Chapter 50
“How about this? Your Highness can go ahead first, and I’ll wake up the old woman, feed her porridge, check her condition, and then follow you.”
“No.”
“…?”
I was so surprised I couldn’t speak.
Staring at him in disbelief, I watched as Prince Claude suddenly opened the door and walked into the house.
He casually sat on the sofa and crossed his long legs.
Even in this moment, his posture was so elegant that I couldn’t help but stare at him blankly.
With no choice, I closed the door and followed him inside.
I thought—he must’ve been quite a troublemaker as a child.
While thinking that, I put a pot on the stove to warm up the porridge.
As steam rose, only the soft clatter of dishes filled the room.
Cough, cough.
“…Who’s there…?”
Just as I was about to wake her, the old woman woke up on her own.
I poured some porridge into a bowl to cool it down and brought it into the room.
She was sitting up, breathing heavily. Though she still coughed a lot, there was some color in her lips now, and that was a relief.
“How are you feeling? You collapsed suddenly and scared us. You should eat this porridge first since your stomach is empty, and then we’ll give you some medicine—”
Suddenly, the old woman grabbed my arm. Her hand trembled.
Her eyes widened in shock as she stared at Prince Claude.
“…Why is he… why is he here…?”
Do they know each other? I tilted my head, confused.
“Do you know Prince Claude? He’s the First Prince of the Empire…”
“…No, it’s not that…”
She interrupted me, lips trembling with fear.
“M-my Lady… H-he… He killed our Monte!”
“…?”
She shook like she had seen a monster.
I gently patted her back and asked carefully.
“…Who is Monte?”
“…Our child… Monte. That First Prince… he killed him. Please, run away. Or you’ll be next…”
So Monte was the child’s real name.
Wait—Claude killed Monte? But I thought Monte was adopted…
“Please calm down. I think this is a misunderstanding. His Highness would never do something like that.”
“…No, I saw it. The Second Prince showed me a picture… I saw everything.”
Claude’s eyebrows furrowed deeply.
“Did you say… the Second Prince?”
Even though he was being accused of murder, Claude’s eyes turned icy cold.
The pressure from him made the old woman tremble and press her lips tightly.
Claude gripped the handle of his sword tightly.
He was just about to draw it when—
Wait, no! That would only scare her more!
“Wait! Your Highness, please… Let me speak to her first.”
I looked at him with a desperate expression.
He slowly turned his eyes to me, studying my face closely.
Then, he slightly nodded and lowered his hand from the sword.
I gently held the old woman’s hand and said calmly.
“His Highness is here to protect me. He hasn’t hurt anyone. And I came here to understand your connection to all this.”
The old woman’s pupils widened when she heard that.
“These people… the man and woman in this photo. Do you know them?”
She didn’t answer, just stared at the photo like she’d stopped breathing.
It was clear she knew something.
I suddenly remembered the night I first met the child.
When I showed him Rachel’s picture and asked if it was her, he had looked terrified.
Then he hid in a corner like a frightened animal, and only after a long time did he slowly nod with a sad face.
That memory made my hand shake as I held the photo.
“The child who led me to this house was Monte. So if you know anything, please tell me. You knew my name from the beginning. Why did those people come to you? Why did they adopt Monte, and why did they… do that to him?”
The memory of Monte’s final moment made it hard for me to speak any further.
At the mention of Monte’s name, the old woman’s eyes shook violently.
“…Then, the child who followed you that day…”
“Yes. It was Monte. Before he left, he asked both me and the Prince to help heal your illness. He also asked us to find his body and bury it properly.”
The old woman lowered her head and wept into her hands.
She sobbed for a long time, and then gradually quieted down.
I stopped patting her back and looked her in the eyes.
“For Monte’s sake, please tell the truth. How did you meet the Second Prince? Why did you let this happen to Monte?”
After a moment of hesitation, the old woman finally began to speak.
“…A long time ago, I finished work at the Great Cathedral and was collecting my pay when a priest took me to a quiet room. That’s where I first met the Second Prince.”
“You mean the Wilhelm Cathedral in the capital?”
“Yes. The Second Prince said he had something important for me to do and gave me a large sum of money. I should have refused… but as a lowly servant, I could only follow orders.”
So Brefni had personally gone to the cathedral to find her.
Seeing my confused expression, the old woman continued.
“…The Second Prince showed me a photo and told me to find a boy who looked like that. He must’ve known I helped at orphanages.”
“Do you remember who the child in the photo was?”
“Well… I heard the priests talking later. They said the child was chosen by divine prophecy to become the next High Priest, but he went missing. If they didn’t find him soon, the current High Priest would blame the Marquis…”
“The Marquis? You mean Marquis Spiegel?”
She nodded quietly in response to my surprise.
High Priests receive divine visions in dreams and raise the child chosen to succeed them.
I recalled what was written in the sacred texts of the Berta Temple.
‘They say I look like someone important.’
Monte’s voice echoed in my head.
Suddenly, I remembered a brief encounter in the past life with a young child at the temple.
I had only glanced at the child, but he was the only one that young, so I remembered.
That must be why Monte’s face seemed familiar the first time I saw him.
So… did they adopt Monte to make him pretend to be that missing child?
I turned quickly and met Claude’s eyes.
His expression showed he was thinking the same thing.
“Was Monte made to pretend he was the missing child—the one chosen as the next High Priest?”
“…Yes… Even the High Priest believed Monte was the chosen one. I wanted to tell the truth, but they warned me—if I said anything, Monte would die…”
Her hands trembled as she spoke.
“…It’s all my fault. I should never have taken him in. If I had ignored him, he might still be alive…”
She buried her face in her hands and wept again.
I gently rubbed her shoulder and asked quietly.
“When did you meet the man and woman in this photo?”
“…After I showed Monte’s picture to the Second Prince, he told me to raise him somewhere quiet. Soon after, that man and woman came and adopted him.”
“I see… But then… what happened to Monte?”
As I asked about Monte’s death, my heart grew heavy.
She swallowed her sobs and barely managed to speak.
“…I don’t know. Not long after Monte disappeared, the Second Prince came back and told me to spread a rumor—that the First Prince was capturing innocent children and killing them…”
She trembled with guilt and lay flat on the floor.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. Please don’t forgive this foolish servant.”
She wept bitterly.
Claude silently watched her, his lips tightly shut.
I thought he might kill her with his sword, but instead, he crossed his arms and stood still.
I let out a sigh of relief and bit my lip.
I would never forgive Marquis Spiegel and his people for killing an innocent child and blaming Claude.
And I swore to uncover the full truth behind Monte’s death.
Rattle.
The carriage jolted roughly, and I woke up suddenly.
That’s when I realized—I had fallen asleep leaning on Prince Claude’s shoulder.
Listening to the old woman’s story all night must’ve worn me out.
I wiped my mouth quickly and looked out the window.
Familiar scenery told me we were almost there.
When I lowered my gaze, I saw Claude still sleeping with his legs elegantly crossed.
Sunlight gently touched his sharp jawline and perfect features.
He looked so peaceful that I found myself admiring him… until I noticed a wet stain on his shoulder.
Oh no…
Embarrassed, I quietly wiped it with my sleeve.
Just then, Claude’s eyelids fluttered open.
I jumped back quickly, only for his long lashes to lower slightly as he looked at me.
Our eyes locked like magnets.
His intense gaze made my neck feel hot, and I blurted out an apology.
“…I’m sorry. I leaned on your shoulder and fell asleep…”
But Claude responded calmly.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for. A husband can share his shoulder with his wife. And more than that, too.”
That word—wife—sent my heart spinning.
I felt confused. After all, rumors about us had already spread everywhere.
“Didn’t we… break off the engagement?”
I finally asked what had been bothering me.
He stared into my eyes with a deep look.
When I tried to turn my head, he gently held my chin and made me face him again.
Then his eyes slowly traced my face.
