The Villainess Hides Her Wealth - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Enoch Piaast was not the man who was meant to be the crown prince.

Although his grandfather, Nease III, was the emperor, there was his father and his older brother before him.

Although he was a member of the imperial family, becoming the emperor was a far cry to him.

He himself thought the same.

Until his brother died.

“M-Mother. Brother…”

It was a carriage accident.

On a day his mother and his father had a serious argument, his mother moved forward a schedule to go see her family.

Somehow, he felt like he would never see his mother again. So, he pestered her. He begged her to take them with her.

Shaken by Enoch’s words, his mother eventually took the three siblings with her, unlike what was expected.

He shouldn’t have done that.

Because of this, the carriage that had been involved in an accident was found too late.

So Enoch was with his mother and brother for a long time.

In the late summer, two bodies, until they rotted with a terrible smell…

***

Vivian, who was still a baby, was safely in her mother’s arms and wasn’t injured.

In addition, because she was young, she could not remember the events of that day as time passed.

It was a relief.

But paradoxically, Enoch could not tell anyone what happened that day.

When the high humidity season came, he naturally remembered it.

It was a disgusting smell, something he had smelled for the first time in his life…

And the water from the rain that mixed with their bodily fluids and was swept away…

Enoch would have been able to open the door if the carriage door had not become crooked by the impact.

So he didn’t miss a single moment of the two’s end… They would have been together the whole time.

The loss of a family member, something unbearable even for adults. A painful accident.

But no one cared about little Enoch.

After hearing the testimony that it was Enoch who suddenly became involved in his mother’s outing, his father said that it was all because of him that they were there at that time.

That the accident happened because the departure was delayed due to his interference and because the carriage ran slowly.

“Your mother and brother died because of you!”

However, everything was revealed later.

Enoch knew that his father wanted to kill his mother because he wanted to give the seat next to him to his mistress.

And also the fact that the three siblings were unintentionally caught in the process.

Despite that, his father said his mother and brother had died because of him.

When it became known, Nease III was angry. His father not only had a chaotic personal life, but he also had caused all kinds of trouble and lost his grandfather’s trust.

Nease III sent his father to the countryside to be treated for insanity. But in reality, it was nothing but confinement.

“The throne will be succeeded by my grandson, Enoch Piaast.”

Enoch, who had been nothing but a smart prince, became the crown prince from that day on.

A position that he had never even thought of as a prince, and at a young age to be called a successor.

In the midst of people’s concerns, Enoch only achieved even higher achievements than his father and brother.

“The Crown Prince contributed greatly to the raid on the monsters. I heard that his magic is outstanding…”

“I heard that the other side calls him ‘The Calamity of the Piaast Empire’? He’s still so young, it’s amazing.”

Nease III always boasted that Enoch was ‘my grandchild who is dedicated and grew up well’.

“Enoch will be the greatest emperor of all time!”

However, Enoch was not pleased with that compliment. He always felt a cold pressure in Nease III’s gaze.

A pressure that told him to just stay the way he was.

And not to become a monster like his father.

***

Years later, he heard that his father had died of illness, although he had a very healthy body.

He was probably not able to endure imprisonment because he was a free spirit.

‘Did he really die from disease?’

When the son lamented, Nease III said nothing. From his stiff mouth and cold eyes, Enoch could tell that he had already closed the door to his heart.

His father was no longer the son of Nease III.

Maybe Nease III had made his father die of illness.

But Enoch did not dare to ask. His father was at fault and deserved to be punished. He hated his father who had wronged him more than anyone else for taking away his mother and brother.

But at the same time, his grandfather, who cut off his own son as if it was nothing, was frightening.

He praised him because he was doing well now, but he felt like he would be ‘removed’ just like his father if he showed even the slightest weakness.

During his father’s funeral, Enoch was also present as the ‘great crown prince’.

The sky was cloudy, like it was about to rain. A numbing weather. It was a day with just the exact conditions that Enoch hated the most.

Everyone bowed their heads and expressed their condolences. Some people were shedding tears, saying it was a pity for this to happen at such a young age. Though he was someone who didn’t deserve their sadness.

‘What if I become a human being like my father?’

Enoch was quite similar to his father. His personality was close to his mother’s, but his unique eye color was exactly like his father’s.

That could be why sometimes when his grandfather made eye contact with him, he overlapped him with his father.

‘It’s scary.’

For how long could he be the excellent grandchild and become the outstanding crown prince that his grandfather wanted?

If he didn’t meet those expectations, then…

He couldn’t tell anyone. His unresolved bad emotions only piled up, gradually.

‘It’s a little hard…’

During the funeral, Enoch felt dizzy and disappeared from the crowd.

He didn’t want to see people bowing their heads to a human like that.

Not even his grandfather, who was acting like he was grieving over his son’s death.

“Eek, Your Highness?”

And that day. Enoch met a girl.

‘It seems like she also ran away during the funeral.’

The look of being in trouble she had on her face was obvious, so he could tell right away.

It was a face he knew.

Her uncommon silver hair was even more noticeable in a funeral hall filled with people wearing black clothes. Red eyes that would create a mysterious atmosphere when she got older. Now, she only had a somewhat childish and coy impression.

Yuria Primrose.

She was the only daughter of Duke Primrose before he brought in a child from outside, so there was no way he wouldn’t know her.

Besides…

‘When they met with Vivian before, didn’t she say she gave her younger sister a blow, asking if she sympathized with the princess?’

Just then, he heard a low sigh from the other person.

“That scared me, I thought you were a monster…”

Hearing that, Enoch looked down at himself.

He was wearing black clothes because it was a funeral, and hiding in case people would find him.

And for the other person, he looked scary because he appeared out of nowhere.

“Couldn’t I be a monster?”

Uncharacteristic of him, Enoch joked with a twisted mind.

It didn’t matter what would be said later, that was how he felt.

Yuria responded with a sullen expression.

“You’re the Crown Prince.”

“I could be a monster while also being the crown prince.”

She looked maybe a year older than Vivian.

The adults wouldn’t believe the girl’s words that the crown prince had called himself a monster.

No, in fact, it didn’t really matter if they believed it.

“…?”

Yuria only tilted her head once.

For some reason, Enoch felt excited by that.

“Maybe you don’t know because you’re young, Lady Primrose, but my father is a monster. That’s why I’m a monster too.”

“Your Highness, are you ill?”

It was an honest reaction.

She was also like this when she met Vivian before. Unhindered.

“Lady, I heard that you told your sister not to sympathize with Vivian at the last meeting. What was your reason for saying that?”

Even Enoch thought that this conversation had no context.

It was not a normal conversation where he wanted to look like a good prince, trying to win the favor of the other person.

Even though he knew it was sudden, he couldn’t stop talking because he was feeling excited.

‘Is it because she didn’t like her illegitimate younger sister, who appeared suddenly, or because she thinks Vivian shouldn’t be sympathized with?’

It was the first time Enoch was committing a misdeed since the accident in which his mother and brother died. He was a little excited.

“Don’t you feel sorry for Vivian? When her brother is like this.”

“Excuse me… What are you talking about, really?”

Judging from her expression, Yuria seemed to be thinking that ‘this human is a little strange’. Though the funeral was boring and she ran away, she felt like she was facing an even bigger mountain.

‘What she thinks is surprisingly apparent on her face.’

Yuria opened her mouth, bitterly.

“Calling yourself a monster… Is it because of His Highness who has passed away? The main character of today’s funeral?”

“…”

Enoch did not answer.

But whether she got a positive answer from the silence, Yuria continued talking.

An unexpected response came.

“If His Highness, your father, is like that, then Her Highness Princess Vivian must also be a monster. In that case, she won’t lose even if she gets in a fight.”

“What?”

“Don’t both of you have the same father?”

“…”

“Is that not the case? I know that much.”

Enoch maintained his blank expression despite Yuria’s explanation.

In the end, Yuria opened her mouth again, with an attitude that she did not know why she was saying this.

“Don’t you think Her Highness, Princess Vivian, is also a monster?”

“Why is Vivian a monster?”

“Then Your Highness isn’t a monster, either.”

“What?”

“If your sister is not a monster, Your Highness isn’t one either.”