At The End Of The Hidden Greenery

Chapter 6

“I can provide Aleph with a strong foundation and posterity of the nobles, and you can place the Akarna’s blessing in his place.”

“……”

“I like you. I think we can do well together. What if I give up my position just a little bit?”

It must have been said as a compliment. Her laughter was closer to pure favor towards her than a passive-aggressive check against her enemy.

But Jiwoo’s heart grew cold in an instant. That summer day, he kissed her to the point where it felt like the heat that had reached its climax and had not cooled down for a moment, and yet, it was soon extinguished.

This person called him Aleph.

Jiwoo still called him Your Highness.

“You seem to be calling His Highness by name.”

“Oh dear. Of course. We’re getting married.”

“……”

“And no matter how you are the Akarna, your position is still that of a commoner.”

It was like that, on the Empire’s sacred ground.

While diligently performing her duties as the Akarna, she was not once paid and considered a servant of the Empire and not of God. It was because of the crown prince that she thought it was a good thing even if she was forced to endure it. It was because of her lover.

But maybe she was alone on that idea.

No matter what Jiwoo was thinking, the woman continued to chat about her own experiences.

“You don’t know how much I sacrificed for him. This includes acknowledging your existence.”

“……”

The talk of the noisy social circles continued, and with Jiwoo keeping her mouth shut, she was not even curious about it.

The topic about the three has been subject to considerable scrutiny.

The passionate crown prince, who would not give up his love, even though the infertile Akarna was likely to lower his status. His benevolent fiancée, who did not doubt him. And Jiwoo, who became an obstacle in the crown prince’s shining life.

That’s it? Was it like that? Really?

Was she the only fool who cared about such things?

She was able to let go of the past because of love, only live in the present, and she could endure everything while drawing the future with one person.

The crown prince, Aleph, was not like that. His love was calculated from the start. For even a single moment, love could not have surpassed his purpose and made love his priority. Was the crown prince trying to maintain this relationship until he narrowed her grounds?

What did he give up?

He didn’t give up on anything. Rather, he used this matter to solidify his good image.

It felt like her love had fallen to the ground and got trampled on. She was an idiot who threw everything away and put Aleph and love first. She thought that it would be okay to settle here without returning to her reality as long as she had Aleph. It would be better to throw away everything that made her in the past and start here.

‘I love you.’

Aleph’s shy confession flashed through her mind.

He might have loved her. It’s just that he wasn’t the kind of person who would give up something more valuable to him just because of love. Jiwoo’s love was not grand enough to make him do something so great.