Chapter 227: The Prince’s Request
"..."
It wasn’t as though this was unexpected. The Prince had made his request just before their fight.
The only surprising part was that he had somehow managed to get Renelle’s permission to speak with her butler.
Then again, that was probably Noelle’s doing. She had most likely been the one to convince Renelle.
Regardless, Adrian and the prince now silently stood across from each other with neither of them saying anything.
That is, until the butler broke the silence.
"If you’ve got nothing to say, I’d like to return to my lady’s side," he said, pulling the prince from his thoughts.
"I apologize," Lucian said before letting out a sigh and starting, "I know you dislike me."
"I would dislike myself too, given my previous behavior towards Lady Renelle," he said, looking down, "especially when she was my fiancee. "
He was silent after that, waiting for Adrian’s response, and the prince soon received one.
"Lucian," Adrian plainly called out with no title, surprising the prince, "do you really think an apology would magically fix everything?"
Before Lucian had the chance to say something, Adrian continued, "Imagine what would’ve happened without my presence, Prince Lucian."
"No, allow me to paint you a picture," the butler said, "after successfully slapping her, you’d have completely ruined her image, and from that point, it’d just be a downward spiral. "
"Given how fond of you she was, she’d have blamed it all on your mistress turned girlfriend," he didn’t care about pissing the prince off by referring to Noelle as a mistress.
"And given how infatuated with your little saintess you are, you’d have tried protecting her," Adrian continued, looking directly into the prince’s eyes.
Lucian could’ve sworn that he saw a flash of anger within Adrian’s eyes, even though his expression seemed blank.
"And then, my lady would’ve successfully made herself the villain in you and the Saintess’s love story," Adrian continued, his voice remaining completely even throughout.
"The noble houses would’ve turned on her, the North’s reputation would’ve suffered, and Grand Duke Boreas would’ve been forced to intervene politically, straining his relationship with the crown further," He paused, "And you would’ve stood there, watching all of it happen, genuinely believing you were the wronged party."
"Eventually, my lady would’ve fought back, because that’s how awesome she truly is," Adrian continued with a smile on his face before it quickly disappeared, "that fight would’ve been messy and at the end of it all, she’ll end up completely alone."
That was more or less what happened in the manhwa, but in this timeline, even if he hadn’t been reincarnated in this world, with her regression, Adrian was certain that the story would’ve turned completely different.
Though he was very much satisfied to be by her side.
"That’s the picture, without my presence, Prince Lucian," Adrian concluded, "do you think a simple apology would fix that situation?"
"..."
Lucian was silent.
As much as he wanted to dismiss the butler’s painted picture, even he knew that he was more or less right.
Adrian looked at him, standing there silently, before he let out a sigh, "Fortunately, I was around, wasn’t I?"
"Let’s hear your request," he added, "since my lady already gave you permission to speak with me."
The prince also said he was going to apologize to Renelle after the fight, so he might as well hear the request.
Though he already had a suspicion of the prince’s request.
The prince was quite surprised at this. After all, he had expected Adrian to just turn his back after that, but it seems he had been wrong.
"It’s about my father," Lucian started, "he hasn’t been quite himself for a while now."
"Is that so?" Adrian feigned ignorance.
"Yes," Lucian said, studying the butler’s expression carefully. "I’ve noticed it for months."
" It started with small things at first, decisions that felt slightly off, reactions that weren’t quite his," He paused, "then larger things. Especially the way he deferred to the Archbishop in meetings he would’ve previously dominated."
"He then stopped questioning things he would’ve never let pass without scrutiny."
Adrian said nothing, allowing the prince to continue.
"I’m not naive," Lucian said, "I know something has been done to him. I just don’t know exactly what or how far it’s gone."
"And you’re telling me this because," the butler finally asked.
"For some reason, I’m certain that you have an idea," the prince replied honestly, "and I’d like to know what it is."
Adrian silently looked at the prince for a while. The prince’s guess was both right and wrong.
While the butler was certain that the church was responsible for whatever had been done to the king, he didn’t know exactly what had been done to him.
It was most likely some type of mind control, but not completely.
They allowed the king to retain himself until recently, which meant whatever the church planned was about to show results.
Still, Adrian dropped the ignorance act and said, "The church is responsible for whatever is currently happening to your father."
Lucian was silent, a frown appearing on his face as he asked, "Are you certain?"
After all, accepting that the church was the culprit behind his father’s changes meant that he was also accepting that Noelle had a hand in it, since she was the Church’s Saintess.
Adrian looked at his reaction, understanding the prince’s line of thought.
As much as it was fun seeing him like this, the butler would achieve nothing from this....or perhaps, this could be his punishment?
Adrian offered no further clarification. Instead, he simply added, "I have no reason to lie when I could just refuse to tell you."
He saw a myriad of emotions flashing through the prince’s eyes as his thoughts spiraled further, getting worse by the second.
If it truly was the Church’s work, then did that mean Noelle had been deliberately planted by his side?
And her love was nothing but a means to control him, too?
Or at least that’s what Adrian guessed the prince’s line of thought was.
After a while, Lucian seemed to get himself together again before asking,
"Can whatever they did to him be reversed?" he said.
"Perhaps," Adrian said.
"Then will you–"
Before he could complete his words, Adrian cut him off with a single word, "no."
The prince seemed confused until the butler added,
"Why would I want to help?" He asked, "After all, this is the perfect chance to have my lady ascend to a position fitting of her."
"The throne. "