Don't Trample on Innocent Love - Chapter 18
Robern couldn’t help but smile whenever he recalled his kiss with Ophelia, he looked like any boy after they kissed a girl for the first time in their life.
It seems that time was the remedy, as, after a while, he gradually began to get back to normal. He concluded that his state of mind was just a result of his surprise, his surprise that Ophelia’s lips were softer than he had imagined, and with that fleeting conclusion, his mind, which had been boiling, cooled down.
He returned to his daily life. Meanwhile, Charles appeared and tried to provoke him, but Robern dismissed it lightly. Of course, he lost a piece of land as a consequence of the bet, but that was about it.
“I wonder when our Grace will mature. I’m worried she might become a spinster. What do you think, should this old man step in and find a suitable husband for his daughter?”
Robern looked at the Emperor with a bored expression. Whenever the old man was bored, he would summon Robern to express concern for his daughter. Robern was rather annoyed by the Emperor’s constant pestering, but he went along with it because the Emperor favored him.
“Her Highness Princess Grace must have her own thoughts on the matter. Who knows, she might have a hidden suitor.”
“No, our innocent Grace knows nothing about men. She knows them far too little.”
Robern swallowed the words “The innocent Princess sometimes shares a bed with her guard knights” that were on the tip of his tongue.
Robern had accidentally witnessed the Princess, his childhood friend, making out with her guard knight in the castle during one of his visits.
The Emperor’s eyes gleamed as Robern’s brow furrowed at the sudden memory. The Emperor was well aware of Robern’s promiscuous nature, which he did not particularly approve of, but he also understood Robern’s restlessness.
It was because of his special relationship with Irena, the official duchess of the Valent family. Of course, it was a one-sided infatuation on the Emperor’s part, and now the Emperor’s unrequited love was known to no one but the current Duke of Valent. The Emperor had been very fond of the son she had given birth to, a boy whose face was a spitting image of hers, and his temperament made the Emperor feel as if Irena was still alive.
Irena often complained to the Emperor that she regretted her marriage, and when she broke down in tears, the Emperor was pained and did not know what to do.
Since Robern learned of the discord in the household, and when he misunderstood Irena and the Emperor to be in a secret relationship, Irena had not met with the Emperor. After that, Robern had changed, and the Emperor only felt sorry for him.
‘If only she would just get her mind straight after marriage.’
The worry that his own daughter Grace might also be troubled by some other problems was overshadowed by the faces of Irena and the one who resembled her more than anyone else, Robern.
“We’ve been receiving quite a few proposals for our Grace, you know…”
Robern was not listening to the Emperor’s probing words. Just then, an intrusive auditory hallucination had caused Robern’s expression to become ominously stern.
[Why are you being so clingy?]
Damn, this is really fucking annoying…
Ophelia’s voice kept coming out of nowhere and tormenting Robern at the most inopportune times.
The Emperor’s eyes sparkled with hope as he interpreted Robern’s expression differently. If he reacted this way to the mention of a potential husband for Grace, then perhaps…
“You wouldn’t by chance be thinking of becoming Grace’s husband-“
“No.”
“Give it some more thought.”
“Even if I think about it again and again, my answer won’t change. Please send your esteemed princess to a proper man, not a hopeless fool like me. Your Majesty has a better eye for people than I do, so if you’ll excuse me, I have urgent business to attend to.”
Hearing Robern’s firm words, the Emperor had no choice but to let him go. His steps gradually slowed as Robern walked out of the Imperial Palace and down the corridor. It was because a familiar face was approaching him from the opposite direction.
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