Chapter 11
Rain slowly lifted his eyelids. Grayish sunlight filtered through his eyelashes.
It was the same colorless morning as always.
He felt like he had dreamed something, but he couldn’t recall it clearly.
One thing was certain—he thought he had seen something tinged with red.
Though it was brief, catching a glimpse of a new color seemed to have a significant effect.
He tried to grasp the dream from the night before.
Knock knock knock.
Someone was repeatedly knocking on the door—the very noise that had woken him from his dream.
“…Come in.”
A hoarse voice escaped, and he instinctively rubbed the back of his neck.
It was his voice changing. What had not occurred even at sixteen had arrived overnight.
The high-pitched tone of the boy was now trying to take on the deeper timbre of a man.
“Beast-sama!”
Bang! The door swung open.
As expected, it was Prim. The persistent person who had been troubling him for several days, arguably first place in tenacity.
Someone who, once seated, would not leave, forcing him eventually to spill harsh words.
‘Red.’
Rain suddenly recalled the color he had seen in his dream.
“Good morning.”
Prim’s flushed face looked at him, panting slightly. She must have run here quickly, as sweat was visible on her forehead.
“What brings you here so early?”
She tilted her head at his changed voice.
“Are you feeling unwell? Could it be a cold?”
“No.”
“Well, that’s a relief, but…”
“Do you know what time it is? Get to the point.”
He spoke firmly, as if she didn’t warrant concern. Prim pouted but replied.
“I’m right by the prince’s side—where else would I go?”
“….”
“…Are you really going to be mad?”
She smiled brazenly as she spoke.
Normally, he would have immediately ordered her out, but today, he didn’t feel like it.
“…Must be because of the dream.”
He muttered in a rough voice.
“Huh?”
Prim tilted her head, asking back.
“….”
He just had a peculiar expression.
“…Still bothersome.”
“Huh?”
He hated noise the most. The sudden appearance of Prim was normally annoying and tiresome.
But today was different.
“….”
After thinking for a while, he finally spoke.
“Your voice is too loud. It woke me up completely.”
“But it’s actually the time you’re supposed to wake up…”
“Have you eaten?”
“Huh?”
Prim blinked blankly. Rain replied in a neutral tone:
“We’ll eat together.”
Perhaps there was no particular reason.
Lately, Prim couldn’t shake the feeling that something was different.
The routine was the same as always.
She would visit Rain, hoping for answers that would never come, talking about this and that, and using exaggerated gestures to grab his attention.
That part was unchanged.
But… something was off.
For example:
“Good morning, Raincis-sama! Did you sleep well? The sky is particularly high today.”
“….”
“Right?”
Normally, he would have gruffly said, “What’s so good about it?” but instead, he followed her gaze to the sky.
“Raincis-sama, have you had lunch? Would you like to eat with me if you’re free?”
“….”
“Even if you say no, I’ll eat with you anyway. As I said before, I…”
“Do as you like.”
“Huh?”
“I said, do as you like.”
In this way, he entertained Prim.
‘Why? Why did he lower his guard, which he usually keeps sharp like a hedgehog? Did he eat something bad?’
Normally, he would have snapped, “Fine, eat it yourself,” or “Where did that persistence come from?”
But today…
Thanks to this, Prim found herself thinking of something other than the meal she had so longed for.
“Not eating?”
“Huh?”
He gestured at his own plate. Prim smiled awkwardly and shook her head.
“No… just… haha… nothing.”
She continued eating her soup while sneaking glances at him.
‘Have we… gotten closer?’
The thought made her heart flutter. It felt like all her previous efforts were finally paying off. Prim looked at Rain with a proud smile.
He ate neatly and elegantly.
His platinum hair, perfectly complementing his fair skin, shone dazzlingly in the sunlight. His gray eyes, glimpsed through long eyelashes, gave his beauty a slightly peculiar charm.
‘He really is beautiful.’
As she stared at him absentmindedly, Rain, eyes fixed on his bowl, spoke in a neutral tone:
“Do you have a hobby of staring at people’s faces? You did it on the first day too.”
“Eep.”
Prim quickly looked away, but it was too late—he had already noticed.
She pressed her lips together and, with an embarrassed expression, said:
“…Well…”
How could she admit aloud that Raincis-sama was too beautiful! She swallowed the words that reached her throat.
He didn’t seem to want an answer and continued his meal expressionlessly.
Prim, awkwardly smiling, hastily changed the subject:
“It’s… quiet today.”
“Quiet?”
Rain replied indifferently. Prim hesitated, then spoke:
“…About Dayphs-sama.”
As if uttering a forbidden word, Rain frowned.
“Why bring up that brat’s name all of a sudden? And, you’re asking rather quickly—only just thinking of it now?”
“….”
Ah, her belief that they had grown closer was clearly mistaken.
‘Haha, as expected, no way.’
Prim quickly corrected her rash assumption.
“Of course it’s quiet. Is there any reason for it to be noisy?”
“Well, Raincis-sama…”
“….”
“…the color…”
“You think you can see color. Thanks to you.”
Prim hesitated, unable to speak, and Rain interrupted. His voice, deepened after his voice change, was extremely low.
Caught off guard, Prim clamped her mouth shut. She wanted to shake the impudent mouth that had spoken out of turn that day.
But Rain, as if it was no big deal, wiped his mouth with a napkin and said:
“Nothing will happen. Don’t worry.”
“Huh?”
“If anyone learns that I can see color, the prophecy would be wrong. Then that brat’s position would be in danger.”
“….”
“It’d be like me taking my own life. Of course, no one would believe me if I said nothing happened. Anyway, nothing will happen for the time being.”
Prim nodded at the sensible explanation. He was quick to assess situations—not someone who had spent all his life isolated in the palace.
‘If I phrase this right, I might be able to persuade him.’
Just as Prim’s eyes shone and her lips moved,
“Did you rush me about red or whatever without thinking about the consequences?”
Rain’s cold words made her shut her mouth.
She glared at him silently. Rain, indifferent, said with a blank expression:
“So, what’s the plan?”
“Huh?”
“How will you prove the prophecy wrong? You need a more certain method.”
Prim put down her fork. Finally, she could speak.
With a serious expression, she said:
“To prove the prophecy wrong, there’s no choice but to let you see color. In other words, if the prince can distinguish colors, the prophecy becomes false.”
“And so?”
“The sure way for you to see colors is…”
Prim paused for dramatic effect. Rain, impatient, urged:
“Stop stalling and tell me…”
“To meet your destined partner.”
“….”
Rain paused. Prim continued brazenly:
“The moment the prince meets his destined partner, he will be able to see colors. Then, the saying that you are ‘trapped in a world of black and white’ becomes false.”
“….”
“But people consider the prince unfortunate. In that situation, meeting a destined partner would be difficult.”
“….”
“Then we just change the situation. Make it so the destined partner comes to the prince directly.”
Prim spoke clearly:
“We change the rumors about the prince. Not someone who blinds at touch, but someone everyone wants to take his hand.”
She boldly extended her hand.
“Hold my hand, and people will believe the prince is kind and gentle, not capricious and scary.”
“….”
“Trust me. I applied for the tutor position for this reason. After finding the nameless beauty—or rather, the destined partner—I’ll guide you through everything.”
Rain stared at Prim’s extended hand and slowly spoke:
“I…”
“….”
Prim anxiously waited for his lips to move.
“I asked a pointless question, after all.”
His expression turned cold.
“It’s true!”
Prim, desperate, leapt forward, leaning toward him. Rain instinctively met her gaze.
Her black hair and red eyes reflected in Rain’s gray eyes.
Prim felt slightly wronged. She knew he might not understand her reasoning, but it was the truth.
A woman with black hair and red eyes—his destined partner.
Prim wanted to use this rumor to her advantage.
Contrary to the rumor, the eighth prince was very kind and gentle. The rumor that he blinded people meant that his beauty was so dazzling it could blind them.
The rumor would certainly pique the curiosity of an empire that revered beauty.
The problem was next. Once the rumor spread, people would be desperate to meet Rain.
To successfully meet the ‘beauty,’ his personality needed to be softened slightly.
“….”
Rain’s eyes narrowed.
Though it was a ridiculous idea, Prim faced him clearly, showing more earnestness than confidence.
Perhaps that’s why his lips moved unconsciously:
“…You want to use the rumor in reverse.”
“Yes. To show that he’s actually kind and gentle.”
“…Then I don’t need your help at all.”
“Huh?”
“Look at us now. Aren’t we talking just fine?”
“….”
His expression seemed to ask, Is it possible to be any kinder or gentler than this?
