85 – The Product of the Answer

The Crown Prince’s office, created exclusively for the Crown Prince’s work.

As usual, it’s a space where guests don’t come often, and only Mikhail, the owner of this room, sits alone.

“······So. The cult is preparing a rebellion?”

“The church is not originally under the imperial family, so it’s ridiculous to call it a rebellion, but… I guess it’s roughly like that.”

Today, as many as four guests visited the peaceful prince’s office.

“Is there evidence?”

Rebecca said she couldn’t understand.

She looked as if she didn’t know what she was hearing right now.

It wasn’t that she didn’t understand Rebecca.

When I heard this from her saintess, she responded not too different from Rebecca’s now.

‘A denomination?’, ‘There’s no way the denomination is like that out of the blue.’ Same negative reaction.

“The proof is here, Princess Rebecca.”

“Then really…”

“Yes. This is proof that our church is gathering people somewhere without the royal family knowing.”

However, even though I didn’t want to believe it, I had no choice but to believe it.

Estelle, who had been quietly listening to Mikhail’s explanation until just now, held out several documents that clearly supported Mikhail’s explanation.

Evidence that even my fiancée, who has a very bad personality, can’t help but admit it.

“······I just thought it was weird.”

Rebecca asked me a question as if she had noticed my strange expression passing by in an instant.

“It’s a misunderstanding. There’s no way I’m thinking strange things about the princess.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I’d rather not know if it’s an unsound idea.”

“······What else is that?”

“For example… What I did before the princess and I parted ways yesterday… Eup.”

Before she could finish her words, she was stopped by her fiancee’s hand.

Rebecca’s face, which was covering my mouth, was already flushed red as if she were remembering the events of yesterday.

“······I have no idea what you guys did after the prom yesterday, so why don’t you sit down?”

And then, I heard Mikhail’s rather pissed-off voice.

The expression on his face was also very annoyed, either because he was being interrupted by what he was saying, or because he didn’t like the way Rebecca and I flirted.

“Deterioration and lack of qualifications are not good feelings.”

“Knight Commander. At a time like this, shouldn’t you save my face?”

“Did you want that kind of reaction from me?”

“No, not at all.”

“That’s it.”

“····.”

Of course, I was stopped by Knight Commander Veronica, who was standing next to me, just like I was stopped by Rebecca.

Today, without fail, he was the crown prince who encouraged his subjects to have sympathy.

“Now, everyone stop. Wouldn’t it be better to come up with a plan for the future?”

Perhaps thinking that there would be no progress at this rate, Estelle lightly clapped her hands to refresh the atmosphere.

“But why are you here? Aren’t you also a member of the Order?”

Although that ventilation awakened thoughts I hadn’t had before.

Leaving aside the personal feelings Rebecca has for Estelle. There was absolutely nothing to point out in the words itself when viewed objectively.

Estelle was a saint of this generation, and it is a fact that no one can deny that she is the head of the church and the face madam.

She needed to question why the saintess was giving us information about her church.

Estelle opened her mouth as if she had expected that such a question would come up at least once.

“The princess is right. I am a member of the Order no matter what anyone says.”

“Then why…”

“However, being a saint of the church doesn’t mean I agree with everything in the church. Especially in this case, if I had been informed at the beginning, I would have tried to stop it before proceeding.”

“How can I believe that?”

“······I won’t blindly ask you to trust me. Instead, it would be nice if you could remember one thing. The fact that this incident is also related to Prince Albert, whom you love.”

“Who loves…”

Rebecca stuttered her words as she subconsciously expressed her denial and then she realized that I was by her side.

She probably reacted reflexively because she couldn’t throw away the habit she had been blindly denying when she said that she loved or liked her.

“Is that so…? I guess I was the only one looking at the Princess.”

It was a very effective reaction to bring out the mischievous nature from me.

“No. That’s not it…”

“It’s okay to be honest. In fact, I knew to some extent. All the words of love that the princess conveys to me are lies.”

“······It can’t be.”

“Yes?”

“It can’t be a lie that I like you!”

Rebecca’s cry sounds like she’s had a grudge.

At Rebecca’s cry, which sounded cool, as if she had forgotten that this place was the office of the crown prince with several people.

“Oops.”

“······Oh my God.”

Exclamations flowed from the onlookers who were watching this situation as if they were appreciating a painting.

“······· Ah.”

Rebecca seemed to realize where she was when she heard the exclamations she couldn’t contain.

There was only one thing she could do for her fiancé, whose face was blushing from her belated realization.

“It was a joke.”

“····.”

“There’s no way I wouldn’t know that the princess loves me more than anyone else.”

To tell the truth that what I said earlier was a lie to make fun of you. To tell you that you already know that you love me.

That was the best I could do as she blushed at the sudden confession of her fiancée.

“······I want both of you to go out and die.”

Mihail’s remark, which sounded somewhat lonely, was a bonus.

***

After the serious (?) Meeting in the prince’s office, I returned to the Valencia duke’s residence, which I was more familiar with than my own home, the residence of Count Xernias.

“Are you still mad?”

“····.”

By the way, Rebecca was still unresolved.

Rebecca’s puffy cheeks, as if she wanted to emphasize to me that she was pouting.

This kind of cute behavior was something that Rebecca hadn’t seen in the past.

In the past, Rebecca always valued her face and pride as her princess and rarely expressed her opinion.

It was never wrong to say that love and acceptance change people.

“I was wrong, so why don’t you clear your mind now?”

“······What did you do wrong?”

“I played a prank on the princess in the place where the crown prince and the saintess were.”

“I know you know. What did I say last time?”

“It’s embarrassing in front of others, so he told me to restrain myself.”

“But why did you do that this time?”

“····.”

When I was asked why, my mouth was firmly shut as if it would not open easily.

It wasn’t that the words to answer that question didn’t immediately come to mind.

‘It was because the princess was so cute.’, ‘My fiancee was so cute that I couldn’t stand it.’ Etc.

Unfamiliar words came to my mind countless times as usual.

“Are you not listening to your fiancé? Why aren’t you answering?”

“······Well, Princess, why do you think your stupid fiancé did that?”

“Yes?”

It’s just that, unlike usual when my mouth opened easily, today it just didn’t come out.

The reason is… Maybe it was because of something that happened earlier in Mikhail’s office.

– It can’t be a lie that I like you!

At the time, Rebecca’s cry was overlooked because she thought her fiancée was cute.

Even though the sentence itself was always at the level where I spoke without hesitation, I had to feel once again that there was a difference between talking about a psychological attack that was more powerful than I thought and being directly subjected to it.

“····.”

Rebecca looked like she was really thinking about my words, which she spat out on her own to somehow cover it up.

Usually, I just said, ‘Are you kidding me?’ Why am I thinking deeply today?

Besides, she must have found the answer on her own, as suddenly she blushed again.

“Is it because of…?”

“Yes? I didn’t hear you properly.”

“Is it because I look so cute to you…?”

“····.”

Rebecca barely carries on with her words, her face dyed red as if she knows exactly what she is saying.

It was very surprising that such words came out of my fiancee’s mouth, but what was even more surprising was that the answer she gave after much thought was the perfect answer.

Is this cute person who is dyeing her face red in front of me really my fiancée?

“······I never thought those words would come out of my fiancee’s mouth.”

“You mean I can’t say these things?”

“No, not because it’s strange. My fiancée seems to have changed a lot.”

“······Is that so?”

It sounds like you can’t believe it with your mouth.

Perhaps Rebecca knew best.

She tells me how much she has changed since she met me.

How different she was from her past self when she received her ring from me and when she admitted that she loved someone.

Rebecca shook her head a little, then said she didn’t care.

“So. Did I guess? Why did you prank me?”

“What would you do if I told you I got it right?”

“Isn’t it natural to receive a prize if you get the answer right?”

“Would you like my fiancé to receive an award from her fiancé?”

“······In that case.”

What if I want to receive it?

It’s a bit blunt, but the person who said it was more red than anything else in the world, so it didn’t sound blunt or unpleasant at all.

And, as Rebecca said.

“If my fiancée wants it that way. I’ll reward you.”

“····.”

“Come closer.”

It was natural to give a prize to the person who answered correctly.

“Why do you always ask me to come close to you? You can come to me.”

“So you don’t like it?”

“······No.”

Although I had no idea if the award was for my grumbling, upcoming fiancée, or for me waiting for an upcoming fiancée.

What was certain was that the kiss that day lasted long into dinner, when Dorothy knocked on her room door.