They Say an Age Gap Like This Doesn’t Even Need Matching - Chapter 53

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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 Princess burst into tears the moment she saw the Crown Prince.
“Brother!”
She stumbled forward and grasped at his sleeve.
“Please… please get me out of here.”
The Crown Prince looked down at her.
His eyes held no emotion whatsoever.
“Why?”
He asked flatly.
The Crown Princess’s body went rigid.
“B-brother…? I’m hurt this badly….”
“You brought this upon yourself through your own misconduct.”
The Crown Prince spoke without the slightest concern.
“You must accept the consequences of your actions.”
The Crown Princess’s face drained of all color.
“But you said that was all for your sake….”
“For my sake?”
The Crown Prince let out a cold laugh.
“No.”
His eyes turned glacial.
“It was purely your own greed. A vile scheme born from your senseless avarice.”
The Crown Princess’s hands trembled violently.
“Brother… are you abandoning me?”
The Crown Prince gazed down at her for a moment, then looked away.
“Abandon? That’s not quite right.”
“Then… then you won’t abandon me, will you? You couldn’t possibly abandon me, brother.”
At this, he spoke with utter indifference.
“You were only ever the daughter of a contractor. From the beginning, you meant nothing to me. So there’s nothing to abandon or keep.”
His words cut like a blade.
The Crown Princess’s face froze completely.
Soon, sorrow and rage welled up in her eyes.
This was not the Crown Prince who once smiled at her and spoke to her with affection.
He had become someone entirely different.
The Crown Prince no longer looked at her.
His expression was already devoid of interest.
“Once your punishment is complete, you may leave this place.”
He spoke lightly, as though her feelings were utterly irrelevant to him.
“If you wish to receive treatment in time, remain quiet until then. Reflect on just how terrible the things you’ve done truly are.”
The Crown Princess’s hands fell to the floor.
She realized that further pleas and begging would fall on deaf ears.
The Crown Prince turned and left without so much as a glance back at her.
Descending the stairs, he exhaled softly.
He had truly wasted time on something pointless.
His mind was already filled with other thoughts.
Iserna.
Right now, all that mattered to him was meeting her and the conversations they would share.
This time, he would not allow anyone to interfere.
The Crown Prince drew in a long breath to calm his excitement, then exhaled.
And he headed toward where she was.
From the Tower of Repentance to the Separate Palace.
Thinking that Iserna must have walked this same path last night filled him with an inexplicable joy.
After all, love had always been fraught with adversity.
In the past, Mikhail had stood between him and Iserna, and afterward, a long stretch of time had kept them apart.
Compared to those trials that had felt like insurmountable castle walls, what he had endured today seemed hardly significant.
The anticipation of meeting her soon only grew longer.
Surely she felt the same way.
Before long, the Crown Prince arrived at the Separate Palace.
A woman dressed as a chef, carrying a dish, spotted him and stopped.
“My goodness, Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
Her eyes widened as if seeing him for the first time, and she cried out before hastily bowing.
Hearing the woman’s voice, the Chef emerged from the kitchen and greeted him.
“Your Highness, what brings you to the Separate Palace?”
The Crown Prince, who had been about to go directly to her, was forced to stop.
“I came to see Ser Brin.”
“Ah, you mean the Maid. Please wait a moment. I will inform her right away.”
It was quite strange to see the Chef, who should have been minding the kitchen, rush upstairs to call the Maid, but the Crown Prince simply folded his arms and watched his retreating figure.
‘He must be one of the Expedition Team members.’
Iserna would never have let just anyone into her private space.
Once she became his, the Expedition Team would abandon their wariness and return to a more conciliatory stance.
So there was no need to antagonize them one by one.
Thinking of Iserna, whom he would soon meet, he smiled deeply.
The long wait was finally bearing fruit. There was truly not much time left now.
***
When I recalled the greatest crisis of my life in the future, it seemed it would be this very moment.
“I’ll do my best to satisfy you….”
With his face flushed and unable to even meet my gaze properly, Elhart gripped my hand firmly.
“I understand.”
Though I answered calmly, my true feelings were entirely different.
‘Seriously….’
It was genuinely difficult to suppress the corners of my mouth from rising.
‘He’s adorable.’
The moment I thought that, I felt slightly bewildered by myself.
There was nothing particularly cute about him.
I must not forget last night.
Once that man had tasted pleasure, he pursued relentlessly—more persistent than any demon.
He wouldn’t let go, as if testing the limits of my endurance.
‘Of course…. I enjoyed it too, but….’
The very next morning after that happened, finding Elhart cute made no sense.
“Really?”
“We agreed to live as husband and wife, so of course. Who else would I need besides you?”
Honestly, I’d thought this from the moment I first met Elhart.
There would never be another man in this world as captivating as him.
If I ever let go of Elhart’s hand, it wouldn’t be because I’d grown tired of him.
I could never tire of that face or his personality, nor would another man ever appear.
It would simply be… the time to let go and nothing more.
The vast expanse of time between him and me was not a gap that could be easily bridged by affection alone.
If Elhart were an ordinary person, it might be different.
But he was the man destined to become king and usher Bardia into a new golden age.
Yet to be recorded as having married the expedition commander who returned after 300 years was somewhat….
‘I really am shameless.’
I felt guilty thinking this even after sharing a bed with him, but once he returned home and ascended the throne, his thoughts would surely change.
He wouldn’t be able to ignore the gazes pouring down from all directions.
‘But for now….’
Since he wanted it and I wanted it too, wasn’t it alright to be a bit more greedy?
I even had the excellent excuse of practice.
“Yes. I’ll try harder so you won’t need anyone but me.”
“…!”
No, don’t try harder…!
“I realize I was clumsy last night. There must have been many shortcomings.”
Absurdly, Elhart seemed genuinely apologetic.
“My heart got ahead of me….”
Shouldn’t I say it was his body that got ahead, not his heart?
No matter how I thought about it, it seemed the opposite….
“I’ve gone over everything all night, so next time I’ll do much better. I pick up anything physical quickly.”
“…I suppose so. That does seem likely.”
I nodded with a sense of resignation.
He’d even spent the entire night reviewing—what more could I possibly say at this point?
When a genius puts in effort, there’s no way to win, and yet I found myself just slightly… afraid of what came next.
Though I couldn’t exactly run away.
‘Regardless of anything else, I absolutely have to fix the way his face turns red at the slightest provocation.’
It was endearing, though.
Really endearing, but…!
A man destined to be king couldn’t go around showing the entire world such an adorable side of himself.
I gently shook the hand he was holding.
Worried I might slip away, he lowered the hand covering his face and hastily grabbed my hand with both of his.
Seeing his face now revealed, I smiled with satisfaction.
“I’m going to wash up now.”
“…!”
The sky had already brightened, so it was time to get moving.
There would be much to do today.
“…Should we… wash together?”
Elhart made the suggestion, his face flushed crimson.
“Hm?”
Wash together…?
“Since I washed you last night, today I could….”

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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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