CH 94

My head hurts.

Feeling a headache coming up, Renato closed, then reopened his heavy eyes. His dry eyes were sore as if about to fall out, and his overworked neck tingled like being pricked by a needle. Today, he knew for the first time that greeting people and briefly talking could also hurt his throat tremendously like this.

‘Greetings, Your Imperial Highness. It is an honor to meet you like this. I am……’

‘Congratulations on your engagement. I have prepared a gift to congratulate you two’s union. It’s small, but I hope you’d be happy to accept it.’

‘Before leaving the kingdom, please sign a contract with the merchant guild managed by our family……’

The nobles attending the engagement celebration banquet approached Renato as if having waited as soon as Maryam’s congratulatory speech was over. When one left, another would immediately come, so there was no time for leisurely dining or even catching a breath.

After repeatedly exchanging greetings and congratulatory wishes over a dozen times for several hours, it became impossible to know who was who.

‘There are a lot of people waiting to congratulate His Imperial Highness, so let’s talk about the details next time.’

‘His Imperial Highness seems to be tired, so I hope you would only greet him.’

Khalid stayed by Renato’s side the whole time, and if the conversation got too long, he would appropriately stop it or deal with it instead. Without his help, Renato would probably have been exhausted long ago.

“Huu……”

Renato forced his eyelids up and sipped the juice Nasir gave him. The sweet and sour flavor filled his dry mouth and wet his hurting throat, making his mind a bit clearer.

Is the conversation still not over?

Renato emptied his glass, then glanced at Khalid who was talking to Maryam. The man had left Renato’s side for a while at Maryam’s call. He wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but neither of them had a good expression on their faces.

“His Imperial Highness is resting now. My apologies, but please come back later.”

Nasir’s resolute voice reached Renato’s ears while he was looking at the two with worried eyes. Before leaving, Khalid left Nasir here for fear that the nobles would bother Renato.

“Don’t be like that and just get out of the way for a moment. I just want to greet him.”

“Please don’t.”

“Huh, seriously, this person! Don’t you know who I am……!”

“Yes yes, you are Count Ballas-nim, right? I sincerely apologize. There is nothing I can do about this because this was a command from his highness the grand prince. Please understand with a generous heart.”

Nasir faithfully carried out Khalid’s strict command not to allow anyone to approach. The noble, who was protesting in a displeased voice, clicked his tongue and turned around when hearing him talk about Khalid.

“……Louis, can you cover me up a little while I close my eyes?”

“Yes, Your Imperial Highness.”

Renato asked Louis to cover so that others could not see him, then rubbed his stiff eyes. His shoulders were heavy and his neck was sore from the fatigue accumulated since the morning. His calves, overworked from going up and down the stairs leading to the sanctuary, were also throbbing.

He wanted to avoid people’s eyes and go inside to comfortably rest, but unlike the Empire, the kingdom’s great banquet hall did not have separate lounges. There were also balconies and terraces, but as the sun went down, the temperature quickly dropped, so he didn’t dare to go outside.

“Are you very tired?”

“A bit……”

Renato lightly rubbed his shoulders which had become stiffer than usual. Blinking his eyes a few times and lightly yawning, he leaned back on the chair.

“I’ll close my eyes for a moment.”

“Please do so.”

Louis gestured for Luna, who was a few steps away, to come closer. Covered by the wall made by the Louis siblings, Renato closed his eyes with an exhausted face. Then immediately, his head became hazy.

Trying not to fall asleep, Renato organized the day’s events in his head. Most of the kingdom’s nobles he met today showed a favorable attitude. Their eyes, their voices, and their behaviors all expressed goodwill toward Renato.

It was quite a new experience for Renato, who was accustomed to the contempt and cold behaviors shown by others, to have people curry favor with him or act submissively toward him. But he wasn’t excited or elated.

After all, what they saw was not Renato himself, but his status as the Empire’s Prince and his background as the Esteban territory’s owner.

On the contrary, the nobles’ behaviors toward Khalid were somewhat dreary. Renato felt a strong déjà vu from their attitude.

People’s gazes, tones of voice, and mood as they looked at Khalid…… Everything was familiar. It was just like what he had been through a few months ago, at the banquet welcoming Khalid’s appointment as the diplomatic ambassador.

The nobles coming to greet Renato exuded a nuance of disdaining Khalid even as they praised Khalid’s achievements or congratulated him on their engagement.

If there was a slight difference from Renato’s case, perhaps their ostracization and contempt were mixed with vigilance and envy? From their point of view, an illegitimate child, who should be hated and despised by everyone, was recognized as a royal prince thanks to being a dominant Alpha and eventually became a famous knight on the continent with his own ability, threatening their powers.

Although unable to ignore the authority and power that Khalid possessed, they didn’t want to recognize him, so there were many people like Count Ballas who argued with Nasir a while ago.

Only then did Renato realize how Khalid was treated in the kingdom. He was less welcomed than a foreigner like Renato.

You also lived in a hell similar to mine.

Renato felt complicated and let out a heavy sigh. The reasons were different, but he and Khalid grew up being treated unfairly in their respective countries. When witnessing it with his own eyes, he felt bitter.

To Renato in both his previous and present life, Khalid was a rock-solid person who would never collapse. So he felt safe whenever he was with Khalid. Unbeknownst to himself, he also relied on the man.

But was Khalid a strong person from the start?

No, he wasn’t a strong person, he was a person who had to be strong. He had to become strong enough to endure the malice pouring out upon him, to survive enemies ready to gnaw at him at any moment.

Thinking about it that way, his neat forehead frowned. Renato raised his hand and pressed it against his eyes. His head was hurting for another reason rather than dizziness. He felt like he just had a glimpse of how Khalid had lived and endured.

“……Would you like a painkiller?”

Louis whispered in a small voice when Renato kept rubbing his temples and eyes. With his past few experiences, he now always carried emergency medicine with the thought that Renato could be sick at any time.

“Let’s go to the balcony for a minute.”

Renato pondered for a moment, then raised his tired body. Although Louis and Luna were covering people’s eyes, he was unwilling to take medicine here. As Renato got up and moved, countless eyes glanced at him.

“I’m going to get some fresh air.”

“Please go and come back.”

Renato spoke to Nasir and headed to the nearest balcony. As soon as he went outside, the cold night air clung to his skin. Renato shivered, then hurriedly accepted the medicine bottle that Louis gave him. He thought it would be difficult to stay on the balcony for a long time.

“Why don’t we return to the guesthouse to rest now?”

“I will do so when his highness finishes his talk with Her Majesty.”

Renato swallowed the painkiller, returned the empty bottle to Louis, and answered. At that moment, the outside of the balcony became a little noisy.

“You arrogant jerk! How dare a mere aide like you block my way?!”

Renato frowned at the words echoing into the balcony. After lightly sweeping his face, he motioned for Louis to open the balcony door. Then, he saw a man threatening to grab Nasir by the collar at any moment.

“You impertinent punk! As the grand prince’s dog, you are always so impudent……!”

“What’s going on?”

Renato entered the banquet hall and interrupted the man. The man, who was fuming with a hideously distorted face, gasped when seeing Renato.

“Your voice is so loud that I can hear all of it on the balcony.”

Renato gave strength to his throat and lowered his voice. He couldn’t know how effective this would be, but he wanted to show that he was offended by this man. And truthfully, he was in a very bad mood. It was because he could feel blatant hostility toward Khalid in the man’s words and voice as he argued with Nasir.

“My apologies for the disturbance. I didn’t know you could hear my voice from the balcony.”

Realizing his mistake, Marquis Ishbart hurriedly bowed his head with a startled expression. He realized that he had acted out of control when momentarily losing his temper.

“Greetings to you, Your Imperial Highness. I am……”

“I know who you are. You are Marquis Ishbart, right? Didn’t you greet me before?”

Renato interrupted the Marquis’ words again and recalled the information about the man. Marquis Ishbart was one of the main figures in the kingdom sorted out by Arche and was Duke Vint’s right-hand man. He also provided the main funding source for the noble faction thanks to his top-ranking merchant guild in the kingdom.

“Ahaha, I did. It was only a brief greeting, so it was a great honor for me to be remembered by you.”

“So why were you threatening Sir Nasir?”

“Well…… Ahem, my apologies. I was in a hurry because I have something to tell you before the day is over, Your Imperial Highness, so…… I was being discourteous without realizing it. Please forgive me with a generous heart.”

“Forgive? I don’t think that’s my matter.”

“Pardon?”

“I mean that you seem to be apologizing to the wrong person.”

“What do you mean……”

Marquis Ishbart, who was about to move on with a quick apology, trailed away his words in surprise when Renato sharply retorted. Renato tilted his head toward the Marquis. Without the need to purposely pretend to be angry, his stomach heated up and his expression stiffened.

“You should apologize to Sir Nasir, not me, for your discourteous behavior.”