Chapter 06
Once again, I reminded myself: I was a person with tastes firmer than anyone else’s.
‘Like a thousand-year-old pine tree.’
No matter how aggressively the platform tried to push certain works, it was useless. If a story’s synopsis didn’t promise a male lead who was kind and reliable, I wouldn’t touch it.
‘Only kind men hold the answers to world peace.’
Yet… The Crown Prince’s Bedtime Affairs was an exception.
Why? Because the reviews were overwhelmingly… scandalously explicit.
[Wow, C-val… I usually don’t swear, but reading The Crown Prince’s Bedtime Affairs turned me into a potty-mouthed granny thanks to that bastard Kachin.]
[The male lead is so provocative it makes my head spin. I went to the hospital today because of dizziness—they said I have short-term amnesia. Not sure if I do, but Castellian is ridiculously sexy, cool, and insane.]
[I don’t really know. Castellian is just so sexy, so cool, so insane.]
[Honestly, I probably drooled on my pillow more while reading this than the heroine did because of that bastard Kachin.]
Is that all?
‘Alright, let’s see how great this Castellian guy really is.’
Driven by stubborn curiosity, I opened the story—and was defeated in just three lines.
“This… damn it… insane… what the hell…”
Castellian was everything the reviews promised. Extraordinary. Obsessive, sexy, wildly intense.
‘No wonder everyone calls him Kachin-bastard.’
He was a character who didn’t require personal preference—he was instinctively perfect.
‘My favorite is my favorite, and Kachin-bastard is Kachin-bastard.’
For a while, I was lost in Castellian’s charm.
That was until I glanced at the stack of Johan merchandise piled up in my room and snapped back to reality.
“Sorry, Johan. I got a little carried away with my dopamine rush… But you’re still my number one.”
Well, that was ages ago.
‘Back then…’
Now, as I tried to recall the hazy contents of The Crown Prince’s Bedtime Affairs, something struck me as odd.
‘Huh? Wait a second…’
Rian, Castellian.
‘The names of this crazy junior and the crown prince are… similar.’
Blinking, I slowly looked up at Rian.
‘…Could it be?’
Rian met my gaze and tilted his head slightly.
“Oh my, Director…”
“……”
“After staring at my face like that every day… you still want to see it, don’t you?”
For a brief, fleeting moment, I felt suspicion—but immediately regretted it.
‘I’m sorry, author of The Crown Prince’s Bedtime Affairs. My apologies.’
Rian de Vichel could never be Castellian.
First, Rian had black hair, while Castellian was blonde.
They both shared red eyes, sure, but red eyes were a common trait for male leads.
‘Most of the dukes in this world have red eyes.’
Second, Castellian would never make the kind of “baby bird” jokes Rian did.
‘Kachin-bastard was stoic and charismatic.’
Every single word he spoke to the heroine carried weight, each a gem.
“Philone.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Cry. Just like you clung to me last night.”
“……”
“A hoarse voice suits you.”
Rian, in contrast, was entirely weightless.
“Do you like this, darling?”
He flopped around like Chase, seemingly so fragile a gust of wind could send him flying…
I was certain.
‘There’s no way this guy next to me is Kachin-bastard.’
At that moment, I overheard Violet talking to a designer.
“But, Miss, the Crown Prince will attend this ball?”
“I’m not entirely sure… but from what I hear, there’s a chance he might make it this time.”
“Oh! I’ll pray every day. Since our Miss Violet wants it so badly, I hope the Crown Prince can attend.”
“Just hearing that means a lot, thank you.”
It struck me as strange.
‘Hmm. If Violet likes the crown prince, that means she’s seen him.’
But how? Castellian had never been seen in public since his prince days. Only a select few at the palace had ever seen him.
‘I only know because I’m the one inhabiting this body.’
How, then, had Violet fallen for him?
Suddenly, Chase’s old words resurfaced in my mind.
“The Crown Prince Castellian entered the academy. A year junior to you.”
“Oh, really?”
At the time, I had barely registered it.
‘I hadn’t realized I was inhabiting this body yet.’
If only I had remembered sooner and asked about Kachin-bastard…
‘Ah, but that’s not the issue right now.’
I crossed my arms, turning my back on Violet.
“So, Miss Violet likes the Crown Prince…”
“That’s right.”
Rian stood beside me, also turned away, leaning on the jewelry display.
I sighed lightly.
“Is there… any hope?”
I meant for Johan, not Violet.
To win over the heart of a woman who likes the second-highest person in the empire…
‘And the guy is Kachin-bastard…’
No matter how decent Johan was, the odds were slim. Objectively, how could a mere marquis compete with the crown prince?
‘Poor Johan.’
I didn’t want my favorite to end up with another woman, but I also didn’t want to see him fail in love.
‘Such a contradictory person I am.’
Then Rian muttered.
“Is there any hope?”
His voice was lower than usual.
I looked at him.
“What are you talking about?”
“Me.”
Rian’s gaze was fixed on the floor.
‘Me…?’
“What?” I asked.
He snapped out of his daze and looked at me with a slightly surprised expression. Then, he motioned toward the necklace with golden jewels.
“The necklace… that my wife wanted.”
“……”
“Since you like it, Director, that must mean there’s hope, right? Should I buy it for you?”
Grinning mischievously.
‘Of course…’
This idiot was talking nonsense again.
“Speak sensibly.”
“I am speaking sensibly. If not, what have I been saying all this time? Nonsense?”
“Please, just be quiet.”
After struggling to stop the crazy junior from buying the necklace, I finally escaped the boutique.
‘Why did I even suspect Rian was Castellian just because their names were similar…’
Though I didn’t personally know Kachin-bastard, I had to apologize to him.
‘Sorry, Castellian. I guess I let my mind wander too much since I haven’t seen you in so long.’
There was no way you were the same as this crazy junior.
“Director, what about the necklace that matched my eye color?”
“……”
“Wouldn’t you think of me every time you wear it if I got it for you?”
I spent the rest of the day apologizing to the author of The Crown Prince’s Bedtime Affairs in my mind.
The next morning, at the counseling center:
Clang!
The quiet of the center was shattered by the sudden sound of breaking glass.
“Miss Bringer, you said… you like the Crown Prince?”
The culprit was Finn, who had been drinking melon juice.
Other staff looked pale as well. Heaven froze mid-bite, and Isadora’s glasses had slipped down her nose without her noticing.
I sighed and answered.
“That’s what I heard…”
Isadora, who had her mouth agape like a fish, slowly blinked. The deep lines on her face smoothed out, replaced by wide black eyes darting around.
Finally, she gasped.
“Advance payment… where did you put the advance from the marquis?”
Heaven replied,
“Uh? It’s already in the bank.”
“Already in the bank?”
“Yes.”
Isadora and I bit our lips simultaneously.
‘Damn it… fifty thousand gold at once…’
Recent laws made it so that without royal authorization, no more than thirty thousand gold could be withdrawn per week. It was smart to secure the money safely.
‘But how can we start work if all the money is gone before we even begin?’
Isadora’s lips trembled, clearly sharing the same concern.
For a moment, we all fell into deep contemplation.
‘Do we start work immediately or tell Johan the truth and retract the advance?’
We had to decide quickly—Johan was on his way to the counseling center.
