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Chapter 82
It’s cold.
It feels as if a dagger has been thrown straight into my chest.
A genuinely chilling silence had settled over the place, and no one dared speak.
“Uh… uh…”
I barely managed to make a sound.
Did they see it?!
Harun saw me like that?! I hadn’t done anything wrong, yet my cheeks flamed red for some reason.
When I was with the twins and Harun, my heart had been calm, but the moment I spotted Pasion, it started pounding uncontrollably.
Crazy status effect!
Before I could even process it, my body reacted instinctively. Ridiculous.
Am I really broken?
My mind refused to work properly, yet seeing Pasion after so long made my chest tighten painfully, sending me into panic.
“……”
Frozen, Pasion alternated his gaze between me and Harun.
“Eh?”
“Your Highness!”
And then he ran away.
“Pasion!”
Where are you going?! Weren’t you coming to see me?!
I was dazed, blinking blankly, when the nearby Saren knights became overly excited.
“A love triangle?”
“An affair?”
“Ooooooh!”
“So, what will the lady choose?!”
What nonsense!
Harun, suddenly caught up in this imaginary love drama, fluttered his eyelashes in utter frustration. His expression screamed injustice.
It’s over.
Completely over.
I beat the cushions in front of me while Yuni and Rena tried to stop me.
“Milady, calm down.”
“You’ll hurt your hands!”
“I can’t calm down!”
My heart, which had started bouncing uncontrollably at the sight of Pasion, thumped so hard I feared it might give out.
My face remained red, and part of my mind was off on a space voyage.
I…
“Ugh…”
He saw it, didn’t he? He saw me teasing Harun like that, didn’t he?! He must have seen and left, disappointed in me, right?! He wouldn’t misunderstand me as someone who flirts with anyone, would he?!
“Ah, I’m losing it!”
I punched the cushions again.
The twins just stared at my sudden outburst in blank amazement.
“What on earth happened, Ciel?”
“I don’t know, Noel.”
Harun, who had come into the mansion with us, still trembled in frustration.
“Wait… our nephew was involved with Milady like that?”
“……No.”
“No?! Don’t lie! Balderdash!”
Harun wanted to rush out, but he couldn’t possibly defeat Zaren at his current level.
Zaren laughed heartily, clearly enjoying the situation.
“I bet 50,000 gold on the Crown Prince.”
“100 gold on Nephew Zaren.”
“100 gold? How stingy. At least 10,000 gold minimum.”
“Yeah, beggars out!”
“Then 100,000 gold on my nephew!”
The Saren knights who came along began betting with a sign reading: “Crown Prince vs Harun—What Will Arellyn Choose?!”
These guys really indulge in drinking and gambling, don’t they?
“What’s going on, Arellyrin? Did His Highness come and leave?”
“Why did he just leave?”
Harun lowered his head silently.
I avoided answering too.
“What’s wrong with Harun?”
“Harun… Harun?”
Noel poked Harun’s cheek. Harun, with a face like he wanted to cry, ran off into a corner.
If anyone saw, they’d think I’d stolen his first night.
“Ugh!”
Why now! Why this timing!
“Twins.”
“Hm?”
“Listen carefully. I’m asking because you’re the most straightforward.”
“What are you trying to say, Arellyrin?”
I drew a shaky breath, preparing to speak again.
“Pasion…”
The two pairs of golden eyes blinked. The twins urged me to speak, but my lips refused to cooperate.
How much do you think Pasion likes me?
Such a simple question, yet it wouldn’t come out.
“Pasion, what?”
“What is it, what is it!”
“Wait, I’m in panic mode here!”
I tried again. Still nothing. My throat felt clogged, and anxiety bubbled.
“Ugh!”
Why am I like this?
The twins gave me a peculiar look as I clutched the cushions, suffering.
“Arellyrin’s acting strange.”
“Are you sick?”
Crown Prince’s Palace.
The palace was unusually quiet today, like a thin sheet of ice covering the ground.
“Shh.”
The servants and maids tread carefully, holding their breath.
One reason: the Crown Prince Pasion exuded a sudden cold aura.
“Why is His Highness acting this way?”
“Wasn’t he at Halbern?”
Whenever he returned from Halbern, he would smile like spring sunlight. Today, however, his demeanor left everyone puzzled.
Even after barely securing a meeting with Duke Halbern, Pasion had no time to linger due to the delegation and other affairs.
“I hate being the Crown Prince.”
“You should be happy, Your Highness, because being Crown Prince allowed you to meet Lady Arellyn.”
“I suddenly don’t like it.”
He couldn’t resist ignoring his schedule when he heard the twins and Harun had gone to Halbern Mansion.
“Your Highness! What are you doing skipping your schedule—!”
Sir Pasello, sent to discipline the Crown Prince, froze at the sight.
“Sir Griahm, why is His Highness like this?”
“Well…”
Pasion, usually smiling or at least neutral, looked cold and sorrowful today.
Griahm gave a forced smile. Pasello sighed.
“We’ll let it slide for today. Adjust the schedule and let him rest properly.”
“Yes, understood.”
Griahm exhaled deeply.
Even the ruler of Shirua, summoned to the palace, flinched at Pasion’s expression.
“Why’s he like that?”
“I don’t know…”
“If Griahm doesn’t know, who would?”
Griahm avoided eye contact. He could guess the reason but wouldn’t dare speculate aloud.
Shirua looked displeased but wisely avoided provoking Pasion, who today radiated an unusually icy aura.
Nyah!
Today too, Shirua the cat was the only one taken away.
“I’m only lending you my cat for today. You must return him tomorrow!”
Pasion played with Shirua’s belly, pretending not to hear.
“Shirua, come back tonight! Got it?!”
Nyah!
“Let’s go inside and have a treat, Shirua.”
The Crown Prince, stroking the cat’s belly, cast a gloomy shadow over the palace.
Thus, the palace grew even quieter.
“Does Arellyn like Harun?”
The first thing he saw upon entering the mansion was Arellyn hugging Harun.
And then…
“Should I try a kiss too?”
A kiss? He wants to? I haven’t even kissed yet! And Arellyn wants to initiate it?
My heart dropped.
My mind went blank. I couldn’t think. My hands trembled, my breathing quickened, and emotions surged.
Pasion nearly ran to separate Harun and Arellyn roughly.
There must be a reason, right?
But was there really a reason? What he saw was clear.
Could anyone act like that without feelings?
He had hugged others before, but Arellyn never hugged him first.
Pasion used all his patience to suppress the overwhelming urge to push Harun away from Arellyn.
“Come to think of it, he was oddly kind to Harun. Gentle. He never smiled at me like that.”
Even during arguments involving the twins and me, he chose the unfamiliar Harun.
“Harun…”
Pale-faced, Pasion pressed his lips together.
Hiyah!
Perhaps gripping too tightly, Shirua scratched and wriggled free from Pasion’s hold. Blood appeared on Pasion’s hand.
“Your Highness!”
Griahm rushed over, but Pasion, lost in thought, didn’t feel the pain.
“Griahm.”
“Your Highness, are you all right?”
“What if Arellyn really likes Harun?”
Griahm was at a loss for words. From his perspective, it didn’t seem like it. Pasion was just caring for Harun, who was quiet and constantly caught between the twins and the Crown Prince.
“Then… they… get together…”
The thought stung Pasion’s heart, and he clenched his teeth.
Just imagining them together sent his mood plummeting.
Rationally, he knew it was for Arellyn’s sake, but emotionally, he couldn’t bear it.
He realized he was petty and despicable.
While gloomily lowering his gaze, Pasion obediently let Griahm disinfect his hand.
One servant quietly entered.
“Your Highness, a request for an audience has come from Halbern.”
“What?”
“Lady Arellyn wishes to visit. How shall we respond?”
