If They Get Obsessed, I’m Doomed - Chapter 80

Chapter 41.1

Skylar, who arrived at the Central Hall of the Imperial Palace, encountered Lexius, who was guarding the reception room. Upon spotting him, Lexius approached with a smirk.

“So, you came alone in the end.”

“….”

“Why? She doesn’t want to be the princess?”

“It seems like she was more reluctant to meet with the people here than anything. She said she wanted to go back to the academy instead.”

Skylar retorted with a sneer. The lie, mixed with truth and deceit, flowed out very naturally.

Lexius’s previously confident demeanor strangely faltered. Noticing his unusual reaction, Skylar took the opportunity to add a few more remarks with a confident tone.

“Oh, and she spoke to me informally, even in the classroom as well. It seems she feels comfortable with me, even though there are many other eyes around.”

“It’s probably because you told her to.”

“That’s ridiculous. What’s your basis for that?”

“Her personality isn’t so rude that she would disregard other people’s gazes and speak informally to you.”

“You speak as if you know her well.”

“I know her better than you do.”

“What do you think you are…!”

Ttak.

As the conversation abruptly stopped at the sound of a finger snap, both turned their heads toward the sound.

Devoncia, with his arrogant demeanor, strode out into the corridor.

Ttak.

He snapped his fingers once more, drawing attention. It was the kind of thing one would do to get the attention of someone much lower in status.

Instantly, the mood soured for both, and they frowned slightly.

Devoncia smiled faintly as he faced the defiant expressions of the Prince and the Grand Prince.

“The chatter before a luncheon with His Majesty is too noisy.”

Since his remark was a valid criticism, the Prince and the Grand Prince kept their mouths shut in silence. Although the occasion emphasized camaraderie, it was still a luncheon gathering of high-ranking people. It was unacceptable to raise one’s voice over private conversation.

“And Skylar, I heard the mention of a princess in your conversation. Who is it? If there’s a candidate, you should tell His Majesty.”

“There’s nothing like that.”

“It seems you don’t want to say.”

“….”

“Shall I guess?”

“….”

“Or should I just take her from you?”

Skylar’s eyes, who had been maintaining his composure well, flickered at those words. Seeing that the situation might escalate, Lexius abruptly intervened.

“This seems like a private conversation as well, but I would appreciate it if you could stop at this point, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

Despite the fact that Lexius smiled charmingly and used honorific language, there was little of the courteous atmosphere one might expect. Instead, his tone carried a pervasive sense of mocking toward Devoncia.

Devoncia didn’t respond. He gave a leisurely, smiling glance before entering the luncheon room first.

As the Crown Prince moved away, Lexius’s fake smile slowly faded before he scolded Skylar with a noticeably heavier tone.

“Just let it slide.”

“Would you be able to do that if you were me?”

“At least I wouldn’t show my emotions so easily. It’s basic, Skylar. Why have you become so naive?”

“Don’t talk to me like that.”

Just by mimicking Devoncia’s tone slightly, Skylar immediately became sharp. Lexius, who was initially frowning at the excessive hostility, suddenly showed interest.

“Even so, you’re being a bit too sensitive. Your personality wasn’t like this before, was it?”

“….”

“How serious are you about her?”

“Be quiet.”

“Are you nervous about her getting taken away?”

“….”

“I was the one who told you to mark her clearly so she wouldn’t be taken away, but did you actually plan to make her a princess so quickly?”

“Don’t jump to conclusions. I didn’t think that.”

Skylar cut the conversation short with a brusque tone and headed toward the luncheon room.

Lexius also didn’t say anything more.

Although Skylar denied it, he actually had plans to make Ariel his princess.

Lexius had also noticed early on that he was serious. In fact, he was the one who gave him that pretext in the first place. That night, when they faced each other at the Count’s residence, Lexius personally visited the reception room where Skylar was and taught him how to handle the situation. He urged Skylar to mark her properly so that she wouldn’t be taken away.

“Why not make her an actual princess instead of just a princess candidate?”

“Even if it’s unilaterally announced, a mere count’s daughter has no right to refuse. Instead, she should feel honored and be grateful.”

“Or just talk to the Countess. There’s no way she would refuse, so even if it’s a political marriage, it would be fine.”

He spewed all kinds of things throughout the night. However, even though Skylar had been kindly shown the way, he didn’t seem pleased and instead spent the entire night in anguish.

In the end, he was going to settle in this direction anyway.

‘Princess Ariel…’

Just imagining it made Lexius feel strangely uncomfortable.

̊ · : * ✧ * : · ̊

Although the Prince was absent and Ariel was left alone, the maidservants served lunch with the utmost care. On a small wooden table, a six-course meal was served, including lobster and flower vegetables. The menu was so exquisite and substantial that it could easily be served at a dinner banquet.

After finishing the lavish lunch, Ariel dozed off due to the fullness before heading to the afternoon classes.

She arrived early at Classroom Five in the Tenth Building of the Academy by car and quickly claimed a corner seat, not wanting to go through the trouble of not finding a place to sit again like in the morning.

The classroom for the Magic Engineering class was smaller than the one used for the Magic Theory. However, it was quite crowded as there were many people retaking the course. More than half the students in the class were holding documents for retaking the course to invalidate their previous grades.

‘…The fact that there are so many students retaking the course means it’s that difficult, right?’

Ariel had a troubling premonition. This feeling was likely to be accurate.

She subtly checked the increasing number of students and turned her gaze toward the door when, at that moment, the crowd at the entrance of the busy classroom quietly dispersed. It seemed that someone of high rank had entered.

She knew the faces of all the high-ranking people at the academy, so she felt a little curious about the visitor.

‘I wonder who it is this time?’

Just as Ariel thought it might be Lexius, the person she had encountered in the morning appeared at the door.

Skylar.

He entered the classroom with a noticeably sterner expression than in the morning.

‘We met again. Is it a coincidence?’

Ariel, who had intended to ignore it, suddenly remembered something she had forgotten and stiffened. She had given him her entire schedule yesterday.

‘I hope he’s not following my schedule exactly…’

Somehow, she had an eerie premonition that she might see Skylar’s face in every class. A chill ran down her spine, and she hunched her shoulders.

The sound of his footsteps, which spurred an ominous feeling, approached her seat.

“There’s no one next to you.”

Skylar’s voice, which she heard the most in the morning after the professor’s, subtly demanded to join her.

Ariel felt a pang of resentment toward the empty seat beside her. But in truth, even if someone had been sitting there, there would have been no way to refuse him. Anyone would have gotten out of the way for him.

“Ung. Sit down.”

She spoke as quietly as an ant crawling. Ariel avoided using honorifics to prevent Skylar from scowling and showing his displeasure. To avoid drawing attention from those around her, she had no choice but to speak informally as quietly as possible.

Fortunately, Skylar didn’t show any signs of displeasure.