Chapter 37

“······Princess.”

Even to my somewhat sorrowful call.

“···.”

The princess did not move at all.

Her body was trembling, but she never turned around.

As if she didn’t want to hear any excuses from you.

As if she had nothing more to say to you.

And Rebecca’s appearance.

Made countless thoughts cross my mind.

The thought that I shouldn’t have answered the Saint.

The thought that I should have ignored her, even if it meant being branded as a rude madman by the Saint.

What right do I have to wish for the happiness of other characters when I can’t even take responsibility for my fiancée’s happiness?

It was immense arrogance.

The most important thing should have been Rebecca’s and my happiness.

Yet, I couldn’t even focus on the most important thing and instead meddled in others’ affairs.

“······Princess.”

“···.”

Rebecca still didn’t move a muscle.

But as I said before, I couldn’t just do nothing.

Step- step-

I slowly took one step after another toward Rebecca.

The only sounds were the crickets crying in the garden and the sound of me carefully stepping on the grass.

When the distance between the princess and me had halved compared to the beginning.

Rebecca’s tightly closed mouth opened.

“······Don’t come any closer.”

A voice rejecting my approach, just like before.

I had already heard that sentence many times.

When I first fed Rebecca, when I fed her a cake I made myself.

When I was bound by the Duchess’s magic and forced to spend the night in the same room as Rebecca.

I had heard that sentence countless times before.

But the difference now was that before, the princess had looked straight at me while saying it.

Now, the princess was coldly spitting out her words without even glancing at me.

Step- step-

Still, I didn’t stop walking.

“······I told you not to come closer.”

Even as the princess’s cold warnings continued.

Step- step-

I slowly, step by step, approached Rebecca.

The distance between us continued to shrink.

By the time only three steps remained between the princess and me.

“Don’t come any closer, I said!”

Rebecca turned around and faced me.

Her beautiful, glowing red eyes were filled with tears.

How long had it been?

Since the princess had truly shouted at me.

Even when we first met, she had shouted at me while apologizing.

But both Rebecca and I knew there was a big difference between then and now.

Unlike the apology back then, filled with embarrassment and shame.

Now, it was stained with betrayal.

“Why… do you keep coming closer?”

The princess who always used polite speech with me was nowhere to be found.

Only an 18-year-old girl, crying from the pain of betrayal, was here, looking at me.

Readers of [The Crown Prince Wields a Sword] had described Rebecca Valencia like this:

‘A cold-blooded, emotionless overpowered princess.’, ‘A selfish princess who only cares about what interests her and ignores everything else.’

But that was wrong.

Rebecca was just an 18-year-old girl.

She had grown up as the heir to the ducal family and had developed a self-centered way of thinking, but she was still a girl.

A girl who blushed at her fiancé’s embarrassing words and cried at his betrayal.

“Are you going to ask me to listen to your stupid wish again this time?”

“···.”

“Aren’t you tired of it? Do you think I’m some kind of machine that forgives you if you make a wish?”

“······Princess.”

“I’m a person who knows how to be sad and angry too…”

I knew.

That Rebecca was just a girl.

I had never once thought of her as a machine that forgives me if I make a wish.

But the actions I had taken until now.

Were actions that, without sufficient explanation, the princess had no choice but to misunderstand.

And there had never been sufficient explanation before.

So, as a result, I could only watch as the princess cried.

“You said I was the most beautiful in the world.”

“···.”

“You said you wanted to monopolize every part of me, even to the point of wanting to save photos of me.”

“···.”

“······You said you were my only fiancé.”

But… why… do your words and actions not match?

Rebecca’s eyes, shining more than usual from her tears, were telling me this.

I had never shown my true feelings to Rebecca before.

To be precise, I had shown my true feelings, but they had never properly reached the princess.

Rebecca had always thought that my embarrassing words were just to tease her.

But that wasn’t the case.

All the embarrassing, shameful words I had said to Rebecca.

Were filled with sincerity.

It was just that I couldn’t express them directly because I was afraid of how the princess would react if she found out my true feelings.

But there had never been a single time when I wasn’t sincere.

So.

“Were all those words lies?”

“······Princess.”

“All the things you’ve said to me until now?”

“Princess.”

“Don’t just say ‘princess,’ say something······.”

“Rebecca!”

“···.”

It seemed like it was time to put aside cowardly excuses.

I couldn’t keep living with my true feelings hidden.

“······Hic.”

Rebecca, who hadn’t expected me to suddenly shout, stopped speaking and started hiccuping.

She must have been surprised.

I had never once called the princess by her name without the title before.

I had always addressed her respectfully, with honorifics.

But.

“Listen to me. Please.”

That wasn’t important right now.

What was important was whether I could convey the thoughts in my head to the princess.

Nothing else mattered.

“······I’m sorry.”

“···.”

“For saying another woman was beautiful in front of you, for leaving you behind and going to the garden on my own, for talking to another woman alone.”

“···.”

“I’m sorry for all of it. There’s no excuse; it’s all my fault.”

“······Sniff.”

I wonder if my desperate apology reached the princess.

Her tears, which had stopped for a moment, were about to flow again.

“But, I want you to know this.”

I didn’t want to see the princess’s sad tears anymore.

I only wanted to see tears of joy from her.

“Among all the things I’ve said to you, the only lies were the ones that belittled you.”

“···.”

“Even those belittling words were only said because your reactions were funny and cute, and there was no sincerity in them.”

“······Then.”

“The words that said you were beautiful, that you were lovely, that I wanted to monopolize every part of you. And the words that said I was your only fiancé, that I love you.”

“···.”

“All of them were true.”

Even if the princess didn’t forgive me. I wanted her to know this.

Forgiveness is the victim’s rightful choice, but telling the truth is something anyone can do.

I just wanted to convey my true feelings.

To Rebecca.

What happened after was up to the princess.

It wasn’t something I could decide.

*

How long had it been?

After hearing my heartfelt words, Rebecca stared at me blankly for a while.

I, too, faced her gaze without avoiding it.

“······Really?”

Finally, Rebecca cautiously opened her mouth.

A question asking if she could really believe me.

“All of it… was true?”

A question asking if everything I had said until now was truly sincere.

The princess threw me a small question mark, as if giving me one last chance.

“······Of course.”

I wasn’t foolish enough to throw away that last chance.

“······Waaah-”

Thud-

Rebecca hugged me while crying.

“I was… so… anxious…”

“Sorry.”

“Do you know how I felt when I saw you with that woman you said was beautiful?”

“······I’m sorry, Rebecca.”

“Waaah-”

The princess, who usually seemed so large due to her overpowered setting.

Felt so small in my arms.

The thought that I had made such a small girl sad made me blame myself even more.

I vowed not to do this again, and to always make the princess happy.

I hugged Rebecca even tighter.

We held each other like that for a while.

Just as I started to feel pain from the princess’s surprisingly strong grip.

Shiver-

Goosebumps rose all over my body.

‘······Killing intent?’

What I felt was definitely killing intent, though it had weakened slightly.

“Waaah-”

Rebecca, still crying in my arms, didn’t seem to notice, but the usual Rebecca Valencia would have sensed it immediately.

‘Why are the assassins who were supposed to target the Crown Prince and the Saint…’

I couldn’t understand why the assassins, who were supposed to go after the Crown Prince and the Saint as per the original story, had come to us in the center of the garden.

“Rebecca!”

There was no time to hesitate.

While I was lost in thought, arrows were already flying toward Rebecca.

I didn’t even have time to draw my sword.

Because at the entrance to the imperial palace, they had sealed my sword tightly instead of confiscating it.

The only thing I could do in this situation.

Thud-

“······Cough.”

“······Albert?”

Was to hide Rebecca’s body behind my back.

Two arrows… or so.

About three arrows were flying, but one seemed to have missed entirely.

Being hit by an arrow itself could be healed with sacred power if it wasn’t a vital spot.

But the problem was elsewhere.

‘······Poisoned arrows.’

As expected of assassins sent to kill the Saint, the arrowheads were coated with poison.

As a result, my eyes slowly began to close.

“Albert!”

I could hear Rebecca desperately calling my name.

“Don’t… worry about me… quickly… prepare.”

“······Albert?”

I hoped she would prepare for the next attack rather than worry about me.

In the end, I couldn’t see the rest of the situation.

“No… don’t…”

With Rebecca’s beautiful voice as a lullaby, I had no choice but to collapse.

‘······Hurry up, you crazy protagonist.’

In my heart, I desperately hoped for someone to come and help.

And with that, I fainted.

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