STALE
“YOU ASK FOR MY ACCOUNT, but the events of last night came as just as much of a shock to me as to anyone else.”
It took everything in my power not to attack the smirking crown prince.
“We apologize,” Gilbert said.
But I wanted to grab this man and slam his face into the ground. My stomach boiled like lava as I struggled to maintain a cordial smile. I wanted to rip that smirk right off Prince Adam’s face and see what lurked underneath.
Prince Adam had wrinkled his brow when Gilbert and I showed up, but he’d quickly agreed to speak with us, suggesting we use another room instead of his. That brought us to a nearby parlor. I’d wanted to question the people traveling with him too, but Prince Adam said they were in no state to see anyone. Instead, we ordered the knights to guard them in Prince Adam’s room—a pretense to keep them under surveillance.
Rajah’s crown prince sank onto the sofa, leaving his chief of staff and generals to wait outside the room. He crossed his legs, placing his hands on his knee. “I never expected to see Princess Pride in such a dreadful state. It was quite upsetting.”
His fox-like eyes narrowed. Despite his claims, he smiled easily. The contradiction only solidified my conviction that he was our culprit.
“I see. Prince Adam…where were you when Princess Pride fell ill?” Gilbert asked.
“I was in the ballroom, of course. I stayed in the very back, away from the others. I wanted a clear view of Princess Pride, if only from a distance.”
Oh, really? I opened my eyes wide in feigned surprise. Now that I think about it, that’s a good excuse to explain why so many people might not have seen him, but no one’s memory is as reliable as Prince Cedric’s and Gilbert’s. Ah well.
We hadn’t come here to accuse him of anything—not yet, at least. I reminded myself of that as Gilbert took over the conversation.
“So you were. The other guests did inform us that they hardly saw you for the duration of the party. In fact…”
Gilbert paused and smiled at me, as if seeking my approval. His eyes blazed in a way that defied his otherwise composed expression. Even though we hadn’t planned this, I nodded, grasping his intentions.
“That includes the guests who were extremely eager to meet you. So eager, in fact, that they searched every last corner of the ballroom. They told us there was no trace of you anywhere.”
Prince Adam’s lips twitched. We had no proof of his involvement, but the prince had no proof of his claims either.
“Oh dear, it seems I was rude.” His smile lacked any trace of warmth. He stared at us, that phony expression plastered on his face.
“As a country who recently established peace with yours, we insisted you would never do such a thing intentionally, Prince Adam.”
“And it was such a large crowd,” I chimed in. “It’s not surprising they couldn’t find you. After all, many of our allies have never laid eyes on you.”
I kept my gaze locked on Prince—no, on Adam, to ensure I didn’t miss the slightest change in his expression. He squinted his eyes, then raised his hand toward his dark-purple hair—combed back on the right side—but stopped just before touching it.
“I’m glad you understand,” he said flatly.
Mustering up my best air of puzzlement, I lowered my voice. “However, there’s a slight problem.”
“What might that be?” he asked, casually uncrossing and recrossing his legs without leaning closer to me at all.
Determined to someday beat this pompous man into the ground, I said, “Our nation, as well as many of our guests’ countries, do not recognize slavery. Unfortunately, they struggle to understand our peace treaty with the Rajah Empire. And after what happened with Elder Sister…”
He picked up on my implications. “I see.”
Gilbert waited for the exact moment when the prince relaxed to add, “We’d like to ask that you extend your stay, preferably until Princess Pride awakens. If that isn’t possible, then one week…no, three days will do.”
Adam tapped his cheek, pretending to ponder Gilbert’s proposal. “I’m quite busy, you see. But, well, if you insist…”
He was trying to fluster us, acting like he had the upper hand. It wasn’t going to work. I swiftly followed up with another attack.
“We fear if you leave now, tensions will soar among these foreign countries. They’ll believe Rajah was responsible for what happened to our crown princess, demand we break our peace treaty, and cut ties with the United Hanazuo Kingdom.”
Adam’s narrowed eyes finally widened. An ice-cold expression washed away his smirk. Yes, that’s it. That’s the face I wanted to see.
“We’re not supposed to speak of that, Prince Stale,” Gilbert chastised me quietly.
Adam weighed us with his eyes. “Who exactly are you referring to?”
I clasped one hand over my mouth, shook my head, and told him I couldn’t share that information. “You have my apologies. Those guests shouted baseless accusations when Elder Sister collapsed, and I…repeated them without thinking.”
“Prince Stale has always been grateful to you, Prince Adam. It’s thanks to the Rajah Empire’s assistance that we stopped Copelandii’s recklessness last year.”
“No, please, don’t say that!” I said, playing up the shy act. “I’m too embarrassed.”
The ruse worked; Adam let down his guard. “Oh my. I’m so honored.”
Eyes fixed on him, I offered a lighthearted grin. “Once the others find out you’ve extended your stay out of concern for Princess Pride, they’ll understand the nature of the peace treaty between our countries. We don’t want to sour our international relations in the wake of her collapse and the investigation into the cause. Thus, we kindly ask for your help.”
Here I was, bowing my head to the man who’d very likely caused Pride’s suffering, but I didn’t care. I’d do whatever it took to convince him I was a foolish, tactless prince. The more he felt he could manipulate me, the better.
“I see… If you truly insist, Prince Stale, then I’ll comply. But I’m quite the busy man, so I won’t be able to stay longer than three days.”
Good, that’s all we need.
I thanked him and shook his hand. “That’s plenty.”
Gilbert shook his hand next, but for some reason, Adam’s eyes widened—like he was still on guard around the prime minister. Gilbert smiled, not seeming the slightest bit surprised by that.
“By the way, how is Princess Pride?” Adam asked.
“Just between us,” I murmured, “she has yet to wake up, though the doctors are doing everything they can for her.”
I let my true concern for Pride show on my face…and squashed the rage that rose up at his blatantly dishonest curiosity. Pushing down the anger, I looked to Gilbert so he could continue this conversation in my stead.
“She hasn’t opened her eyes even once. We’ve never seen an illness like this in our country,” Gilbert told him. “But what about you? Does the Rajah Empire know of any conditions that could explain her symptoms?”