The Unemployed Prince Covets My Nephew - Chapter 38
He hoped she would return with a relieved face, but Hailey was walking back with such a tired expression and slightly swollen eyes that it looked as if she had been crying.
Axel stared at her silently in the darkness.
“What brings you here… Did something happen to Theo?”
“It’s not that. The kid is with Khalid. You don’t need to worry.”
“Oh… Thank you. Then, why are you here?”
“I came out for a walk.”
“…Looking like that?”
Hailey glanced Axel up and down.
He had already changed into his nightwear, holding only a lamp, and had come all the way to the princess consort’s palace for a ‘walk’?
And that nightwear was merely a robe that showed off his bulging chest muscles, making it a somewhat embarrassing outfit.
Axel, reading Hailey’s disdainful look, seemed momentarily flustered but decided to act more shamelessly.
“Would you like to join me for a walk?”
“Oh. I’m a bit tired…”
“You’d like to? Got it. The moon is bright tonight, so it’s a perfect time to see that lake.”
Axel didn’t even listen to Hailey’s words.
With Axel’s ‘pre-determined’ answer, Hailey sighed deeply.
As Axel and Hailey started walking towards the forest, Hailey’s guard, Kieran, naturally followed them. Seeing this, Axel glared at Kieran with icy eyes.
‘What, what is it?’
The clueless Kieran just wanted to diligently fulfill his first guard duty. But Axel’s gaze was like that of an angry lion ready to pounce on its prey.
Sensing the murderous intent from Axel’s glance, Kieran instinctively said, ‘Well, then, see you tomorrow! Good job!’ and hurriedly ran away.
Unaware of this exchange of glances, Hailey waved her hand to the fleeing Kieran, thanking him for his efforts.
‘You don’t have to be so kind to every single person.’
Axel frowned as he watched Hailey. It seemed his wife was kind to everyone except him.
* * *
As they entered the forest, Hailey felt a bit chilly and wrapped her arms around herself.
“Are you cold?”
“…Are you planning to take off your clothes?”
“If you want.”
“No thanks. Even if you’re a crazy prince, you can’t walk around naked.”
“…It was a joke.”
It wasn’t a joke. Axel momentarily forgot his attire. If he took off his robe, he’d be left in just his underwear.
Feeling embarrassed, Axel cleared his throat and extended the arm holding the lamp to light the way.
Even during the day, the forest felt eerie with few people around, but at night, the sound of leaves rustling in the wind made it even more spooky, causing Hailey to move closer to Axel.
Axel noticed Hailey clutching his robe tightly with one hand and smiled.
‘Quite cute.’
Axel thought that if nothing else, he would miss this forest when he left the palace.
“…How was today?”
“I only saw my mother. I got all the answers I wanted, so there was no need to meet my father.”
Her tone was as calm as usual, but something kept bothering Axel.
“Then why don’t you feel relieved?”
“What?”
“You look like you want to cry…”
“Ah!”
Hailey stumbled at the same spot she had tripped over the first time she came to this forest.
She grabbed Axel’s robe and the string tying his gown.
Fortunately, she didn’t fall, but it resulted in her face being pressed against his chest while her lower body was awkwardly positioned away.
Luckily, Axel had tied the string tightly, so it didn’t come undone, but it was still an embarrassing situation.
“It’s troublesome to be held like this.”
Axel’s low chuckle came from above Hailey’s head.
‘He’ll think I did it on purpose. Please get a grip!’
Despite her embarrassment, Hailey quickly stood up straight. She didn’t know why she kept stumbling whenever she walked this forest path.
She tried to compose her expression, grateful that the darkness hid her blushing face.
“I didn’t do it on purpose. It’s just that my shoes aren’t suitable for walking in the forest.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“…Really! I didn’t do it on purpose!”
“Even if you did, it doesn’t matter.”
“There’s a clear Clause 9 in the contract!”
Hailey never imagined she’d bring up that embarrassing ‘Clause 9’ herself. Cornered, she had no choice but to mention it.
Axel’s knowing smile was even more embarrassing.
“…Anyway.”
They resumed walking side by side. Determined not to trip again, Hailey clung to Axel’s robe and walked cautiously.
“The execution will take place in three days. If you don’t want to see it, you don’t have to.”
“No. I’ll definitely watch it. I don’t think I’ll feel relieved unless I see the end myself.”
Axel couldn’t fully understand, but he thought that perhaps she still had some lingering ‘attachment’ to those she had known as family all her life.
Maybe that’s why she seemed so gloomy, but Hailey firmly stated that she would watch the execution of the Baron and his wife with her own eyes.
“My parents, whom I don’t even remember, were killed by the people I thought were my parents, but it’s not because of a sense of loss. They seemed like good people, but I don’t have any good memories of them. It’s just…”
Now, even if they were her biological parents, they were like strangers with not a single memory left.
Even if she suddenly heard their tragic story, she couldn’t feel a sense of loss or sadness for them.
Hailey had felt the absence of family keenly in her previous life. Her father had not been in touch after the divorce, and her mother had passed away after a long illness, so she had never truly experienced what it meant to have a ‘family.’
It was the same in this life. Theo was her only family.
It wasn’t that she regretted it, but she couldn’t help feeling a bit complicated about it.
“I lived my life without looking ahead or behind, just focusing on today. It was hard enough just to get by with Theo. But after hearing how the two of them were murdered today, I feel so sorry for my life.”
She didn’t want to become someone who pitied herself, but she felt weak wondering why she always had to live such a life.
Hailey choked up a bit and quickly swallowed her tears.
“I’ll feel sorry for myself just for today and then forget it. After all, meeting Theo is something I wouldn’t trade for anything.”
She planned to sort out her mixed feelings by watching those demons’ heads get chopped off.
Erasing them cleanly as if they had never existed and living happily with Theo was the best revenge.
Axel did not offer any particular consolation or response. It was a difficult and complex emotion for him to fully understand.
But he felt a bit strange, as if she had truly opened up her heart to him.
He kept wanting to abruptly embrace her, struggling with emotions he didn’t understand.
When it came to this woman, his body seemed to act independently of his mind.
“My goodness.”
As they crossed the scary path, the lake they saw again greeted Hailey with a very different atmosphere than it had during the day.
The large, bright moon illuminated the surface of the night lake as if it were right in front of them. It looked as if the moon had plunged into the deep blue lake.
Hailey let go of Axel’s hem and approached closer, drawn to it.
The moon reflected in the gently rippling lake was hauntingly beautiful.
“Have you ever seen someone die?”
“……”
Axel, who had come to stand beside Hailey, spoke while looking at the calm lakeside.
“When you go to the battlefield, human life feels more trivial than a fly’s. You can’t know how easily a person can die unless you see it yourself.”
“……”
“Since I first held a sword, I have never stopped. I ran forward, looking only ahead. I won every war I fought, and this country now has the largest territory in its history.”
What was this? A boast?
Hailey glanced at Axel.
He was looking somewhere far away. Hailey couldn’t tell where his gaze was fixed.
“As a result, I lost a close friend in the last battle.”
“……!”
It was the last war Axel participated in as a prince.
Axel von Otte never loses. With that belief, Axel was filled with confidence. He was sure of victory.
But even in a winning war, many resources are consumed, and many people are inevitably sacrificed.
Axel wanted to strangle Vasa. To make a decisive move, he invaded Vasa’s ally, which was right on Vasa’s doorstep. There was much debate among the nobles, but Axel pushed forward.
As a result, he conquered all the countries around Vasa, except Vasa itself, and Zenovia came to rule the largest territory in its history.
The prince’s fame soared, but he lost a close friend in that final battle.