My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage Chapter 41
Translated by d6y (ko-fi)
Chapter 41
"What do you mean?"
The Crown Prince shrugged his shoulders slightly, "Literally what I said. If the Princess had been a friend I had known since childhood, I would've treated her more dearly."
"..." I stared at him as he spoke unintelligibly.
He said nothing more and only simply offered me his hand.
"I'll escort you to the carriage."
Once again, I felt the eyes of everyone in the ballroom focus on us. They must be holding their breath, watching our every gesture, body movement, and even the shape of our lips.
I wonder if Lancer is watching.
The thought suddenly occurred to me, but at the same time, I didn't want to think about where and what Lancer might be doing right now, or what he might be doing. What a contradiction.
After giving myself a self-help chastisement, I took the Crown Prince's hand without a word.
Several knights and I followed his lead with his hand in mine as we made our way to where the carriages were parked.
"By the way, where'd you get that cat behind you?" The Crown Prince grinned as he held my hand.
"I picked it up inside the ballroom."
"You picked it up?"
"Yes. I don't know where it came from." I replied in a monotonous tone. Please don't be interested in this cat.
Viscount Artisina dared to mew and continue to follow me and the Crown Prince. It would've been easier to ignore the cat if it weren't for it following me.
After glancing at it, the Crown Prince said, "How strange."
"How so?"
"We deployed enough guards to make sure that not even a mouse could enter the ballroom, so where did this cat come from?"
"I don't know."
"I don't think it's an ordinary cat."
The cat's fur stood on end while I pretended to ask, "In what sense do you find it unordinary?"
"Oh, nothing. I've just never met a cat this obedient."
"I was wondering about that as well."
"It's good that it likes the Princess, it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep it." He quipped and didn't pry further about the cat's provenance.
When we arrived at the carriage parking lot, I saw the coachmen sitting and chatting amongst themselves.
They jumped out of their seats when they saw us approaching.
"That's..!"
"The Crown Prince!"
Startled by the sudden appearance of the Crown Prince, they all stiffened in unison. They hastily removed their hats, stood upright, and bowed to him.
The Crown Prince strode like he didn't see them, as if all this had already been done countless times before.
"Is that the carriage of the Duke of Kaerun?"
"Yes, it is, but..."
A question mark floated over my head.
How did he recognise my carriage?
Such doubts flashed through my mind.
Seeing my expression, he opened his mouth, "I've memorised the family seal of the woman who will become my fiancée"
Aha.
He's more serious about this than I thought.
Although it was only a sham engagement, he had gone all out. I can't believe he went out of his way to learn what my family crest looks like.
He seems surprised by my reaction. "Are you surprised I know what your family seal looks like?"
"Yes." I glance at him as if he's asking an obvious question, and he looks even more puzzled.
"Why?"
"I just didn't expect you to take the time out of your busy schedule to get to know me."
A chuckle escaped his lips at my straightforward answer. What's so funny?
I blinked in confusion, and he bowed his head slightly toward me.
"I can do a lot, if not anything, for you, so don't be surprised by something small like this."
"...I'll keep that in mind."
Don't be surprised by something small like this.
I suddenly realised that maybe this 'fake engagement' could be bigger than I thought.
As I approached my carriage, I saw Ticef and Phoebe, who were playing cards in the back of the carriage, scramble to their feet.
Phoebe hastily covered something with a cloth.
"Oh, you're here, my lady! And I'm honoured to meet you, Your Highness, the Crown Prince."
Ticef bowed before the Crown Prince and a handful of coins rolled out of his pocket.
"..?"
I glanced over and saw poker cards scattered beneath Phoebe's cloth.
"..."
It seems like the two of them were playing cards for money.
I felt like I had just unintentionally revealed a scandal in front of the Crown Prince.
"Your Highness, this is..."
"A coin fell." The Crown Prince pointed at it.
Ticef was flustered.
"S-Should I pick it up?" It's your money, so why are you asking the Crown Prince?
But the answer from the Crown Prince's mouth was even worse.
"Why would you want to pick up money that fell on the ground?"
"Excuse me?" Dumbfounded, Ticef stared at him.
The Crown Prince turned to one of the knights following behind him. "Could you give me a piece of gold coin?"
At his order, he fumbled in his pockets in search of one and gave it to him.
The Crown Prince held it out to Ticef. "The ground is filthy today since many carriages come and go, so take this instead."
"I, Your Highness..."
Embarrassed, Ticef couldn't even refuse and took the gold coin like a scarecrow.
"Thank you so much for joining me today. Let's meet again soon."
He leaned towards me and brought his hand to my lips before walking away.
Ticef and Phoebe stared after him as he walked away.
Once he and his knights disappeared into the ballroom, after waiting for him to be gone, Ticef rushed to me.
"What happened, my lady? Why did you go in with Lord Lancer but come out with the Crown Prince? Did you meet with the Crown Prince on the premise of marriage as rumoured?"
"Wow, am I going to be promoted to the Crown Prince's coachman soon? Will I get a raise?"
"Hold up."
Phoebe calmed him down as he couldn't control his excitement and began to rave.
"Ticef, this is not the place and time to talk about it. Let's just get the lady back to the mansion for now."
"Ah, alright." Only then did Ticef realise that there were many listening ears around us.
I could see the coachmen and servants casting glances at where I stood from here. They're doing so presumably to report back to their masters when they return with as much detail as possible about what happened here.
"I apologise, my lady. I wasn't thinking straight, please get into the carriage." Ticef hastily cleaned up the gambling board behind the carriage and ushered me in.
As I was about to climb in, Phoebe spotted a grey cat wandering behind me.
"My lady, there's a cat here."
"Yes, I know, just leave it there."
"Isn't this cat a gift from His Highness the Crown Prince?"
"No, it isn't. You're allergic to cat fur, remember?" Without looking back, I climbed in.
Left on the dusty road, the cat mewed and began to scratch the carriage.
Ticef glanced at me in confusion, but when I didn't say anything, he meekly climbed into the driver's seat and began to drive.
I thought I heard a sad cat crying from afar. Though, I'm not sorry for the full-grown man meowing.
"What happened at the ball?" Phoebe spoke first to break the silence.
"Nothing much."
I stared out the window with my chin resting on my palm.
"...Did nothing really happen ?"
"Well, the Crown Prince has taken quite a liking to me."
"I see."
'That's probably why he invited you to the palace last time.' I could hear her thoughts echoing behind her words as she replied calmly.
'Will my lady be marrying the Crown Prince soon..?' Now even Phoebe, my closest confidant, is thinking this.
It was a wise choice for him to escort me to my carriage. This way, servants will be able to tell their masters that the Crown Prince and Princess Skyla were seen together.
Soon, the rumour of a love affair would be spread throughout the country, including the capital.
This is what I wanted.
To be betrothed to the Crown Prince and to inherit the dukedom of Kaerun.
Things were going according to plan.
This is supposed to please me.
But strangely, I couldn't bring myself to smile and celebrate today's success.
Lancer.
His name kept popping into my head, and every time it happened, I felt like I couldn't rejoice in the success of today's operation.
I wondered if this was okay.
Guilt washed over me like a tidal wave. I shouldn't have left Lancer alone.
Even though my emotions were running high, I should've comforted him, at the very least, I should have apologised to him, and then left.
At the same time, a feeling of resentment began to bubble up.
Why did I have to be the one to appease him every time?
My head was throbbing. I couldn't even think properly about what was right or wrong anymore.
I just didn't want to think about anything anymore.
Time will sort it out.
It was the best excuse I could come up with to stifle my restlessness.
Arriving at the Kaerun Duchy, I hastily greeted my parents, changed my clothes and got ready for bed.
Entering my bedroom, I lay down on my bed and stared at the white ceiling.
The lights Phoebe left flickered, creating a subtle shadow. I closed my eyes and tried to drift off to sleep, but I could hardly calm down.
I wondered what Lancer was doing right now.
The image of him sobbing in front of me was pictured vividly.
One side of my chest aches like a needle. The sting was painful enough to bring tears to my eyes. But I couldn't cry because I knew it was partly my fault.
I wondered if he made it home safely.
Since he's with Hubert, they must've gone safely together. Seeing how no one has come looking for me thus far, I'm sure everything's alright with Lancer.
Suddenly, I wished I could go find him right now and see his face; the desire to hug him and tell him I was sorry was overwhelming.
I shook my head. That's not possible.
It's too late. It has long passed since I left the ball and so did the opportunity. I'd rather… I'd rather wait until tomorrow morning.
After a while of telling myself dozens of excuses, I tossed and turned and finally managed to fall asleep.
* * *
How long did I sleep?
Bang, bang, bang!
Someone was banging at my door.
What's going on? I instinctively jerked awake.
My eyes fluttered open to a dark sky. It was deep in the night, with the moon at its fullest.
I scrambled out of bed, threw on a shawl hung by the door, and ran to the door.
"...Father, Mother?" Waiting for me at the door were my parents. It seemed like they had just woken up, seeing how they were still in their pyjamas.
My father's face looked ashen as he held a lantern.
"We're in trouble, Skyla!"
"What's the matter, father?"
"The Duke of Soli just came to our mansion hastily. After the ball, he and Lancer were to return to their duchy, but no matter how hard they looked, they couldn't find Lancer!"
