CH 3.20

“…That’s all.”

After Rachel finished speaking, silence fell over the dining hall.

Ariel, realizing the enormity of Rachel’s contribution, turned pale and closed her mouth in dismay.

Meanwhile, the Crown Prince remained silent, his thoughts completely inscrutable behind the iron mask.

‘He’s definitely impressed,’ Rachel thought brimming with confidence. After a brief pause, the Crown Prince finally broke his silence.

“It’s an excellent idea.”

Rachel’s face brightened. Suppressing the urge to grin, she timidly bowed her head.

“You flatter m…”

However, before she could finish speaking, the Crown Prince interjected, “But who did you hear that from?”

“…!”

Rachel’s eyes trembled faintly. What kind of question was that all of a sudden?

“Well, of course, it was me…”

As she tried to answer, her voice trailed off as the Crown Prince wordlessly gazed into her eyes.

His eyes were dull, devoid of any emotion, intensifying her anxiety.

“Lady Rachel of Istvan, is it truly your own idea?”

“…Yes, Your Highness.”

Rachel swallowed nervously and thought, ‘Don’t be nervous, Rachel. You’re the only one who knows that it was Marie’s idea.’

Reminding herself of that fact, Rachel managed to calm down a bit. With a confident tone, she said, “I still have much to learn, but it is indeed my own idea, Your Highness.”

“Is that so?”

The Crown Prince nodded wordlessly.

Meanwhile, Marie, who had been quietly watching from the background, felt a sense of unease. Somehow, it felt like the Crown Prince could see through everything.

“If it is your own idea, then I assume you have also thought of a solution to address the potential backlash from the neighboring countries regarding the food aid?”

“..…..Pardon?”

Rachel’s mind went blank. Just what kind of question was that?

Not only did she struggle to provide an answer, but she also failed to grasp the gist of the Crown Prince’s question.

“Well… unlike sugar, sugarcane seeds are not prohibited for trade with the heretics…”

“I am not asking about the seeds. I’m referring to the issue of providing food aid.” The Crown Prince said in a low voice, “No matter how noble our intentions may be, if we were to offer a substantial amount of food rations to the Eastern Kingdom, it is only natural for other Western nations to denounce us. So how do you plan to address that predicament?”

Rachel’s face turned pale as she had never considered that before.

“Well… um…”

She wanted to turn around and ask Marie, but there’s no way she could.

Similarly, Marie, who stood behind them, turned pale.

Of course, she knew the answer to the Crown Prince’s question.

With a clear understanding of the trade dynamics between Western and Eastern nations, she could readily provide a solution.

However, she couldn’t share it with Rachel.

‘What should I do?’ She thought as the Crown Prince’s eyes grew colder and colder.

In that moment, as Marie’s apprehension heightened, her eyes met the Crown Prince’s gaze.

“.…..!”

Marie’s eyes trembled in response.

The crown prince’s eyes seemed to convey:

— Marie, did you come up with that idea?

Though it was unclear how he knew, it was evident that he saw through everything!

‘But that’s not all. To pose such a question… It means that the crown prince has arrived at the same solution as me.’

The Crown Prince looked at Rachel once more.

Meanwhile, Rachel was internally screaming as she struggled to find an answer to the Crown Prince’s question.

“Our empire wields great power, so we can dismiss any opposition from the other nations…”

“Dismiss? If we brand ourselves as an empire that openly trades with the ‘heretics’, we may face unpredictable consequences. Dismiss them?”

The Crown Prince shook his head and said, “I don’t know how you came up with that kind of method. Did you have a revelation in your dream?”

“……!”

Rachel’s face turned red with embarrassment.

Crown Prince Rael let out a deep sigh and said, “Lady Rachel of Istvan.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Do you have any idea about what kind of childhood I had?”

At his sudden question, everyone present in the room wore a puzzled expression.

The Crown Prince continued in a detached tone, “I lived through the palace’s treacherous power struggle, where if you don’t kill, you die. During that time, everyone in the palace wore masks and lived with the constant thoughts of stabbing each other in the back. My mother and sister died that way.”

“……”

“Because of that, do you know what I despise the most?”

“……I don’t know.”

The Crown Prince coldly said, “Deception.”

“……!”

Rachel’s face turned as pale as a corpse, realizing what the Crown Prince was implying.

The Crown Prince was pointing out that Rachel had attempted to deceive him by pretending to have accomplished what Marie had done.

“I, I… I’ve never tried to deceive you, Your Highness…”

She stammered in her defense, but the crown prince’s expression only grew colder.

“Enough. I don’t want to hear it any more. This isn’t the first time you did that. Since you are a ‘clever’ young lady, you should know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“……”

In an instant, Rachel’s face turned paler and paler.

“I’m no longer in the mood to eat. You may excuse yourself from the table.”

And just like that, the supper abruptly came to an end.

Ariel looked baffled, not knowing exactly why the Crown Prince was angry at Rachel and why the latter was in shock.

Just as they were about to leave the dining hall, the Crown Prince suddenly said, “Marie, please come with me.”

“……!”

The Crown Prince led Marie to the terrace of the Lion Palace. Rael, who was already seated, gestured to the vacant chair across from him and said, “Sit down.”

“H-How could I dare to sit in front of Your Highness…”

Marie declined in embarrassment, but the Crown Prince shook his head.

“It’s fine, please have a seat. Haven’t you been standing for a while now?”

With his insistence, Marie reluctantly took a seat. As she settled down, another maid served them tea.

“Please have some tea first.”

“……Thank you, Your Highness.”

However, Marie couldn’t bring herself to drink tea while sitting in front of him. Instead, she silently observed him.

‘Fortunately… It seems that his anger has subsided.’

She had been quite frightened by the icy atmosphere earlier, but now it seemed that his anger had calmed down.

‘It’s understandable that the Crown Prince would be angry. After all, Rachel attempted to deceive him.’

In truth, there was nothing inherently wrong with Rachel utilizing Marie’s abilities, as it was customary for nobles like her to strategically employ the talents of those who work for her.

However, Rachel had deliberately tried to deceive the Crown Prince by presenting Marie’s ideas as her own. Not just once, but multiple times. It was clear that it wasn’t an honest mistake.

“Did Rachel made you to do it?”

Upon hearing those words, Marie immediately fell to her knees and begged for forgiveness.

After all, she was also complicit in Rachel’s schemes, having participated in the deception against the Crown Prince.

“I apologize, Your Highness. I have committed a grave offense. Please punish me.”

As she knelt down with her head bowed, the Crown Prince said, “It’s alright. Despite everything, you have contributed greatly. With your contributions, I am willing to overlook that mistake as if it never happened. However, Marie…”

“……Yes, Your Highness.”

“…I don’t know exactly why you helped Lady Rachel. Perhaps you’re in trouble or whatsoever.” The Crown Prince said slowly, “But because I care for you, if you ever have any difficulties, I hope you would confide in me rather than someone else. Since I care for you, I will ensure to take care of everything.”

“……!”

Marie’s eyes trembled. She could feel his affection towards her, despite the coldness in his voice.

—Yes, that Crown Prince of Blood cares for her.

She wasn’t sure if it was because of her abilities, but it was clear that he genuinely cared for her.

And in that moment of realizing his feelings, Marie felt guilty. He cherished her so much, yet she was only trying to get away from him.

Of course, it was something she had to do to avoid the risk of losing her life if her true identity were to be exposed. But still, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt for everything.

“…I’m sorry, Your Highness. Truly…”

The Crown Prince shook his head. “It’s enough. Let’s not dwell on it. By the way, the solution Rachel suggested earlier, was it your own idea?”

“…Yes, Your Highness.” Marie nodded, not denying it anymore.

The Crown Prince’s gaze gleamed with admiration. “How impressive. I actually came to a similar conclusion after much deliberation. However, I hadn’t considered importing sugarcane seeds at all. I wasn’t aware that it could be cultivated in the southwestern region.”

“You flatter me, Your Highness.”

As expected of the shrewd Crown Prince, it appeared that he had been contemplating a similar method.

Marie had simply added the idea of producing sugar to it.

“No, it’s truly an excellent method. If we can produce sugar, it can generate tremendous wealth. This crisis has turned into a tremendous opportunity.”

However, the Crown Prince, who had been speaking in a voice of admiration, suddenly said, “But there are several issues with this approach. I assume you are aware of them as well?”

Marie met the Crown Prince’s gaze. His eyes seemed to convey trust, as if saying, ‘Of course, you would know, right?’

After a brief moment of hesitation, Marie nodded her head.

“Yes, I am aware.”

“Good. Just like what I asked Lady Rachel earlier, how do you plan to deal with the backlash from other Western countries?”

The Crown Prince’s didn’t ask because he did not know the answer. Instead, he wanted to confirm if she had the same thoughts as him.

Marie answered concisely, “We can use intermediaries.”

In response to her answer, the Crown Prince lifted the corner of his mouth. It meant that Marie’s thoughts aligned with his own once again.

“Could you please elaborate?”

“It would be difficult for our empire to officially trade food to the ‘heretics’. While it’s not a prohibited trade item, it would still be seen as a large-scale trade.” Marie said slowly, “But the situation changes when a third-party intermediary is involved. Our empire can trade food with the third-party intermediary and officially distance ourselves. Then, the intermediary can offer a price for the Eastern Kingdom to repurchase the food. This way, our empire can claim that we have never directly traded food to them, and therefore, cannot be challenged.”

“Yes, you’re right. It’s a commonly used method by Western nations when trading with the Eastern Kingdom.” The Crown Prince nodded approvingly at Marie’s answer. “But there are still other issues to consider. What if they refuse to export the sugarcane seeds?”

“It’s unlikely to happen. So far, they have imposed strict restrictions on the export of coffee beans, but they haven’t enforced the same level of strictness to the sugarcane seeds yet.” Marie continued, “And if they do refuse, then our empire needs to push back. It would be their loss anyway.”

In response to her answer, the Crown Prince once more lifted the corner of his mouth. It was because Marie’s thoughts aligned with his own once again.

‘Impressive. How does she possess such deep foresight?’ The Crown Prince admired inwardly.

She was just a maid, yet her foresight was truly remarkable. It was much better than some of the empty-headed ministers. However, Rael concealed his amazement and continued to question her sternly, curious to see how far her thoughts would match his own.