When the Imperial Princess bowed her head, the one in trouble was me.
This place was the dormitory, and naturally, countless students lived here apart from me. And now, the spot where the Imperial Princess had buried her head was right in the hallway.
If this continued, someone might witness this disgraceful scene.
And unfortunately, if that witness happened to be a loyal subject of the Empire, it would be the end. How humiliating for a member of royalty, bearing the blood of a dragon, to be in such a position before the second son of a country baron.
It wouldn’t have been strange if my blood pressure rose so high that I could have died.
It was fortunate that it turned out this way. If rumors spread, both the Imperial Princess and I would inevitably find ourselves in trouble. Though, perhaps it wouldn’t matter much to me as I was already in quite the predicament.
Thinking that calmed my head a little.
I tentatively leaned my head out to look around the hallway. Thankfully, there were no people coming or going since it was nighttime.
It was a moment of relief.
In an instant, my hand caught the Imperial Princess’s arm and pulled her up. The Imperial Princess, with a dazed expression, was dragged into the room, and I pulled the doorknob.
With a bang, the Imperial Princess and I were isolated from the outside.
Two spirited young people were alone in a closed space.
It was a situation enough to raise suspicions, but it was better than being caught witnessing the sight of the Imperial Princess kneeling.
It seemed the Imperial Princess finally realized that fact.
She made a surprised “Ah!” expression, then lowered her head deeply and began to cautiously gauge my reactions. She was so humble that it was almost bewildering.
“I- I’m sorry…”
At the Imperial Princess’s timid apology, I swallowed a laugh and shook my head.
It wouldn’t be polite to say anything bad to someone who had gone out of their way to see me. Not to mention that the Imperial Princess and I had crossed the boundary between life and death together.
Although I was the one saving her.
I decided to take on the role of breaking the silence on behalf of the flustered Imperial Princess.
“Your Highness, why have you come to this humble place at this late hour…?”
“You don’t need to be so formal!”
Though it was the natural courtesy a noble should show to royalty, the Imperial Princess waved her hands in surprise.
Her grayish eyes even displayed a sense of desperation.
“W-well… Sir Ian is also the owner of the Dragonblood Glyph.”
That damn ‘Dragonblood Glyph’ talk was now somewhat tiresome.
Because of that Dragonblood Glyph, a crisis was soon to arrive for me. Thinking about it, it could be said that the cause was the Imperial Princess.
In the chaos of trying to save her, I had drawn attention to the Dragonblood Glyph.
But that wasn’t the Imperial Princess’s fault.
Broadly speaking, it was something done to save the world, and it was a path I had chosen.
There were too many bloodstains along the path I had walked to blame anyone now.
“The Dragonblood Glyph doesn’t really matter. There are some circumstances, after all; I’m just the second son of a country baron, anyway…”
“…Th-that’s not it!”
The Imperial Princess urgently interrupted my words.
“Even so, Sir Ian is my hero… and he is also a senior at the Academy.”
The face of the Imperial Princess, continuing her speech, was close to tears.
If I continued being courteous like this, it seemed she would start shedding tears.
Finally, I let out a long sigh, unable to bear the thought of making a girl cry.
It was a sign of surrender.
“…Alright, Shi-en.”
As soon as I said ‘Shi-en,’ her demeanor visibly brightened.
However, my expression remained somewhat sour.
The Percus Family was a noble of the Empire. Naturally, it wasn’t comfortable for me, a member of that family, to speak casually to royalty.
It was due to the education I received from a young age regarding the hierarchies of nobles and royalty.
Although my values had loosened recently, I still couldn’t help but feel a bit of hesitation.
However, it appeared the Imperial Princess interpreted my hesitation somewhat differently.
She looked flustered, wavering, and then once again bowed her head to the ground.
“I- I’m sorry! I… I’ve caused you trouble in many ways…”
“No, it’s alright… no, it’s really fine. So you can get up.”
I was about to revert to formality again in that moment but quickly corrected my tone.
Of course, the Imperial Princess didn’t seem to care about it at all. She trembled and continued to repeat her apologies to me.
“I know that I’ve caused trouble by thoughtlessly inciting others without knowing Sir Ian’s intentions… and that I’ve caused trouble to Sir Ian’s acquaintances and family. I understand that these are unforgivable sins.”
“It’s not that it’s absolutely unforgivable…”
“…B-but!”
The expression on my face became more sullen at her words being interrupted again.
Does this woman even care to listen to what I have to say?
But the words spilling from the Imperial Princess were all filled with genuine sincerity.
“Even if it can’t be undone, I will strive to wash away that sin as much as possible… Before that, the rudeness I committed, the mistakes I made. I sincerely apologize.”
I was about to tell her to stop and get up, but I sealed my lips.
Her trembling body, quaking with tension, was enough to invoke sympathy.
No, before that, I had a fleeting glimpse of the lonely girl she must have been.
A girl once despised by everyone.
What kind of feelings had that girl lived with, nearly choked to death by her mother?
Then, my tongue, which had been moving thoughtlessly, paused.
Perhaps this was an unfamiliar experience for the Imperial Princess.
That someone was willing to sacrifice themselves to save her; that such an obvious story might have been everything the Imperial Princess longed for.
And because of that, she was even more afraid of losing it.
The obsession the Imperial Princess showed me, and her excessive humility were expressions of that fear. My heart wasn’t cruel enough to belittle her efforts.
Finally, the words that flowed from my barely parted lips were merely a short fragment.
“…Do as you wish.”
It was a voice mixed with a sigh.
In fact, it wasn’t entirely the Imperial Princess’s fault. She had sufficient reasons to misunderstand, and therefore, as I said before, there was nothing to truly hold against her.
But even if I forgave her, if the Imperial Princess couldn’t forgive herself, it would be meaningless.
I didn’t know how far she was willing to go, but it was best to let her reach as far as she wanted. That was the sentiment in my answer.
I couldn’t tell if my sincerity was conveyed.
However, I was satisfied merely with the faint trembling of the Imperial Princess’s body subsiding. Her sigh of relief drifted by, tickling my ears.
Still, it was a fact that the sight of the Imperial Princess bowing her head made me uncomfortable, so I decided to carefully urge her.
“Now, I understand, so you should start to rise…”
“Ah, not yet!”
The Imperial Princess’s voice was still soaked in thirst.
I thought that would be enough, but it seemed her thoughts were somewhat different.
It had barely been a short while since I had given her the permission to do as she pleased. In the end, with a mix of worry and curiosity, I resolved to watch what the Imperial Princess would do next.
After hesitating for a moment, the Imperial Princess suddenly seemed to recall something she had been planning and gasped.
“It’s still not enough. Uh, that is… right!”
And the next moment.
There was a sound like a peck.
My mind went blank. For a moment, I couldn’t comprehend what the Imperial Princess had just done.
The Imperial Princess, who had been bowing her head, crawled towards me in that position. That alone was already quite shameful, but she didn’t stop there.
She kissed the tip of my footwear.
Those noble lips of royalty, which could achieve so much with a single word.
She must have put tremendous effort into keeping them untainted until now.
To allow those pure lips, resembling her pure white eyes, to make contact with the filthy tip of a shoe was something that needed no explanation.
My mind went utterly blank. No, it was so blank that I jumped up from my spot.
“W-what are you doing, Your Highness!”
I reverted back to using respectful language instinctively.
The Imperial Princess, surprised by my intense reaction, widened her eyes in shock.
Then she hesitantly rose and, with an embarrassed giggle, spoke to me.
“I-I remembered when Sir Ian once told me to kiss his foot… Hehe, that was meant as an apology.”
Of course, that suggestion was somewhat impolite, but it was still a courtesy that nobility could show to royalty. After all, it was one of the highest forms of loyalty a subject could express to the Emperor.
However, it was not a stance that royalty should take towards the second son of a country baron.
In the end, I had no choice but to sweep my face with my hand again.
What on earth did the Imperial Princess perceive me as?
It seemed it would take quite a long time before the girl’s heart would fully open up.
