Sigren. Normally, when Sigren acted like this, his demeanor suppressed others, making it difficult for anyone to approach him. But Kane was not deterred.
‘Can’t get along because of family… This isn’t Romeo and Juliet, is it?’
Suddenly, Sigren looked at me and said as if he had read my thoughts, “Lady Fiona, I see you’re thinking about something pointless again.”
He wasn’t really reading my mind, was he?
I laughed softly. “No way. I just thought that the relationship between the master and his servant is interesting.”
“….”
Upon hearing my words, both Sigren and Kane Erez’s expressions soured simultaneously.
How could they be the same? As expected, these two didn’t get along well.
Seeing the two men alternate between expressions, I grinned. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
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