It wasn’t until the sun was high that Velbutte, who was so pale he looked as if he was about to die, visited the Count Ruth family.

The countess’ butler, who greeted the slowly alighting Velbutte, was also pale.

Velbutte let out a faint groan, feeling that the entire mansion was wrapped by heaviness. It was as if the whole place was cursed by something.

“Your Highness Velbutte…! You came all this way…!”

The first person who rushed out to meet Velbutte was Lumina’s mother, Belverassa.

Despite the situation, her dolled-up face and her well-made hair looked eerily tidy.

Looking at her outstretched hands, which were full of jewelry, Velbutte didn’t feel like receiving them. He could only nod with a vague expression.

“What’s Lumina’s condition?”

“…That’s—”

Towards Belverassa, who was tongue-tied and was looking down, Velbutte felt as if he was chewing on something bitter.

The news arrived early that morning.

Last night, the carriage Lumina boarded to meet Velbutte was met with an accident.

Lumina was fortunate to have not lost her life in the process. However, he was informed that she was both injured and unconscious. Velbutte desperately pondered over what he should do.

Thus, he spent the morning wondering without any success. Then, under the notion of visiting his fiancée’s sister, he visited the Count Ruth family.

If I show the count family some favor, that might make it easier to discuss the monetary issues…

The billed condolence money and consolation fee was to be paid at the expense of Velbutte’s property.

The king and the queen refused to help him—

“—You reap what you sow. Therefore, please take care of this yourself.”

He wasn’t going to be sentenced. He also wasn’t going to lose his title as the crown prince. Therefore, there was no saying he couldn’t build up his fortune once more.

However, he simply wanted to avoid being in a miserable position such as being a penniless crown prince.

It’ll be more doable if the count family accepted to lower the fee… If I were to coax Lumina, I’m sure she’d even lend me some money…

Until then, their relationship was a secret. However, if Velbutte were to inform Lumina’s family that they were about to be engaged, everything would surely be smooth sailing.

Nevertheless, an accident had befallen Lumina.

Thus, discussing money might be difficult.

However, if he were to make a good impression with them, he’d surely be able to proceed with the negotiation.

…I’m such a coward.

He wanted to abandon everything and run away. He realized how terribly he was behaving.

Regardless, now that he had come that far, Velbutte had to continue moving forward because he couldn’t stop.

“…Please visit her, even if only once. She been calling for you for a long time… She must’ve trusted Your Highness a lot…”

Velbutte shrugged at the words.

Even though Belverassa shouldn’t have been aware of their relationship, her words sounded ironic.

Velbutte was guided to Lumina’s room while avoiding Belverassa with his eyes.

“…Uh.”

The room’s curtains were drawn and it was filled with a unique scent that appeared to be a mixture of medicine and blood.

As he walked slowly through the dimly-lit room, he could see that the center of the large bed within the room was slightly bulging.

“—butte, …Your Highness, Vel—?”

Velbutte’s breath was caught in his throat.

He felt awfully tense. He felt an urge just run away, but he couldn’t do that in front of Belverassa and her servants.

“Please listen to her.”

When Velbutte went in a little further, Belverassa left the room and closed the door.

“Lumina!”

At the same time the door could be heard closing, he rushed to the bed.

Lumina’s soft hair was casually spread across the sheets.

“Lumi—hyiiee…!!”

Velbutte couldn’t breath.

Due to his pride as a man, Velbutte suppressed his scream.

More than half of Lumina’s pretty face was covered with bandage.

The white bandages were smeared red with blood, showing how terrible Lumina’s injury was.

Only her exposed left eye was staring straight at Velbutte.

“Velbutte, you’ve come, right?”

“Y, yes…”

He felt terrified to the point of wanting to escape, but Velbutte managed to stay and smiled at Lumina.

“I heard you had an accident… I’m glad that your life is safe.”

Even he, himself, was surprised at how natural he sounded.

Tears began to ooze from Lumina’s eye as she started to wail.

“Velbutte, it hurts…! It hurts…!”

“What happened?”

“A small animal jumped in front of the carriage, and then the horse…!”

Lumina stuttered about what had happened.

Due to the upset horse, the carriage shook, lost its balance, and toppled over in the middle of the road. Along with the right half of the carriage, Lumina was also caught in the crash. She ended up suffering severe injuries to her face, arms, and legs. However, her life wasn’t in danger.

“Well, then just rest and concentrate on healing your body.”

“Yes, thank you, Velbutte…”

Lumina, who happily closed her eye, seemed satisfied with that answer.

While she was pleased, Velbutte was desperate to fix his expression. He was aware that he felt somewhat discouraged.

If he didn’t get to the point right away and leave, he’d be left with a terrible memory.

“Actually, Lumina, I’d like to discuss something with you…”

“Velbutte, I’m truly sorry… I don’t think I will be able to refund the preparation fund right away…”

“What…? Preparation fund…?”

He was the one who intended to talk about money, so why did Lumina bring up such a topic?

While Velbutte was wondering what it was she was talking about, Lumina intermittently started explaining.

The preparation money given by the royal family for Lorona’s wedding had been exhausted.

The Count Ruth family no longer had any property.

The splurging of the count and the countess was the main cause. Afterwards, neither of them was willing to let go of their belongings.

Because of their financial problems, Lumina was told to be come the second wife of an old man.

Lumina, who had finished telling him everything, shed tears and begged in a faint voice—

“—Please help me.”

As tears spilled from her right eye, the bandages on the right side of her face gradually grew damp.

Velbutte couldn’t say anything.

After all, the purpose of his visit was also to ask for money.

He slowly withdrew from the injured Lumina.

“Vel …butte?”

Lumina’s eyes gleamed in confusion as he backed away.

Unable to face her, Velbutte turned on his heels and rushed out of the room.

“Velbutte!!”

As he escaped from Lumina’s room, her cry pierced his back. Outside, Belverassa stood waiting.

Although her face was pale, her smile was strangely seductive.

“Your Highness, you’ve seen Lumina, haven’t you? It’s a pity…”

“…Yes, but her life is not in danger.”

“But her injuries will remain… Even though she’s a noble lady…”

“I know…”

“I heard that she went out to talk to you. Hey, Your Highness… would you mind covering that child’s treatment? It’s quite embarrassing, but due to Lorona’s funeral, we’re a bit tight… Your Highness, you love her, don’t you?”

“…”

The woman in front of him looked like a monster. For a moment, Velbutte forgot how to breath.

She was dressed in flashy jewelry. Her appearance, as she outright lied, was akin to a terrifying monster.

“I’m sorry, but I will have to excuse myself.”

“Your Highness?!”

Velbutte literally ran away from the chasing Belverassa.

Without looking back or stopping, he was dying to leave that residence.

Velbutte was suffocating. He could only release some low gasps which painted everything black.

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***T/N: Lol the prince balked…

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