MLOMH 20

Chapter 20

“What are you guys doing?! Arelien doesn’t like it!”

Pession, you’re the best. More! Scold them more!

Even though Pession showed up, the Sperom twins didn’t back down.

“Whoa, it’s His Highness!”

“Woooo~ It’s His Highness~!”

Pession uncharacteristically raised his voice, but the twins didn’t seem scared at all.

“Arelielielien likes us.”

“Yeah, we get along really well.”

“Right, Arel-le-lel?”

I don’t know, and I just want to be alone.

“Arelien doesn’t seem to like you two.”

“No way.”

“Yeah, no way she doesn’t like us.”

Where on earth does that confidence come from?

Then the twins suddenly started spinning lies and stirring the pot.

“Isn’t His Highness just lying so he can monopolize Arelien?”

“Yeah, he’s so mean.”

“Such evil intent!”

A 2-on-1 battle.

The result was already decided.

“W-what are you talking about?!”

“Oh? His Highness is stuttering.”

“Feeling guilty, huh? You are!”

“I am not!”

“Arel-le-lel. Are you only going to play with His Highness~?”

“Can’t we all play together?”

“Are you jealous, Your Highness?”

“I’m not jealous!”

Watching the twins giggle, I realized something. Their target had changed.

From me to Pession.

Condolences, Crown Prince.

He looked like he had rushed over in a hurry from training, judging by the sweat on his forehead and his training uniform.

And trailing behind him was Harun.

Oh? Our eyes met.

“…….”

Harun looked at me with a strange expression. What is it? Pity? If you’re going to pity me, do it with money.

But seriously, he’s good-looking.

Jet-black hair like the night sky, pale sky-blue eyes like a clear lake, and even a teardrop mole beneath his right eye.

At first glance, his sharp eyes and cold aura were the perfect example of a Northern Duke type. If I didn’t know the story, I would’ve thought Harun was the male lead.

You’re going to break a lot of hearts when you grow up, huh.

Before I could figure out why he was looking at me like I was pitiful, it seemed time had passed, and the kids from the collection club started arriving one by one.

“Huh?”

“Hm?”

“Eh?”

And they all looked confused by what they walked in on.

“Then let’s ask Arelielielien!”

What? Ask me what?

“Arelielielien, who do you want to play with?”

“What?”

Apparently, some unknown discussion had gone on between the Crown Prince and the twins in the meantime.

“Arel-le-lel, you choose!”

“Yeah!”

“We decided to settle it fair and square!”

“A fair fight?”

The twins’ eyes sparkled.

“You want to play with us, right?!”

Even Pession, clearly dragged into this by the twins, asked without backing down.

“Y-you’ll play with me, right?!”

What kind of mess is this now?

“…….”

I looked between the twins and Pession and made my move.

My choice was…

“?!”

Grab.

“I’ll play with Young Lord Harun.”

It was Harun.

“……?”

Harun, suddenly dragged into this, stared at me in shock.

Sorry.

“…….”

“…….”

A heavy silence fell over the room.

“Oh, didn’t see that coming.”

The twins were the first to speak.

Siel’s eyes twinkled.

“I thought Arelielielien would pick His Highness!”

“Harun, really?”

“Actually, I like it.”

“This is fun, interesting!”

What’s wrong with them?

Their sparkling eyes only grew brighter, and it was seriously overwhelming. Seeing how hyped the twins were left me utterly confused.

Why are you guys so excited?

“A-Arelien?”

On the other hand, Pession deflated.

He looked so pitiful with those droopy puppy-dog eyes that I almost wanted to reach out and pet him.

“…….”

In the middle of the new chaos, only Harun stood frozen like he’d short-circuited.

I do feel a little bad.

It’s not like I had anything against Young Lord Harun. He was simply the safest choice at that moment.

Because he is…

A definite second male lead.

What’s the symbolic meaning of a second male lead?

Unwavering devotion!

A dependable, steady pillar who silently supports the heroine like a warm bowl of soup.

In other words: he won’t randomly strike up conversations, won’t take interest in me, won’t make me tired, and won’t ask anything of me.

Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

He was exactly the kind of person I desperately needed right now.

“Why Harun?!”

Pession cried out in despair.

“His Highness lost… He lost to Harun!”

“You guys lost too, you know?”

“We’re fine with it.”

“We’re still getting to know each other.”

“It just started!”

“But you said you were already close.”

“……”

Now cornered, Pession turned to me. His eyes pleaded for help.

“Arelien……”

Those puppy eyes looked right at me.

Slide.

My answer was rejection.

You’re just as exhausting.

I quickly hid behind Harun, and once again, a heavy silence fell.

“……”

Harun, frozen and flustered, didn’t know what to do.

“……!”

The Crown Prince was devastated.

“Waaaah!!!”

And the twins? They were just having the time of their lives.

Today’s gathering was doomed from the start.

“Arelien, eat this!”

Why is this happening…

“Arelielielien, this one’s good too!”

Why me…

“Arel-le-lel! This one tastes better!”

How did this happen?!

“……”

Help me.

I looked at Harun with desperate eyes.

Harun glanced around, then handed me the piece of meat he was about to eat.

Not that, you idiot.

Save me from this mess!

“This one’s better!”

Pession jumped in and snatched the meat Harun gave me, offering something else instead.

Wow. What a pointless power move, Crown Prince.

“……!”

Harun looked so wronged. His sharp eyes trembled pitifully.

It was powerful enough to turn an icy prince into a tragic one.

“Wow, His Highness is trying to block Harun.”

“I saw it. Totally saw it.”

“His Highness, that’s petty.”

“Yeah, totally petty.”

“Shut up!”

The twins and the Crown Prince bickered again. Although, it looked more like the twins were just toying with him.

So exhausting.

I clearly picked Harun.

I said I’d play with Harun. So shouldn’t I only be playing with him?

But in reality, I had a clingy Crown Prince, meddlesome twins, and an awkward Harun hovering around me.

What is this even?

All the other kids had faded into the background, and I was just tired.

This kind of heart-pounding popularity event is too much for an extra like me.

Whether it was Pession, the twins, or Harun, they were so popular that I’d never gotten tangled up with them before — until now.

“Ha…”

In the Albrecht Empire, a few noble families held real power. At the top was the Halbern family.

To put it bluntly, Halbern had so much influence they could go toe-to-toe with the imperial family. According to the novel, their power came from some mysterious secret they held.

Whatever that means. I never really understood that part.

Do they blackmail people?

In the novel, Halbern was just a catch-all explanation for anything shady. “Behind the scenes? Must be Halbern.” So no details were ever given.

Then Arelien died, and Halbern fell into ruin. No one knew why.

Mehen left, and even the Duke of Halbern ended up that way…

Well. That’s not the point.

The novel didn’t focus on them, so nobody really cared.

I should have paid attention!

Too late now.

Anyway, unlike the mysteriously powerful yet narratively irrelevant Halbern, there were families that actually showed real influence.

First was the Sperom family, who controlled the empire’s entire commercial sector.

“Arel-le-lel!”

“My name is Arelien, thank you.”

Second was the Muebisk family, traditionally in charge of the empire’s military power.

“……”

“……? What’s wrong? Tell me.”

How could two people be so different?

Unlike the devilish twins with angelic faces who delighted in deception, Harun had a cold and aloof beauty that made people shrink back just being near him.

He looked like he’d glare in disgust if your eyes met his.

But in reality, Harun was a gentle soul.

Harun Berg Muebisk.

A genius of Muebisk. The Crown Prince’s guardian knight.

The second male lead of the main story.

Now I understood why the heroine, Claire, had a burning, shy crush on him.

It’s the face.

With that face? Anything’s possible.

Honestly, the Crown Prince Pession was too good-looking. Like, almost unreal. He looked like he could seduce anyone with a glance.

But maybe because of that, he felt too distant.

The twins? I have no idea how those little devils got such heavenly faces.

They looked like they just stepped out of a holy painting — but their biggest flaw was their personality.

Compared to them, Harun was solid and dependable.

The classic Northern Duke archetype.

He totally had male lead energy, even though he was only a second male lead. His dark black hair and soft sky-blue eyes gave off such a refreshing feeling.

“Arel-le-lel, why are you only looking at Harun and not us?”

“Arelielielien, do you like Harun?”

The twins were grumbling, clearly sulking. I didn’t care.

Help me.

I looked at Harun again.

“……”

But once again, Harun misunderstood my plea.

“Why are you two bothering Arelien?!”

He roped Pession back into the fight.

Wow. Seriously?

“Your Highness, this isn’t bothering!”

“Yeah, Your Highness, you don’t get it. We were strengthening our friendship!”

“Right, Arel-le-lel?”

“We’re right, aren’t we, Arelielielien?”

I’m trapped in hell.

Not understanding how I felt, the other kids glared with jealousy, resentment, and envy — their gazes poking at me like little knives.

“Arelielielien?!”

“Arel-le-lel!”

“Arelien!”

I just want to be alone. Please, make me an outcast again.

It was exhausting.

“…My lady.”

As soon as we returned, I clung to him and wouldn’t let go, making Mehen speak with a troubled voice.

“My lady?”

Do not disturb. Your lady is currently in healing mode.