Chapter 6 (Part 1)

“Ah-ha-yawn.”

Amelia’s days were always the same. From the moment she woke up early in the morning and washed up, her education began. Between meals, lessons, and her assigned duties, the day would pass by in a blur.

She had to learn a variety of subjects, from the history of the royal family to politics, society, and diplomacy. Among these, diplomacy was the most critical. She had to receive thorough training to assist the Crown Prince in diplomatically and strategically handling visits from high-ranking nobles of other empires.

“Are you awake? I’ll prepare the hot water immediately.”

Her attendant was a royal maid named Eri. Having previously served Lady Limerick, she was now assigned to Amelia.

“Straighten your posture. Your right shoulder is slightly lowered.”

In the mornings, Amelia attended various classes, including etiquette lessons, which were not as harsh as before. There were no absurd exercises like standing on one leg for a long time or walking on a narrow balance beam with an apple on her head.

It made her question why she had been subjected to such torturous lessons in the past, as now the classes seemed quite ordinary. In the afternoons, she had to assist the Crown Prince with his duties.

Though she never saw the Crown Prince’s face, she was given some of his tasks to handle.

Amelia’s main duty was to review items that could be valuable for maintaining friendly relations with neighboring empires.

Of course, that wasn’t the only task. She had to familiarize herself with the faces of nobles from neighboring empires and send letters on behalf of the Crown Prince.

Most of these letters were for greetings, but occasionally they included simple work-related tasks. As a result, Amelia spent her days buried in piles of documents, never seeing the Crown Prince’s face.

She had to wear the dresses chosen by the maid, and with almost all her time dedicated to education and work, Amelia had no freedom.

‘Was there really this much work for the Crown Princess?’

Since Lady Limerick disappeared four months ago, it felt like Amelia was handling all the backlog of her duties.

Repeating this confined lifestyle without any freedom made her question whether they had chosen a Crown Princess or a worker.

As each hectic day passed, Amelia realized once again that she was not fit to be the Crown Princess.

The biggest reason was that being confined indoors on sunny days didn’t suit her. She was withering away under the constant workload. Sometimes, she felt a sense of injustice.

“Why me, when there are so many ladies lining up to become the Crown Princess?”

Just as she was filled with complaints about not even having the leisure to stroll through the garden, the Crown Prince came to visit her. It was about a week after she had been confined to the Crown Princess’s quarters.

That day, her lessons ended earlier than usual so she could meet the Crown Prince. Once the lessons ended, Eri took her to the garden.

There, a table was set up for tea time, and the Crown Prince was waiting for Amelia.

“How have you been?”

“Greetings, Your Royal Highness. It’s been a while.”

Seeing Amelia’s haggard appearance, Lucius shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, it doesn’t seem like you’ve been doing well.”

“…”

Amelia couldn’t bring herself to say otherwise. The past week had been devoid of any joy, just as he had said.

She had many questions she wanted to ask him, but upon seeing his face, no words came out.

Wanting to briefly enjoy this rare moment of leisure, Amelia sat down, carefully lifting a teacup filled with tea, and took a sip.

As she did, she looked closely at the Crown Prince sitting across from her. Always having looked at him with disapproval, this was the first time she observed him so closely.

The Crown Prince had such a delicate face that he could be mistaken for a woman if he dressed up.

His blue eyes were mysterious, giving a unique feeling every time she looked at them. However, she thought Edwin’s reddish-brown eyes were more beautiful.

‘I must be crazy!’

Amelia scolded herself for comparing Edwin to the man she was supposed to marry. She hadn’t even decided to use Edwin yet, so what was she thinking?

Even as she berated herself, she wondered how much she must dislike the idea of marriage for Edwin to come to mind.

Her gaze returned to the Crown Prince. Seeing him yawn with a face full of boredom, she understood why Edwin had briefly come to mind.

At least Edwin had never treated her so rudely. It wasn’t something to be taken for granted, but Amelia had always considered it as such.

‘Edwin….’

She was thinking how nice it would be if the man sitting before her was Edwin instead of the Crown Prince when Lucius suddenly broke the silence.

“How is it? Is the work manageable?”

“…It’s bearable.”

Caught off guard, Amelia hesitated for a moment before answering.

“There’s a lot of backlog, so you’ll have plenty to do.”

“Is it always this much work for you, Your Highness?”

“It is. But it’s my daily routine, so I’ve gotten used to it.”

Seeing the Crown Prince’s nonchalant demeanor, Amelia finally understood why his face always seemed filled with ennui whenever they met.

With a constant stream of tasks and having to make time to meet with the Crown Princess candidates, it must not have been enjoyable for him.

‘Did he think it was a waste of time because there were no ladies he liked?’

Amelia thought her expression was probably no different from the Crown Prince’s right now. Despite having a break, she found the time spent drinking tea with him tedious.

He likely felt the same but had come to see her because the Chancellor had instructed him to. They couldn’t leave the Crown Princess unattended for over a week.

As she regained her composure while drinking tea, the thoughts she had suppressed began to surface.

After cautiously observing the Crown Prince, Amelia carefully opened her mouth.

“Do you really intend to marry me?”

It might be a rude question, but since she had to survive first, there was no longer anything to hold back.

“Why are you asking that? Do you think I have no intention of getting married?”

“Yes. No matter how much I think about it, I can’t understand why you chose me. You don’t have even a little affection for me.”

When she answered firmly, Lucius laughed out loud. She asked seriously, but he seemed to take it as a joke, which didn’t feel very pleasant.

“That’s the same for the other four ladies. I don’t like any of them.”

As expected, the Crown Prince did not like any of the Crown Princess candidates.

“Then why did you choose me? Last time, the Chancellor hinted that the candidate could be changed, didn’t he say that because there was a real possibility of replacement?”

“Ah, I just said that to prevent the other ladies from protesting.”

“That could become a reality. What if someone you truly love appears?”

At the mention of someone he loves, Lucius’s expression, which had been lighthearted until a moment ago, suddenly changed. He seemed to adopt a serious expression for a moment but soon sent a languid gaze again.

“Well, I want to leave the position vacant too, but the elder nobles are pressuring me, so what can I do? I have my own circumstances.”

“What circumstances?”

“We don’t seem close enough for me to tell you that.”

Lucius stood up, seemingly no longer wanting to continue the conversation. He had a look that said he had entertained her enough. As expected, he didn’t want to meet her and had been dragged here against his will.

‘As I thought, he doesn’t want me as the Crown Princess….’

When Amelia made a sulky face, he smiled.

“Or do you wish for us to become closer?”

Lucius, as if amused, moved from his seat to sit beside Amelia, clasping his hand over hers.

“What do you want?”

The gaze he gave her with his languid eyes was seductive. It felt as if she might get drawn in if she looked at him thoughtlessly. But the touch of his hand felt unpleasant for some reason.

“I-I don’t want anything.”

Amelia tried to pull her hand away, but Lucius chuckled and grabbed her hand again.

“Then if you want something, just say it. I’ll grant whatever I can. Of course, if you desire a conversation of the body, that’s welcome anytime.”

Leaving behind words that were hard to distinguish between a joke and sincerity, Lucius stood up. Amelia could only stare blankly at him.

From the rumors she had heard, he had no interest in women, and after entering the imperial palace, Amelia realized those rumors were true. Even the Emperor and the elder nobles were worried.

The sudden change in the cold-hearted man made her feel chills all over her body.

‘What on earth is he thinking?’

Not knowing what the Crown Prince was thinking left Amelia feeling frustrated.