Chapter 186
The prince reacted to my words, and for some reason, he looked so delighted that he dashed over and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me vigorously. I tried to ignore him, pulling the blanket up over my face as much as possible, but he shook me so persistently that I snatched the blanket off in irritation.
“I want to sleep, so just leave me alone.”
“Then why did you laugh at me?”
“I didn’t.”
“That’s not true. Then why are you pretending to sleep? Why are you ignoring everything I say? You’re deliberately not answering me, aren’t you?”
Maybe it was because I was overwhelmed by the thought that, as the prince said, I might be leaving this place soon, but I could barely see anything clearly. I silently stared at his chattering lips for a moment, then said firmly:
“Pigron, be quiet.”
“……What? My name is Tibreon.”
“I’m not talking to the prince. I’m speaking to myself. There’s a line I need to say to Pigron in the novel.”
“What the heck—”
“Shut your mouth. Are your ears blocked?”
……
The prince froze as if he had become Pigron himself, staring at me dumbfounded.
I got up from my spot and, pointing at the statue beside the prince, continued to vent my scathing criticism of Pigron.
“Who do you think you are? The only thing you can boast about is being born a royal. You haven’t accomplished anything like the crown prince, who went to war and earned glory, or the renowned scholars who advanced knowledge. And your swordsmanship? You can’t do anything, so you go study abroad in another kingdom and laze around! You’ll be an adult in a year—what will you do after graduating from the academy? Stand by the crown prince calling him ‘brother’ and grovel? How is that different from the advisors? You know they respect the prince in front of him but secretly pity him, right? Even commoners treat lazy nobles like you as useless freeloaders. You should be grateful just to be born royal. You don’t even know your place! Think commoners are worthless? Look who’s talking. If I were born royal, I’d be more competent than you! You use the empire’s taxes for expensive schooling and then sneak into the palace when you feel like it. Honestly, aren’t you going to fail graduation because of missing attendance? Since you might fail, you roam the palace looking for something to do—I’m not blind! You only know how to threaten and mock others with your status. Compared to the crown prince, what have you done for the empire’s people? If someone who looks down on commoners like you becomes emperor, I’d move to another country immediately! Who do you think will always be by your side—your father and older brother? No one. Will you have anything you can do yourself? You still don’t know your own strengths, do you? I’ll tell you. It’s not that you haven’t found them. You literally have nothing you’re good at. That’s all you are, so how dare you call yourself royal? You bring shame to the crown! The crown prince’s younger brother being someone like you… he’d probably be embarrassed that his sibling is a lazy good-for-nothing. Look at other countries—the successor fights are fierce, yet here it’s so peaceful. Why do you think that is? Because from the start, the crown prince is unfit. Your name may go down in the royal genealogy, but as a blemish. If you don’t want to live as someone else’s disgrace, get your act together now. The more careless you are, the more your brother suffers bearing everything as the crown prince. If you have any conscience, at least don’t become a burden. Seeing your responsible brother, shouldn’t you live properly out of pity? If you wield power irresponsibly, no one will be left around you. Appreciate people while you still can. Do you know how petty it looks to look down on someone because of their status? Your words reveal your character. If you want respect, treat others with consideration. Don’t meddle in others’ affairs thinking you’re something, and focus on your own business. Got it?”
I had no idea what I was even saying halfway through. Feeling I might have gone too far, I carefully lowered my hand from pointing at the statue. Normally, at this point, the prince would have snapped at me, but he was quiet.
Confused, I peeked over and saw him lying face down on the table.
Sniff.
‘What? Is he crying now? Did I make him cry?’
I had expected him to curse at me, not sit there sniffling. Even though I had framed my words as if speaking to Pigron, I suddenly felt a pang of guilt for being too harsh and quietly approached him.
“Prince? Prince, are you crying?”
He was lying face down with his hands over his face, and while I couldn’t tell if he was crying or sleeping, his shoulders twitched occasionally, showing that he was indeed sobbing.
I hadn’t realized he was so sensitive. He usually spoke sharply, so I assumed nothing would get to him—but it seemed this was the first time he had heard such harsh words.
I sat on the chair beside him and pressed a handkerchief into his hands. Reluctantly, he accepted it and dabbed at his tears, keeping his face buried.
His curly blond hair hung down, wet and stringy like damp laundry. After sniffling for a while, he spoke softly:
“……Hic. Really?”
“Really what?”
“That… my brother… is embarrassed because I laze around like a good-for-nothing.”
That was a lie I had made up. From past interviews, the crown prince had only worried about his brother, not thought badly of him, so I answered honestly.
“No, he isn’t.”
The prince’s face immediately brightened. Wait, after all that long scolding, he cries just from that one sentence? Ridiculous. He really doesn’t care about anything unrelated to the crown prince.
Wiping away the remaining tears, the prince asked again:
“Then… what does my brother think of me?”
“Why would you ask me that?”
“You talk with him a lot, right? So I thought you might have heard something about me.”
“Not at all.”
“……Not at all? He never says anything about me?”
“No. Aside from past interviews, the crown prince has barely mentioned you.”
“Even usually?”
“I’ve never heard him mention you.”
“Huuuh… he must forget about me. I… I’m always thinking about him though…”
It became clear that the prince’s frequent returns to the palace were motivated by longing for his brother. He didn’t care if others insulted him—he just wanted the crown prince’s approval.
It made sense that he got upset when the crown prince showed affection to me, a commoner, but not to him. He must have felt left out.
But the crown prince’s affection toward me and toward Tibreon were different in nature—love for a partner and love for a family member are similar yet distinct. Both I and Tibreon were precious to the crown prince.
I recalled from past interviews that the crown prince lived more diligently for Tibreon. Wanting to convey the crown prince’s true feelings to him, I sat closer on the chair beside him and patted his shoulder, sharing words that weren’t published in any article.
“Let me tell you something I heard in the past. This probably wasn’t in any article.”
“What is it?”
“When I asked the crown prince about his workload, he said, ‘Damn, it’s unbearable.’ He’s under a lot of pressure but perseveres out of sheer will. He’s determined to become emperor.”
“That might be because of Mother’s last words. She specifically told him to become emperor.”
I paused for a moment, thinking about whether that was the reason, then continued.
“What the crown prince told me was slightly different.”
“……”
“If he doesn’t establish himself as emperor, there will be nowhere for you to stand. So he has to become emperor to protect you. He cares for you that much, and he may not have said it because it was obvious. He’s never forgotten about you.”
The prince’s eyes, still red from crying, now held a bright smile. I hadn’t realized he was such a simple, innocent person. No wonder the crown prince worried.
Outwardly, he looked sharp and prickly like a hedgehog, but in reality, all those spines were like dandelion fluff, floating away with the wind.
I finally understood why the crown prince was sure Tibreon wouldn’t do anything reckless when I was imprisoned, and why even if he came and went in the office without permission, Berin or Hasel didn’t stop him.
As others had said, the prince was truly pure and, if anything, naive.
He was exactly like a neighborhood child, so I lost my resolve to scold him and just comforted him.
Pat pat.
Normally, touching a royal’s body would be taboo, but the prince quietly accepted my comforting pat and seemed lost in thought.
I couldn’t tell if he was comforted by my words or reflecting on the harsh words he had just heard, but he sat silently, staring at the table.
Thinking it best to leave him alone, I stood to return to the sofa, but the prince grabbed my arm and looked at me solemnly.
“Prince, do you… have something to say?”
“I have to protect my brother too.”
“Huh?”
Before I could process his sudden declaration, he dashed toward the secret passage.
I tried to grab his arm again, asking, “What on earth do you mean?” but he shook off my hand and disappeared at the end of the passage.
Protect Jereon from what, exactly?
Though he didn’t explain, two days later, someone came to the palace.
It was none other than the third princess of the Hildeman Empire—Rieti.
From the office window, I saw the princess descend from her carriage, and my breath caught.
Her long, sapphire-blue hair fluttered in the wind as she stood gracefully, radiating nobility. Even from afar, she was impossible to look away from, her beauty surpassing mere words—it was almost mystical.
Without thinking, the first words out of my mouth were:
“It’s Iris.”
It truly felt like seeing the crown prince’s first love, Iris, in real life.
I was overwhelmed with unease, feeling as though the crown prince’s true first love had arrived.
