CH 118

I approached the crown prince and looked around.

‘Did you hold a banquet last night?’

The outdoor lounge was dirty.

Lanterns were stained with melted candles, they were not operated by magic stones. The floor was littered with crushed petals, and the sides were filled with empty wine-scented glasses.

Except for the expensive marble floor, it was a landscape more suitable for an entertainment district than a place in the Imperial Palace.

‘Well, this bastard seems to like banquets.’

I grabbed the top of the long bench on which Garou was lying. Somehow, when I faced him, I was very nervous.

‘The story I heard in my dream… He has to admit it in reality.’ 

The main culprit that ruined the debutante was Crown Prince Garou, not Michael.

I grasped that fact in my dream, but in reality there was no way to prove it.

So I had to get the confirmation directly from Garou.

‘It’s no use if this guy gets away with it, but… he seems to have some other purpose. There is no gain from framing Michael.’

I immediately walked to the head of the bench.

The whole body of the boy lying on the bench came into view.

The golden skin exposed through the stretched tunic shone brightly in the warm sunlight.

“.……”

I froze in place.

The crown prince did not welcome me. Yes, he had no choice but to do so.

“…Zzz.”

This rascal was sleeping.

Even though he had already heard that I was coming.

“…Hey.”

I shook his shoulder.

Seeing his whole body wobbling, it didn’t seem like he was pretending to be asleep.

“Hmmm…”

Garou turned to the side as if telling me to go away.

Somehow, seeing that made my stomach boil.

I grabbed an empty glass from the floor and swung it at Garou’s forehead.

The sound was excellent.

Garou, who was hit by a drinking glass, rolled over the edge of the bench.

Upon waking up, he muttered angrily.

“What? What kind of bastard…”

Garou raised his head and found me. His face, stained with cold anger, brightened as soon as he registered it’s me.

“Oh, Lilietta! Did you come?”

The crown prince of the empire sat down on the floor and smiled mischievously.

I turned the glass that I had just hit him with and put it down.

“It seems you still can fall asleep after you poison an innocent person.”

“Hey, but still, you don’t have to hit someone who’s sleeping.”

“Regenerate. You can do it.”

Compared to trying to feed poison, this much was nothing.

I folded my arms, refusing to apologize.

Garou smiled and rubbed his forehead.

With the sound of sand sweeping, his red forehead became smooth.

The mark made by the glass soon disappeared without a trace.

“Anyway, nice to meet you. I’m glad you came to my house.”

Garou patted his knees and stood up.

And without notice, he grabbed my left hand and kissed the back of my hand. Even though it was a common greeting among the nobility, somehow it gave me goosebumps.

“Don’t touch me.”

I shook my hand, frowning. Garou smirked, raising the corners of his mouth.

“If you don’t like it, peel off the part I touched and let new flesh grow.”

He tilted his head provocatively.

“You can do it, right?”

Anyway, words wouldn’t work with him.

I rubbed my forehead in annoyance, and as if it was natural, he bent his arm and held it out to me. It was a posture to escort.

“Let’s stop the greetings. Shall we have some tea? I have made a place for you in the rose garden.”

Garou didn’t even greet Benny, who was standing next to me.

I glared at him with all my heart and stepped towards Benny.

“I’m sorry, but I already have a partner.”

I purposely stuck to Benny. It was only then that Garou seemed to give up.

However, Garou smirked and chuckled at Benny as if he had heard the spirit of victory.

“Partner? Come to think of it, you’re also a demon, right? I have no choice but to let you go with us.”

Garou brought his face close to mine.

It was a little embarrassing. His behavior was far more blatant than before. It was like seeing a boy who fell in love at first sight.

“Anyway, let me do the escort. Aren’t I the number one bridegroom for the Princess in this empire?”

“Really, can’t you stay…”

I couldn’t finish speaking.

Benny’s cool breath touched a very close place. To be precise, on my forehead.

“…….”

Benny did not stop there; he lowered his face. His lips touched my cheek and fell off. The sound of wet flesh touching was embarrassingly loud.

“Be, Be…”

I was at a loss for words in the sudden situation.

Without knowing my heart, Benny hugged me tightly. The tip of his smooth nose lightly brushed against the bridge of my nose.

Just before our lips touched, Benny turned his head.

And he said bluntly to Garou.

“We are getting married.”

Benny bent over and reached out to me. It was an escort position.

Helplessly, I licked my lips and wrapped my hand around his arm.

“…That… that’s what happened.”

I tried to shoot as sharply as possible, but my voice trembled because of what had just happened.

“Really?”

Though his facial features did not move much, Garou gave off a feeling of disappointment. It was a little refreshing to see him with a flushed face.

“Then what should I do? …Ah!”

After a moment of forlorn, Garou quickly smiled brightly.

“Then, among the demons, should we three live together? I will prepare a new room for you two in the Crown Prince Palace.”

…It seemed impossible for me to understand this bastard with my common sense.

***

“Lilietta, how about this garden?”

As if Garou was proud of his work, he proudly stretched out his arms.

I looked around instinctively.

In the flower garden he had brought me to, bright red roses were in full bloom. It was a scenery that could not be seen in the old-fashioned Duke’s Castle or the restrained Imperial Palace.

“Well, it’s pretty… I like roses.”

I nodded my head roughly.

Garou smiled broadly as if he really liked my answer.

“I like it because you like it! Shall we have a welcome drink now?”

Garou grabbed the two glasses and brought them to the flowing fountain near the tea table. The vine-patterned glass was filled with bubbling golden liquid. It was like champagne.

I shook my head before he even offered me a drink.

“I’m fine.”

“Huh? What’s wrong? You’re a little young, but you’ve made your debut, so you can drink under imperial law.”

“I won’t drink it.”

I was treated harshly with the sweet treats that Garou had given me before, so there was no way I could receive this drink.

When I looked elsewhere, Garou placed the two glasses on his side and rang a bell to call his servant.

After a while, smiling servants brought a tea set in front of me.

Simply smelling the luxurious scent gave me a sense of quality tea leaves.

Just when I was shaking my head and asking the servant not to pour me any, I heard a ‘crackling’ sound from the empty plate in front of me.

I looked down at the plate, my eyebrows gathered at once.

“Eat a lot.”

Garou gently shook the wooden ring that had broke in my dream.

The pure white light from the ring was connected to a couple of shiny cookies on my plate.

‘He’s teasing me.’

I crossed my arms, not touching the tea, let alone the sweets. Waiting for the servants to disappear, I asked directly.

“What’s your plan?”

Garou did a lot of bad things. Aside from that, there were many contradictions in his actions.

From trying to brainwash me four years ago, to pushing for a crazy marriage, and poisoning the medicine.

It was as if he had a grudge against me, but that didn’t mean he was missing a screw somewhere.

This was close to provocation.

“Did I do anything wrong to you?”

“Wrong?”

Garou’s eyes became circles. It was a boyish expression matching his age, so I felt a sense of disparity.

“…You act like you hate me.”

Upon hearing my words, Garou frowned, leaning over his drink. After a while he tilted his head and laughed out loud.

“Hahahaha! What are you talking about? How much I like you. Had it not been for any other purpose, I would have really wanted to marry you.”

Hearing that, as expected, Garou had no intention of marrying me.

‘I mean, I know up to that point, but I don’t know what’s next.’

What was the gain that Garou would get from fighting an absurd fight?

Shaking his head, he narrowed his eyes and whispered.

“Look at you now. You’re so cute… I want to make you my own and do this and that.”

It was a creepy remark.

Benny spoke up just when I was about to fight back.

“The Princess is mine.”

“…….”

I stiffened, my mouth slightly open.

“She has decided to give me her soul. So I’m the one who will do this and that.”

Benny added casually, not knowing that my face was burning.

“Then, then… what the hell!”

I slammed my palms on the table and stood up. My face was burning hot, so I raised my voice without realizing it.

“What in the world are you doing? What you’re doing seems to be provoking the Bauner family…!”

“That’s right.”

Garou nodded his head very easily.

He took a bite of the melting ice cream and lowered his voice as if telling a secret.

“Lilietta. Aren’t you curious about demons?”

“…….”

I was honestly curious.

Why are evil spirits and demons different? Are there other demons besides the three gathered here? And such.

However, right now, the priority was to save Michael, so I pushed those questions aside for a while.

“…First, tell me what your purpose is.”