The Runaway Maid is Loved by the Archmage - Chapter 62
“My mind is a little hazy right now, so I may not be following all the proper royal etiquette. I would be deeply grateful if Your Highness could overlook that. With that said, let’s get straight to the point. I’ve been waiting too long, and I’m quite exhausted.”
Her manner of speech was both aristocratic and startlingly direct. Neither royal nor noble decorum aligned with such an approach. Before he could formulate a response, she swiftly continued.
“This—did Your Highness do this?”
She reached up and tugged at something around her neck. A glimpse of a black choker briefly appeared before disappearing once more.
The Crown Prince stared at her impassively.
“Why ask me?”
“I just had a feeling.”
‘So she doesn’t remember.’
A mix of both inconvenience and intrigue crossed the Crown Prince’s mind. He had seen such side effects once before—with Roina.
“In most clichés, a Crown Prince wouldn’t do something like this.”
She even muttered something utterly incomprehensible, her expression oddly serious.
“What is it that Your Highness wants from me to have done something like this?”
The Crown Prince swiftly gestured for the attendants to leave. He wasn’t sure why, but this woman was truly an absurd individual.
“Why do you think that?”
“Isn’t it obvious? If Your Highness didn’t want something, would you have gone to the trouble of doing this?”
Her gaze, fixed on him, was like a mirror—clear and beautiful, yet revealing nothing of what lay beneath.
“Is knowing that so important? In the end, if you do not obey me, you will die.”
“I don’t mind dying.”
“What?”
“I’m just saying in advance—I hate pain and suffering. It’d be a bit of a waste, but if Your Highness intends to make me suffer, I’ll just die right away. So please, give me a heads-up.”
As she spoke, she gestured toward herself and made a motion as if slitting her own throat. She even let out a small but sharp sound.
Roberto was utterly dumbfounded, faced with a type of person he had never encountered before in his life.
***
“Currently, Roberto R. Kailum, the Imperial Crown Prince, is under suspicion of not being a legitimate heir.”
In place of Maili, who struggled to explain, Lutan eventually took over.
“There are several reasons, but the biggest one is the former Empress’ affair.”
With that, Lutan let out a small sigh. Maili, looking as if she were hearing this for the first time, had a dazed expression.
“As you know, direct descendants of the Emperor are incredibly rare. Given those circumstances, an Imperial Prince born under such conditions was bound to raise suspicions. At first, no one knew, but later, it was revealed that the former Empress had secretly brought another man into the palace.”
“……!”
“She only needed to pass on the Emperor’s golden hair, so choosing the right candidate wouldn’t have been too difficult.”
Maili looked completely engrossed.
‘So Maili likes these kinds of scandals.’
“As a result, the Empress was deposed and exiled, but there was no way to remove the Crown Prince. There was no immediate successor, and whether or not he truly carried the Emperor’s blood couldn’t be definitively proven. In any case, in a situation where such suspicions linger, the fastest way to validate the legitimacy of his lineage is through marriage.”
“No way,”
“Yes. Most likely, they’re trying to accomplish that through a marriage with Eckhart. That family is barely holding on with nothing but its empty honor now, but if you trace back its roots, they’re a cadet branch of the Imperial Family.”
He concluded his explanation in a calm tone.
“The Crown Prince probably put a leash on Lady Veronica for that reason. Since he intends to marry her anyway, he likely wants to tame her into a more obedient state. Given his despicable nature, that much is expected.”
Roina noticed Maili clenching her fists tightly. Roina herself felt anger surging at those words.
‘For something as petty as that…’
The man who had engraved an unforgivable burden onto Roina’s soul was continuing to create more victims.
