Chapter 17
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[Lexus] —’Not a prince, but something similar.’(1)
At his words, Permat came to her senses. She was so taken with his otherworldly appearance that made him look like he’d come from a painting that she ended up speaking involuntarily. But she knew this person couldn’t be a fairy tale prince.
[Permat] —’Your Highness, Imperial Prince!’
[Lexus] —’Yes, that’s me. But what are you doing here?’
The Prince with blond hair and golden eyes was clearly Lexus. She heard that he was a beautiful and intelligent boy, but she didn’t think he would be this dazzling.
The story of the Imperial family carrying great beauty was widespread, but she always assumed it was an exaggerated rumor. But it was truly, very real.
[Permat] —’Th, that, that……”
[Lexus] —’Who are you? I don’t think you’re a maid.’
He looked her up and down with a smile, taking stock of her clothes.
She knew she would be coming to the Imperial Palace, so she wore the prettiest dress she had. She really liked how she looked when she left the mansion, but now her cheeks were turning red.
Meanwhile, the Imperial Prince was so handsome and blindingly brilliant that she couldn’t take her eyes off of him, even though he was just wearing a simple pair of long black pants and a comfortable shirt.
[Permat] —’I am Permat Radi Hayden.”
[Lexus] —’You’re the daughter of Marquis Hayden.’
[Permat] —’Y, yes. That is right.’
[Lexus] —’So what are you doing here? It’s not restricted, but it’s not some place you can come and go however you please.’
[Permat] —’W, where are we?’
She sounded like a fool, stuttering as she was, but it was impossible to speak properly with such a stunning boy in front of her. It made her voice naturally tremble. The entire time they spoke, the boy had a sweet smile on his face.
[Lexus] —’Oh, so you’re saying you’re lost. This is my palace.’
[Permat] —’The Prince’s Palace? I’m sorry, I didn’t come here on purpose. I’m just lost.’
Up until a second ago, she was upset and scared at having lost her way, but now it felt like fate. Fated to meet this beautiful Prince.
[Lexus] —’You must really be lost.’
Then he suddenly stopped smiling.
He was pale and otherworldly looking, like a statue made of marble. And somehow, just as any statue, he felt cold like stone, devoid of warmth.
[Permat] —’Huh? Yes, it’s true.’
[Lexus] —’I saw you from up there.’
He pointed up.
Apparently he had seen her wandering from the palace, then he came down to help her after seeing her walking around aimlessly.
[Lexus] —’I was thinking you were either lost or pretending to be lost. I guess you really were.’
She was just a little girl at the time, too distracted by the bloom of her first love to notice what he was talking about. Permat was possessed, and so she did not think too deeply on what his words meant.
Unfortunately for Permat, she was not the first person to get ‘lost’ in this garden. It was hardly a complicated maze, but several people a week would somehow find themselves walking circles in it. Sometimes even the same person twice.
And every time, the person in question would speak extremely sarcastically about how they didn’t understand how they could’ve gotten lost.
So this time, he assumed this girl was faking being missing, sent here for whatever purpose, so he watched her from above for a long time. He only came down after he saw her retracing her own steps around the same path multiple times.
[Lexus] —’Alright. I’ll take you back to the main palace where your father is.’
As he kindly offered to guide her around, Permat reached out her hand. Naturally, she assumed he would escort her.
But the Prince did not look back at her and walked first. Back then, she clenched her fist and followed after him. She just assumed he must not have seen her hand because he turned around so quickly.
[Permat] —’Wait, hold on. Please walk a little slower.’
[Lexus] —’I’m a little busy. I’ll just call someone else.’
[Permat] “No, please guide me, Prince. Instead, I think we should just hold hands.’
She blushed, asking him to escort her.
[Lexus] —’Sorry. I can’t since I’m not wearing gloves right now.’
[Permat] —’That’s okay. I’m wearing gloves.’
[Lexus] —’……..I can’t be rude to a lady like that. I’ll walk slower.’
She didn’t know he was rejecting her in a roundabout way.
It was because she could not imagine such a sweet and beautiful prince would do something like that. Instead, she was just happy he was treating her like a lady, which was why she still looked back at those times fondly.
After finding her father thanks to the Prince’s guidance, she received a thorough scolding for wandering the Imperial Palace as she pleased, and never again was she allowed to accompany him to the palace.
But even so, the memory of that day was a precious one for Permat.
It was a memory she kept so tightly close to her chest that she dare not tell even the ones closest to her. And because of that memory, she was so happy to see him at the Academy.
She stood before the Prince as he looked down at her. He was bigger than he was before, with his childlike beauty becoming a more distinct handsome.
And he was smiling, just like before.
[Permat] —‘Y, Your Highness. It has been a while.’
She was no longer a child, but she still stuttered, like she was going back to that day.
[Lexus] —’You can’t say that.’
His voice was sweet and soft.
[Permat] —’Sorry?’
[Lexus] —’This is the Academy. You can’t call me that.’
Lexus scratched his cheek awkwardly with a smiling face. Just like the one he had on the day they first met.
[Lexus] —’Uh, but who are you? Have we met before?’
Permat was so shocked, she couldn’t say anything back. The Prince in her precious memories could not even remember her.
Her pride was hurt, but despite that, she treated him politely and cordially after that. She wanted to imprint herself upon his memories, if only just a little bit.
However, they didn’t get very close. He was not interested in acting more friendly than was necessary unless it was with a woman he was seeing, and he was always surrounded by those he called his friends.
But if Permat wanted to be by his side, she could have done it easily enough. He was not a difficult man to be with, but she didn’t want to be seen as an easy woman.
Knock, knock—
There was a knock at the door. The maid, reading the air, carefully went to answer the door.
[Erhein] “Our precious jewel. Whatever could be the matter?”
[Permat] “…Brother.”
The one who entered the drawing room was Erhein Hayden, Permat’s older brother.
[Erhein] “My jewel. What have you done here?’
[Permat] “I’m upset.”
[Erhein] “What has made you so upset, sister?”
Permat’s nerves were sharp, but thanks to Erhein’s friendly and soothing voice, the pain like a needle managed to subside. And that’s when the tears set into Permat’s eyes.
[Erhein] “Oh, no. If you cry, I’ll get sad, too. Who has made our dear treasure so sad?”
[Permat] “The Prince…”
[Erhein] “Tch. Did the Prince make you angry?”
[Permat] “No! He didn’t.”
Permat shook her head.
Her Prince was not a bad person. He always met other women and it always upset her, but this time, her Prince just so happened to fall for a wicked woman’s schemes.
That woman had a keen head on her shoulders, so it would’ve been easy for her to fool her dear Prince. He was an innocent and handsome Prince, caught in the whims of an awful woman.
A woman so sneaky and shallow that she could not be compared to any of the other women who came before.
[Permat] “I think he fell for a strange woman.”
[Erhein] “Strange woman? Oh, I think I know what you’re talking about.”
[Permat] “I’m so angry.”
[Erhein] “But you can’t throw dolls just because you’re upset.”
[Permat] “Why not!?”
[Erhein] “What if your hands get hurt? If you want to rise up to a higher status, then you must be careful. What if it were to scar?”
He said that to mean he would make sure the seat next to Lexus would be hers. Attaining the position of the Crown Prince’s fiancee might be difficult, but if it were the second Prince, she could take that spot with ease.
[Erhein] “The seat next to the Prince will be yours anyway, so it hardly matters who’s sitting there now.”
[Permat] “But I’m still angry. I thought it would happen, and as expected, that woman caught his eyes and they’re becoming close now.”
She spread that rumor to prevent her from trying to seduce the Prince using the handkerchief as an excuse, but it just ended up becoming an opportunity for her. Maybe she designed this plan to end up like this from the very beginning. She was smart, so it was possible.
That woman made it difficult for Permat to control the rumors and then seized the opportunity to become closer with the Prince. Now it was obvious she’d brandished the Prince’s handkerchief on purpose in the lecture hall.
[Permat] “I was used by her. It’s so unfair.”
Erhein was also aware that his sister was related to the spread of the rumors.
She seemed reluctant to spread rumors about the Imperial family so it didn’t get too out of hand, but if they had tried to find the source of the rumors, she would’ve been in trouble regardless of how small it was.
[Erhein] “Does she bother you that much?”
[Permat] “Of course, she’s annoying! She’s gross and creepy! I wish I didn’t have to see her!”
[Erhein] “I can’t believe you hate her so much. Very well, I will take care of it for you.”
[Permat] “Really?”
Permat’s eyes glimmered.
[Erhein] “Of course. There is nothing I cannot do for the jewel of our family.”
Erhein spoke to her like he was speaking to a pretty box he was trying to sell for the highest price. As if she were expensive jewelry. Having the existence of a noblewoman usually meant one’s life would flow in this direction—fated to marry for the sake of the family.
But this would be good for her, too. It wasn’t as though they were selling her off to an old man. She was getting a position that she wanted.
Although, speaking honestly, no one knew if love or happiness was waiting for her at the end of this road.
But Permat, who accepted the situation on a surface level, smiled happily because she knew her brother would keep his word.
The seat next to Lexus would be hers. Perhaps not now, but definitely in the future. She wanted to become a precious woman to him. She tried so hard to become that. She wanted it so badly, she thought she might die.
And so it was unbearable to see such an insignificant woman hovering around him. It enraged her to no end.
Not that woman, Permat thought.
She hated all the women who stayed by his side, and every single one of them made her feel terrible. They were all women who preyed on his looks, his wealth, and his power without knowing what sincere love and affection truly was.
But among those women, she was the worst. That woman was not the right one for the Prince. She was a woman who had no right to even dare approach him.
Permat bit her lip as it trembled.
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T/N: (1) The word for ‘prince’ as in a fairy tale/kingdom prince is different from the word for ‘prince’ as in an imperial prince. Hence why Lexus said he was not a ‘prince’ but something similar. English does not have different words to differentiate the terms (a prince is a prince, regardless of origin in English).