Sister I am the Queen in This Life [Novel] Chapter 162

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: Farewell (1)
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Having successfully infiltrated the de Mare residence, Alfonso looked from side to side. Fortunately, he found himself in an empty storage room just inside the door. As soon as he was safely inside, he checked the paper in his breast pocket.

Luckily, the paper was almost completely dry, save for a slightly damp corner. He made a mental note to never again carry something so important outside without a raincoat, then surveyed his surroundings.

‘I need to get to the second floor…’

As if he were a common thief and not a prince, Alfonso gently opened the storage room door and began to sneak through the house.

***

After a great deal of trouble, Alfonso stood before Ariadne's door and took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

The central staircase of Cardinal de Mare's residence was surprisingly busy with servants, even after dinner had ended. Sneaking up to the second floor had been no easy feat.

To avoid being seen, he’d had to cling to the stair railing and even crawl under a table.

It was the first time in his life that he, a prince of all people, had ever had to sneak around someone's home like a petty thief. In truth, it would be a lie to say he hadn't found it a little exciting. Alfonso gave a hollow laugh at the thought of feeling joy in his current predicament.

And now, his palms were slightly sweaty. What kind of expression would Ariadne make when she saw her boyfriend—surely he wasn't her 'ex-boyfriend' already—who had barged in late at night after she had told him she didn't want to see him for a while? Would she be angry? Pleased?

He was afraid to turn the doorknob, but Alfonso had no time to waste. If a servant roaming the hallway were to spot him, it would all be over.

Steeling himself, he opened Ariadne's door.

- *Click.*

The door wasn't locked. Alfonso took a step into the dark room and closed the door behind him.

The first thing he saw upon opening her door was the same sofa he had seen on his previous visit. It seemed to be a sitting room.

Ariadne's chambers were a suite, like an apartment, with a central sitting room flanked by a study and a bedroom on the left and right.

The sitting room was completely dark. A faint light seeped from under the door on the left.

Feeling like a thief, Alfonso crept over and quietly opened the second door.

- *Creeak.*

The second door opened with a very soft sound.

The moment he opened this door, Alfonso knew it was the bedroom. A young woman's scent wafted out to greet him. It was a subtle fragrance, reminiscent of lily of the valley—alluring, yet with a gentle hint of fresh grass.

“...Ari?”

Prince Alfonso whispered in a small voice. But in the quiet bedroom, it sounded as loud as thunder.

Alfonso carefully stepped further inside. A single candle on the bedside table flickered precariously. There was no sign of movement from within the canopy bed next to it.

“Ari…?”

Calling her name once more in a soft voice and receiving no answer, Alfonso carefully drew back the curtain of Ariadne's bed. The thin, rustling linen tickled his hand.

“!”

As he pulled back the curtain, all the tension drained out of him. All his worrying over whether she would be angry or pleased to see him had been for naught; his love was fast asleep, her head buried in her pillow, dressed in a simple nightgown.

***

“Ari?”

Alfonso called her name softly. But her tightly closed eyelids and jet-black lashes didn't even twitch.

Alfonso sat on Ariadne's bed and, as gently as possible so as not to startle her, carefully shook her shoulder.

“Ari. It's me.”

But she didn't make a sound. She seemed to be lost in a deep sleep, completely unaware. Alfonso slowly looked around and saw a goblet on the bedside table where the candle sputtered. At the bottom of the goblet was a small pool of a yellow liquid, almost entirely consumed.

‘...Did she take some medicine to sleep?’

There was nothing to do but wait.

- *Thump.*

Alfonso sat down on the edge of Ariadne's bed. The tension he'd felt while sneaking in vanished in an instant. Sitting on the bed, Alfonso slowly gazed at her sleeping form.

Her eyes, though shut tight, were shaped for the most beautiful of smiles. He gazed at her lush, dark lashes, the elegant bridge of her nose, and the cherry-like lips below, parted just enough to reveal a hint of her cute front teeth. It was hard to resist the urge to touch her. He knew how soft those cheeks, that skin, were.

But Alfonso only raised his hand to brush Ariadne's ebony hair back from her forehead.

Some might look at Ariadne now and see only sculpted beauty. Others might feel lust for her, defenseless in her sleep. Of course, it would be a lie to say he hadn't wanted to embrace and kiss her the moment he entered the room.

But right now, in this moment, the strongest emotion Alfonso felt was… a profound tenderness.

‘A poor soul. So brilliant, born into a position that should have afforded her more freedom and privilege than anyone, yet all she's ever known is hardship.’

She was the daughter of one of the most powerful men in San Carlo, yet she had no adult she could trust or lean on. In that, Alfonso thought, he and Ariadne were alike.

No, he at least had his mother until recently. Now, Alfonso felt like a small child left alone by the water's edge. It was a truly terrifying and heavy feeling.

Ariadne had been walking this hopeless tightrope between life and death for years, ever since she was a very young child.

‘...I might not have been able to do it.’

Alfonso could only admire her fortitude, her resilience.

He watched the candlewick grow longer as the night deepened, lost in thought. He admired what he thought was a feat she had endured and accomplished over sixteen years. But he didn't know that it was, in fact, the result of nearly twice that time, an achievement she had forged through fire.

Reproaching himself for his own weakness in not being able to catch up to her in an instant, Prince Alfonso stayed awake through the night.

‘…’

As the melted wax filled the candlestick to the brim, and the faint light of dawn began to fill the window, Alfonso came to a conclusion.

‘...I'm going to the Kingdom of Gallico, Ari.’

He looked around the room. On a small desk Ariadne used for light reading in her bedroom, there was parchment and a quill.

Relying on the nearly extinguished candlelight and the distant dawn, Prince Alfonso wrote, letter by letter. It wasn't the blue ink he always used, but it was his usual energetic scrawl.

「To my most precious Ariadne,

I don't even know if I have the right to call you that. If one-sided affection is a discourtesy, then I am surely being discourteous. But I had to confess this before I left. You are the most precious person I have left.

Forgive me for leaving such a sudden letter. I wanted to speak with you before leaving, but the opportunity didn't arise. I'm just glad I could see your sleeping face before I go.

My father the King has ordered me to the Kingdom of Gallico. I depart tomorrow... no, this morning. The official reason is to console my maternal relatives in Gallico. I agonized over whether to obey, and though I have no real way to refuse, after thinking it over all night, I've decided it's right for me to go.

It's not that I agree with my father. The idea of the Prince of Etruscan, who has just lost his mother, going to console his maternal relatives in Gallico, who have just lost their aunt, is frankly absurd. I suspect what my father truly wants is for me to finalize my engagement to Grand Duchess Lariesa and solidify our marriage alliance. But I will not obey that command.

However, I do think it's necessary to put an end to this tiresome business. I want to make it clear to the Gallican side that the marriage talks are definitively over, receive an apology for the border invasion, and, above all, belatedly take the responsibility that I should have borne.

Ari, I intend to go to Gallico and bring back Sir Elko. I can't just stand by and do nothing about someone who was hurt because of me.

I will take the responsibility I must bear. I will accomplish what I must and return. If only to become a man who can stand proudly before you, I will make this visit to Gallico a success.

I'm leaving Lady L's letter with you. I will take a copy to Gallico to use as evidence when I break off the engagement talks. But it seems unwise to bring the original to Gallico. Just in case.

Please don't tell anyone and keep it safe for me. Even if you don't wish to see me, this is for the good of the country... I'm asking you. I have no right to face you when even the words in this farewell letter are just another request made of you.

Until the day we meet again and can surely smile together,

A.」

Prince Alfonso placed the firmly written letter on Ariadne's pillowcase. Then, from his pocket, he took out Grand Duchess Lariesa's note—now dry but with slightly wrinkled edges—and tucked it under her pillow. It was a place where Ariadne would be sure to find it as soon as she woke up.

He lifted his head and looked at the princess sleeping under her covers. Even as dawn was breaking, Ariadne remained lost in a deep slumber. His gaze fell on the nape of her neck and her chest, rising and falling with each soft breath. She was noticeably thinner than the last time he had seen her.

“Poor thing.”

The thought that Ariadne must have skipped her meals again pained Alfonso's heart. He reached out and brushed her hair back from her forehead. Not even a few strands had been out of place, but he felt compelled to fix even the smallest thing that seemed amiss with her.

“You don't have to bear it all alone.”

Alfonso whispered in a low voice.

“From now on, I will be the one you can lean on.”

He was ashamed of himself for having tried to lean on her. A son of de Carlo, his mother's son, had to stand on his own two feet.

Those around him were not people to rely on, but people to protect. He had only realized this after losing his mother and being forcibly cast out from beneath her shadow.

Alfonso quietly pressed a kiss to Ariadne's forehead. It was a gesture so quiet it was almost reverent. Like a vow.

- *Cock-a-doodle-doo!*

From far in the distance, he heard the crow of a morning rooster. It was time for everyone to wake. And it was time for him to rise as well.

When he returned, nothing would be the same.