The Crown Prince’s Sweet Poison

The voice was unmistakably familiar. The moment I turned my head, I was met with a pair of crimson eyes staring intently at me. My heart nearly stopped right then and there. It didn’t quite fail me, luckily, nor did a curse word manage to slip out.

Startled, I scrambled back. Those eyes—beautiful and utterly devoid of emotion—curved into a soft, crescent-shaped smile. I almost forgot the situation and stared again. There really should be a law requiring the Crown Prince to give a warning before he smiles. My vocabulary was woefully insufficient to describe a smile encountered without prior notice. Last time, he had made his displeasure quite clear, but this time, he must have tucked it away well; there wasn’t even a hint of that chilling aura. Since becoming Llewellyn Edwill, I had seen all kinds of jewels, hair, and eyes in every color of the spectrum. Yet, none of them were as beautiful as the Crown Prince’s red eyes.

“Your Highness.”

I tried to hurriedly offer my respects, but he stopped me. As I froze in an awkward, half-bent posture—neither fully bowing nor standing straight—the Crown Prince reached out. His voice remained as sweet as honey.

“You must have been quite parched.”

I froze solid as his finger brushed my still-damp lips, tracing the path of a stray drop of water down to my chin. What is this? I mean, is he… is he flirting with me right now? But the hand that wiped away the water withdrew without a trace of lingering. All that remained was my frozen brain and a tongue that couldn’t quite grasp the situation.

“Sir Spelmann mentions you from time to time. From my personal guard to my mentor… everyone around me talks about the same person, so I find myself thinking of you often as well.”

“Pardon?”

“You looked to be in a good mood. Is that no longer the case?”

“Excuse me…?”

Is this what people mean by “kind words, unkind attitude”? Even when he was basically asking if his presence bothered me, I couldn’t snap out of it and just kept repeating “Pardon?” He was still smiling, but he didn’t seem particularly pleased with my reaction. I could understand that; he hadn’t walked all this way just to hear a series of stupid, stuttered questions.

Because the Crown Prince had specifically used the Second Son to attach Edward Spelmann to me, my family had been busy working behind the scenes. The Count and Cale held frequent meetings regarding my status, and even Abel, who usually had zero interest in politics, sensed the gravity of the situation and showed open resentment. It felt as though if I continued to build a connection with the Crown Prince, the Count might discard his relationship with Annette just to pull me out of the palace. Thanks to that, resentment had piled up mountain-high, though it had faded recently since the Crown Prince hadn’t shown so much as a hem of his cloak since then.

“Did Sir Spelmann teach you to answer only with ‘Pardon’?”

“Ah, no. That is…”

Despite my attempts to calm down, a hiccup burst out. Seeing my body fail to grasp the situation, his briefly cold expression melted away again. It was more dramatic than the last traces of snow melting off a branch in the spring sunlight.

“Did I startle you too much? Or have you decided to act your age?”

I almost said “Pardon?” again. As if telling me not to give that answer, his hand approached once more. This time, it brushed near my neck. The touch—barely grazing me, passing through my hair without quite touching the skin—was far from ordinary. I missed Erkel so damn much. Actually, I wanted to run over and grab him by the collar. You… you bastard… why is your taste in men like this?

I choked back another rising hiccup and tried to organize my thoughts. My chest heaved with the physiological struggle and a faint sound leaked out, but I hoped it at least looked like I was making a valiant effort.

The Crown Prince had kept me within arm’s reach under the pretext of allowing me to practice at the Imperial Palace, yet he hadn’t shown his face once. Why show up now? Because the banquet is near? If so, should I interpret this sudden visit and his suspicious behavior as an extension of his psychological warfare with Annette?

“So suddenly…”

“Suddenly?”

“I was surprised that you… visited. Since you hadn’t come by before this…”

I managed to squeeze out the short sentence while keeping my eyes lowered, gauging his reaction. I wanted to come across as a flustered, shy child. I didn’t know what kind of “Llewellyn Edwill” he had heard about from the Second Son, Spelmann, or whoever else, but he was having this trivial conversation because he clearly viewed me as a piece that shouldn’t be left idle. However, the fastest way to kill his interest was to make him judge that the Llewellyn Edwill he met was just a kid—maybe a bit clever, but not beyond his years.

The problem was that our last encounter had been rather… stimulating. We met while I was running away with the Prince’s cat, and I had ended up holding a blade to his throat.

His current demeanor—loosening his usual high-pressure attitude to treat me with a sense of ease—actually made me more nervous. The Crown Prince personally bringing me cold water? If I told Erkel, he’d go, “Huh? What for?” and no one else would even believe it.

“I kept you in the palace and then lacked the proper attention.”

“No, it’s not that…”

“It must have been a startling entrance. I understand.”

Understand, my foot. My life goal is to ensure that “lack of attention” continues indefinitely. But if I had the guts to tell this man, who was pretending to be generous, “No, please continue to ignore me just as you have been,” I wouldn’t be here learning the sword from Edward Spelmann in the first place.

The Crown Prince trailed off with a “However…” I wondered what he was going to say next.

“Wasn’t it better for your sake that I didn’t visit?”

“Not at all.”

I spent a good while gilding my words, saying things like, “It is an honor to see Your Highness,” and “Today has become one of the most important days of my life.” The Crown Prince listened quietly before tossing out a casual remark.

“If I seek you out, there is someone who would hate it just as much as I called for you. If the lovely youngest is being swayed, the Count’s resentment would be great. I would be the easy target for that resentment. That is… a bit unfortunate.”

What is wrong with this guy? Cold sweat ran down my back. I didn’t expect him to be so blunt about saying, “Annette and I are playing tug-of-war, and you’re caught in the middle.” I knew he was testing me, but I didn’t know why. At this timing, for what purpose?

As my breath hitched and my eyes darted around, the Crown Prince’s hand caught my attention. A red line was drawn across his fair, slender fingers and the back of his hand. Just as I thought it looked like a scratch, a pair of blue eyes flashed through my mind. I denied it instantly. There was no way that cat could have scratched the Crown Prince like that. Even a cat knows its life is precious.

“I named him Momo.”

“…Pardon?”

“Since you worked so hard to run away with him, I thought you might come to see him at least once. You’re quite indifferent. You’ll save something if it looks like it’s dying in front of you, but otherwise, you don’t really care?”

Well, I didn’t think the Crown Prince would actually still have the cat. I never imagined he’d take the creature I basically shoved into his arms and actually raise it.

Anything I said would be an excuse. If I had intended to look for the cat, I would have made inquiries and visited long ago. In the end, it was exactly as he said: once it was out of sight, it was out of mind.

“I didn’t know you were raising him. Had I known, I would have gone to see him.”

(Even if I had known, I wouldn’t have gone.)

When I mentioned that I would like to visit—though it might be an intrusion—the Crown Prince granted permission as if he had been waiting for it. Then, he shifted the topic as if it were nothing.

“Lord Edwill was bragging that he gifted his brother a sword. Is that the one you’re holding?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Did he notice the name engraved on the hilt? Since he has the Second Son by his side, he probably knows, but it’s a bit embarrassing to have my family’s doting behavior caught red-handed.

“He was determined that he would be the one to gift you a real sword when the day comes for you to use one.”

I just laughed off the additional remark. I had already discovered that the Eldest Son had bought one and was keeping it in storage.

A few more empty exchanges followed. Annette was like this, too. Is it a high-society conversation tactic to circle around the point forever? I haven’t spoken much with Rowena, and Erkel’s inner self is basically Kim Min-ji, so I can’t expect much there.

Or maybe the two of them are just alike. It was something that would make both Annette and the Crown Prince angry if they knew, but they were quite similar. Especially in the way they staked everything on their goals. If they were biological mother and son, they probably would have wiped out their rivals and taken over the Empire ages ago.

“So, what I mean is…”

The Crown Prince trailed off. Ah. Finally.

Annette had dropped a bombshell during a light teatime. I was curious to see what kind of counterattack the Crown Prince would launch.

“I was thinking of adjusting your practice hours to match mine. I’ve already spoken to Sir Spelmann, so if you agree, we can see each other from next time onward.”

“…….”

“Shall we have tea after you change? I’m not fond of sweets, so I’m not sure if I can match your palate.”

What? I needed to answer, but I couldn’t remember how to say “What?” properly. My mouth just opened and closed soundlessly, and the voice I finally managed to squeeze out was pathetic even to my own ears.

“Do I… have the option to refuse?”

“Refuse?”

The Crown Prince widened his eyes as if surprised, then laughed more radiantly than before. It felt like flowers were blooming around his face. If you cropped just that part out, you could believe it was a professional photoshoot. And that photo would definitely grace the cover of a magazine.

“That… was an unexpected answer.”

Since it was unexpected, it meant it wasn’t the “correct” answer. The hiccups I had finally suppressed felt like they were about to burst out again.

“I’m joking.”

The Crown Prince, whose voice was the only kind thing about him, comforted me.