The Kidnapped Prince is Mine Now - Chapter 26

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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 26
Belsh glanced at his lord’s expression first in response to my outcry.
Maximilian commanded with all trace of amusement stripped from his face.
“Read it. The Saint wishes it so.”
His tone carried a subtle mockery, yet it was the answer I needed.
Following his lord’s command, Belsh unfolded the letter and read its contents in a measured voice.
“To His Highness Maximilian, First Imperial Prince, eldest son of the great Emperor and brilliant heir to the Empire. May the Goddess’s grace and light forever accompany Your Highness….”
“Summarize.”
“Yes. In essence.”
Belsh quickly scanned the letter before continuing.
“On the very day His Highness Rotar departed for the monastery, a divine oracle descended. The Goddess Pelmira declared that only the marriage of the Saint Elise and His Highness Rotar could save the Empire’s peace.”
What?
“The reason His Highness was hastily sent to His Highness Rotar and instructed to consummate the union was precisely this, and so he hopes….”
Belsh cast a careful glance between Rotar and me before continuing.
“That there be no misunderstandings regarding collusion between church and state. This is a postscript.”
In other words: I would never dare betray Maximilian, so please harbor no suspicions that I’ve aligned myself with the Second Imperial Prince.
When Belsh finished reading the letter, silence descended upon the room once more. I barely managed to swallow a hollow laugh threatening to escape.
‘This old fraud of an Archbishop. Our repertoires of lies overlap perfectly!’
A divine oracle, no less. It was clearly a fabrication spun after receiving my carrier pigeon.
Yet who would dare question the Archbishop’s words? No matter how suspicious, he was the very man who had discovered the existence of a Saint appearing for the first time in a century through divine oracle. His credibility far surpassed mine.
Of course, this trick couldn’t be repeated a second or third time…. But regardless, this was the long-awaited good news.
‘Grandfather, thank you!’
The bluff about the Saint’s powers awakening had proven effective. Discreet contact would arrive soon enough.
I concealed the joy rising from my core and arranged my expression into one of gravity.
“So the Archbishop has finally made the oracle public. I kept silent because it wasn’t my place to reveal such matters.”
“….”
“Now all misunderstandings are cleared, yes? Your Highness Maximilian, I’m truly grateful for the antidote, but would you please leave my bedroom?”
As Maximilian turned his head, his sharply blue eyes fixed upon me with an intensity that was almost piercing.
Yes, you. Get out of my room.
I didn’t avert my gaze from Maximilian’s eyes. Instead, I lowered my brows in supplication.
“His Highness Rotar’s injuries are severe. Please, I beg your mercy…!”
He needs treatment, so leave already! Damn it.
Maximilian stared at me for a long moment before opening his mouth.
“Very well. There will be other opportunities to receive your gratitude for the antidote later.”
What the hell. This madman.
I swallowed the words rising to my throat and nodded with a docile expression.
From experience, that bastard was a pure deviant—the less I resisted, the quicker he lost interest. There was no need to throw him bait in a situation like this.
But then Maximilian’s lips suddenly curved upward. He passed by Belsh and Rotar, stepping out of the bedroom as he spoke.
“How adorable, trying so hard to appease me.”
“….”
I want to kill him. Right now.
“If you’ll excuse me.”
Belsh quickly followed his lord out of the room. That left only me and Rotar Eisenrit in the chamber, both of us in foul spirits.
I hastily planted my feet on the floor. As I pushed myself upright, dizziness swept through me, but not enough to prevent me from walking.
I was turning to rush toward Rotar Eisenrit when—
“Elise.”
“G-good heavens!”
Rotar Eisenrit was suddenly standing directly before me, blood still streaming from his wounds.
I frantically cupped his cheek in my hands and demanded answers.
“Where did you get hurt like this? Your regenerative ability is absurdly broken—why isn’t it healing? Are you going to bleed out?”
“You’re asking too many questions at once.”
Rotar Eisenrit mumbled the words while his cheek remained clasped in my grip. That was all the answer he offered.
I felt his gaze sweep methodically over my body, lingering especially around my neck where Maximilian had gripped it. Were there bruises? Handprints?
I spoke first, preempting any inquiry he might make.
“I’m fine. I’m completely recovered now. But you—!”
“I apologize for arriving late.”
“No, that’s not what I wanted to hear. Rotar, wait. Rotar Eisenrit?”
But the conversation ended there.
The massive man’s body went limp and collapsed to the floor. Frozen in shock, I stared down at him as Rotar Eisenrit forced his eyes open one final time.
“Please summon a Castle Knight or a priest. Conventional medicine cannot staunch this bleeding.”
Those were his last words before his eyes closed.
***
The forces dispatched to subjugate the monsters returned several hours after Rotar’s treatment concluded.
The Staufen Margrave searched for any traps left behind by Maximilian’s army before removing his armor and seeking out Rotar.
Upon discovering me keeping vigil at the sleeping Rotar’s side, she immediately furrowed her brow.
“Elise. Your body hasn’t fully recovered either—why aren’t you resting?”
“No, I’ve rested sufficiently.”
It wasn’t a lie. The physician had said my strength would return in a few days if I simply ate well.
That didn’t mean I wasn’t exhausted, though….
‘I’m just not in the mood to lie down.’
Fortunately, the Staufen Margrave didn’t press further and simply nodded.
“How is Rotar? He’s not a corpse, is he?”
“No. I stopped the bleeding with holy power. There are no torn internal organs either. An ordinary person would have died already, but… according to the physician, he needs sufficient rest.”
“Thank goodness. That fool heard Maximilian had arrived and went berserk. He fought day and night, saying there was no time, and by the time the subjugation ended, he just ran off without even looking back.”
Yes, he must have come without proper treatment, bleeding profusely the entire way.
I recalled the castle knights’ whispers about how he likely faced monsters drawn by the scent of blood. Ah, my spirits sank even further.
But I couldn’t show my distress before the Staufen Margrave. People do have consciences, after all. I opened my mouth before it was too late, looking toward her.
“Your Excellency. I’m sorry. Lord Konrad suffered this because of me….”
“Hmm?”
However, the Staufen Margrave narrowed her eyes before I could even finish speaking, waved her hand dismissively, and approached me.
“Skip the apologies. I’ve heard everything. Konrad did what he could as a worthy deputy margrave.”
“But Your Excellency.”
“It’s not your fault. Still, it’s fortunate he didn’t lose something more vital.”
The Staufen Margrave responded with a jest, but I couldn’t bring myself to laugh. Konrad had lost an arm.
I learned this after searching for Konrad once Maximilian’s forces had departed. He lay in his bedroom, wrapped in bandages.
Konrad’s Adjutant, standing beside him with a tear-stained face, denounced Maximilian’s atrocity.
‘The First Prince knew there was an antidote and demanded it! When Lord Konrad refused, he immediately drew his sword…!’
‘Please, be quiet.’
‘I had no choice but to reveal that the antidote was in Lord Konrad’s possession. When he was about to sever the right arm as well, I couldn’t remain silent…!’
‘My head is pounding. Please, just be quiet.’
Konrad said nothing about the matter of his missing arm.
He merely offered a bitter smile toward me as I stared blankly at where his left arm should have been, apologizing.
‘I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you properly, Your Highness.’
‘…Please don’t apologize.’
He wasn’t the one who should be apologizing.
It was I who suggested we endure until the Archbishop’s letter arrived. It was I who proposed deliberately poisoning myself to buy time.
Had I conceived of a better alternative, Konrad would never have lost his left arm.
And yet.
‘What better alternative was there?’
I don’t know. At that moment, it was the best I could do.
Rotar’s defeat and complete annihilation, followed by execution. That was the tragedy Konrad had repeatedly endured in my previous life. So.
‘Losing an arm is actually not the worst outcome, is it?’
The moment that thought crossed my mind, I found myself so repulsive that I couldn’t even offer words of comfort.

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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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