Chapter 37
Ashen Forest.
The hellscape beyond humanity that even the Imperial military had given up conquering.
In other words, even the Imperial Family had withdrawn. If my words were twisted, they could be taken as an insult to the Crown Prince.
If that's how you want to hear it, then hear it that way.
"Bwahahahaha!!"
The first to react was Crown Prince Zenon.
He clutched his stomach and roared with laughter.
"The Ashen Forest! An Ashen Forest expedition?! Young Master Astin, are you joking right now?"
"Indeed! Hahaha! The Ashen Forest!"
"Isn't that a bit too much of a boast, Young Master?"
Starting with the Crown Prince's uproarious laughter, laughter spread among the nobles.
The Crown Prince slapped my shoulder repeatedly and laughed theatrically. Tears even gathered at the corners of his eyes.
As the noisy laughter slowly died into coughs.
I spoke calmly once more.
"I'm serious. An expedition to the Ashen Forest."
A breathless silence hung over the tent.
It's this easy to seize control of the crowd's mood.
Tell people you're going to do what they can't even dream of, and their confidence crumbles.
"Young Master Astin. Did you just say you were serious?"
An elderly noble asked cautiously. I nodded.
"Yes. I'm serious."
"Absurd! Do you even know what kind of place the Ashen Forest is?"
"I wouldn't have mentioned it if I didn't."
The surroundings began to stir.
Attention shifted smoothly from the Crown Prince to me.
"Think it over once more, Young Master. That's not courage; it's recklessness."
"How can you throw away Cardenos's precious bloodline so meaninglessly!"
"It's no different from walking into your own grave. Youthful vigor is fine, but you mustn't treat your life lightly."
Just imagine Cardenos's heir dying pointlessly in the Ashen Forest.
The tightly interwoven political landscape would convulse as if struck by a massive earthquake.
Everyone knew that, so they raised their voices to dissuade me, but—
"Good grief, how noisy! Why are you all making such a fuss?"
The Crown Prince, conversely, intervened to stop the nobles trying to dissuade me.
I barely swallowed my laugh. Otherwise, I might have been disappointed.
Thump!
As he had before, he grabbed my shoulder once again.
"He says he wants to go that badly. He's going to fight with his family's honor on the line, so trying to stop him would be discourteous to a knight. Isn't that right?"
His glinting eyes urged me on.
"Besides, isn't Young Master Astin a knight who carries on the legacy of the Old Ring? Enduring a trial or two should be nothing to him. Isn't that right, Young Master Astin?"
"Yes. That's right."
I knew the Crown Prince would egg me on, consequences be damned. He was a fool so madly obsessed with love that he cared more for it than his country.
If I went and got myself killed, it'd be like eliminating a troublesome rival in love.
He couldn't have been happier for me to enter the Ashen Forest.
It was hardly surprising.
The Crown Prince had long been a man blinded by his love for Lucia, abandoning state affairs.
And as he himself had said, there was Selena, the eldest daughter. Even if I died, Cardenos's loyalists would carry on the family legacy.
The Crown Prince patted my shoulder with a satisfied smile. What a disgustingly artificial gesture.
"An expedition to the Ashen Forest. Just hearing the words makes my heart swell. Go on, then. I'll support your courage, Young Master."
"Hmm……."
At this point, I let out an uncertain groan, making my earlier statement look like youthful bravado.
The Crown Prince leaned in, his face gone pale.
"What's wrong? Don't tell me you've lost your nerve?"
"To be honest, yes. I had planned this for a while, but it is the Ashen Forest, after all."
"Hah! How can a man go back on his word?"
Bang! Bang!
Zenon pounded my back hard. This bastard really liked putting his hands on other people.
"Good! If you truly set out on the expedition, I promise, in the Imperial Family's name, to give you all the support you deserve. Will that give you a little confidence?"
There we go.
I widened my eyes as if startled.
"Y-Your Highness. Is that really true?"
"Hahaha! How can a true man say one thing and then another?"
Zenon always tried to keep every word he uttered—especially public declarations made before his retainers—no matter what.
A single face-saving remark could make the treasury cover part of the expedition funds.
"Support from the Imperial Family!"
At this point, I shut off my brain completely.
Head-in-the-clouds mode: ON.
"Then success is a given! Is the Ashen Forest really such a big deal?"
"Oh?"
"With His Highness the Crown Prince's gracious support, we could even conquer the demon realm! Just say the word. I'll go anywhere and dance with my sword."
Apparently that was the right answer, because the Crown Prince roared with hearty laughter.
"Good! Very good! I swear it on the name of Crown Prince Zenon! Whether it's equipment from the Imperial Knights or military funds, if the expedition needs it, I'll gladly provide it!"
"I am deeply grateful, Your Highness!"
"Don't back out halfway. A true man must take responsibility for his words to the very end."
"I'll bear it in mind, Your Highness. They were the words of a true man, after all."
You do the same. Make sure you do.
As the atmosphere warmed, the Crown Prince raised his wineglass high.
"Come, everyone, raise your glasses!"
The Crown Prince's shout rang through the tent.
"To the success of Young Master Astin, Cardenos's heir, and his expedition!"
The nobles still looked bewildered, merely watching one another for cues.
Crown Prince, is this really okay? Deep doubt rose on their faces.
"To the Ashen Forest expedition!"
The nobles reluctantly raised their glasses.
It was the resignation of those who had experienced the Crown Prince's idiotically rosy-headed antics countless times.
"T-To a toast!"
"Cheers!"
Beyond the wineglasses raised toward the sky, I saw dozens of pairs of eyes fixed on me.
Contempt for a hot-blooded pup who didn't know his place, concern for a pitiable nobleman, and even gazes openly mocking me.
It didn't matter.
I alone knew what they didn't.
Clink!
We raised our glasses together and tapped them against one another. I downed the wine in a single gulp.
"Kheh! How does it taste, Young Master Astin?"
"The wine tastes especially sweet today. Thank you again for your promise, Your Highness."
"Hahaha! Yes, yes, enjoy yourself before the expedition!"
The pushover Crown Prince in the romance fantasy is right here. Idiot.
***
Grand Etoile, the finest restaurant in the heart of the Imperial Capital.
I was seated across from Lucia in a private room I'd had great difficulty reserving.
"Does the food suit your taste?"
At my question, Lucia elegantly set down her fork.
She'd been conspicuously avoiding my neck and collarbone ever since we'd met.
Even now, she kept averting her eyes. Her expression was somehow sullen, too.
"Is something wrong?"
"……."
Lucia pressed her lips tightly together.
After a brief pause, she gave me a curt reply.
"I've been having nightmares lately."
"Nightmares?"
That was an awfully out-of-the-blue answer.
She was in such a foul mood over one nightmare?
The Lucia I knew hadn't been like this, but today she was unusually moody.
No. Maybe this had always been her personality.
I had first gotten to know Lucia amid the chaos of war in my first life, after all.
"It must have been a vivid nightmare."
"Yes, very. A lucid dream……."
The way she let the words trail off suggested she really didn't want to remember it.
The atmosphere was too grim for me to pry carelessly.
Stirring up the lady's complicated feelings would only wear us both out.
I carefully took a glass bottle from my crossbody bag.
When I slid it across the table, Lucia gave it a sidelong look.
"What's this?"
"It's the cosmetic I mentioned before."
Lucia's eyes, which had avoided mine the whole time, met mine head-on.
She picked up the glass bottle, looking slightly startled.
"This is it? The cosmetic you told me to look forward to, Young Master?"
"Yes. Would you like to try it here?"
Lucia blinked.
"Would that be all right?"
"Of course. We should see how our previous bet ends, shouldn't we?"
The corners of Lucia's lips rose.
"You seem confident?"
I merely shrugged instead of answering.
Lucia lightly wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin. Then she took a small hand mirror from her handbag.
She opened the lid, scooped out a little cream, and gently spread it across the back of her hand. Her touch looked remarkably gentle.
A little while later, when she spread it over her face, a subtle pearlescent glow caught the light and spread across her skin with an almost artistic beauty.
The change had been remarkable with Celin too, but Lucia's was even greater. It was enough to make me think, So this is what it means to be the protagonist.
A distinct emotion appeared in Lucia's eyes as she looked at her face.
"Wow. This is awful?"
"……What?"
My thoughts stopped for a moment. I stared blankly at Lucia, forgetting what to say.
Pfft-
Lucia covered her lips with the back of her hand and giggled.
"You're so innocent. I'm joking. I just wanted to see your dumbfounded face, Young Master."
"……."
"Now that I've actually seen it, it's so refreshing. Show me that face a lot more from now on."
If the Lucia I knew had acted this way, I would have smacked her on the head first.
Then we'd have bickered again, with her asking whether I didn't see her as a woman…….
"Are you listening, Young Master?"
"Yes. I'm listening."
"To be honest, I thought cosmetics were just cosmetics—what difference could there be? Apparently I was wrong."
Lucia examined her reflection from every angle in the mirror.
"Honestly, I'm impressed. It's so smooth to apply, and the subtle glow on my skin is beautiful. It seems far superior to the products supplied to the Imperial Family. The fragrance isn't overpowering, either."
It was a sharp, expert assessment.
Feeling awkward, I cleared my throat first.
"I developed that cosmetic myself. All by myself, without borrowing anyone else's help."
"You wanted to see my dumbfounded face too, Young Master? Here."
Lucia's eyes sprang wide open. Her mouth hung open in a foolish grin.
She didn't know it, but it was an expression I'd seen quite often.
Lucia tapped her cheeks and hummed thoughtfully.
"It doesn't irritate my skin, so I could use it for a long time. If it's this good, the noblewomen of the Imperial Capital might come knocking with bundles of money."
Lucia, who led the Imperial Capital's trends, had approved it, so its quality was guaranteed.
Now all that remained was to make money.
Once Lucia appeared at the salon, the fuse would be lit.
That money trail would ultimately lead to the Patrian guildmaster's head.
It wouldn't be difficult. I had already laid out the plan in detail.
Tink- tink-
Lucia tapped the glass bottle with her fingertip. A clear, crisp thud rang out.
"But……."
Lucia began in a whisper.
"Was that all you came to see me for?"
Her true feelings were transparently visible in the question.
Right now, Lucia's feelings for me lay somewhere between affection and curiosity.
In any case, she had positive romantic feelings toward me.
At this point, throwing in a little flirting was practically an obligation.
I smiled faintly and began to speak.
I tried to match the mood with some suitable banter.
That must have been the sort of exchange between men and women in this peaceful era.
Rustle-
Lucia tilted her head and tucked the strand of hair that had fallen loose behind her ear.
"……."
Her cheek was fully exposed. Two red eyes gazed straight at me.
Her parted lips slowly closed, moving only as she swallowed.
I kept my gaze away from her eyes.
Even so, her eyes remained fixed on my face.
It had always been like this.
Even when I didn't look at Lucia, Lucia looked only at me.
Even when I kept my distance from Lucia, she was the one who came closer first.
I couldn't capture the warmth Lucia had given me in a few casual words.
"Yes. That's all."
"……."
"I came to share a meal with you as well. Like this."
My heart allowed not even the slightest thrill.
Not for me, and not for Lucia.
Lucia's gaze, which had been fixed on me, slowly lowered.
A bitter smile spread across her red lips.
"I see……."
The clear ruby of her eyes dulled.
I had been about to say something, but I closed my mouth.