They Say an Age Gap Like This Doesn’t Even Need Matching - Chapter 72

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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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“Very well. I appreciate it.”
The Crown Prince entered the reception room and took a seat.
While Iserna’s gesture prompted the Chef of the Separate Palace to prepare tea for the Crown Prince, silence settled over the reception room.
The Crown Prince observed Iserna carefully, and the Crown Princess glanced at him in turn.
Meanwhile, Iserna sipped her tea and alternated her gaze between the siblings.
That peculiar silence broke shortly after the Chef placed refreshments on the table before the Crown Prince and left the reception room.
As the door closed, the Crown Prince spoke.
“Ser, are you alright?”
Iserna nodded lightly.
“Yes, of course.”
The moment he heard that answer, the tension in the Crown Prince’s shoulders eased slightly.
That single confirmation was all Iserna needed to verify.
The Crown Prince’s gaze shifted back to the Crown Princess.
“Now explain yourself.”
His tone had changed.
Unlike moments before, his voice had become completely cold.
The Crown Princess met his gaze directly.
“I already told you.”
She answered calmly, a faint smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
“I came to apologize.”
“Do you truly believe I would accept that?”
The Crown Prince’s eyes narrowed.
The Crown Princess glanced at him and shrugged her shoulders.
“Whether you believe it or not is entirely your choice, brother.”
Her tone was light, but the emotion beneath it was anything but.
At her completely transformed demeanor, the Crown Prince’s eyes grew colder.
“Do you truly think your actions can be resolved with a single apology?”
The Crown Prince’s icy rebuke made the surrounding air feel frigid.
The Crown Princess’s eyes wavered.
“Then what should I do?”
Yet soon after, she forced her lips upward again, feigning composure.
“Should I ask you to slap my cheek? Or would you prefer I place a whip in your hands?”
At the Crown Princess’s twisted words, the Crown Prince’s expression hardened.
Then.
“Your Highness.”
A quiet voice interjected.
It was Iserna.
Both their gazes turned toward her simultaneously.
Iserna’s expression remained composed.
“The matter between the Crown Princess and myself—I will handle it.”
I spoke to him in a gentle tone, as if soothing a child.
“You know he’s capable of handling this. If Your Highness intervenes, it will only make things more complicated.”
The Crown Prince stared at her intently.
Indeed, Iserna was not someone to simply endure mistreatment from the Crown Princess.
He also knew well that Iserna would navigate the situation skillfully in his own way.
‘I got worked up for nothing.’
While there was no guarantee the Crown Princess wouldn’t prepare some vicious scheme Iserna hadn’t anticipated, that was something he could monitor carefully from his end.
The Crown Princess, who had been watching the Crown Prince’s expression soften in an instant, lifted the corners of her mouth slightly.
“See?”
She raised her hand lightly in demonstration.
“Don’t meddle unnecessarily.”
“Be quiet.”
The Crown Prince cut off the Crown Princess’s words with a low, firm voice.
Her expression hardened at his cold demeanor, but she soon smiled again.
“Understood. I’ll stay quiet.”
The Crown Prince no longer looked at the Crown Princess.
Instead, he turned his gaze to Iserna.
“I apologize for dropping by so suddenly and causing you inconvenience.”
“Not at all, Your Highness. I’m sorry for causing you concern.”
Iserna answered with a slight bow of his head.
The Crown Prince’s brow furrowed at Iserna’s attitude, which seemed to draw a line in front of the Crown Princess.
He was displeased that the intimacy between them had to be hidden in front of others.
With that, the Crown Prince commanded the Crown Princess.
“Leave now.”
“But brother, we barely had a chance to talk because of you. You’re telling me to just go?”
“Is there anything else to say?”
“I wonder.”
The Crown Princess laughed meaningfully.
“We might be seeing each other quite often from now on.”
At those words, the Crown Prince’s eyes turned cold.
“Don’t do anything pointless.”
It was a short and clear warning.
Just as a chilling silence descended between them once more.
Knock, knock.
The door to the reception room opened along with the sound.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness the Crown Princess.”
The one who appeared was the Steward of the Imperial Palace.
“What is it?”
“His Majesty has sent word for both of you to attend this evening’s banquet.”
“….”
Word had apparently reached the Imperial Palace that the Crown Princess had emerged from the Tower of Repentance today.
I was just thinking whether there was any need to come all the way to the Separate Palace just to tell me something like that.
“His Majesty has also commanded that the same order be conveyed to the Maid.”
The Maid? Surely not….
“You mean me?”
The Steward nodded at Iserna’s question.
“Indeed. Please prepare yourself and arrive without delay.”
Having finished his message, the Steward promptly withdrew. It was rather shrewd of him to quickly remove himself before any of the Emperor’s displeasure could fall upon him.
The Crown Prince’s expression twisted sharply.
‘What is that old man thinking.’
I could hazard a guess.
He must have heard recently that the Crown Prince had been growing close to a Maid from Bardia, and was issuing a warning.
“My.”
The Crown Princess laughed as if this were fortunate, looking at Iserna.
“We’ll see each other again this evening too.”
Unlike the Crown Princess, who showed a pleased reaction, Iserna’s expression was grim.
She seemed to have guessed that the Emperor’s sudden summons could not bode well.
“Well then, I’ll be going. We’ll see each other again soon anyway.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The Crown Princess glanced past Iserna and the Crown Prince without offering them any particular farewell, then turned to leave.
The door closed, and silence fell once more.
The Crown Prince exhaled a long sigh.
“Ser, the Crown Princess….”
He spoke carefully, studying Iserna’s expression.
“It would be best not to grow close to her. She is not a woman suited for you.”
Iserna nodded quietly.
“Yes, I know.”
At this ready agreement, the Crown Prince felt some relief.
“What will you do about tonight’s banquet?”
“If it’s the Emperor’s command, there’s no way around it, is there? I have to attend.”
As Iserna said, I could not openly defy the Emperor’s orders.
Since the Steward had already confirmed that she appeared perfectly fine, I could no longer make excuses about being ill.
“I suppose there’s no choice.”
The Crown Prince nodded slowly.
“Would you like to prepare at the Crown Prince’s Palace? Since things have come to this, I think it would be nice if we coordinated our attire.”
“Are you going to have me wear something similar to what the former Crown Princess wore again?”
“Well….”
The Crown Prince smiled awkwardly.
“I wasn’t sure what would suit you, so I selected and had a woman with similar features wear various dresses to choose from. If you don’t like that, there are other options.”
Perhaps our relationship had grown so close recently that he had spoken far too candidly.
Iserna’s expression stiffened for a moment before softening.
“Why would you say such a thing….”
“You’re not upset… are you?”
“It’s just… a bit….”
Iserna paused to choose his words carefully, then let out a small sigh.
“I feel sorry for the former Crown Princess. Being someone’s substitute is a sorrowful thing, after all.”
The Crown Prince thought this was a truly characteristic answer from Iserna.
“Ser has always been the type to care even for people who have nothing to do with him.”
That kindness, that nobility.
There were far more moments when he couldn’t understand it, yet even those qualities seemed endearing to him.
“There won’t be such things from now on.”
With Iserna by my side, why would I need a substitute?
“I promise, so don’t be angry with me.”
The Crown Prince leaned toward Iserna and wrapped his hand around hers.
“…How could I ever be angry with you.”
Saying so, he gazed intently at her as she smiled a moment later.
“What is it?”
“I have a meeting, so I should go now, but my feet won’t move.”
Iserna blinked and looked at him, then rose from her seat.
“I’ll walk you to the conference room.”
As she gently shook his hand with a questioning look, the Crown Prince felt utterly enchanted by how beautiful she was.

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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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