52. I Hate This Kind of Wedding

 Daphne looked at the paper note with a sullen expression.

So, it meant to understand that because it was beyond his authority, it would be difficult to enter together with Celestian.

He had written it so hastily that Daphne had to look at it twice more to understand. Daphne clicked her tongue once.

Celestian must have peeked from beside her, as before Daphne could turn around, he lowered his shoulder slightly and whispered in her ear.

“Daphne, it’s okay. I’ll wait.”

Daphne looked at Celestian. After maintaining an expressionless face until now, he was now smiling with his lips pulled up slightly.

“Grand Duke, I’ll escort you this way.”

“Just to the guest room……”

“It’s for surveillance purposes. We can’t have any funny business happening.”

Daphne opened her eyes wide.

‘What funny business?’

If Daphne hadn’t known anything, she would have made a scene, throwing a fit demanding to send him to the guest room. But seeing Celestian’s smiling face made her strangely uneasy.

‘Because it’s not just Celestian smiling, but Celestian smiling while knowing everything.’

The aide seemed to be explaining something further, but Daphne, who had frozen, couldn’t hear anything. They quickly escorted Celestian away somewhere.

Daphne entered the hall alone in a daze and then hesitated. When she hurriedly turned around, the heavy door was slowly closing.

“Ah.”

She should have answered ‘yes’ to the last question.

—Miss Beaucater, can you really take responsibility for everything? 

 * * *

 “The wedding is being held in a place like this?”

The prince of Agentar muttered in confusion. Oscar was also considerably taken aback.

The large venue located below the upper deck was certainly the place that Secradion’s Crown Prince’s aide had indicated. Though it was decorated lavishly enough to host a wild party right away, it was completely empty without even an ant in sight, let alone people.

“They said it was for harmony with the commoners, tsk.”

“I’ll go check again.”

Oscar kept bowing repeatedly next to the displeased prince.

He guided the prince and his attendants to a table, then walked quickly toward the door to investigate the situation. At that moment, the door opened from outside.

It was the prince’s younger sister, Princess Laria of Agentar, with five maids. Laria’s black eyes looked up at Oscar questioningly.

Oscar’s brows furrowed at the sight of the princess wearing a foreign-style blue dress instead of Agentar’s traditional attire. He quickly smoothed his expression and bowed, showing proper respect.

“I am honored to see you, Your Highness.”

“Where are you going?”

“It seems this might not be the place for the Crown Prince’s royal wedding, so I was going to check.”

She frowned deeply and plopped down on a chair covered in white satin. One of the maids handed the princess a bottle of alcohol.

“This is the right place. Secradion’s Romeo Rodriguez personally discussed the harmony, and word is being spread to the commoners, so it’s running a bit late.”

Laria muttered irritably.

“Stop standing around and come have a drink. People will all gather here within minutes.”

“It doesn’t look quite right for royalty to be waiting for foreigners, Laria.”

Even while saying this, the prince gestured to their attendants. It wouldn’t matter if they got completely drunk since Agentar’s knights were outside. They diligently took their seats at tables scattered around.

“Then you shouldn’t have boarded this ship, Brother.”

“You haven’t forgotten our goal, have you?”

“Not our goal. Just your goal.”

“Same difference.”

The prince slowly approached his sister. Ah, nodding in agreement to those words, Laria smiled coldly. Premium Agentar plum wine was poured into the glasses placed on the table.

“Was it about doing something to that Green family girl? Don’t you feel embarrassed about planning an abduction when you’re a prince?”

“With all the wealth Amber Green has, we could afford more than ten thousand mercenaries. Once we kill the Crown Prince, the world will be ours.”

The prince smiled at his favorite liquor. It looked quite low-class as he immediately grabbed a maid’s waist and pulled her onto his lap while laughing.

“With just ten thousand?”

He drank the alcohol fed to him by the maid without any wariness.

As the maids busily went around filling the glasses of the subordinates, they quickly followed the prince in drinking.

‘Idiots.’

Laria thought it fortunate that she and he only shared half their blood.

“Besides, there’s some foreign substance mixed in. She was alone until a few months ago, but suddenly she’s going around with some male.”

“Just some male? He’s the Grand Duke of Teriosa.”

“Tsk, even so, it’s just a formal title. Just some ghost island.”

Laria’s obsidian-like black eyes sparkled as she moved her lips as if to say something. But the prince, drunk after just two glasses, was already losing the light in his eyes.

“A girl like her deserves it. Even I thought she was much more aesthetically pleasing.”

“What…… Even so, he’s just a guy with nothing but looks…… Laria, was this alcohol high proof……”

“It’s not just about looks.”

Laria muttered.

The prince finally realized his lap felt light and the woman he had been holding was gone, so he waved his hands around. His speech slowed and his vision gradually grew dim. The prince desperately tried to stay conscious by blinking his eyes.

“So careless. Even Teriosa, who’s never met you before, knew about your stupid plan. You should know when you’re embarrassing yourself. No, I guess you won’t have any face left to be embarrassed about now.”

Laria stood up, brushing off her pretty dress once. She fiddled with the 3-carat diamond ring on her middle finger. Then she raised her fist and struck her foolish half-blood relative’s cheek.

The prince collapsed to the floor without putting up any resistance.

“Tsk, in my opinion. No, in anyone’s opinion, you’re the foreign substance.” 

 * * *

 Oscar opened his eyes that felt gritty like sand. In front of his eyes was a shoe tip covered in blood.

“Hello.”

The man pressed down on Oscar’s cheek once, just enough not to hurt. With his shoe.

Oscar turned his head to look up at the man pressing him down. Though the hall was very dark with all the lights off, the man’s small face was clearly visible as if it’s right in front of him.

Celestian didn’t bother to lower his posture. With the shoe sole touching his nose, Oscar couldn’t even make eye contact.

“Why are you waking up so late? Making me wait.”

The sulky voice fell from above into Oscar’s ears like a stab. The sharp smell of alcohol and blood resonated from all directions.

“Why, why are you doing this? If there’s something you want—”

“How could you speak?”

“What?”

“Ah, I forgot to cut out your tongue.”

After this self-dialogue, Celestian shook his head once and muttered ‘I said I hate this kind of speech.’ Oscar’s shoulders began to tremble slightly. It was because he saw a familiar figure behind Celestian’s ankle.

“What did you do to His Highness?”

“Boarding this ship……”

The man paused his words and wiggled his shoe once, twice, three times.

“It’s only my fourth time, but I’m sick of your actions being exactly the same. When you prepare treason so poorly, even passing dogs can smell it.”

“……”

“I’ve always wondered why you keep targeting Daphne…… but this time I understand.”

He just grinned for a moment while saying these puzzling words.

“What do you claim to understand?”

“The current Daphne is capable, beautiful, and very lovable. It’s natural for everyone to covet such a woman.”

“You think it’s such a simple matter of interests!”

“Do you want to say it’s not?”

Oscar blinked his eyes for a moment, not understanding his counter-question. Whatever thoughts he had, the atmosphere suggested he shouldn’t answer anything, so Oscar kept his mouth shut for now.

“I like that you catch on quick.”

Celestian removed his shoe.

Oscar barely pulled himself together despite his tingling body. Celestian calmly watched him stand up. Even after properly straightening his waist and legs, Oscar had to lift his chin slightly to meet Celestian’s eyes.

“Small.”

Celestian said lightly. Oscar didn’t get particularly upset, just growled. Despite this, he was carefully backing away to create a consistent distance.

“His Highness the 6th Prince is destined to become Emperor. To me, his aide……”

“As I remember, he never became Emperor. He died before that. Probably this time too.”

“What?”

“He’s probably crocodile food by now.”

Oscar looked into the green eyes to try to gauge if he was joking again. It didn’t seem like a lie.

Then he surveyed the bodies strewn across the hall. From here on the marble platform to below, about twenty paces away, all the corpses were Agentar’s knights. Oscar gritted his teeth.

“I didn’t kill them.”

“You’re not going to claim that’s grape wine on your body!”

Celestian just looked down at the blood stains all over his body and shrugged his shoulders, without adding any words. A moment of silence made Oscar’s back naturally bend. He fumbled at his waistband while hesitating.

“Looking for those?”

Celestian gestured with his chin toward a table behind him. Various weapons engraved with the Agentar crest were placed there. Quickly giving up, Oscar ground his teeth again and spoke urgently as if someone was chasing him.

“This is clearly… a provocation between nations. Celestian Teriosa, do you think you’ll be safe after this?”

“You’re so tense by yourself. Can’t you see they’re all dead already?”

Celestian shrugged his shoulders. Oscar continued to growl with an expression of having suffered the utmost humiliation.

“I must kill you. Daphne Beaucater won’t escape anger either. This kingdom too!”

Celestian slightly raised his left eyebrow, seemingly in disbelief.