Chapter 21: Still a Lewd Bastard
The Princess’s icy, lofty gaze, tinged with disgust, was an exquisite delicacy indeed, sothing worth branding into the depths of his soul and savoring again and again.
Thank you. That was deeply satisfying.
No, wait! She was the one who pressed herself against him first, so why did it look as though he were the one acting like a lecher?
Even if this was entrapnt, it was far too clumsy!
For so reason, his royal sister was deeply prejudiced against him, always finding fault with and criticizing the Prince of Cleartide from every possible angle.
Fortunately, Faust’s ntal fortitude was truly exceptional. Yosewood’s disparagent did not sting in the slightest. It could only be said that the Princess was still too refined; she simply could not bring herself to utter genuinely vulgar insults.
To Faust, even her cold mockery felt more like a reward.
It was like basking in a spring breeze. Truly, like basking in a spring breeze.
Faust gave a slight nod and smiled.
“I do have sothing to ask of you. Are you free at the mont, Sister?”
“Wait a mont.”
Yosewood’s blue-green eyes swept over Faust once before she shut the door again.
After he waited for a short while, the Princess finally invited him inside.
It was Faust’s first ti entering his sister’s room. As for Yosewood’s bedchamber... how should he put it? It suited her temperant perfectly. There was no extravagant or luxurious furniture, and the cool palette of pale blue and light gray gave the place an air of restraint and mystery.
The place where a dressing table ought to have stood was occupied by an astrological workstation, and beyond the spacious floor-to-ceiling windows, nothing obstructed the view of the heavens.
Bookshelves stood pressed against the walls, while all kinds of scrolls and grimoires were piled upon a small table, with alchemical tools set beside them.
Had Faust not caught the faint, refreshing fragrance in the air, he would never have thought this was the room of a young lady in her bloom.
Faust did not let his gaze linger too freely over the room, because the look Yosewood cast toward him was already beginning to turn cold.
The Princess of Cleartide was blessed with natural beauty. Even without any enhancent from potions or costics, she was breathtakingly elegant. Though she wore only ordinary loungewear, with her silver-gray hair falling over her shoulders, she still seed almost unearthly, like an immortal untouched by mortal dust.
Mm. Even her figure was ethereal.
For so reason, Yosewood had clearly spent ti tidying her room just now, yet had forgotten to add an extra layer for herself. Her sleeveless blouse and short skirt were exceedingly light and cool.
Faust did his best to avert his gaze. He did not even need to think about it. If his eyes wandered in the slightest, his royal sister would most certainly seize the chance to mock him rcilessly.
Yosewood sat down by the table and lifted her delicate white chin.
“So, what is it that you wish to say?”
“Sister, I have an unreasonable request to make...”
The Prince of Cleartide drew a deep breath and explained why he had co.
He hoped Yosewood would govern as co-regent alongside him.
If she refused, that would be perfectly normal. Faust had long since prepared himself to be thoroughly scolded, and he had already drafted in his mind how he would try to persuade her.
Even if he failed, he still had to try.
“...”
The silver-gray-haired Princess studied Faust in silence for a long while. Just as during their usual etings, only after that stretch of silence did she finally speak.
“I am curious, Faust... Not long ago, you were still celebrating with all your heart the fact that you were about to ascend the throne. All you have ever desired was the satisfaction of greater and greater ambition for power.
“For that end, you would force yourself to wear the mask of wisdom and patience, showing concern and affection toward the people. For that end, you could overco your lazy and pleasure-seeking nature and work day and night. For that end, you divided everyone into ranks and grades, calculating their worth.
“You crave prestige and glory so desperately, and you loathe and fear diocrity and insignificance. So why, in the span of only a few short months, would you abandon everything you once struggled for?”
Faust: “...”
Please stop, please stop. I am breaking into a sweat here!
Yosewood’s words were like a razor-sharp scalpel, precisely cutting open the prince’s chest, dissecting every one of his actions to expose its motive, then pointing straight at the essence of it all.
Never before had Faust experienced the feeling of being seen through so completely. Yosewood understood him far more deeply than he had ever imagined.
At this point, the excuses he had prepared beforehand were utterly useless.
Still, that was fine. Honesty was his final trump card.
The Prince of Cleartide pressed his lips together, then answered, “I simply ca to understand it. I realized how ridiculous my forr ways were. I used a few thods I fancied quite clever, and I was rather pleased with myself for them. Looking back now, I did not understand at all what things were truly precious.”
That was the absolute truth. Had he not learned of the existence of the Wheel of Fate, then with the way he had been acting, he would likely have been charging all the way toward a bad ending.
Yosewood blinked.
“Was it because of Vivian? Did that child... change you?”
“I cannot say it was entirely because of Vivian. More than that, I think I simply ca to understand it myself. The Fae helped as well.”
“Is that so?”
The light in the silver-gray-haired Princess’s blue-green eyes shifted faintly, though no one knew what she was thinking.
After a while, she suddenly looked at the Prince of Cleartide again and asked, “Faust, do you love Vivianna?”
“Love... I do not like to speak lightly of love. It is a rather weighty word.”
Faust frowned, then said, “But to , Vivianna is worth more than the wealth and power of an entire kingdom. Neither could possibly compare to her.”
A lover with the destiny of a 「Witch」, one capable of limitless growth.
To hesitate for even a single second would be disrespectful to such a supre destiny!
“That does sound like sothing you would say. If you had claid she surpassed absolutely everything, that would have been the real surprise.”
The corners of Yosewood’s lips lifted slightly, and then she said, “Very well. Go and enjoy the beauty of life as soone your own age should.”
The silver-gray-haired Princess lightly twirled her ponytail and added, “I will not govern the kingdom with the sa attention to detail that you do. Still, when you are away, I will put so effort into it.”
“Sister!”
Hearing words that were essentially her agreent, Faust cried out in delight.
Unlike the formal greetings he had used in the past, this single word carried at least a trace of genuine emotion.
Yosewood seed startled as well. Her cold and reserved expression changed at once. Her slender fingers wound around her hair as she turned her gaze away.
“Mm... after all, I am still your sister.”
Perhaps it was only Faust’s imagination, but he thought he saw a smile appear upon Yosewood’s exquisite, beautiful face.
Not a cold smile. Not a mocking smile. But a real one, a smile brimming with delight.
So his sister could make an expression like that too?
But the atmosphere was so pleasant that he found it difficult to ask anything more. Satisfied, he took his leave and departed.
Only after the Prince of Cleartide had gone did Yosewood take a grimoire from the bookshelf and slowly open it. Then she drew a doll from a drawer.
The handmade doll was very cute. If Faust had still been there, he would have recognized at once that it had clearly been made in his likeness.
Yosewood placed the doll modeled after her younger brother against her neck and pinned it there with a tilt of her head. As she leafed through the grimoire and watched the words upon its pages blur and change, she said softly, “The future... has changed.”
But very soon, Yosewood saw sothing in the book that made her fair cheeks flush slightly. Her delicate brows drew together as she muttered a soft curse:
“But you are still a lewd bastard!”
Reviews
All reviews (0)