I’m Done With Unrequited Love - Chapter 70

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 70
So startled was I that I simply stood there, gazing down at Xavier without thought of ushering him into the adjacent reception room.
“What brings you—ah.”
Only then did I snap to attention, close the door, and step into the corridor.
“Shall we go to the reception room next door?”
“Yes, that would be suitable.”
So we moved into the small reception room adjoining my chambers.
It was too late in the evening to summon servants for tea, so Xavier and I sat at the table with empty hands between us.
“I must have startled you, arriving so abruptly.”
Xavier opened with those words.
“To be honest, I was a little surprised.”
“Ah…”
“But surely you had your reasons.”
From what I had observed of Xavier until now, he seemed a cautious and demure child.
For such a boy to knock on someone’s door in the dead of night without cause?
‘That makes no sense.’
Indeed, after a moment’s hesitation, Xavier revealed the purpose of his visit.
“I understand that it was Lady Fidellia—you—who had me removed from the Imperial Palace.”
“That is correct.”
I nodded, assuming Sarubia must have told him.
“Why did you do so?”
Caught off guard by the question, I faltered for a moment.
‘Should I tell him the truth.’
But since there was nothing to hide, I spoke plainly.
“His Holiness the Pope asked it of me.”
“…His Holiness the Pope.”
Upon hearing my response, Xavier nodded calmly, as though unsurprised, and spoke flatly.
“That was unnecessary.”
In Xavier’s tone I detected a faint note of displeasure, tinged with resignation.
I grew puzzled.
‘What is this?’
Were they not close?
Then why would he take a sword and ask another to carry off the stolen blade in his stead?
‘It makes no sense for the Crown Prince’s sword to be seized just like that by someone who isn’t even close to him.’
Moreover, Pope Rita had herself referred to Xavier as a “friend” before.
‘Of course one would wish to save a friend?’
“What exactly did Rita say?”
‘Look at that.’
They call each other by name so freely.
“She said I was to help you find your way to the Church.”
“Didn’t she mention that the imperial family is in chaos?”
How did he know that?
“She did.”
“…”
Xavier lowered his eyes, gripped the fabric of his trousers above his knees, then released it—and finally lifted his head.
And then.
‘…What is this.’
It was a gaze I had never seen before.
Those golden eyes I had always thought of as “shining like stars.”
They were…
“…”
Gleaming with a strange, uncanny light.
Like the unfamiliar gaze of Siren that I had glimpsed in passing at the coronation.
“I dislike that person.”
“…”
“There is no need to heed the Pope’s words. I am content as I am now.”
As he said this, Xavier’s brow furrowed as though in pain, but then returned to its former state as though nothing had happened.
All trace of the pure, radiant child had vanished.
I gazed at Xavier, left adrift in bewilderment.
‘My little gentleman…’
So the child wasn’t entirely naive, after all.
‘Right, Bruno persecutes her, as she said.’
Naturally, she’d learned to read the room, to watch for every subtle shift.
And the more one must do that, the older a child becomes—beyond their years.
My thoughts drifted back to that meeting in Diego’s office.
The girl sitting in silence while Sarubia and Diego bickered.
“But it troubles me.”
…….
“I’m aware my concern is presumptuous, overstepping even. But Your Highness must be kept at a distance from His Majesty.”
“Do you know how far the Emperor’s Palace lies from the Crown Prince’s Palace, Lady Fidellia?”
“I mean that your spheres of movement must not overlap with His Majesty’s.”
The notion of territory—abstract as it was—wielded a stronger grip on human psychology than one might expect.
Yet Xavier kept his mouth shut, refusing to answer me.
‘He has no intention of compromising.’
I shifted the subject.
“Does the Empress treat you well?”
…….
At last, between Xavier’s tightly pressed lips, the child’s voice slipped through.
“She is indifferent.”
Cruelly so.
Xavier found that an uncomfortable topic too, and changed the subject once more.
“I understand you are also involved with Prince Cesar Bertrand.”
“It happened that way by circumstance.”
I replied smoothly, feigning innocence.
“Prince Cesar Bertrand dislikes me.”
That much was apparent.
“I know the reason why.”
‘Ah.’
A topic I’d been curious about.
Now that I understood Xavier’s circumstances, the true nature of it seemed to make sense.
Cesar, in other words——
“I believe Cesar sees his own reflection in me.”
Xavier hates what he sees in himself.
‘It’s simple, really.’
Similar in age, similar positions as heirs to their houses.
And if even their fathers’ coldness toward them mirrored each other——
It was no wonder he would recognize himself in that face and recoil from it.
‘Kiara and Rene are the complete opposite.’
Those two had grown close through the shared experience of being tormented by adults.
‘Well, some bonds form that way, others form differently.’
Suddenly, I recalled Xavier’s implausible credentials.
A crown prince destined to become emperor.
A handsome face.
And someone close to the main characters too.
‘And he carries paternal trauma on top of it all.’
When I considered all these facts together, if Xavier were not the male protagonist but rather a supporting character—aside from secondary male leads—another possibility emerged.
Could he be the mastermind behind it all?
…….
‘The possibility… isn’t entirely out of the question.’
I recalled how Emperor Bruno despised Xavier.
‘He said he received an Oracle.’
Precisely speaking, he heard the Voice of God, just as I did.
‘Then, surely…’
Had the Emperor heard a Divine Oracle about Xavier becoming a villain?
Was that why Bruno began to despise him?
‘At this point, it’s something I have no way of knowing.’
For now, I’ll keep it in mind.
What matters at this moment is that Xavier still hasn’t gotten to the main point.
“So, Lady Fidellia, what I wished to say is……”
…….
“I heard you sent your younger sister to serve as a tutor to Prince Cesar.”
“…….”
“Just as you did for me now, you did that to help Prince Cesar back then, didn’t you?”
The child was remarkably perceptive.
Xavier’s inference had no flaw in it.
“No.”
But I denied it.
“That was merely a coincidence.”
There was nothing to gain from word spreading that I had manipulated children with whom I had no prior connection.
No matter how good my intentions, it would look suspicious given that there was no acquaintance between us to speak of.
“I see.”
Whether fortunately or not, Xavier didn’t press the matter further and let it drop.
But the topic concerning Cesar remained.
Xavier spoke.
“I would like to ask you for something.”
“What might that be?”
“I want to see Cesar and myself smiling together.”
‘Ah.’
Only then did I grasp Xavier’s true intention.
‘This is…….’
He had come seeking an adult’s help with a friendship problem!

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