The Princess Who Saw the Fall of Her Homeland Strives to Change Fate by Becoming the Cold Prince's Bride! - Chapter 23

Elze spoke, and Richard fell silent, lost in thought.

His eyes stared straight at Elze.

She jumped a little and braced herself—but then…

“You have a nose like a dog.”

That was what Richard mumbled.

His voice clearly sounded exasperated.

But Elze wasn’t the kind of girl to get discouraged and think, ‘Prince Richard just said I’m like a dog… It’s all over for me…’

Instead, she saw this as a chance and quickly thought of a way to spin it.

“Hehe, don’t you think a bride who can also taste-test for poison is really valuable? Please vote for Elze, the girl with a dog’s nose! Woof!”

She tried to joke, but Richard didn’t laugh.

Still, unlike last time, he didn’t reject her outright either.

“…Hmph.”

Snorting as if to say the conversation was over, Richard turned and walked away.

Elze thought about going after him, but chasing too much might just make him hate her.

So instead, she quietly watched him leave.

“…He’s a little scary, but maybe not a bad person,”

A tiny voice spoke from her apron pocket—Chiffon peeked his head out.

“Yeah, I think so too,” Elze answered.

Richard was scary.

If Elze hadn’t stopped him, Princess Karina might’ve ended up just like the future Elze had seen with her ‘Future Sight.’

But Richard had only acted that way because he believed Karina tried to poison him.

He was cold, frightening, and ruthless to enemies—but he wasn’t the kind of man who killed for no reason… at least, she hoped not.

(But if that’s true, then why does he want to wipe out all the people with “Future Sight” like us?)

Yes, in ancient times, some users of Future Sight used their power for selfish reasons, causing huge wars.

But wiping out an entire people, even innocent ones, seemed too extreme.

(Is there… some other reason?)

Elze made up her mind—she had to learn Richard’s true intentions.

“Still… so you were here again,”

She turned around and looked back at the ruins.

Even when she focused hard, she couldn’t sense any sounds or movement inside.

There probably wasn’t any secret meeting going on here.

“Maybe I’ll go inside.”

“Eek! That’s scary!”

Chiffon squeaked and hid back inside her apron.

Elze wasn’t exactly fearless either, but the warmth against her chest gave her courage.

Cautiously, she stepped into the crumbling building.

“It’s a pretty big place…”

Inside, parts of the structure had collapsed. Cobwebs hung from the corners.

It clearly hadn’t been used in a long time.

As she moved forward, she reached a large open space.

Most of the ceiling had fallen in, and she could see the sky above.

As she looked around at the remaining walls and structure, she realized—

“Could this be… a chapel?”

It was almost completely ruined, but the shape of the windows and the layout of the room looked just like the chapel in her hometown.

(So this was an abandoned church…?)

The walls and floor were dark, as if burned.

“Maybe there was a fire…”

That would explain the damage.

She didn’t know why the Ernstahl Empire had left this building standing for so long, but…

(Why does Richard keep coming here…?)

Maybe he had some emotional attachment to this place.

She didn’t know. She really didn’t—but…

(I’m sure… he has his own reasons.)

She wanted to understand Richard more. To do that, she needed to get closer to his feelings.

“…Alright!”

There was still time before the maids came to check.

Rolling up her sleeves, Elze got to work.

“Elze, what are you doing?”

Chiffon popped his head out again. Elze smiled brightly.

“This place feels a little creepy, right? So I want to clean it up, make it brighter and nicer.”

To a normal person, that might sound like nonsense.

But Chiffon thought about it for a moment, then gently snuggled up to her.

“…Hehe, you’re really kind, Elze.”

“Really? I think I’m pretty calculating, actually.”

“Calcu…what?”

“Hehe, maybe that word’s a bit too hard for you.”

Elze’s biggest goal was to become Richard’s bride to protect her homeland, Maglier.

But now… she also truly wanted to know more about him.