Is he insane?!
As if piercing someone else’s ear without permission wasn’t bad enough, why did he have to lick the blood off?
I almost cursed him out over his infuriating behavior, but once again, I somehow managed to swallow my irritation.
“I’m glad I got to give you your first pair of earrings.”
He put an earring on my other ear as well and continued,
“I wish I could be your first for everything, Ser… but I suppose that’s asking for too much.”
That’s an utterly unreasonable desire.
Besides, these weren’t actually my first earrings.
Just because I hadn’t pierced my ears didn’t mean I couldn’t wear earrings.
“If you wear these,”
he whispered in a low voice,
“No one will dare treat you carelessly. I’ve left the Crown Prince’s mark on them.”
I lightly tapped the gemstone with my fingertip.
“Then does this mean… they belong to Your Highness?”
After a brief silence, he answered.
“I’m not trying to possess you, Ser.”
“Then what?”
He lowered his head.
His green eyes gleamed right in front of me.
“I simply hope you’ll choose as soon as possible.”
“…….”
“I know that, in the end, you’ll choose to stay by my side.”
There was an arrogant certainty in the Crown Prince’s face.
Perhaps all of this was merely a game to him.
No matter who I did what with, he was simply being patient, waiting for the exhilaration of the moment I cast everything aside and took his hand.
Because he believed the ending had already been decided.
I smiled faintly.
“It wouldn’t be fun if everything were too predictable, Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince’s eyes narrowed.
“Fun?”
“You went so far as to give me such an expensive gift. I suppose I should make things a little more enjoyable for you, Your Highness.”
Silence fell for a moment.
Then he let out a low chuckle.
“As expected, Ser never fails to live up to my expectations.”
The Crown Prince lifted my chin with his hand.
“Very well. I promise I won’t be impatient. In return, don’t run away from me.”
His voice was sweet, but there was a chill in his eyes.
I met his gaze head-on and answered,
“Why would I run away?”
Only then did his eyes gleam with satisfaction.
I thought to myself,
Even if I leave, it wouldn’t be running away.
It would simply be a strategic move toward victory.
He stepped back.
“I’m glad you came to see me.”
“I only hope I didn’t disturb someone as busy as Your Highness.”
“Of course not.”
The Crown Prince smiled gently.
“You may visit whenever you like. I’ll tell the head chamberlain that you’re allowed to wait here even when I’m away.”
…Judging from the way he said that, there probably wasn’t anything particularly special hidden here.
Still, just in case, I should come back when he’s not around and inspect the place more thoroughly.
Those objects he called relics looked rather interesting, too.
Only when it was truly time for me to start preparing for the banquet did the Crown Prince finally let me leave.
He personally escorted me all the way to the first floor, and his gaze followed me persistently once again.
After passing through the corridor and leaving his line of sight, I touched my earrings again.
An artifact that stores mana.
Could this really have been kept in the Imperial Family’s treasure vault?
Raern told me to find the device that supplies life force to his body.
I recalled his words.
If the Crown Prince had made these earrings, then that device probably worked according to the same principle.
I can use this as a reference.
So I decided I could put up with a little discomfort.
Since it was the Crown Prince’s possession, it was worth studying.
Ugh….
Still, the sensation of him touching my ear was so creepy that I grimaced and quickened my pace.
I needed something to cleanse my eyes and calm my mind.
***
Despite the bustle throughout the palace in preparation for the banquet, the Crown Prince’s quarters were quiet.
“Your Highness.”
Three young nobles were kneeling in front of the door, trembling.
They were the ones who had dared approach the woman the Crown Prince had taken an interest in and provoke her.
Heron, who had witnessed what happened, stood behind them.
His expression was rigid, as though he already knew what was about to happen.
“We were only joking….”
“Yes, I know. Now tell me exactly what you said.”
The Crown Prince tilted his head.
“If your story differs even slightly from the report I received, you’ll have to take responsibility for what happens afterward.”
When they continued to hesitate without saying a word, the Crown Prince casually tipped his chin.
At the same moment, a sword flashed, and the arm of the man kneeling on the far left dropped to the floor.
“Aaaagh…!”
The Crown Prince looked at the screaming man with a bored expression.
“Are you going to keep wasting my time? I’m starting to get bored.”
The man in the middle slammed his forehead against the floor and shouted,
“I… I’ll tell you!”
“Good. You’ve finally decided to speak.”
The Crown Prince nodded, and the man confessed everything they had said, recounting it in as much detail as he could remember.
“We asked who she’d been enjoying herself with to leave marks like that on her neck, and… we also suggested that if she didn’t care who it was, she could spend some time with us.”
The man’s voice grew quieter toward the end.
“So?”
“Th-the maid asked us what kind of bet it was… and what the winner would receive as a reward. That’s all…!”
“She was curious about something like that? Ser certainly is curious.”
The Crown Prince chuckled and nodded.
“Instead of wasting her time dealing with trash like you, she would have been better off spending even a little more time with me.”
Before he had even finished speaking, the sword flashed.
With a short arc, the first man’s head tilted at an unnatural angle.
The second man’s chest was split open before he even had time to comprehend what was happening.
The third froze on his knees, his eyes wide.
The last thing he saw was the Crown Prince’s expressionless face.
Blood slowly flowed across the floor.
The crimson liquid seeped into the cracks between the marble tiles.
The Crown Prince lightly shook the blood from his sword.
“Heron.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Heron’s voice trembled faintly.
“I think you have a better idea now of how you should treat her.”
The Crown Prince was referring to how Heron had arrogantly warned Ser to conduct herself properly.
Realizing his mistake, Heron hurriedly dropped to his knees and begged for forgiveness.
“I apologize, Your Highness. I will never be disrespectful to her again.”
Cold sweat ran down his back at the thought that he could end up just like those corpses.
After looking down at him with a cold gaze for a moment, the Crown Prince spoke.
“You didn’t know, so I’ll give you one more chance. But there won’t be a next time.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“And….”
The Crown Prince’s gaze slowly swept over the corpses on the floor.
“Make sure that anyone who harbors such utterly presumptuous desires toward Ser is never, ever left alive.”
Carelessness always had a way of coming back to haunt you.
“Yes. I’ll make sure they’re dealt with completely.”
Heron lowered his head deeply.
He knew.
This wasn’t jealousy or anger.
It was a warning about who Ser Brynn belonged to.
The Crown Prince paid no attention to the corpses.
“Oh dear. At this rate, I might be late for the banquet.”
As though nothing had happened, he adjusted his cravat.
The stench of blood hung heavily in the air, but his expression remained as relaxed as ever.
When Heron withdrew with a pale face, the Crown Prince’s attendants removed the corpses.
After finishing his preparations, the Crown Prince paused briefly at the door.
Then, suddenly, he looked down at his right hand.
His green eyes rested on the finger that had wiped away the drop of blood from her earlobe.
With his eyes darkened, he slowly rubbed that spot.
As though retracing a memory.
The warmth of her body and the heat of her blood.
The sensation of piercing through her skin.
His Adam’s apple bobbed heavily.
“…This is troublesome.”
A quiet laugh escaped him.
“The banquet is going to be a long one.”
At last, he casually resumed walking.
The crimson traces had already seeped completely into the floor and disappeared.
Comments (0)