And Thus… It All Comes to an End - Chapter 19

“The Crown Prince’s party has arrived. His Highness is waiting for you in the drawing room.”

At the attendant’s report, I gave a light nod and stood up. With every step I took, something deep within my chest grew cold. I placed my hand on the heavy door and pushed it open. At the back of the room, the Crown Prince sat in a chair, his posture as arrogant and overbearing as ever.

Behind him stood several soldiers. The metallic rasp of sword sheaths rubbing together cut through the silence. A deliberate display of power rather than simple protection.

The moment he recognized me, his face brightened instantly. It was a smile I had never seen before, but I had long ago seen through the ulterior motives lurking behind it.

“Ah, Luciana. I’ve been waiting.”

“Your Highness. I am no longer your fiancée. Please refrain from addressing me so familiarly.”

Before I could even open my mouth, Marcel stepped forward and spoke coldly. The Crown Prince shrugged irritably and let out a derisive snort.

“What, am I to call you ‘Your Majesty’? You aren’t a ‘King’ yet. Not while my country refuses to recognize you. Surely you haven’t forgotten that I came all this way specifically to discuss that?”

Marcel’s brow twitched, and his eyes flashed with a sharp light.

“It’s alright, Marcel,” I said. “We won’t get anywhere otherwise.”

The Crown Prince curled his lip in a triumphant smirk and grandly extended his hand.

“Luciana, this is the proposal from our kingdom.”

I accepted the document he offered. As I scanned it, I saw it was the exact same text as the intelligence we had gathered beforehand. I silently handed it to Julius, who was standing beside me. The document was passed around, and the air in the room grew even more taut.

“Content like this is unacceptable,” I declared.

The Crown Prince let out a laugh as if he couldn’t contain himself.

“Haha! I thought you’d say that. That confidence… is it thanks to that ‘Deed of the Late King’?”

“Indeed. As long as we have that deed, establishing a nation cannot be treated as a crime. We will proceed even without Dreisburg’s recognition.”

“Then you are no better than a land of barbarians. Besides, one has to wonder if such a deed is even authentic.”

…So, that was his real objective. He didn’t come to “confirm” it; he came to “cast doubt.” The searching glint in his eyes said it all.

“See for yourself. Marcel, bring it here.”

Marcel nodded silently and approached, carrying a heavily sealed document box. The Crown Prince’s gaze wavered for a split second.

“I’ll tell you now,” I added. “Naturally, it is protected by defensive magic. You won’t be able to pull any tricks, so bear that in mind.”

The Crown Prince clicked his tongue and checked the document.

“Tch… The signature and the national seal are not fakes.”

Of course, they aren’t. He returned the document. I then presented him with a new letter of my own.

“For my part, I’ve prepared a draft treaty as well. It’s only reasonable for both sides to make concessions. What do you think, as the representative of your nation?”

I didn’t miss the way his fingertips stiffened slightly as he took the paper. His expression suggested things weren’t going quite as he had planned.

“I cannot give an immediate answer. Give me time… Oh, that’s right.”

As if suddenly remembering something, he placed a small box on the table. Its black lacquered surface glinted coldly in the light.

“What is this?”

“A gift from me. Think nothing of it; I’ve never sent you anything before. Consider it a token to build a favorable relationship moving forward.”

“I don’t want it.”

When I refused flatly, he gave a forced laugh.

“Haha, don’t be like that. It would be a breach of etiquette to heartlessly refuse a tribute brought by the representative of a nation, wouldn’t it?”

A gift at a time like this? Far too suspicious. It was obvious there was some trick hidden behind his smile.

“Emilia.”

“Yes.”

Emilia, who had been standing by, immediately stepped forward and held her hands over the box. A faint light enveloped it. The air in the room grew prickly with tension.

“This bracelet… it has a magic circle embedded in it,” Emilia’s voice rang out quietly. Everyone held their breath as I stared at the bracelet and asked:

“Can you tell what kind it is?”

“If you give me time, I can find out.”

“There’s no need for that. Give it here!”

The Crown Prince stood up and snatched the bracelet away. Without hesitation, he snapped it onto his own wrist. The metal shrunk on its own, fitting perfectly to the Prince’s arm. A few seconds later, he removed it, and it returned to its original size.

He looked up, appearing somewhat proud of himself.

“As you can see. It has a magic circle that adjusts to the owner’s wrist size. It’s nothing more than that.”

He was certainly confident, going so far as to wear it himself to prove it. In that case, I couldn’t exactly refuse it here.

“Then, I shall gratefully accept it.”

I passed the box to Julius.

“Hey now, aren’t you going to try it on? Even after I went to the trouble of proving its ‘safety’ with my own body?”

I glanced at my grandfather; he shook his head silently. The faces of the people around us were also stiff with anxiety. However, if I refused here, it would hinder future negotiations. It couldn’t be helped. Emilia was here; surely it wouldn’t come to the worst-case scenario. I let out a sigh, looked at Julius, and held out my hand.

“Very well. Julius, put it on me.”

“…What?”

The Crown Prince’s brow twitched. His voice, muttering as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, made me frown involuntarily.

“Wait a minute! Why Julius?!”

The Crown Prince stood up abruptly. All at once, the surrounding guards took on a wary stance.

“Is there a problem?” I asked nonchalantly.

“There is a huge problem! Just put it on yourself and show it to me right here!”

Why was he so panicked? I decided to ignore him and proceed.

“Wait! I will put it on you. Hand it over!”

Gareth quickly stepped in to block the Crown Prince as he tried to rush toward me.

“Crown Prince, please sit down. If there is a reason for your outburst, please state it.”

“Shut up! Get out of the way! For another man to put a gift on her, this is the height of disrespect!”

…Ah, so that’s it.

Jealousy. In that case, I’ll ignore him even more. I signaled to Julius with my eyes. He nodded quietly and picked up the bracelet from the desk. Julius took a step closer to me.

As I held out my wrist, his fingers carefully enveloped it. The contrast between the cold metal and the warmth of his skin was strangely vivid. The moment he looked up, his blue-gray eyes pierced straight through me. I felt my breath catch for a moment.

“Luciana! Look at me! Argh, damn it!”

…My, what a foul mouth he has.

Just as I was thinking that, the bracelet suddenly emitted a flash of light.

“It’s different from before… it glowed?! Crown Prince, did you set a trap after all?!” Rutherford shouted.

“Lady Luciana, is there any change?” Julius’s voice sounded right beside me.

“No. However, this bracelet won’t come off.”

The room instantly fell into an uproar.

“Take the Crown Prince to another room!”

“I’m going too,” Emilia said, stepping forward. “Leave making him talk to me.”

Marcel and Emilia moved quickly. The soldiers were seized by Gareth and the others, and the Crown Prince, his face contorted with frustration, was grabbed by both arms and led away.

“Lady Luciana, stay in this room until we know more. Julius, you stay by her side since you put the bracelet on. Anne, be ready for anything.”

“Understood.”

My grandfather and Rutherford followed the others out. The sound of the door closing was followed by a heavy silence. To think he would pull such a bold stunt in enemy territory, I looked down at the bracelet with a growing sense of unease.