WBRS 17

Chapter 17

* * *

“Good morning, miss.”

“Mm…”

At Letty’s voice, heard half-asleep, my heavy eyelids slowly opened.

Ah… was I too shocked last night? I really slept a long time.

Usually, I wake up around the time Letty comes in, but today I was still fast asleep even when she entered and opened the curtains.

Because of the chaos at dawn, my fatigue hadn’t gone away yet.

I stayed curled up under the blanket instead of getting up, and Letty spoke with concern.

“Miss, you left the window open again last night. The air gets cold at dawn—at this rate, you might really catch a cold.”

“…Ah!”

Only then did I come to my senses. After Killis left, I completely forgot to close the window again.

Even if I told Letty, “I’m not used to opening and closing windows,” it wouldn’t really help.

After all, I only open the window when Mangdeok or Din comes in.

“You should take better care of your health until the Crown Prince’s birthday party. I’ll tell the chef to prepare meat dishes for a while!”

Letty clenched her fist with determination, as if she would absolutely restore my energy.

“Haha… you don’t have to go that far.”

“Miss, I have a really good feeling about this party. People are saying His Highness might finally appear. After all, they say dragon-beastfolk become true adults at their 24th birthday.”

Strictly speaking, the Crown Prince wasn’t a dragon-beastfolk but a descendant of dragons… but since he uses dragon power, maybe it didn’t matter.

“Who knows. He’s never shown his face on his birthday even once. And legally, we’ve both been adults for a while already.”

Like dragon-beastfolk, different species had slightly different standards for adulthood.

But the Rubidium Empire simply recognized everyone as an adult at twenty, regardless of race.

This year, I was twenty-three, and the Crown Prince was twenty-four.

It had been three years since I became an adult, and four years for him.

“But now both of you are at marriageable age. As a dragon and legally, His Highness is truly an adult now… maybe this time we can expect something?”

Marriageable age…

For me—who had never seen my fiancé’s face, even after becoming an adult—it wasn’t an exciting topic at all.

“Letty, I’ve been disappointed too many times to expect anything now.”

“Hmm… I guess so. But after the last incident, we at least know His Highness exists! At least he’s alive!”

I let out a small laugh at her stubborn optimism.

By “last incident,” she meant the time when the Crown Prince supposedly went missing during a party.

They said he returned soon after and it was just a small happening…

The palace wouldn’t lie for no reason just to keep nobles trapped at a party, so he must exist.

But still, rumors that he would appear at parties had spread many times before—and I had gone for nothing more than once or twice.

So I had no expectations this time either.

Like always, it was probably just another rumor.

And besides, I had no expectations for a prince surrounded by rumors of being a monster.

“I also heard from the salon that your dress is almost finished. I’ll make you so beautiful that everyone will fall in love at first sight!”

I nodded vaguely at Letty, who looked far more excited than me.

To be fair, she wasn’t wrong.

This time, he had officially become an adult as a dragon, so things were different.

‘But what should I do? I can’t even go now.’

The problem… was me.

I still hadn’t removed the mark.

I had to meet Killis again before the birthday party.

Last night, I was too shocked and flustered, so I completely forgot to ask about the mark.

And Killis left too quickly for me to talk to him properly.

I mean, who would expect a man to suddenly appear when I was trying to kill a snake?

“Miss, breakfast is ready.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

After washing and getting ready, I followed Letty to the dining room.

“The Duke has already left early for the imperial palace. He said he’s sorry he couldn’t have breakfast with you, and asked if you’d like to have lunch together instead.”

“No, it’s fine.”

The butler spoke politely as I sat down, but I quickly shook my head.

It wasn’t that I disliked my father, but whenever we ate together, I often got indigestion.

He would keep piling food onto me, asking why I wasn’t eating much, and I would end up overeating.

My father, Debrit Ervel, was nothing like the usual image of a rabbit.

Most rabbits—whether as beasts or in human form—weren’t very large.

But my father was secretly called a “crazy muscle rabbit” because of his massive build.

His influence in politics wasn’t just because of power, but also his physique.

And his personality…

‘…He’s like Din. If I had a brother, he’d definitely be like Din.’

My father was bold but strict.

Whenever I broke rules or acted improperly as a noble lady, he would scold me harshly.

That’s why Tail hesitated so much when I insisted on going to the basement—he could lose his head if we got caught.

“Miss, today’s menu.”

After the butler stepped back, the chef approached with a very serious face and placed a dish in front of me.

When he lifted the silver lid—

Something strange appeared.

A large bowl of milky broth…

with a giant snail sitting inside it.

…Why is there suddenly a snail in my food?

I did hear Letty say she’d serve meat, but… of all things, why a snail?!

“Um… what is this?”

“It’s a giant snail boiled in rich beef broth! You’ve been enjoying snail meat lately, so I prepared this! It will restore all your energy!”

“What? That’s not me—!”

I couldn’t say it was the snake who liked it, so I stopped mid-sentence.

The chef looked at me with proud, sparkling eyes.

This is insane… how can I tell him I don’t like snail when he looks this proud?

And even if I did like it, how many rabbits are obsessed with snails?!

“…Thank you. I’ll eat well.”

I didn’t expect Mangdeok’s influence to affect me this much…

* * *

After somehow finishing the giant snail, I returned to my room and had to take stomach medicine.

Even without my father, I still got indigestion—this is all Mangdeok’s fault!

Even though I ate, I didn’t feel satisfied at all. I leaned weakly against the sofa, sipping warm tea.

Should I just skip the Crown Prince’s party by pretending to be sick…?

While thinking that, I suddenly felt a familiar presence.

“Wait… don’t tell me…?”

A bad feeling hit me, and I quickly turned toward the window.

A familiar, cool pheromone was approaching.

Sure enough, red hair shining in the midday sunlight appeared outside.

Soon, the red-haired man opened the locked window naturally and stepped inside.

His ruby-like red eyes curved as he looked at me.

“Hello, miss.”

That smooth smile…

“…Din.”

It was Din.

As expected, he came to visit me after noon.

What should I do? I haven’t even prepared an excuse yet.

“Rucellin, you look pale. Are you sick?”

Din sat at the edge of the sofa and kissed the back of my hand.

At that moment, Killis overlapped with him in my mind.

Killis, who had skillfully kissed my hand…

The memory flickered before my eyes like heat waves.

“…No, I just ate too much this morning.”

“Good timing, then.”

Din smiled and slowly looked down at my wrist.

Seeing the handkerchief tied around it, his brows slightly furrowed.

The handkerchief still being there meant I hadn’t removed the mark yet—and of course, Din knew that.

“You failed.”

His quiet words fell heavily.

At that moment, I remembered something I had forgotten.

‘I can’t tell Din that Mangdeok is a shapeshifter.’

That also meant I couldn’t say Mangdeok broke the dagger and necklace.

Then Din’s gaze moved from my wrist to my neck.

“Where’s the necklace?”