They Say an Age Gap Like This Doesn’t Even Need Matching - Chapter 40

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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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Is he insane?
Piercing someone’s ear without permission wasn’t enough—why did he have to lick the blood away?
I nearly cursed at his infuriating behavior, but somehow I managed to hold it back again.
“I’m delighted to be giving you your first earring.”
He fastened an earring to my other ear as he spoke.
“I wish I could be Ser’s first in everything… but I suppose that’s too greedy.”
An unreasonable greed indeed.
Besides, this wasn’t my first earring to begin with.
Not having pierced ears didn’t mean I couldn’t wear earrings.
“Once you wear this,”
he whispered low.
“No one will dare treat you carelessly. I’ve marked you with the Crown Prince’s seal.”
I touched the jewel lightly with my fingertip.
“Then this means… I belong to Your Highness?”
After a brief silence, he replied.
“I don’t wish to own Ser.”
“Then what?”
He lowered his head.
His green eyes glimmered directly before me.
“I merely hope you’ll choose sooner rather than later.”
….
“I know that Ser will ultimately choose to be by my side.”
The Crown Prince’s face bore an arrogant certainty.
Perhaps all of this was merely a game to him.
No matter what I did or with whom, he endured it all for the thrill of that moment when I would abandon it and take his hand.
Because he believed the ending was already decided.
I smiled faintly.
“It’s no fun if it’s too predictable, Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince’s eyes narrowed.
“Fun, you say.”
“You’ve given me such an expensive gift—I should work harder to entertain Your Highness.”
A brief silence fell.
Soon, he let out a low laugh.
“Ser never fails to exceed my expectations.”
The Crown Prince’s hand lifted my chin.
“Good. I promise not to be hasty. But in return, don’t run from me.”
His tone was sweet, yet his eyes held a chill.
I met his gaze directly as I answered.
“Why would I run?”
Only then did his eyes shine with satisfaction.
I thought to myself.
Even if I were to leave, it couldn’t be called an escape.
It would merely be a strategic move for victory.
He took a step back.
“I’m glad you came to see me.”
“I only hope I haven’t been a bother to someone so busy.”
“That couldn’t be further from the truth.”
The Crown Prince smiled gently.
“You’re welcome to visit whenever you wish. I’ll have the Steward arrange it so you can wait here even when I’m away.”
…Hearing him say that, it seemed there was nothing particularly special about this place.
Still, just to be safe, I should visit again when this man is absent and examine everything more thoroughly.
Those artifacts certainly looked quite intriguing.
Only when it was truly time to begin preparing for the banquet did the Crown Prince finally let me leave.
His gaze followed me persistently as he personally escorted me to the first floor.
After passing through the corridor and slipping from his view, I adjusted the earring once more.
‘A magical artifact that stores mana.’
Could this really have come from the Imperial House’s treasure vault?
‘He said to find a device that supplies life force to the body.’
Laern’s words came to mind.
If the Crown Prince created this earring, then that device would operate on the same principle.
‘I can at least use it as reference.’
So I would endure a bit of discomfort.
It would be worth studying, given that it belonged to the Crown Prince.
‘Ugh…’
Still, the sensation of his fingers touching my ear was utterly unsettling, and I quickened my pace with a grimace.
I needed to cleanse my eyes and calm my mind.
***
Even amidst the bustling preparations for the banquet, the Crown Prince’s Quarters remained eerily silent.
“Your Highness.”
Three young nobles knelt before the door, trembling uncontrollably.
They were the ones who had dared to provoke the woman the Crown Prince had taken an interest in.
Heron, the witness to this incident, stood behind them.
His expression had hardened as if anticipating what was about to unfold.
“We were merely jesting….”
“Yes, I understand. So tell me exactly what you said.”
The Crown Prince tilted his head as he spoke.
“If your account differs even slightly from the report I received, you’ll have to bear the consequences yourselves.”
As they continued to hesitate, the Crown Prince gave a light flick of his chin.
In that instant, a blade flashed, and the arm of the man kneeling on the far left fell to the ground with a dull thud.
“Aaahhh…!”
The Crown Prince regarded the screaming man with an expression of utter indifference.
“Will you continue to waste my time? I’m beginning to grow bored.”
At that, the man seated in the middle slammed his forehead against the floor and cried out.
“I… I will tell you everything!”
“Good, finally you speak.”
As the Crown Prince nodded, the man confessed everything he could remember about what they had said, providing as much detail as possible.
“We asked who she had been with to leave such marks on her neck, and we also… proposed that if she had no preferences, she should be with us.”
As he continued, the man’s voice grew quieter.
“And?”
“The… the maid asked us about some wager, what reward the winner would receive. That’s all, Your Highness…!”
“How curious of her. Ser Brin does have quite the inquisitive nature.”
The Crown Prince chuckled softly and nodded.
“It would be far more worthwhile to spend that time with me instead of dealing with such trash.”
Before his words even finished, the blade flashed again.
With a brief arc, the first man’s head tilted at an unnatural angle.
The second’s chest split open before he could even comprehend what was happening.
The third remained on his knees, eyes wide open.
The last thing that entered his vision was the Crown Prince’s expressionless face.
Blood slowly pooled across the floor.
The crimson liquid seeped into the cracks of the marble.
The Crown Prince lightly wiped his blade.
“Heron.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Heron’s voice trembled slightly.
“I trust you now understand the proper attitude to take toward her.”
The Crown Prince was pointing out how Heron had presumed to advise Ser Brin on her conduct.
Realizing his transgression, Heron hurriedly knelt and begged for forgiveness.
“My apologies, Your Highness. I shall never conduct myself disrespectfully toward her again.”
The thought that he too could end up like those corpses sent cold sweat trickling down his spine.
The Crown Prince, regarding him with a chilling gaze for a moment, spoke.
“Since you acted out of ignorance, I’ll grant you one more chance. But there won’t be a next time.”
“I shall remember this well.”
“And….”
The Crown Prince’s gaze slowly swept across the corpses on the floor.
“Those who harbor desires unbecoming of Ser Brin must never be left alive.”
Complacency always returns as a future calamity.
“Yes, I shall handle it flawlessly.”
Heron bowed his head deeply.
He understood.
This was neither jealousy nor rage.
It was a warning of who Ser Brin belonged to.
The Crown Prince paid no further attention to the corpses.
“My, I nearly arrived late to the banquet.”
As though nothing had occurred, he adjusted his cravat.
Though the scent of blood hung thick in the air, his expression remained unhurried and composed.
As Heron withdrew with a pallid face, the Crown Prince’s attendants cleared away the bodies.
Once his preparations were complete, the Crown Prince paused briefly at the door.
Then, quite suddenly, he gazed down at his right hand.
His fingers, which had wiped away the droplet of blood that had trickled from her earlobe, were reflected in his green eyes.
With eyes darkened by profound emotion, he slowly caressed that spot.
As though retracing a memory.
Her warmth and the heat of her blood.
The sensation of that moment piercing through her skin.
His throat convulsed deeply.
“…How troublesome.”
A soft laugh escaped him.
“The banquet will run long.”
Soon after, he moved forward without hesitation.
The crimson traces had already completely seeped into the floor and vanished.

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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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