His Highness pondered over this for a moment. “That’s right. What if you became the sponsor? I can make that recommendation.”
“Me?” I asked with surprise, and he nodded.
“If someone from the Bernstein family would take over, I think Dr. Hester would be relieved.”
His Highness said that the rest should be decided by the two of them.
“And about Jean...”
Even though we said we were taking a break, we were still talking about business. I sat up straight in my chair and waited for word of Jean’s punishment, but His Highness gave a wry chuckle. “He will be removed from the Shadows. It seems he has chosen you as his mistress, so he can no longer be used as a Shadow of the royal family. As long as your father agrees, he should be hired back into the Bernstein family.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. Glen had told me a bit about what had happened afterward with the exchange between Orphen and Jean. He’d told me not to worry, that it was nothing more than a fight between a parent and a child.
“Eli...” His Highness said suddenly. “Did Irvin seduce you?”
“What?!” I exclaimed, tensing up.
He had a smile on his face, but his eyes weren’t smiling as he leaned over next to me. “I don’t mind if he helped you with things in my place. He did save you, didn’t he? That’s different from trying to seduce you, though.”
“No, um...” I pulled away from him and backed into the sofa’s armrest. At that point, His Highness grabbed the edge of the armrest and trapped me where I sat.
“Eli,” he said. His voice was gentle, but I could tell he meant business. “How did he seduce you? Don’t tell me he did things to you that only I’m allowed to do?”
Your Highness, you are downright terrifying! I was driven into a corner, and my thoughts spun rapidly. I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“Well, what about you and Lady Pharmia?!”
“What?” This time it was His Highness’s turn to tense up.
I stared back at him firmly. “I understand that the people of Duke Odin’s faction spread rumors to solidify Lady Pharmia’s position, but, as Prince Reglisse said, what we understand and what actually happened is another matter.”
I kept staring at him, and he seemed to flinch a little. I thought that was suspicious, but when I continued glaring at him, he finally said, “Fine,” and relaxed. He raised his hands in a gesture of peace.
“I know nothing happened between you and him, so I want you to believe that nothing happened between me and Lady Pharmia as well.”
Those rumors made me boiling angry, and His Highness seemed filled with malice for Prince Irvin, but I didn’t know how serious he was about it. At any rate, I let out a little sigh to suppress my feelings. And now was the time to ask him what I was worried about.
“What will happen to Lady Pharmia?”
“Well...” His Highness nodded, choosing his words very carefully. “She had nothing to do with the duke’s crimes, but society will hold her accountable for her father’s actions, regardless. I received a confidential inquiry from the head priestess. She wants Lady Pharmia sent to a temple far away from the capital so she can be kept in their custody.”
When my eyes went wild, His Highness gave me a wry smile.
“Therese has repeatedly requested to meet with her. ‘Please let me visit as her friend,’ she said. However, such meetings cannot be allowed.”
I let out a sigh, trying to suppress the pain in my heart. It was highly likely that Lady Pharmia would lose her rank as a noble, but Lady Therese would never abandon her. Even if I wasn’t at that same point myself yet in regards to Lady Pharmia, perhaps I would be someday.
I once again held in my heart what I’d thought at that time, words that someone in the Pharmacy Lab had said. “This is the only medicine that can be prescribed to the human heart: the medicine of time.”
It might have been selfish of me to think this, because only Lady Pharmia could make all those decisions, but only time would be enough to heal the violent emotions and wounds in her heart. I wanted to dream of a future in which the three of us could laugh together while reminiscing about the past. Even if it was impossible now—perhaps someday.
I clasped my hands in prayer, and His Highness covered them with his. “Eli,” he said with his familiar warm and gentle smile. “Shall we talk about our future?”
I blinked in surprise and repeated, “Our future?”
His Highness nodded. “The recent events made me realize many things. In today’s world, old customs aren’t everything. If you get caught up in them, you might end up making yourself vulnerable to hostile forces. To prevent that, you need something solid.”
“Solid?” I was confused because I didn’t know what he meant by that, but His Highness grabbed my hand and leaned out again.
“What will grow between you and I—the crystallization of our love, Eli.”
“Right,” I breathed, and when I saw His Majesty’s beautiful face come close enough to touch me, I belatedly understood what he meant. I saw myself blushing in the reflection of his blue eyes.
“W-W-Wait, Your Highness!”
“Mm,” he hummed, not listening to me as he touched my cheek, then the other. A tiny, faint scar had been left on that cheek, and I felt something warm touch it. Next, he pressed his lips to my temples, the corners of my eyes, my brow, and my forehead. Every time he touched me, I could feel his warmth and love in his kisses. It was like he was impressing his love on me with every touch, with an unspoken passion that said “I love you,” just like he had that one time. It was a feeling that awakened the heat within me.
When I had reunited with His Highness, I’d felt the full strength of my desire to never be apart from him again, but I had managed to use the last bit of my resistance to push him away.
“I-I think customs and traditions are important!”
His lips were just about to touch mine, but then they abruptly stopped. His blue eyes smiled mischievously as he breathed, “I was so close.”
“To what?” I could see my tense expression in the reflection in his eyes.
With a bitter smile, His Highness sat up. “But...you’re right. I want to love you even more, Eli. I don’t want to get caught up in the heat of the moment. I want to cherish you properly.” Both the hand that touched my cheek and the look in his eyes were gentle enough to convey his thoughts. Even the voice that called my name felt irreplaceable.
“Thank you for coming back to me. I’ll never let you go, so prepare yourself.”
I was still swept away by his sweet words and my throbbing heart. “Yes,” I answered. “Thank you for believing in me and waiting for me, Your Highness. Prince Christopher... I love you.”
His eyes widened. “You got me right in the heart,” he said, covering his face for a moment and turning away. It looked like his cheeks were slightly red. Usually I was the only one who blushed, and a giggle welled up inside me when I thought it served him right for a change.
“Eli, you were only gone for a short time. Who taught you how to do that?”
In fact, Lady Rosalia had taught me some secrets during the trip—on how to keep your gentleman—and this was my first victory. When I smiled to myself, thinking that her experience and teachings were correct, Prince Christopher removed his hand from his face, revealing a dangerous expression.
“I think I might need to interrogate you about all of the events that happened on your trip...”
“No. Please have mercy on me,” I said with a smile.
His hand traced my cheek as he smiled back at me. “Well, there’s still plenty of time left,” he said.
I blushed once more, and as he smiled softly at me again, his blue eyes shining, the gap between us closed. He whispered something affectionately to me before his lips brushed against mine, but more deeply and more lovingly than the time before: “My dearest Bibliophile Princess.”