“What exthcuth?”
She only glared.
I couldn’t think clearly. All these years of playing the perfect prince, all for nothing. She knew now that I wasn’t the pure prince charming I’d led her to believe I was. There was no salvaging that act—but just in case she was crazy enough to forgive me, there was one thing I needed to say.
“I lovth you.”
I had to make it clear that wasn’t a lie. The words felt almost frivolous in the dire air, and I couldn’t enunciate them clearly, but she seemed to understand me. The furrows of her brow only increased. Of course they did—I hadn’t so much as apologized. And yet, before my eyes, I watched as her cheeks flushed so deeply that even the tips of her ears were tinted pink. She released my cheeks, which felt oddly barren as I rubbed the feeling back into them.
“That’s cheating,” she finally said.
“Sorry.” The apology flowed far more freely now that I knew she would forgive me. “I’m really sorry about what I said before, too… I didn’t mean it, but I still hurt your feelings.”
She didn’t reply for a long moment, lost in thought. “Tell me this, Prince Vincent.”
“Y-Yes?”
“Who are you, really?”
“Who… what?”
“Come on.”
She spread her arms wide. There was no anger in her eyes now, only sadness—and, more importantly, forgiveness.
There was no denying her. She wanted to know me, understand me, and grow even closer to me. My hands trembled. I was terrified, but a tiny part of me was hopeful.
“I’m not cool or composed… I always thought you’d leave me. I… I was scared.”
The words spilled out, one after the other, and as they did, something hot streaked down my face. It was only a single tear, and I managed to hold the rest in, but it was the same tears I’d shed all those years ago.
I hurriedly wiped my face on my sleeve. “N-No, forget I said anything.”
Crying was a far worse offense than anything else I’d done that morning, and honestly, it was the most miserable I’d ever looked. It was the accumulation of ten whole years of being an absolute mess, and any chance I had of her truly loving me was gone. The perfect prince she knew was dead, and with that—
“Prince Vincent.”
Elizabeth called my name, and before I could reply, something soft enveloped me. The dark shape before my eyes was lithe, with elegant frilled ribbons draping off her. Time itself froze.
Is she…hugging me?
Before I could process this turn of events, I heard the angel’s voice in my ear.
“I must apologize to you as well.” Again, a voice brimming with mercy and tinged with sorrow. “You’ve done so much… You spent so many years trying to be perfect, all for me.”
She raised her face. I could only imagine how miserable I looked, but her face was just as contorted with emotion. It was not a look of disappointment—her eyes were full of regret. Finally, I realized how deeply I had hurt her.
“I’ve always wanted to support you and worked so hard,” she said. “At the same time, however, I was convinced that you were too perfect to ever need my aid.”
Of course she was. I’d planned for exactly that. I didn’t even know how to greet her properly, and I needed to hide how unfit I was for my title. I needed to be nothing shy of absolute perfection to have Elizabeth as my queen.
“That’s why I was so overjoyed to glimpse your true self the other day,” she continued. “But you keep wearing yourself thinner and thinner, and finally, I understood how hard you were pushing yourself every day. Worse, all of it, everything you’ve been doing, has proven you don’t trust me.”
“That’s not… Of course I trust you!” I exclaimed. “I was just too proud of myself! I wouldn’t be so pathetic otherwise…”
“You’re not pathetic.” She pulled herself away from me to meet my eyes. “You’ve been acting for the good of the country, haven’t you? You’ve been trying your best…no, you’ve been pursuing an even loftier standard for years.”
“Elizabeth…”
“If you wish to take on such a hefty burden, however, I wish you’d let me help. That’s why I’m at your side, to support and protect you should you ever need it.”
I knew that—or rather, I thought I knew. That’s why her training to be queen was every bit as vigorous as mine to be king and the reason for our engagement all those years ago. Until we became lovers, however, I was convinced that Elizabeth was focused on the good of the kingdom and the kingdom alone. Even after we admitted our feelings for each other, I maintained my façade so as not to distract her from that goal.
Perhaps there was no need to worry. After all, we’re—
“W-We’re…um…lovers, aren’t we? If we’re lovers, it’s only natural to rely on each other.” Her expression was confused as she spoke—frustration, anger, loneliness, and embarrassment on top of it all. My face turned red, and not only from my fever.
“O-Okay,” I stammered.
I frankly wasn’t sure if it was, though. Elizabeth had experienced what would happen if I approached her with total abandon, and I almost admired her bravery. Not that I would go so far—courtship was a matter of careful forays into acceptability, and there was decorum to adhere to, even between lovers. There were boundaries to maintain, and no matter how badly I wanted to embrace her again, I could never tell her as much. Despite that, however, she leaned over me again.
“I’d best not be all talk,” she declared, resting a slender hand upon my shoulder. “I must take the initiative.”
Er… What?
“It took me so long to realize my feelings for you,” she continued, “that I caused you no shortage of discomfort.”
That may have been true, but not to the extent she seemed to believe.
“E-Elizabeth?” I stammered.
There was a serious look in her eyes, the same expression she got whenever she’d drawn the wrong conclusion but had already made up her mind. She was fixated on my lips.
Oh dear.
Her golden eyelashes beautifully curtained her luminescent eyes, and her soft rose-pink lips were already close enough that I could feel the tickle of her breath on my face. This is what Elizabeth must have felt during my lapse of sanity, I thought moments before my brain cut out altogether. I had dreamed of this moment and mentally prepared myself for years, but I never imagined she would be the instigator. I was overjoyed, and yet—
Er… Um… Oh, no.
“I-I can’t!” she moaned. “You’re far too handsome, Highness!”
“Gods, you’re unreasonably adorable!”
We broke apart a few short seconds later. Elizabeth covered her face with her hands and curled up in a fetal position just out of reach, and I pulled the sheets up over my head.
“Y-Your Royal Highness, please believe my feelings for you are genuine…”
“I know,” I reassured her. “This is a different issue altogether.”
I loved her to the point that I’d been a mess for a decade. I smiled bashfully.
Come to think of it, I haven’t been “acting” these past few minutes, have I? If she can accept me as I am now, then perhaps that’s for the best. Even if we fail to progress our relationship, we’ll at least fail together.
“I think I’m getting sicker again,” I moaned.
“Oh, dear!”
“I’ll need another hug if I’m to recover.”
Her eyes widened with surprise, but she smiled and nodded warmly a moment later. She wrapped her slender arms around me and brought my head to rest against her neck as she tenderly stroked my hair. I was honestly feeling worse in light of the sheer amount of new information I’d been subjected to.
I suppose I’m mentally two years old now.
“You’ve still got a fever,” Elizabeth muttered.
“I know you said I can rely on you as much as I need, but we can’t stay like this forever.”
She chuckled. “You may not be particularly handsome at the moment, but you’re incredibly cute.”
“Gods, that sounds like a pick-up line.”
She gave me only a puzzled look.
So she isn’t even aware.
Even with my true nature exposed, she was the same pure-hearted, airheaded angel she had always been. I almost regretted pointing out the appeal of her last remark.
“I’ll always be here for you,” she whispered. “Please, rest for today.”
She wouldn’t listen to my reservations, pushing me back down onto the bed and tucking my sheets up about me. Once I’d obeyed, she dragged a chair closer to my bedside without relying on a servant to aid her and sat. She gripped my hand tightly in her own.
“Thanks,” I muttered.
There was something seductive about her warmth that made the tension leave my body and assured me I wouldn’t be blamed for resting.
So this is what Harold meant by canceling today’s plans… Where is he, come to think of it? And where’s Lars?
Just as I looked for them, I heard a reserved knock at the door. Harold stepped in a moment later with little Lars cradled in his arms. The dragon was curled up in a gesture of apparent affection.
“What happened to him?” I asked.
“He was so affected by the pair of you that he threw up most of his mana.”
He opened the basket on the crock of his elbow to reveal a small fortune’s worth of manacite. Apparently, Harold had retreated into the corridor with Lars when he realized Elizabeth and I were having a heart-to-heart. He stroked Lars’ curved horns, and the drake let out a sound halfway between a growl and a purr.
I’d nearly forgotten he existed…
Once, Lars was a romantic rival of mine, so desperate for Elizabeth’s hand he would’ve given anything. It was clear now that I could take a page from the needy little dragon’s book and rely on Elizabeth more.
“Thank you kindly, Lord Harold,” Elizabeth said.
“I only did what was natural,” he replied with a bow. “With His Royal Highness so close to falling into despair, I was prepared to utilize any means necessary as his humble aide.”
That explained why his entrance was so perfectly timed, and he’d even somehow quelled Lars to boot. He was talented to an extreme. Lars seemed so utterly sated that he watched Elizabeth and I calmly now, even with my hand still in hers.
I recalled how King Ricardo advocated for intuition. It seemed I’d been overthinking things for a great long time, and with my heart lighter than it had felt in ages, I drifted into slumber.