CH 67

That guy, why’s going over there after being rejected from this side?’

Hans’ behavior was strangely unpleasant.

After Erin politely refused Han, she glanced at Rupert. As soon as their eyes met, Rupert, who had been about to go to Erin, turned to Chloe.

At this point, his face was strangely red.

“Lady, my name is Rupert Clifford.” 

He politely reached out to Chloe. He could feel Erin’s and Duke Clifford’s gaze on the back of his head, and he felt even more flustered.

‘D*mn it, why am I here?’

Chloe looked up at him in surprise. It was then that Rupert saw Chloe properly for the first time.

Blinking her innocent orange big eyes, she seemed at a loss what to do with his outstretched hand.

Indeed, Hans was right that she’s a beauty worth making a fuss about. But he wanted her to say no.

What came to Chloe was an impulsive act that followed the stream of consciousness.

“Then…Thank you.”

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Contrary to expectations, Chloe took Rupert’s hand. Unable to rescind his offer, Rupert had no choice but to escort Chloe and head to the center. 

Enoch, who was already dancing with the princess of Chelda, gave a curious look at Rupert, but Rupert ignored it.

He didn’t know what to do with the situation.

Emperor Longard von Rikephoros looked at the hall with a funny expression. Then he glanced at the Duke next to him and said, “Your son is going out to dance.”

“…Boy, why are you useless?”

The Duke tried to suppress his anger because he was in front of the Emperor, but his frustration toward his son inevitably leaked out. 

“Don’t be like that and leave it alone, just like me. How can we stop young people from making their own decisions?”

“Your Majesty, that’s… I don’t have much time.” 

While the Duke looked well, he was already aware of his illness. So he also guessed for himself that he had only a few years left.

The Emperor also noticed that fact to some extent, but he feigned ignorance and muttered, “If he married into the Spilet family, love and feelings wouldn’t matter.”*

“I don’t know what my son’s thinking. Rupert doesn’t hate Miss Erin either. He’s been paying a lot of attention since they were young. I’m just worried he’s wasting his time on unwarranted antipathy.” 

The Duke narrowed his eyes as he watched the dancing pair. 

“And it’s not just because of her family. Miss Erin is intelligent, and she’s also a child who gives Rupert absolute support. It’s hard to get such a person even if you give them a thousand gold.”

“Hmm.”

“But, wouldn’t things be difficult if he met someone else before he even got married?”

“Well, it seems like there are still a lot of guys who are looking at Miss Erin.”

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The Emperor looked curiously at Erin leaving the ballroom. He also saw Enoch’s head turning in the direction Erin was going.

Without seeing it, the Duke changed the subject and asked the Emperor a question. “Your Majesty… Aren’t you interested in taking in a Crown Princess?”

The Emperor shrugged and said, “Well, Don’t you know the legend of the Imperial Family?”

The Duke blinked in confusion. Although he was aware of the legend, he didn’t know that the Emperor actually believed it. 

According to the legend, the first Emperor, Archmage Rikephoros, felt sorry for the weight of the Empire that the descendants of his lineage would bear and prayed a favor to the goddess.

‘Give me strength not to be weighed down by the weight of life.’

Then the goddess answered.

「The only thing I can give you is that those who inherit your power will only be with their true love.」

So, all the princes who inherited the Archmage’s powers welcomed their true love as their crown princess, or something like that.

“Are you going to leave it alone?”

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“Well, he’ll figure it out. Just like me,” The Emperor replied with a smirk.

Of course, the current Emperor could certainly say so. 

The current Empress Meribel Janiere was a widow who lived alone after her husband had died after her marriage. Besides, her family didn’t have much influence. It was a national marriage that was pushed by the Emperor, who was the Crown Prince at the time, to be with Meribel.

However, as the Duke knew, many previous Crown Princess came from the Clifford family. Did they all get married with that kind of feeling?

Well, the Emperor said so, so the Duke didn’t respond anymore. Instead, he just looked at Rupert and Chloe dancing with displeasure.

Rupert stood facing Chloe, holding hands and moving to the music. Nevertheless, he reluctantly looked for Erin, but she wasn’t where she stood a while ago.

‘Where did you go?’

He scanned the hall to see if she danced with another man, but she was nowhere to be seen. On the one hand, he felt reassured.

Rupert was so precise in his dance moves, even though he was thinking about something else the entire time. Since he had been doing it since he was young, his feet moved automatically. 

But there was nothing Rupert could do about it. It was not only because the partner who was dancing now couldn’t keep up with the beat, and she kept stepping on his feet.

Rupert tried to control his irritation and finally began to focus on his partner.

“Lady Verezian, can’t you dance?”

“Oh, I didn’t learn…” Chloe blushed in embarrassment and lowered her head. 

Rupert recalled the Baron Verezian was originally a doctor, not a nobleman. So, the young lady might not have learned to dance yet.

Rupert sighed and held her hand tighter to lead the dance. Then Chloe came forcefully and slammed into his shoulder, and Rupert felt a burning pain in his side.

“Ugh.”

“Ah, I’m so sorry!”

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It felt like his wound had been reopened at the impact. He had been distracted about other things and had forgotten about his wounds. 

Rupert’s clothes were dark, so it wasn’t obvious that the blood had already seeped out of his wounds and soaked his side.

“Sir Rupert?”

He had tried to control his facial expressions, but it wasn’t easy to hide the pain he felt. 

Moreover, they didn’t stand still, and it wasn’t exactly easy to lead a partner who didn’t know her strength.

As he clenched his teeth and tried to hold back, he suddenly stopped moving as tears welled up in his eyes.

“Sir Rupert, are you overdoing it?”

While Rupert couldn’t find a word to answer, Chloe left him and disappeared. He was a little perplexed, but on the other hand, he understood.

Chloe couldn’t even dance, and he’s not in good shape to make up for it. So, left alone, Rupert moved to a corner where Prince Breiman stood.

“Your Highness, you were here.”

Until then, Rupert had not paid much attention to the prince.

Breiman handed him a glass of champagne, and while Rupert wanted to say no, he felt thirsty. In the end, he accepted the glass and drank it.

It was much sweeter than the champagne that Enoch had given him earlier.

“Ha, the world isn’t fair. It’s a pity that a talented person like you hides in a corner like me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Over there, my brother. Look at our Crown Prince.”

Enoch shone, and crowds always surrounded him.

“What even is bloodline. Am I right? I can use magic, too. You are the number one in the Empire when it comes to swordsmanship. But you have to surrender everything to the Crown Prince. No matter what I do, it won’t change.”

“…Your Highness, you seem drunk.” Rupert felt a little perplexed, not knowing what to say to him.

“Rupert, are you really okay?”

“What do you mean?”

In response to Rupert’s sharp reaction, Prince Breiman smiled and waved his hand. “It’s just words, words. If you suddenly feel frustrated one day, come over for a drink.”

And then he disappeared just like that. Rupert scratched his head in frustration and frowned at the pain that rose again.

Guess I’ll have to look at the wound again. 

There was the wound, but it seemed like the body was heating up somewhere.

There were lounges all over the ballroom used as rest areas, so Rupert opened the door to one and entered. The room had a sofa, a bed to relax in, and a bathroom.

Once he took off his top, he sat on the sofa and inspected his wound. Bright red blood dripped from the place he had roughly tied.

“Ha.”

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Even if the Crown Prince got injured, he recovered quickly because of his bloodline.

Suddenly, Rupert remembered Prince Breiman’s words, and he burst into laughter. Was he okay? What did he mean by that? What if he wasn’t okay?

The Duke always compared him to Crown Prince Enoch. He told Rupert to be humble when he excelled and look at Enoch and learn when he floundered. 

He said that the servant should not be superior to his master, but he should not be left behind. No matter how hard he tried, he never received a word of praise from the Duke.

Rupert suppressed the unpleasant feeling that crept up, and pressed a clean towel over his wound.

Then, suddenly and carefully, the door opened. Unexpectedly, Chloe stood there.

‘Did I not lock the door?’

Rupert looked up to see Chloe enter the room with an unknown basket in her hand and lock the door.

He couldn’t see her expression well since she entered with her head down, but at first glance, it seemed that the corners of her lips were slightly raised.

She had a different aura from when she danced before, so Rupert felt like he had misunderstood for a moment.

And above all, she saw him with his top off in the room, so why did she lock the door and come in?

“What’s going on, Lady Verezian?”

When Rupert asked, Chloe lifted her head. The look on her face as she looked at Rupert was filled with sadness.