Chapter 64
“Miss Jaina, I’ll go get some ice cream, so wait here, okay?”
As Rosian stood up, Arnen muttered under his breath.
“Lucky bastard. I was going to give that Rosian brat a taste of pain too, but…”
Even if he was Elia’s son, Rosian was still just a kid.
Against multiple trained knights, he wouldn’t stand a chance — a perfect opportunity to humble him.
“No, actually, this is better. He’s still a royal prince after all — if he got hurt, this could’ve become a big problem. Go on, hurry up!”
The knights hesitated, but eventually followed his order. Arnen rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck.
‘Aside from my mother not being called a “hero,” I’m far better than that Rosian brat — in looks and swordsmanship.’
At that moment, he saw the knights surrounding Jaina.
The small girl looked even smaller encircled by grown men.
“Hey, little girl. Where are the adults? Why are you alone?”
“Better hand over everything you’ve got while we’re still being nice.”
When several muscular men approached, any child would feel threatened.
The knights advanced with heavy steps, cornering Jaina against the wall.
“Um, um…”
“What are you doing to that child…?”
Passersby could only watch from a distance, afraid of getting involved.
Seeing fear on their faces, Arnen smiled in satisfaction.
‘Any moment now, she should start crying…’
Once Jaina began sobbing in terror, that was when he’d make his “heroic” entrance.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Don’t tell me you can’t understand what we’re saying?”
“Do we really have to teach you how dangerous this world can be?”
Because the knights were blocking her from view, Arnen couldn’t see Jaina’s expression. It made him impatient.
‘What’s taking so long? I told them to give me a signal when she started crying!’
They must have forgotten. Despite his clear instructions, not one remembered something that simple.
Growing frustrated, Arnen strode forward himself.
“Augh— Aghh—”
“Guh—”
But instead of the frightened child he expected, there stood a completely calm girl among the fallen knights.
“Their acting was terrible.”
Dusting off her hands lightly, Jaina spoke without a hint of emotion.
“You’re the one who sent these men, right?”
“W-What? How could a kid like you take down trained knights…?”
“Trained knights? Ah, that explains their clean formation. I almost didn’t recognize them — they were so weak.”
Weak?
He had brought royal guard knights, not just any soldiers!
“I only tossed them around using gathered wind, so their lives aren’t in danger. Anyway, what exactly did you mean by sending them after me?”
“I—I didn’t do that!”
Arnen tried to deny it, but Jaina didn’t even blink.
“They all confessed.”
“……!”
Arnen cursed silently and scrambled to explain.
“I didn’t mean any harm!”
“Oh, so if you had bad intentions, you would’ve sent an entire battalion instead?”
“I—I just thought you were cute! I only wanted to make a good impression!”
He couldn’t exactly say, ‘Since my cousin Rosian seems to like you, I wanted to steal your heart first just to feel superior!’
So he gave a vague excuse instead.
“I thought if I appeared like a prince on a white horse to rescue you, you’d be impressed!”
Jaina tilted her head slightly, face still blank.
“If you like someone, shouldn’t you be nice to them? Using knights to stage a fake attack just to get attention—what kind of nonsense is that?”
Her cold tone made Arnen bite his lip in frustration.
“And besides, when did I ever say you could talk to me so casually?”
“I just… fell for you at first sight! It won’t happen again…”
“Did I say we’d meet again?”
Arnen cursed her inwardly, but pressed on.
“Do you even know who I am? I’m a royal prince! I can give you anything you want!”
That title — royal blood — was what Arnen prided himself on the most.
“I don’t usually apologize, but I’ll do it for you. Whatever you want, I’ll buy it. Whatever you ask, I’ll do it.”
Then he gave her a look full of affected sorrow.
“So please… just forgive me this once?”
Jaina didn’t waver in the slightest. Her answer was curt.
“I didn’t ask.”
“……”
“I doubt you’d even manage a real apology. Anyway, I’m done here.”
She ended the conversation in one clean stroke and turned toward where Rosian had gone.
In a panic, Arnen grabbed her hand.
“Don’t go!”
Inside, he grinned triumphantly.
‘That was pretty assertive, wasn’t it?’
As a member of the proud Delhyde imperial line, he was confident in his looks.
‘Come on, what girl wouldn’t blush when a handsome guy grabs her hand?’
But contrary to his expectations, Jaina didn’t even flinch.
‘Ugh, this is so annoying.’
She simply wasn’t interested in appearances.
And besides—
‘Blue eyes or not, the Tower Master’s are a hundred times better.’
She recalled someone else with the same eye color.
Compared to Rosian, Diarmid, or Michael, Arnen didn’t have a single redeeming feature.
‘Where does he get the confidence to think he’s handsome?’
Jaina had seen far too many beautiful people to be swayed by a face.
And she’d never been the type to get flustered anyway.
‘The worst part is his personality. Using knights to stage a scene? Not even apologizing properly? He’s the total opposite of Lord Rosian.’
She sighed deeply.
‘His eyes are dull, his nose flat, his skin bad… Is he really of royal blood?’
As she looked at him with mild disdain, Arnen misread the expression and smirked.
‘Knew it. I am better-looking than Rosian.’
“But tell me—what’s your relationship with the Tower Master, exactly?”
He was about to continue when—
“Arnen. Why are you here?”
Both turned toward the voice. Rosian stood there, holding two ice creams, his face cold.
“Miss Jaina, he didn’t do anything to you, did he?”
“What? I was just talking to her because I like her, that’s all!”
Arnen lifted the hand that had been holding Jaina’s, showing it off as if to prove innocence.
Rosian’s face darkened instantly.
“So you followed us here even though you knew I didn’t like you hanging around?”
The usually calm boy’s tone was suddenly harsh — something Arnen had never seen before.
Cold sweat ran down his back.
‘What the hell? Why does Rosian look so scary?’
He quickly let go of Jaina’s hand.
Still, he refused to admit he’d frozen up, so he raised his voice.
“My parents married at sixteen — they were engaged at twelve! I should start looking for a wife too, shouldn’t I?”
“Miss Jaina is still a child.”
“Hmph, unless you plan to make her your princess, don’t boss me around! It’s not like you get to choose your partner freely — you’re just Elia’s son! I’ll propose to her myself!”
“P-Princess…?”
At those words, Rosian’s fierce demeanor instantly vanished.
When Jaina looked over, his cheeks were bright red — like strawberries.
“Princess, that’s…!”
He was embarrassed.
Rosian, who always smiled with composure, was completely flustered.
Both Arnen and Jaina stared. Rosian covered his face with his arm, taking a step back.
“N-no, why are you looking at me like that…! Anyway, Arnen, stay away from Miss Jaina!”
He shouted suddenly, startling even Arnen.
Watching the two, Jaina calmly said,
“Actually, I’m a bit of a loner.”
“What?”
“What did you say?”
Rosian blinked in disbelief.
“You said before you had an ideal type!”
“I did, but lately I’ve realized marriage just seems pointless.”
Arnen interrupted, frowning.
“But a woman needs a man—”
“Don’t say stupid things that’ll upset Miss Jaina. Get lost.”
Rosian’s face returned to its icy calm.
“I know you followed me and happened to run into her.”
“T-that’s…”
Terrified by Rosian’s killing aura — something he’d never shown before — Arnen quickly backed away.
“……”
“Your Highness?”
Once Arnen had fled, silence fell between them.
Rosian opened his mouth as if to say something, but every time Jaina’s eyes met his, he looked away again.
Finally, Jaina broke the silence.
“What were you trying to tell me earlier?”
“I… I was going to say that… I think of you as…”
Rosian sighed, gazing off into the distance.
“…like a little sister.”
Jaina blinked.
“A little sister?”
Yet his expression remained oddly troubled, as though something about that didn’t sit right.
Then, after a long sigh, his face softened.
“Though maybe it’s just me who feels close to you…”
“That’s not true. I feel close to you too, Your Highness.”
Jaina smiled, and Rosian returned a shy smile of relief.
“You know, I’m not the only one who’s changed. You’ve grown taller and more mature too, Miss Jaina.”
“I think you’ve grown even more, Your Highness.”
“Really? Then next time we meet, we’ll both have grown so much we won’t recognize each other.”
But the tone of his voice… sounded strangely like he was about to leave somewhere far away.
