The Kidnapped Prince is Mine Now - Chapter 6

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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 6
“….”
What was my true power?
This man Lothar had a gift for probing people’s wounds without a shred of malice.
I wanted to jab those genuinely curious eyes with my fingertips—poke, poke—right there.
Let me rewind three months.
The oracle that descended upon the Archbishop then. It was the “Awakening of the Holy Maiden.”
‘Upon the woman who reaches her twentieth birthday this year, the blessing of the divine shall descend.’
Beyond that, I had no other clues from the goddess Pelmira.
The Holy Temple, with the cooperation of the Imperial Palace, searched for women who had turned twenty. From the highest places—the Imperial Palace itself—to the lowest, the Slum Red-light District.
And then they found Elise. Cast out from the Orphanage upon reaching adulthood, with nothing remarkable about her except a passably pretty face.
In other words, me before the possession. This wretch was on the verge of being married off as the third wife to an elderly nobleman.
The priest who discovered Elise immediately fell to his knees and cried out.
‘We have found the Holy Maiden!’
Only priests capable of sensing holy power could recognize her true nature. The overwhelming torrent of holy power that filled her body and spilled over.
It must have been holy power born at the age of twenty. That was proof that Elise was chosen by the goddess.
…Well, that much was true!
But here lay the problem. A catastrophically serious one.
‘Now then, Holy Maiden. Please demonstrate a miracle.’
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘A miracle through this overflowing holy power!’
‘That… how… exactly?’
‘?’
‘?’
A Holy Maiden who could only squander the overflowing holy power.
That was me.
Throughout the Empire’s history, Holy Maidens had displayed their powers through holy power in countless ways.
Some possessed healing abilities rivaling the greatest physicians, others could purify corrupted lands in an instant. If not that, they excelled at blessings.
But me?
‘Hnnngh… Kyeeeeng…! Hnnngh….’
‘Holy Maiden. Holy power doesn’t release just because you strain like you’re defecating.’
I recalled who told me this in the first playthrough. It was probably that bastard Wolfgang.
In any case, I was nothing more than a vessel containing tremendous holy power—incapable of any other function. The helplessness I felt upon realizing that fact was indescribable.
My previous life had been far more versatile. At least back then, I….
‘…Never mind, never mind.’
This was the Holy Temple’s secret and my shame.
Though Lothar and I were already in the same boat, I had no desire to lay this bare before him. And for good reason.
‘It’s mortifying.’
So I gave a curt reply.
“A secret.”
“Indeed.”
Lothar nodded as if respecting my wishes. I had expected more resistance, so his ready compliance was puzzling.
“But what does Elise’s return have to do with Graupels?”
Ah, right. This was the real matter at hand.
It seemed the Empire’s second prince possessed considerable patience. He had listened quietly to my rambling account of the regression without interrupting once.
I turned my gaze toward the carriage window. Snow now fell heavily through the forest we were passing through—a sign we were drawing closer to the Northern Border Region.
I tore my eyes from the desolate landscape and opened my mouth.
“Lothar. Don’t you think the Staufen Family, your maternal relatives, betrayed you in every cycle?”
Lothar’s eyes wavered slightly. After a moment, he posed a counter-question.
“They didn’t?”
I wrapped a blanket around my shoulders against the steadily dropping temperature and replied.
“Until the previous cycle, the Staufen Family was on your side. And they were annihilated alongside you. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
It seemed like the sort of thing that would be difficult to hear with a clear mind. Yet his face as he listened was surprisingly composed.
That was fortunate. At least he didn’t seem like he would strangle me this time, insisting he couldn’t bear it.
“I ordered the Staufen Margrave to betray you.”
A sharp wind whistled past outside the carriage window.
Breaking the brief silence, Lothar asked.
“Why?”
“So that Staufen could survive and attempt a second rebellion with you.”
The truth behind the betrayal was cruel, yet simple.
The Staufen Family, which had produced exceptional generals across generations. Lothar’s own superhuman strength was rooted there as well.
It was a card that had to be preserved for the future. The battles ahead would only grow more grueling.
But this much was between me and Staufen.
‘I can’t blame Lothar for not understanding this, having been backstabbed by his only aunt and subjected to all manner of torture.’
He had been abandoned without warning and emerged from torture. I expected him to press me further on this.
But the carriage fell silent again. Only the sound of my leg bouncing nervously could be heard.
Fortunately, before I could shout at him to speak if he had something to say, Lothar opened his mouth.
“Aunt, does the Staufen Margrave know of your regression?”
“No.”
Apart from Lothar, only one person knew this fact. That scoundrel Wolfgang outside. There was good reason for it.
“Then how did you persuade the Margrave?”
“Well.”
How could I put this delicately? I deliberated for a brief moment, then gave up after a single second.
“By showing him that no matter what you do, your probability of defeating Maximilian approaches zero?”
“….”
A chill of defeat swept across Lothar’s face.
“Stop!”
A Holy Knight’s shout rang out from outside the carriage. Soon after, the sound of hoofbeats and carriage wheels ceased in unison.
At the knock that followed, I started to kick the door open but stopped myself. It seemed better not to touch the door that Lothar had already damaged once.
“Open it.”
The moment I carefully opened the door, Wolfgang stood before me. He quickly scanned my condition and asked.
“You weren’t hit, were you?”
“Of course I was hit.”
I couldn’t tell if he was genuinely concerned or mocking me. Surely it was the latter?
Wolfgang shrugged and broached the main topic.
“The sun will set soon, and the blizzard is intensifying, making it difficult to continue the march. What do you say we rest in the village for a day?”
“Let’s do that. My backside was about to split into four pieces anyway.”
Wolfgang let out a soft chuckle at my words and extended his hand.
I was about to grasp it and dismount without much thought.
“I’ll decline excessive consideration.”
A deep voice accompanied a broad frame that positioned itself between Wolfgang and me.
For a moment, it felt as though a barrier had materialized before my eyes.
“Surely you don’t intend to parade your husband about as mere decoration.”
When a seemingly sarcastic remark followed, I doubted my ears. He’d been acting like a machine devoid of emotional fluctuation the entire time, and now suddenly this?
Now that I looked, Lothar, having descended from the carriage, wasn’t even glancing at Wolfgang. He was simply extending his hand toward me.
“Or perhaps you find the escort of an incompetent prince distasteful?”
“What… what are you talking about?”
Bewildered by this sudden self-deprecation, I found myself stammering involuntarily. It seemed the conversation from just before we’d left the carriage had left a deep impression on him.
I turned away from Wolfgang’s subtle expression and quickly grasped Lothar’s hand.
Lothar, who demonstrated impeccable escorting skills despite his barbed words, belatedly turned his gaze toward Wolfgang and spoke.
“I’ll handle Elise’s escort. So you needn’t concern yourself. From now on.”
Why was that? Why did those words sound like a declaration of war to me?
Wolfgang blinked at Lothar’s statement. I wondered what reaction he might show, but instead he offered a faint smile and lowered his head.
“Understood, Your Highness.”
Good. It was an appropriate response. Knowing he had spirit, I’d thought he might continue the power struggle.
‘At least he’s not a complete fool.’
The problem was Lothar. From the Temple onward, I’d sensed him keeping Wolfgang at bay, and it seemed that wasn’t my imagination. But why?
I clicked my tongue inwardly and turned my body. I was about to follow the moving knights.
“Come along.”
That was impossible. Because of the hand Lothar held.
His palm covered the back of my hand, then completely enveloped it. I stared at that peculiar sight before lifting my gaze.
I caught sight of Lothar’s profile as he walked with an indifferent expression. His sharp, chiseled nose was truly handsome. No, that wasn’t the point.
“Why are you doing this?”
Lothar, sensing my gaze, asked. I walked alongside him and lowered my voice.
“Say, does Wolfgang’s family owe you money or something?”
“…”
The answer didn’t come immediately. Could it actually be true?
Of course, Wolfgang was the type to easily incur resentment. Wasn’t he a nepotistic young master who’d secured the position of Holy Knight Order Commander at a remarkably young age through the Archbishop’s influence?
Moreover, his specialty was infuriating people with his frivolous attitude and tasteless jokes. Whether due to his delicate appearance or not, it was remarkable how rumors involving women never ceased to surround a Holy Knight.
I was absorbed in thought, wondering if Lothar and Wolfgang would ever have reason to entangle themselves with one another.
“No man of honor would willingly regard another who harbors affection for his own wife.”
…What?

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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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