A Mad Lady’s Confession - Chapter 49

Whew, a somewhat cheeky whistle slipped out from between the man’s lips.

Matthias drank his black tea, looking displeased as he watched Crown Prince Klaus read through The Paper.

In the courtyard of the Crown Prince’s palace, which had not yet fully met the noon sun, the sunlight pouring down was tolerable enough.

Sitting on the shaded terrace and anticipating the muggy heat of the afternoon, Klaus set The Paper down on the tea table and asked mischievously.

“So that’s it? What about the follow-up article? What kind of lewd things happened in Madam Carnival’s summer garden this year?”

At Klaus, who asked with shining eyes, Matthias openly wore a look that said he found him pathetic.

“Don’t look at me like that. Curiosity is something humans can’t control. Of course, as Crown Prince, I should be different.”

The two drank their tea in silence for a moment. Even in midsummer, tea was never lukewarm, only hot. Just like Eleanor’s body last night.

What kind of lewd things happened in the violet garden this summer? If he told him, Klaus might faint. Even he himself couldn’t believe what he had done.

In the middle of the night, in someone else’s garden, in an overgrown outdoor space, he had taken a woman like a beast. And it hadn’t ended with a single release.

Once their lips met and their bodies joined, they didn’t part. Twice, three times, until Eleanor, drained of strength, went limp and lost consciousness, only then did it end.

More than the shame of wrapping the woman tightly and carrying her out of that garden in his arms, it was the lingering pleasure that made his waist tingle that brought him greater self-loathing.

It was also the first time he had ever washed someone. He carefully washed the woman, soaked in sweat and fluids, dressed her, and laid her down on the bed in his room. That had been only a few hours ago.

Had she woken up by now? Did she even remember last night properly?

There were so many things he wanted to ask. Why she had been there, what she had been thinking?

“She seems to be doing better than expected.”

Breaking through his thoughts, Klaus spoke as if pretending nonchalance. It sounded like a casual question, but the probing intent beneath it was obvious to him.

“His Majesty said so. That you two look like quite a well-matched pair.”

At the remark that seemed to emphasize certain words, Matthias shot him a sharp look, and Klaus raised both hands to show he meant no harm.

“Let me be clear, I have no feelings whatsoever for that young lady, no, for the Duchess of Nielsen. As for what happened before, I don’t particularly want to dig into it either. As you know, I wasn’t in some grand romantic relationship with Düsseldorf. And none of the rumors going around about that incident are true.”

Klaus was making excuses, saying he held no feelings toward the culprit who had attacked the young lady who had nearly become his crown princess.

“If I had any unpleasant feelings left, I swear, I wouldn’t have entrusted that young lady to you, Matthias.”

For a moment, Matthias looked at the man called the Crown Prince as if weighing him. Soon, he set down the teacup he was holding on the saucer and opened his mouth.

“There’s something I want to ask, Klaus.”

“Calling me by name, it must be something personal? Go ahead.”

“It might be different if I asked you officially.”

Although they had often spent time together since childhood, after reaching adulthood Matthias treated Klaus with full formality as a member of the imperial family.

In name he was the Crown Prince, but in reality, within the empire there wasn’t a single means, position, or resource Klaus could wield that surpassed Matthias, so Klaus was privately quite satisfied with Matthias’s deference.

And yet now, saying he had something to ask, Matthias’s tone grew light. As if trying to lessen the weight of the question.

“Be honest. Are you the one publishing The Paper?”

A brief silence followed. The one being pressed let out a scoff and an incredulous sigh.

“That’s ridiculous. You’re suspecting me right now? Ha! What possible gain would I get from that?”

“How would I know what kind of gain it brings?”

“It’s not me!”

“Alright, I understand. I’ll believe you.”

“Ha?!”

After dropping a remark that could make the other faint, Matthias calmly resumed drinking his tea.

Of course, he didn’t think Klaus was the publisher of The Paper. He had briefly suspected it, but judging from the way the articles were spread and the vocabulary used, it differed greatly from Klaus’s disposition.

Up until now, it was fine. It was nothing more than trivial, provocative gossip, and though it had exposed the Emperor’s illegitimate child, that was something that would have become known eventually anyway. For now, yes, for now, it wasn’t a sin.

But for some reason, Matthias couldn’t shake off an ominous feeling. As if beneath the thin sheet of paper, there lurked a pitch-black malice of unknown depth.

So this was a kind of warning. A warning to someone who might be nearby, someone who knew a deeply buried scandal of the imperial family like the Emperor’s illegitimate child.

“If it crosses the line any further, I intend to pursue it to the end without letting go. No matter who it is.”

“…I told you it’s not me!”

“I believe in Your Highness’s innocence as well.”

As Klaus, who became more talkative when agitated, kept protesting his injustice, Matthias’s sharp eyes swept coldly across the blue garden.

After finishing a tea time that yielded nothing of value, Matthias returned straight to the estate instead of going to the newspaper office in the city.

Welcoming the master’s early return, the butler asked about his meal, but Matthias first asked about what he needed.

“My wife?”

“She woke from her bedchamber this morning, bathed, and has since returned to her room.”

“Her meal?”

“She said she had no appetite, so we served a light soup, but only a few spoonfuls—”

Without listening further, Matthias climbed the stairs at once and headed to his bedroom.

Click. When he opened the door carefully, just as expected, a small figure lay on his bed, breathing softly as her body rose and fell.

He closed the door and walked slowly closer. Soft light filtered into the room through thin curtains, illuminating the face of the woman lying on her side.

Matthias sat at the edge of the bed and quietly looked down at Eleanor’s face.

Her pink hair was spread across the pillow like waves, and her clear face was flushed like an apple. Without realizing it, he placed the back of his hand against her cheek. Warm.

“…Mm….”

Perhaps the cool touch felt pleasant, the woman stirred and grasped his hand with her own. The way she pressed it gently and rubbed her cheek against it was like a small animal.

“Eleanor.”

He hadn’t intended to wake her, but his lips parted on their own. Long eyelashes fluttered as she slowly opened her eyes. Eyes as fresh as green grapes soon found him and lit up.

“…Is it night already?”

“It’s midday.”

“Ah….”

If it were any other time, she would have risen at once, talking about the virtues of a proper lady, but now she only let out a deflated sound, lacking energy.

“Your body…, are you very uncomfortable?”

He was asking about what happened last night.

All day today, he had been thinking of her as if a thorn were lodged in him, feeling a faint sense of guilt. I truly behaved like a beast.

“…Ah, n-no… it’s not that….”

The woman’s expression, her lips moving as if to speak yet hesitating, was strange.

“…It’s just that… the thing that comes every month… has started….”

“Ah.”

He understood at once.

“I heard you didn’t eat much?”

“…I didn’t have an appetite.”

At this point, basic courtesy had been fulfilled. Then it would be proper manners to leave and give her space so she could rest comfortably, and normally, he would have done exactly that.

But for some reason, his feet wouldn’t move. He couldn’t pull away the hand the woman had held against her cheek.

So in the end, he asked one more thing.

“Is there anything you’d like to eat?”

After all, she needed to eat something to regain her strength. He’d asked something like this even to injured soldiers, so this wouldn’t be excessive. He made a meaningless excuse to himself.

For some reason, the woman hesitated again.

“It’s fine, go ahead and say it.”

“…Um, then….”

He waited quietly for her answer. Perhaps some kind of meat soup that would help her recover.

“…I want to eat caramel pie.”

“….”

“One that’s very sticky, with lots and lots of caramel poured over it.”

Even as she spoke, the woman fumbled as if she had committed a sin.

“Of course, I know sugar is considered extravagance and indulgence….”

Because it wasn’t fitting for a lady’s dignity. He could guess the unspoken words she didn’t add.

Who started the idea that even three lumps of sugar were extravagance and indulgence?

“I don’t have to eat it….”

The woman’s face flushed as if embarrassed.

Over something as trivial as caramel pie.

He let out a low sigh and immediately pulled the bell cord.