Tell Me To Regret, Don’t Tempt Me - Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Time has passed quickly. Vivian handed Tia the basket filled with autumn leaves, looking at the clearly flustered butler who hurriedly appeared.
“Come, let’s go.”
Practically being dragged along, Vivian asked the butler.
“Who is it that’s so important that I have to be there?”
“Yes.”
The butler replied, visibly tense. Even a seasoned butler with graying hair like him was nervous. Who could this guest be to make him so on edge?
Vivian urged her steps.
“Lady Vivian has arrived.”
The butler announced hastily as they reached the grandest reception room in the mansion. Hearing Daisy’s voice calling them in, the butler opened the door and glanced at the hesitant Vivian.
He was urging her to come in.
Passing by the waiting butler, Vivian entered the room. The first thing she saw was her mother. And in front of her, there was a small, black-haired figure sitting.
No way.
Vivian stopped in her tracks as she was walking in.
“Vivi, come here.”
Daisy gestured upon seeing Vivian standing still. At her words, the small, black-haired figure moved slightly.
“Louis?”
Louis. No, Crown Prince Luideos Lindez Tapeullon.
“Vivian. Please greet His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Why on earth is this person here?
With a confused mind, Vivian blinked her eyes as she looked at Louis, listening to Daisy’s voice, her consciousness suddenly returning.
“I greet His Highness the Crown Prince of the Tapeullon Empire.”
Vivian hurriedly bowed her knees in greeting.
“Long time no see.”
Louis said, causing Vivian to raise her head at his voice.
Today, just like always, the Crown Prince looked impeccable. His well-groomed, lustrous black hair. His beautiful, thick eyebrows framed his high forehead. His straight, attractive nose seamlessly leads to his pale skin and full lips. And once again, his unfathomable, deep golden eyes were gazing at her.
Why didn’t I realize it earlier? Louis bore such a striking resemblance to Emperor Henry.
As Vivian sat next to her mother, Louis and Daisy continued their small talk. Conversations about the weather, the atmosphere in the reception room, stories about paintings hung in the mansion corridors, and so on.
“Then, I shall excuse myself for a moment.”
Vivian, who was absentmindedly staring at a spot on the carpet as the two talked, suddenly raised her head and looked at Daisy, who was getting up from her seat.
“Mother, where are you going?”
Vivian grabbed the hem of her mother’s dress, not wanting her to leave.
“Vivi.”
Knowing the reason for Louis’s presence today, Daisy wanted to discreetly leave the two alone. However, seeing her fearful daughter looking up at her, Daisy briefly contemplated whether she should just stay.
She glanced at Louis sitting across from them.
Louis, looking displeased, glanced at Vivian’s hand gripping her sleeve. Catching Vivian’s eye, Daisy sighed softly.
“The Crown Prince has come to see you today, Vivi.”
“M-me?”
Vivian’s grip on Daisy’s sleeve loosened slightly as she glanced at him.
“I’ll be in the study, so don’t worry and talk to each other.”
Reassuring Vivian, Daisy stood up again and before leaving the reception room, she turned back to look at the two children.
While a bit worried, she thought it would be best not to interfere right now, and resolutely avoided her concern as she opened the reception room door.
The sound of the door closing echoed, and silence settled in the room.
This time, Louis frowned as he looked at Vivian, who was staring not at him but at the sofa’s leg.
And so, both of them remained silent for a while. The small clock on the freshly cleaned fireplace mantel ticked quietly, marking the passing of time.
Seeing Vivian still stubbornly glaring at the sofa leg without even looking at him, Louis was overcome by a strange emotion.
Though there hadn’t been any intention behind it, Louis knew he had unintentionally hurt Vivian sitting in front of him, so he felt he should apologize.
It was true that he had come here under the orders of the Emperor and Empress, but he agreed he should apologize.
Yet, he wonders why it was so difficult to get the words out looking at her like that. Crossing his arms in annoyance, Louis exhaled roughly.
“I’m sorry.”
Vivian looked up at Louis’s apology.
“I was rash. The reason I came here today is because I felt I should apologize to you.”
What did I just hear? Did I mishear?
Vivian doubted her own ears.
“First of all, I didn’t know you were Vivian Dinever. So when I heard my fiancée was unattractive, um, no, that’s not it.”
Louis lightly bit his lower lip.
“Anyway, I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.”
Vivian, who had been staring at Louis with a surprised expression, slightly opened her mouth. It was true that she had been hurt because of Lewis, but she never dreamed of receiving an apology.
Feeling embarrassed because of his apology, her cheeks and ears reddened, and she lowered her head.
“It’s embarrassing, but won’t you say something, anything?”
Startled by Louis’s words, Vivian raised her head. Louis, seemingly also feeling embarrassed, was scratching the back of his neck and staring at the sofa leg that Vivian had been glaring at earlier.
“Can I ask you something?”
Looking at him, Vivian asked.
“Go ahead.”
Louis agreed, and Vivian spoke up.
“Do you like pretty girls, Louis?”
What kind of question is that?
Louis was dumbfounded by Vivian’s question.
“Is there anyone who dislikes pretty people?”
“Then, if I’m pretty, can I marry you?”
Louis immediately closed his mouth at the sudden question. He was at a loss for words at the question that seemed to carry a lot of meaning and simply looked at Vivian in silence.
Honestly, he couldn’t call her beautiful. But she wasn’t as ugly as the rumors either. She was just an average-looking girl. Her common brown hair was braided into two strands making her look a bit younger than her 10-year-old self. Her smaller stature also contributed to that.
So, when they first met, he hadn’t thought this child would be Vivian.
His mother had said Vivian was a smart and lovely child. Considering the book she was holding and the bold question she just asked, his mother’s words weren’t entirely wrong.
Louis cautiously opened his pretty lips.
“So far, I’ve been able to enjoy many things. And I will continue to do so.”
Vivian chuckled at Louis’s response, which was completely unrelated to her question.
“Having the ability to enjoy many things implies having power. And the source of power lies, in a way, in one’s duties. That’s what I’ve been taught.”
Looking into her gaze, as clear as a spring day, he continued.
“Marriage was a duty for me, but I had momentarily forgotten that.”
He circled back to his answer.
Did she understand?
Louis thought she must have, seeing Vivian deep in thought as she stared ahead. Taking a sip of his now lukewarm tea, he watched her, thinking she looked like a smart child who would understand.
“So, are you going to marry someone as unattractive as me because of that duty?”
“Cough.”
It was an unexpected remark. Louis wiped his mouth with a handkerchief after coughing a bit.
“Your Highness, are you implying that in order to serve the national interest, you would compromise a marriage with an unattractive woman like myself, instead of a beautiful woman, as you are to become the future Emperor of this empire?”
Startled by the words ‘national interest’ and ‘compromise’ coming from the mouth of this ordinary 10-year-old, Louis’ brow furrowed at the phrase ‘an unattractive woman like myself’. A hair of conscience deep within him had risen up.
“Yes.”
The curt response came out. Even though he had apologized, the fact that Vivian still explicitly referred to herself as “unattractive” suggested that she was still not fully over her anger.
“My parents said I don’t have to get engaged if I don’t want to.”
At those words, Louis’s brow furrowed once more.
“Why don’t you want to?”
Suppressing his rising anger, Louis asked. Vivian looked him straight in the eye and replied.
***
“Your Highness? Your Highness!”
Rayden called out as he watched Louis swing his sword carelessly, but Louis seemed not to hear Rayden’s call and continued swinging his sword.
“Commander. Lately, His Highness the Crown Prince has been acting a bit strange, hasn’t he? Is something wrong?”
“Hmm. I can’t quite tell either.”
Elton, the youngest knight, asked Rayden in a low voice. However, even Rayden couldn’t figure out what had been going on with Louis lately.
Louis, swinging the sword irritably, suddenly halted his movements. Rayden and Elton, who had been whispering to each other, stiffened.
“I think I’ll stop for today.”
“Are you not feeling well, Your Highness?”
“It’s not that, I just can’t seem to focus at all. We’ll continue tomorrow.”
Louis’s shoulders sagged a little more than usual as he handed the wooden sword to Elton and headed back to the Crown Prince’s palace.
It hadn’t even been 30 minutes since he started practicing swordsmanship. Louis usually practiced for at least 2 or 3 hours.
Could something serious have happened?
Elton approached Rayden, who looked worried.
“Does Sir Hugo know what happened?”
“Yeah, it seems that way.”
Rayden had casually asked Hugo when they happened to cross paths in the corridor, but Hugo, curious about the reason himself, had instead asked Rayden.
“Will he not answer if we ask?”
Nodding, Rayden looked at Elton, who was cradling the wooden swords in his arms and looking toward where Louis had disappeared.
“I suppose I should contact Lord Arnold. I’ll write a letter, can you go to the Marquis of Vines’s place?”
“What? Ah, yes! Leave it to me!”
Rayden smiled at the enthusiastically thumping Elton.
—
Receiving Rayden’s urgent summons to the palace, Arnold hurried to the imperial castle, abandoning even his lessons on the heir’s succession that had started last year. Seeing the waiting Rayden, Arnold’s expression darkened.
“Did something serious happen?”
“Serious or not, I’m not sure…”
Not wanting to dwell on Rayden’s ambiguous words, Arnold quickened his pace and headed to the study where Louis was said to be.
“Tell him to go.”
Louis replied from inside as the servant announced Arnold’s arrival. Arnold banged on the door of the office, as he sometimes did.
“I’m just coming in!”
Declaring his entry, Arnold turned the door handle. Inside the study, Arnold found Louis lying on the long sofa with a book covering his face.
“What’s with you, taking a nap in the middle of the day?”
“…”
Though it was obvious he wasn’t sleeping, there was no response or movement from Louis as he lay there. Seeing Louis lying there motionless, Arnold sighed and sat down on the sofa opposite him.