Father, I Won’t Do Anything

—Your Highness the Crown Prince, if it would be convenient, could we meet sometime soon?

As soon as he heard the other person’s voice, Rosian felt his mind go blank. He froze in place, forgetting even to breathe.

“…”

—Your Highness, are you listening?

In contrast to Rosian’s inability to respond as he stood there dazed, a calm voice continued to flow from the communication crystal.

Only Rosian seemed flustered and tense. A fact he ruefully acknowledged with a soft, exasperated sigh.

“Yes, I’m listening.”

This must be why unrequited love is so difficult.

Rosian struggled to compose himself and chose his words carefully in response to Jaina.

“I’m free that day too. Let’s meet at the place you mentioned.”

It was a lie. That day was actually Rosian’s busiest time of the year. There were several events he had to preside over as the Crown Prince.

‘Fortunately, my voice didn’t seem to tremble. I was worried since Jaina has become so perceptive lately.’

After ending the communication, Rosian ran his fingers through his hair and let out a long sigh.

“Phew.”

He wasn’t even sure what state of mind he had been in when he answered. Though Rosian always felt nervous when meeting or talking with Jaina, this time was different.

After all…

-I was afraid of the prospect of losing you before I could voice my feelings.

-What?

-Actually, I harbor affections for Miss Jaina – romantic affections. When I learned you had fallen ill, I couldn’t simply remain uninvolved.

‘She must intend to provide her answer regarding my confession…’

Rosian hadn’t reached out first since confessing last time. He didn’t want to pressure Jaina if she found it burdensome, and he wasn’t sure what her answer would be.

But if asked whether that time had been easy for him, the answer was no.

‘How could I remain unaffected after confessing my feelings?’

There were days when he felt like his blood was drying up from anxiety, and days when he wanted to erase the memory out of fear of rejection.

Either way, the one clear thing was that his mind was filled with thoughts of Jaina all day long.

During the day, and at night when he closed his eyes.

Because of this, Rosian had been having trouble sleeping lately.

Moreover…

“…Ughh.”

“Y-Your Highness? What’s the matter?”

He who used to deflect flying magic with his sword was now bumping his head against the wall.

“I have no appetite.”

“Pardon? What did you say? You must have misspoken, right?”

He who used to boast a knight’s hearty appetite was now skipping meals.

“Your Highness, I apologize, but… are you perhaps ill?”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been acting differently from usual lately. Even now, your face seems flushed…”

Rosian, who used to be the picture of health, was growing visibly thinner with each passing day.

It was in this state that he had received Jaina’s contact. Unable to bear the pressure any longer, Rosian finally collapsed.

For the first time since the battle against the dragons, Rosian found himself bedridden, his illness severe enough to warrant a physician’s intervention.

“Oh my goodness…”

Elia, who had rushed over as soon as she heard Rosian had collapsed, covered her mouth in shock.

It was an unusual reaction from her, who was usually so cold towards Rosian.

“Rosian, you’ve often caused me worry, but you’ve never fallen ill before…”

Even the royal physician Elia had brought kept adjusting his glasses as if doubting his own eyes.

“Astonishing. To think the Crown Prince, who has always been so healthy, would be bedridden…”

The two who had been bewildered, almost dumbfounded, soon left the room, emphasizing to Rosian repeatedly:

“You must rest completely for a while. Venturing out under any circumstances is strictly prohibited.”

“Ah, no. I have an appointment…”

“You don’t seem to understand since you’ve never been sick before, but if you recklessly go out, you’ll only get sicker.”

“It’s just a brief outing. There shouldn’t be any problem. I can’t break a promise just because I’m sick…”

“I’m not telling you to break the promise, but to postpone it.”

At Elia’s firm words, Rosian’s face, which had been smiling up until now, finally clouded over.

‘If I postpone it, I might really die…’

As Rosian hesitated to say he would cancel, Elia asked with a suspicious look:

“Is your appointment perhaps with Jaina?”

“How did you know?”

“Because Jaina is the only one capable of reducing you to such a state. Seeing you so insistent on keeping a promise when you used to break them at every opportunity, it could only pertain to Jaina.”

Jaina was the person who had more influence over Rosian than even his own mother.

But Elia didn’t feel jealous.

After all, it was Jaina who had turned the good-for-nothing playboy into a proper person, something even she couldn’t do.

‘If it weren’t for Jaina, Rosian would now be…’

Elia’s brow furrowed at the unpleasant thought.

“Jaina’s not the type to insist on meeting if you’re sick. I’ll contact her for you, so just rest.”

“Mother, may I contact her myself? I’d like to tell her directly that I can’t come.”

“With your voice sounding so strained… Alright. I’ll leave the communication crystal here, so contact her briefly and then rest well.”

Elia closed the door and left, looking relieved.

But she still didn’t know her son very well.

Or perhaps she was underestimating Rosian’s feelings for Jaina.

‘I have to sneak out. The moment Mother tells Jaina I’m sick, the appointment will be cancelled.’

Normally, the medicine should have quickly induced sleep…

But even with heavy eyes and a foggy mind, thoughts of one person kept Rosian from falling asleep.

As the dark night passed, morning began to dawn.

Rosian frowned at the dazzling sunlight seeping through the curtains.

‘I ended up staying awake all night.’

Even for someone like Rosian, it was difficult to breach the security of the imperial palace, with its thousand-year history, single-handedly.

‘To think I have to go out in such poor condition…’

Moreover, he hadn’t slept properly for days and was in such poor health that the imperial doctor had rushed over.

‘It has to be today.’

The appointment could be postponed. It was possible.

No matter how much it felt like he was dying, forcing himself could lead to serious illness.

But more than that danger, Rosian was gripped by a certain premonition.

A premonition that if he postponed the date now, even that slim chance would disappear.

‘Can a person really become this haggard?’

Rosian forced his aching body up and began to groom himself meticulously.

The Empire’s greatest beauty, possessor of dazzling looks. He had received many such praises, but they gave him no confidence now.

Jaina’s father was Diamid, and her cousin was Mikael.

With family members whose looks were abnormal to begin with, how could his own appearance, no matter how outstanding, make an impression?

‘I hate to admit it, but that professor is quite handsome too.’

Recalling Izren, Rosian gritted his teeth.

While Diamid and Mikael were family, Izren the former escort knight was someone he couldn’t help but be wary of.

In fact, Jaina always acted nonchalant around him, when other young ladies could barely meet his eyes.

It was partly due to her personality, but she must also be accustomed to being around outstanding people.

‘Since today is a special occasion, I want to appear my best…’

Though he always paid attention to his appearance when meeting Jaina, Rosian was especially meticulous today.

‘Ideally, it would be nice to wear comfortable clothes for a secret outing…’

Standing before the mirror, Rosian didn’t hesitate for a moment. He had simulated this situation countless times during his sleepless nights.

But seeing himself in person, he hesitated again.

‘Has Rosian Delaide ever been so concerned about another person?’

Rosian unconsciously ran his fingers roughly through his hair, then startled, quickly smoothed it back down.

He had worked hard to style his hair alone without servants, and nearly ruined his efforts.

“Well then, shall we go?”

With a resolute expression, Rosian opened the window of his room.

Whoosh-

His room was located very high up. Most people would have given up on escape as soon as they opened the window.

But Rosian looked down without the slightest tremor. Then, after muttering a few words of incantation, he kicked off and began scaling down the wall.

Moving at a speed that would make observers doubt their eyes, he quickly made his way to the palace stables.

“Hihihing!”

“That’s right, Brillante. Today’s an important day, so you need to take me there properly, okay?”

Swiftly mounting his beloved horse, Rosian quickly reached the palace gates.

“Halt! State your identity!”

With his face hidden by a black hood pulled low, Rosian showed no agitation at the knights blocking his way. He simply pulled out a badge from his breast pocket.

“This is a secret order from His Highness the Crown Prince. I must go urgently, so please make way.”

“We, we apologize!”

As the knights hurriedly cleared the way, Rosian placed a finger to his lips.

“I’m on an important mission for His Highness, so you must not tell anyone that I left the palace. Not even if it’s Her Highness Princess Elia. Do you understand?”

The knight’s eyes shone with determination. He nodded firmly and answered:

“Yes, understood!”

He looked as if he was embarking on a secret mission critical to the nation’s fate, but in reality, it was merely a journey to meet the girl he loved unrequitedly.

But Rosian nodded majestically, as if it truly were a mission of national importance.

“I’m glad the Empire has knights like you. Good work.”

“Travel safely!”

However, Rosian’s progress, which had seemed smooth, hit a snag after leaving the imperial palace.

“Hihihing!”

“Brillante, what’s wrong all of a sudden?”

The fine horse that had been fine until just now suddenly fell to its knees.

Rosian lost his balance and staggered.

“Brillante!”

He nearly fell off and was seriously injured, but fortunately Rosian reflexively used a falling technique to avoid critical damage.

“Was I unable to notice Brillante’s condition because I’m unwell?”

In the end, Rosian had no choice but to leave Brillante at a nearby inn, which caused a significant delay from his expectations.

‘It’ll be tight to make it by the appointment time.’

Just as Rosian was about to set out again with an anxious face, it happened.

“Oh my, handsome young man.”

An unfamiliar voice called out to Rosian.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not feeling well. Could you help support me?”

Turning his head, there stood an old man who looked unwell at a glance.