CWWV 13

Chapter 13

Stius’s choice of words was somewhat displeasing.

‘Use her’…

Yes, if he was using her, then he was using her, but.

“Stius. The expression ‘use her’ doesn’t seem quite appropriate. In any case, that woman is ‘my’ Cooler.”

“Ah…! Yes, I’ll be careful.”

Stius’s eyes widened slightly but soon returned to their original size.

“That sister—make sure she’s tied to the Count household, but pay special attention so she receives the best treatment. She is Cooler’s sister, so she should receive treatment befitting that. Remind them once more that if she doesn’t receive treatment equal to the money given to that house, the money will be reclaimed immediately.”

That woman, Cooler’s sister, was in the position of being held by the Count household without even knowing why.

Of course, it wasn’t only for moral reasons. There was also the practical calculation that if she was satisfied with her working environment, she wouldn’t want to leave that house.

“I understand. I’ll handle it that way. However, about that Count household.”

“Mm, what?”

“They seem to be quite a greedy family. Their daughter is quite beautiful, so they’re apparently secretly aiming for the position of Crown Princess.”

“Crown Princess? Philip’s wife?”

“Yes, it is about time he should be taking a Crown Princess.”

“Hmm… has it already come to that?”

The image of that fifteen-year-old crybaby boy who had thrown a tantrum, crying and screaming that he didn’t want to sit on the Crown Prince’s seat, was still vivid—yet he was already at marriageable age.

In the Crown Prince’s seat that Rodiac had stepped down from, his half-brother Philip, two years younger than him, now sat. His temperament was weak, and his body was frail, so their father the Emperor was displeased—but since Rodiac had kicked aside the Crown Prince’s seat and left, there was no other alternative.

In the line of succession, Philip was next after Rodiac, and there was no other heir with special abilities.

“He’s twenty-two.”

“Mmm.”

Well, considering the custom that heirs to the throne generally married early, twenty-two was indeed about the age to start thinking about marriage.

“Your Highness, now that you’ve found Cooler… even now…”

“No! It’s a seat I already abandoned seven years ago. So stop calling me ‘Your Highness’ as well.”

“What else could I call you besides ‘Your Highness’? My lord is only Your Highness.”

Stius still seemed to hope Rodiac would return as Crown Prince. Judging by how he still called him ‘Your Highness’ even though the ‘Your Highness’ who was even getting married was sitting right there in the imperial palace.

Unlike himself, who had already completely let go of such greed seven years ago.

“You’re speaking disloyal words. You’d better watch your mouth.”

Aside from it being a dangerous statement, Stius must be harboring such lingering attachments because he had never experienced the pain of his entire body burning.

But now Rodiac had no interest or greed in the throne succession whatsoever.

Only one thing—the existence that could save him from the endlessly continuing pain of burning, Cooler—was the sole object of his interest and greed.

To the point where he could no longer even remember why he had endured such severe pain and struggled to protect that seat until seven years ago.

So if he were to return to that seat, there would be only one reason.

Cooler’s demand for him to return.

But there was no possibility of such a thing happening. If Cooler wanted a tender, kind, and generous ‘Crown Prince,’ he might return—but she was a woman who shuddered at the mad Crown Prince who had ‘killed people.’

Such a woman would never demand that he return to someone like him, who couldn’t even reveal his identity as the deposed Crown Prince.

“If the Seydan Count household wants that, add the condition that I’ll arrange a special meeting with Philip. They’re keeping that sister for my sake—they should at least do that much. Whether the Seydan Count’s daughter can win Philip’s heart or not will be up to her… but absolutely do not let them know that I am behind this.”

“Yes!”

“Gift a few dresses to wear when meeting Philip as well. Seeing how they charge the maid for the dress cost, it seems like a family that isn’t well off.”

“I understand!”

As long as he could have Cooler, he didn’t care whether the Seydan Count’s daughter became Crown Princess or Empress.

“Your Highness, but about that.”

“What?”

“The current Crown Prince is preparing for marriage, and you are two years older than him, are you not? You should also think about marriage, Your Highness. How long will you stay alone in a forest like this…”

“This is why they say entering and exiting the restroom are different.”

The moment he found a clue to escape that damned pain, Stius was pushing forward things he hadn’t even dared to dream of before—the Crown Prince’s seat, marriage.

Someone who had been clinging to him just recently saying, ‘Your Highness, please just stay alive.’

“Pardon?”

“Marriage? Stius, think about it. If I were to marry, lie in bed with a woman, and then the madness comes over me and I snap her neck—what then? Where is the woman who would marry me knowing she might die?”

“But you’ve found Cooler, so…”

“Yes, I’ve just barely found Cooler. Securing Cooler safely is the only thing I can think about right now. Marriage is impossible for me.”

Rodiac, who had paused briefly, let out a soft laugh and continued.

“Well, unless there’s someone who would tolerate me holding Cooler’s hand with the opposite hand from the one touching my wife in the bedroom.”

He had no interest in marriage or women to begin with. But saying that would only make Stius go on and on persuading him with ‘You must get married,’ so he pointed out the practical problem.

“Hmm… I apologize. I was too hasty in my regret.”

“I cannot marry unless it’s someone I can marry both myself and my Cooler. If such a woman exists, bring her to me.”

Even if such a woman existed, he had no intention of marrying. However, Rodiac knew that Stius reported every meeting with him to his father after each encounter.

So saying it this way was a method to avoid being bothered for a while.

“…I understand.”

Stius answered in a low voice that sounded almost mournful.

Tch.

“Now go. If you stay longer, the madness might come over me and I might separate one of your arms from your body.”

“…I’ll take my leave.”

Stius had seen Rodiac go mad and rampage several times. Nevertheless, he did not yield to such threats.

Whether he believed that no matter how mad Rodiac became, he wouldn’t kill him or what.

He’s fearless. When even Rodiac himself couldn’t trust himself and had hidden away from the world.

Watching Stius leave, Rodiac once again thought of Cooler—of Sella.

The coolness, the peace he felt whenever he touched her, and above all, the disappearance of pain that gave him the greatest pleasure—that ecstasy.

What would it feel like to have such a being, who felt so good even with just a brief touch, by his side in his space, at all times?

“Marriage, what nonsense.”

He only needed Cooler.

For now, tomorrow at dawn, he would meet that woman again.

What would Cooler feel like at dawn?

His heart pounded with excitement.

It was a pleasant excitement he hadn’t felt in a truly long time.

Patrick was waiting for the woodcutter Roddy in front of the firewood storage. It was still long before dawn, so it was dark.

About five minutes had passed when a figure approached in the darkness, pulling a cart heavily loaded with firewood.

Why is he so big? I didn’t know the woodcutter was that tall.

Patrick’s height and build were not on the small side. To the point where he had rarely met an adult man larger than himself.

Yet the man gradually closing the distance had a height and physique clearly larger than his own. He couldn’t see the face in the darkness, but the figure that looked like a black shadow was so large it felt somewhat threatening.

“Hello? Roddy, sir.”

When the woodcutter finally came right up to him, Patrick greeted the man who was looking down at him crookedly, slightly nervous.

“Who are you?”

The woodcutter asked Patrick, and Patrick’s eyes widened when he properly saw the face of the man who had come right up to him.

Why does this person look like this?

Patrick also had the nickname ‘Handsome Orphan Patrick,’ so he had never been outdone by anyone in looks.

However, the woodcutter who appeared before his eyes had an overwhelmingly outstanding appearance. Not just his face, but his body as well.

“I asked who you are.”

The man spoke again, coldly enough to make the dawn chill seem laughable.

“Ah! I’m Patrick. I’m an employee at the orphanage here. I came out to receive the firewood.”

“I came to see Miss Sella.”

…I came to see Miss Sella?

Patrick thought the man’s words were a bit strange. He must have come to deliver firewood, not to see Sella.