Chapter 21
I hurriedly waved my hands in surprise.
“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”
Really, I swear I didn’t.
I scratched my cheek once and then moistened my lips.
“Then I… there’s something I’ve been curious about for a while.”
“What is it?”
I paused briefly before answering.
“What kind of person was I to you…?”
Why did you stay by my side as a friend all this time?
Was I really just a friend to you?
But it was a difficult question to ask directly.
What kind of person was I to you?
If I tried to answer that question myself, I knew I wouldn’t come up with anything good.
Honestly, considering I hadn’t been particularly good to Cedric, it would be more normal for him to have accumulated feelings closer to dislike rather than fondness toward me.
Perhaps he had been staying by my side while harboring nothing but dislike inside. Why on earth had this guy kept me around as a friend?
Was it just because he was kind, because he couldn’t cut ties, because he forced himself to continue a relationship he was stuck in?
Such thoughts suddenly occurred to me…
And I became curious about his true feelings.
On one hand, it was an uncomfortable truth I didn’t want to know.
Still, I brought up the topic because if there were any lingering hurt feelings inside, I wanted to clear them all out and face each other on equal ground again.
That’s what it means to be real friends.
After hearing my question, Cedric seemed lost in thought for a while before slowly opening his mouth.
“I… was always behind you.”
He moved a chess piece while continuing to speak intermittently.
“I was waiting for you to just turn around and look at me.”
“……”
“And I’m the same now as I was then.”
“……”
“You’re someone I want to notice me.”
I also moved a chess piece without saying anything.
My chest felt strangely ticklish.
If that was the case, I wanted to ask why he could wait so consistently for me to notice him, whether I was a friend worth that much.
“But I never did anything good for you…”
“Why do you say you never did anything good?”
…Had I?
As I quietly fell into thought, wondering if there was something else I was forgetting, Cedric just let out a small laugh as if he had expected this.
“There was. It might not have seemed like much to you, though.”
“……”
“Of course… you were generally mean to me most of the time. But if you’re asking why I stayed by your side despite that, I’ll give you no comment on that. Checkmate.”
“Ah!”
In the meantime, my black king had been captured. We were talking while moving chess pieces, so why was I the only one…
This is why you shouldn’t play brain games with smart people.
“Let’s play again.”
“Alright.”
Just as Cedric and I were resetting the chess pieces, there was a knock at the door. When we said to come in, a servant from the Imperial Palace appeared.
He bowed his head respectfully and said:
“His Highness the Second Prince has requested that I escort both of you to the salon.”
Instantly, Cedric’s expression hardened.
“I’d like to refuse.”
The answer fell from his lips much faster than mine would have. The flustered servant turned pale and his voice trembled.
“The thing is, he said to bring you even if you refuse…”
A brief silence followed.
Cedric let out a suppressed sigh.
It seemed unavoidable.
“We’ll go, so could you guide us?”
“Yes!”
The servant left for the corridor first, relieved at my answer. I comforted the reluctant-looking Cedric and we headed to the salon together.
When we arrived, not only Castian but also Riette, Gareth, and Viola were all gathered there.
Riette greeted us with a troubled expression, waving her hand. Viola and Gareth looked like people who had been dragged along as well.
And among them…
Castian, who had been sitting leisurely on the sofa, welcomed us.
With his long legs crossed, he looked extremely relaxed.
“Welcome. You came faster than I expected.”
“Why did you call us?”
“Why did I call you? I called you so we could all talk and drink together.”
Castian calmly answered Cedric’s sharp question and pointed to the table.
The table was loaded with refreshments, fruit, and fine wines.
“What are you doing? Come sit down. Rabbit, over here.”
…Has my nickname officially become ‘rabbit’ now?
Whether it was intentionally left empty or not, the seat right next to Castian was vacant. Since Castian had specifically called me over, I had no choice but to approach and sit beside him.
That’s when I made eye contact with Viola, who was sitting across from me.
I had things I wanted to talk to her about too… The problem was that the atmosphere wasn’t conducive to conversation at all. Especially with Castian right next to me.
Just as I was awkwardly greeting her with only eye gestures:
“Move over. There’s plenty of space.”
Suddenly Cedric approached, pushed aside Gareth who had been sitting nearby, and squeezed in. Since it was such a brazen act, Gareth frowned, but Riette smoothed things over and he quietly let it pass.
‘…He’s being spiteful again.’
I stared intently at Cedric, who was sitting there with a sullen expression, not looking at me. I wanted to figure out his intentions.
Meanwhile, Castian snapped his fingers. The waiting servants approached and began pouring alcohol into the empty glasses.
“I prepared very good wines for you all. Since there’s nothing special planned for tomorrow, drink as much as you like.”
Soon, classical music filled the salon. After savoring the wine’s aroma and taking a shallow sip, Castian spoke to me.
“Rabbit. Are you good with alcohol?”
“Ah, no.”
“Really? You’re not completely unable to drink though?”
“No. I can drink, but…”
“Don’t drink too much, Eddie.”
Cedric suddenly interjected into the conversation.
I nodded in response but didn’t take Cedric’s nagging too seriously.
Cedric had always been strangely controlling about anything related to alcohol, even from before.
Back then, I couldn’t understand why Cedric would interfere like this. Of course, even now I still don’t really know why he does it…
Do I have really bad drinking habits?
“Rabbit, shall we make a toast?”
“Ah! Yes, cheers.”
At Castian’s urging from beside me, I hurriedly clinked glasses with him. With people talking to me from both sides, it was overwhelming to respond to everyone.
Castian smiled slyly as he took a sip of wine while receiving Cedric’s glaring stare.
“The reason I opened this salon today was actually because I wanted to have an intimate conversation with you, rabbit. I called your friends too in case you’d be wary of meeting alone. That’s okay, right?”
“Y-yes. But what kind of conversation with me…”
I trailed off while gauging Castian’s mood. After a moment of silence, swirling his wine glass, he spoke in a rather serious tone.
“Edgar de Lowell.”
“Yes.”
“Have you thought about becoming my omega?”
“…Excuse me?”
“In other words, I’m asking you to marry me. What do you think?”
At that moment, I remembered what Cedric had said before. The story about Castian approaching me with bad intentions.
“Does this have to do with Your Highness’s purpose?”
I asked directly.
Soon Castian’s smile deepened.
“That’s right. The ancient temple your family obtained.”
“……”
“I want it.”
It was exactly what Cedric had said. Perhaps thinking there was no need to keep up pretenses anymore, he blatantly revealed his true intentions.
“I don’t think it’s a bad proposal for you either. I may not have succession rights, but opportunities to connect with the imperial family like this aren’t common.”
“Hmm.”
“If you give me the authority to freely enter and research that temple, I promise to help with your and the Lowell family’s prosperity. Even though I gave up succession rights, I still have enough power to become someone’s backer. Or is there something else you want? Just say it.”
Cedric cut off Castian’s words as if he couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Don’t be ridiculous. What kind of nonsense…”
Castian also firmly cut off his words.
“Oh my, young master. This isn’t a place for you to butt in.”
“……”
“Since you’re not lovers with the rabbit or anything.”
Castian smiled mysteriously with his eyes. It seemed mocking too. Cedric couldn’t find words to refute and was just grinding his teeth.
While I was grateful that Cedric was getting angry on my behalf out of friendship loyalty, there was actually no need to worry. My answer was already decided.
I patted Cedric’s shoulder to calm him down, then turned to look at Castian and opened my mouth.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I don’t really intend to have a political marriage or one involving transactions if possible.”
Actually, I hadn’t wavered from the beginning. Our family was already wealthy, so we weren’t particularly greedy for additional power…
I prefer the route where I someday have a sweet, loving relationship with someone pretty and cute, and when the time comes, we make it to marriage. Mm-hmm.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
