The Terminally-Ill Rejects the Approach - Chapter 62

“Despite how I may look, I’ve been maintaining a low profile and working delicately for a long time in the Azester social circle without much presence, you know.”

I took a deep breath and shouted confidently.

“I’m going to infiltrate the Luenhart social circle and clear Anselot’s unjust reputation!”

But then a problem arose.

“Why……”

I blurted out, looking at the empty mail tray.

“Why aren’t any invitations coming?”

It had been over a week since I arrived here, but aside from the royal ball invitation, not a single invitation to a social event had arrived.

I was being treated as an honored guest, to the extent that the king himself was responding to me.

Nevertheless, the fact that not a single invitation had arrived…

“I see. Could it be because of that reason.”

There was one thing that came to mind.

It was… Anselot!

It made some sense when I thought about the people who had been avoiding me, calling me the mistress of a killer.

Despite it being a breach of etiquette to ignore a royal guest of the kingdom, those old-fashioned nobles chose to break etiquette, that’s how bad Anselot’s reputation was.

‘No, it’s not Anselot’s fault. It’s because of those bastard sons of the king who ruined his reputation and spread nasty rumors about him.’

I sighed deeply and thought.

‘Moreover… Just because I glared a little, rumors spread that I’m a witch who kills people with my gaze, all thanks to that weak palace servant who fainted.’

But I couldn’t just sit still.

‘Should I go find a tea party myself?’

As it was a festival period, there would be more active social events than ever happening all over Luenhart.

The royal palace was no exception either.

At this very moment, there must be a tea party hosted by the royal ladies somewhere in the palace.

“Minimap.”

As I quietly muttered, a minimap appeared in the air.

I folded my arms and stared blankly at the minimap covered in gray.

With about 90% of the minimap covered in gray, I could only see my location and the location of the lantern.

‘Let’s activate the minimap first.’

Finding the lantern wasn’t difficult.

I left the prince’s palace and started walking in the direction of the lantern shown on the minimap.

And I found the lantern deep in the palace garden.

‘Of all places.’

My expression turned sour as I found the lantern.

The fountain in the garden was the lantern of Luenhart Castle, but of all people, Prince Enger was sitting at that fountain.

“Princess Luibel…?”

Prince Enger, who recognized me, pretended to know me.

“You’re alone today.”

“Yes, well.”

I replied sourly and approached the fountain.

[SYSTEM] You have found the Guide’s Lantern!

[SYSTEM] The minimap of will be activated!

In an instant, the minimap lit up and I could see various places in the castle.

‘They’re doing something over there.’

I glanced at the dots gathered together on the minimap.

The names attached to the dots were definitely those of the young ladies who had been bullying Maria not long ago.

‘Judging by the location, it seems like they’re drinking tea and chatting…’

I pondered how to crash in there.

‘Should I just barge in? Or pretend to be lost and find my way there?’

At that moment, Enger approached me flirtatiously and spoke.

“If it’s alright with you, may I show you around the palace?”

“……”

I glanced at the top of his head.

Prince Enger of the Luenhart Kingdom

Favorability: -39

It wasn’t a significant number, but it was a favorability level closer to disliking me than liking me.

‘What’s his ulterior motive?’

Enger smiled charmingly at me, as if he had no ulterior motives at all, and asked.

“Would you not give me the opportunity to escort you, Princess, and show you around the palace?”

“It’s fine. I finished touring the palace on the second day.”

“There are places that are only permitted to the king’s successor. Even Uncle Anselot wouldn’t have been able to show you those places.”

Despite my sharp refusal, Enger approached me again without giving up.

I pretended to contemplate his answer while sneaking a glance at the detailed information window.

[The crown prince of the Luenhart Kingdom. As the second son of King Titarus, he competed with Prince Arno for the position of crown prince. After the death of Prince Arno, he became engaged to Lady Helena Azeline and was recognized as the heir to the throne, being crowned as the crown prince. (Assistance Level: 35)]

It was a unique culture of the Luenhart royal family to be recognized as the heir to the throne by taking a consort.

I thought it was fitting for a kingdom that worships the goddess of love.

Getting engaged was also considered equivalent to taking a consort, but I heard that Anselot’s engagements kept being broken after he became an adult, and he was stripped of his right to the throne.

“To be honest, even when I heard that the princess of Azester had become Uncle Anselot’s lover, I didn’t believe it. I thought it might be a distorted rumor.”

“Well, that’s unfortunate.”

Of course, the rumor that Anselot and I were lovers was false, but I replied halfheartedly.

“Tell me honestly, Princess. Why would someone like you be with Uncle Anselot…”

“What about Anselot?”

“You’re supposed to be the hero of the prophecy. There’s nothing good about getting involved with a lunatic like Uncle Anselot.”

Enger blatantly made negative remarks about Anselot.

‘What the?’

He was openly speaking ill of Anselot to me, who was known to be Anselot’s lover.

“You’re a foreigner, so you must not be aware of those things, Princess.”

“Those things?”

I crossed my arms crookedly, thinking, ‘Let’s hear more about what he’s saying.’

“Do you know what happened to Uncle Anselot’s former fiancées?”

It was a slightly interesting story. I pricked up my ears with curiosity.

“They all died. In a very cruel way at that.”

However, at his following words, my expression immediately stiffened.

I remembered what a young lady had been babbling about at Lady Elizabeth’s tea party a few months ago.

‘I heard that the women engaged to the prince all died under mysterious circumstances. And the suspect is none other than that killer prince…’

At the time, I had brushed off the story, thinking it was unrelated to me.

“The first fiancée died from poison, and the second fiancée fell from a high tower and died while Uncle was away at war. The third fiancée died while enjoying a boat ride on the palace lake, and also…”

Contrary to his words implying how terrible it was as he shook his head, Enger’s voice sounded a bit excited.

“Isn’t it so strange?”

“Thanks to that, Anselot was stripped of his right to the throne, so it must have been a good thing for the Crown Prince.”

“I won’t deny that.”

At Enger’s answer, I openly frowned.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Just… out of concern.”

Enger smiled and looked at me.

Boing!

[SYSTEM] has entered a state of seduction.

“And I feel a bit sorry too.”

Enger took a step closer to me.

“Sorry?”

“It’s so regrettable that a beautiful and noble person like you, Princess, has fallen for the deception of someone like Uncle Anselot.”

Enger whispered seductively in a sorrowful voice.

“Won’t you give me a chance too? Let me prove that I’m a better man than Uncle Anselot.”

I found it absurd that he was trying to seduce me without even liking me.

It reminded me of how Hezen had tried to capture me before, and it just made me feel bad for no reason.

‘Now that I think about it, this guy seems to dislike me being involved with Anselot?’

I was the princess of the Azester Empire, which dominated the continent.

On top of that, I was now also known as the hero who would fulfill the prophecy.

My existence would surely be a great strength to Anselot.

‘Even if he’s already the appointed crown prince, he probably can’t stop keeping Anselot in check.’

Despite being branded as a murderous lunatic, Anselot was undoubtedly a war hero of Luenhart, no matter what anyone said.

‘I don’t know if his goal is to drive a wedge between me and Anselot, or to really seduce me and gain an advantage for Azester…’

Having made my judgment, I called out to him elegantly, raising my chin.

“Prince Enger. Did you ask why I chose Anselot?”

My gaze landed on Enger’s face.

“If I had to pick one reason, it would be that.”

I smirked, raising one corner of my lips crookedly and smiling with my eyes.

“Prince Anselot’s face.”

“Pardon…?”

“Anselot’s face is so perfectly handsome that it overflows. Even if his personality is a bit lacking, it’s not enough to make up for it.”

Then Enger replied with a look of incomprehension.

“I admit that Uncle Anselot is handsome. But I pride myself on being no less than Uncle Anselot in terms of appearance. No, I dare declare that I’m even better.”

“What?”

What is this confidence?

For the first time since meeting him, I openly expressed my bewilderment.

“No matter how handsome Uncle Anselot is, doesn’t his appearance pale in comparison to mine when he’s next to me?”

However, whether he didn’t know or pretended not to know about my perplexity, Enger spoke brazenly and confidently.

His face was so serious and sincere that it didn’t seem like he was putting on airs.

“…Prince Enger, you’re not very good at self-objectification, are you?”

At those words, Enger made the face of someone who was truly insulted.

“Princess Luibel’s eyes are the ones that lack objectivity.”

“Are you saying my eyes are weird?”

“Go and ask any passerby. Who is more handsome between me, Enger, and Uncle Anselot.”

“Hmph. As if I need to ask.”

I snorted.

I acknowledged that Enger was an unusually handsome man. He could even rival Hezen.

But he was definitely not as much as Anselot.

Because Anselot was noticeably more handsome than even Hezen, who had all the original buffs and was slathered with player-exclusive cash items.

[SYSTEM] ‘s pride has increased by +300.

“Ha, then shall we make a bet?”

[SYSTEM] Your pride has increased by +350.

“Fine. Let’s make a bet.”