T/N: this was also in my files. I forgot to post it, sorry!

16. That Damn Bad Taste

A truly radiant golden prince.

Celestian stood in front of Daphne. He pretended to be distracted, as though the hall was fascinating.

“There are royals swarming behind you. They’ll say it’s not proper.”

They were the type to add a hundred more words, accusing the traitor of turning his back on the royal family or making a scene at a royal party. Daphne was horrified knowing this fact.

“I’m a foreigner, so I never learned such manners.”

Celestian answered breezily. It seems he had decided to completely forget the few years he lived in the palace.

“You’re only a foreigner when it suits you.”

“Ah, then…”

Celestian leaned as if he was about to move to the side. Daphne tightly gripped the lapel of his vest. She didn’t like having someone above her, but it was quite useful at times like this.

“Oh no, don’t. Stay right there.”

“I suppose there’s no one to greet with a kiss this time?”

Daphne stood on her tiptoes slightly to check the people behind Celestian’s shoulder. The royals and high nobles of Secradion didn’t particularly like Daphne. The reason was simple.

Because she was a woman with too much ambition.

“I’m an outcast in this social circle. Will you shield me with your back if a bottle comes flying? Prove your usefulness.”

He let out a scoff, dumbfounded.

“You really have a way with words.”

“I’m flattered.”

Having her view blocked certainly made her feel less drained. To think her shield was a traitor! Daphne smiled contentedly.

“So you do know how to read the room.”

“I don’t understand why I dislike that way of speaking. ‘You do’, ‘don’t you’, ‘do you’.”

“You do know how to read the room, don’t you? Ah, this also ends with ‘you’?”

Daphne giggled at Celestian’s playfulness. He too smiled, his eyes curving. Daphne pretended to adjust Celestian’s collar, deliberately patting the front of his vest.

“We have to mind our manners. They’re high-ranking individuals. Deserving of respect, responsible for a part of the country, and so on. And…”

“And?”

“I’m tired of causing a commotion now.”

The royals of Secradion were truly individuals born nobly, lived nobly, and died nobly. It was natural for them to indulge in luxury, and they were a breed admired simply for inheriting blood without contributing anything to the country.

With their numbers dwindling, their era was coming to an end. Perhaps that’s why they hated the ‘traitor’ even more. After all, their era had almost truly ended. Sometimes they would come to the business and cause a scene.

But it couldn’t be helped. The royals were noble and very precious, after all.

‘If Celestian had really succeeded in his rebellion…’

“Your inner thoughts seem different.”

Celestian seemed to have read her expression.

“You’re right. I’m thinking how great it would be if they all fell from grace.”

Daphne pulled Celestian’s collar and whispered very quietly.

“Daph.”

A gentle yet firm voice was heard. Daphne turned her head. It was Psyche.

Undisguised delight sparkled in her blue eyes. But soon she noticed the men beside Daphne and stopped in her tracks. Celestian bowed to Psyche, placing his large hand on his chest.

All expression disappeared from Psyche’s face. And gradually…

‘She’s getting angry, she’s getting angry.’

Blue anger began to ripple in her eyes. Daphne pondered for a moment why she was so angry.

‘Ah, Romeo… he didn’t tell Psyche that ‘we’ were coming?’

Romeo wore a rather awkward smile. He was actually ‘smiling’. He quickly stood in front of Psyche, seemingly trying to soothe her.

‘Things have really gone wild these days, you evil incarnation of a bastard.’

Daphne let out an exasperated laugh. Psyche tended to blush when she was angry, and Romeo really liked that face. It meant he enjoyed deliberately throwing the female lead into a panic and then comforting her.

Expecting this to be another such instance, Daphne shuddered at her cousin’s gloomy intentions.

‘It’s fortunate he’s not getting slapped with a drink.’

One fortunate thing was that the noble individuals gathered over there hadn’t noticed the strange atmosphere flowing on this side.

* * *

While Psyche briefly went to the powder room with a few royals, Daphne and Celestian were dragged to the banquet hall where several round tables covered with white silk were set up. Perhaps because only those tired from the continuous dancing came here to rest, the place was sparsely populated.

“This time, you’re specially seated next to me. Do you like it?”

Daphne was about to answer that she really didn’t like it, but she just gave a wry smile instead.

‘Oh…’

Celestian was almost clinging to Daphne’s back, and after confirming that Romeo sat down first, he personally pulled out the chair for her.

Daphne was about to burst into laughter, pleased with Celestian’s unusually gentle behavior today, but she had to immediately put on a serious face. It was because of her cousin’s action of pushing away the chair Celestian had pulled out with his foot.

“Please step aside, Brother.”

Celestian raised one eyebrow crookedly. Meanwhile, Romeo nodded, pulling out the seat to his left and gesturing for her to sit.

‘Ill-mannered bastard.’

Daphne rolled her eyes around and then looked at the neatly arranged cutlery. She felt like stabbing them one by one into the holes in Romeo’s body.

Celestian stood upright, looking down at Romeo with interest.

“Then I should…”

Daphne half-rose from her seat, thinking of going to find Psyche, giving her a quick kiss to smooth everything over, and going home.

“You should sit down. I have something to say.”

“Can’t you say it in a letter? I’m going to see Psyche.”

“She’ll be back soon. If you miss each other, that would be even worse.”

What nonsense is this idiot spouting? Already feeling drained, Daphne lowered her eyes. Then she looked up and said to Celestian.

“Your Highness, perhaps outside…”

“There’s only one ‘prince’ here, Didi.”

Why does he keep interrupting? Daphne calmly changed her words again.

“Celestian, could you wait outside for a moment? I’ll just say hello and leave.”

Where else could this man go?

Misha was probably resting somewhere in this villa, but he liked to be alone so much that it wasn’t easy to tell him to go find him.

Celestian smiled strangely and then nodded obediently.

“See you later, ‘Romi’.”

And he really disappeared suddenly.

“Romeo, why are you really like this? Are you that confident? Aren’t you going to check on Psyche?”

“I’m good to Psyche even when it’s not times like this. Just as you taught me. Smiling moderately, letting her win.”

Daphne let out an irritated sigh. Her throat was dry, but somehow the drinks in front of her weren’t appealing.

“I really… want to emigrate.”

Romeo, hiding his golden irises in the corners of his eyes, grinned and brought a glass of wine to his lips.

“What did you want to say?”

“Why did you come together?”

They spoke simultaneously. Romeo was looking towards the door where Celestian had disappeared. Did he not remember inviting him himself? Daphne tilted her head and answered.

“You invited him directly, didn’t you?”

“I did?”

Romeo raised his eyebrows, perplexed. A few days ago, at Count Konya’s party, the invitation delivered by Romeo’s secretary clearly had Celestian’s name written on it.

“Did I?”

“What should I say? That I’m sorry for being rude?”

Romeo took a sip of wine and shrugged his shoulders.

“The rudeness is what your prince is doing. He seems to keep forgetting that he’s a traitor. Look at how he was about to sit down as if it’s natural.”

It was the first time she saw her cousin, who usually sold the image of a cheerful crown prince, badmouthing someone like this.
Daphne had no words to refute.

Romeo took another sip of wine.

‘Ah, hasn’t anyone poisoned it… Crown Prince, please just disappear.’

Daphne glared at the red liquid flowing into his red lips and had a terrible thought. Then she suddenly remembered what Misha had said jokingly a few days ago.

“Who’s listed as the heir for what you inherited from your aunt? Psyche? Or…”

In an instant, Romeo’s expression crumpled. When his deep features changed angrily, the pressure was immense.

He grabbed Daphne’s wrist. His other hand was still holding the wine bottle. The strong grip involuntarily made her frown.

“Loosen up. I’m beautiful but also fragile, so I break easily.”

“Didi, come here.”

Romeo didn’t even say it wasn’t funny.

“How can someone who’s about to get married and start a family be so childish?”

Despite the unwelcome nagging, Romeo, with his lips firmly pressed into a straight line, silently pulled Daphne’s arm. Surprised by the tremendous grip, Daphne couldn’t resist.

Only when they came out to the terrace did Romeo loosen his grip, and Daphne clenched and unclenched her hand several times, feeling a tingling sensation as if electricity was running through it. It was just for a very short moment, but it had swollen up red.

“You’re just ridiculously strong!”

Daphne was about to unleash a string of curses, gathering strength in her core as she turned towards her cousin. Romeo irritably removed the ring from his right index finger and then crushed it.

“Look.”

He dropped the ring into the bottle, then threw it on the ground. From the shattered wine bottle, dark red foam splashed up onto Daphne’s green dress like waves.

“Oh my.”

The ring that appeared was charred black. Romeo, who was clearing his throat, once again gripped Daphne’s shoulder tightly and asked accusingly.

“This wine, you brought it, didn’t you?”

“Uh…”

Daphne had the exclusive right to sell the high-quality wine from the southwestern region of the Agentar Empire within the kingdom. She always provided either wine or fruit for Psyche’s parties, and Romeo was well aware of this.

“I swear to God, it wasn’t me. You know, I don’t do such pure things. If I wanted to kill you, I would have already shot you and killed myself.”

Daphne was innocent.

“Are you confessing?”

“If I kill you, I have to die too!”

“The timing is suspicious. Why did you ask about the heir?”

“Hey, it was a joke. And can you loosen your grip a bit?”

Romeo raised both hands as he understood. Soon, his face crumpled like a sheet of paper, as though he was feeling nauseous, and dry heaved.

Daphne first put her hand in front of his mouth. She couldn’t pat any part of his body. If she hit the wrong spot, it might speed up the absorption.

The two cousin siblings had been trained in poison resistance since childhood, so they had some tolerance to most poisons.

‘And he’s the male lead, so he won’t die.’

However, it would still hurt to have poison poured directly down his throat.

“Your Highness, how many sips did you take?”

“Three.”

Romeo turned to look at Daphne with reddened eyes.

“I really didn’t do it.”

“I know.”

The reason Romeo forcibly dragged Daphne here was improvisation.

The people in this banquet hall were full of royals eager to show their power to the kingdom and dying to have a say.

If a problem arose, the ‘villainess who appeared with the traitor’ could be the first to be judged, and Romeo didn’t particularly like others making Daphne flustered, other than himself.

“Touching you really feels disgusting.”

Romeo murmured slowly as he leaned his large body onto Daphne’s, collapsing.

“You should just drink more and go to hell, cousin.”

Despite saying this, Daphne didn’t push him away. If she could sit him down and bring Celestian, it could be resolved quickly, but if the hyenas outside were to look in before that…

Thinking this, Daphne turned towards the interior and froze.

‘Ah.’

These weren’t people who would just sit still at the sound of a bottle breaking. Four or five nobles’ silhouettes were visible through the curtain, seemingly peering this way quite rudely.

Daphne looked over her situation again with a startled expression.

The floor drenched in wine, red shards, and the crown prince collapsed in her arms.

And who was she?

“Romi, try to come to your senses. I think we’re f*cked.”

Ah, she was a great villainess, wasn’t she?