The memory of a while ago struck her, and her fear grew even bigger. However, the arm wrapped tightly around her waist pulled and hugged her body firmly, so she wouldn’t fall off the horse.

“…….”

She had opened her eyes which were closed tightly without realizing it. Hazel pushed his chest away with a hard thump when she realized that her body was almost buried in Achilleon’s arms. But it wasn’t enough.

And when Hazel realized that she was clutching his clothes without knowing, she hurriedly removed her hand.

“What are you doing?!”

When a sense of relief washed over her, Hazel let a shout all of a sudden.

“You do whatever you want, and now what again?”

Achilleon pulled the reins once again.

“What is this, ahh!”

The horse began to dash again after turning its head in the direction it had passed through earlier, and Hazel chewed on his tongue. A smile flashed on Achilleon’s mouth once again when she shut her mouth due to the stinging pain which spread through her body.

Fortunately, the horse’s head was turned the opposite way, and they were getting closer to the hunting ground again. That’s enough for now.

After a while, the relaxed Hazel spoke up while barely staring at him.

“The Crown Prince of Demophos is such a gentleman.”

She looked at him with eyes with tears hanging on her eyelashes, but Achilleon was just relaxed on his own.

“I led a rough life on the battlefield and there was no time for me to learn such a thing.”

He responded with a smiling face again. He had such a detestable face that made her want to hit him right away if only he was not the owner of the horse.

“Why don’t you expect that kind of etiquette from Sisef, Princess?”

Hazel finally decided to stop arguing with him any further. She turned away from him and fixed her gaze only at the horse’s head.

It was wonderful to see its black mane fluttering lightly in the wind. It was a familiar sight to her. But it’s probably the first time for Achilleon.

“Were you satisfied with what I said?”

Achilleon seemed to have sensed that Hazel’s sudden silence was not just to keep herself not talking to him.

“…This horse… What’s its name?”

I already knew its name. Because this horse was a war horse that even accompanied him on the battlefield.

“Callius. It’s named after the famous knight of Demophos.”

“I see. It seemed to be a very precious horse.”

Hazel watched the horse mane fluttering in the wind and reached out to it with her fingertips. The feeling of his stiff yet soft mane brought back the memories of her previous life that had already passed.

“He’d have gotten the hump if I wasn’t there. He didn’t eat nor sleep, he even broke the door of the stable, and managed to escape several times.”

There was a slight chuckle in his voice while talking about Callius’ atrocities. It was natural for him to sit on it as it was the horse he brought to the battlefield and the one who he shared his life and death with there.

It’s a horse who was full of loyalty and affection for its owner, perhaps that was why she felt the horse was grumpy on the day he took Hazel to ride on this horse.

“…I guess it took after its owner.”

Hazel said while watching the mane swaying in the wind. She felt pretty much disordered when recalling the memory of riding this horse with Achilleon as it ran through the fields of Demophos.

“How do you know that?”

Whenever Achilleon spoke, Hazel flinched a bit because his breath tickled her ears.

“Horses are the animals that can relate most closely to their owners. It’s no doubt that they communicate with each other a lot.”

Callius resembled Achilleon. Either because of similar things they shared with each other such as the arrogant attitude that wouldn’t have been allowed if not because of its owner, or fierceness concealed behind an elegant appearance at the first glance.

Hazel, who was looking at the horse, suddenly lifted her head up.

“How much time do we have left?”

It was not easy to gauge the distance to the royal hunting ground because there were all forests and trees surrounding them.

“Why? Because you’re afraid Sisef has been waiting for you with his neck stretched out?”

Hazel let out a chuckle at his sarcasm.

“There must have been people waiting for Your Highness.”

At his glance that looked like he was asking her who was waiting for him, Hazel quickly began to speak again.

“I think Princess Miella would’ve been waiting for you.”

“You were keeping an eye on us?”

Achilleon asked as if this kind of matter was interesting to him.

“Other than me, a lot of people also gazed at both of you. They said there seemed to be something special between the two of you.”

Through Miella’s actions, she could guess what the Concez Family was thinking. Then, what would Achilleon think about this?

From Achilleon’s sight, the marriage to Miella would never cause any sort of disadvantage to him. He was the child of a low-ranking concubine who was born from a foreign country, so the support for his foothold was extremely weak within the Empire.

If he couldn’t set a strong foothold within his homeland, it would have been beneficial for him to draw power even if it meant he would have to depend on the foreign power.

In the past, she wasn’t even aware that the Concez Family had an intention of marrying their daughter to Demophos, but now the circumstances have been different.

‘I wonder if Lady Pais knew that Duke Concez was trying to send Miella to Achilleon?’

Lady Pais was trying to bring the Concez Family to be on her side.

But if Miella would get married to Achilleon.

The power of the Concez would’ve just become stronger, and if Lorette would’ve also become Sisef’s wife…

She would’ve become an even more unnecessary person to both the King and the Concez family.

[tn: ‘she’ in this line refers to Hazel.]

“Are you thinking of marrying Young Lady Miella?”

Hazel asked boldly on purpose. Hazel didn’t ask that as a mere girl, but as the Royal Princess Hazel.

“I don’t know, what do you think I should do?”

His way of speaking sounded as if he was wondering. She noticed that he was avoiding this topic on purpose.

“I want to hear what the First Princess thinks about it first.”

“But it’s the wedding of Your Highness?”

“The more reason for me to ask you regarding this.”

He smiled lightly as he urged Hazel to answer. It was an utterly dark smile.

“…The power from the wife’s family is a huge support to her husband. You should’ve known about it.”

Hazel gave a clear answer.

“What kind of power?”

“Aren’t Your Highness going to ascend the Imperial Throne?”

“Everyone said I was just a puppet who became the Crown Prince. Or a cannon fodder.”

“I’m sure you will never become like what they said.”

He curved the corner of his lips up as if it were funny.

“But I’m thinking of abdicating the throne to him at the right time.”

“…Pardon me, what?”

Hazel stared at him in bewilderment.

He was originally the person who had such an idea.

“Have you imagined how the fate of the Crown Prince who couldn’t become an Emperor would’ve ended up as?”

Hazel was curious about his real feelings. Was he just trying to confuse her, or was this his hidden plan in which he was trying to reassure his opponents by telling them publicly that he didn’t have any interest in the throne?

“If I was Sizef, I won’t be kind and affectionate, therefore even if I was just his half-brother, there won’t be any pity and I kill myself right away.”

“What are you talking about…”

Hazel said while feeling the chill ran down his spine.

“Or perhaps, should I grant myself the position of Grand Duke? To live far from the capital and to hunt leisurely.”

Achilleon was actually calm as if he was talking about someone else’s life.

“Sisef is not the type who can kill his own brother, so you don’t have to be concerned too much about that.”

“Your judgment of my brother is quite nice.”

“……..”

“But you know what? If you leave your opponent without eliminating them beforehand, you will be disqualified as a ruler.”

“Not everyone is like that. In history… There have been many cases where half-brothers were spared. Rather, they have exchanged for political help to each other.”

“I believe that the smart princess will know well-enough that there are more cases where the situation is not the same every time.”

He spoke again in a languid voice.

“There’s no blood nor tears in the presence of power. The same case would’ve happened if I’m against my own brother, but then again, Sisef and I were born from different mothers.”

Hazel tensed up and asked.

“Then I will ask you again. Your Highness, will you kill your half-brother when you ascend to the throne?”

He looked down at her with narrowed eyes. Then, Hazel continued without avoiding Achilleson’s eyes which was asking as if he wanted to hear her answer.

“I don’t think Your Highness will do that.”

“How could you guarantee it?”

“That…”

Everyone said that Achilleon would kill Sisef. The reason was, if he saved the child born from the Empress after he became the Emperor, it meant that he would’ve kept the cause of the useless rebellion alive.

However, not only did Achilleon keep Sisef alive, but he also granted the peerage of the Grand Duke so that he could lead a peaceful life and enjoy his life as a member of the Imperial Family as well.

Since Achilleon did so in his previous life before returning to the past, his faith that Sisef would let him live could have been sincere when he became the Emperor later on. Because people just judge others based on what they want to believe in.

“I can see that you care about Sisef a lot.”

“…….”

“But it’s hard to believe that the Crown Prince will abdicate the throne.”

“Why?”

“You don’t have to conceal your ambition in front of me.”

Hazel smiled and said so. He was like a snake crouching his body while concealing his venom now.

He wasn’t a man who would be lame enough to easily give up what he had. If he did, he wouldn’t have survived and won every time on the battlefield.

“Ambition.”

He seemed to dwell on what she had said just now.

“Then what is the ambition of the Princess?”

“I…”

Hazel thought quietly for a brief moment and shut her mouth. Rather than being ambitious, she just thought of ideas on how to survive in this kingdom.

“There is no such thing. I’m just a mere Princess. I do not wish to be ambitious.”

My ambition was actually to protect this country and myself from you. Hazel reiterated to herself.

He was a man who kept his promise, even if he was convinced that his wife had committed infidelity with his half-brother, he still didn’t touch his wife’s country. Of course, on one condition in which she wouldn’t take her own life.

“I’m just following my destiny.”

Hazel looked up at him with serene eyes.

“Just like Your Highness who follows your own destiny.”

They just have to follow their respective destiny. Achilleon would’ve become the Emperor, and Achilleon couldn’t even have her unless she walked over and hugged him. That was her fate in this life.

“Hazel.”

“…….”

Hazel stiffened unconsciously at the extremely low-pitched voice as he completely dropped the playfulness in it which was still there a moment ago. Because it was the same voice she had heard in her previous life.