Bloodline is a Cheat Code - Chapter 31

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 31
Until now, I had treated the Vincent Crown Prince as though he were a stranger, keeping our relationship at a distance as vast as heaven and earth.
That was likely why Elian had secretly chosen a name for her child without even telling me.
There was a high probability that part of the name came from Vincent. I couldn’t fault Elian for wanting to cherish the memory of her first love, someone so precious to her, even in this way.
“So you were planning to stay by my side, meet the Vincent Crown Prince in person, and have a conversation with him? Elian, why do you keep acting so apologetic?”
I didn’t particularly want to meet the Vincent Crown Prince either, but I had to hold my position.
The fact that he had suddenly appeared here meant he’d likely realized I had entered the Palace.
He must have timed his arrival to catch a moment when he could speak with me.
I didn’t think Lucian Advein was incompetent, but given his position, he couldn’t very well stand firmly against Vincent.
I had no desire to see him earn the Vincent Crown Prince’s enmity by protecting a mere lady-in-waiting.
Sensing that our standoff might grow prolonged, I slowly rose from my seat, intending to leave first.
“…Miss, there’s no need for you to leave right this moment, is there? I believe you have no reason to be entangled in this matter.”
“Elian, I’m not reproaching you for what you’ve done. I’m simply explaining that given the circumstances, there’s no helping it.”
I no longer had Serpina Rosena by my side to share fragments of future knowledge, nor did I have Minabell with her magical slate.
With both of them, I might have devised a more elegant solution that better considered Elian’s feelings, but I lacked such wit and allies.
Keeping the two of them at a distance to prevent them from meeting was the best I could manage.
“If you truly wish to see him, you’re welcome to listen from around the corner or peek from the hallway. But I’m worried you’ll only torment yourself doing so.”
On a rainy day like this, Elian—small in stature and quiet in her movements—had a high probability of going unnoticed.
Lucian Advein would sense her presence immediately, but he would pretend not to.
After all, both of us would be occupied dealing with Vincent.
“Yes, miss.”
After waiting with patience, I finally received the satisfying answer I’d been hoping for.
Elian was a woman who knew how to keep her composure, and she understood that this was the best course of action available within our limited time.
Determination shone clearly across her beautiful face. It was the expression I knew her by.
“Miss, allow me to help with your appearance. I’ll ensure that Rosena’s lady-in-waiting shines all the brighter before the Vincent Crown Prince.”
“I appreciate the thought, but are there even things to work with in this place? This is the Palace Tea Room.”
“The Duke’s daughter gave me instructions previously, so I always carry some tools with me for such occasions. According to Minabell, those who provide grooming services while moving about will soon be held in very high regard. She says it won’t stop until the day even men are grooming themselves on the streets.”
“My goodness.”
* * *
“I pay my respects to the Vincent Crown Prince.”
Cold eyes that belied his warm impression.
They were exactly as I remembered them.
At the Ball, he had gazed at others with that very expression—as though he existed isolated within that space.
I knew such thoughts bordered on irreverence, but he seemed like someone sitting in a seat that didn’t suit him.
A figure who heard nothing of the cheering crowds, whose hollow eyes merely held his position.
The distant solitude and inexplicable suffering that clung to him were so vivid it was unsettling—hardly the bearing of one destined for the highest throne.
Why hadn’t I noticed before? The subtle sensation I’d felt at the Ball had now become clear.
He was suffering from a very ancient emptiness. Enduring that sensation, which would never be filled.
“So you call each other close friends, yet you visit even on rainy days? You must be quite intimate.”
“It simply happened to rain during my visit. Though it’s true we are close.”
I parried his words with a tone ambiguous enough that I couldn’t tell if he was joking or serious.
“I didn’t realize Your Highness was aware that we were friends. I heard you claimed the young lady’s first dance at the Ball.”
“The young lady was already at the Ball, so I assumed she’d already danced her first dance.”
It was a lie so transparent it wouldn’t fool anyone.
I glanced sideways, wondering if Lucian Advein had told the Vincent Crown Prince about this, but seeing his expression of complete displeasure from beginning to end, I understood immediately.
This was purely Vincent’s own decision.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, it’s difficult when you visit without notice like this. In the past, you controlled who came to the Prince’s Palace out of concern for my health, but now I am well, and I possess eyes keen enough to distinguish between ally and foe.”
Lucian Advein’s expression dripped with displeasure, and the formal title of Crown Prince only emphasized it.
Normally, I suspected he would have used a more comfortable form of address, perhaps something like “older brother.”
So Vincent wore a slightly surprised expression at Lucian Advein’s sharp attitude.
“Where in this Empire is there a place beyond my eyes and ears, Lucian Advein? Besides, I didn’t come to harm the young lady—I simply came to exchange greetings. I know that my control during your childhood deprived you of many opportunities for friendship.”
And as if to say, “Isn’t this the great Rosena,” Vincent’s voice remained calm.
I observed the atmosphere carefully and interjected with a subtle smile.
“I fear there may be shortcomings in that Rosena has not yet paid formal respects to Your Highness.”
The meaning embedded in these words was this:
So you came just to see our faces because you dislike us?
“Rosena has always been laboring tirelessly in every way for this nation, both in material and spirit. How could I speak of shortcomings?”
It was truly absurd that he pretended not to know how powerful your household was, capable of inserting itself everywhere without discrimination.
“Rosena merely seeks to realize the countless virtues learned throughout a lifetime. To never despise the weak, to be generous without lack, and to ensure that loyalty to a chosen lord may endure eternally.”
Are you now hoping to hear from me before Lucian Advein that Rosena favors the Crown Prince’s side more and that legitimacy lies there? Because being under Rosena’s protection would certainly be advantageous.
But wake up from that dream. I have no such intention.
“Rosena’s heart and loyalty are truly at a level I must emulate. I shall take your words deeply to heart.”
So you can’t listen to my words straightforwardly now?
“It is merely the shallow opinion of a mere lady-in-waiting, not Rosena. If Your Highness offers instruction, I shall listen attentively.”
Would you listen if you were me?
A fierce verbal exchange reminiscent of déjà vu continued unfolding.
There were certainly differences from my exchange with Lucian Advein.
Back then, I had been doing my utmost to persuade Lucian Advein, but now I was genuinely praying that the Crown Prince would tire himself out and leave. If my conversation with Lucian Advein had been chess, this was truly a duel.
I couldn’t deny that my suspicions ran deep, nor could I claim that my sharper tone wasn’t partly because Elian weighed on my mind.
“Really now, older brother, what brings you here? I haven’t received any prior notice.”
In the end, it was Lucian Advein who stepped forward to mediate the situation.
Since the invisible sword match showed no signs of ending, he seemed intent on concluding it somehow and sending Vincent away first.
I may have spoken excessively to prevent Elian and him from meeting, but I harbored no regrets. Upon reflection, I didn’t seem to have said anything particularly wrong.
“It’s true that I wanted to exchange a few more words with the young lady Rosena, but I simply wished to see this place. I know you won’t believe me when I say this, but… that’s truly all.”
“Yet you neglected the Prince’s Palace as if it had vanished from the map, and now you speak of this?”
His tone, utterly devoid of sarcasm, was far more frightening.
Lucian Advein questioned Vincent with such composure that his attitude was completely unpredictable. That demeanor, stripped even of resentment, was far more unsettling than mockery or cunning.
Far more so.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————