They Say an Age Gap Like This Doesn’t Even Need Matching - Chapter 17

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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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“The Crown Prince gave my sister a gift, and she was so delighted….”
The Crown Prince had given her the gift personally?
So she hadn’t lent it to me without knowing how meaningful that dress was.
“My sister barely ate for over a month, trying to fit into that dress by the date of the betrothal ceremony.”
“What do you mean? If the measurements didn’t fit, the dress should have been altered. Why would she starve herself for a dress?”
“…He didn’t permit it.”
“The Crown Prince forbade her from altering the dress?”
The woman continued to glare at me as she answered my question readily.
“He told my sister it would be prettier if she wore it as is.”
…What was this? Why did I feel such an unsettling chill?
[Ah yes, it truly suits you well.]
[It seems as though it was prepared for Ser Brin all along.]
Perhaps it was because the Crown Prince’s words from earlier echoed in my mind.
Or perhaps it was because the dress fit me as though it had been my own garment from the very beginning.
‘The only thing done was adding extra fabric to conceal the scars on my body.’
Could this be… a coincidence?
‘No, if it’s not a coincidence, then what is it?’
I didn’t even remember my own body measurements precisely.
The last time I’d had clothes made was before entering the Black Rift, so it had been years—no, centuries ago.
By the current era’s reckoning, it was over 300 years ago.
“I’d like you to tell me more details about what happened between your sister and the Crown Prince. In exchange, I’ll take off this dress right now.”
As I spoke with a hardened expression, the woman nodded with a slightly flustered look.
The woman’s name was Lucia Edelwein.
And her older sister, the former Crown Princess, was Ribelina Edelwein.
House Edelwein, which had originated from a humble baronial family in the countryside, rose to prominence in the central political sphere thanks to their eldest daughter Ribelina catching the Crown Prince’s eye.
By holding Ribelina’s debutante ball in Jedo at considerable expense, the House Edelwein had been blessed with great fortune.
The Crown Prince had treated Ribelina very well, or so it was said.
He summoned her to the palace to spend time together and showered her with gifts.
Yet for some reason, Ribelina had appeared anxious throughout her courtship with the Crown Prince, and this unease had not changed even after their marriage.
“My sister said she felt he had another woman on his mind. That she was merely a substitute.”
Lucia spoke with a dark expression.
“I couldn’t understand my sister trembling in fear that if she couldn’t even do that properly, if she became useless, she would ultimately be abandoned.”
And for good reason—there was no other woman in the Crown Prince’s life besides Ribelina.
Some things cannot be hidden, no matter how hard one tries.
If he had a lover, rumors would naturally spread.
Yet the Crown Prince’s conduct was flawless, and he had never once given gifts to or spent time with any woman other than the Crown Princess.
“But when you appeared wearing this dress today, my sister’s words finally came back to me.”
Lucia spoke, looking at me.
“Tell me honestly. It’s you, isn’t it? You were the Crown Prince’s lover?”
Anger, desperation, sorrow, regret.
A tangle of emotions too complex to define in a single word crashed against me.
“No.”
I exhaled and carefully folded the dress I’d removed, handing it to Lucia.
“I’m from Bardia, and I only met the Crown Prince a few days ago.”
“You’re lying…!”
“Believe it or don’t. I’m not wasting time with you on something a little inquiry could settle anyway.”
I didn’t know the truth myself—how was I supposed to convince her?
Fortunately, I’d packed a spare maid’s uniform in my spatial bag just in case.
I’d need to change into that before leaving.
First, I had to get her out of here.
“Now go back to the Banquet Hall.”
“….”
Lucia, who had been staring intently at my face, rose from her seat with the dress clutched to her chest.
She hesitated for a moment, seemingly bothered by my state of undress, but then turned and walked toward the door.
“Should I… call someone?”
Just before opening the door, she finally asked me.
“Stop worrying about others and take care of yourself properly.”
I hoped she’d escape her sister’s shadow as soon as possible.
Regret wouldn’t bring the dead back to life, after all.
“…Be careful of him.”
Lucia, unable to resist meddling to the end, opened the Rest Room door.
And then.
“Your Highness…!”
She froze upon discovering the man standing before the door.
“Oh no.”
The Crown Prince’s gaze swept over the terrified Lucia and the dress in her arms before he strode purposefully inside.
He abandoned Lucia, who had stumbled backward and collapsed in place, and walked toward me.
“It suited you well. Did someone take it from you already?”
Why was he here when he should have been sitting beside the Emperor?
Had he followed us after witnessing Lucia and me leave the Banquet Hall together? Surely not.
‘Most likely he stopped by to check before sealing off the West Corridor.’
Much the same reason I’d wanted to examine this place.
“Though I must say, your current appearance isn’t unpleasant either.”
What.
My undergarments?
Though undergarments in name, they were essentially a skirt-form wrapping that covered from my chest to my thighs, not much different from a short dress.
Still, staring so openly without a hint of embarrassment felt rather inappropriate.
His gaze made me uncomfortable, and I wanted to cover myself with something quickly.
The problem was I hadn’t unpacked my spare clothes yet.
‘This is awkward.’
According to Elhart’s explanation, the very concept of a spatial pouch doesn’t exist in this era.
So if I were to suddenly produce items from thin air, it could cause serious problems.
“Your Highness, I apologize, but I believe I need to change my clothes. Would you mind stepping away for a moment?”
The Crown Prince, seated on the opposite sofa, glanced around before smiling and asking.
“I don’t see any clothes to change into. Where are they?”
“Every woman has her secrets.”
I smiled back and replied in kind.
In the suffocating silence that followed, a small sound suddenly emerged.
Rustle—
It was the sound of Lucia’s dress dragging across the floor as she crawled out of the rest room.
“Miss Edelwein.”
“Y-yes, Your Highness…!”
“When you leave, I’d appreciate it if you returned that dress before you go.”
“But, Your Highness… this dress is my sister’s….”
Trembling with fear, Lucia still tried desperately to protect her sister’s dress.
“No.”
“…Pardon?”
“Do you remember the engagement ceremony? How wine stained the hem of Ribelina’s dress, and she was heartbroken because it never came out?”
At the Crown Prince’s words, Lucia froze and slowly looked down at the water-blue dress.
I hadn’t noticed any such mark either.
Which meant…
“It’s similar, but a different dress. Isn’t it?”
Was this all a misunderstanding?
That couldn’t be.
This was orchestrated.
He deliberately had a dress made in the same style as the former Crown Princess’s and dressed me in it.
I don’t know the exact purpose, but the very idea sends chills down my spine.
‘…This man isn’t just ordinarily mad.’
Lucia’s bewildered voice reached my ears.
“I… that is….”
The Crown Prince leaned toward me and met my gaze directly as he spoke.
“Would I really give a distinguished guest something another woman wore?”
Then he extended his hand toward Lucia.
“Here. This is your last chance.”
Lucia rose to her feet with a dazed expression, clutched the dress to her chest, and stumbled forward.
“I’m… I’m sorry. I was mistaken….”
With her head bowed in apology, she handed the dress to the Crown Prince.
As she left the rest room, Lucia never once looked at me.
“There. Ser, I’ve recovered it.”
“….”
I stared intently at the Crown Prince’s face as he smiled with an expression that seemed to say, ‘I did well, didn’t I?’
“Hmm? Why are you looking at me like that?”
His eyebrows that rose slightly before falling, and his two eyes blinking slowly.
And the shape of his lips curved in that smile.
That face, which truly seemed to have no idea what the problem was, was remarkably—not fabricated at all.
“Are you… seducing me right now? If I’ve been too foolish to notice…?”
In that moment, it was no coincidence that someone who pursued efficiency above all else came to mind.
Just before the Crown Prince’s hand, extending slowly, could touch my cheek, I opened my mouth.
“Who are you.”

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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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