Chapter 45
Jordan straightened his slouched body and took a sip of the tea allotted to him. The cup placed opposite him had been prepared for the visitor who had come earlier. The tea’s level was almost unchanged from when the lady had first poured it. Why did people never drink the tea they were given? Jordan muttered quietly as he stared at the untouched, now-cold cup.
“His Majesty must be drinking it too sweet. Count Marin begged me to spare him.”
“It’s a shame, not knowing how to savor flavor.”
“It is a precious tea… so yes, a pity.”
“But… why are you so fidgety? You’re making me dizzy.”
At Jordan’s remark, the woman who had been nervously wringing her hands froze. Unlike the indifferent Crown Prince, she appeared anxious. After the rumor he started had spread throughout the capital and reached the nobles, they were furious. The nobles’ petitions about her and the Duke had piled up on the Emperor’s desk since early morning, which made her panic.
And the documents delivered to the Crown Prince were no less overwhelming. She had expected backlash—just not so intense, so quickly. While requests demanding judgment on the young Endrianz Duke and the woman who had mocked the nobles were flooding the Emperor’s office, Jordan’s expression remained one of boredom, as if silently saying: And? What of it?
His leisurely attitude, completely at odds with the urgent situation, made Marillian’s face tighten.
Even though he clearly knew the documents piling before him formed a small mountain, he behaved like this. The tension that had seized her throughout the journey to the palace melted away at his nonchalance.
“When the heirs of the noble households visited… that joke you made, Your Highness. I did follow along, but thinking back, it was excessive.”
“Excessive?”
“Yes. I thought you would simply extend a hand lightly and let the rest be handled by us. Neither the Duke of Endrianz nor I bring any benefit to Your Highness regarding this matter. The situation now may even harm Your Highness. No wonder Sir Arwin looked confused.”
The Crown Prince nodded at her calm explanation. Arwin, who frequented his office when summoned, had been openly unfriendly toward Marillian. As a lady, she had every right to blush or feel humiliated at a knight’s rudeness, yet her expression remained blank. Jordan assumed that only enraged Arwin further, though she seemed completely oblivious. He had no intention of explaining it to her and let it be. His clear blue eyes observed her.
“There was no other proper excuse.”
He intended the words to mean: So don’t worry about it anymore.
But Marillian’s next question stopped him.
“Were you still bothered by what happened when the Duchess of Brangio came to visit?”
[It’s not good to take jokes too far.]
At Yuria’s warning—essentially telling him to stop if he was finished toying with them—Jordan had nodded like a scolded child. He had no idea how she even knew what had happened when neither party had realized it themselves. Her sharp reprimand made him click his tongue. She’d lectured him the entire day about his lack of humanity before hurrying off to meet the Duke.
Because he didn’t answer, Marillian’s eyes widened. A remark she had tossed out half in jest turned out to be correct. Her amber-brown eyes shimmered with confusion. Jordan sipped his tea.
“Who knows.”
The cold tea tasted dull, and he grimaced as he set the cup down. The more Marillian questioned him, the more clearly he recalled Yuria’s smile—one he wanted to forget. He changed the subject.
“I have Zion. And you two never cared about public image to begin with, so there’s nothing to panic about. Rumors naturally flare and fade. Time will settle it.”
Marillian nodded at his unhurried tone. The Crown Prince pointed at the cup. When he told her to brew him a fresh batch, she sighed softly. The quiet office was filled with nothing but the sound of clinking dishes. After a moment, Jordan spoke.
“Issilia.”
At the sudden name, Marillian froze. As expected, he was paying too much attention to Issilia. What on earth happened at the Endrianz estate? Did a violent lovers’ quarrel break out? Jordan felt a flicker of curiosity—then immediately lost interest when he remembered Yuria’s icy gaze.
“Issilia seems convinced that you and I are in love. I’m sick to death of women, but she hasn’t given up hope.”
His faintly amused voice made Marillian look at him. As always, Jordan wore a playful smile.
“She stormed into the palace yesterday and left after getting angry at me. Yet rumor has it the Endrianz household has been in chaos since morning.”
“……”
“People don’t change overnight. It may take a long time… or maybe it’ll resolve quickly. Who knows which is better. Either way, it’s now between Issilia and the Duke.”
Zion seemed worried about El, he added. Marillian nodded several times and turned toward the stack of documents. Even excluding the petitions delivered to her and the Crown Prince, the workload wasn’t something Jordan could simply ignore. And since he would never read them even if she handed them over, she ignored his casual words and began sorting the day’s papers.
“In the end, the one who took the bait I tossed on a whim… was you, Marillian.”
“……”
At the abrupt remark, Marillian drew in a sharp breath. Conversations with the Crown Prince were impossible to predict; he always caught her off guard. Jordan laughed at her startled expression.
“Did the Duke ever tell you he loved you?”
“……”
“Issilia only heard those words after half a year. Whether you two were sincere doesn’t matter anymore. It’s already over.”
“You speak lightly because it’s not your affair.”
“You don’t have lingering feelings, do you?”
He smiled with narrowed eyes. Marillian stared back, then sighed. She handed him the documents belonging to him, and he finally fell silent.
“She once said I resembled the Duke of Endrianz. Later she said she was wrong… but I still don’t understand what she meant.”
“Take it literally. Now that I think about it—you do resemble him.”
“…I do?”
“You’re better than that fool, though. Do you know the feeling of someone barging into your heart and opening it without permission? Your entire being feels shaken. It’s unpleasant. She sits there without my consent, and it’s infuriating. Luiyan seemed the same. Honestly, I never thought he’d go so far as to marry. He seemed genuinely troubled by Issilia.”
“……”
“In any case, he can’t look away anymore. Yuria says it’s my fault everything turned out like this… but who knows? Maybe if I hadn’t interfered, they would’ve sorted things out themselves. Or maybe not.”
At his dry murmur, Marillian lowered her gaze. She brewed a less-sweet tea and handed it to him, then returned to reviewing documents. Jordan grimaced at the bitterness.
“Too much sweetness is bad for your health.”
“……”
She cut him off before he could reply. Her firm tone stunned him briefly, then he sighed. His irritation was obvious as he flipped through documents, but she pretended not to notice. Jordan discarded a few less urgent papers and spoke.
“The petitions coming to you are harsher than the ones coming to me.”
“……”
“If you were incompetent, I’d consider stripping you of your position.”
He lamented playfully that he couldn’t. Marillian picked up a few papers that had slipped to the floor and looked up.
“So what will you do now? The Duke of Enderik seems furious. If you’re kicked out, I can let you stay in the palace for a while.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll be fine. He is angry, yes, but not cruel.”
“I’m not so sure. He seemed rather rigid last time.”
“All nobles value honor. The household knights, insisting they must protect the manor from visitors who’d stayed away for a while, were strangely fired up. I suppose that’s… not a bad thing.”
Collecting the signed papers into a neat stack, Marillian smiled faintly. Whether she meant it or not, Jordan didn’t pry. Her red hair glowed under the light as he returned her smile.
