Chapter 36
Within the Petra Kingdom delegation heading to the Moro Kingdom, Ethan Estevan felt like a complete outsider.
Part of it was that Prince Alex led the delegation, and most of the members were his close aides.
But there was something about Ethan that simply didn’t fit with them.
When anyone spoke to him, he responded minimally—and even those responses were icy and detached.
He treated Prince Alex the same way.
“The way people fawn over him as the hero who saved the allied nations, he seems to think he’s some great man,” one noble whispered.
“Indeed. An arrogant upstart, and of unknown origins at that,” another added.
“They say birds of a feather flock together. Looks like Prince Howard has his reasons for keeping that one close.”
The nobles openly pointed fingers and traded gossip, but Ethan didn’t so much as blink.
His indifference only provoked them further, and soon, some even began targeting him deliberately.
They would delay telling him the departure time, making him late, or purposely bump him during meals so he’d spill his food.
Some even placed insects in his bedding.
Even those who bore him no ill will steered clear, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.
“All right, Baron Estevan, do you have a moment?”
There was only one person who dared to approach him—Princess Camilla.
This happened while they paused to rest at a port city, Sailport, escaping the midday heat before boarding the ship.
As Ethan adjusted his saddle, he glanced back at the princess.
The others immediately stopped what they were doing, their eyes following them.
“I have something I really want to say to you, Baron,” Camilla declared.
Unfazed by the stares of everyone around, she fixed her gaze solely on Ethan.
Her lady-in-waiting exhaled deeply, shaking her head.
She had tried to stop the princess, but the attempt had clearly failed.
“You’ll make time for me, won’t you?”
“…Very well,” Ethan said, nodding reluctantly, though it was evident he wasn’t thrilled. Camilla, however, beamed as if she had just won the world.
“Come this way,” she said.
The princess led him into a dense forest, where not even the chirping of insects disturbed the quiet—only the occasional whisper of wind through the leaves.
“People have been bullying you, haven’t they? I’m sorry. I’ll apologise on their behalf,” she said softly, her voice like a bird’s gentle song as she stood beneath a massive tree.
“Even when I told them to stop, no one listened. It’s because your talents are extraordinary—they envy you. And because you’re aligned with Prince Howard, you’re even more of a target.”
Standing in the intense sunlight while she remained in the shade, Ethan’s long shadow stretched across the ground.
Her words, like shadows themselves, felt meaningless.
He could not fathom why she had brought him here just to say this.
“Even Prince Howard only sees you as a useful tool. Otherwise, he wouldn’t stand by knowing the one who saved his life was treated this way,” she continued.
“Forgive me,” Ethan said in a dry voice, parched under the hot sun. “But I’ve had little formal education. If you don’t get to the point, I won’t understand.”
He meant both that she should stop beating around the bush and that he had no desire to linger in conversation.
Slightly embarrassed by the brusque reception, the princess’s cheeks flushed a delicate pink.
“I’m telling you that I want to give you the freedom to fully demonstrate your abilities,” she said.
“Freedom? Opportunities?” Ethan asked, piqued.
Camilla nodded and stepped closer to him.
“As a princess, I must be cautious saying this—but Petra is a rigid, conservative country. By contrast, the Laus Kingdom is open-minded. Here, your status or origin doesn’t matter…”
“Regardless of status or origin, anyone with talent can rise to the top.”
Standing at the edge of light and shadow, the two faced each other with utterly different expressions.
“Come with me to the Laus Kingdom. There, no one will watch over you, no one will limit you. You’ll be free to showcase your abilities to the fullest. I’ll make sure you can do that.”
Camilla offered her hand with a serene smile, as if she alone were a goddess capable of saving Ethan.
Her eyes, glinting under the canopy’s shade, held the unwavering certainty that he would naturally take her hand.
“Thank you for the offer, but I must refuse.”
“Refuse…?”
The shock in her voice mirrored the weight of his words.
Camilla, staring at him as if she couldn’t believe what she’d heard, received Ethan’s firm reply without hesitation.
“Yes. Freedom is not what I want.”
Ethan’s desire was singular: to remain by Elisa Lesley’s side.
Nothing else mattered.
“Are you truly refusing? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, are you certain?”
“Even if you ask me a hundred times, my answer will not change.”
With those words, he inclined his head in a formal bow and turned away.
“…It’s because of Elisa Lesley, isn’t it?”
But even the utterance of her name pinned him in place. Slowly, Ethan turned to look at the princess once more.
Camilla’s face, stung by pride, was full of indignation—clearly humiliated that another woman had claimed his attention.
“That woman doesn’t like you! She doesn’t care what happens to you!”
Clutching his arm, Camilla’s voice trembled with anger and frustration.
“And yet, you’re turning down an opportunity because of her? Tell me, why? What could possibly make you reject this chance to chase someone who has thrown you aside for another man…?”
“…What do you mean by ‘she went into another man’s arms’?”
Ethan’s question wasn’t merely about Elisa’s engagement to Derek Grenville; he suspected the meaning ran deeper.
“Do you truly not know?”
Ethan remained silent.
Camilla’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“My goodness… You really have no idea!”
Her previously pitiful, sorrowful gaze now sparkled with hope.
“Well, it’s understandable. With all the travel, the news doesn’t reach you easily. I only learned it myself this morning.”
“What exactly do you mean?”
Ethan’s voice sharpened, tinged with irritation.
He knew it was rude to speak so brusquely to a princess, but he couldn’t contain himself.
In truth, he was already exercising restraint—if she weren’t royalty, he might have grabbed her and demanded an answer on the spot.
“That woman… she accepted her fiancé’s proposal.”
…What?
The shocking revelation froze Ethan’s expression.
Camilla, apparently oblivious to his reaction, continued to describe in sing-song tones how Derek Grenville had proposed to Elisa Lesley, and how Elisa, moved to tears, had accepted.
But Ethan heard nothing else.
Only the words that Elisa had accepted Derek’s proposal echoed endlessly in his mind.
Those words gnawed at him like worms.
His breath caught as though someone were strangling him, and his heart throbbed with excruciating pain, as if ripped apart.
‘It can’t be true.’
Elisa… she could not have accepted another man’s proposal over me.
It had to be a lie.
Camilla must be playing some petty trick to disturb my heart.
Ethan wanted to believe that. But the image of Elisa at the Amor River festival—and the words she had spoken—were too vivid, too real.
He couldn’t convince himself otherwise.
He even imagined hearing the triumphant laugh of Count Lesley, boasting that he had won, which made him clench his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white.
‘I need to verify the truth.’
If there was even the slightest chance this wasn’t true, he had to cling to it.
And if it was true… if Elisa had indeed decided to marry Derek Grenville… what then?
That thought made him squeeze his eyes shut.
The despair that had settled deep in his chest tightened around his throat once more.
He didn’t know what to do.
He had never imagined this ending.
Never imagined a future without her.
But one thing was certain.
Even if it costs me my life, I will never give up on you.
“So forget that woman and come with me to the Laus Kingdom—”
Before Camilla could finish, Ethan yanked his hand free from hers with force.
Staggered backwards by his strength, she stumbled and collapsed onto the grass.
Ethan, however, did not so much as glance at her, turning his back and walking away.
