A Captive Prince Awaiting Execution Falls In Love With A Young Lady - Episode 20

The night of the following day.

Sirius and Judith were in a hotel room where they would be staying tonight.

“It was delicious, Sirius!”

Judith, still deeply moved, sits in a claw-foot chair, narrowing her eyes with satisfaction.

Even though she went through such a terrible experience yesterday, she seems completely normal.

And what captivates her heart and won’t let go is the local specialty, a beef stew.

Apparently, they put grapes in the sauce, and if they hadn’t mentioned it, Sirius would have wondered, “What is this sweetness?”

It’s a region famous for its wine, but it seems they use the grapes that are sorted out as unsuitable to make sauces for meat dishes like this.

“I am amazed that all the bread that comes out normally is so delicious.”

Leaving the imperial capital, the carriage heads straight towards the royal capital, but of course, at lunchtime, the carriage stops in the restaurant district for a meal, and dinner and breakfast are taken at the hotel.

As expected, or rather, what can I say?

It’s a hotel used by the Imperial Prince and his daughter. The status is different.

First-class hospitality.

First-class meal.

They welcomed us with top-notch security, and the hotel on the first day had a spa in the basement, which Judith and Mr. Sanders seemed to thoroughly enjoy.

“Honestly, I don’t really need to be treated this well… It’s fine if I stay at a different hotel from you guys, you know?”

Sirius sits at the edge of the sofa, somewhat absentmindedly.

Since they are even reserving a room for Sirius, I feel so sorry.

“If we separate from the hotel, it will be a problem.”

I thought for sure you were going to talk about security.

You know, I’m really happy that I can still chat with Sirius like this even at night. Normally, I would have to go home by evening, right?

Resting her chin on the armrest of the chair, Judith laughed.

“Staying up late every night and being able to talk a lot”

“Can you go back to your room early today?”

Sirius says with an exasperated face.

How much do you think Mr. Sanders’ persistent knocking echoed yesterday when he was attacked?

Even so, I was impressed by Judith’s audacity in trying to continue the conversation despite being ignored.

After all, I was attacked during the day. I can’t believe you would want to stay by the side of a man like this.

In the end, Mr. Sanders firmly said, “I will inform the master that the young lady is not coming out of Sirius’s room. I can’t help but wonder what she is doing in there,” and Judith reluctantly returned to her room.

“Hey”

“Huh?”

Sirius lifts the goblet and brings the lemonade to his lips.

“Can’t you stay here tonight? Let’s sleep together!”

Sirius blew lemon water all over the place.

“Ah! What are you doing?!”

“It’s because you say weird things!”

Coughing and sputtering, Sirius wiped his mouth with a handkerchief he had pulled from his pants.

“Why not! Let’s have a pajama party!”

“How about doing it with Timothy?!”

“Why Timothy!”

“Then why me?!”

“Because it’s fun”

Sirius let out a big sigh after being told off firmly.

I return the nearly empty goblet to the table and sit at the edge of the sofa, hugging my knees.

“Stop joking around and go back to your room already.”

“Eh? I’m not joking around. Besides, why are you angry?”

Judith stood up from her chair and, with a light step, sat down next to Sirius.

“Sirius?”

“Hey”

“Yeah”

“How do I look to you?”

Sirius tilted his head and looked at Judith, who was sitting next to him.

She is right next to me.

Perhaps because it was almost bedtime, her milk tea-colored hair was loosened and fell freely, and her leaf-green eyes shone brightly in the indoor light.

It’s not the dress she wore during the day, but a chemise dress that doesn’t cinch at the waist. The silk fabric is thin. Thin and light. The lines of her body are clearly visible, and you can even see her cleavage from the wide neckline.

To those who notice, it’s a disheveled appearance.

That’s the most important thing.

It seems like evidence that they are not at all wary of Sirius.

“Are you asking how I view Sirius?”

Judith asks back with a puzzled expression.

“Yes.”

Sirius nodded deeply.

“I’m not your brother, and I’m not any of your relatives, you know?”

“I know, okay?”

“You are a 16-year-old young lady. I am an 18-year-old guy from around here.”

“Yeah? I wonder if they’re around here.”

“With a guy like that, you…”

“Yeah”

“Where are you right now?”

“Sirius’s Room”

“Yeah. You and I are all alone right now. Sitting together on the sofa. There’s even a bed over there.”

Sirius brings his face closer to Judith.

It’s so close that I feel like our noses might touch.

She neither cowers nor turns away.

It’s not like I’m keeping my distance.

I’m just looking back into Sirius’s eyes.

“Don’t you think you might get attacked?”

“Sirius won’t attack.”

“I don’t know anything about that.”

“I know, right?”

Judith laughs.

Her breath gently brushed against Sirius’s cheek.

“Well, it’s Sirius after all.”

“What is with that absolute trust?”

I feel like I want to hold my head in my hands. Actually, I did.

“You’ve never thought of me as the opposite s3x, have you?”

“What’s up with Sirius like that?”

While I was in a position with my head in my hands, I saw Judith’s legs swinging back and forth.

“Me?”

“Sirius probably only thinks of me as a childhood friend who’s good at fighting.”

In a voice that somehow drips with dissatisfaction.

Sirius answers in the same position.

“That’s not true. I think you’ve become much more beautiful since the first time we met, Lady Kojo.”

“I, you see,”

“Yeah”

About Sirius

“Yeah”

“I’ve thought you were a prince ever since we met.”

“Well, that’s because I was a former prince back then.”

I couldn’t help but smile as I looked up and leaned back on the sofa.

I casually glanced next to me.

And then close your mouth.

Judith.

Blush.

Because he was staring at me with a serious expression.

“I still think that Sirius is my one and only prince.”

“That is…”

Sirius’s words, “What do you mean by that?” were drowned out by a deafening sound of destruction.

With a deafening noise, the window leading to the balcony shatters.

“Judith!”

Sirius cradles Judith in his arms and tumbles from the sofa to the floor.

The sound of destruction that was supposed to have stopped.

But soon the sound of ricocheting bullets continues.

Moreover, it’s right next to Sirius and the others.

The sound resembling the chirping of small birds gradually approaches.

“Guns?!”

“It might be!”

Judith, still held in Sirius’s arms, reached out and picked up the goblet rolling on the floor.

With excellent control, they proceed to destroy the lighting fixtures.

The brightness in the room suddenly dropped.

Suddenly, the gunfire stops.

Sirius took the opportunity to take Judith and hide behind the sofa.

While I’m at it, I gather the scattered pieces of furniture and decor from the floor and, together with Judith, throw them towards the indoor lighting.

While making a continuous clattering sound, the interior maintained a darkness equivalent to the night.

Gunshots.

Finally disappearing.

“……Stopped?”

Sirius murmurs. Nevertheless, Judith remains on guard for a while, keeping her ears perked up.

“Different”

I made it clear.

“I have a feeling they’re coming in.”

“Seriously?”

Even though he was taken aback, Sirius could hear the sound of metal clanking as the hardware was hooked onto the window frame.

“Sirius, let’s get as far away from the window as possible and run to the door.”

Understood.

As they quietly started moving together from behind the sofa, the door to the room was smashed open at the same time.

“Miss!? Young Master Sirius!?”

Mr. Sanders burst in with several knights. Sirius and Judith embraced each other and let out a sigh of relief.

Thirty minutes later.

Sirius and Judith were moving to the room where Duke Cornelius was staying.

“Well, I have a lot of enemies too.”

Cornelius, the court noble, shrugged his shoulders as he was being helped to change clothes by all the butlers.

“I’m sorry for getting you involved, Sirius.”

“No, um…”

Sirius opens his mouth.

“Maybe… is it my fault?”

“Right?! It feels like Sirius has been targeted all the time, doesn’t it?!”

Judith leans forward.

Although she was still in her chemise dress, she was made to wear an additional layer on top by Mr. Sanders and was made to wear a jacket.

“Um… it’s related to something I was going to consult you about earlier.”

Steeling himself, he opened his mouth, but Count Cornelius pressed his raised index finger to his own lips and said, “Shh.”

“Let’s talk about that after we arrive in the royal capital.”

“What!? What does this mean? I’m curious!”

Cornelius, the court noble, laughed at Judith, who was hopping around.

“When we arrive at the royal capital, whether you like it or not, you will be included in the conversation. Until then, bear with it.”

“Now! I want to hear it now!”

“More importantly, hurry up and get ready. We’re leaving this hotel and moving by carriage.”

“Huh?! Right now?!”

Sirius and Judith exchange glances.

Cornelius, the court noble, nodded graciously while having his tie tied by the butler.

“I didn’t expect them to attack us so directly… But there’s no helping it now. Let’s hurry the carriage to the royal capital. It’s only about a five-hour ride from here.”

“Will going to the royal capital make me feel safe?”

Judith tilted her head in confusion. Count Cornelius nodded, saying, “Ah.”

“Over there, it’s mostly the Azil faction. The Nalan faction stands out even in their monk robes.”

A sudden jolt.

Sirius’s heart skipped a beat.

Nalan faction.

That is the sect to which my brother-in-law belongs.

Sirius looks at Duke Cornelius.

I can sense the gaze, though.

He doesn’t say anything.

I won’t say it, but…

I felt like I understood everything.