Chapter 98
“A Question I Can’t Explain”
Cute grabbed my arm and led me somewhere.
I only heard the fireworks bursting—bang, bang—as I followed him.
He finally stopped at a quiet corner on the very top deck of the ship.
“See? Good view, right?”
There were no people, but the view toward the fireworks was wide open.
The big fireworks bloomed a few more times, then began to shrink into smaller ones.
‘Strange… this feels strange.’
The image of Roitz and Lucike smiling at each other kept replaying in my head.
Couldn’t I just explode these complicated feelings the way the fireworks exploded?
Or maybe that also needed training. Could I train myself for this?
‘This is driving me crazy. Why am I like this?’
Whenever the fireworks went off, I wasn’t thinking about how I felt.
I was thinking about what Roitz might be feeling as he watched them.
It was strange. Just strange.
Soon, the fireworks ended.
Cute leaned against the railing, looking up at the sky. Then he turned to me.
“We saw the final firework together.”
He didn’t say anything else.
But I couldn’t even process his words—I was still tangled in my own feelings.
So we stood there for a while after the fireworks ended, quietly watching the sky.
Later, Roitz asked me where I had gone that night.
Now that I thought about it, it was suspicious—I said I was going to the restroom, but disappeared for so long.
“Oh, I… had a stomachache.”
I gave what I thought was a reasonable lie.
Not that I needed to lie.
But somehow, the words slipped out.
Maybe I was afraid that if I explained, I would end up telling him how I went back to where he and Lucike were, only to hide again.
And of course, I knew the real reason.
I wanted Roitz and Lucike to enjoy the final firework together, just the two of them.
But then…
‘If that’s true, why did I go back to them in the first place? And why did I hide again after that?’
Even I couldn’t explain my own feelings.
“When I came out onto the deck after the restroom, you weren’t there.”
Roitz didn’t look like he fully believed me, but he didn’t push further.
But my “stomachache excuse” didn’t last even a single day.
The one who exposed it was none other than Prince Ellus—the very man I saved on the cruise ship.
“Sir Vivi. Did you return safely that night?”
The day after the cruise party, Prince Ellus came to the Elche Knight Order.
At that time, Roitz wasn’t there. I was alone in his office, organizing papers.
Maybe the fireworks left a strong impression—because even that day, Roitz hadn’t shown up at the Order.
While I was working, I heard noise outside.
When I checked, Prince Ellus was walking straight toward the office.
“Your Highness?”
At first, I thought he came to see Roitz.
“Commander Velkyrente isn’t here right now.”
“I didn’t come to see the commander.”
“…Then?”
“I came to see you, Sir Vivi.”
“Me?”
“Of course. It’s only natural to visit one’s savior.”
The prince’s words made everyone nearby stare at me—knights, attendants, everyone.
Yes, I did save him on the ship… but “savior”? That felt too much.
I opened my mouth to deny it, but the prince spoke first.
“I’d like to share a meal with you. What do you say?”
“With… me?”
“Who else but you, Sir Vivi?”
He smiled, his green eyes curving.
“How about tomorrow evening?”
“Tomorrow? Uh…”
He made it sound like he was asking my opinion, but he was a prince.
I quickly read the hidden message in his graceful smile:
‘Say yes. Don’t bother refusing.’
I had no reason to refuse anyway, so I agreed.
News spread instantly—Prince Ellus had come in person to invite me to dinner.
Enia, who hadn’t even been there, rushed to me later.
“Is it true? The prince asked you to dinner?”
“Yes, he did.”
“And not just asked—you mean he came all the way here, to Elche, to ask you?”
“Yes.”
“My god…”
Was this really such a big deal?
Maybe because he was a prince. Normally, royals didn’t travel much.
But still—he did board a crowded cruise ship, so maybe this prince liked going out.
“Does everyone in Elche know? Like Roitz, for example?”
“I’m not sure. He wasn’t there. But since you already know, maybe the Commander knows too.”
Even though Roitz hadn’t shown up all day, his information network wasn’t weak.
‘It’s not like I asked him to buy me a meal.’
But maybe this was just “payment” for working even during my day off, as the prince put it.
Still… it felt a little troublesome.
‘Well, at least it’ll be delicious, right? A prince won’t treat me to bad food.’
I had already eaten at most of the capital’s best restaurants thanks to Roitz—who I secretly called “Rosh-lin,” my personal Michelin guide.
Now I was curious—what kind of place would the prince choose?
Would it be so good that I’d start calling him “Hwang-lin” (Prince-lin)?
‘Well… whatever it is, being close to a prince isn’t a bad thing.’
Roitz might even appreciate it. He was obsessed with work, after all.
Strengthening ties with the royal family was technically good for the Order too.
Or maybe he’d just treat it like unimportant paperwork and brush it aside.
When I returned to the dormitory, the prince’s invitation had already arrived.
‘Fast.’
The golden hawk of the royal family was stamped on it.
Inside was elegant handwriting—and even a pamphlet.
‘What’s this…?’
Just moments ago, I was thinking of this dinner as troublesome, joking about “Hwang-lin.”
But when I saw it, my eyes nearly popped.
“As thanks, I’ve prepared a small meal and a private concert. The musicians will be the string trio ‘Wilderness Era.’”
“…!”
“I’ve included a song list. If there’s one you want, you can request it.”
The Wilderness Era?!
They were my absolute favorite.
I stood frozen for a moment, then jumped for joy with the invitation in hand.
They had always been popular, but now tickets were nearly impossible to get.
And the prince was offering me a private front-row performance?!
Right then, I decided—
“I’ll live the rest of my life loyal to this prince!”
The next day, in a luxurious dining room with velvet curtains—
“You really have quite the appetite.”
“Not at all.”
The meal was held in one of the royal family’s mansions in the city.
Surrounded by greenery, with fountains spraying in the sunset, and flowers blooming like a rainbow.
Just ahead was a private concert hall, where the Wilderness Era would soon perform.
I thought I’d be too nervous to eat, but the food was so delicious that I couldn’t stop myself.
“…As I was saying.”
“Sorry? What did you say?”
I had been too focused on eating.
The prince was eating slowly and gracefully, unlike me.
“I heard you’re also a Swordmaster of the Vivi family.”
He raised a perfectly cut piece of steak with elegant manners.
“Is this what being a Swordmaster feels like? I’ve just become one, and it still feels strange…”
He spoke of his struggles as a newly appointed Swordmaster.
“You’ll get used to it soon, Your Highness.”
“Thank you.”
I listened, glancing at the food arranged like flowers on my plate.
It looked like fireworks.
‘Fireworks…’
My mind flashed back to that night—
The first firework reflected on the water as I fell in and saw it with Roitz.
‘So beautiful. The colors, the shapes…’
And the way Roitz smiled at me.
“…?”
Before I could even realize what I was thinking, another memory surged.
‘Would you dislike it if I gave you something I made myself?’
‘How could I? Who would ever dislike a madeleine from you, Commander?’
The final firework—Roitz and Lucike watching it together.
They looked so perfect, standing side by side.
The dark night and brilliant fireworks became nothing more than a backdrop for them.
“Sir Vivi? What are you thinking so hard about? Are you trying to ignore the person in front of you?”
“What do you mean, ignore you?”
“Then listen more carefully to my story…”
“I am listening.”
Well, mostly.
The prince went on talking—like someone starved for conversation.
His glass emptied, his face flushed red.
Some of his stories were trivial.
But some… were far from trivial.
For example—
