Chapter 2: The Reason for Refusing the Crown Prince

“Ah~ Another refusal today.”  

‘Honestly, give it a rest. Think about how I feel having to refuse you all the time. If you ever considered my feelings…’  

Seirin bowed her head, her face twisted in annoyance, silently cursing the Crown Prince as she prepared for her 30,000th refusal.

“Lift your head now, Lady Damarania. What if your pretty neck gets hurt?”  

‘D*mn.’  

Seirin lifted her head, forcing a faint smile as she faced the Crown Prince.  

“Is it that you dislike me?”  

“No.”  

“Then, can I know why you keep refusing my proposal?”  

‘Because I don’t want to be tied down. Getting involved with the Imperial Family is dangerous, even if I had ten lives. Most of all, I want to live freely. And I absolutely hate men who pester me like you.’  

“Lady Damarania?”  

“I’m sorry, Your Highness.”  

“Haha. Can you stop saying sorry?”  

He was smiling, but the corner of his mouth twitched and his eyebrow barely moved—Seirin could tell he was annoyed.

“I’m not suited for you, Your Highness.”  

“Why do you think that?”  

“Because I’m lacking.”  

“Hm~ Is that so? But I, His Majesty, and Her Majesty all think you’re perfect as my Crown Princess.”  

‘So what? The person involved doesn’t want it. Why are you so persistent? Ah, I just want to set fire to that red hair of yours.’  

Seirin, always proper in word and deed, stared at the Crown Prince’s fiery red hair, holding back her urge, folded her hands neatly, and tried to keep smiling.

“I am truly grateful for the kindness of Their Majesties and you, Your Highness, but I cannot be satisfied with myself. Your Highness, you will soon become Emperor of the Theodor Empire. I am far too lacking to be your consort.”  

“Lady Damarania, you’re quite ambitious. I’ve heard from Sein that you’re very competitive.”  

‘I’ll deal with that idiot brother later.’  

Seirin smiled and nodded lightly as the Crown Prince gently placed his hands on her shoulders. Internally, she was annoyed and wished he’d move away.

“Lady Damarania, you’re the daughter of a legendary Sword Master, and you’ve inherited the blood of a Grand Mage mother. You can use both Thor and Heal magic—recognized as a magical genius in this Empire. No one is more suited to be my Crown Princess than you.”  

‘There’s one magic you don’t know about—memory manipulation. I haven’t mastered it yet, but once I do, I won’t have to deal with this annoying situation anymore.’  

Seirin suppressed a sigh, gazing at the Crown Prince’s jewel-like eyes. Jewel eyes were the symbol of the Imperial Family, but the Crown Prince’s were special—blue with a faint reddish glow, said to be due to his fire ability. Seirin didn’t care about such details; she only thought his eyes were pretty. She had a slight interest in those jewel-like eyes.

“Lady Damarania, you’re staring at me so intently.”  

‘If only you’d keep your mouth shut, you’d be nice to look at.’  

“If I’ve offended you, I’m sorry…”  

The Crown Prince’s large hand softly touched her cheek, and Seirin frowned, feeling the pheromones he emitted when trying to seduce her.

‘That damned Crown Prince, does he really think he can win me over with pheromones!’  

Seirin braced herself and purified the seductive pheromones the Crown Prince was emitting toward her.  

‘As expected, Lady Damarania is no pushover. She purified my pheromones in an instant. But I can’t back down just yet. I should keep it moderate for now. She’s already wary of me… It’s best not to make her hate me even more.’  

Kasel smiled softly, withdrew his hand from her cheek, and clasped his hands behind his back, leaning his upper body slightly toward Seirin as he watched her step back.

“I’m not offended at all. In fact, I feel quite good. If you would keep looking at me like this, Lady Damarania, I’d have nothing more to ask for—and if possible, I hope you’ll become my Crown Princess.”  

‘Keep dreaming.’  

Seirin only smiled. At that moment, her brother Sein entered the room, and for once, Seirin was truly glad to see him.  

‘Hurry up and take this Crown Prince away.’

“You said you’d only look at her face. What are you doing?”  

“I’m just talking with Lady Damarania.”  

“Rin needs to rest after using Heal, so it’s time for you to leave. Our parents are waiting.”  

“Ah, alright. Then Lady Damarania, I’ll see you at the Imperial Palace in two days.”  

“Yes, Your Highness.”

As soon as the Crown Prince left, Sein turned to Seirin, mouthing, ‘I did well, right?’ Seirin smiled at him and nodded, then clicked her tongue at her foolish brother, who left with a blissful look, and sprawled out on her bed.

“Ah! Now I can finally rest a little!”  

Seirin, about to fall asleep, got up again, locked the door, and flopped back onto her bed.  

“Haa. Every time I deal with the Crown Prince, I feel like I lose years off my life.”  

Shaking her head, Seirin closed her eyes.

‘Even when I eat greedily, he says I look good because I eat well. Even when I act rough, he says my energetic side is nice. The Crown Prince, my foolish brother, and my father… How can the three of them be so alike? Should I just run away? Ah, but if I did…’

She could have easily done so if she wanted, but she hadn’t been able to because she was the Duke’s daughter. On top of that, her father was the Chancellor. If she even slightly offended the Crown Prince, the consequences would affect her family, which Seirin absolutely wanted to avoid. She sighed deeply, clutching her throbbing head.

“Haa. When will the Crown Prince lose interest in me?”  

Thinking of the Crown Prince, who had been proposing to her—and being rejected—for twelve years, Seirin’s headache worsened. What made it even more stressful was that, thanks to the rumor that the Crown Prince was madly in love with Lady Damarania, all the men in the Empire naturally avoided her. So, her prospects for marriage were completely blocked.

“What crime did I commit in my past life? Haa! Whatever. I’ll just sleep!”  

Just as she was about to pull the blanket over her head, the video stone she’d placed on the shelf started ringing loudly.  

“Who is it now!”  

Extremely irritable, Seirin kicked off the blanket and sat up.

Beep beep  

Beep beep

The call was from Noah, her childhood friend and emotional anchor. Seirin, feeling a little calmer, pulled the video stone close, placed it in her hands, and pressed the button. Noah greeted her with his usual smiling face.

“Hi, Rin. Have you eaten dinner?”  

“Sigh. I’ll eat a bit later. I’m tired, so I was going to sleep.”  

“Did something happen?”  

Noah asked with concern. Seirin explained that she’d punished her foolish brother for trying to take secret photos of her and used Heal for the first time in a while, leaving her exhausted.

“Haha. I see. You look really tired, so I’ll hang up now. Ah, do you want to enter together in two days? I’ll come pick you up. I told the Duchess I’d escort you.”  

“Sure, Noah. See you then.”  

“Okay, Rin. Sweet dreams.”  

“You too, Noah.”

Pop

Noah’s image disappeared. Seirin put the video stone back, lay down on her bed, and already felt the stress rising at the thought of seeing the Crown Prince and the two Majesties who adored her at the Imperial Palace in two days. She sighed repeatedly and tried to sleep.

***

The first place Kasel visited upon returning to the Imperial Palace was his mother Roselia’s garden. At this hour, his loving parents would be chatting, watching the sunset.

“I’m back.”  

“Welcome, Kasel. Did you enjoy a pleasant dinner with Lady Damarania?”  

“I wish I had.”

Roselia’s face showed sympathy for her son’s disappointed expression. His father, Emperor Louis, sighed briefly.

“Twelve years, Kasel. How can you not win a woman’s heart?”  

“Louis.”  

“I mean—!”

Kasel always found it fascinating how his father, once called the Blood Monarch who ruled the world, became so nervous before his mother. Kasel chuckled and approached to kiss his mother’s hand.

“Don’t worry, Mother. And Father, Lady Damarania will be an adult soon. My long-awaited fiancée is coming of age, so I plan to work even harder.”  

“Hehe, that’s good. But Kasel, don’t show your feelings too forcefully to Lady Damarania.”  

“Of course. Please enjoy your time together.”  

“Hehw.”

After a light farewell, Kasel entered the palace, where his attendant Lawrence greeted him with a bow.

“Did you visit the Damarania Dukedom?”  

“Yes.”  

“By yourself, without any knights?”  

“It’s not like I’m going to war.”  

“But if anything happened to you, Your Highness…”  

Kasel, looking at the ever-worried Lawrence, shook his head and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry about me. If anyone dares, I’ll handle it.”  

“Sigh. Ah, in two days, Princess Pesopotemia and Princess Tipetoria sent word that they’ll visit.”  

“……”  

“Your Highness?”  

“I hope the Perverted Princess doesn’t come. Isn’t there a way to keep her away?”  

“Haha. Your Highness, she’s your close friend, just like Princess Tipetoria.”  

“Not that perverted princess. She’s after my cute Seirin.”  

“Haha. Your Highness, but the Princess is also a woman.”  

“That perverted princess doesn’t care—she likes men and women alike. That’s why she’s called a pervert.”  

“Ah. Hahaha.”  

“Sigh. Please bring me a cool drink.”  

“Understood. Please go to your room first.”

Nodding, Kasel walked down the corridor, already annoyed at the thought of the perverted princess visiting. To ease his irritation, he took out the video stone he’d snatched from Sein.

The stone was cracked, but the photos and videos inside were intact. Smiling, Kasel entered his room, set the stone on the table, extracted the photos, and printed them out.

“Truly lovely. My Seirin.”

In the photos, Seirin was smiling brightly, hugging a cat. Kasel kissed the face of his beloved in the photo, summoned his photo album, and added the new pictures of Seirin, looking very satisfied.

“Haa, when will she understand my feelings? Seirin…”

Kasel sighed repeatedly, recalling Sein’s voice asking for copies of some of his sister’s photos. Annoyed, he copied the pictures, put them in an envelope, and tossed it to Lawrence, who had brought the drink.

“Give these to Lord Damarania when he comes tomorrow.”  

“Yes.”

Lawrence handed over the drink and left. Kasel, elegantly crossing his legs in the chair, carefully flipped through the photo album, savoring his favorite mango juice as he gazed at Seirin’s pictures.