39. What Celestian Is Good At

 A neat man with a blue sapphire pin on his tie sat next to Daphne. Then he deliberately pushed a glass of water towards her.

Even without turning to look, anyone could see those noble gestures belonged to royalty.

“Didi.”

Elegantly arranged, obsidian-black hair. Corpse-white skin despite receiving so much sunlight. Dimples that didn’t match his frighteningly handsome appearance!

“This is attempted regicide.”

Romeo muttered lowly as he grabbed one side of Daphne’s hair. The ribbon Celestian had tied was barely holding. Daphne tilted her head along with Romeo’s grip, afraid it might come loose.

“Your Highnessthe  Crown Prince, would you mind releasing your noble hand from your delicate cousin’s hair?”

“First tell me why you were late.”

There was no separate answer to what Daphne had said. She just crossed her arms and looked up at her tall as a pole cousin. Resisting here would only be giving him exactly what he liked to do.

“Don’t be petty. The wedding invitation was missing.”

“That’s impossible.”

As Daphne expected, Romeo quickly lost interest and muttered after releasing his grip.

“Did you do it?”

“How could I?”

Romeo was wearing an expression of genuine confusion. Daphne continued to look at him suspiciously.

“The meal.”

“Are you hungry?”

“Seems you’ve completely forgotten your promise with me.”

Romeo’s lips twitched as he sneered. He belatedly remembered setting up a lunch appointment, pretending to be her actual brother.

“The invitation really wasn’t there.”

When Daphne answered, Romeo smiled until his dimples deepened.

“Yet you managed to get in quite well.”

“Is there anything I can’t do?”

“Hmm, killing me?”

Daphne almost choked on the water she was drinking. He really had no filter at his own wedding.

“It’s not that I can’t, it’s that I won’t. I have too much to lose.”

Daphne faced Romeo who was looking at her and grinning.

“You son of a b*tch. Do you find this situation amusing?”

“Cousin, did you just call His Majesty the King a dog?”

“Woof woof. I asked if it’s amusing.”

“Of course.”

Romeo nodded while resting his chin and slightly closing then opening his eyes. It was a similar gesture to Celestian’s. If Daphne had thought differently even a little, he could have been the protagonist of this wedding. Daphne deliberately cleared her throat.

“My wife has been desperately waiting only for you. Why don’t you go see her later?”

“Right, Psyche……”

Psyche must have been restless waiting for Daphne who didn’t show up at the appointed time. She would probably be feeling somewhat guilty too.

‘I can see it without looking.’

Daphne let out a heavy sigh.

“You know this and still diverted my wedding invitation?”

“I told you I didn’t do it.”

“How can I believe that?”

“If it was missing, you should have come to the palace. If someone really diverted it, with your personality, you would have turned this country upside down and more, why didn’t you?”

Come to think of it, the invitation arrived two days ago, and normally she would have rushed to Romeo’s palace and shaken him by the collar to get it, that would have been one way.

“Being who I am, I knew I could get in.”

“‘No exceptions,’ was what you emphasized. Probably.”

“Did you enjoy watching Daphne of the Beaucaters?”

“Yes. I gladly allowed the first Miss, ‘Daphne Beaucater’ who arrived to board.”

Daphne’s mouth fell open.

“Maybe you should visit the hospital if you’re mentally ill, cousin.”

“Coming from a fellow crazy person like you, that has no impact. Shall we go together?”

His expression suggested they would swim across the sea right now to go to Daeum Mental Hospital if she nodded here. Daphne shook her head and pushed a grape into her mouth.

“You, you flinch with pleasure when someone says Psyche is crazy.”

“You also enjoy it when someone says my brother is crazy.”

She couldn’t argue with that. Daphne raised one eyebrow.

“If I hadn’t gotten in after all, Psyche would have pulled out all your hair.”

“My wife wouldn’t do that to me.”

“You still don’t know Psyche.”

“Do I need to know? In love, sometimes not trying to know everything can be the medicine. If my wife knows everything about me, she might want to run away again.”

Honestly, this too was irrefutable.

But when the word ‘love’ came from Romeo’s mouth, it sent chills down her spine again.

“Cousin, honestly I feel a bit wronged.”

“What are you wronged about now?”

Daphne looked straight ahead while picking up salad with her fork. Romeo pulled down the corners of his mouth with a genuinely upset expression.

“Still, quite……”

Daphne threw an olive at her cousin’s face while making a rotten expression. Romeo simply caught it and placed it on the table without retaliating.

“You’re more fun because you’re unpredictable, Didi. I didn’t know you’d even gamble. Hmm, and with my brother too.”

“Wow, did you even put people on me?”

Romeo shrugged his shoulders. Since it wasn’t surprising, Daphne just shook her head.

‘Anyway, this means he intended to let me board, but had some conditions he wanted first.’

Daphne, erasing the premise that Romeo hadn’t diverted the invitation, let out a long sigh.

“I cried. In third class.”

“I heard. That you cut out the part of you that loves me. How very unfortunate.”

“How can we never see each other for life? Should I seek asylum in a duchy? Should I really marry into the Empire?”

“I’ll make you an international criminal before that.”

“Amen.”

Daphne put her hands together in a prayer position.

“Do you suddenly want to become a criminal so badly you’re finding religion?”

“What are you saying? Because of your spawn, all my humanity cells just died en masse. I’m sending them gently to God’s side.”

When Daphne shot back with harsh words in a gentle voice, Romeo laughed pleasantly.

He said let’s eat, and she really thought they would eat peacefully. He seemed desperate to torment Daphne. Even dogs don’t touch food at the table. Daphne’s appetite completely disappeared and she just sipped her lime soda. 

 “Did you like my reply?”

“What…… ah.”

Daphne recalled the note written in elegant handwriting that contained exactly what she had said in third class.

She was getting scared of all the knights and navy men who acted as this damn cousin’s eyes and ears. Daphne smiled sweetly while raising her middle finger.

“Eat sh*t.”

Romeo also raised his middle finger in response.

“I’m glad you seemed to like the gift. To come wearing it.”

“Your Highness the Crown Prince Romeo Ishuin Rodriguez. Why are you so talkative today? It’s your wedding day. And the other party was Psyche Miss, if I remember correctly, not me.”

“……”

“This is why people keep misunderstanding that there’s something between us.”

Daphne calmly rebuked while striking the table again as if to stab it with her fork.

“Are you getting a huge surge of adrenaline from becoming a married man? Can I eat in peace, dear brother?”

“Sure, sister.”

Her irritation rose again at her cousin who only now shut up after completely ruining her appetite.

“Princess.”

At Romeo’s call, Daphne clenched her molars.

“What, princess?”

She called him the same way but Romeo didn’t even blink.

“Did you bring my brother?”

“Of course.”

Celestian watching the female lead marry the male lead… There’s no way Daphne would miss such an interesting sight. Her ears were already tingling with anticipation.

“I was thinking of borrowing him later.”

“Celestian? Why?”

“I’m having a bachelor party.”

A bachelor party where only the stupid men of the Royal Club would gather.

‘It’s not difficult.’

If he enters with an invitation from the Crown Prince, Celestian’s ambiguous position would clearly be established, and he would often be invited to various parties afterwards. It certainly wasn’t a bad proposal for Daphne either.

“I was wondering, how exactly has the order of ceremony changed?”

“Right now is the memorial party. Pay respects to mother. After that is the bachelor party. The wedding is tomorrow.”

“What?”

Daphne’s golden eyes widened.

At what should be a once-in-a-lifetime wedding, they’re having a memorial party for an Empress who passed away years ago? It was truly an incomprehensible order of ceremony by any common sense.

“Those idiots’ doing?”

Romeo nodded. Daphne drank water in rising irritation.

‘Die, you royal bastards, die.’

The annoying faces of several people who looked down on Daphne despite having lower or no titles briefly flashed by.

What did they say again, they even spread stories that Daphne seduced an old man to inherit his title.

‘Well, I have to admit to some extent.’

Daphne did really luck out with her godfather.

“No, who has a memorial party at a wedding? And they used to call aunt a money-obsessed evil spirit.”

Subject parasites who live off the national treasury without paying taxes thanks to royal benefits.

They must have some disease where they’d die if they couldn’t harass Psyche who works harder than anyone.

“They really pulled some sh*t. And you just left it like that?”

“Father said to do it. When they say strip, you strip.”

‘Look at this bastard copying my way of speaking.’

Daphne paused briefly at Romeo’s vulgar tone, but then smiled slightly.

“I just wonder when your father will pass away.”

She recalled her uncle whose complexion was turning more ashen by the day, seemingly in poor liver condition.

Romeo raised one corner of his mouth crookedly in a smile and flicked the olive on the table with his index finger, rolling it towards Daphne.

“That statement just now was treason.”

“What do you mean, dear brother? I was just concerned about uncle’s health. I told you. I have too much to lose so I don’t even think about seriously risky things.”

“I still don’t understand what you were thinking when you saved my brother.”

“Please think of it that it was because I loved him and couldn’t help it.”

“Your bullshit is getting more……”

“Eloquent, isn’t it, Your Highness the Crown Prince?”

Daphne cut off the Crown Prince’s words and said her piece while neatly arranging her empty plate. She held the water Romeo had pushed over in her mouth for a moment before swallowing it down her throat.

“Send brother to me, and go to Psyche.”

“Always making messes and telling me to clean them up.”

“I’ll say it again, I didn’t do anything wrong, sister.”

It seemed rather fortunate that he only shifted responsibility on matters regarding Psyche.

Inwardly, Daphne liked only one thing about Romeo — that he had a healthy mentality setting without being a war maniac or suffering from some strange obsession.

‘Though he is extremely like a stalker male lead!’

That was somewhat acceptable because Psyche was beautiful enough to warrant it.

“Who cleaned up after you saved a traitor? Ah, was it ‘your’ cousin?”

Romeo had silenced the opposing royals.

“Right. Why are you being so cooperative, future king?”

“Well…… think of it as thanks for Psyche unnecessarily cherishing you.”

Even if Romeo threw fifty flirtations to appease her, Psyche tended to melt at one word from Daphne.

“My, are you perhaps jealous?”

Romeo didn’t answer.

“I was going to go anyway. But now that you’re asking, I don’t want to. What’s in it for me?”

Daphne arrogantly crossed her arms and leaned back against the chair, crossing her legs as if telling him to make an offer.

“You’ll gain more than you lose in this deal, Miss Daphne the businesswoman. Just prepare and send my brother.”

“What do you do at a bachelor party?”

Romeo tapped the table with his index fingernail. His expression was unusual as he glanced behind Daphne, and when she turned around, those Royal Club members were looking this way with unpleasant smiles.

“What brother is good at.”