TRL 65

Chapter 65

“Gid, is this really the time to joke around? Brother, calm down and listen to me!”

Lillietta shouted at Gideon and pulled on Richard’s arm.

But Richard didn’t even glance at her, glaring only at Gideon. Cold sweat dripped down his chin. The crown prince’s smile deepened.

“Rita, your brother has good instincts. He has great potential. It’s no wonder Pascal summoned him. I wonder what stopped him from becoming a hero…”

“Shut up, Gid! Richie oppa, calm down. This isn’t what you think it is…”

“Save the misunderstandings for home, Rita. If this continues, even I won’t be able to fix this.”

Gid pulled out an ornate letter bearing the imperial crest from his inner pocket and strode forward, standing casually in front of the sword’s tip.

“…!”

Then, without a care, he slipped the letter into Richard’s pocket and stepped back lightly, pointing at the open window.

“Prince of Lascaille, please leave with the young lady through the northwest gate. A carriage will be waiting to escort you.”

“What…?”

Gideon said what he had to say, took a glance at Lillietta, and walked out of the bedroom. Only then did Richard lower his sword, his face pale as he muttered.

“What kind of monster is he…?”

“Let’s go, Richie oppa.”

“Huh?”

“We’ll talk at home.”

Rita quickly pulled him along.

Just as Gid said, the longer Richard stayed here, the harder it would be to smooth things over.

No matter the reason—even if it was to rescue his sister—barging into the Imperial Palace and pointing a sword at the Crown Prince was clearly an act of treason.

‘Were there many witnesses? Gid will take care of it somehow, right? It’s his fault for kidnapping someone in the first place!’

She trusted him, but the fear of being branded a traitor urged her to move quickly. As Richard followed her to the window, he asked in a daze,

“Ri… Riri, are you okay…?”

“I’m fine, completely fine. Let’s just go.”

She dragged her bewildered brother and jumped out the window. Heading northwest blindly, they reached a side gate of the palace, and just as Gid said, a carriage was waiting.

The moment they got in, the carriage started moving on its own.

Only after they left the palace grounds did Rita let out a long sigh. Then she turned to the confused Richard.

“Did you come to rescue me?”

“…Yeah.”

Despite the tangled situation, her heart swelled. There’s no way Richard didn’t know how dangerous and reckless this was. And yet, he was ready to throw away everything—his status, even his life—for her.

Rita gently placed her hand over her brother’s.

“Thank you, Richie oppa.”

“…”

“But don’t do anything this reckless again. Leon oppa and our parents were against it, weren’t they?”

“…They told me to lock myself up until I cooled down. But how could I?”

Richard lowered his head, red-eyed, and muttered bitterly.

“How could I just sit and wait, not knowing what might be happening to you right now… After I swore to protect you no matter what… If something really happened to you, I’d…”

Rita could only guess the pain he’d been through, and it made her emotional. At the same time, she wanted to smack Gideon Pascal on the back of the head at least seven times. That idiot had an uncanny ability to read a situation—and yet acted so recklessly.

‘No… maybe it wasn’t completely without a plan.’

Looking at the smoothly moving luxurious carriage and the envelope sticking out of Richard’s pocket, she let out another sigh and spoke calmly.

“It’s okay, oppa. Nothing really happened. It wasn’t a big deal.”

“…”

He didn’t look convinced. His eyes twitched as if he suspected she was pretending to be composed.

Grinding his teeth, Richard shot back angrily.

“Hey, nothing happened? You were locked in the crown prince’s palace for three days! All of Dad and Leon’s requests to see even your face were ignored. And that’s nothing? Don’t lie to me.”

“…When you put it like that, it does sound serious, but it’s really just a misunderstanding.”

Rita silently cursed Gid once again as she carefully considered her words.

Should she tell her family that the crown prince was a Returnee?

‘I think I can.’

If it were something that absolutely had to stay secret, Gid would’ve warned her not to tell anyone—including her family.

Since he hadn’t said anything, it meant the decision was hers. And as she saw it, the “hero’s return” or “rewriting history” parts had to stay secret, but their prior relationship before his return could be shared.

If not, Gid could deal with the consequences himself. He started this mess, after all.

‘How can I explain this whole thing while hiding the fact we’re from the same world? Everyone must’ve been so worried.’

With her mind made up, she opened her mouth carefully.

“Um… Oppa, actually, I’ve known His Highness the Crown Prince for a long time.”

Richard frowned at the odd statement.

“What are you talking about…”

“Back in the Ashen World.”

“…Huh?”

“You remember that comrade I told you about? The one who trained with me from the beginning—Gid Pascal. That was His Highness the Crown Prince. He also lived in the Ashen World, just like me. And didn’t they say he was in a dazed state for five years? He even drew his sword once because of patchouli scent.”

As Rita continued, watching Richard’s eyes go wide and his jaw drop, she kept her tone calm.

“Neither of us knew we’d reunite like this here, so the situation just got tangled. I’ll explain everything properly once we’re back home with the family.”

Still staring in shock, Richard’s eyes suddenly narrowed. His gaze shifted from her face to the top of her head. His violet eyes shook.

“Wait a second. What’s that on your head?”

“Huh? On my head?”

“That… looks like a men’s cravat.”

“…What?”

Rita blinked, finally realizing what was tying up her hair—and what it might mean in high society.

“Ah.”

“…Is it the Crown Prince’s?”

Hurriedly, she reached up, untied the cravat, and stuffed it into her robe pocket.

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

“…”

“Don’t misunderstand, it’s not like that. Really, it’s nothing. I just borrowed it because I didn’t have anything to tie my hair with…”

“…”

Richard’s eyes narrowed further. The more she talked, the deeper the hole she dug.

“Anyway, that’s just another misunderstanding, oppa.”

“Oh, sure.”

“It really is a misunderstanding.”

“Right. I really did misunderstand… I made a huge, enormous misunderstanding…”

Richard let out a wistful, hollow laugh. Rita forced a smile, silently cursing Gideon again.

“Richie oppa, you did understand what I meant, right?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. I’ll always be on your side, no matter what you do. You’re grown up now, and these things happen. I won’t tell our parents or Leon. So, that’s how it was, huh…”

“…”

Rita turned away from her suddenly serene brother and held her forehead.

She was sure an even worse misunderstanding had been born—one far more tangled than the whole kidnapping incident—but there seemed to be no way to clear it up.

* * *

After returning to the Cream Dome and talking with her family, Rita learned how things had played out after the Kraken attack.

First, the Imperial Family had classified the attack as either an assassination attempt or a monster-based terror incident and was now investigating the mastermind. The name “Kraken” had been mentioned, but the word “demonic beast” was noticeably absent—probably a deliberate decision to hide the fact that it wasn’t just a normal monster.

The remains of the Kraken had been retrieved by the Imperial Palace and were now being researched in collaboration with the Magic Tower.

The Crown Prince apologized for the mishap during the royal cruise and compensated the nobles for their destroyed yachts.

Thanks to the spectacular public battle with the creature—witnessed by both nobility and commoners—everyone had been talking about it for days.

There were no deaths or serious injuries, and the unbelievably massive creature was defeated using strange new magic and techniques. Rather than feeling alarmed, people were fascinated.

On top of that, the Crown Prince claimed that the display of martial prowess was the result of a new combat technique developed privately with a small group of elites—sparking endless speculation.

As a result, rumors and gossip about Lillietta were swelling to absurd proportions.