Chapter 92 - North Korean rabbit

Episode 92

Yulken, who had been looking at Hilia with a momentarily flustered expression, asked instead.

“A lover, you say?”

Soon, exclamation marks popped up above Yulken’s head.

His face pale, he asked.

“Don’t tell me… His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince is having an affair?!”

‘Why are you asking me that? I’m the one who asked you.’

After his face briefly alternated between red and blue, Yulken, who had turned purple, cried out.

“Y-you scoundrel!”

“…?”

“How long has it been since you married Her Highness the Crown Princess, and you’re already straying?! I won’t stand for this!”

Hilia found herself having to calm down the fuming Yulken.

The one Yulken had served for over ten years was Arpad.

He had only known Hilia for barely a month.

And yet, Yulken was taking her side. Hilia was more flustered than touched.

“An affair, infidelity. That is the one thing I absolutely cannot tolerate!”

She remembered belatedly.

‘Ah, Yulken has a particular loathing for infidelity.’

Even when insulting Ludwig and Evangeline, he had used it for personal attacks.

Hilia had worked hard to prevent Yulken from judging Arpad’s character in the worst possible light.

“No, no. It’s not that Arpad is having an affair!”

“Then what is it?”

“…Arpad is of an age, wouldn’t it be normal if he’d had a woman in his life until now? I was just curious and asked.”

At that, Yulken tilted his head.

“Why not ask His Imperial Highness directly?”

“How can I ask him something like that directly?”

Then, a meaningful smile spread across Yulken’s face, which had been harboring a great question.

“Aha.”

Hilia flinched.

“Wh-what? Why are you suddenly smiling?”

But Yulken only snickered and did not give a clear answer.

“It’s nothing. By the way… a lover of His Imperial Highness……”

Yulken seemed to ponder deeply.

Hilia forgot her earlier question and focused on Yulken.

Her concentration was incomparable to what it had been during the earlier work report.

“His Imperial Highness’s lover… If such a pitiful person existed, wouldn’t I know about it?”

“Pitiful……?”

The question, ‘Isn’t that something the Crown Prince’s lover shouldn’t hear?’ appeared on Hilia’s expression.

Yulken replied as if it were obvious.

“Well, His Imperial Highness’s character isn’t particularly good, you see. Moreover, he’s a deeply twisted person……”

‘Ah, true.’

Hilia found herself nodding without realizing it.

Yulken was merely stating facts.

“If it’s His Imperial Highness, wouldn’t he express affection in a twisted, convoluted way? That’s why I said ‘pitiful.’”

“…….”

Hilia hesitated for a moment before asking again.

“So, you’re saying you don’t know of any?”

“…Yes.”

Yulken began to snicker. Hilia somehow thought it was a rather awkward smile.

Perhaps Yulken realized it too, for he soon covered the corner of his mouth with his hand.

Then he asked.

Was it just her imagination, or did Yulken’s ears suddenly seem to grow long like a donkey’s?

“But why are you suddenly curious about that? Does it perhaps bother you?”

“Huh? Ah… no?”

Hilia pretended to be nonchalant as she made excuses. But her flustered state was completely obvious.

“Information about Arpad is important. I just want to confirm any variables in advance.”

“Ah, yes. Variables. I see.”

Even with his hand covering it, the corner of Yulken’s mouth was rising as if about to split.

Yulken snickered as he recalled it.

The comedy he saw yesterday.

The incident where he called for Lord Beltain and only managed to get out the single line, ‘I am Hilia’s husband.’

And now, Hilia was doing this.

‘This, even looking at it straight on, is clearly jealousy!’

A wife taking a great interest in her husband’s former lover……

Right now, these two were pretending not to be, while being jealous of each other.

As a spectator, it was a very sweet and amusing sight.

A sudden realization flashed through his mind.

‘His Imperial Highness would be very pleased if he knew about this.’

If he heard that Hilia was jealous and had asked him about a former lover.

However, Yulken had no intention of kindly informing Arpad of this.

‘This is absolutely not because of the resentment built up from paperwork, absolutely not!’

It wasn’t because he found Arpad detestable for nitpicking perfect documents and shouting ‘Rejected, rejected!’ while he was busy day and night preparing for the banquet.

Absolutely not!

Though he had been extorted of 1 million Castel, he felt sorry for Hilia, who was restless.

So he gave her a hint.

“Ahem. By the way… While Your Highness was unconscious, His Imperial Highness nursed you the entire time.”

“Ah, right. He did.”

“Even the court physician was surprised. He dismissed all the attendants, and took such meticulous care of everything himself… Neither I nor the court physician knew His Highness could be like that.”

So rest assured, that was the intent behind Yulken’s words.

But Hilia, who was quite out of sorts, realized a fact she had forgotten.

“Arpad did everything himself for five days?”

“Yes.”

“He sent all the people away?”

“Yes!”

“…….”

Hilia’s complexion turned pale.

‘Wait. Now that I think of it… when I first woke up, hadn’t my clothes been changed?’

They had. Even her undergarments had been neatly changed.

She had a fever, so they would have been soaked with sweat, and she had simply assumed Annie or the maids had done it.

If Arpad had dismissed all the attendants……

‘Don’t tell me, don’t tell me… Arpad did it?!’

Hilia’s face, which had gone white, soon flushed crimson.

* * *

I found it hard to regain my composure over this astonishing information.

I handled my duties without hindrance, but the newly learned fact bothered me too much.

That’s why.

I subtly asked Annie, who was attending to me as the head maid.

“It was you who attended to me while I was ill, right?”

Praying she would answer yes.

Annie widened her eyes and shook her head.

“No? All I did was bring washing water, towels, clothes, and meals from outside the room. The one who personally cared for Your Highness was His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince.”

“…!”

Unaware of my shocked feelings, Annie merely chuckled.

“Everyone was worried, but on the other hand, they were also surprised and impressed.”

“Impressed by wh-what?”

“Of course we knew the two of you were on good terms, but we were moved to see that His Imperial Highness truly cherishes Your Highness from the heart.”

Don’t be moved by that!

I wanted to deny reality.

But after Yulken, even Annie confirmed it.

There was no reason for the two of them to lie to me.

In the end, I had no choice but to accept reality.

That I had shown Arpad every possible embarrassing sight.

‘What do I do. I can’t get married… no, I’m already married, so does it matter…….’

Anyway, this time too, the shame was mine alone.

All day long.

And I realized belatedly.

‘Wait! Arpad will come to my room again tonight!’

We were currently acting the part of a happily married newlywed couple.

Last night, Arpad even caught me trying to escape from the bed.

So he would undoubtedly come again tonight.

‘How do I face Arpad?’

I worried and worried all evening, but no answer came.

* * *

All day, Arpad was troubled.

Because of last night’s dream.

That was clearly Hilia.

But the place they were in was unfamiliar, and Hilia’s condition was strange.

‘Whether as the Princess of Delphin or the Crown Princess, it makes no sense for her to be in such a state.’

It was precisely the kind of attire a criminal or a vagrant would wear.

The moment he recognized that fact, anger surged.

‘Who dares……!’

And he felt pity and sorrow, wanting to lift her up himself. He wanted to wipe her flowing tears, and to stand guard to reassure her.

‘Do I have some repressed desire or something?’

It was a dream that made him doubt himself in many ways.

The most shocking thing wasn’t Hilia’s condition.

It was the thoughts and emotions of ‘himself’ in the dream.

Because at that time, ‘he’ had wanted to devour Hilia.