ELLIOT LEANED BACK ON HIS SEAT in a languid manner, lifting his teacup. Just the sight of him doing that made me appreciate him, kinda.
He looked like a prince as he did that so naturally. It was the perfect appearance of a prince, but I knew his true self.
I also remembered how he threatened to cut up a person’s neck using only a bottle cap.
The four of us were met here again, strangely. Then, there’s the two shapeshifters at my sides, and Amber some distance away, still dazed.
It was a truly amazing meeting, so I decided to enjoy the moment.
I saw how Noah’s gaze, as he sat face to face with Lucian, constantly followed his movements.
Very occasionally, he would also look at Elliot.
Fufu, I have nothing to worry about.
Noah was probably acting strangely because he was only tired for a while.
Isn’t this something like ‘a feast for the eyes’?
Look at that.
The pure, elegant main uke. That was Noah.
When the trash booger king suddenly appeared, but now I felt very refreshed that I wondered how it was possible for my mood to be so good.
“Ray.”
“Yes, Brother.”
“Why has His Highness come to the estate? Did you hear the reason?”
Well, this was a difficult question. As expected, Lucian knew nothing about it. That Duke is really…
Ah, he hit me on the back of the head.
I remembered how that same Duke suddenly shipped me off to the southern villa before.
I couldn’t get used to the way he would just hit and run like that.
Shouldn’t he at least give a good explanation first so that it’s easier for me to digest and understand?
I was worried about revealing it here, glancing at Noah while hesitating to answer.
But then, Elliot swooped in.
“Oh, I’m here to discuss something very important with him, Young Master.” Even as Lucian’s gaze was solely fixed on me, his eyebrow twitched, finding Elliot’s voice unpleasant.
His change in expression was only for a split second, so I was probably the only one who saw it.
“What important matter?” Lucian asked politely in a low, subdued tone. In return, Elliot smiled brightly.
My stomach dropped right then as I felt the ominous sign, but the trash booger king ran his mouth yet again.
“I proposed to the Prince just now.”
“…Proposed… So you mean—”
“Proposal?”
Of course they were shocked. Perhaps because of this, Noah’s voice rose slightly.
“Why are you so surprised?” As though it was something to be expected, his tone suggested a subtle nuance.
Then, in a hard voice, Lucian replied.
“That’s not possible.”
“Pardon?” Elliot asked without backing down.
“Father couldn’t have allowed Ray to get married.” It seemed like he was truly shocked. His face was white as his expression was blank.
Elliot chuckled.
Then, he denied it.
“I couldn’t have come here without the Duke’s permission. Isn’t that so? It’s a proposal between an Imperial Prince and a Ducal Prince. His Majesty has also given his blessing, so how could the Duke not allow it?”
Lucian’s hands clenched into fists, the veins on his wrists swelling. As I saw this, I cut into their conversation.
“Your Highness. I definitely turned you down just a while ago.”
“…His Majesty has allowed it. You’re still going to reject me?”
Yes. The Emperor’s opinion on this doesn’t matter. I will never marry you.
Are you nuts?
Unless I had Stockholm Syndrome, why the hell would I marry you?
The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous it all was.
His lips twitched unconsciously. Whenever this happens, I recall that this place was the webtoon〈 There is Another Doll Living in the Dollhouse 〉
The original was full of people who’ve gone mad. I stared at Elliot, the craziest of them all, as he raised only one corner of his lips.
What was different from the original was that this lunatic was aiming for me now instead of Noah. Apart from that, Lucian wasn’t someone filled with regrets anymore.
I glanced at Noah.
He seemed to be mulling over something, but oh, he still looked so beautiful.
The ceiling of the orangery was made of glass, so the sun’s rays gracefully fell over him.
The power of blond hair beneath the gentle sunlight was incredible. It looked like there was a halo over his head.
“Brother Noah.”
“…Huh?”
“What are you thinking about?”
“No… It’s nothing.”
Oh, I see.
Noah, you think this whole situation is boring, right? I’m bored, too. I’ve been repeating the same things over and over for a while already.
At that time, Lucian stared at Noah grimly.
“Don’t talk informally to Ray. Isn’t that rule only applicable to salon members?”
“Ah, I apologize, Young Master.”
No, Lucian… Aren’t you scolding your lover? Of course, this Hyung raised you well, so I get why you’re strict. But I like Noah, too.
“No, Brother. It’s fine…” Lucian’s face was unreadable then.
“You are Raphael de Leon. Should you be disrespected like this?”
Alright, I’ll admit. This was kind of touching. You really think of me as family now, huh?
Thank you, Lucian.
It didn’t seem like a big deal, but this was something touching for me. Even if I’m using the same surname, I was still nothing more than an outsider.
I always tried to be aware of that while keeping my distance.
But look how happy I was from just hearing that I was considered as their family, and from Lucian no less?
I held Lucian’s hand tightly and beamed. As I smiled brightly, Lucian’s expression softened.
I didn’t care about how Elliot and Noah were looking at us then.
At this moment, I could only see Lucian.
This was amazing.
I already knew it, but this really cemented the fact that I was a huge, genuine fan of his.
I liked everything he said or did. But when I heard these words from him, the happiness I felt was beyond anything else.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───
“TSK, WHAT SHOULD I DO?” Flustered by the whole situation, Noah finally managed to escape the estate.
“Kylus!”
When Noah shouted this name aloud, another voice resonated within his mind as though it came from a fog.
—Why are you being so loud? This kid is so arrogant with his ancestors.
“You definitely said that. You said that Lucian likes me.”
—Yeah, that was the future I saw with my foresight. I saw that Leon’s young master couldn’t get enough of you.
“Then isn’t there something wrong? In the first place, I thought it didn’t make sense that another man liked me.”
—Who do you think is helping out the Barony now? If I hadn’t told you in advance, would you have been able to run that business of yours. Haa. You’re my descendant. Just be obedient.
Being reprimanded like this again today, Noah’s breath was caught in his throat. This voice would pressure him from time to time.
—If you can’t seduce the young master of Leon, how about the other one?
“Raphael?”
—Why don’t you like him? I like him. The sparkling eyes of his that are like the night sky reminds me of the past saint.
“Saint?”
—That’s right. With the noble sacrifice of your ancestors, the Leonis Empire was able to thrive, and yet you’re so ignorant of your land’s history. This was all possible only because of your ancestors! It’s not the Imperial family that’s amazing!
If anyone else heard it, it was clearly a remark that could easily be misunderstood as contempt against the Imperial family.
Noah looked around even though he knew that this voice could only be heard by him.
—I can’t trust you. Let’s switch for a while.
“I-I don’t want to.”
—Oho! When your ancestor asks for something, don’t disregard it. You descendants are always so—!
Even though it wasn’t much of a scolding, his head felt numb. The clear wall between them quickly became blurred.
“Huu, this is making me so frustrated. I just need to borrow your body, why do you have to make it so difficult? It would have been nice to have one more descendant! That good for nothing father of yours who couldn’t even sire more children and just ruined the Barony.”
Kylus, who had dominated Noah’s body, roughly knocked on the carriage roof. After that, the coachman stopped suddenly and opened the small compartment window.
“Young master, why did you ask me to stop?”
“I forgot something. Go back to the Leon estate.”
“…Of course.”
Feeling something off with Noah, the coachman stared at him for a moment before answering.
The carriage turned back the way it came.
Humming, Kylus recalled Raphael, who he had seen before.
“Our saint. Our beautiful and handsome saint… What do you look like?”
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───
LUCIAN CAME INTO RAPHAEL ROOM WITH HIM. He was frustrated because he couldn’t believe it all. He couldn’t understand what his father was thinking.
Why bother pretending as if Raphael would live with you for the rest of your life when you were actually thinking of handing over Raphaell to such a dastardly looking prince?
“Brother, what are you thinking about?”
Raphael sat on the sofa and called out to him. He had been standing blankly, but at the sound of his voice, his gaze shifted.
“No, it wasn’t anything particular.”
“You’ve been absent-minded a lot.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Raphael often said things that he couldn’t understand. And he sometimes looked at Lucian as if he were proud of his brother.
It was definitely like that before. He couldn’t understand it, but he definitely looked at him like that before. What the hell was he so proud about?
Rather, did it even make sense that he looked at him with such pride?
Lucian was frustrated. It felt like something was twisting inside him. Just the thought of losing him made him feel breathless.
Standing at a distance, he moved his long legs and went over to Raphael, sitting beside him.
Then, he put his head on his lap.
“Um, Brother?”
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