Chapter 6. Just For Removing A Piece Of Cloth

As soon as Patrick’s order fell, Lottie stepped in front of him to block his way.

Everyone at the scene was shocked by this bold move. But the owner of the purple feather, as if such things didn’t matter to her at all, only confronted the crown prince with frighteningly hardened eyes and lips.

Lottie suddenly reached out and plucked one feather that had been pinned in her hair.

“If the absolute law is that a person becomes me just because a feather was found at the scene.”

The feather that had been placed on Lottie’s bare palm fell to the floor, creating a mysterious shimmer as it fluttered down.

“Then I suppose I’ve now been at this location as well.”

Her voice sounded quite bold to the audience, but its end trembled minutely in a way only Lottie could detect.

To hide that unsightly trembling, Lottie’s mouth raced like a locomotive.

“Although I was born and raised far from the capital where sophisticated etiquette rules, I wasn’t raised as an ignorant bumpkin who doesn’t know a lady’s duties. I’m very well aware of how each of my actions affects my father.”

“That……”

“Furthermore! Even if I grew up in the most remote place, I know the common sense that an unmarried woman can wear three feathers as hair ornaments, not four.”

It was a rebuttal that if the woman who had dropped a feather in the outdoor garden was truly her, why were there three feathers pinned on her head until just now, not two?

This extremely obvious and simple point was something her past self couldn’t make.

Because it was much easier to grab someone’s outstretched hand than to deny what wasn’t true.

The onlookers became so engrossed they couldn’t even leave their spots. Even the guards who had been summoned stood awkwardly frozen, afraid to break the tension.

The audience believed that this clueless girl from the countryside had kicked away the rising sun of the nation and chosen the long-set moon instead.

And beliefs, by nature, exist to be broken.

When Lottie boldly removed her remaining glove as well, a surprised gasp erupted from the watching crowd.

“It’s true we were together in the secret room. However!”

“……”

“I am a human being with discretion.”

Lottie, with both arms fully exposed, confronted Calyx who had been certain of his victory.

His eyes, furrowed by the unexpected attack, were reddish-brown.

‘I don’t need your help.’

Shaking off the memory of him looking down at her with emotionless eyes in Polton’s old castle where the sounds of bombardment had echoed, Lottie met his gaze directly.

I’ll reveal with my own hands that nothing impure happened between you and me. So.

“A mere glove cannot prove my honor and pride.”

This time, don’t interfere in my life. Ever.

“……”

Only a strange silence remained at the scene where she had ‘admirably’ proven her innocence.

Some in the audience were disappointed by the mundane conclusion that everything was a misunderstanding, while others suspected hidden details they weren’t privy to.

But most were eagerly anticipating how the blue-blooded gentlemen, who had been helplessly kicked aside by a single woman, would react.

Lottie felt disgusted that her painful misfortune was nothing more than entertainment to dispel others’ daily boredom.

If not for her grand-aunt who stood in an awkward position between the two men, looking at her feebly, she might have stomped her feet unceremoniously and left the scene.

“……Return to your places now.”

Patrick’s heavy voice was the first to break the silence that seemed ready to explode at any moment.

After those words that burst out one by one as if crushed by something, Patrick glared at Calyx with fierce gray eyes.

“Guards. Arrest the intruder.”

At the crown prince’s stern command, the guards hesitantly approached Calyx.

Even though he bore the Valdea name that proved he was no longer royalty, he had once been the crown prince.

They hesitated so much that Calyx willingly surrendered himself to the guards instead.

It was with such leisure, as if he were appearing to prove the legitimacy of his presence here rather than being dragged away.

As if he knew well that this would irritate Patrick, who was known for having received the position of crown prince without merit.

“……”

In Calyx’s hand, as he leisurely left the scene with the guards, there was still one white satin glove.

The soft piece of cloth fluttered in the air with each step, as if foretelling they would meet again.

* * *

Crown Prince Calyx deserved to be loved by all of Matila.

Not just because of the beautiful blonde hair of the 12-year-old boy, or the cheeks imbued with intelligence.

The young crown prince’s clothes never had buttons.

Because he had removed all the gold buttons and distributed them to sick women and hungry children in the slums.

Even while wearing tops that were empty without buttons, the crown prince would joke that he still looked stylish thanks to the face his parents had well-crafted.

The crown prince, who had sworn before the vassals to become an excellent monarch like his father who had just become king, killed his beloved father on his 13th birthday.

Facts such as how difficult it would be for an underdeveloped boy to pierce through the ribs and stab the heart of a robust adult male,

Or that the traitor who had murdered the king didn’t flee but sat down beside the corpse, losing his mind—these were all ignored in the face of the ghastly scene.

And so, Crown Prince Calyx, whom Matila had loved, was branded a patricide within a year and buried forever.

……Until 12 years later, when the scene of the exiled former crown prince sneaking into the royal palace’s grand hall like a mouse was exposed to the world.

* * *

Luka, who had entered Ronvernon in pursuit of a friend who had disappeared leaving only a ridiculous letter, heard the details of the spectacular incident that had occurred during his absence and left his honest impression.

“……Crazy bastard.”

Of course, it was in a mosquito-like voice that wouldn’t be heard by the person lying in a rather improper posture on the long sofa in the reception room.

“Sneaking into the forbidden palace…… infiltrating the grand hall wasn’t enough…… even confronting the crown prince……”

“……”

“All for the reason of getting married?!”

Even as he recited the story he had just heard with his own mouth, Luka couldn’t believe these were the words of a sane person.

It was an insane act that should never have been done if he knew for what reason he was still alive until now.

“Even a prince hated by all of Matila needs to get married. If by chance all the royal bloodlines are cut off, my child should be taken to continue the succession, shouldn’t it?”

Calyx said, impudently wiggling his two legs that protruded outside the sofa.

He looked a bit tired from undergoing intense questioning by interrogators for 13 hours, but his expression was still irritatingly relaxed.

— With this final question, our courtesy toward you will change. Answer. What was your reason for infiltrating the royal palace without permission?

Deep in the underground interrogation room.

At the interrogator’s question, which was like an ultimatum, Calyx smiled brightly. Then he gave exactly the same answer for the 138th time.

He said he came to get married.

Wasn’t it perfectly natural for an unmarried man of marriageable age to visit Ronvernon to find a bride?

It was a lie that not even a tiny child would believe, but it wasn’t entirely wrong either.

To prepare for the possible scenario of the royal line being cut off, the royal family would need even a crazy chicken instead of a pheasant.

The interrogators must have eventually had to surrender to Calyx, who kept giving the same obvious answer without changing a single syllable for 13 hours.

Calyx was released in a perfectly fine condition, making a mockery of the severe atmosphere at that time.

“Thanks to me, they fulfilled their duty of protecting the royal family by closing a secret passage they didn’t even know existed. Her Majesty the Queen or His Highness the Crown Prince can now sleep peacefully without worrying about their necks for a few months.”

Well, well. The wrongdoer now has the audacity to discuss his own merits.

Luka had barely managed to squeeze himself into the luggage compartment of the dawn train due to the crowds heading to the capital.

He felt the profanities that had accumulated on his way here screaming to be let out.

But he soon reminded himself of his ‘mission,’ and succeeded in putting on the most pleasant expression possible by tensing the tip of his nose.

Although the corners of his mouth trembled pitifully.

“So, was there a honeybee that captured the heart of the high-and-mighty you? Since dancing would have been difficult, perhaps you enjoyed a private rendezvous in the outdoor garden?”

“……I removed her glove.”

“Crazy.”

This time, Luka failed to swallow his unfiltered impression and belatedly punched his own impudent mouth.

No matter how long they had been friends since military academy, he as the son of a humble noble family couldn’t match someone of royal blood.

Calyx wasn’t particularly moved by Luka’s rudeness, but he felt displeasure at the sight of him standing frozen by the impure imagination triggered by a single glove.

For reasons unknown, it was clearly an emotion strong enough to make him move from the comfortable sofa.

Calyx abruptly grabbed the wrist of Luka, who was lost in all sorts of unspeakable imaginings.

“……! What suddenly!”

“You,”

Calyx began, slowly inserting his fingers between Luka’s fingers that had stiffened with tension.

Just when Luka thought Calyx was going to interlock their fingers, his hand had already skillfully removed Luka’s glove.

“Do you think history is made by removing a single piece of cloth?”

“……”

“You’re still far from it.”

When Calyx looked him up and down with eyes full of compassion, as if concerned about his ability to function as a man, Luka’s face turned red in an instant.

As Luka snatched back his glove, unable to properly protest and just breathing heavily, Calyx laughed softly and said.