Chapter 42

As I approached to check on Rebecca, her condition was far more serious than it had seemed from a distance.

“……Huh.”

“……”

There was no room for excuses—she was completely drunk.

Her face was flushed red, far more than the usual blush she’d show when embarrassed.

Her legs wobbled slightly, clearly indicating that Rebecca was far from being in a normal state.

It was almost fascinating to wonder just how much alcohol one had to drink to reach this state.

“……What happened?”

Unable to comprehend the situation, I turned to Mikhail beside me.

According to imperial law, those who hadn’t undergone their coming-of-age ceremony were prohibited from drinking alone.

What exactly had the Crown Prince of this empire been doing while the princess, who hadn’t even had her ceremony, was drinking?

“……I have no words. It’s my fault.”

Mikhail admitted his fault cleanly.

His straightforward admission left me at a loss for words.

“The Princess Valencia was alone, so I thought I’d keep her company. I never imagined the drink she brought would be alcohol.”

“……”

“Don’t look at me like that. In a way, I’m a victim too.”

Listening to his words, I finally noticed something.

The Crown Prince’s face was also slightly flushed. It was the typical face of someone slightly drunk.

Given the circumstances, it was clear that Mikhail had also drunk the alcohol Rebecca had brought without a second thought.

“……My apologies, Your Highness.”

It wasn’t Mikhail who needed to apologize—it was me.

Looking at the situation now, the Crown Prince had merely kept Rebecca company and absentmindedly drank what she offered.

At this point, not only Rebecca and I but also Mikhail hadn’t undergone our coming-of-age ceremonies.

The true victim here was Mikhail.

“No need. As I said earlier, it’s also my fault for drinking without thinking. No need to apologize.”

Fortunately, the Crown Prince waved off my apology.

I finally let out a small sigh of relief.

To have made the Crown Prince, the sole heir to the empire, drink alcohol—could there be a bigger blunder than this?

‘……Impossible.’

It was probably impossible.

This was already an unimaginable blunder.

But the unease in my heart was unavoidable.

“Did the princess perhaps say anything disrespectful to Your Highness…?”

I cautiously asked Mikhail.

“The Princess Valencia has never been particularly polite to me. That’s nothing new, so let’s move on.”

“……”

Unfortunately, my ominous thoughts were somewhat confirmed.

The troublemaker princess had caused a far bigger mess than I had imagined.

My ominous premonitions were never wrong.

“You, bad child.”

“……”

Rebecca, who had been too drunk to even recognize me, finally seemed to notice my presence.

“The bad child who abandoned his fiancée and ran off during the banquet.”

Hearing her words, I couldn’t help but sigh.

“……I think I need to apologize again. I’m sorry.”

Mikhail also seemed equally baffled by the situation.

He had gone out of his way to help the princess, even drinking alcohol he hadn’t planned to.

And now, not only was she being rude to him, but she was also badmouthing the fiancé he had brought along.

It was easy to imagine how absurd he must have felt.

“There’s a lounge where guests can rest and recover. I think it’s best to take the princess there.”

“……Really?”

“Of course. Steward!”

Mikhail’s low but clear voice echoed through the hall.

“Your Highness, you called?”

A man who appeared to be the steward approached us.

“Please guide these guests to an empty lounge.”

“Understood.”

“……Thank you, Your Highness.”

I could only express my gratitude.

From the Crown Prince’s perspective, this was like being struck by lightning out of nowhere.

Yet, instead of blaming Rebecca for making him drink, he guided us to a lounge to rest.

I realized I needed to reevaluate my past negative impressions of Mikhail, the protagonist.

“If you’re grateful, I’ll reduce the compensation sent to the Count Zernias and Duke Valencia households.”

“……”

Until I heard those shameless words.

Mikhail boldly declared that if I was grateful, he’d reduce the compensation.

“No objections, right?”

“……”

Even drunk, the Crown Prince was still the Crown Prince.

***

“This is the place.”

“Thank you for guiding us.”

“Not at all. Please rest comfortably before leaving.”

The lounge we arrived at, guided by the steward, was surprisingly spacious.

It was more like a noble’s room than a lounge.

If meals were provided on time, one could live here forever without issue.

“……Huh.”

*Plop—*

First, I laid Rebecca, still unable to sober up, on the bed.

I had managed to bring the princess to the lounge, but the problem remained.

“……What do I do?”

The issue of what to do with the drunken princess sprawled on the bed.

At first, I thought of calling Duchess Valencia or Duke Valencia.

But the banquet wasn’t over yet, and it wasn’t the right time to summon Rebecca’s parents.

– Rebecca? Is that true, Prince?

– ……

– Where is she? Tell me right now.

If Duchess Valencia, who loved teasing her daughter more than anyone, heard this news, it would create a lifelong black mark for my fiancée.

“……That’s a bit…”

I decided to hold off on the first option for Rebecca’s sake.

With the first option off the table, I began to think of another solution.

The second method I came up with was to look for hangover remedies in the lounge.

This wasn’t the first imperial banquet, and Rebecca wasn’t the first to get drunk.

Surely, other nobles had come to the lounge to rest after drinking too much.

The imperial palace, always prepared, must have made provisions for such situations.

“Is this it?”

As expected, the lounge cabinet was stocked with a surprising amount of hangover remedies.

My parents, the Count and Countess Zernias, enjoyed drinking, so I recognized most of them.

I picked the most familiar one and brought it to Rebecca along with some cold water to help her sober up.

“……Ugh.”

Even as I returned with something to help her, Rebecca was still sprawled out, unable to regain her senses.

The usually elegant and composed princess was now a disheveled mess.

“……Pfft.”

I tried to hold it in, but a laugh escaped.

I had expected to see a side of Rebecca I’d never seen before.

But I never imagined it would be this disheveled.

Other readers of *[The Crown Prince Wields a Sword]* probably couldn’t imagine the overpowered princess like this.

The always perfect, almost robotic ‘Rebecca Valencia’—

Who could have predicted she’d look like a disheveled, adorable kitten?

Perhaps my laughter was too loud.

“……What are you laughing at?”

Rebecca, still sprawled out, asked me sharply.

She was still far from sober, her words slurred.

“Abandoning your fiancée… and enjoying the banquet alone… What’s so funny?”

“……I didn’t exactly enjoy it either.”

It was true.

Before Isabella Bluebell arrived, I had been alone, wasting the banquet’s food.

Rebecca’s claim that I had enjoyed the banquet didn’t make sense.

“What do you mean you didn’t enjoy it? I saw you… happily talking with Lady Bluebell…”

“……Do you know Lady Bluebell?”

I was more surprised that Rebecca knew Isabella than the fact that she had seen me talking to her.

In the original story, Rebecca and Isabella, both daughters of dukes, were supposed to meet for the first time today.

How far had the original plot derailed? The thought was terrifying.

“It’s strange not to know her… Lady Bluebell… the daughter of a duke.”

“I didn’t know you were interested in other noble families, Princess.”

“I’ve studied… so much.”

Rebecca pouted at my words.

Whether she was upset that I, her fiancé, didn’t acknowledge her efforts or that I had left her to talk to another woman, I couldn’t tell.

“Anyway… don’t change the subject.”

“……”

One thing was clear.

“What did you… talk about? With Lady Bluebell…”

My drunken fiancée was clearly sulking.

She was demanding an answer from me.

And I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d been through this before.

It was an undeniable fact.

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