Surviving as a Terminally Ill Heiress - Chapter 83

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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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Chapter 83

I couldn’t see his face, but… that’s just what I felt.
The First Prince, who had paused briefly before me, walked toward the dais.
What, he startled me. But was that veil trembling at the corner of his mouth just my imagination?
In any case, the enigmatic First Prince seemed utterly indifferent to the commotion around him.
He simply bowed silently to the Emperor and Empress.
Without removing the veil, of course.
In any event, the Coming-of-Age Ceremony proceeded with a clatter.
His Majesty the Emperor hastily presented the sword, and Her Majesty the Empress hastily placed the crown on his head.
Both of them seemed thoroughly broken.
Before I could even examine how, music began to play.
The banquet resumed, returning to its ordinary rhythm.
The ceremony—receiving the sword from his father and the crown from his mother—had ended.
He had become a perfect adult and descended slowly from the dais.
Every eye in the Banquet Hall followed him. The young ladies of his generation in particular grew restless.
A strange distance that drew them near yet kept them away.
“We should offer our greetings to the First Prince.”
“Hmm, but perhaps it’s better not to get too close…”
Opinions differed.
The First Prince, who abstained from public appearances due to mental illness.
Not merely gossip—a man who, in his childhood, had struck Gallager over the head with a stone.
I thought there was only one madman of that caliber in the world.
“Uh, um…?”
“Why are you coming this way?”
He was headed straight for me.
Quite literally, in a straight line.
I instinctively tried to slip aside, but it was futile.
The Prince’s path was so obvious that the people around us naturally parted to let him through.
The crowd split like the Red Sea.
The First Prince came to a halt directly before me.
In this vast Banquet Hall, you could have heard an ant crawl.
Then the Prince’s hand rose slowly.
I stared at the palm wrapped in black gloves for a long moment before asking.
“Are you asking me to dance?”
“Yes.”
An unfamiliar voice emerged from beyond the veil.
Distinctly unfamiliar. A voice I had never heard before.
Yet why?
This oddly irritating feeling.
I hesitated. I debated, but truthfully, even that moment was a luxury.
Refusing now was impossible.
Because.
‘Clara was watching.’
Her face said: refuse and I’ll kill you. And she really would.
I answered, resigned to my fate.
“…It would be my honor.”
I placed my hand on his palm.
Our hands clasped.
As we moved toward the center of the hall, dance music began to play.
His hand settled naturally at my waist.
But his lead…
‘Hm?’
…was poor.
The music ended abruptly.
The next piece flowed seamlessly onward. We fell into an awkward, jarring rhythm.
‘I mean, I’m hopeless at dancing, so I follow whoever’s leading most of the time, but…’
He didn’t dance poorly so much as his manner was lacking.
Yet his hand never loosened from mine.
‘Does he plan to go for a third song?’
If a man and woman danced together for more than two songs, it signaled an explicit intention.
An Etiquette Rule, as they called it. It was uncomfortable, but I didn’t pull my hand away either.
Because I had something I wanted to ask.
“…Might I inquire after the Second Prince’s health?”
My question went unanswered.
The urge to rip aside that infuriating veil surged within me.
“Why?”
Why?
Such a brief reply.
“Do you wish to see him?”
Jeremiah?
Well, I nodded.
He was my friend. Always a dear, ailing friend.
I simply wanted to confirm with my own eyes that he was alive.
“Otherwise I would have killed him.”
What?
The voice beyond the veil was not clear.
In the moment I tilted my head in confusion,
“I could show you.”
“Is that possible?”
“There’s nothing to prevent it.”
How?
We’re in the middle of his Coming-of-Age Ceremony banquet, no less.
“If circumstances force the banquet to end prematurely.”
I felt somewhat disappointed.
What, as if something like that could happen.
That was when it occurred.
Bang!
A tremendous sound of explosion.
A large chandelier from the center of the ceiling fell.
Under the barrage of the massive crystal mass, those nearby shrieked and stumbled backward.
Fortunately, it was not a direct hit.
By a stroke of unbelievable luck, no one was injured.
Yet the Banquet Hall descended into chaos in an instant.
Young ladies screamed, people rushed about in confusion, and Imperial Guards appeared from every direction.
The Emperor rose from his seat, and the Empress summoned her attendants.
A situation in which no one would notice if one or two people disappeared.
While I stood stunned, watching the scene unfold,
the man beyond the veil spoke slowly.
“Shall we go?”
I looked up slowly at the veil.
His hand still held mine.
The black hand drew me forward slowly.
We slipped away gracefully through the darkened, chaotic hall—illuminated only by the broken chandelier—and vanished.
My hand was held fast in his, and before my eyes, his black veil and the hem of his coat fluttered.
It felt like being escorted to hell itself.
The corridor we emerged into was quiet. The music, the people, the commotion—all grew distant.
We were alone.
There was no conversation, but it was not uncomfortable.
Beyond the corridor’s tall windows, the early night sky was visible.
A crescent moon was rising.

* * *

The path to the Second Prince’s residence proved unobstructed.
We encountered not a single guard. They had likely all rushed to the banquet hall.
As I reflected on that absurd moment once more,
we arrived.
At the door to Jeremiah’s chambers.
The First Prince, who had been pulling me along the whole way, tilted his head sideways.
Was I to enter alone?
I hesitated for a moment, then knocked softly on the door.
Come in, came a familiar voice.
“Pardon my intrusion.”
The room’s occupant was reclining against the head of his bed.
His blue eyes widened as he spotted me.
“…You?”
It was Jeremiah. Really Jeremiah.
I looked at him with relief in my eyes.
“It has been a long time, Your Highness.”
“Yes… but how do you come to be here?”
Jeremiah’s face, though surprised and pleased to see me, had grown gaunt compared to before.
Yet he was alive and well.
That was enough.
I immediately turned to leave.
“Since I’ve come this far, I simply wanted to see your face. Please, rest. I’ll go.”
“Already?”
“We’ll see each other again later. You’ll summon me anyway, won’t you?”
Jeremiah smiled gently at that.
And nodded.
“Thank you for coming.”
“Please, think nothing of it.”
“And you, brother—”
“…”
“Thank you for coming.”
No response came from beyond the door.
But Jeremiah seemed to have already expected that, and smiled knowingly, as if understanding so much more.
I left him there and stepped back out into the corridor.
The First Prince stood against the corridor wall, arms crossed.
I paused to observe him for a moment, then departed the Second Prince’s residence with a sigh.
“You seem not to know how to say thank you.”
“…”
“Will you continue to ignore me?”
He followed close beside me with hands clasped behind his back, muttering.
“For people meeting for the first time, that’s rather harsh.”
What on earth are you saying?
I glared at him, my brow furrowed.
I couldn’t bear it any longer.
“Madman.”
“…”
“You think I’m blind, don’t you?”
“…”
“You’re being this obvious and you expect no one to notice? Ugh, stop being so irritating. Get out of my way.”
I pushed him aside and walked on.
But I was caught almost immediately.
Before I could blink, the man stood before me again, using the back of his hand to lift the smooth veil.
Hair as black as the veil itself. Eyes as blue as the sea. An eye patch covering one eye.
And a face of extraordinary, unsettling beauty.
It was him, after all.
Kiel.
The damned mage who made me wait.
And the First Prince of this realm.
He was smiling.
As always, as if I was the most amusing thing he’d ever seen.
“Since when?”
His voice had already returned to its normal cadence.
He must have used Magic to disguise it. I wasn’t particularly curious.
But hearing his true voice again after so long was secretly welcome, and that very fact was infuriating.

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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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