The Camellia Tattoo - Chapter 84
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
this book is completely translated on luna kofi (advanced chapters for the website will follow)
“I don’t know what you’re up to, but do as you please.”
“Your Highness, please continue to have tea time with the Grand Duchess tomorrow, and preferably regularly from now on.”
“Um… That shouldn’t be too difficult.”
What on earth is he planning?
Loki gritted his teeth and swallowed the words once again.
What will he do on his own? Try to intervene? It’s useless. Even if he says they shouldn’t, there’s no room for interference with that couple.
He was just a small pebble, and High Priest Mikael was the rushing river. There was nothing he could do.
Loki clenched his fists and abruptly turned away. He didn’t want to hear any more.
‘But… But what if.’
If, by some chance, the relationship between those two were to sour?
If it got to the point where such manipulation could break them up, wouldn’t it be grounds for divorce?
‘And if they divorce… being the princess’s match…’
He stopped abruptly and resumed his brisk pace.
He scolded himself for entertaining such absurd thoughts. Yet, he couldn’t shake off the secret anticipation.
And that night…
Loki had a dream.
The naked princess appeared in his dream.
* * *
Fortunately, nothing problematic happened thereafter.
Loki saw the princess every day at lunch and reminisced about his dream.
At the same time, he felt intense jealousy towards the Grand Duke, who kissed the princess’s cheek before leaving, though he never showed it outwardly.
Anyway, the time when the Grand Duke was gone—afternoon tea time—was a precious time Loki could spend alone with her.
Just waiting a bit longer, he would be able to be with her alone. Thinking about spending time with the only intelligent person in this barren land without any parties, strange tales, court painters, or musicians.
It helped Loki endure the dull mornings.
Like a lone flower blooming in this desolate land compared to the capital. The more Loki conversed with her, the more deeply he fell for her.
She seemed as delicate as a flower petal, yet sometimes as firm as a stepping stone, and while she appeared affectionate, she could also be resolute.
She wouldn’t know how appealing such a sight is.
“Welcome, Your Highness.”
“…Oh, the Grand Duke is here today as well.”
He had arrived with excitement.
It should have been their time alone, but her husband was unexpectedly there.
It irritated him to no end that he gritted his teeth.
“Oh, am I not welcome here?”
“Who said that?”
He plopped down in his seat with a sigh and glanced at the princess.
‘She should meet someone more suitable.’
Loki, who was worrying unnecessarily, ended up burning his tongue while sipping his tea. It was quite comical to see the prince, who should always maintain his dignity, acting so silly.
Seeing Loki’s antics, Igmeyer gave a small chuckle. It was clear as day what the young man was up to.
‘Getting interested in someone else’s woman.’
For the past few days, he had been pretending to be busy while carefully observing the prince’s behavior.
The prince had no idea, but every time Amber and he had tea time, Igmeyer would be climbing up on a nearby tree.
Who in their right mind would allow their wife to be alone with a young man in his prime? And that too, just the two of them.
After observing day by day, it became clear. The young man had no clue about propriety and was eyeing a married woman.
He wondered if the prince was hiding something, so he took the time to watch, but he couldn’t find any evidence. Wasn’t the prince just blushing and stuttering like someone who had fallen in love?
And so, Igmeyer decided to reveal himself, now that everything was clear.
Since Amber’s side was Igmeyer’s place.
“It seems like you’re quite thirsty.”
“Ahem.”
“Please, have more.”
Igmeyer poured more hot tea into the prince’s cup. It overflowed, filling the cup to the brim, even spilling onto his fingers.
Loki’s lips twitched at the sight.
Finally giving up on drinking, Loki decided to cool the tea and began plotting.
‘How can I corner him? I must corner him somehow.’
Since he was unable to fight physically, Loki’s only option was to win with words.
With his lofty ambition to scratch the Grand Duke’s pride, his topics were quite limited.
“Are there any plans for the North to capture Nidhogg? I’ve been observing for a few days, and the castle seems excessively idle. It doesn’t seem like proper training is being conducted.”
In truth, Igmeyer hadn’t called for any training sessions for the past few days, mainly because he was busy keeping an eye on the audacious prince.
There was a valid reason for that: the knights were simply too exhausted.
After the war with the Phantom Breed, they were immediately tasked with reconstruction efforts, leaving them with no time for proper rest. Even brief breaks felt more like a pause than actual relaxation.
Moreover, since there hadn’t been a single instance of Nidhogg’s cry erupting in spring, Igmeyer decided to give the knights some time off to encourage them, aside from a few on standby for emergencies.
After all, there needed to be people available for training if there were any to be done.
“Yes, I should really give these lazy knights a good scolding.”
However, there was no need to go into such detail about the situation.
