The silence around the hall was so thick that it could be cut with a knife. Everyone held their breath as they waited for Prince Kaiden’s answer.
It was a historic mont that would decide who Prince Kaiden would choose between his fiancée and his ex-companion. But most people put their money on Sera.
Even if things were tense between her and the crown prince, they were still engaged to be married. anwhile, his companion had already left the imperial palace by now and did not even show his face.
"Sera..."
Prince Kaiden’s voice was clear, and Sera imdiately turned toward him.
"Yes, dear..."
Sera asked, trying to contain her excitent. But the next few words made her heart sink.
"Shuu won’t be going anywhere, and this is not up for debate. If you want to send more troops to help people, I will select more for you. But Shuu won’t be leaving the imperial capital unless I permit it."
Prince Kaiden’s orders were solid, and they trampled over Sera’s honor.
Her face twisted between crying and disbelief. She opened her mouth, but no words ca out. She could feel her honor slipping away.
Thankfully, her father interfered before things could get worse.
"Please forgive this child, Prince Kaiden. She has a good heart and wants to help people. I am sure she said what she said because of that. But if you are against it this much, then it cannot be helped. Let’s drop this conversation for now and enjoy your engagent."
Count Diltz gave the gossiping people a glare, causing them to shut their mouths. Then he turned toward the crown prince with an insistent face.
The Crown Prince still felt his anger burning him on the inside, but he slowly began to calm down and looked around.
"Indeed, this might not be the best place for us to have this talk. We can revisit this topic later."
Prince Kaiden agreed, and the topic was dropped.
Shuu also let out the breath he had been holding all this ti. His heart skipped so many beats that it was beginning to hurt now.
Nero’s presence by his side felt like solid support. But he was not sure how much he would be able to rely on him.
Prince Kaiden’s eyes looked at him from the other side of the room, and it made him nervous to even notice it.
He did not want to be in this hall anymore...
"Do you want to head back now? We have stayed here long enough."
Nero pointed out, and Shuu nodded.
He knew that it was rude for him to leave, but he could not force himself to stay any longer. He was back in his bed before he knew it, and he pulled his covers over his head, trying to tune the voices out.
’What a ss. All I wanted was to live a life free of hassle and out of the public eye. Was that too much to ask for?’
Unfortunately, he did not get an answer from the universe, and his stress threatened to consu him whole.
__________
"How can Prince Kaiden do this to ? If he was truly against my decision, then could he not have said this to in private? I... why did he refuse to agree with in front of our guests?"
Sera felt her rage threatening to consu her, and for the first ti in her life, hatred filled her eyes.
She was so angry that she did not even care what she was doing.
"M-My lady... your dicine..."
Her maid trembled as she handed Sera a vial filled to the brim. Sera almost broke the glass before she took it.
It was dicine her father had been giving her ever since she was young. Her father had told her that it was for her ’delicate’ condition, and taking it would ensure she was strong enough to accompany the crown prince.
"What is the use of this dicine now...?"
Sera asked, feeling her heart hurting. But she could not refuse the dicine if it ant that she could lose the crown prince.
She drank the dicine, and her body felt weak all of a sudden. Her cheeks flushed, and her eyes glowed a little.
It was a usual occurrence, so she was not alard. She waited for it to cool down, and her door was suddenly knocked on by soone.
Her maid quickly went to check, and her face lit up when she ca back.
"L-Lady Sera, Prince Kaiden has co to see you."
That made Sera happy and hopeful as well, and she imdiately told him to co inside. Once they were seated and had tea between them, she waited for Prince Kaiden to speak first.
But he remained quiet, causing Sera to start the conversation.
"Prince Kaiden, I am so disappointed in you. Why did you do that? I planned such a nice thing for our people on my engagent, but now I feel like a fool-"
"Who told you to do that? Sera, won’t you tell who asked you to send people on this expedition?"
Prince Kaiden’s eyes were heavy and dark. Sera had a feeling that if she took a na now, the other person would die.
So, as much as she wanted to tell the Crown Prince how brilliant her father’s plan was, she could not bring herself to do it.
"I... no one. I was the one who wanted to do this. B-But why would it matter that much? It’s just an expedition to show how strong the heroes are and-"
"Do not involve Shuu like this again. He does not have powers like everyone else on the expedition did. He does not even have goddess protection. If anything, the one who needs to be protected is him."
Prince Kaiden’s words stabbed Sera, and her eyes were filled with tears. The Crown Prince was sitting with her, and yet all his worries and words were about Shuu.
"I... B-But..."
She tried to say sothing, but her words beca a stutter. She hoped Prince Kaiden would notice, like he used to, and comfort her.
But Prince Kaiden just stood up and left the room.
Her maids quickly ca inside, asking her if she was alright, but Sera felt numb.
For the first ti in her life, she felt genuinely worried that she would lose Prince Kaiden, and she realized that she needed to do sothing.
’I... can no longer hesitate. I need to get Shuu out of here as soon as possible. If Prince Kaiden won’t let send him away, then... I will make it so that he has no choice but to leave...’
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