Chapter 33
「The Fourth Prince, Radiance von Croa」.
As one can tell from the title of Fourth Prince, he occupies an ambiguous position in the line of succession to the imperial throne.
And....
In the original novel, he is the second male lead who loves Princess Elysia and quietly supports her from the shadows in the role of a benefactor.
Of course, because of their forbidden relationship as half-siblings, he hides his feelings completely, yet he is the kind of man who could cast even the imperial throne off his shoulders like a fallen leaf for her sake.
Above all, he is currently serving as a professor at the Imperial Academy.
‘As expected, the original novel’s characters are gathering one by one.’
Sigh....
All I could do was sigh more and more.
I had saved Elysia, and as a result, I had established a connection with the Fourth Prince.
It could be seen as an opportunity.
We now held a powerful card that could help us survive on the enormous board known as the Imperial Academy.
But an incident that had originally involved only Elysia’s kidnapping had dragged Alina into it as well.
The incidents and accidents to come would mutate into events far beyond anything I remembered.
Even so, at the center of them would always be Elysia, the protagonist.
Swish—.
“Varg?”
‘It would be best to stay as far away as possible. She’s the protagonist, after all.’
I gently enclosed Kara’s hand in mine.
I had to protect it.
The future we had newly woven.
“Let’s go check on Her Highness Princess Elysia first.”
Eisen said.
“We need to get information from her as well.”
We headed toward the detached quarters.
As we walked, Count Eisen clicked his tongue and muttered.
“I have a fairly good idea who exactly the man who gave us the information was.... Still, if I ever get the chance to see his face later, I’d like to warn him.”
“Pardon?”
“He wore a mask, yet failed to cover the most important feature—his eyes.... I wonder whether he ever intended to hide his identity.”
Kara nodded in agreement.
“Exactly. Even I, who know little about the circumstances in the Imperial capital, realized he was a member of the Imperial Family when I saw Her Highness’s eyes. Golden eyes aren’t common, after all.”
I pressed my lips together with an awkward smile.
‘Radiance von Croa....’
According to the original novel’s setting, he was a hopeless romantic.
He was the sort of man who, so engrossed in the romance of forbidden love and going undercover, forgot to conceal the crucial details—a rather careless fellow.
But.
‘Even so, he isn’t someone whose outer and inner colors differ.’
He was not a man who concealed sinister intentions.
His inner nature was as pure a gold as the golden eyes he displayed on the outside.
He was a romantic, but not the kind who dreamed of his own rise; he was a man who chose the romance of simply watching the sun rise and set each day.
Even though he was a prince, he served as an academy professor because his ambiguous position in the line of succession made him want to avoid the conflicts that came with it.
That was why he could be trusted.
That was also why he was bound to cause the occasional minor incident.
‘And if anything, Elysia is the one whose outside and inside are different, rather than Radiance, who was in disguise....’
“Phew....”
Eisen let out a deep sigh.
His fingers trembled slightly as he removed his glasses and wiped them.
Relief that his daughter was safe.
And the anger toward the kidnappers that had mingled with it and gnawed away at his mind.
Even for Eisen, the fatigue he had accumulated over yesterday and today might be heavier than Norhaim’s cold.
“Count, are you all right? You don’t look well.”
When I asked worriedly, Eisen forced a smile.
“I’m fine. I think it’s because I’ve finally relaxed. Well, then, let’s go see Her Highness the Princess....”
Just as Eisen was about to take his next step—
Stagger.
His body sagged helplessly to one side.
“Count!”
I instinctively reached out and caught Eisen under the arm.
Fortunately, he avoided collapsing to the floor, but his body was heavy, like snow compacted after being soaked with water.
“Ugh... I-I’m sorry. I’m just a little dizzy....”
Eisen clung to my arm, sweating coldly.
Beads of sweat formed on his face.
He had not collapsed from overwork like Lonas, but....
His beloved late-in-life daughter, whom he adored, had been kidnapped and nearly died in a fire.
When his tension finally broke, the extreme mental strain came rushing over him all at once.
His joking rebuke of the prince earlier may have been the final flash of strength before his reserves for the day ran out.
Besides, he was a middle-aged man who was no longer young.
“This won’t do. You need to rest.”
“What are you talking about? There’s still work to be done. We need to see Her Highness the Princess, hear the whole story, and uncover the kidnappers’ backers....”
“That can wait.”
Kara cut in firmly.
“Count, don’t push yourself. Alina has gone to sleep reassured, so you should rest too. How shocked would Alina be if she woke up and found her father collapsed?”
“But... Her Highness the Princess is waiting. As the head of the household, it would be improper for me not to greet her....”
“Let’s postpone a proper interrogation and report until this evening. If you go now, you’ll only make your headache worse.”
I chimed in.
“And we’ll meet Her Highness the Princess first. We’re close to her age, and since we’ll appear to be outsiders, we’ll be better at easing her wariness through conversation.”
“That’s right. There may be things that women can understand between one another, too.”
Despite our attempts to stop him, Eisen refused to back down.
“No... Since I’ve come this far... I should confirm it myself.... Ugh....”
Even while staggering, he dragged his feet toward the guest room where Elysia was.
A quintessential workaholic and responsibility incarnate.
‘The man’s exhausted and his judgment is clouded, but now his stubbornness has only gotten worse.’
I clicked my tongue.
He was in no state to be reasoned with.
He was also exactly the sort of person who wouldn’t listen.
If so, there was only one way.
I exchanged a look with Kara.
‘Can’t be helped, right?’
‘Please, darling.’
Kara nodded.
I took one deep breath and approached Eisen from behind.
“Count, excuse me.”
“Hm? What are you....?”
I tried to hoist Eisen over my shoulder like a sack of rice.
Heave-ho!
But there was a problem.
Though Eisen had a distinctly bureaucratic air, he was still a nobleman from the North.
He had a large frame and was tall as well.
Though he was still smaller than me.
When I draped a limp adult man over 180 centimeters tall across my shoulder, the posture was terrible.
His legs kept slipping down.
“Put me down, Mr. Varg!”
And he was resisting with all the stubbornness he possessed.
At this rate, I was liable to smash the count’s head into a pillar in the hallway.
“To hell with it.”
I changed tactics.
I slid one arm behind the count’s back to support his upper body and hooked my other arm beneath his knees.
Then I lifted him in one smooth motion.
In a flash!
“......?!”
Eisen’s eyes widened as though they were about to pop out.
Perfect posture.
A stable center of gravity.
This was...
‘Ha.... I’m doing this again.’
A princess carry.
“M-Mr. Varg?! W-what is the meaning of this...!”
The count flailed in embarrassment.
I swallowed a sigh myself.
‘Ah... Ever since I carried Father and made a run for it, I’ve princess-carried another middle-aged man... What is wrong with my life?’
Did I save my country in my past life, or did I sell it off?
Why do middle-aged men always end up in my arms?
I could have carried Eisen piggyback, but the transition from the previous position would have been awkward.
When I princess-carried Father Gorgon, arrows had been flying at us from behind.
‘Still, this is stable.... Wow....’
Contrary to my feelings, my forearms were incredibly strong and steady.
Eisen wore an expression that said he wanted to die of embarrassment just as much as I did, but the strange sense of security provided by my broad, muscular arms was gradually draining his will to resist.
“P-Put me down! The other servants will misunderstand if they see this! My dignity...!”
“Please be quiet. If you make a fuss, they’ll misunderstand even more. We’re going straight to the bedroom in the main house.”
“No, wait! Mr. Varg!”
“Then I’ll leave the count to you, darling. I’ll go see Her Highness the Princess first.”
Kara waved, suppressing her laughter.
I sprinted toward the main residence with Eisen in my arms.
“They’ll misunderstand!! Put me down!!”
Count Eisen’s desperate cries echoed through the hallway at dawn.
Servants passing by rubbed their eyes as they witnessed the scene, but I pretended not to notice and quickened my pace.
* * *
Bang!
I kicked open the door to Eisen’s bedroom and headed straight for the bed.
Then, rather than throw Eisen onto the bed like a sack.... I gently lowered him onto it.
Flump.
“Ugh....”
The count sank into the bed.
He tried to spring up, his face flushed.
“Listen.... What if Lonas saw me like that just now....”
“Go to sleep.”
Even at a time like this, he was worried that his son, who was always waiting for a chance to tease him, might have witnessed his humiliating appearance.
I spoke firmly and pulled the blanket up to his neck.
“Everything will be resolved by the time you wake up. The matters concerning Alina and Her Highness will both be settled.”
“But...!”
“If you collapse, who will protect Alina? Lonas is out cold too. Now is the time to conserve your strength.”
Eisen faltered at my words.
I was right.
If he collapsed as well, there would be no adult left to handle this crisis.
He moved his lips, but eventually gave up resisting and laid his head on the pillow.
The feel of the soft duck-down pillow and warm blanket.
Once his tension eased, the sleepiness he had been holding back poured over him like a rising tide.
His eyelids grew heavy as lead.
“...Then, just for a moment... I’ll close my eyes....”
The count’s eyes slowly closed.
Even as his consciousness faded, Eisen took my hand and mumbled.
Uh.... Let go, Count.
Seriously, this is going to cause a misunderstanding.
“...Dependable.... Gorgon, you certainly got yourself a good son-in-law.”
Soft, rhythmic breaths.
Regular breathing began almost instantly.
It was similar to Alina’s breathing.
I removed the sleeping count’s glasses and placed them on the bedside table.
“Get some good rest, Count.”
I turned off the light and quietly left the room.
I straightened my rumpled clothes.
Now there was only one thing left.
I set off.
Toward the place where Princess Elysia was waiting.
* * *
“......”
Outside the guest room in the detached quarters.
I was about to grasp the doorknob when I paused.
An unfamiliar voice came from inside.
“Yeppi! Yeppi! That name is so cute!”
The bright laughter of a woman.
It was Elysia.
I frowned.
This was clearly something to be happy about.
Though she was scorned as a bastard, she was still an imperial princess happily calling my child by its baby name.
But my expression did not soften.
If anything, my brows drew together.
‘Elysia von Croa.’
The heroine of the original novel <The Bastard’s Snowflower Path>, and the eye of the typhoon that dragged every incident and disaster in her wake.
The moment I became entangled with her, my peaceful daily life would be over.
Alina’s kidnapping was merely the prologue.
‘I have to be wary.’
I took a deep breath.
I forced my stiff expression to relax and put on the gentlest professional smile I could manage.
Creak.
I opened the door and entered.
“You’re here? Her Highness has been showering our Yeppi with affection.”
Kara greeted me from where she was sitting in a chair beside the bed.
My gaze turned toward the bed.
A girl was sitting there.
Elysia.
She had plopped herself down on the bed with her knees spread to either side.
It was a rather careless, comfortable posture in which there was no trace of a princess’s dignity.
After washing up, the bastard princess looked up at me, her face clean.
And the instant our eyes met—
“......!”
She jumped in surprise and lowered her head.
Like a child caught doing something wrong.
“Th-thank you for saving me....”
Her voice was barely audible.
The bastard princess hesitantly raised her head again.
“Mr.... Mr. Var... Sir Varg?”
Elysia smiled, her eyes curving at the corners.
With a bright, innocent smile that looked utterly harmless and guileless.
But I was not fooled.
‘That is a mask.’
That smile in her eyes.
That clumsy way of speaking.
Even that careless demeanor.
To survive the Imperial Family’s coldness and threats of assassination, Elysia had wrapped herself in the guise of a harmless fool.
Pretending not to know how the world worked.
Acting as though she were powerless was the bastard princess’s only survival instinct.
She was observing me now.
Whether I was an enemy or an ally.
Whether I was a piece she could use.
She was calculating coldly behind those innocent eyes.
‘I’m not fooled. You’re testing me right now.’
I approached with a friendly smile.
“How are you feeling, Your Highness? You must have been terribly frightened.”
“Ah, yes.... Thanks to you....”
Elysia answered shyly, hugging a pillow.
Her golden eyes met mine.
On the surface, it was a peaceful conversation, but beneath it, sharp gazes probed one another.
Suddenly, a bitter thought occurred to me.
‘But... I’m no different, thinking that way.’
Just as Elysia pretended to be a fool to survive,
I, too, wore a barbarian’s mask of feigned loyalty to protect our peaceful daily life.
We had begun a precarious tightrope walk while wearing different masks.
“Then... shall we hear what happened?”
I pulled over a chair and sat beside the bed.