17.Learned Instinct

Agrane… whose name was Agrane? Ah, right. I was such a moron. I was also forgetting something in this world. Agrane was the real name of the body I possessed.

“No way. Why is Nui[1] with Duke Richton…?”

(P/R: Wilhelm used ‘누이’ {translation: sister} to address Agrane. They’re not technically related, but it is used to women they’re close with, both younger and older.)

But how did Wilhelm know that name? His dignified and firm expression collapsed. His red eyes quivering under the hallway lights had already lost half of their reason. In just a few seconds, the air in the hallway changed drastically. As if possessed by something, Wilhelm with unbelieving eyes reached out to me.

“Ugh.”

I tried to run away, but Cain’s grip became stronger. As Wilhelm’s large hand drew closer to my face, or rather the veil, the sound of my heartbeat rang loudly in the back of my ears. Anxiety rising from the tip of my toes quickly spread throughout my body.

What on earth is this feeling?

If the emotion I felt from Richton was fear caused by the primitive instinct, I felt the opposite from Wilhelm. It was fear caused by the learned instinct.

‘If you want an Empire, I’ll give you an Empire, and if you want to bring down the sky, I’ll bring down the sky. Instead, you shouldn’t choose Wilhelm.’

Richton’s voice at that time made a mess inside my head. Why did he say such pointless words in the first place? What if Agrane, the owner of my body, was involved not only with Richton but also with Wilhelm? But the odds of that happening were extremely low. Agrane was like dust among dust that did not even have a brief description in the book. A hidden relationship with Richton was already enough. I didn’t know if it was a common name, but it was probably a person with the same name.

“Stop right there.”

Wilhelm’s hand, which had already taken hold of the veil, stopped at the voice interfering between Wilhelm and me. His gaze, which had been dyed with unexplained desire and expectation and was difficult to consider as the main character of 『The River Where the Sun Manoeuvres』, slowly regained reason. The sound of my heartbeat that was about to burst into my eardrums began to subside like magic.

Soon afterward, a chill, colder than the sword touching my neck, pulled back my waist. I didn’t know I would be grateful to this man in my lifetime. Even though the back of my head felt achingly cold, a sudden sense of relief covered my whole body. I shuddered as I hated this sense of relief. I felt like I’d been really tamed by Richton.

“I never thought you’d try to take off the princess’ veil in a shady place like this. Is that what an imperial prince should do? At least keep your dignity so you don’t disgrace the Empire.”

The strength that had been squeezing my arms disappeared in the distance. I held my throbbing arm and leaned my head against Richton’s chest.

“Richton… Ah, why did you only come now? I was so afraid!”

Gnash.

I heard Cain grinding his teeth. Shortly after, Richton’s hand that had been holding my waist fell off. He carefully grabbed my arm, which had been held by Cain the whole time, and lifted it up. It was such a terribly soft touch that my shoulders had goosebumps. For a moment, it seemed like the time in the whole world had stopped. After a heavy silence that made it hard to breathe, Richton put my arm down and said.

“Don’t tell me…Do you plan to keep your mouth shut after committing such rudeness? His Highness Wilhelm that I know is not that kind of person. Where did the Prince of Grenferg, who valued honor and trust, go?”

Richton’s little snort sounded particularly loud in the empty hallway. I couldn’t believe that the day would come where I would see the two in a war of nerves, which I had only encountered in letters. Because Richton’s presence was originally predominant, my previous fear had already disappeared. Instead, the place was filled with tension as sharp as a knife.

“You’re the one who’s being rude. Be polite in front of His Highness the Prince, Duke.”

Cain shouted at Richton with a look on his face as if he would draw out his sword at any moment. I always thought about it while reading the book. Why does Cain keep coming forward and making the atmosphere more dangerous? Just like now. And with Richton, the source of cruelty, in front of them. Wilhelm was certainly the owner of the lake of tolerance as someone like Cain was standing beside him instead of throwing him away. But not Richton.

“Are those eyes for decoration?”

Richton was a man who would dominate and not tolerate. His low-pitched voice that was sinking deep in the ocean was noticeably heavy like a lump of iron. He pushed me behind and slowly took a step forward.

“His Highness Wilhelm and I, the ruler of Ingord Duchy, are having a conversation. What and which safety are you making fun of? Well… I can’t understand the subject and touch the royal lady’s body. I don’t think it’s going to work.”

“His Highness has only done what must be done for the sake of the empire.”.”

“It’s indeed for decoration only.”

And in the blink of an eye, the situation quickly turned upside down.

“Ugh!”

Cain’s height was not short. But that was also true for me and other ordinary people. Even he was shorter than a span in front of Richton, who had a remarkably tall stature. So, it was quite easy for Richton to grab Cain’s neck with his long arm.

“Since it’s only for decoration, you can live without it. I’ll take both of them out, so you can hang them proudly on your cabinet. Right this instant.”

Richton’s voice was dry and calm as if reciting a dinner menu. Cain grabbed his wrist and struggled, but unfortunately, Richton’s arm did not budge. How can they be so different when they’re both adult men? His opponent was also the escort knight of an imperial prince.

“Ugh. Heuk.”

“Oh, no need to thank me. This kind of generosity is not a big deal to me.”

Cain’s pale complexion looked miserable as if I was seeing myself in the past. Crazy bastard. I forgot for two days as I was playing as Beatrice. The fact that Richton is Richton. A being who casually threatened the prince’s escort knight in front of the prince himself. So, this was what the position of the Duke of Ingord was. At this point, Wilhelm’s power was not that great. I was able to realize once again why the Wilhelm in the novel had to struggle so much.

“Duke. Stop it. I apologize for Cain’s mistake.”

As if expecting it, Richton withdrew his arm. Wilhelm, facing him, was much calmer than I thought. His face looked as if he had accepted his difference from his opponent.

“Cough, cough….”

“It was not intentional. All I can say is I’m sorry. Cain, apologize right now.”

“Ha, cough…I’m sorry, Your Excellency. Please…Forgive me.”

With a face that couldn’t have been more resentful, Cain bowed his head. He grabbed my arm as if crushing it. Serves him right.

“Your Highness. You should apologize to Princess Beatrice, not me.”

With those words, Richton, who was standing to cover me partially, completely stepped back away from my view. Next to Cain, who bowed his head as if he was ashamed of himself, Wilhelm quietly opened his mouth.

“I’m so sorry, Princess. I have nothing to say even if I have two mouths.”

“I don’t need a mouthful of apologies. There have always been a couple of shameless men who tried to remove my veil. Ha, anyway, it’s fine. Let’s get out of here quickly, Richton.”

Wilhelm. The main character I always cheered for while reading 『The River Where The Sun Manoeuvres』. Despite many hardships, he was able to gather a number of colleagues, who sincerely supported him as he grew stronger. Now that Richton was in front of them, I was treating him coldly, but when I thought about the future developments, my mind felt complicated.

As long as this place was inside the novel, the villain could not defeat the main character. I might have missed a golden opportunity to escape from Richton. But now it was too late to regret it. I held Richton’s arm and walked towards the hallway darker than night.

“Please stop for a moment, Princess.”

Wilhelm’s voice, which felt somewhat urgent, made my ankles stop.

“I know it’s a shameless request, but…Can you spare me a moment?”

The expression on his face as I turned around to face him was difficult to fathom.

“Ha.”

“I asked the princess, not you, Duke.”

Richton was right next to me, so I decided to hear him out. After all, Beatrice would no longer be here tomorrow. Richton did not criticize my decision. Even after I slowly moved towards Wilhelm. Taking the pendant out of his arms, Wilhelm opened the lid and held it in front of my face. It was the pressed flower pendant I picked up and returned a few minutes ago.

“It’s a child I lost a long time ago. We’re not related by blood, but she’s like a younger sister to me. The princess’ face was very similar to that child at first glance. I know it’s rude, but…If it’s okay with the princess, can you lift the veil just once?”

The girl painted in a small size inside looked about seventeen years old at best. A lovely lady with wavy brown hair and dark green eyes. There’s no way this girl was Agrane.

“Doesn’t my hair color look different? I’m blonde, and the girl has very bright brown hair.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

In the low voice, I felt a deep obsession that could not be measured. Even so, my hair was red.

“That’s funny. If you check my face, will the missing girl come back?”

“You may refuse my request.”

“No. I’m not a sinner, so I don’t have to run away.”

Running away at this point would make me even more suspicious. I glanced at Richton’s face for permission. But Richton was actually staring at Wilhelm, not me. He was also exuding an atmosphere that seemed not in a good mood at all.

It’d be okay. Same name, same eye color, but different hair color. There’s no way it would be me. Yes, there’s no way. As if Richton was not enough, I had no desire to associate myself with Wilhelm. Weren’t the other transmigrators, who approached them, disappeared without a trace or got buried in social circles? I lifted the veil without delay and showed him my face. There was no other reason. I wanted to confirm that it was not me directly from Wilhelm.

“What do you think? Now that you have taken a good look, do you think I look a lot like Agrane?”

Why didn’t he give me a disappointed look? But as if watching a boring theatrical act, no emotion appeared on Wilhelm’s face.

“It’s the first time I’ve shown my bare face to a man other than Richton. It feels so strange.”

His red eyes were persistently examining each of my facial features. I was only showing him my face, but I felt my anxiety surging up. I felt like I was voluntarily exposing my weakness to my enemies. That should be enough. I lowered the veil before Wilhelm took a closer look.

***

T/N: okay, Wilhelm will be addressing Agrane as “‘누이” in future chapters, but I wouldn’t be Translating it to “sister” because they will be having *ahem* so instead I will be using the word “Nui”. I don’t want readers to misunderstand this as in*est and give bad ratings to it.