Chapter 87
***
Noah must have been exhausted—he fell asleep the moment he sat down on the sofa after washing up.
Ethan gently lifted his deeply sleeping son, who wouldn’t have woken even if someone had carried him off, and carefully laid him in bed, pulling the blanket up to his chin.
Then, when he returned to the sofa, Elisa placed a plate before him with a small smile.
“Try it. Mother bought this from the most famous bakery in Ronfei this morning.”
“The Countess herself went?”
“Mm-hmm. Noah liked it so much he ate a whole piece. I thought it was pretty good too.”
Ethan scooped up a generous bite of the cake with his fork and put it in his mouth. The thick chocolate cream was so sweet it almost stung his tongue—exactly the kind of taste Elisa and Noah loved.
“How is it? Good?”
Ethan couldn’t even lie and say yes. He quickly washed the sweetness down with his sugarless coffee. Elisa, expecting that reaction, chuckled and took the plate away.
“You still can’t handle sweets, huh?”
“You’re the one who eats them too well. Noah takes after you with his sweet tooth.”
“Children are supposed to like sweets.”
“Then that means you’re a child too. Which… makes sense.”
Ethan gave her a look up and down, nodding as if he’d just solved a mystery. Elisa’s eyes widened.
“Excuse me? We’re the same age! And if we’re being technical, I was born first.”
“Then should I call you noona?”
At that, Elisa imagined Ethan actually calling her “noona” and shuddered in disgust.
“Stop saying nonsense and just eat this.”
She lifted a spoonful of cake to his mouth. Ethan frowned but obediently ate everything she fed him.
“Prince Alex,” he said suddenly.
After the lighthearted atmosphere had settled from their chatting and cake, Ethan finally brought up what he hadn’t been able to say earlier.
“He reached out—said he wants to meet us in person.”
Elisa’s softened expression hardened instantly.
“He wants to meet us? Why?”
“Why else? To clear Princess Camilla’s name.”
“I figured that much, but why is Prince Alex getting personally involved? Did the Queen tell him to? Or is he just that devoted to his sister?”
“Not sisterly love—self-love.”
“Self-love?”
Elisa tilted her head in confusion, and Ethan kindly explained.
“Prince Alex needs to make sure Princess Camilla marries Prince Raus. That way, when the struggle for succession begins, he’ll have the Raus Kingdom’s support.”
Once, Prince Howard hadn’t needed anyone’s help. But after his military success in the Empire War, his position had strengthened, and Alex now needed as many allies as possible to balance the scales.
“In that case, I really don’t want to meet him even more,” Elisa muttered, frowning.
“I don’t wish for Princess Camilla’s future to be a ‘flower path,’ after all.”
If Camilla had loved Ethan so much that she’d cast away her royal title for him, there was no way she’d ever be happy marrying Prince Raus.
And yet—such a marriage would be a flower path. As long as she didn’t pull another foolish stunt, she’d live comfortably for the rest of her life.
The thought that the woman who had kidnapped her and her child, and tried to harm them, might walk an easy, blessed road made irritation rise in Elisa’s chest.
“If you don’t want to meet him, you don’t have to.”
Ethan pressed a gentle finger to the wrinkle between her brows.
“Really? We can refuse a prince’s request?”
“Normally, no. But this isn’t a normal situation. You’re the victim—if you say no, what can he do about it?”
His logic made sense, but Elisa knew Prince Alex’s reputation.
He was said to be petty, vindictive, and incapable of letting things go. A man like that wouldn’t give up easily just because she said no.
“What did Prince Howard say?”
“…That it might be better if we meet.”
Ethan’s reply came a beat late.
“Really? Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because if I had, you’d definitely agree to meet him.”
“Well… you’re not wrong.”
Elisa couldn’t deny it. The scales of her thoughts had already been tipping toward meeting Alex, and with Howard’s opinion added to the mix, she would have decided it for sure.
“Don’t think about anyone else’s situation or opinions. Just do what you want.”
Ethan’s voice was quiet but firm.
“How can I? My choice could end up hurting others.”
“That won’t happen.”
“Can you promise that? That neither you nor Prince Howard will be affected?”
Ethan fell silent.
I knew it.
Elisa sighed softly and shifted to sit beside him.
“Prince Howard wouldn’t have told us to meet for no reason. Tell me every single point he made—no skipping even a period.”
With her hand clutching his, her tone half-warning, Ethan sighed and confessed everything.
“He said the compensation will be generous. We might even receive one of the royal family’s private estates.”
Queen Mayer’s family, after all, was incredibly wealthy. If they received such a payment or land, they could help her father’s struggling business—ever since Derek Grenville pulled out his investors.
Speaking of which… how is Father’s business?
Had he found new investors? Or was it still difficult? If things were truly dire, he wouldn’t have sent her all the way here.
She wanted to ask, but her father refused to see her. And even if they did meet, he would never answer her honestly.
“As far as I know, the Count’s business has stabilized for now,” Ethan said, reading her thoughts.
“Some of the investors who pulled out have come back. But it’s still underfunded.”
“…If we receive compensation from Prince Alex, it would help Father’s business, right?”
“Probably. But Count Leslie would never accept that money.”
Of course not.
Elisa swallowed a sigh that bubbled up from deep within and rested her head on Ethan’s shoulder.
“Tell me the rest of what Prince Howard said.”
Ethan listed the rest: royal protection for her and her family if any trouble arose, tax reductions for the Leslie estates and businesses, and other benefits.
Clearly, it was more profitable to negotiate than to demand punishment for Princess Camilla.
“And Howard said Princess Camilla marrying Prince Raus would also be good for me.”
“Good for you? How?”
“He said Camilla’s obsessive and delusional. If she’s not sent far away, she’ll keep clinging to me.”
Camilla, obsessed with Ethan.
Just imagining it made Elisa’s skin crawl—but at least that point she could agree with.
If they could separate Camilla from Ethan forever, she’d be willing to negotiate.
Please, show mercy. If not, then help Princess Camilla pay for her sins.
Elisa suddenly remembered Andrew Grenville kneeling on the ground, begging her with his forehead pressed to the floor, and frowned.
“As I said before,” Ethan murmured, kissing her hair gently, “forget everyone else. Just do what you want. Whatever you decide, I’ll stand by you.”
Wrapped in his warm embrace, Elisa thought long and hard.
Logically, it made sense to do as Prince Howard suggested—grant leniency to Princess Camilla and receive compensation.
But her heart wanted the princess to face justice.
Then again, would dragging things out really lead to punishment?
Probably not. She was a princess. Time would pass, and in the end, Camilla would be declared innocent while Elisa gained nothing.
“…I’ll meet him,” Elisa said quietly but firmly after a long pause.
“I’ll meet Prince Alex first—and hear what he has to say.”
