Raising the Princess to Overcome Death

Chapter 203: The Beggar Siblings - Need

203. The Beggar Siblings - Need

The scorching summer sun beat down relentlessly. Standing in an open field, Leo stared blankly at the red-haired woman before him.

He was at a loss, not knowing how to deal with her.

Katrina, noticing his serious expression, tried to lighten the mood. "Hey, why the long face? I was joking when I said I had learned everything. I still can’t get a grasp on most of the techniques, especially the one where you hide a move. I still have a long way to go." She scratched her neck awkwardly, knowing she had lied to her master and feeling unaccustomed to asking for forgiveness.

"That’s how it is. I’m sorry."

"Sorry? If you're sorry, then quit the knighthood immediately. If quitting right now is difficult, then do it within two months... no, before the end of this year."

"...I’ve been wanting to ask, why? Why do I have to quit the knighthood?"

Katrina scratched her red eyebrows in frustration. Her mentor’s reluctance to explain his reasons clearly was vexing, but Leo felt just as frustrated. He almost pleaded as he spoke.

"You said it was your dream to learn swordsmanship from a Swordmaster. Are you dissatisfied with only a few days of training? If so, I can spare another couple of days."

"I’d appreciate that. But what does that have to do with me quitting the knighthood?""Then how about this? Come with me. I’m heading to Conrad Kingdom. I have a carriage and money, so you don’t need to worry about the journey..."

Leo trailed off, realizing how foolish he sounded.

Katrina would never leave Orville. She had Ellen, her lover, who had a limp. Unless it was for a war or something a knight had to participate in, she would never leave him.

Her expression confirmed this. She seemed puzzled by Leo’s insistence. Frustrated, Leo revealed more than he intended.

"...Next year, there will be a war with the Kingdom of Astin. You will be on that battlefield..."

But this, too, was a foolish statement. He had no proof, and more importantly, Katrina was a knight. She wouldn’t just say, “Oh, really? I’ll quit immediately.” Leo felt disheartened.

Katrina looked at him as if he were an amateur swindler. "Oh, really?" Her forced acknowledgment was devoid of belief.

Persuading others is hard.

People never moved as expected, and to convince them, you needed enough evidence, goodwill that outweighed their losses, or guaranteed benefits.

I wish I still had {Barbatos’s Bracelet}.

But Leo had nothing. He couldn’t prove the war next year or assure her that she’d die on that battlefield.

All he had was:

[Achievement: The Man Katrina Risked Her Life to Protect - Earned Great Affection from Katrina.]

But “great affection” meant nothing concrete. Katrina was not Cassia.

Maybe I should just cut off her arm.

Desperate, Leo considered extreme measures. If he cut off her arm, she couldn’t go to war...

─ “...What’s the point of taking someone like me, a cripple?”

Lena Ainar came to mind. In the second engagement scenario, losing her arm had led to much sorrow for Lena Ainar and Leo. This memory halted Leo’s drastic thoughts. Everything feels futile. Dejected, Leo finally said, “Do as you wish,” and left the bewildered Katrina in the open field.

On the way back to Orange Theater, Leo walked slowly, his thoughts a tangled mess. He suddenly thought of Cassia.

‘Cassia...’

She had been easy to sway. No, rather, she had followed him willingly, showing a level of dedication that seemed almost incomprehensible in retrospect.

As if she had been made and prepared solely for this beggar siblings’ scenario.

When Irene chased them, she had thrown herself into the fray without being asked. She had promised to earn money for the beggar siblings and had managed to bring back a gold coin.

And when Leo said he was leaving for Conrad Kingdom, she had closed her shop and followed him to a distant foreign land without complaint.

And all it took to satisfy her was one hug.

Leo stopped in his tracks, missing her suddenly. But he didn’t have the heart to see her, so he kept walking.

In front of the Orange Theater, Jenia and Bretin Sauer, along with other theater people and the Rauno family gangsters led by Obert, were gathered.

They were bidding farewell to Jenia, telling her to take care. Their gazes toward Leo were not kind.

Obert offered some words that could have been either a threat or advice, but Leo paid no mind. He repeated “Yes, yes,” like a parrot, and reached out to Jenia.

“...You’re here?”

Jenia, smiling somewhat awkwardly, wore simple travel clothes. Her slender arms were exposed, and her neckline was pale beneath her tied-up wavy black hair.

Minseo might have thought of Chaeha seeing her, but Leo, feeling unsettled, saw Jenia and Cassia overlapping.

He couldn’t help thinking of Jenia as a substitute for Cassia, even though they were completely different people with entirely different feelings.

Seeing the former prostitutes from the third floor of Orange Theater bidding farewell to Jenia solidified this feeling.

“Did something happen?”

“It’s nothing. Well... let’s get going. Where’s Lena?”

“She went to talk with Santian. She’ll be back soon.”

Since standing around waiting was awkward, Jenia climbed into the carriage. She turned to the people who had come to see her off and said, “Go on inside. Goodbyes should be short.” With a composed demeanor, she sent them away and then looked at Leo, who had taken a seat next to her.

“By the way, Leo, what’s your relationship with the Peter family? How did you manage to borrow this carriage?”

The carriage Count Peter had lent them, complete with a driver, was enormous. Regulations dictated the size of carriages one could own according to their rank, and while larger carriages existed, this one was already a rarity.

With its ample width and the need for at least three horses to pull it, even Leo had never ridden in such a grand carriage before—it was the one Count Peter himself used. True to the frugal count, the carriage bore no decorations.

"There’s not much of a relationship. I just received some support... Actually, I have something to tell you. I’ll wait until Lena gets here."

Leo intended to reveal everything. He would tell them he was a prince, going to Conrad Kingdom to reclaim his lost {Bloodline}.

But Leo was anxious.

He worried about how Jenia would react to the revelation. Would she despair, thinking she could never be a prince's consort like Cassia had? Or would she be overjoyed, and he would feel a tinge of disappointment?

Despite Jenia's maturity, he couldn’t help but worry.

In his anxiety, Leo took Jenia’s hand, intending to reassure her for the upcoming surprise.

But Jenia pulled her hand away, startled. Her eyes were filled with unease.

What’s going on?

Perhaps it was a woman’s intuition. Her silence was unsettling. Leo must have failed to manage his expression.

Both of them chewed their lips nervously, waiting for Lena. Eventually, Lena arrived, running with a determined expression.

"Brother, I have something to say. We..."

"Lena, get in. I actually have something to tell you too."

"I don't want to leave. I like it here," Lena began, but she sensed the tense atmosphere inside the carriage.

Her brother’s tone was unusually firm, and Jenia, who always maintained clear boundaries in her interactions, was visibly unsettled. Lena cautiously climbed into the carriage.

- Click.

The door closed. The carriage was spacious, but the tension made it feel cramped. In the silence, Leo finally spoke.

"Jenia, my name is actually Leo de Yeriel. Lena, your name is Lena de Yeriel. You... are a princess. We are the prince and princess who were chased out of Conrad Kingdom over ten years ago."

Silence followed. Leo waited for them to process his words, but both Lena and Jenia’s expressions were strange.

Lena looked confused but didn't immediately dismiss him as a fool like she had in the past. Perhaps it was the influence of her ‘dream.’

Jenia’s expression, however, was complex beyond description.

Relief? Disappointment? Worry? It was impossible to read her emotions accurately.

Jenia asked quietly.

“...Do you have more to say? I really dislike lies. Leo, or rather, Prince, why did you confess to me? Did you... No, just tell me why you confessed. Did you ‘need’ me?”

Her reaction was peculiar. She didn’t seem shocked or surprised by Leo’s revelation. Her gaze, however, was searching for an answer.

"Yes, I need you."

Despair flashed across Jenia’s face. But her expression shifted rapidly as Leo continued.

"I need you by my side. That’s why I confessed. Whether I’m a prince or not doesn’t matter. Please don’t let that bother you. I..."

Cassia was deeply imprinted in his heart. Yet, he had never seen her as a woman. There had been sympathy and complex emotions, but before him now was...

"I love you."

Since the moment he first saw Jenia, his heart had raced. His destiny seemed intertwined with hers. This might be a trick of the divine, but he didn’t mind. He was grateful.

Jenia’s changing expression brightened, relief washing over her. She grasped Leo’s hand.

“I feel the same, Leo. Not Prince, just Leo.”

Why does she always grab me by the collar? Jenia leaned in for a kiss.

Unlike the kiss on the third-floor balcony of the theater, her actions now were filled with certainty. She was happy that the beggar boy who had unexpectedly doused her with water was indeed her fate.

Leo’s vision was filled with her.

Her thin, arched eyebrows. The small mole slightly to the left of her nose was right before his eyes.

"Wait. Beside..."

Leo broke off the kiss. Turning his head, he saw Lena staring at them wide-eyed.

"Uh, Lena, you see..."

“It’s fine, brother. I’ve known for a long time that you and Jenia are dating. And since I’m a princess, I can do whatever I want, right?”

"W-What?"

"There’s something. I’ll tell you later."

Lena’s golden eyes sparkled mischievously.

She seemed upset with her brother for hiding her royal status, leaning against the window and turning away (when did that window open?). She smiled widely.

I'll do what I want.

Leo didn’t understand what she meant until the carriage had left Orville's outskirts. As the evening glow settled and the carriage stopped at an inn, he found out.

“Uh, hello?”

A curly-haired boy, Santian Rauno, climbed out of the carriage’s luggage compartment.

Leo looked at his sister in shock, but Lena just looked around innocently, whistling a tune she must have picked up from someone.

These little brats...

Now I can’t trust anyone. Leo thought.