Chapter 113

“Would you take off your clothes?”  

Lucas said to the Crown Prince.  

Louis nodded and took off his jacket. Rayden, who was standing next to him, quickly took the jacket that Louis handed over.  

Louis removed his vest and unbuttoned the first button of his shirt, but his hands suddenly stopped. Raising his head, Louis looked at Vivian, who was staring at him intently.  

“Are you going to stay there?”  

“Why? Is it uncomfortable to take off your clothes? Are your hands not moving well? Shall I help you?”  

At Vivian’s bombardment of questions, both Lucas and Rayden turned their heads to look at her. Vivian blinked rapidly at the sudden attention.  

“I’m going to take off my clothes…”  

“Yes. And why is that…….”

Suddenly, Vivian’s face started turning bright red. Realizing why Louis had hesitated, she opened and closed her mouth like a fish.  

“I’ll check if the treatment was done properly, My Lady.”

Rayden, holding the jacket, assured Vivian with a smile. As she left the office, Vivian looked back several times, still worried.  

After she left, Louis slowly began unbuttoning his shirt.  

Lucas, startled by Louis’s large frame, reached out to the bandages tightly wrapped around his right arm.  

As the well-secured bandages were removed, wounds covered in ointment were revealed.  

“Goodness… It seems there was pus as well? How could you fight like that with such an arm?”  

Lucas’s expression twisted as he examined the wound. When he wiped off the ointment with a clean, damp cloth, the inflamed wound became even more visible.  

Rayden clenched his teeth and didn’t take his eyes off Louis’s injury. It hadn’t been this bad before they went to Palterno, but now it looked much worse.  

“At least you’ve received basic treatment. Alright, I’ll begin the healing now.”  

Bright, warm light emanated from Lucas’s hands. The torn wound absorbed the light and gradually returned to its original skin.  

“Phew… It’s done. Like with Aitor, deep injuries treated with magic take some time to fully recover to their original state. Even if it looks fine on the surface, you absolutely must not overexert yourself.”  

Louis nodded at Lucas’s words and brushed his palm over the spot where the wound had been. The injury had disappeared completely, leaving only a faint scar. Louis clenched his hand, rotated his arm, and moved his body as if satisfied.  

“You’re skilled.”  

At Louis’s compliment, the tips of Lucas’s ears turned red.  

“W-Well, of course! I’m a renowned healing mage from the Mage Tower.”  

Lucas’s shoulders shot up in pride. Louis let out a chuckle at Lucas’s shy yet boastful reaction and began putting his arms back into his shirt.  

“If Vivian asks, tell her it was nothing.”  

“Pardon?”  

Lucas, who was cleaning up the bandages, looked back at Louis in surprise.  

“About Aitor as well…… she’s probably blaming herself. So if she asks, just say it wasn’t a big deal.”

Louis quickly buttoned his shirt, stood up, and put on his vest. After fastening all the vest buttons, he reached out to Rayden for his jacket.  

“You should have at least told me.”  

Louis grabbed the jacket from Rayden’s hands roughly, noticing his expression.  

“I don’t need that look from you. Vivian’s expression is already enough. Wipe that look off your face immediately.”  

At Louis’s warning, Rayden pulled in his pout and smoothed his furrowed brow. Just as Louis finished putting on his jacket, the parlor door opened slightly, and Vivian peeked her head in.  

“Are you done?”  

At Vivian’s voice, Lucas hurriedly finished tidying up the bandages and replied that they were done. Vivian cautiously entered the room and approached Louis.  

“I’m fine. Lucas is skilled.”  

Louis patted his right arm as if to reassure her. However, Vivian’s expression didn’t brighten, so Louis gestured toward Rayden and Lucas.  

“Yes! He’s really fine. Haha. I must have been overly worried.”  

“Of course, His Highness is incredibly strong. Haha. It was nothing!”  

Lucas and Rayden noisily reassured Vivian. Louis shook his head at their lack of subtlety and finished buttoning his jacket.  

“I’ll invite you and Teresa to the Imperial Palace soon.”  

When Louis addressed Lucas, his amethyst-colored eyes sparkled. Louis thanked him once again and instructed Rayden to prepare for departure.  

“Are you returning to the Imperial Palace now?”  

“Yes. I’ve seen Aitor, and there’s a lot to do.”  

Lucas glanced between Vivian and Louis before hiding the bandages behind his back and following Rayden out of the parlor.  

With a soft click, the door closed, leaving only Vivian and Louis in the room.  

“You were badly injured, weren’t you?”  

“…Didn’t Rayden and Lucas just say it wasn’t serious? I’m really fine.”  

“I’m not a fool. I saw with my own eyes how badly you were injured and how much blood you lost…”  

Louis clicked his tongue inwardly and slowly ran a hand through his hair.  

“Why do you always think everything is your fault?”  

“Pardon?”  

“Neither my injury nor Aitor’s is your fault. So why do you keep making that face?”  

Louis took a step closer to Vivian, who widened her eyes at his words.  

“I’m fine, and so is Aitor. We’re injured, yes, but we’re alive and well. So… stop making that face.”  

Louis raised his arm toward Vivian’s face but suddenly stopped. Clenching his fist tightly, he lowered his arm.  

“Vivian.”  

Louis called her name softly. Hearing her name spoken in his low, familiar voice made Vivian feel like crying.  

“If… if I were to step down from the position of Crown Prince…”  

At Louis’s words, Vivian’s peridot-colored eyes wavered like leaves caught in a strong spring breeze.  

“No, forget I said that. I’ll be leaving now.”  

Louis’s face quickly returned to its usual expression, as if he hadn’t just said something so significant. However, the characteristic languidness was absent.  

“Louis!”  

Vivian called out to him as he reached for the parlor door handle. When he turned to look at her, she walked toward him with a determined expression.  

“No one suits that position more than you. The position of Crown Prince of the Empire, and the throne you will someday ascend to—no one else can take your place.”  

Louis stared at her resolute expression for a moment before letting out a soft laugh and ruffling her hair.  

“Since it’s coming from the future perfect Crown Princess, I suppose I’ll believe you.”  

Vivian frowned at his teasing tone and grabbed his hand, pulling it down. Holding his wrist with one hand, she flung open the parlor door.  

“Vivian?”  

Louis called out to Vivian, but she didn’t respond and began walking quickly somewhere. Watching her determined brown hair as she walked ahead, Louis, who was being dragged along, realized that Vivian was heading toward the bedroom.  

It wasn’t his first time seeing the bedroom. Yet, for some reason, his cheeks felt hot, and he cleared his throat dryly.  

“V-Vivian.”  

It was still broad daylight. Was this really okay? 

He didn’t intend to stop her, but as Louis wondered when Vivian had become so assertive, his throat felt tight for no reason.  

Then, seeing her holding his hand while searching for something with her other hand in a focused manner, Louis tilted his head in curiosity.  

When she found what she was looking for, Vivian smiled brightly and extended her hand toward Louis.  

“This. You said it was very important to you.”  

What Vivian held out was the pocket watch that the previous Emperor had gifted him.  

“You said it was a gift from the previous Emperor…… and that you’d take it back once you became a great Emperor. Don’t you need to take it back?”  

Looking at the pocket watch wrapped in the embroidered handkerchief that Vivian held out before him, Louis burst into laughter.  

“Are you laughing right now?”  

Vivian, who was clearly upset, glared fiercely at Louis. Of course, to him, she only looked adorable.  

Trying to suppress the laughter that kept escaping, Louis covered his mouth with the back of his hand. Seeing this, Vivian’s gaze became even sharper, and Louis pulled the hand she had caught toward him.  

“Ah!”  

Suddenly pulled forward, Vivian found herself trapped in Louis’ arms.  

“Can I hug you?”  

“Are you…… asking for permission now?”  

Belatedly asking for permission, Louis tightly embraced Vivian’s shoulders, who was trying to escape from his arms. When Vivian stopped moving, Louis lowered his head and spoke.  

“I regret it.”  

Louis’ voice sank heavily onto the crown of Vivian’s head. 

What could he possibly regret? 

As Vivian tried to lift her head, Louis pressed his chin firmly against the top of her head.  

“All the words I said to you, all the things I did to you……”  

Vivian wanted to tell him that no, she wasn’t hurt, that she didn’t resent him. More than that, she wanted to tell him how grateful she was to him.  

“The things I said to you when we first met in the library, the things I said to you at the Winter Banquet in the Rose Garden…… and even in Raspol.”  

A deep sigh escaped from Louis, brushing over Vivian’s hair.  

As Vivian tried to push away Louis’ chin and lift her head, something soft and moist brushed against her smooth, round forehead and then retreated.  

“Can I kiss you?”  

Once again, Louis was late in asking for permission, and Vivian’s face flushed so red that it looked like it might burst. Seeing her crimson face, a charming curve appeared on Louis’ lips.  

“You said you’d try to become a perfect Crown Princess, didn’t you? For your sake, I’ll have to hold onto the position of Crown Prince no matter what, Vivian.”  

Vivian, who had been holding onto her fleeting composure, quickly snapped back to her senses at Louis’ smile. Just as she was about to shout that she didn’t mean it that way, Louis’ voice interrupted her.  

“I’ve never regretted anything in my life before, but these days, I keep finding myself full of regrets.”  

Louis’ small, monotonous voice carried a faint trace of bitter laughter.  

Vivian didn’t want to see that laugh hanging on Louis’ red lips. Without realizing it, she raised her hand and brought it to his lips.  

“Vivian!”  

Her friend suddenly flung open the door to Vivian’s room.  

“Oh my!”  

Rosie, seeing Louis and Vivian so close together, covered her mouth with both hands and blinked rapidly.  

“Isn’t this the moment when you’re supposed to cover your eyes?”  

Louis, having let go of Vivian, coldly asked Rosie as he stared at her.  

“I greet the Crown Prince.”  

Rosie quickly lowered her eyes and greeted him. Louis, with a displeased expression, accepted the greeting and glanced at Vivian, who was now hiding behind the sofa, before fixing his disheveled jacket.  

“When you have time, visit the Imperial Palace, Vivian.”  

“Why?”  

From behind the sofa, Vivian’s small voice barely reached him.  

“Mother is very worried about you. There’s also something she needs to hear from you.”  

From beyond the sofa, Vivian’s arm suddenly popped up and formed a circle with her fingers.