Two-Faced Princess

“Did you… did you save me?

“Yes. I don’t know where you came from, but if you fall down in a place like this, you are likely to become food for animals.” The woman closed her mouth and stared at Paris.

Upon seeing her up close, he noticed that she was incredibly beautiful, even more so than his first impression. Her dark purple eyes, which were not visible when she was unconscious, were also fascinating.

“What’s your name?”

“….Amoreta.”

“That’s a beautiful name for a beautiful woman. I am Paris, the prince of the empire.”

Amoreta looked at the man through her blurry gaze. He smiled softly from the moment she opened her eyes, and it was definitely an expression that she had seen somewhere.

“Amoreta.”

The man who introduced himself as Paris carried her and put her on a horse. He made eye contact and spoke softly, “Come to the palace with me.”

He was almost nineteen at that time. A man with bright blond hair that had not yet escaped his teenage years.

“I’m looking for someone.”

“Then just stay here until you find that person. I’ll help you.”

Paris’ kindness reminded Amoreta of her savior in Lishan. The one she wanted to find in the capital. She didn’t know that person’s face or age because of the robe, but the slightly visible features of her savior strangely looked similar to this man.

Amoreta smiled brightly at the sudden encounter. Paris also responded with a bright smile.

“Even if you can’t find that person, you can stay in the Imperial Palace forever.”

As she had lost all her money and had not been able to eat for several days, Amoreta did not take her eyes off his face even if she was still confused. She nodded weakly before fainting again.

***

Uriel sighed deeply as he walked through the hallway. He was having a hard time controlling his emotion.

He nearly flipped out when he saw Apollonia unconscious in the forest, and his heart cracked upon hearing that she proposed to Caelion.

However, he had already set his mind. He wouldn’t let himself waver. When he saw Apollonia crying in his arms after losing Sid, he had already vowed.

‘I won’t let her cry again.’

Nothing else mattered as long as he could keep his vow. Regardless of who she was married to, Uriel was the winner if he could see Apollonia smiling. Walking fast, he went back to where he had just been before. It was his old habit to pace back and forth whenever his mind was crowded with thoughts.

Thud!

While he was deeply immersed in thought and unable to look ahead, he bumped into someone.

“Ouch….”

It was Caelion. Judging from the pile of thick books that fell on the floor, he seemed to be heading to the study. Aside from the study that Apollonia normally used, there was one more that was hidden to avoid the eyes of the servants.

“Are you okay?” Uriel picked up the books.

Caelion, whose physique was still much smaller than his, rubbed his pained forehead while receiving the books from Uriel.

“Why won’t you stay still when your wound hasn’t healed?”

Instead of answering, Caelion only stared at him.

“If you have something to say, just say it.”

“You still talk informally to me.” He said as if it were interesting.

Uriel only sneered. “You should work hard to be worthy of that respect.”

At this moment, he was not very pleased with Caelion. In fact, he wanted to punch him from the moment he heard about the proposal. Uriel passed by him without even hearing his answer. However, he had no choice but to stop when he heard Caelion’s remarks.

“My sister and I have no affection for each other.”

E/N: reminder that Caelion calls her that out of respect, not that they’re literally siblings FDKLSAFJLSDKFJ

“…What?”

“My sister said it when she proposed to me. She wants me to live freely and meet another woman. My sister doesn’t love me like that at all.”

Uriel already knew about that, but for some reason, he was glad to hear those words. He slowly turned around and faced Caelion. “So what?”

“So that’s what happened. Whether my sister likes someone or someone likes her is none of my business…” Caelion trailed off, observing the other person’s reaction.

Uriel did his best to put on a calm expression.

“…So I’ve been wanting to ask you. Do you like my sister?”

The serenity cracked.

Then, Caelion smiled softly as if he knew everything. “Do you think it’s not obvious? I can tell from how you look at my sister. Someone as skilled as you can easily live comfortably next to any powerful person, but you choose to stay next to my sister. Well, even though I’m in a similar situation as you now.”

“Stop beating around the bush.” Uriel cut him off sternly.