When Estelle got to the Leo Palace, she was led into the parlor where she sat down on the sofa. Soon after, Arcrayne entered the room.
“Thanks for coming, Estelle. Sorry for the trouble.”
The prince came closer and sat diagonally opposite her. Exhaustion showed clearly on his face.
“Did you sleep last night?” asked Estelle, furrowing her brow.
Arcrayne replied with an awkward smile. “I napped for a few hours. I got a lot of sleep in jail out of boredom, though, so I can still go on.”
“Were you not treated awfully in jail? I cannot believe they would lock you up in such a white room... It was the so-called ‘white room torture,’ yes?”
“I was served food and wasn’t hurt physically, so I’m fine. Psychological torture takes a while to show results, and you and father came to my rescue quickly. It had no effect on me.” His smile looked no different from usual. “What about you, Estelle? I was told you were locked up in the Tower of Albion. That must have been scary.”
“I would be lying if I said it was not, but my treatment in the tower was not that bad... My cell was special, was it not?”
“That’s right.” The prince nodded. “It’s one of the chambers reserved for prisoners of war and political criminals that we don’t want dying in prison.”
“His Majesty said he arranged it. The guards were women and my meals were almost the same as usual...”
“I’m really glad you weren’t treated cruelly.”
Estelle could tell from Arcrayne’s mana that his smile was genuine.
“How is His Majesty doing?” she asked.
“His condition seems stable for now... The physician says he should focus on treatment for a while, though, so we’ll be holding the investiture of me as the crown prince on short notice.”
His words made Estelle shake. “Are congratulations in order?” she asked.
“I’m not sure, all things considered.” Arcrayne had a somewhat bitter look on his face. “What happened here at the palace will be announced to the public tomorrow morning. I called you here to tell you that in advance.” He stopped to take a deep breath. “We plan to let the public know pretty much the whole truth about the whole ‘food poisoning’ situation. That the queen and Duke Marwick conspired to kill me and my father, but my father found out about their plot in advance and caught them all in a trap.”
“I see... Does that mean all the conspirators will be charged with high treason...?”
“I suppose so. House Marwick will become history, and I don’t think the masterminds and those directly involved with them can escape capital punishment.”
Estelle trembled.
It was only natural for Duke Marwick and Truteliese to be executed, given the severity of their crimes, but the thought of how many people would be put on death row made her scared.
“As promised, we’re sparing the private soldiers who surrendered, and we’ll offer a plea bargain to those who want to proactively help with the investigation... But even then, they’ll all either be imprisoned for life or sentenced to manual labor, I think.”
“What about His Highness Prince Liedis? Did he not oppose the duke and queen’s methods, and was he not put to sleep, his powers sealed?”
“He did, and he was. So he can be left alone, given the situation. He won’t be stripped of his rights to the throne either. If we did that, we’d be forced to introduce a rather distant relative as the second man in line. Compared to direct descendants of the royal family, collateral descendants have less mana, so if something were to happen to me and that man got the throne, it would hinder the rituals.”
Estelle recalled the royal family tree. The one following Liedis in his rights to the throne was Duke Marwick. Now that the duke and those involved with his family were all arrested, the next candidate for inheritance would have to be pulled from rather distant relatives.
“I was told to hurry up and make an heir,” said Arcrayne in a somewhat glum manner, causing Estelle to freeze up. “And more than one, if possible... Father and the Cabinet don’t want any more royals in Liedis’s family tree, you see...” The prince awkwardly lowered his eyes. “Maybe you don’t want this. I know the position of the crown princess will be a burden on you. But I can’t imagine having anyone other than you by my side. So...” He raised his face and fixed his deep blue eyes on Estelle. “You don’t have to do public duties or attend social events if you don’t want to. All I ask is that you be by my side and spend time with me once a month. I know it’s cruel to ask this of you. But I need heirs no matter what...and I want to have them with you.”
Estelle was confused to see Arcrayne say all this, his mana a little dark all along. Why does he go so far...?
As she racked her brains trying to pick up on his intentions, Arcrayne smiled in self-deprecation.
“I guess I should’ve known it wouldn’t work... Of course it wouldn’t. I was awful to you when we first met. I proposed to you solely because of your power and acted like I’d fallen in love with you at first sight in order to deceive everyone else... It’s only natural you’d give up on a man like that.”
The prince’s words took Estelle by surprise.
“But I’m sorry. I can’t let you go anymore. Even if you don’t want this, I’ll use the full extent of my position and political power to make you crown princess, tie you to me, and have you bear my children.”
“Um, Lord Arc, I suspect we have a misunderstanding brewing here. Is it just me...?” Estelle asked, having resolved herself. She could no longer endure seeing Arcrayne’s mana grow darker and darker. “It is true that the thought of becoming a crown princess or a queen makes me flinch. But I have no intention of calling off my marriage to you. Why would I give up on you...? I cannot fathom how you arrived at that thought...”
“Your attitude changed at some point,” Arcrayne said after a pause.
“What?!” Estelle was shocked to hear that.
“I was sure you had grown to hate me... I think it started when I got hurt at the Rainsworths’ mansion...”
Estelle had an idea of what he was talking about. When she’d seen Arcrayne be on the brink of death, she’d resolved herself to support him no matter what. She felt like the way she’d carried herself with him since then had become somewhat stoic.
“Um, I do not hate you at all. Back then, I was filled with so much regret...” said Estelle.
“Regret?”
“Yes. When I sent you off to the Rainsworths’ mansion, I was jealous of Lady Olivia. But when I saw you return with a bad injury...when I thought how I would go on if you never recovered...I couldn’t forgive myself for being so foolishly jealous when you had left. And so I made up my mind. I would support you no matter what.”
Estelle’s confession made Arcrayne’s eyes widen. Immediately afterward, he blushed and his mana turned bright silver.
“Wait, you like me...?” he asked hesitantly.
At that point, Estelle realized she hadn’t told the prince her feelings yet.
“Yes. I love you.” It was a little embarrassing to put it into words.
At that, Arcrayne covered his mouth. “Since when...?” he asked. “You were against it at first, right...?”
“Well, when you used your position to force me to become your fiancée, I thought you were awful.”
Arcrayne’s mana darkened. He must’ve been remembering those days.
“But you were gentle and courteous with me...so before I knew it, I was in love with you,” she said without hesitation, at which point Arcrayne started to tremble. “You...feel the same way about me, do you not...?”
“I do,” replied the prince after a moment’s pause and nodded. “I should be the one saying these things first, as a man... It’s pathetic to get left behind.”
Estelle couldn’t contain a smile at the awkward look on his face. “Please say it regardless.”
The prince remained silent.
“Is that too much to ask?”
“No... I love you too. At some point, my act became the real thing.”
What he said immediately filled Estelle with joy. While she’d more or less picked up on it from his attitude up to this point, it was a whole different matter to have it put into words.
“Since when?” she asked.
Arcrayne was stumped for words. “That’s pretty hard to answer...” he said.
“But you asked me the same thing a moment ago.”
“I guess it started when I recovered and felt that you were cold with me...”
“You should have told me.” Estelle grew reproachful and pouted.
A bitter look appeared on Arcrayne’s face. “I thought you’d come to hate me, so I couldn’t say it.”
“Is that why your mana has been growing dark whenever you look at me lately...?”
“Yeah. I thought the fact that you never asked about it, despite seeing it with your power, was proof.”
“I thought you hated me... That was why I was too scared to ask.” As Estelle lowered her eyes, she could hear the prince sigh.
“Looks like our fear of each other puts us at odds for no good reason.”
“So it would appear.” A faint smile appeared on Estelle’s face.
“Estelle, are you really okay with a man who has such a shameful side...?”
“Everyone has a weakness or two.”
“I’m sure you can see it with your power, but the emotions I feel toward you aren’t entirely pure.”
“Is there such a thing as an entirely pure love?”
The sight of Arcrayne’s slightly dark attachment to her filled Estelle with an equally dark form of joy.
Look at me more. Love me, she said inwardly. To the same extent as she wanted him to whisper sweet things in her ear, she wanted him to desire her profoundly, with a hint of dark passion.
“I am certain I will be extremely jealous if other women catch your eye,” said Estelle.
“That won’t happen, rest assured,” replied Arcrayne.
“I believe in you.”