Now that Rosie, like a tigress hiding in a dense thicket, attempted to corner Ryu, he had no choice but to decide.
'Should I decline her invitation, run away, and just come back later for Yume? Saving her only after they falsified her crimes.'
But his conscience would be disheartened if his classmates, including his newly made friends, went on the expedition, suffered, and worst died because of him.
'Or should I accept Rosie's invitation, join their group, stop my classmates from joining the expedition, and save Yume on time.'
Though this would make Yume feel betrayed. Ryu thought their recently formed connection would be in naught. On the other hand, this might be an excellent opportunity to act as a spy on the treacherous couple's team.
For the time being, not joining this cold north expedition was the priority. This venture would surely take a while. There were only six months left for the upcoming mission for the senior students. It was the last event Ryu could read in the novel and the circumstance where he needed to make sure he would be able to join.
In conclusion, he didn't have the leisure time to go elsewhere.
Rosie folded her fan, preparing to leave.
"Go to the academy's west wing, second floor. There will be a sign that says 'Royal Quarters.' We will be waiting there after lunch."
As she walked away happily, the people around stared at Ryu. It was Blake who was listening and asked.
"What does Lady Rosie mean, Ryu?"
Hearing about the chance of canceling the expedition made his eyes glimmer with hope.
"Is it really possible to cancel our involvement?"
Roy at his side added.
"How can we avoid it?"
Gavin urged.
To sum up, everyone who heard about Rosie's proposal had their ears perked.
Sigh...
Ryu closed his eyes and started weighing the invitation's pros and cons. When the people beside him went silent, he slowly opened one eye. He saw these people attentively, watching for an answer. In addition, their eyes look like a puppy's.
"Alright... I'll ask Lady Rosie to exclude us from the expedition—"
Hooray! The crowd cheered.
"—but don't expect too much."
"Certainly! Our family wouldn't need to hear such distressing news."
"And we'll have enough time to improve ourselves, then next time, we would be the one welcoming for an expedition ourselves."
"Thank you so much, Sir—I mean, Ryu."
Guilt was the emotion formed deep within Ryu's heart.
Ryu thought he didn't deserve these praises since he made this happen in the first place.
"Don't thank me, guys. It's my fault in the first place."
"Yours or not, it doesn't matter. We're friends, right?"
Roy rebuked. Gavin and Blake nodded.
"...Yes."
"Well, people make mistakes. What matters is how you want to fix them. So all is in good hands."
"I see. But what if I declined, and we all must go to the expedition?"
"Ack!—T...Then, we... we will have to go together! Right? Gavin, Blake?"
"R-Right!"
Gavin and Blake cried out while sweats started appearing on their faces.
"We can do it!"
"Pffft... It's fine, guys, you don't have to panic, and I already decided not to go on this expedition. I also have something important to do. I just hope the Princess will be alright."
"Princess?"
"Oh, um, it's nothing... Shall we go?"
The four ate, cleaned up, brought the trays back, then left.
"Then I'll be on my way to the west wing."
"Take care, see you later!"
The three waved their hands as they separated.
***
Clink.
"Shin!"
Rosie rushed in, opening the Crown Prince's private quarters door.
"I have some good news—"
"Ah!"
Shin, who had just woken up, shouted.
Rosie noticed him lying on her favorite limited edition couch made by a renowned craftsman. At the same time, his head was covered by his trembling hands.
"Shin, what happened?"
"Rosie, Rosie?! Is that you?!"
"Yes, it's me, my love."
Rosie sat beside him, gently tapping his back.
"Are you alright? What happened? Tell me."
"Yume! It's Yume!"
"That lady again?!"
Rosie squinted her eyes, hugging him.
"Tell me, my love, what did that scheming black witch do to you?!"
"Yume this! Yume that! They always say she will be a great ruler! A better ruler! And not me, they don't speak about me! I'm the heir to the throne! They should only speak about me!"
"What? Oh... Did you, again, have a bad dream?"
"It's not a dream, Rosie! I can feel it... Everything! She took everything away from me!"
Shin, while trembling, continued, looking at Rosie while gritting his teeth. His eyes were reddened. He even began scratching his own face.
"Everyone praised her! Even... Even my father, the King! He only looked at her!"
"Don't hurt yourself, my love!"
Rosie tried her best to stop him from injuring himself. Just hearing about her name, of course, made her heart enraged.
'What's so special about that girl? Why is she always the center of attention? Is it her family? But in terms of wealth, it is not like I am behind!'
Rosie thought about it, concluding that she only needed to take care of Yume and everything would be fine afterward. The same things she did to those who eyed the position of the crown princess in the past years.
All she needed to do was shut them all up.
As long as it would make her relationship with the Crown Prince secure, then it's worth it.
'What's wrong with my method? In the end, those who remained victorious would have the right to speak.'
In the depths of her thought, Shin continued to grumble.
"People are cheering for her! She is laughing at me! Her eyes! Her eyes always laugh at me whenever she bested me in everything!"
Rosie's thoughts waned when Shin unconsciously pressed her slender arms.
"Ouch! Shin, don't squeeze my arms. It hurts!"
"Rosie! You, you'll help me, right?! You'll always be with me and not mock me, right?"
"If you want to, I'll do anything for you."
"Really?! T...T-Then, would you, h-help me get r-rid of her?"
"What?!"
Shin started to breathe heavily.
"Haaaa... If you don't help me, she will be the crown princess and the future queen! Do you want that?!"
'Now he even wants to use Yume to threaten me? If you want to play like this, then...'
"If you want to marry her, I will let you go. Since your happiness is what's important."
"No! You are my future queen, Rosie! At least you are not greedy like them!"
"Because I only want to be with you, and I don't need anything else."
Rosie tightened her embrace.
"So please calm down, my love. I still have good news for you."
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Pardon me, Your Highness."
The butler outside the room had announced.
"Sir Ryu Astre is here to see you."
Shin opened his eyes wide in surprise, looking at Rosie with a slight confusion written on his face.
"Is this the good news?"
"Yes, my love. But your face is still a mess. Try to relax."
Rosie got up and rummaged through the drawers.
"I found it! Here, wear this mask first. You should not look weak in front of anyone."
"Alright."
Shin took the mask in her hand and wore it. A black masquerade mask with golden carvings was used for social events.
"Do I look better?"
"Better than nothing."
"Let him in, Max."
Clink.
"Welcome, Sir Ryu."
Rosie greeted Ryu with a charming smile.
"Please take a seat."
Though Ryu came with Rosie's invitation, he stopped walking at some point and clearly made some line between them.
"No."
"Pardon?"
"If you need something with me, hurry up and say it."
"Rosie, is this good news you are talking about? But it seems—"
Even Rosie was shocked. This was not how she expected Ryu to behave.
"No, no, no, no... It seems there is a misunderstanding. Hahaha. Why don't you take a seat first and relax, Sir Ryu?"
Ryu's eyes narrowed.
Rosie felt the sweats start to form on her forehead.
"Alright, alright, you can stay standing."
"Let me handle this, Rosie. It seems our 'guest' is a little uneasy today."
Ryu listened to the man behind a mask as he stood up.
Without effort, Ryu easily distinguished his identity.
Shin walked around the couch, leaned on its frame, crossed his feet on the floor, and had arms around his chest.
"I'll get to the point then... I want you to join my team in the upcoming senior expedition in six months."
"Why?"
"Why you say?"
"Why should I join you?"
"Oh... Then how about 1,000 gold coins?"
"Pffft..."
"10,000 gold coins? This will be enough to feed your whole family for generations!"
"Is this really the best you can offer?"
"Don't test my patience, Sir Ryu...! It seems you didn't know who you were messing with. Isn't that why you are here to beg to cancel your class's expedition?"
"So you did all that just for this?"
"Why not? It's so simple to ruin you if I want to. Then, why are you even declining my offer? Wouldn't this be good for the cooperation between the Xan and the Zen Kingdom? I'm the crown prince of this nation, and I will be the future King. Do you get what I'm saying?"
"So, you're saying that the Zen Kingdom will suppress us if I don't cooperate?"
"It's you who said that."
"Then let me ask you a question. What do you want me to do in the expedition?"
"Now we're talking... It's simple, I want you to help me be the winner of the expedition."
"And how exactly can you be the winner of the expedition?"
"I want you to accidentally injure someone, and only you, who have the skill to defeat me, can do that."
"And that someone is?"
"It's... It's Lady Yume, my disfavored fiancee."
Shin hesitated at first but had no choice but to be direct with Ryu because he needed his cooperation.
"You must know this. Lady Yume is evil! She always hurt Rosie and others who eyed the position of crown princess. She is too greedy to be my queen. So we need to stop her."
Ryu started to clench his fist. He mainly knew what happened since he's an avid reader of the novel. So he knew that Shin was spouting nonsense.
"Really?! Then if I agree, would you leave us alone?"
"O-Of course! I am a royal prince, so I don't go back on my words."
"Then—"
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Excuse me, Your Highness."
Ryu, who was ready to answer, was interrupted by the butler.
"Lady Yume Valenz of Snowcrest is here to see you."