Tell Me To Regret, Don’t Tempt Me - Chapter 11
Chapter 11
“Have you been scolded by the Emperor?”
“…….”
Although it rarely happened, on the days Louis was scolded by the Emperor or Empress, he would feel so downcast that he would hide away, wanting to be alone. The last time he hid, however, was when he was seven years old.
When Louis hid, the entire Crown Prince’s palace was on high alert.
Seeing Louis still lying motionless, Arnold watched him with wary eyes, wondering if he might suddenly jump up to go hide.
But when he saw that his friend wasn’t moving, Arnold clicked his tongue, grabbed the thinnest book on the shelf, and opened it.
“What on earth am I reading?”
Of all things, the book he picked was written in an ancient language, making it impossible to understand. Arnold glanced at the crown prince, who was lying on his back with a tousled head, and closed the book with a snap.
Not knowing how long Louis would remain like this, Arnold thought he might as well read. But none of the books on his friend’s shelf seemed appealing. He started to look around, considering choosing a book with the most pictures, when he heard a rustling sound from behind.
“Arnold, how old did you say your sister was?”
“Who? My younger sister?”
Louis, who had been lying down, got up and asked Arnold. The strangely sharp look in his friend’s eyes made Arnold feel a pang of unease.
“Why do you suddenly want to know my sister’s age?”
“Just answer the question.”
Seeing Louis frown and press for an answer, Arnold responded, though cautiously.
“……10 years old.”
Louis seemed to be lost in deep thought upon hearing his answer, making Arnold start to understand why Rayden had called for him urgently.
Louis, who usually didn’t care about him, was asking about his sister. Arnold began to worry if Louis had eaten something bad for dinner last night.
At that moment, Louis sprang up from his seat.
“Let’s go, Arnold.”
“Wh-where to?”
“Your house.”
“What? Now?”
“Yeah. Lead the way.”
Louis thrust his arms into the jacket he’d left draped over a chair, nodding towards the door with his chin. It was an unspoken demand for Arnold to quickly grasp the situation and take action instead of standing there like an idiot.
And so they were in the carriage bound for the Marquis of Bynes’ Estate. The hastily decided outing was accompanied by a minimal escort of knights. Arnold glanced at the knight on horseback outside the window before turning his gaze back to Louis, who was still lost in thought, staring out the window with a sharp, tense expression.
Why on earth is he acting like this?
He didn’t know the reason, but he could tell that his friend’s mood was extremely foul.
Sitting on pins and needles, Arnold anxiously awaited their arrival. As soon as the carriage stopped, he quickly opened the door.
“Greetings to His Highness the Crown Prince of the Empire.”
The butler of the Bynes estate, who had been informed of their arrival, bowed deeply. It was a day when the Marquess couple were out, and a visit from the royal family was unexpected. The butler, fearing he might make a mistake, wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief and bowed even lower.
“Please lead us to the reception room.”
At Arnold’s words, the butler straightened up.
“Yes, right this way to the reception room.”
With trembling legs, the butler led the Crown Prince and Arnold to the reception room. He was about to step out to arrange some light refreshments when he was stopped by the Crown Prince’s call.
“Butler. Arnold’s younger sister. What…what’s her name again?”
“Pardon? Oh, are you referring to Lady Reina?”
The butler, who had been about to leave, tilted his head in confusion. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t guess why the Crown Prince was asking for her.
“I see. Her name is Raina. Anyway, what’s Lady Bynes doing right now?”
Arnold’s eyes widened at the sight of Louis seeking his sister as soon as they sat down in the reception room.
“Why!”
“If possible, could you please summon the young lady to the reception room? I have something important to ask her.”
Ignoring Arnold’s protest, Louis made his request, which sounded more like an order, to the butler. The butler, after casting a quick glance at Arnold, who was gaping like a fish, responded with an affirmation and left the reception room.
“What the hell is wrong with you? Are you sick or something?”
Arnold, who had been so shocked that his legs felt like they were made of lead, walked over to Louis and put a hand on his forehead. As if brushing off something dirty, Louis swatted his hand away and replied nonchalantly.
“I told you, there’s something I need to ask her.”
What on earth could this arrogant guy possibly need to ask my sister?
As Arnold stared blankly at Louis’s always composed face, something dawned on him.
“You…you don’t suppose…”
“Suppose what?”
What nonsense is he spouting now?
Annoyed, Louis turned away from his friend, who was opening and closing his mouth like a fool.
At that moment, there was a knock from outside, followed by the butler’s voice.
“Lady Reina has arrived.”
Arnold, suddenly snapping to attention, quickly ran to the door and flung it open.
“Big Brother!”
A sharp voice rang out from outside the door. At that sound, Louis momentarily regretted coming here, but it was too late to turn back.
Louis didn’t know what kind of warning Arnold gave her sister behind closed doors, but he didn’t come back inside for quite some time.
After about ten minutes…
The door opened, and Arnold and Reina entered the reception room. As soon as Reina saw Louis, she clapped her hands over her mouth, then looked at her brother and asked.
“Is he an angel?”
She thought she had whispered it, but her words rang clearly in Louis’s ears. Both Louis and Arnold frowned at Reina’s comment.
“Quickly. Ask what you need to ask and send her away.”
Arnold urged Louis, worried that Reina might say something else foolish.
“Alright. I’ll get straight to it.”
Louis stood up and slowly approached Reina. As he did, Reina’s face started to turn red. Watching this nervously, Arnold’s legs began to shake.
“Your name is Reina, right?”
“Y-yes!”
Louis blurted out, looking at Reina, whose face was burning red as if on fire.
“In your opinion….”
Reina swallowed hard as she looked at Louis’ lips, which reminded her of red cherries.
“In your opinion, am I ugly?”
Louis’s low, pleasant voice echoed quietly in the reception room of the Marquis of Bynes estate.
‘Am I ugly?’
Arnold wondered if he had misheard Louis, or if there was something wrong with his ears.
At that moment, Reina had hidden behind Arnold and grabbed her brother’s waist.
“You’re handsome.”
Reina said in a very small voice from behind.
Ah, so I didn’t hear it wrong.
Arnold lowered the hand he had been rubbing his ear with.
Glancing at the shy Reina hiding behind him, Arnold was exasperated. She was probably hiding behind him out of embarrassment. It was surprising enough to see the usually rambunctious Reina acting so shy, but even more surprising was his friend nodding in understanding at Reina’s response.
“Alright. I’m done with my question.”
As Louis spoke, looking directly at him, Arnold thought.
Crazy.
But it was a thought he couldn’t voice. No matter how crazy he seemed, Louis was the legitimate heir to the imperial throne and the only prince of the Tapeullon Empire.
“Reina, you can go now.”
Arnold said to his sister, who was still peeking at Louis from behind him.
“A-already?”
Reina, too shy to even lift her head properly, couldn’t hide her disappointment at being told she could leave. Seeing Arnold’s firm expression, she nodded and left the room.
Her effort to catch one last glimpse of Louis before leaving seemed almost pitiable, but keeping her there was out of the question.
Arnold shook his head in disbelief when he saw Louis sitting on the sofa, sipping his tea contentedly, as if he owned the place.
“Seriously, did you really come all this way just to ask that?”
“Yeah.”
“Cra… Hmm. You’re not sick or anything, right?”
Barely swallowing the expletive that almost slipped out, Arnold expressed concern for his friend’s health.
“Your sister is ordinary, right?”
“What?”
What on earth did he mean by that?
“I mean, does she fit the description of an ordinary young lady?”
Arnold didn’t know what Louis’s standard of “ordinary” was, but aside from being quite mischievous and a bit greedy, she was just like any other girl.
When Arnold nodded, Louis smirked and stood up.
“Well, I’ll be taking my leave now.”
Watching his friend suddenly leave the estate, Arnold muttered quietly to himself.
“Crazy.”
* * *
Yes, that girl was the strange one.
Louis should have realized it when she started using words like ‘national interest’ and ‘compromise’ at the age of ten. That she was the strange one.
Having reached a satisfying conclusion, Louis disembarked from the carriage with a contented expression.
“I don’t like you because you’re ugly.”
Vivian had said that. It was the reason she didn’t want to be engaged to him.
“Your heart is ugly, and that makes you ugly in my eyes, Louis.”
“I’ve never heard that before.”
“Yes, I see.”
Vivian, who had replied indifferently, repeated that it was the reason she didn’t want to be engaged to Louis.
The shock he felt upon hearing that! He had immediately sprung up and left the duke’s mansion.
Since then, Louis had worried every day. Whether he was really ugly.
He had spent over 30 minutes staring at his face in the bathroom mirror and had even asked his nanny if he was handsome.
Objectively, he thought his appearance was excellent. However, whenever he reached that conclusion, Vivian’s voice would echo in his mind.
“You’re ugly.”
Maybe she was being generous with her assessment because she was his nanny.
While pondering this, Arnold Bynes had barged into his office. Suddenly, he remembered that his friend had a younger sister around Vivian’s age.
Though knowing it was rude, he had barged into their estate unannounced.
With her fiery red hair and eyes, the young lady of the Bynes family was even more gorgeous than Vivian. Despite her shy, blushing face and timid voice, she had clearly said he was handsome.
Yes.
I was not mistaken.
With that thought, his previously unsettled heart calmed. Louis, feeling full of satisfaction, headed back to his study and looked back at his attendant following him.
“Tell Hugo that I will resume my lessons from next week. Oh, and make sure to inform Lady Vivian of the same.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Louis nodded contentedly and threw open the study door with a sense of satisfaction.