ISTV 49

Hamyun rolled around his bed dozens of times after returning to his room.

At one point, he accidentally slammed into the wall and knocked part of it down, but that was a very minor issue.

Hamyun. You.

That scene kept replaying in his mind, making his heart race.

“I can’t believe Seila trusts me this much.”

Since Seila had shown him such firm trust, he wanted to repay her with an even stronger, unshakable trust of his own.

Her faith in him filled Hamyun with joy.

“But I should really pull myself together.”

To Hamyun, Seila was someone who, once she opened her heart, would give boundless trust.

“That makes her even cooler, though.”

But at the same time, he felt that being so steadfast wasn’t enough to survive in such a harsh world.

“That’s why I need to keep my eyes open and protect her—so no one takes advantage of her.”

He had no intention of changing Seila.

Seila was fine as she was.

Instead, he decided that he would change.

“I’ll be the one to protect her.”

Mary came running over in a flurry.

“His Highness the Prince wishes to see you in an hour, my lady.”

“His Highness? Why?”

“I-I don’t really know the reason. But he asked for some good desserts to be prepared. Wh-what should I… prepare?”

Mary looked like a bundle of nerves. She was stammering endlessly, so it was best just to give her a clear answer.

“Prepare mango shaved ice.”

“Understood!”

At last, focus returned to Mary’s eyes, and she rushed outside to pick out mangoes.

She’s going to trip again, isn’t she… Crash! Right on cue, a thud echoed through the hall. But soon came the determined sound of her getting up and running again.

I’ll have to rub some ointment on her knees later.

Could it be… he’s found out I was investing under a borrowed name?

Was he coming to confront me about why I was hiding my investments? That thought made me nervous—but that wasn’t it.

“I’ve gained a new investor.”

Wait a second.

As I listened, I couldn’t help but wonder.

“So… did you come here just to brag?”

“This isn’t bragging, this is fact. A major investor decided to keep backing me despite repeated failures in relic expeditions. And they even paid in kind, right on the spot. You don’t make an investment like that unless you believe in the other person’s vision.”

“Then doesn’t that mean the investor has incredible insight?”

“It means my vision is incredible.”

…Right.

“Everyone already knows how amazing you are, Your Highness. You don’t need to say it out loud.”

“I thought you didn’t know.”

“I do.”

Leon, who had secured the investment, seemed to be in a very good mood.

“Mango shaved ice, was it?”

“Yes, it’s made with milk-based shaved ice and topped with perfectly ripened mangoes.”

“Visually, it passes.”

Leon took a spoonful of mango shaved ice.

His eyes widened the moment the taste hit his tongue.

“What a remarkable talent your maid has!”

He seemed genuinely impressed.

In such high spirits, Leon went right back to boasting about how he had attracted the investment.

But it didn’t feel as irritating as I thought it would.

He must’ve been that desperate…

No doubt Leon was under immense pressure.

Even as a mere office worker, I used to feel suffocated by performance quotas. For him, it must’ve been on an entirely different level.

Factions in the empire were constantly circling, waiting to pounce on the prince’s failures.

Even the Emperor pressured him to give up on relic expeditions and labyrinth forays.

Small investors had long since turned away.

So of course he’d be this ecstatic over “just” five hundred million.

Leon squinted at me in the middle of his bragging.

“Usually, when I’m this happy, people around me smile even wider than I do.”

“Why would that be my reason to smile?”

The truth was, inwardly, I was grinning ear to ear.

Hundreds of percent profit margin, please! Ha ha ha! Turn my five hundred million into five billion, I beg you. May it skyrocket!

But such worldly greed wasn’t exactly the most graceful thing, so I kept it hidden under a veneer of composure.

Totally unrelated thought—but wow, he’s really handsome.

Every expression, every way of speaking—handsome.

If you asked me how a “way of speaking” could be handsome, I wouldn’t know how to explain it. But it just was.

“How curious.”

…Wait. The way he said that—don’t tell me?

This feels like one of those lines… “You’re the first woman to treat me like this.”

A pickup line that should’ve died twenty years ago at least. As a former game developer from modern times, I felt myself cringing.

“You’re the first woman who has ever treated me this way.”

Oh. My. God.

…Did I really just hear that in this life?

“I’d like to ask you out on a date.”

But then—Bang! The door burst open.

Only two people in the whole wide world would dare fling open a door like that when a prince was inside.

The Dis brothers, eyes blazing as if to roar, “In the name of justice, we won’t forgive you!”

“In the name of justice, we won’t forgive you!”
“In the name of justice, we won’t forgive you!”

Oh, come on.

Did they really have to say it out loud instead of just glaring?

Leon looked just as dumbfounded.

“So you two are the Quayback twins.”

“That’s right.”
“That’s right.”

The atmosphere turned so tense it felt like swords might be drawn any moment.

“Did you throw all manners into the gutter? Do you not know who I am?”

“Why should we care?”

“We know you’re the prince, but we’ll pretend not to.”

Anyone faced with an unfamiliar situation would naturally be flustered. Leon was no exception.

A brief silence hung in the air before the Dis brothers came to stand beside me.

To them, the prince was already out of sight and out of mind.

“Seila, are you okay?”

“……”

Anyone looking on would think I was in grave danger.

I had no idea what they meant by “okay” or why justice was suddenly being invoked.

But since they were justice-obsessed fools, I could only accept it.

“Brothers, what does justice have to do with this situation?”

“Well…”

The twins both looked behind them at the same time.

“If you go off somewhere with a man you barely know, you might get taken advantage of.”
“You’re often exposed to dangerous accidents.”

Their faces were filled with pure concern for me.

Whatever their methods, the sentiment itself was sincere.

“This is what people call kidnapping.”
“And kidnapping isn’t just.”

…So they were basically treating the prince as a would-be kidnapper. Truly the most unprejudiced brothers alive.

But while players of That Game Over There might laugh at their antics, for me right now, it was a storm of danger.

Oh. I feel it. I can feel it.

The creeping threat of death.

The ominous, suffocating fog slithered in from the doorway.

And sure enough—

The young tyrant Leon’s patience had reached its limit.

“Are you two out of your minds?”

“Of course not.”
“What about you?”

Leon forced himself to stay composed as he spoke.

“I am Leon Marcenon de Romados, Second Prince of the Central Empire of Romados.”

The way he introduced himself must’ve sounded cool to the Dis brothers, because they immediately followed.

“I am Condis Ultra Deep Quayback, first son of House Quayback.”
“I am Andis Ultra Deep Quayback, second son of House Quayback.”

Leon frowned slightly. Naturally so.

Names like “Ultra Deep” didn’t even exist in this world.

For reference, the Quayback family never used middle names at all.

They just thought it sounded cool and copied it.

I couldn’t let this deathly atmosphere drag on any longer. I had to step in and settle it.

“Brothers, normally in this context you’d just say ‘eldest son’ and ‘second son.’”

“I am Condis Ultra Dep Quayback, eldest son of House Quayback.”
“I am Andis Ultra Dep Quayback, second son of House Quayback.”

Wait. Now the middle name changed from Deep to Dep.

I turned to Leon.

“Did you see that?”

He looked absolutely furious. If we weren’t in Quayback territory, he might have already started a bloodbath.

“See what, exactly?”

“Earlier it was Deep, and now it’s Dep.”

“……And why should that matter to me?”

“They’re just a bit slow, that’s all. No need to get angry.”

The brothers protested, “We’re not slow! The only thing we lack is enough love for Seila!” But I ignored them.

The real problem here was Leon.

My brothers aren’t a threat, but Leon is far too dangerous.

And he still hadn’t calmed down.

“Never in my life did I imagine there would be lunatics who’d insult me even after I revealed my name. Even being spoken to so casually is new. If you two were only a little weaker, I would have beheaded you on the spot.”