They Say an Age Gap Like This Doesn’t Even Need Matching - Chapter 57

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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 reception room fell into silence.
The Crown Prince stared at me without immediately opening his mouth.
My unexpected proposal seemed to have caught him off guard.
‘If you’re going to pretend to be Mikhail, you should pay the price. Right?’
What I said now must have differed from Kailyb’s expectations.
Perhaps the author had hoped I would return to the Crown Prince’s side.
“Why are you like this, Mikhail? Don’t you want to return with me?”
“There’s no way that could be true.”
“The Cradion Empire’s values are too different from ours. Mikhail, you must understand that.”
Though I couldn’t fathom the difference if Kailyb himself was the most important thing.
“Our power exists to save and protect people. It must never be used to satisfy someone’s absurd desires.”
I spoke to him with a serious expression.
“If that were to happen, I would be cursed by the Goddess and perish.”
“…What?”
“That’s my vow. You know that too. Surely… you haven’t forgotten?”
He nodded hurriedly, as if he had merely blanked out for a moment, his expression turning sorrowful.
“I could never forget. I was simply… startled by the word death. We’ve only just reunited after such hardship.”
I curved a gentle smile onto my lips.
“Yes. I won’t forget what sacrifices you made to meet me. When everything is over, I’ll repay you with my entire life.”
The Crown Prince seemed to freeze. He hadn’t anticipated I would say something like this first.
In a way, it sounded like a proposal, but the true meaning was nearly the opposite.
It meant I would stake everything to avenge Mikhail.
I picked up the teacup with an unbothered expression.
“Of course, if something becomes more important to you than me, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
After taking a sip of tea, I asked calmly.
“The choice is yours. What will you do?”
The choice would ultimately be mine, not his.
I wasn’t the type to be dragged around.
The Crown Prince, who had been silently contemplating my words, suddenly broke into a radiant smile.
“There’s nothing more important to me than Ser. I was simply… a bit surprised.”
“By what?”
“I didn’t expect you to say something like that.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Is that strange?”
The Crown Prince looked at me for a moment, then shook his head.
“No.”
His voice remained gentle.
But something deep within his eyes was trembling subtly.
“I think it suits you. You were always someone for whom the process mattered. Because you cannot overlook what is wrong, Iserna, your name is noble.”
…To say such things right in front of the person involved—how bold. Goosebumps erupted all over my forearms.
He continued speaking slowly.
“I’ll give Ser’s proposal careful consideration. I need to think about what I can do from my current position.”
I laughed lightly.
“Good. You’ve thought it through well.”
The Crown Prince leaned his body toward me as he spoke.
“If I were to return to Bardia with you….”
His gaze pierced through me.
“I will reclaim my place as the Founding King. Do you understand what that means?”
“Of course. It means you’ll become the fortress walls of Bardia.”
“”
He, who had worn a dazed expression for a moment, burst into laughter.
“You really are… unchanged. Though it should be obvious. That’s precisely why my heart races so.”
His eyes softened as he looked at me.
As if a conviction held for ages was solidifying once more.
“Ser.”
He spoke quietly.
“You and I will always stand on the same side.”
I slowly set down my teacup.
“Yes, I trust you. Whenever we find ourselves uncertain about the path forward, we’ll consult together.”
And I smiled at him with unparalleled gentleness.
“Just as we always have.”
His lips curved upward as he stared at me with a dazed expression.
Brimming with irrepressible joy.
“Let us do so.”
Watching him, I thought to myself.
‘Yes, rejoice to your heart’s content.’
I hope you don’t betray my expectations, Kailyb.
At that very moment.
Beyond the Reception Room wall.
Elhart stood without uttering a word.
His gaze was fixed on the Reception Room visible through the glass.
Iserna and the Crown Prince sat facing each other.
Her expression was no different from usual.
Relaxed and composed.
As if responding to his words as though nothing were amiss.
But….
The grip in Elhart’s clenched fist grew steadily tighter.
“Once everything is finished, I’ll repay you with my life.”
The words Iserna had just spoken continued to circle through his mind.
And pierced something within his chest with a sharp sting.
Elhart squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them.
The Crown Prince in the reception room was smiling.
With the Founding King’s face—clearly stolen—he spoke to Iserna as if it were his own, with familiar warmth.
Watching that sight, my insides twisted.
This was a sensation I couldn’t explain.
It was a kind I had never felt in my entire life.
That face was deeply repulsive. The laughter of someone mimicking another was abhorrent.
Elhart exhaled quietly.
And I thought.
‘Ser.’
What was unfolding in that reception room right now was not something to take lightly.
Iserna was backing the Crown Prince into a corner with meticulously planned words.
The person most indignant about the Founding King’s unjust death would be Iserna.
Yet without showing any sign of it, he continued the conversation with a gentle smile, as if reuniting with an old friend.
Meanwhile, I stood beyond the wall, doing nothing but watching that unbearably painful struggle unfold.
I had no right to be petty enough to feel jealous.
“Your Highness, are you alright?”
Kei tapped my shoulder and spoke.
“If it’s difficult, you can return to your room now.”
Now I noticed that Pope Karteus was also looking at me with eyes that seemed to pity me.
“…There’s no reason for me not to be fine.”
With Karteus present, there would be no danger to Iserna even if I returned to my room.
The axis of conversation between the Crown Prince and Iserna had already tilted toward Iserna.
The Crown Prince, having lost the initiative, would not regain it, at least not in this moment today.
Yet why did I still want to stay here and watch their conversation to the very end?
“Our commander has a rather extreme side to him. If he deems it necessary, he doesn’t hesitate to use people’s emotions as tools.”
Kei’s words seemed to be praising Iserna’s skill in deceiving Kailyb and trapping him.
But even that was difficult for Elhart to accept readily.
Iserna had not used my emotions as a tool.
Even though it would be terribly convenient to wield and exploit them.
My heart, laid bare before all the world in such a cheap manner, was clearly visible—hovering anxiously around him as if one wrong touch would bring disaster.
So if Iserna seemed cruel now, it was only because the other person deserved to be treated that way.
“That’s what she wants to protect, no matter what.”
Elhart, who had much to protect, understood her.
“It’s far better than watching those precious to her get hurt.”
At Elhart’s words, Kei and Karteus exchanged a subtle glance.
There was something more important than understanding that meaning, so Elhart stared intently at Iserna through the glass.
The reason she kept fidgeting with the teacup was surely to hide her anger.
The reason she kept sipping the cold tea was surely to briefly extinguish the flames burning fiercely within.
Elhart decided that once the Crown Prince left, he would hold her tightly.
‘…No, I can’t use my full strength.’
She was the one who’d been clutching her chest and gasping for breath whenever I applied even the slightest pressure.

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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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