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Chapter : 09
Chase placed his hand over his chest and lowered his head.
At that, Castilian waved his hand once.
“Stand down.”
At the same time, a deep, low voice reverberated through the office.
It was a voice completely different from the one he used at the center.
The bass emanating from Castilian’s chest carried not just weight but a sense of intimidation.
Chase straightened his posture and smirked.
“If Your Highness desires it, I’ll follow orders.”
Castilian walked in expressionlessly and sat on the sofa, dressed lightly in just a robe.
In fact, Castilian was living in Chase’s mansion.
Having escaped the palace, the only place he could hide safely was Chase’s estate.
Suddenly, Castilian fiddled with the area behind his right ear.
He quickly removed something with his fingernail.
Instantly, his previously black hair and eyebrows turned gold.
Chase’s eyes scanned the small object in Castilian’s hand.
“…A dye patch.”
A dye patch was an item that could change the color of the user’s body hair.
It was usually traded only in the black markets of the Kingdom of Lehaten, so ordinary people didn’t even know such a thing existed.
Castilian had obtained it out of necessity due to his own… circumstances.
Chase twirled the glass in his hand.
“Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I last saw you as blonde.”
Castilian’s gaze, which had been circling the sofa table, fixed on him.
Chase curled the corners of his mouth playfully.
“No offense. You just look like a proper crown prince.”
“……”
“By the way, any side effects?”
The dye patch was a “magical” item that could freely change the color of hair.
Because of that, if a non-mage used it, serious side effects could occur.
Castilian, meeting Chase’s eyes, responded slowly.
“…I don’t know.”
“Well, you can’t feel pain anyway.”
Castilian La Idebert Karnon—he was the protagonist of a mature-rated romance fantasy.
Because of this, he carried certain adult-themed traits:
namely, he couldn’t feel physical pain.
As a result, Castilian in the novels actively sought extreme stimuli.
He would harm himself to feel even a bit of pain, spiral into madness, and the heroine would suffer along the way…
Of course, not in this all-ages game version.
Still, due to this peculiarity, Castilian was unaware of the dye patch’s side effects even as he experienced them.
Not knowing one’s own condition was extremely dangerous.
“If you keep using it, it’ll damage your health…”
Though he acted indifferent, Chase was genuinely worried about Castilian.
He wanted to resolve Castilian’s… situation as soon as possible.
Yet…
“Seems like there’s still no news. So, no progress at all.”
Chase wrinkled his nose and sipped his whiskey.
Castilian stared at the sofa across from him.
Without moving his eyes even once, he suddenly parted his lips.
“I think it’s no use anymore.”
“Hm?”
“He’s already set his mind on Johan Veloster.”
Chase rolled the whiskey around in his mouth and swallowed when it had gone lukewarm.
“Johan Veloster?”
Chase asked again.
“You mean the Viscount Veloster?”
Castilian didn’t respond.
Given his naturally taciturn personality, this was normal.
Chase blinked a few times and added,
“That’s strange… Siena has never met the Viscount Veloster.”
“Who knows.”
Castilian replied curtly and closed his mouth again.
Chase tapped his glass with his finger.
“Interesting.”
There was plenty of reason to be puzzled.
Siena simply didn’t like interacting with people much.
She resembled her older brother Soren Willow more than Chase in temperament.
She was lazy about managing social connections and disliked wandering around.
In other words, a homebody.
Chase, on the other hand, was always out meeting people.
He thought Siena might actually be lonely.
“Brother, why are you making me go to the center? It’s already the third day.”
“You may be busy, but our Siena has nothing to do, right?”
That was why he deliberately had her go to the center.
Chase’s “Project: Turn Socially Awkward Siena into a Social Butterfly,” one might say.
“But when did she even meet a viscount…?”
While he was doubting, a low voice cut into his thoughts.
“And your methods won’t work either.”
Chase looked at Castilian at those words.
Castilian leaned back against the sofa with his eyes closed.
He looked quite exhausted—not physically, but emotionally tangled.
Chase exhaled slowly through his nose.
“Rian.”
He stood and moved toward the sofa.
Hearing the soft sound of footsteps, Castilian’s eyes opened faintly.
Chase sat across from him and crossed his legs, speaking in an arrogant tone.
“As you know, I’ve never been wrong.”
“……”
“It’s just that Siena is slow and dull.”
Chase pointed to Castilian with his chin.
“And you chose to go around instead of taking the shortcut.”
What he meant by that…
Let’s go back a bit and look at the crown prince’s circumstances.
One year ago, Castilian had boldly announced to the emperor and empress:
“I have no intention of entering a political marriage.”
The royal court had been noisy since Castilian was the first prince.
Though he was of age, the position of crown princess remained vacant.
Since the age of sixteen, Castilian had rejected all noblewomen recommended by the empress.
Then, suddenly, he revealed his true feelings: he didn’t want an arranged marriage.
“Do you mean to live as a bachelor?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“Just give me a little time.”
Castilian spoke vaguely.
The emperor and empress were at their wits’ end with their eldest son, who couldn’t articulate well.
“Are we never to see the crown prince married…?”
But Castilian could not tell them the truth.
‘If I say I have someone in mind, they’ll demand I bring them immediately.’
And then they’d test her suitability and torment her.
‘Treating her like a doll rather than a person.’
He himself found the crown prince position and its power burdensome.
He hadn’t wanted it.
So what about Siena?
Castilian chose to take the long way around, leaving the shortcut untouched.
After leaving the palace, he went straight to Chase.
“I’ve liked your sister for three years.”
Chase wasn’t particularly surprised.
“Siena?”
“….”
“You have an eye for her.”
He merely gave his trademark Casanova smile, as he would with any woman.
Chase Willow was not the male protagonist of a million-seller romance fantasy.
He was a handsome NPC in the game.
An event character who appeared when the main character enrolled in the academy.
“I like you. Be my rival.”
Thus, Chase had none of the obsessive or possessive traits often assigned to male protagonists.
He didn’t have the brotherly “siscon” tendencies either.
His mindset was simple:
“I just need to bring the two of them together!”
A few days later, he casually asked Siena:
“What kind of man do you like?”
It was a weekend morning, and Siena, eating breakfast, scowled.
“Why are you asking that in the morning?”
“Just curious about my beloved little sister, that’s all.”
Chase winked.
‘I just hope we can fix her damn winking problem and brother-complex issue first…’
Siena shifted her gaze to her food.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, answer me nicely, then.”
“I just haven’t really thought about it. Probably similar to other girls.”
“Ah, I see.”
Chase suddenly sighed in admiration and pointed at himself, saying something ridiculous:
“So you want someone like me?”
Siena was genuinely startled.
“What are you talking about…?”
She had never considered her own preferences before.
But she was sure she didn’t like someone like Chase.
‘I don’t know my ideal type, but no butterboys for me.’
Still, Chase took her words at face value.
“She’s in love with me. That’s her ideal type.”
