The Villainess is a Millionaire Solver - Chapter 68

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 68

 

“Did you not hear His Highness the Crown Prince’s earnest instructions? He said that when Princess Aristina arrives, regardless of schedule, you must unconditionally bring her to his study.”

 

An older butler suddenly appeared and scolded the attendant who had been talking with me.

 

I felt like my mind was going completely blank.

 

“He said to drag me there?”

 

“Ah, I misspoke. He said to escort you. Now then, please come inside.”

 

The butler bowed elegantly and gestured toward the interior.

 

“…”

 

I reluctantly went inside.

 

The Crown Prince’s Palace.

 

This palace where generations of the Empire’s crown princes had resided was extremely magnificent. Pure white arched corridors with endless rows of marble columns. Red-cloaked imperial knights lined up like mannequins on both sides.

 

Everything conveyed the status of the Empire’s Crown Prince, I suppose. The memories of Aristina’s heart racing with excitement every time she visited this place vividly came back to life in my mind.

 

Today my heart is racing for a different reason.

 

‘The study was over there, right?’

 

A magnificent door with the golden dragon’s form carved in relief. When we reached it, the knights opened the door. The butler bowed his head and announced toward the interior.

 

“Your Highness the Crown Prince. Princess Aristina has arrived.”

 

I entered the study. Hearing the door close behind me, I steeled myself and looked straight ahead…

 

‘He’s not here?’

 

The magnificent desk standing against a backdrop of books and portraits was empty.

 

Huh? I looked around and then I spotted him.

 

Aldensis was leaning back on the sofa, asleep. In one hand, he held the ‘World Tree’s Lullaby’ – that is, the emerald I had supplied.

 

To my eyes as the contractor, I could clearly see a faint green aura spreading from the gemstone.

 

‘So this is how he normally uses it.’

 

Long eyelashes cast shadows on Aldensis’s sleeping face.

 

“If you continue to act this way, I won’t stand for it either.”

 

This was completely different from the image vividly remaining in my memory – when he had threatened me with his blue eyes gleaming ominously. He looked gentle, peaceful, and above all, harmless.

 

As someone who had rushed over without even eating breakfast, worried about death flags being raised, I felt rather deflated…

 

‘Anyway, this works out well. Let me get out of here quickly.’

 

I stealthily turned my body, trying not to make any noise.

 

But then.

 

“…!”

 

Aldensis suddenly opened his eyes.

 

Gasp.

 

I thought my heart would jump out.

 

Before those blue eyes coldly watching me, I hastily made excuses.

 

“Th-that is! They said you were working right now but just opened the door for me! I absolutely didn’t sneak in secretly…!”

 

“…”

 

Aldensis quietly looked at me. Then he let out a small chuckle.

 

“You finally appeared, Princess. How about we have some tea first and then talk?”

 

He led me to a small drawing room next to the study. It was a place that felt like a greenhouse with many green plants.

 

“Please sit down first.”

 

Aldensis said this and called for an attendant to bring tea.

 

The atmosphere was far too peaceful.

 

I opened my mouth with a bewildered feeling.

 

“This isn’t the atmosphere I imagined after reading your letter? It’s been four days, not the two days you mentioned…”

 

“Five days, Princess.”

 

“Ah, yes. I forgot that another day had passed. Anyway, do you know how anxiously I rushed over here? Now I see, you must have deliberately written scary words in the letter to make me come running in surprise. You didn’t seem like it, but you’re quite cunning, aren’t you?”

 

“That’s not it.”

 

Aldensis shook his head.

 

“When I wrote that letter, I really was in a bad mood. When I calculated it, I had a prediction that I would really get angry if it went beyond two days. Isn’t there a fairy tale like that? A fairy was trapped in a lamp and promised to do anything for the first person who would free him. But when no one freed him no matter how long he waited, he vowed to kill the first person who freed him…”

 

“Wait a moment.”

 

I raised my hand and said.

 

“That analogy doesn’t seem to match well with the situation where I was only two days late from the deadline Your Highness set.”

 

“Three days.”

 

Aldensis corrected me again and then said.

 

“Anyway, it seems the Princess is right. It was different from that fairy tale. I thought I would really get angry when the deadline passed…”

 

Aldensis said with an indifferent expression while swirling his teacup.

 

“But strangely, once it actually passed, my heart calmed down, and I suddenly remembered that incident. When I got angry at the Princess in the rose garden. And… I realized that I probably won’t be able to get angry at the Princess like that again.”

 

Why say it so complicatedly? He’s just saying he regrets getting angry at me before. That he’s learned anger management now.

 

When I remained silent, Aldensis asked.

 

“Does it sound like a lie? As proof of that, didn’t the Princess clearly see it? That I burst into laughter as soon as I saw you.”

 

“Ah, yes. I saw it. It’s an honor to bring laughter to Your Highness, but why did you laugh?”

 

“Because I thought it had been so long since I saw the Princess flustering and making excuses like that. It was just like the old days when the Princess used to chase after me.”

 

He glanced at me sideways and said.

 

“Of course, now I’m an afterthought to the Princess, and you’re busy on your own.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

I didn’t miss the timing and apologized.

 

“I didn’t realize you had sent a letter. I’ve been feeling under the weather with a cold…”

 

“Lie.”

 

Aldensis cut off my words.

 

“If you told me not to lie, then the Princess shouldn’t lie either. A cold, really. You were enjoying entertainment quite healthily.”

 

“Your Highness, you do seem angry after all.”

 

“I’m not.”

 

Aldensis replied calmly.

 

“Even while being so busy gallivanting around, you didn’t ignore the Crown Prince’s personal request for help and have graced us with your presence like this – I don’t know how to express my deep gratitude.”

 

Aha?

 

Then I realized the identity of the subtle sense of discord I’d been feeling.

 

“Your Highness, were you just being sarcastic?”

 

I asked with a feeling of amazement.

 

“This is surprising too. Aren’t you His Highness the Crown Prince who always shows only perfectly elegant and restrained behavior? I thought you wouldn’t do something like sarcasm because it’s childish and low-level. You have such emotions too?”

 

“Emotions?”

 

Aldensis’s eyebrows twitched.

 

“People keep saying I have no humanity, that I don’t understand emotions. I’m not emotionless.”

 

He said methodically.

 

“From childhood, I was continuously educated to the point where my ears were calloused. ‘You are different from ordinary humans. Therefore, you must not have the same emotions as ordinary people. You must follow only rational judgment in everything.’ Because I thoroughly suppressed them, others might see me as emotionless, but I have emotions too.”

 

“Ah, yes…”

 

I nodded.

 

“I understand. Well, that’s why things turned out that way. About the engagement with Serene. The consultation you mentioned is about that matter, right?”

 

Aldensis’s blue eyes turned toward me.

 

“How does the Princess know? You said you had no interest in me whatsoever.”

 

“I saw it in the newspaper. Actually, I was planning to invite Your Highness and Serene to my ball.”

 

“A ball? I heard there’s a successor qualification exam scheduled, so what’s this about a ball all of a sudden?”

 

“I’m holding the ball precisely because of that.”

 

I answered.

 

“Father lent me the villa by the lake, so I decided to float a boat there and hold a ball while properly taking the qualification exam. But when there are rumors of discord between the two people I need to ask to grace the occasion, I wondered what was going on.”

 

“It’s not quite discord.”

 

“Aha. I thought so. So it was exaggerated reporting after all? You are marrying Serene, right?”

 

“I’m not marrying her either.”

 

Aldensis said definitively.

 

Wait, so the engagement really was broken off?

 

It felt like something was crumbling and collapsing inside my head. I shouted without realizing it.

 

“What exactly is Serene lacking?”

 

“It’s not that she’s lacking anything. I think Serene could become a perfect Crown Princess. But…”

 

Aldensis shook his head.

 

“Things have gotten complicated.”

 

“Why? Because of what?”

 

“Actually, I recently heard some serious news from Mother. You’ll remember this too, Princess. It was the night right before the thief stole the crown.”

 

Of course I know. That night the Empress called the brothers and kept them for a long time, so I couldn’t return to the scene in the end.

 

“What kind of serious news was it?”

 

“It was about my destined partner.”

 

Aldensis spoke slowly.

 

“In the Imperial Court, before deciding on a marriage, we ask the gods whether two people are truly a good match. We proceeded because Serene was said to be my match, but a crucial fact was revealed belatedly. Someone had cleverly manipulated things years ago to produce false results.”

 

“How could they manipulate it?”

 

“Since Zikren and I inherited dragon bloodline, we must find a ‘dragon’s partner.’ But they sought divine oracle without distinguishing me from ordinary human royals, so they ended up finding a ‘human’s partner’ instead.”

 

Aldensis let out a small sigh.

 

“All this time I believed without doubt that Serene would become the Crown Princess, but now we have to decide everything from the beginning again. It looks like we’ll have to search through everyone except Serene, one by one from the start. Everyone around us.”

 

He said this while looking at me.

 

His blue eyes were shining with a clear light. As if, true to his words, he would examine every single person before him one by one from now on.

 

It really was the face of a perfect, textbook handsome man as if drawn in a picture. Looking at him made my head feel slightly dizzy. Even I felt like I might shout “Please choose me!” and go stand at the end of the waiting line.

 

Of course, having been entangled with Aldensis for the past 10 years and grown sick of it, I know I would absolutely never do that.

 

I pulled myself together.

 

“So what’s the conclusion? What exactly is this consultation about?”

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