Chapter 8

“Take a look!”

It was an afternoon bathed in gentle sunlight.

Much like that famous government official from Mito, I proudly showed off the deck of cards inside its case to the prince. Contrary to my smug expression, the prince offered a bitter smile.

“These aren’t handmade this time. I had a craftsman make them for me.”

I shot the prince a triumphant look.

Your Highness, the me of today is playing on a completely different level.

Last time, playing with my handmade cards had created the problem of the prince memorizing every single one of them. I tried various trial-and-error methods, but with a heavy heart, I finally gave up on the handmade approach.

Still, I wasn’t the type to take a loss lying down. I used the Tybus family’s power to have a craftsman make them. When I sketched out my ideas and asked if he could bring them to life, he readily agreed. Being rich is simply wonderful. Thank you for humoring my whims, Father. I’ll gift you a drawing next time.

The new playing cards were made of a plastic-like material, and gorgeous illustrations danced across their surfaces.

When I thought about how playing a fun game with such pretty cards meant we could probably commercialize this—! Or so I briefly considered, but according to the craftsman, this plastic-like material was quite expensive in the first place, so ordinary people couldn’t afford it. Drawing the designs was also too difficult for mass production, so it was a no-go after all.

It just turned into another extravagant hobby for the wealthy.

Sitting in his chair with his arms crossed, the prince slowly tilted his head.

“By the way, why is Schwarz here?”

“Please don’t glare at me like that…”

“Ah, I invited him.”

When I raised my hand in a small wave, the prince glared at me instead.

“Eh, well, I just thought card games are more fun with more people…”

“Lady Bertia, I appreciate the invitation, but I’ll pass.”

The person who gracefully stood up from his chair was a handsome bespectacled boy with dark blue hair and crimson-black eyes. His name was Schwarz Ritzio. He possessed a striking beauty different from the prince’s, and seeing him made me mentally marvel at how my surroundings were truly filled with nothing but attractive people.

Schwarz was the prince’s childhood friend and apparently his close aide.

Wait, the prince did have friends after all. Was I the only one who didn’t? Was that really it?

The fact that I secretly cried by myself is a secret.

“It’s not like I meant you should disappear, you know.”

“Then would you mind stopping the glaring?”

When the prince stated that bluntly, Schwarz gave a troubled smile and shrugged his shoulders. Despite being an aide, Schwarz spoke in a remarkably casual tone.

The prince also seemed to look out for him in various ways, so they must have been good friends.

Feeling a warm, cozy glow, I smiled brightly.

“You two seem to get along so well, so let’s start playing right away!”

“Mostly, this is Bell’s fault.”

The prince, who had forcefully shoved Schwarz back down into his seat as he tried to leave, glared at me with a displeased look. I was startled because the prince’s anger suddenly directed itself straight at me.

Why is it my fault? slipped out of my mouth as an honest inner thought, and the prince smiled brightly without hiding his aura of displeasure. I honestly wished he would stop using a smile for intimidation. It was genuinely terrifying.

“This is the secret base belonging to me and Bell, isn’t it? Why did you bring Schwarz into our space?”

“Eh, is this place supposed to be some kind of love nest for the two of you?”

“It is not.”

Schwarz, wearing a thoroughly disgusted expression, seemed to be suffering from a grave misunderstanding, so I jumped into the conversation without a single moment of delay.

The prince’s mood soured even further.

“Forget it. I’m going home after all. I don’t want to die.”

“Eh, wait please! It’ll be fine! People don’t just die that easily!”

“Did you know? People do die from power struggles.”

Please don’t drop heavy truths like that with a deadpan face… Or rather, if you’re going to leave, at least try to appease the prince’s mood before you go! You’re his childhood friend, aren’t you?!

Ignoring my pleas to stop, Schwarz stood up, turned on his heel, and faced away.

You’re really going to leave me alone with a prince in this foul of a mood? How am I supposed to calm him down?!

As I watched him walk away with a feeling of absolute despair, those golden locks that had remained completely motionless suddenly fluttered softly.

“Schwarz.”

Childhood friend or not, to Schwarz, the prince was still his master. Despite ignoring everything I said, Schwarz stopped walking dead in his tracks.

“It can’t be helped that you found out about the secret base. It wasn’t your intention, after all.”

Glancing sideways at the prince, I cowered in place. Sorry, Schwarz. It seemed I was the one making your life difficult here.

Or rather, I was amazed by how much weight the existence of the secret base held in the prince’s mind.

“Besides, I’m not mad at you. I’m… mad at Bell.”

Me?

Emphasizing the word Bell right there was terrifying. What are you even mad about?

I should just apologize for now. Even though I had no clue what I did wrong.

“It was my fault. I’m sorry.”

“Do you even know what you did wrong?”

“Of course I do.”

Of course I had no idea. While mentally arguing that back, I desperately rummaged through my brain in terror, recalling the prince’s words from moments ago.

“It’s because I told Lord Schwarz about the secret base.”

“…Calling him ‘Lord Schwarz’ with that honorific is pretty infuriating, too, you know.”

Then what am I supposed to call him?

As I stared at the prince with a troubled look, he suddenly averted his gaze and lowered his head. Lightly scratching his gorgeous hair, he slumped forward onto the desk.

“Sorry… Neither Schwarz nor Bell did anything wrong. I was just acting on my own jealousy.”

The prince muttered those words in a tiny voice, an exceptionally faint whisper.

Jealousy? Eh, he got jealous?

He buried his face in his own arms as if to hide his reddened face. It seemed Schwarz, standing a little distance away, had heard it too, as the eyes behind his glasses widened in sheer astonishment.

With his eyes still wide open, Schwarz locked gazes with me.

Schwarz wore the expression of a man who had never witnessed such a sight from the prince in his life. As for me, I was mentally agonizing over: Eh? What is this, this is way too cute! The fact that he can honestly blurt out things like jealousy is hitting all my weak spots!

“Eh, is this really Prince Dylan?”

“Ugh, shut up!”

I was amazed by Schwarz talking back to the prince like that, but the prince smoothly recovering his complexion and snapping back was equally impressive. Was skin color something you could just control at will?

“…Well then, would it be all right if I joined you just for today?”

“Ah, yes! You’re always welcome anytime!”

“You’re an idiot, Bell…”

“Lady Bertia is also surprisingly mischievous, aren’t you?”

Schwarz let out a faint, bitter smile that sounded almost like a sigh.

“Bell… just you wait.”

“Your tone doesn’t match your face at all, and it’s pretty terrifying…”

“You’ll get used to it right away.”

Schwarz said with a complicated expression, adding that he had been shocked at first too. Then, he abruptly glared at the prince.

“Prince Dylan, please pull yourself together already.”

“No, I’m just having fun.”

When the prince suddenly lifted his face away from the desk, a bright smile bloomed across it. It felt slightly more flippant than usual, making me realize he had been teasing me midway through. Wait, could that whole thing about being jealous have been a lie? I desperately wanted my heart-fluttering feelings back.

“I’m only here for today, so let’s hurry up and play.”

His expression remained completely blank, but he somehow looked faintly excited.

I mean, the surrealism of having a prince who constantly smiled standing right next to a Schwarz who constantly maintained a poker face…

“Don’t worry, by tomorrow I’ll be back in your love nest, so it’s all fine.”

“That, in no way, sounds fine at all.”

Ignoring my immediate retort, the prince opened his mouth this kind of way.

“Heh, a love nest, huh? You say the darndest things. Hey Bell, what kind of garden do you want? I’d love to live somewhere peaceful with you, you know.”

I inwardly shivered at the prince, who rested his cheek in his hand and smiled with dreamy rapture. His eyes—somehow his eyes looked terrifying.

“Ah, how about the Crillver territory? It’s a nice place rich with nature, you know.”

“Hmm, that place is certainly nice, but it’s too far from the royal capital. I wouldn’t be able to work.”

“Um, can we please play cards already?”

When I blurted that out, both of their gazes snapped toward me.

“Where would you like, Bell?”

“…It’s a story for the far future, so I have no idea.”

Is that so, what a pity, smiled the prince, before backing me into an even tighter corner.

“But we’ll end up living together someday, so you’d better start thinking about it, okay?”

“…Yes. Understood.”

“After all, Bell is going to marry me, right?”

Given an ominous warning I couldn’t quite comprehend, all I could do was offer an ambiguous smile. Schwarz had gone back to toying with the plastic-like cards since halfway through.

The prince, nodding in apparent satisfaction, continued to gaze intently at me—wouldn’t he burn a hole right through me at this rate?

…I really wanted to play already……