Carefully choosing his words, Marcus replied, “At the time, there hadn’t been any evidence, and I had no idea what Ronald was going through or how long he would be able to withstand it with only the strength of a baby.”
He implied there had been no other way, but Cesia wouldn’t accept that so simply. She silently glared at Marcus, and he raised both hands in surrender.
“But I’m sorry for making you worry.”
“Still, if you were in the same position, you’d do the same thing again, wouldn’t you?”
“Of course,” Marcus readily replied.
Cesia bit her lip. “I want to hit that calm face of yours.”
Marcus smiled again. “I don’t mind. I know how much I made you worry.”
“I don’t have the right. It would be disrespecting royalty,” she said, looking away in frustration.
Marcus grabbed her loosely hanging hand and squeezed it to draw her attention. “You do have that right, Cesia.”
Then, he kneeled. As he held her hand with both of his, Cesia widened her eyes in surprise. People rarely came to the training ground, but there was still a chance that someone might see them. What would they think if they saw the prince kneeling?
“Your Royal Highness, there’s no need to kneel!”
“I can’t even put into words how angry I was when Juliette put those cuffs on me, but this is a nice feeling. This is how you do it, right?” He grinned and audibly kissed Cesia’s hand.
“Uh.” She went pale.
“Marry me, Cesia.”
It felt as if time had stopped. After a brief silence, Cesia understood the meaning of his words and abruptly shouted, “I-I can’t!”
“It’s not that you don’t want to; it’s that you can’t, huh?” Marcus said. He smiled, not bothered by what she had said. He knew he had already hurt Cesia plenty and thought he ought to contentedly accept whatever she had to say, even if it hurt him.
“I’m a commoner, and you’re a prince, and…I…I…” Ultimately, that was the reason Cesia hadn’t expected her love for Marcus to come to fruition.
“If it’s an issue of status, then I’ll solve it.”
“You can’t! If you treat me so favorably, it’ll hurt you later. And I don’t want you to suffer because of me!”
She knew Marcus, and she knew that he might, for example, actually be able to get a high-ranking noble to adopt her. But he couldn’t do that. The only reason he was free to do as he wished, and why he was so trusted, was because he was honest and impartial. He was a prince, but if he used his position and his power for his own selfish desires, the citizens wouldn’t accept it.
Cesia thought the way Gwyllt had punished Juliette had been excessive, but it was still obvious that some sort of penalty would be enacted when she thought of the national scale of it all. She wouldn’t be able to stand it if, because of her, the man who had exerted himself to protect the country and its people and had put his life on the line to carry out his duties was harmed. More than anything, she wanted him to remain free. Rather than him losing that freedom, it would be better for her to leave him.
Marcus couldn’t sense a drop of sweet, heart-pounding love in Cesia’s stubborn proclamation. He smiled, embarrassed.
“This isn’t a joke!” she said.
He smoothed things over after she scolded him with an apology. “Sorry. I was just happy that you’re so faithfully trying to protect my creed.”
“Your Royal Highness, if they spent a bit of time with you, just about anyone would be able to tell that you’re suppressing your desires for the sake of your duties,” Cesia said. She tried to pull her hand away, but Marcus didn’t let go. He never wanted to let go of her again.
“Is that why, after confessing your feelings to me and getting that weight off your shoulders, you’re trying to leave me?” Marcus asked.
“What?! How could you tell?”
“Of course I can tell. Don’t sell short the five years we’ve known each other.”
It really had been five years since they had met.
“I’ve only known Your Royal Highness for three years,” Cesia said. She was competitive, and if she had the room to, she argued with what he said.
Marcus laughed, delighted. When he was with her, he felt incredible. He wanted to protect her and hold her close to him. He wanted her to be free and keep her by his side. He didn’t want her feelings to be hurt, either, but he also thought that if she had to go through some sort of pain, he wanted it to be his fault.
He could be patient as long as necessary if it were for the sake of the country, the people, or his family. If he knew it was for the best and they would be happy, he could leave someone and never see them again. But he couldn’t let go of Cesia. He wanted to be the one to make her happy or unhappy. He dearly wished that they could be happy together.
“All right,” Marcus said. “If that’s your wish, then I’ll get rid of any obstacles so perfectly that no one will have room to complain. And I’ll do it without changing what I believe in.”
Cesia began to argue. “That isn’t what I mean—”
“I love you,” Marcus interrupted her. “I truly love you. I’ll make you happy, so make me happy, too.”
Cesia’s face turned bright red. That was much more direct than when he had proposed to her, and it looked like it had worked. “Don’t say that. It isn’t fair…”
“I don’t want to hear that coming from you. Remember, you said everything you wanted back then.” Marcus grinned mischievously, bringing up her confession at the vacant house.
Cesia hesitated. “Do you really have a way to prevent anyone from complaining, no matter what?” she asked. She was realistic and still cautious.
Marcus calmly reassured her. “I already have an idea.”
“You can’t use your princely authority.”
“So persistent. This is supposed to be a romantic scene, you know; I won’t tolerate anything except an affirmative response,” Marcus said. Her tenacity made even him pout. Was courting the woman I love supposed to be this difficult? he thought. He gained a new, unnecessary respect for everyone in a relationship. “Hey, just give in already,” he said, and Cesia began to cry again. “You sure are crying a lot today.”
“And whose fault do you think that is?!”
She was strong-willed and stubborn; she was a young woman but held as her creed something as unconventional as determined resistance. She was honest and a hard worker and got lonely easily; she was his cute, lovely stray cat.
“I love you. Marry me,” Marcus said.
At his second request, Cesia didn’t resist it anymore. “I will… I love you, too.”
Marcus grabbed her by the waist and lifted her.
Surprised by the sudden change in perspective, she screamed. “Aah! Your Royal Highness?!”
“You said it, so there are no takebacks!” Marcus exclaimed childishly, with a bright, childish smile to match.
At last, Cesia smiled, too.
He knew that she would sacrifice anything for him. He wrapped his arms around her as if to say she wouldn’t have to give up anything while he was there.
“I won’t,” Cesia said. “You found me, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“Yeah. I’m not ever letting go,” Marcus said. He hugged her tight, breathing a sigh of happiness.
There was one more thing.
“If we get married, I’ll be a princess consort,” Cesia mumbled. Marcus had let her down on the ground but was still hugging her closely.
“Yeah. Why do you mention it? Did you suddenly sprout a lust for power?” Marcus asked, tilting his head in puzzlement. At the same time, he was fiddling with Cesia’s untied black hair.
“No, I don’t understand all that. But this means that you and I are equals now, right?”
“That’s what being married means,” Marcus said, looking even more confused about what she was getting at.
Cesia nodded. The queen consort and Marcus and Mavis’s mother voiced their opinions to the king if the situation demanded it. Their positions were nearly equal to his.
Though Marcus still didn’t know what Cesia was trying to say, he heard alarm bells go off inside his head. “Cesia…” he said.
“Informal it may have been, our engagement is now confirmed, and we’re on equal footing. As such, Your Royal Highness,” Cesia said, smiling broadly.
Her smile was incredibly cute. Marcus had never seen her smile like that in the five years he had known her. He had a bad feeling about what was going to happen next. “Calm down, Cesia.”
“Please clench your teeth,” she said.
His fiancée was making a fist with one of her hands.
Her greatest wish had been fulfilled at last—she had the right to hit him.