They Say an Age Gap Like This Doesn’t Even Need Matching - Chapter 51

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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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“Huh?”
At his question, Iserna blinked her round eyes, seeming to ponder something intently.
“Well….”
The answer that came after a long pause lacked conviction.
“It’s true that I cared for him very much.”
“…!”
“But I never thought about kissing him or sleeping with him.”
“I…see.”
Elhart felt relieved, yet simultaneously dizzy.
Her answer had made him acutely aware of how inept she was at understanding her own heart.
“You’re the only one I’ve wanted to do such things with so far.”
Perhaps she had said it for his sake.
Yet Elhart’s heart seemed to plummet upon hearing her words.
The condition of “so far” sounded like it could expand to include others in the future.
Now that she had tasted pleasure, her very perception of men might have changed.
“Ser.”
Elhart, growing restless, carefully took her hand.
“Yes, what is it?”
“Still, during our practice sessions, I’d like it if you only did this with me.”
“…?”
“Even if it’s not strictly for practice purposes, whenever you feel the urge… I’ll do my best to satisfy you….”
The moment the words left his mouth, he felt like a lover desperately trying to win over a philanderer’s heart.
Elhart covered his flushed face with his hand.
“….”
I felt her gaze fixed intently upon me.
What must she be thinking as she looked at me like this?
Would she think my desires excessive?
Or perhaps she found it bothersome or burdensome?
After all, she would surely feel I was already interfering in her private life constantly.
I waited tensely for her response.
“Understood.”
Iserna’s calm voice reached my ears.
Elhart opened his eyes wide and looked at her.
“Truly?”
“We decided to live as husband and wife, so of course. Who else would I need besides you?”
Relief and joy blossomed enormously in his chest.
‘Husband and wife.’
Yes, they had decided to live as husband and wife.
For now it was a pretense, but who knew what the future held?
With enough effort, they might become truly husband and wife.
‘Ser Brin seems rather dull at reading people’s hearts.’
It all depended on what he chose to do.
The moment keeping him by my side felt far more convenient and beneficial, there was a possibility I might simply leave things as they were.
‘The Children’s Knight Order….’
She had said that was her dream.
Then it would suffice if it became my dream as well.
‘I will become the commander of the Children’s Knight Order, no matter what.’
For him who had never gazed upon anything save the kingdom’s protection and reconstruction, this was the moment an intensely personal goal was born for the very first time.
***
Morning sunlight filtered through the thin curtains, illuminating the room with crystalline brightness.
In the mirror placed by the window, a man’s face was reflected.
Blonde hair combed back neatly, eyes curved with gentle warmth, and a smile that appeared kind to everyone.
The face of Mikhail, the Founding King of Bardia.
And now, it was also the face of Auriel, the Crown Prince of the Cradion Empire.
He slowly pulled on the gloves he held, tilting his head slightly.
The finest leather gleamed with lustrous brilliance, enveloping the back of his hand.
“Truly….”
He murmured softly, gazing at the man in the mirror and smiled.
“What a beautiful face.”
That smile appeared infinitely gentle on the surface.
Yet his eyes alone were not smiling at all.
The Crown Prince stepped closer to the mirror.
Then he raised his hand and lightly brushed his own cheek.
The sensation of skin transmitted through the thin leather.
It was living flesh, warm with vitality.
So excellent and beautiful that a mere smile could easily win anyone’s favor.
“And yet you carried on so arrogantly.”
He laughed softly.
Mikhail in the mirror offered no response.
He simply stood there with his usual gentle expression.
That sight displeased him all the more.
The Crown Prince’s lips twisted.
Suddenly, a memory from the past surfaced.
There was a boy who wielded a sword.
He always commanded everyone’s attention.
Everyone loved him, and everyone followed him.
Innate talent, innate temperament.
And above all, it was thanks to being born with the power to draw people in.
[Mikhail!]
Those who called his name with laughter were always by his side.
Among them all, the one who had always stood closest, forever at his side.
Iserna Airbain.
She was the only existence whose radiance was never eclipsed, even when standing beside Mikhail.
Rather, the more they were together, the more resplendent her light became, captivating all those who gathered around them.
A faint smile graced the Crown Prince’s face as he recalled her from the past.
She had always been the one to approach him first, always the one to speak.
“Kailyb, what are you researching today?”
Even when he offered no response, she would linger, unwilling to depart.
“Wow, how on earth did you manage this? Show me again, just once more!”
She alone had noticed the research that everyone else deemed worthless.
“That’s incredible. You’re truly a genius.”
When she would open her eyes wide in admiration of him, he felt as though the world itself transformed.
His existence, once insignificant as dust, became more special than anyone else’s in that singular moment.
It was as if brilliant light descended upon the place where he stood.
As if he had become the protagonist of the world itself.
But it was nothing more than an illusion.
Mikhail was always at her side.
Always.
Without fail.
The one who possessed everything had chosen to love Iserna Airbain.
“When Iserna returns, I intend to propose. I want us to retire together and live out our remaining days in peace.”
Mikhail sought to steal his entire world.
When she alone had been special to him his entire life, he still coveted her, seeking to take even that away.
When he could have anything he desired!
The Crown Prince’s hand reached toward the mirror.
His palm touched the cold glass surface.
“If you had not existed.”
He murmured softly.
“None of this would have gone so terribly wrong.”
Had a creature like Mikhail never existed from the beginning, Iserna would have seen him.
His talent, his effort, his world.
He was certain of it.
“Yes.”
The Crown Prince’s lips twisted slowly into a sneer.
“It is all your fault.”
He gazed at Mikhail’s reflection in the mirror and laughed with contempt.
“But that’s fine.”
His fingers moved slowly along the line of his jaw.
“In the end, I have won.”
Mikhail’s body now belonged to him.
And soon, she too would become his.
She would eventually come to understand.
Between Mikhail and himself, who was the truly great man.
Iserna.
At the thought of that name, a smile naturally spread across his lips.
He had already prepared an explanation for how he came to possess this body.
Now he would reveal his true identity to Iserna and tell her how long he had waited for her.
She would surely be moved.
She would rejoice and welcome him with joy.
Just as she had in the past, she would call him magnificent.
All the more so, now that Mikhail no longer existed in this world.
The Crown Prince slowly turned his body.
“Shall we go meet her soon?”
But that was the moment.
A knock sounded from beyond the door.
Knock, knock.
“Your Highness.”
The Steward’s voice came through.
“The Emperor summons you.”
At this unexpected interruption, the Crown Prince’s smile faltered.
“Now?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
A brief silence fell.
The Crown Prince drew in a deep breath.
….
And clicked his tongue softly.
“The timing is truly abysmal.”
He irritably seized his coat.
As he left the Crown Prince’s Palace, his eyes had turned cold.
If the reason for interrupting his most important matter proved to be trivial, he would not forgive it.

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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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