Chapter 47
Wait… how much wine did Luna just drink?
Only… half a glass. If alcohol-trash Luna actually drank half a glass of wine, then this is a disaster waiting to happen.
“What? Only half a leaf’s worth, so it’s fine?”
As I feared, the drunken Luna’s bombardment began.
She strode up to Noah, pointed her finger at him as if to stab him, and began speaking.
“Hah! If chocolate gets on your lips, you’d even wipe it off with your lips, wouldn’t you!”
Lips… why lips?
Even I could see Luna was being ridiculously unreasonable, but Noah sat there frozen. It seemed like Luna holding his cheeks with both hands left him unable to react. He was breath-holding, avoiding her gaze, completely flustered.
“Listen carefully. The more handsome a prince is, the more he must! Not show a single ounce of kindness to anyone other than his lover! Got it?”
“Y-Yes. I’ll remember that.”
“Then repeat after me. Act properly!”
“Act… properly…”
“Your voice is too quiet! Act properly!”
“Act properly!”
He’ll probably regret this tomorrow, right? Sorry I couldn’t protect him.
I secretly hoped Luna wouldn’t remember today at all.
After Noah repeated her words, Luna finally collapsed.
Of course, she fell forward onto Noah, ending up practically sitting on top of him.
Noah’s face turned bright red, almost like it would burst, and he was completely flustered. He couldn’t touch her, couldn’t move, and didn’t dare adjust his posture.
Even though she snapped at him, he obediently repeated everything Luna told him and was still embarrassed.
Thinking he might not be as sly as he looks, I decided to give him a pass for now.
“Prince Noah, I’m sorry, but could you move my sister to her bedroom? Her room is across from the second-floor gallery hall.”
“M-Me?”
“I don’t think I can carry her up to the second floor by myself.”
“But… how do I carry her?”
“Well, you can just pick her up or whatever’s comfortable for you.”
Hearing that, his mind went completely blank. I guess he was imagining the scenario in his head.
“Hey, if you can’t do it, I’ll move her.”
“What are you talking about!”
Provoked by Theo, he quickly snapped back to reality and picked up Luna. His little fist clenching as he carried her looked strangely cute.
“Then I’ll carefully—no, safely—take her up.”
“Okay, take your time.”
Ignoring my last comment, he hurriedly left the lounge.
“Joyce, here, take this.”
“What’s this?”
Theo had stuffed my hands full of chocolate.
“Chocolate?”
“If you faint while eating it, don’t blame me.”
“You’re so extra.”
After witnessing Luna’s outburst, I had lost all my energy, so the chocolate was a welcome treat. I quickly unwrapped it and popped it into my mouth.
“What is this? Tastes like the emperor of chocolates?”
It was sweet yet slightly bitter, with a rich, nutty milk flavor. The chocolate melted in my mouth, and it was simply euphoric.
“Huh. This is royal chocolate, and Noah brought it for me.”
Theo looked proud, even though he didn’t make it himself. But honestly, it was so delicious I could forgive his smug expression.
“I can’t stop eating it.”
Tasting the best chocolate of my life, I had no thought of saving it. I tore through the wrapper and devoured it in a frenzy.
“Pfft.”
Theo, who had been silently watching, snickered.
“Why?”
He pointed his index finger and brought it to his lips.
“Huh? Acting cute all of a sudden? Stop it, I don’t want to see that.”
Even though I told him to stop, he continued, tapping his finger on his lips while looking into my eyes. He tapped several times.
What is he trying to do?
Maybe the wine slowed my brain, because I couldn’t understand his actions.
“Geez.”
Seeing that I couldn’t figure him out, Theo suddenly stood and leaned close, bringing his lips right in front of mine.
“Want me to wipe it off?”
Warm breath hit my lips, sending goosebumps all over me.
“W-What are you doing…?”
Normally, I would have pushed him away immediately and called it a joke.
But he just stared into my eyes for a long time. His green eyes, so close, were dazzling, like gems.
I’d kissed Theo dozens of times, but always as part of acting. I had never really looked into his eyes this closely.
His eyelashes are really long… I never thought he could look so… provocative.
Wait, is he coming closer?
The space between our lips was already small, and I could feel him inching closer.
Should I push him away? But then he’d probably laugh it off and leave me embarrassed.
Screech… thud.
A loud crash came from the lounge door. It was Noah. He was lying flat on the floor.
“Are you okay?”
He got up faster than my eyes could follow, naturally putting some distance between Theo and me.
“Hmm, I wasn’t trying to peek. I just missed my timing and accidentally pushed the door while standing.”
“Were you hurt?”
“Haha, I’m fine. So, carry on with what you were doing…”
“What were we even doing!”
As he tried to leave, my shout made him come back.
“Yeah, what were we doing?”
Theo wiped the chocolate off my lips with his finger.
“I just wanted to try what I said earlier about wiping chocolate with lips. It was impressive, so I wanted to experiment.”
“Experiment?”
“Yeah. I wondered if it would help you when writing your work if the scene looked pretty.”
Oh, so that’s why?
“Since I tried it, if you like it, you can use it in your next work.”
Seeing Theo say this so casually, I was glad I didn’t push him away. Otherwise, he’d have teased me endlessly.
“Talking so much, it’s already late. It’s dark outside, and you must be tired. Why don’t you stay in the guest room tonight? Theo too.”
“I was just getting sleepy, so that’d be great.”
“Then I’ll stay as well.”
After exchanging goodbyes, we all went to our rooms.
“Wait!”
Theo, following the maid’s guidance, called me back.
“What is it?”
“You said earlier there was something you wanted to ask in my cabin.”
“Oh, right. I wanted to ask if you could be my partner for the royal ball.”
“Your duke?”
“He has a fiancée. I know it’s hard for him to be around other nobles, so it’s okay to refuse. If you can’t go, I’ll find another partner.”
“…Can I think about it and tell you later?”
“Of course.”
After exchanging goodnight greetings, we headed to our respective rooms. I fell asleep almost immediately after resting my head on the pillow.
“Thanks to Joyce, I get to sleep in the same room as you for the first time in a while. Should we just sleep in the same bed?”
“Don’t say gross stuff.”
Grumbling, but he enjoyed sharing a bed with his younger sibling just as much.
“But you lied really well, didn’t you? When did you become so shameless?”
“That was acting. I just temporarily became someone else.”
“Oh, that’s what made you act so differently.”
Noah, lying on the ceiling, shifted sideways toward his older brother.
“Or… was it because of the heroine?”
“Stop it and sleep.”
“What about that kiss earlier? You said you didn’t want to confess your feelings!”
“I didn’t… I don’t know. Maybe the alcohol made me… or seeing you and Luna made me suddenly jealous.”
“Hey, I don’t know exactly what you’re afraid of, but I think you’re a pretty decent guy. So instead of worrying about losing your feelings, try to gain something first.”
He wanted to say he couldn’t bear seeing her reaction when he confessed, but he stopped. He didn’t want to complain to his younger sibling.
“By the way, when you were putting Luna to bed, it took longer than I expected. Did anything happen in her room?”
I expected him to deny it, but Noah didn’t react. I turned to him, suspicious.
His face was bright red, half-hidden under the blanket.
“You had something happen! Tell me now!”
“No. I can’t. This is between me and Luna.”
“What? You want to know all about my love life, but now you won’t tell me?”
Even under his brother’s interrogation, he kept his mouth shut.
“You’ve never had anyone break your stubbornness since you were young. I give up.”
Finally, Noah lowered the blanket.
“I heard Joyce asked you to be her partner at the ball?”
“Your hearing is still sharp.”
“Will you be her partner?”
He didn’t mince words. With no response from his older brother, Noah pressed further.
“Hyung, you’re going to be Joyce’s partner, right?”
