32. Such a Formidable Rival Appears!

NOTE: I mistakenly translated Asha Claire as female when she’s actually a male character. To help clear up any confusion from the earlier chapters, Asha’s name has now been corrected to Ash Klair in the translation. Thank you for your understanding!

If you started reading the story with Ash’s pronoun as male, please disregard this note and continue enjoying the story. 

“The Crown Prince’s fiancée?”

Hailey looked shocked at the unexpected revelation, and the other apprentice maids began to speak one after another.

“The House of Duke Sevaron is one of the Empire’s founding families. They’re currently the Crown Prince’s greatest supporters and allies. In other words, they’re a perfect match for his future in-laws.”

“Not only that, but I heard Lady Adelaida and the Crown Prince were childhood friends. They were quite close.”

“Yeah, some say that if Lady Adelaida hadn’t returned to her estate to care for her ailing mother, they would already be engaged by now.”

“She’s incredibly beautiful and very intelligent, so people say she’s an ideal candidate to be the next Crown Princess.”

“Oh no!”

The words slipped out of Hailey’s mouth before she realized it. Lemoni and Susan, who had been chatting excitedly, looked at her in surprise.

“What do you mean, ‘Oh no’? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Two pairs of sparkling eyes turned towards her. Hailey quickly collected herself and replied hastily.

“I-I just mean… it doesn’t make sense to say the Crown Prince’s fiancée has already been decided before the ball has even happened.”

“Well, that’s true…”

Susan tilted her head thoughtfully.

“But aren’t noble marriages always decided like that? Political marriages are the norm. Love matches are actually rare.”

“Exactly. Hailey, you’re more romantic than I thought.”

“……”

“And besides, there are so many rumors that His Highness actually likes Lady Adelaida. So unless something unexpected happens, she’ll probably become the Crown Princess.”

***

Clang, clang, CLANG!

A sharp metallic sound rang out as their swords clashed.

“Huff… huff…”

Kincaid took a deep breath, gripping his swords tightly in both hands as he attacked with a sharp arc. But his opponent was none other than Ash Klair, the Empire’s greatest swordsman.

Whoosh—

Ash evaded the blade effortlessly and, in the same motion, moved his sword to strike at Kincaid’s vital point.

“Ugh!”

Kincaid narrowly dodged Ash’s blade. The sharply honed blue sword grazed past him, slicing off a generous handful of his neatly kept black hair.

It was a dangerously close moment—but it was Kincaid himself who had ordered that real swords be used even in one-on-one sparring.

Clang! Clang!

Their swords clashed again. The sharp metallic sound startled the birds perched in the branches nearby, sending them fluttering away with a flurry of wings.

“You seem to have a lot on your mind today.”

Their swords locked, they stood close enough to feel each other’s breath. From this close range, the knight offered a candid observation to his lord.

“Do I really look that way?”

“Your sword has become dull compared to last time.”

“Cut me some slack. I’ve been stuck catching up on paperwork—I’m not fully warmed up.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than their blades separated. Kincaid lunged forward again with full force at his favored knight, and Ash narrowly avoided the attack again, aiming his sword at his neck.

Clang!

Kinkade barely managed to block the sword that was dangerously targeting his vital point. Ash’s blue eyes locked on his lord’s.

“It would be wise to increase the number of sparring sessions.”

Another blunt suggestion, delivered without ceremony. Kincaid twisted his lips into a smirk in response.

“Burnett’s going to complain, but fine. From now on, we’ll spar one-on-one twice a week.”

Only after receiving his lord’s approval did Ash withdraw his sword. Kincaid lowered his own and slid it back into its scabbard.

Thus, their sparring session came to an end.

“Thank you for sparring with me.”

Ash bowed respectfully toward Kincaid. Kincaid returned the gesture, offering due respect to the knight who was also his sword instructor.

“Still, I’m the first to last this long against you, aren’t I?”

At his half-joking question, Ash thought for a moment before replying.

“That’s correct. So far, Your Highness is the only one who’s lasted over ten minutes against my blade.”

Coming from a prodigious swordsman said to have been born with a sword in hand, the comment carried no flattery. Kincaid, who appreciated that honesty and discipline, had deliberately recruited Ash—a retainer of the Sevaron Duke’s family—to serve under him.

“I admit my sword has become dull. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.”

“Is there another troublesome issue at the border?”

“That’s part of it…”

Kincaid muttered cynically, then suddenly spoke up as if something had just occurred to him.

“Did you hear that the Duke of Sevaron arrived in the capital last night?”

“I was actually planning to visit him after working hours. It’s been a while, and I’d like to see my father as well.”

“Do you think he still resents me for stealing you away from the ducal house?”

“Of course not. The Duke is a loyal servant of Your Highness above all else.”

At Ash’s precise reply, Kincaid let out a short laugh, then took a towel from his attendant and wiped the sweat from his face.

“Since I’m visiting the duke’s residence, should I send my regards to Lady Adelaida?”

Kincaid’s hand froze mid-motion for a moment.

“There’s no need for that. I’ll be seeing her soon enough anyway—no point in unnecessary gestures.”

“Understood.”

“More importantly, let’s take a walk in the garden and cool off a bit.”

Without a word, Ash stepped beside Kincaid.

“It’s been a while since there’s been a ball, so the palace seems unusually lively.”

“Lively? It’s nothing but noise and trouble. If it weren’t for Princess Catherine putting so much effort into it, I would’ve called it off already.”

At the endlessly cynical prince’s remark, Ash tilted his head slightly.

“A ball to choose the new Crown Princess… Shouldn’t it be something joyful?”

“You too? Burnett’s already making a fuss about having new clothes tailored.”

Kincaid sighed in exasperation and ran a hand through his sweat-dampened hair.

“Everyone seems to have far too much time on their hands.”

***

‘Why is the story going this way?’

Lady Adelaida of the Duchy of Sevaron was indeed a character in the original story. She was mentioned a few times as the daughter of the duke who supported and allied with the Crown Prince—but…

‘Childhood friends? A top contender for the Crown Princess? That was never part of the original plot!’

As if being the daughter of a powerful noble house wasn’t enough, she was talented and beautiful!

‘And now she even has the ‘childhood friend’ bonus? There’s no way the female lead can compete with that!’

Hailey had to somehow pair the heroine with Kincaid to prevent a bloody and tragic end—but now such a formidable rival had entered the stage. And on top of that…

Even putting aside Count Vernette’s daughter, it didn’t make sense to Hailey that a prince who supposedly already had someone he liked would host a ball to choose a bride.

“These nobles really are something else…”

Hailey couldn’t help but mutter to herself.

But why did she feel so unsettled?

“Hailey?”

 “…”

 “Hailey! Can’t you hear me?”

At Linda’s repeated prompting, Hailey finally came to her senses and turned to her companion.

“Ah—oh. Sorry. I was just lost in thought for a moment.”

“You’re totally out of it today, huh? The ball preparations are just getting started. What are you going to do if you’re already like this?”

Linda clicked her tongue and scolded her, surprised by Hailey’s uncharacteristic behavior.

“Sorry, sorry. I’ll focus now. So we’re supposed to find decorations for the wall, right?”

They were in a storage room located in the basement of the Detached Palace. The place, used to store rarely needed odds and ends, was dark and damp. Only a faint light came through a small window near the ceiling, barely illuminating the interior.

“We’re supposed to find decorative cloths for the walls, chair covers, and vases. But it doesn’t look like it’s going to be easy.”

Linda mumbled as she glanced around the room.

“Annie would’ve been way better at this than us.”

“She was coming down with me, but one of the senior maids called her away. So yeah—turns out rummaging through this dusty storage is our job alone.”

“Well, it can’t be helped. I’ll look for the vases. You check for the decorative cloth. If we’re lucky, we might finish before sunset.”

After that, the two got to work.

Hailey found some vases and placed them in a basket. Linda pulled out a bundle of chair covers. But just then—

Creeeeaak—BAM!

With a loud noise, the storage room door slammed shut.

“What just happened?”

Startled, Linda ran over and shook the door, but it wouldn’t budge.

“We’ve been locked in. Someone shut the door from the outside.”

“Who would do that?”

“Hard to say—too many suspects.”

Hailey shook her head in frustration.

“Bet it was Olga’s gang. They’ve been itching to mess with us.”

Linda ground her teeth at Hailey’s reply.

“To play tricks on us during such a busy time… The senior maid specifically told us to return as soon as we find the items.”

It was already a remote basement storage room. Even if they shouted for help, it was unlikely anyone outside would hear them. If one of their peers noticed something was wrong, that would be ideal—but if luck wasn’t on their side, they might end up stuck there all night.

‘I really let my guard down today…’

Hailey squeezed her eyes shut in frustration.

‘Should I throw a rock and try to break the window?’

Just as she was seriously considering it…

“What are you doing down there, little frog?”

A voice called from above, startling Hailey. 

On instinct, she looked up—and locked eyes with someone who had jet-black hair and ominous crimson eyes.

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince!”

For some reason, Kincaid was standing in front of the dusty window, arms casually crossed.

‘Saved!’

A wave of relief surged through Hailey’s chest, and she shouted as loudly as she could:

“Please help us, Your Highness! We’ve been locked in the storage room!”

In response to her desperate plea, Kincaid smirked and said:

“No, I don’t want to.”