My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage Chapter 125
Translated by d6y (ko-fi)
Chapter 125
"Wait a minute, Your Highness!" I say, unable to hold back.
The Crown Prince's gaze galls on me as I speak the first time in my long silence. "What's the matter, Skyla?"
‘It seems that Skyla, too, wishes to have a word in response to the Duchess's outrageous remarks’
The Crown Prince's eyes calms down from its mixture of contempt and mockery. It's as if all the impurities of a moment ago have washed away.
"Don't ignore the prophecy of the great gemstone diviner!"
And just like that, I decided to become a cultist.
"...What?" Dumfounded, the Crown Prince frowns. I don't pay it any mind and join my mother’s lie.
"Do you see this amethyst bracelet on my arm right now, Your Highness?" Taking my hand away from his, I show him the amethyst bracelet on my arm. It's the bracelet I've worn earlier to cheer up Phoebe.
"Ah, yes. It's a pretty bracelet."
"It's not just any bracelet." I exclaim proudly, showing the bracelet right in front of his face.
Okay, let's just get this over with. My reputation has been crawling along at rock bottom for a long time now anyway! So I don't care if my reputation, which doesn't have as much as a rat's arse left in it now, gets buried completely in the ground!
"This is a gemstone bracelet I've been wearing specifically to ward off the bad luck that's been circulating in the Kaerun Duchy this winter." I stiffen my face and speak my bullsh”t with pride.
I am ashamed.
"The mystical power contained within this amethyst should be able to ward off the dark forces that have been cast upon the Duchy."
I am truly ashamed.
I want to turn into powder right now and blow away in the wind far away.
I wish someone would turn me into stone and throw me into the centre of a lake far away.
Please.
Meanwhile, my mother is sneakily sprinkling pepper on the napkin in front of her.
"...?" What is she doing?
"Princess Skyla...." Above the Crown Prince's face, looking at me, is a sign that reads, ‘Has Kayla gone mad?’
Ouch, that hurt more than I thought it would, seeing it so blatantly.
My father sits across from me in a daze, his eyes practically popping out of his head. "Honey, Skyla. Since when do you believe in such unseemly superstitions that only a commoner would…?"
"Watch your tongue, Duke!" My mother, ever the support, steps in. "The amethyst on Skyla's arm is listening to you right now, Duke, and you mustn't upset the gemstone!"
"Honey, what is the matter with you all of a sudden?"
"My dear Duke, when have I ever spoken to the Duke in a way that was harmful to the gemstone?"
No, Mother, you're going too far.
"For the well-being of our Duke of Kaerun in the long run, we must listen to the gemstone diviner!"
I understand your intentions, Mother, so stop it now.
"We must postpone the engagement of His Highness and Skyla until the evil aura has dissipated!"
With those words, my mother grabs the napkin in front of her, and buries her face in it. She begins to sob with all her might.
The Crown Prince and my father's faces crumpled.
"Duchess?"
"My dear!" The father's eyes widen and his jaw clenched as he stares at her. "No, what on earth is the matter? Darling, don't cry!"
"Oh, dear Duke, I am so sad!"
"Wipe away your tears, my little baby bird, for the sight of them would tear my heart out at once!" My father rises hastily from his seat and kneels before my mother.
My mother, seeing how worried my father is, bursts into more tears. "Alas, Duke… what if the Crown Prince marries Skyla and something terrible happens to the Duchy?"
"Fear not. I will surely protect my lady!" My father takes a handkerchief from his inner pocket and carefully wipes away her tears. As he does so, the embroidered words 'Duke and Duchess of Kaerun' are clearly visible on the handkerchief.
"If anything happens to this beautiful home of the Duke and I… I don't even want to think about it!"
‘Pepper is perfect to make someone teary-eyed!’
So that's why she smeared them on her napkin earlier….
My father, impatient, summons anyone who will listen. "The tears won't stop falling from the Duchess's eyes, go and fetch her medicine!"
"Excuse me, Duke. But the tears will stop by themselves in time…."
"What will you do if my wife's jewel-like eyes become bloodshot? Go into the treasure room and fetch the elixir!"
What, you're going to use the family's heirloom elixir that you didn't even use when you were sick and bedridden for ten days as a child?
I'm not the only one baffled.
"I… Duke, the last time you fell down playing hide-and-seek with the Duchess on the stairs, you had already used the elixir, so there's not much left…."
"Doesn't that mean there's not any left, what's more important than my woman right now, get it!"
Wow…. This really is conjugal love beyond imagination.
At a loss for words, I stare at my father in disbelief.
But he's already out of his mind. "Crown Prince, why are you bullying my one and only, the prettiest, cutest, loveliest, smartest, sincere, radiant wife in the world!"
He's lost his reason and begins to blame the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince, beyond dumbfounded, apologises to him. "I'm…I'm sorry."
‘Why am I sorry?’
Even though he doesn't understand why he's being blamed, he decides that the best way out of this situation is to appease Duke Kaerun first.
After accepting the Crown Prince's apology, my father raises his glass and declares. "I will remain until all traces of sadness have dried up in my dear lady's eyes, and her lips are once again smiling like a flower. Perhaps His Highness would like to accompany Skyla to the indoor garden?"
Translated: he's saying he'll stay with her until she stops crying, and everyone else can get lost.
Taken aback, the Crown Prince and I walk out of the dining room.
"...."
"...."
Standing outside the dining room, we look at each other without saying a word. We can hear the chaos inside from outside the door. I can hear my mother's sobs over the sound of my father's ranting and raving.
"I'll show you to the garden." Austin appears and speaks cautiously, checking the Crown Prince's complexion.
The whole way to the indoor garden, the Crown Prince says nothing. His inability to speak means I have no idea what's going on in his mind.
Is he angry that things didn't turn out the way he wanted? Is he annoyed that my mother had suddenly burst into tears? Or is he in a bad mood, wondering why he's wasting his time in this place?
I keep shooting glances at the Crown Prince, trying to read his emotions. But his stony expression can't be deciphered.
"...I will apologise on behalf of my parents for their rudeness," I say, breaking the silence, when we reach the indoor garden.
Standing in a daze, the Crown Prince turns to me. "That is unnecessary. Your mother was the one to suddenly burst into tears, Kayla. She seemed to be in a panic...."
The Crown Prince breaks out in a cold sweat.
'What did I just see?’
What is this reaction?
His complexion has turned ashen. His eyes are blinking rapidly, as if some unpleasant thought had entered his mind. His mouth is dry, as he keeps licking his lips with dry saliva,
It makes me wonder….
Is this guy scared?
He looks terrified.
I can't understand why the Crown Prince is having such a violent reaction. Is it so scary to see my parents trying to comfort each other?
"Are the Duke and Duchess of Kaerun…
always like that?" He asks after stammering for a while, searching for words.
"What do you mean?" I ask back, not understanding the meaning behind his question.
"I mean… when the Duchess cries, does the Duke always react like that?"
"Of course."
"Why?" Another question pops out of his mouth. I'm afraid my answer will fall flat. I'm unsure why he's asking that.
"Because they're married."
"Because they're married?"
"Yes, they're in love with each other, so they care about each other."
"They care about each other because they're in love with each other…."
The Crown Prince feels like he's been hit in the back of the head by my reply.
What the hell is wrong with him? Why is he so dumbfounded by marriage and love?
Ah. Come to think of it, when I went to Princess Julia's birthday party, I accidentally overheard her saying, “My father and mother keep up their appearances in public, but I don't know if they do love each other.
“My father is always busy with his duties, and so is my mother, and they don't interfere with each other unless they have to be together. I fear that my brother and Princess Kaerun will have the same dry relationship.”
Princess Julia speaks as if her own parents—that is, the Emperor and Empress— respected each other instead of loving each other.
Wait. He can't possibly…. Is this the first time he's ever seen a couple who cared and loved each other so terribly?
He clears his throat. "...I noticed earlier that the Duke and Duchess were wearing exactly the same brooches."
"Yes."
"Is that… some kind of token of love?"
"Yes." I shoot him a look that says, ‘Did you only realise now?’
The Crown Prince's face turns even paler. "I see."
‘How in the world could this be!’
As he screams inside.
Looks like my suspicions are correct.
The Crown Prince's current face is of someone with the instinctive fear experienced by those who have reached a realm they can never comprehend.