C68
I thought it was a coincidence, but when I saw the Crown Prince coming straight towards me, I realized that I was the target.
"Ambassador Leok, it's been a while."
"I see, Your Highness the Crown Prince. Glory to Asteroth."
"I'm very glad that you found your daughter. Congratulations."
"Thank you very much."
"By the way, I have something to tell Miss Ethel Wallace. Could you step aside?"
"..."
Although it was Ambassador Leok, there was no way I could refuse a request from the imperial Crown Prince. I didn't want the ambassador to get into trouble, so I took a step forward.
"It's an honor, Your Highness."
Honor my ass. What is this guy thinking?
"Please, have a pleasant chat. That's enough for us."
The ambassador's wife, realizing what he meant, took my husband and daughter and left. Other people around us also distanced themselves from us.
"Miss Wallace, isn't this the first time we've met like this?"
"Yes, it is."
"I'm glad to see that you seem like a good listener."
I swallowed dry saliva. The Crown Prince had remained expressionless since then. Even at the moment he congratulated the ambassador who found his lost daughter.
Mikhail Petos Asteroth. The Crown Prince of the empire, the male protagonist of the novel "Return and Walk on a Path of Flowers," and the noble lover of Liena.
Black hair resembling chestnut and sculpted features. I could see it up close. He resembles his half-brother Terence. But there was a crucial difference.
"If Terence is a dark man who smiles in front of many people, is Mikhail a straight-up protagonist who only smiles at his woman?"
For him, Liena was a kind of savior. A father who treats his son strictly as his successor, and a mother who, aware of the existence of an illegitimate son, pushes him to be more perfect.
Mikhail had a difficult childhood with those parents.
According to the novel, he was so obsessed with perfection that even if he hurt or fell ill, he desperately hid his physical condition for fear of being seen as a defect. His life was so painful that he would hide away and cry.
The person who appeared at that time was Liena. The girl somehow knew about it and went to Mikhail's secret place to comfort the boy.
"Oh my god! Look at that wound! Just stay still. I'll give you some medicine now."
"You're valuable on your own. There's no need to punish yourself to be perfect."
"Don't you know? People can't be perfect, but that's why we help each other. Then you can get close to perfection. I'll help you."
Alongside these kind words, the girl spared no material help or advice for the boy. Interestingly, they shone every time the boy was in danger.
It didn't take long for the boy to fall in love with the girl. He grew up to become a wonderful young man who only loves and is obsessed with her.
There was a slightly impure background here; indeed, Liena had intentionally approached the young Crown Prince. She wanted to further revive the family by building a friendly relationship with the next emperor.
She remembered reading the Emperor's autobiography in the first episode of life and came up with a clever idea to get to know him.
She paid attention to the part where Mikhail wrote, "I had difficulties like this when I was young." His secret location was also mentioned in his autobiography.
So, Liena begins to truly sympathize with Mikhail, who was in an unfortunate situation, and falls in love with his reckless approach, and in the end...
"Wow, I got too absorbed in the novel's content."
Anyway, for that reason, Mikhail was a person of interest. Because he's crazy about Liena.
"I often heard stories about Miss Wallace from Liena."
Mikhail, not in a novel but in reality, opened his mouth.
"Liena said you were a very good person. That her sister-in-law is like a friend."
I don't agree, but anyway, I was glad that Liena said something good.
"But there's another important point. The last time Liena mentioned you, she had tears in her eyes."
Shit!
"I will never tolerate someone who makes my wife cry."
The Crown Prince quickly approached me. His bright blue eyes glowed dangerously. I took a step back unconsciously.
"I hope you take this fact seriously. I'll be watching you from now on."
In the next moment, his intimidating feeling that overwhelmed me completely disappeared. Mikhail lightly touched my shoulder as if the warning before was a lie.
"Well, if possible, I also want to have an easy relationship with the person Liena likes. Don't be too scared."
This crazy guy! How can I not be scared?
"Cancel the idea that I ever thought this guy was an attractive male protagonist! Cancel that he made my heart beat!"
Still, I felt relieved that the conversation with Mikhail seemed to have ended. If I go abroad, I won't even sleep with my head facing the empire.
It was then. An elegant voice intervened between us.
"Where are you going? What are you doing in a place like this, Prince?"
"Mother."
Before I realized it, the Empress, who had left her throne, was behind me.