They Say an Age Gap Like This Doesn’t Even Need Matching - Chapter 14

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

“Have you confirmed whether she has a lover?”
“What…?”
A lover? Her?
Elhart felt as though he’d been struck on the back of the head.
“Like most of the Knight Order, the Expedition Team likely had an extreme gender imbalance. Perhaps someone caught her fancy.”
It was a reasonable point.
“It’s entirely plausible during such grueling expeditions. So we should verify that first.”
“….”
“Your Highness…?”
“A lover is merely a lover. Men and women meet and part ways—isn’t that common?”
“Pardon?”
“I… was thinking of marriage.”
Rick began to wonder if the man he served was truly in his right mind.
“From our first meeting, I had already resolved to marry her. Regardless of who she truly is.”
Elhart’s expression as he spoke through gritted teeth looked even more wronged than the day he’d been stripped of his position as Crown Prince.
“You’re… you’re serious about this, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am.”
Since childhood, Elhart had wandered battlefields and never taken interest in women.
With the nation’s fate hanging by a thread, how could he afford such frivolous distractions?
He devoted himself solely to further training and rallying his soldiers toward victory in war.
Occasionally, bold women seeking the Crown Prince’s seed would rush into the barracks, but he turned them all away coldly.
He had despised men swayed by women.
He viewed them as lacking willpower, succumbing to desire.
Surely… that was how he’d been.
Yet here he was, deep in Enemy Territory, seeking romantic counsel from his subordinate.
Even by his own assessment, it was pathetic, but Elhart now understood with certainty that this was beyond his control.
Though he could list dozens of reasons why this shouldn’t happen, none of them lingered in his mind.
He could only endlessly dwell on possibilities, clinging to the thinnest thread of hope.
“And?”
“You must become a peacock, Your Highness.”
“…?”
“What is youth’s advantage? Isn’t it that fresh, youthful charm?”
Elhart pictured both Ser Brin’s face and his own in his mind.
Perhaps time itself had stopped within the Black Rift.
“Didn’t you yourself say she looked about the age of your youngest sibling?”
And Elhart was the same age as Rick.
Which meant anyone could see that Ser Brin appeared younger than Elhart.
“Just… groom yourself well, I suppose.”
At a loss for words, Rick fumbled through his response.
Elhart’s face was handsome enough to earn admiration even from Rick himself.
I wondered if it was even worth putting more effort into my appearance at this point.
“Well… I suppose it’s fine as it is now.”
Still, it had to be better than not grooming myself at all.
“For now, Your Highness, you should be grateful that the Expedition Leader has no younger siblings.”
Elhart seemed to neither fully understand nor dismiss why that should be a relief.
In any case, it was common knowledge that the Expedition Leader had no family, so he simply nodded.
“I will consult with my sister on the rest and report back to you.”
“I’m counting on you.”
Elhart exhaled softly and spoke.
“And… send word to the Homeland to confirm the return of the other Expedition Team members.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Convey my intentions to Duke Balder.”
“You mean to accelerate the plan, Your Highness?”
“Yes. We have one month. All preparations must be completed within that time.”
“Understood.”
Elhart felt his priorities shifting within himself.
‘I have lived my entire life solely for the welfare of my homeland.’
Now something else was taking that place.
‘Perhaps it was for the best.’
The doubts and hesitations that had plagued me were now cleanly resolved because of this.
Moreover, I had even discovered the necessity of maintaining my appearance, so the gains were more than sufficient.
‘I should pay attention to tonight’s banquet first.’
Shortly after sending Rick away, the Crown Prince’s personal Steward arrived to help me prepare.
“Do you think this deep gray suits my complexion better, or would that black be preferable?”
“Between wearing my hair up, down, or half-pinned, which looks best?”
“Don’t you think the cravat color looks a bit off?”
The Crown Prince’s Steward broke into a cold sweat at Elhart’s barrage of questions.
Until now, he had assumed I would simply wear whatever was laid out for me and skip any grooming altogether.
However, he found himself detained by Elhart far longer than when assisting the Crown Prince with his preparations.
“At this rate, we’ll be late for the banquet….”
“Ah, has it gotten that late already? It seems passable enough, I suppose… though I’m not entirely certain.”
Watching Elhart examine his reflection in the mirror one last time, the Steward thought to himself.
The person who would draw the most attention at tonight’s banquet based on appearance alone would surely be this hostage prince.
“Let us depart.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Elhart followed the Steward’s guidance toward the Reception Hall.
“My goodness, is that….”
Fortunately, my efforts had not gone unrewarded. The intensity of the gazes directed at me made that abundantly clear.
“Isn’t that the hostage prince from the Separate Palace?”
I nearly felt self-conscious at the way people whispered and openly scrutinized me, but the moment I spotted Ser Brin waiting for me, that feeling melted away like snow.
Neither the Crown Prince beside her nor anyone else—not even the location itself—registered in my awareness.
‘Ser Brin.’
Wrapped in a soft, water-blue gown, she possessed a sanctity and nobility that evoked memories of those glorious days when she was called the Goddess’s Knight.
‘It was wise to hold the ball.’
Standing beside her in an unworthy manner was something I could never accept of myself.
***
“…Elhart?”
I doubted my eyes.
The man walking toward me was unmistakably him.
I could sense his distinctive Manarang from a distance.
‘He looks like a different person.’
I had known he was quite handsome, but dressed in formal attire and properly groomed, he was remarkably striking.
‘Why did he go to such lengths with his appearance?’
Here, when someone had set a trap using a ‘love potion,’ he appeared in a form that would multiply temptation itself.
“Ser Brin.”
Elhart approached with long strides, his expression devoid of any smile, and extended his hand to me.
“I kept you waiting.”
He didn’t spare a single glance at the Crown Prince standing beside me.
Elhart naturally took my hand, which rested upon his, and linked it through his arm before a smile finally graced his lips.
As if he had only now found relief.
“It’s been a while, Elhart.”
Surprisingly, it was the Crown Prince who greeted him first.
“I’ve never seen you dressed so formally before. And we’ve known each other for quite some time too.”
Caught off guard by this unexpectedly familiar tone, I glanced between them.
“Thank you for helping my maid.”
“There’s no reason for you to thank me. I did it because I wanted to.”
“I see.”
Elhart casually brushed past the Crown Prince’s clearly intentional remark as if he hadn’t understood it.
Just as he was about to turn toward the banquet hall, the Crown Prince spoke to me.
“Ser Brin, about that proposal I made earlier. How about reconsidering it?”
“I’m sorry…?”
What proposal had he made to me?
I had been too busy investigating the Crown Prince’s Palace security system to pay proper attention, so I couldn’t quite recall it.
“Moving to my palace.”
Ah, that was it.
This time, properly provoked, I felt Elhart’s body tense.
“I’ll take good care of you. You won’t lack for anything.”
Wow, he really knows how to push the right buttons.
I had answered that question clearly before, yet he was asking again in front of Elhart—his true intentions were utterly transparent.
“Your Highness, I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”
I tapped Elhart’s arm lightly with my fingertips.
I felt him flinch at the touch.
I wondered if my message to calm himself had come across clearly.
“There would be no shortage of stewards and maids eager to serve Your Highness. But you need me specifically, don’t you?”
I looked up at Elhart with a soft smile.
“Isn’t that right?”
As if he’d been waiting for this, his golden eyes met mine and wavered gently.
“Yes, Ser. You’re right.”
Elhart steadied his breath as though choosing his words carefully, then whispered.
“I’ve become someone who can’t survive a single day without you now.”
W-what?
Surely that’s… not quite right, is it…?

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