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Chapter : o1
0. Prologue
The sound of running footsteps was getting closer and closer.
Ian slipped the recording orb he had been holding into his arms.
“Hand it over.”
The door burst open the moment the words were spoken, and the Crown Prince rushed inside.
Judging by how red his face was, it seemed he had run all the way from the Imperial Palace to the duke’s estate.
“Whatever do you mean?”
“You took it, didn’t you? Video Number 178 of Elisha eating macarons.”
“You’ve got instincts like a ghost. How did you know?”
“Because I check them every day.”
What a lunatic.
Ian swallowed the words he couldn’t say out loud.
Besides, there was plenty else he wanted to complain about anyway.
“There were tons of recordings in there. What’s the harm in giving me just one?”
“Yes. There is harm.”
“That’s petty.”
“In this one, Elisha eats while holding up her pinky finger! It’s rare, so absolutely not!”
The two bickered back and forth until they both fell silent at the sight of someone entering through the open door.
“Ian. And Your Highness. Just what exactly are you talking about? What recordings?”
It was Duke Rollcaid.
To Ian and Elisha, he was their one and only father.
To the Crown Prince, he was a mentor more respected than even his own parents.
“…Master.”
“Father.”
The duke looked down at the two men bowing their heads, then jerked his chin toward his son.
“Ian. My patience is not endless.”
“Please look at this, Father.”
Ian quickly pulled the recording orb from his arms.
The moment he pressed the playback button on the bottom, Elisha appeared inside the round sphere.
For thirty seconds, the Elisha inside the orb ate macarons before disappearing.
Apparently dissatisfied by how short the recording was, the duke replayed the orb several times.
“Does Elisha know about this?”
“She gave permission for every single recording.”
The duke silently turned his gaze toward the Crown Prince.
“I even obtained signed consent forms for each recording. They’re at the Imperial Palace, so if you wish to confirm them, I can bring them.”
The Crown Prince sounded shamelessly confident.
The duke was left speechless.
The Crown Prince quietly shifted his gaze away from the silent duke.
His true target was the recording orb.
A precious treasure containing adorable Elisha.
But before he could reclaim it, another hand reached the orb first.
“You’re not getting it back.”
It was Ian.
“Even if Elisha gave permission, absolutely not! The Elisha in these recordings is our family’s child!”
Ian stuffed the recording orb back into his clothes and even crossed his arms.
His posture made it clear he would defend the orb with his life.
The Crown Prince’s eyes narrowed sharply.
But then, as if recalling something, he smiled lazily.
“Then how about sending Elisha to the Imperial Palace while we’re at it?”
“…What?”
“She could become the Crown Princess. And if that’s difficult, I could even make her an Imperial Princess instead. Then Elisha would become a child of our household—”
“Absolutely not!”
The duke, who had been frozen until then, finally snapped back to his senses and shouted.
At the same time, he slammed his hand onto the desk so hard that the ink bottles spilled everywhere and documents scattered across the room.
Watching the entire scene from behind the door, I gave my brief impression.
“What a complete mess.”
