Chapter 6.2

Chapter 6.2

He arched an eyebrow at the sudden displeasure.

‘…Why am I doing this?’

Questions arose stormily like rain outside. But even so, he couldn’t leave. He couldn’t go inside while leaving the princess wandering outside.

It wasn’t like he had a pompous conscience or anything, it was just… undefined emotions that turned his stomach.

Swiissshh—

The sound of the rain was still tempestuous, as though it didn’t know how to stop.

Drops of water fell on the leaves.

Plop, plooop.

It was a very calm sound compared to the sound of the rain the night before. Even though the sky was still overcast, the rain had completely stopped.

The Prince rubbed his tired eyelids, which were heavy with fatigue, and squinted. Through his blurry vision, he could see the door he’d been watching all night. Where it had been pitch black was now bright.

[ T/N: …The audacity to fall asleep after ordering such an order?? щ(щ) ]

Only then did he realize that he had fallen asleep.

Couldn’t believe he ended up staying up all night like this, he sighed and ran his hand through his hair, which was now damp from the night before. It was ridiculous. Even the tranquility of the early morning became an annoyance to him now.

‘Come to think of it, what about that princess?’

The thought of her, still alone, trudging through the mud in the garden with a messy appearance made him feel upset like he had last night. Even though it wasn’t the first time he had put someone in trouble, it was a strangely unfamiliar feeling.

Unable to overcome the discomfort, he got up from his chair and set out to find the princess himself. He stormed across the doorway, frowning as if he were angry. However, not long after that, he ran into the princess.

It was in front of the stairs leading to the door.

“Your Imperial Highness.”

The voice calling him was clear. It sounded normal, except for a little more subdued than yesterday, but Ariel’s appearance said otherwise.

The water-drenched hair hung down terribly. Her pale skin, which veins seemed to show through, seemed to belong to a sick person. In addition, her dress, soiled with rain and mud, was almost ragged.

Trudging the stairs, she had a miserable appearance, like a corpse dug out of a grave. She seemed to have suffered quite a bit last night.

The Prince’s face crumpled, unable to maintain his composure as his stomach twisted even more.

“It looks like you came out after being buried.”

He shot back bluntly.

Ariel, who was climbing the stairs with an expressionless face, paused, perhaps surprised by the coolness of his tone. Still, she finally came and stood in front of him, holding out her tired blue fingertips.

“It’s here.”

What could be seen when she stretched out her slender fingers was a bright blue gemstone. The sapphire he had thrown away. She held it out without showing the slightest hint of emotion. She was neither angry nor resentful.

As if she had diluted all her emotions in the rain, her transparent face had a serene expression.

The Prince was silent, feeling mixed emotions. Not knowing what to say to that face… he forgot what to say. The sapphire in front of him became invisible and he forgot about the surroundings. At the same time, his stomach churned again for no reason, just like last night.

“With this, I hope this is fine.”

It was the princess who spoke first to him, who was still silent. It was a detached tone, like a person with a physiological maturity.

Two eyes blinked slowly beneath the fluttering eyelashes.

“I don’t think I can do this anymore, so… I need to get some sleep.”

Although she spoke steadily and clearly, the hand he held out to the Prince dropped limply as her eyelids drooped over her sleepy pupils, clinging to heavy drowsiness. Ariel’s skinny body collapsed to the floor in an instant like an empty sack falling down.

The Prince reflexively stretched out his arms to receive the princess. He gave her his full embrace.

Embracing the feel of her wet hair, petite body, and muddy dress, he contorted his face in bewilderment.

He was in a bad mood.

The sapphire, which escaped from the clutches of the sleeping princess, tumbled worthlessly down the stairs. That gem had nothing to do with him anymore.

Her cold skin deprived all his nerves.

As he lowered his head at the feeling of weight on his chest, mud stains and dried rain marks smeared on the face of the princess who was quietly embraced by him.

An indefinable, uncomfortable mass settled on the Prince’s chest. He felt a pang of guilt because she had pushed herself so much harder than she should have… it was something he hadn’t felt for anyone else, and he wondered why.

‘…Why is she making me feel this way?’

For some reason, he felt like blaming Ariel.

‘Why is she doing this?’

Even so, it was impossible to ask the woman who had fainted. The Prince let out a long sigh in frustration.

As it was too much for him to bear, he raised his head and turned his gaze away from the woman’s sleeping face to the dew-scented garden instead. While it was smaller than any other garden in the imperial palace, it would’ve been too large to walk around scouring the floor with this tiny body.

Ariel struggled through the wind and rain, unable to rest properly to please him until she finally retrieved the sapphire he had thrown away… stupidly, with no documented evidence of a definitive promise…

‘Does she really need my connections that much? Was I that important?’

A slight feeling of exaltation followed, along with a lingering question. A momentary exhilaration that satisfied the lofty pride of the imperial family swept through his head. Yes, he always did such things for that reason.

To let people bend over backwards and give all their heart and soul to him.

He was drenched in a familiar sense of satisfaction.

This princess was no different from the countless others he had met before, and he simply needed to reward her for her efforts. That was it. No need to think about it, no need to understand why she would do this… he didn’t have to think about it or understand why.

He was certain that was what she wanted, after all.

As he thought so, his complicated mind cleared up. It was something that should have been a simple thought and just let it go to begin with.

The corners of his mouth, which had been rigid, slackened and lifted.

With a more relaxed expression, he lowered his head to check on the princess.

“Well done, Ariel.”

Then, he kindly addressed her by name.

__

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