Chapter 100: Caught

“…….”

Back in her room, Clarice flops down onto her bed with a thud. She can’t even explain to herself why she keeps feeling like this.

Yet the one person she wants to ask about it—Isaac—is nowhere to be found.

He had brought Clarice to her room and tucked her into bed, then left just like that.

Watching him go filled her with a vague sense of disappointment, mixed with a tinge of anxiety.

‘Could he have sensed something off about me after what I did?’

Given how sharp that man’s instincts are, it wouldn’t be surprising.

Thumb. Thumb. Thumb.

‘M-my heart is racing.’

Her pounding heart refuses to calm down. Once she slowly replays what she did, she realizes she’s done something absolutely ridiculous—and she silently berates herself for it.

‘Why in the world did I say something like that?!’

She could have spent time with Prince Raphael by naturally staying close to him—maybe even sharing casual physical contact. But she herself had just kicked that opportunity away.

She lies there for a while, lost in a daze, stewing on it.

Creak.

The door opens, and someone steps in.

“Isaac?!”

Clarice bolts upright, but the person entering is not Isaac. It’s Heyrad.

“Princess.”

“Oh, Heyrad. What is it?”

At the moment, Heyrad is supposed to be overseeing Dell for surveillance and information gathering. He normally wouldn’t have any reason to appear here. Rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, he spoke:

“Baron Logan told me we might need to switch roles. It looks like I’ll be assigned to your guard detail again… Did something happen between you and Baron Logan?”

“Ah.”

Clarice’s face goes stiff as she gasps.

“A-Aak?!”

Her face becomes beet-red, and she covers both cheeks with her hands.

“Aaack?!”

Has she ever felt this embarrassed in her entire life?

She can say with absolute confidence—no, she never has.

“Aaaargh?!”

“Princess?”

Overcome by the urge to crawl into a hole, Clarice dives under the covers instead. From under the blanket, she starts whacking a pillow with both hands.

“Haaaaaaaaaaa!”

She’s been caught.

****

The next morning, Isaac was in the training ground, warming up with the Grandmaster.

“Huh, you’ve hardly given me a second glance since coming here. What’s the occasion today?”

“…….”

Isaac has no real excuse. He knows he’s been by Princess Clarice’s side all this time, assisting her nonstop. He didn’t have a moment to spare for Sharen or Grandmaster.

“Ahem, I am a swordsman, after all. I’ve been too lax lately, so I plan to focus on training today.”

“Hmmm? But the banquet is tomorrow, isn’t it? Seems like today is even more crucial.”

“Prince Raphael is seriously considering Dell’s proposal.”

“Proposal?”

“Dell will become his concubine, and he’ll marry Princess Clarice. That’s what I mean.”

“Hmph.”

Grandmaster’s brow twitches. Nearby, Sharen—who’s stretching her legs—glances over curiously.

“The moment he started wavering, it was all but decided. The marriage will likely go ahead.”

She hasn’t completely won over Raphael, but judging from the prince’s reaction yesterday, there’s no doubt he’s taken some interest in Clarice.

“So from here on, I’m sure Princess Clarice can handle things on her own. Let’s prepare to head back.”

“Hmmm?”

Grandmaster, noticing some impatience in Isaac’s explanation, has questions, but doesn’t press the issue. If Isaac doesn’t want to talk, there’s no point in forcing him.

The unexpected question comes from Sharen:

“What’s this? So Dell becomes a concubine, and the princess becomes the queen?”

“You could say that.”

It’s not exactly “compromise,” but there’s an undeniable gap in status between a nation’s princess and a mere bakery girl.

“…Hmm, that just seems kind of lame.”

Sharen mutters under her breath, sounding displeased. Isaac momentarily flinches—he didn’t expect her to say that.

“I mean, isn’t it weird? He was ready to run away from his entire kingdom with Dell, but then, after just a few days of being seduced by the princess, he’s changed his mind?”

“…….”

“From the start, the fact that he’s weighing both women on a scale like this just feels off.”

“We’re the ones who made him do that.”

“Well, not me!”

Indeed, Sharen had no part in that particular plan. Isaac sighs.

“So, is that how all men are, Isaac?”

As if she’s had a sudden revelation, Sharen narrows her eyes and asks.

Grandmaster crosses her arms with a mischievous grin.

“Ah, yes. ‘Tis the nature of man. If a woman is a fierce wind, then his coat is blown away. If she is the blazing sun, he takes it off because it’s too hot. That, dear child, is man.”

“Oooh.”

“Please don’t teach her nonsense.”

Sharen nods for a second as though she’s learned something profound, then frowns and looks at Isaac again.

“But Isaac, you weren’t like that.”

“…….”

“I mean, Silverna back in the North tried to press those giant breasts against you, and you still weren’t swayed.”

If Silverna were to hear this conversation, she’d probably pick up a spear and chase her down on the spot, yet they speak as if it’s nothing. Isaac decides to correct the record:

“Silverna has never done that.”

“Come on, I’ve witnessed it at least three times.”

“…….”

Isaac briefly clamps his mouth shut as a few overlapping memories float to mind. Seeing this, Grandmaster lets out a hollow laugh and slings a massive sword over her shoulder.

“My, my… how many hearts have you stolen? Starting with the eldest daughters of Helmut and Caldias, who are hailed as the kingdom’s finest flowers—”

“Me! Put me on that list, too!”

“You want in as well, Sharen? Fine. Then I’ll throw myself in, too, and multiply this rascal’s sins.”

“Whoa! Isaac, at this rate you’ll get the death penalty!”

“…….”

Isaac can’t make heads or tails of this conversation anymore.

Grandmaster, counting on her fingers, folds down a fourth finger and, with a laugh, closes the last one.

“And now, even Princess Clarice, who’s getting married soon. Quite the scoundrel you are.”

“The Princess is not—”

Isaac catches himself sounding uncharacteristically serious. The moment he does, Grandmaster leans in with a teasing glint in her eye, resting an arm on his shoulder.

“Oh, child… you’re so very bad at lying.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Child, don’t lie to yourself. Sometimes being too keenly perceptive only ends up tripping you up, doesn’t it?”

“Hah.”

Isaac exhales in frustration and subtly turns his head to look at Grandmaster. She clicks her tongue in sympathy, wearing a wry smile.

“I’m no expert in matters of the heart…”

“…….”

“But I do have an eye for change. The Princess’ feelings toward you have definitely shifted from what they were before.”

“That hardly qualifies as love.”

“Well, you’d know best, right? You’re the man who’s experienced the hottest flame of love out of all of us, after all.”

Grandmaster smirks, teasing him. Next to them, Sharen looks up at Isaac blankly and asks:

“You never said anything like that to my sister?”

“…?!”

“Oho? Now that is an interesting question,” Grandmaster says with intrigue.

Children do sometimes ask the sharpest questions. Isaac visibly flinches at Sharen’s words and takes a step back.

“I don’t know… it just seems like your situation is really similar to what happened with Dell. Given your personality, you probably told Unnie to go marry another man, right?”

“Mmm.”

Isaac retreats another step. Seeing this, Grandmaster sidles right up to him, linking arms and grinning mischievously.

“Come now, out with it.”

She pokes his cheek with a finger, as if playfully urging him. Sharen, who can’t reach that high, pokes his waist with her finger and laughs.

“Talk! Spill it!”

“Haaah…”

Caught between the two, Isaac finally relents and tells them what happened back then:

He told Rihanna to marry someone else while he would wait for her by the riverside.

Rihanna replied, “Absolutely not,” and firmly refused.

Her answer had thrilled him more than he’d expected, and he’d been unable to hide how happy it made him.

After hearing this story, Grandmaster mumbles in mild astonishment:

“That really happened? Goodness… now I feel a bit guilty.”

“And you say that after listening to it all?”

“I couldn’t help finding it so fascinating.”

“Wow, you know what?”

Having heard the whole story, Sharen clenches her fists.

“Doesn’t that just make the prince look worse in comparison?!”

Neither Grandmaster nor Isaac can find a good response to that.

“…….”

“…….”

“Or… am I seeing it the wrong way?” Sharen tilts her head, perplexed.

They both hesitate, unsure how to explain. After all, she isn’t entirely wrong, making it hard to defend the prince.

Eventually—

“It just means your sister is incredible,” says Grandmaster, opting to praise Rihanna instead.

“My sister?”

“Yes, think of it that way.”

“She really is amazing. You know, last time she took a kitchen knife and tried to cook?”

“…Rihanna did?”

That’s certainly unexpected.

“Uh-huh. But she kept slicing right into the cutting board with the kitchen knife, so she ended up cooking with a longsword instead.”

“…….”

“Ugh, I guess that’s what they call so Helmut-like, huh?”

“She got chased out by the head chef in the end!”

Well, at least it seems she’s living a lively life after becoming the head of the household. That’s a relief.

– – The End of The Chapter – –

 

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