SDIV 33

Chapter 33

“Isn’t it delicious? Want some more?”

Ad looked up at him with sparkling eyes, as if sharing food was the happiest thing in the world. His cheeks were flushed a rosy pink, and his plump little face seemed to lift toward the sky, adding an extra spoonful of cuteness.

Respan, however, felt extremely uncomfortable with Ad sticking to his side, picking out food and piling it on his plate.

“I can eat it myself, so please go back to your seat and eat.”

At his firm rejection, Ad’s eyes grew damp. One small nudge and tears seemed ready to tumble down at any moment.

“How dare you reject our baby? You heartless bastard.”

Yellow, who had been noisily crunching on a raw chicken, gave Respan a once-over. Then he swallowed the rest of the chicken in one bite and swaggered over like a street thug to stand beside Ad. His puffed-up chest fur screamed pride.

From Yellow’s expression, Respan could clearly read the message: “Did you just make my little brother cry?”
He’d never been pressured by a child and an animal at the same time before and found himself at a loss for how to handle it. Dealing with a group of nagging elders would’ve been easier than this.

Royalty was supposed to be majestic and difficult to approach, yet these two treated him far too casually.

Respan inwardly wished Arin would do something about the situation. He looked at her intently, trying to communicate that wish, but she pretended not to notice and kept her focus on eating.

Yellow gently rubbed his tail against Ad’s side. Encouraged by the comfort, Ad twitched his fingers and tried to be brave.

“Do you… not like meat?”

Respan sighed inwardly.

“I like it. I’ll eat well.”

“Yay!”

Beaming, Ad hugged Respan’s leg tightly. Startled by the unexpected warmth of another person after so long, Respan stiffened.

“Maybe this is why the Duke of Altair and his son keep them close.”

His mind wandered, so much so that he barely noticed what was going into his mouth.

By the time the meal ended, he reminded himself of his goal—to win Arin over. Thankfully, the biggest obstacle, Ad, was now full and dozing off at the table.

Seizing the moment, Respan scooped Ad up and stood next to Arin under the pretense of walking them out.

“Don’t feel too pressured. I’ll just escort you to the front of the estate I’m staying at.”

“Thank you.”

She widened her stride, clearly hoping to reach the gate quickly. Respan, with his longer legs, kept up with ease.

“It’s a pity we couldn’t have a deeper conversation today. If I get the chance, I’d love to invite you to the Imperial Palace.”

His flirtatious tone was hard to miss, and the charming smile he flashed made Arin give a strained laugh.

“Original male lead, what are you doing?”

She was still figuring out how to turn him down when—

“She’s someone I treasure. Unfortunately, I can’t let her go that easily, Your Highness.”

Deneb had appeared out of nowhere and flatly rejected the prince’s invitation. His timing was impeccable. Sparks flew between the two men.

Respan lifted his chin and gave Deneb a haughty look, revealing the arrogant air unique to royal blood.

“In that case… I suppose I’ll have to invite the Duke along to see Dame Arin.”

How annoying.

The added comment made Arin’s eyes widen. It was the first time she’d seen the two face each other—and with such hostility.

The atmosphere was even more tense than described in the original novel. Deneb met Respan’s sharp tone with an even sharper one, and the cold wind between them felt like a storm brewing.

“The Duke will have to come to the capital anyway, for your aunt’s trial… Dame Arin can accompany him then. I look forward to it.”

Making it clear he wasn’t expecting a reply, Respan turned to Arin and slowly reached out, offering to hand Ad over.

Deneb, displeased by the sight of Ad sleeping sweetly in someone else’s—especially a royal’s—arms, used mana to snatch Ad halfway into Arin’s arms. It was his first time holding a small child, so his posture was awkward.

Arin thought he looked like a rookie dad. Respan’s expression twisted slightly, perhaps thinking the same.

“Ad might catch a cold. We’ll head back first. Arin.”

Recognizing his intent at once, Arin gave Respan a polite bow.

“Your Highness, let’s meet again next time. Please return safely.”

“Yes. You too, Dame Arin.”

Their eyes met briefly.

His light blue eyes, reminiscent of the sky, reflected her completely. If she were an ignorant noble lady, she might have fallen for him right then.

Arin sensed that Deneb was on edge and stayed silent. A heavy silence hung between them as they walked toward the antique brown estate.

Like a duckling following its mother, Arin trailed behind him. Just then, Ad, still sleeping in Deneb’s arms, stirred and complained in discomfort.

“Mmmnn.”

It was just a sleepy grumble from an awkward posture, but Deneb—who had no idea—just found it irritating. Ominous energy seeped from him. For reasons he couldn’t explain, he felt absolutely awful. Extremely so.

The chilling air roused Ad, who blinked like a baby bird. His round eyes met Deneb’s sharp, icy stare.

“Waaaah!”

Naturally, he burst into tears from sheer terror. Arin stepped forward to take him back, but just then, Ad looked around and, out of nowhere, blurted out:

“Hic… Where’s Respan?”

Deneb quietly ignited.

As Arin instinctively stepped back two paces from the dark aura emanating off Deneb, Yellow—who had been following behind—took off running like his tail was on fire.

A month had passed since Respan took the criminal Asilla to the capital.

In that time, the continent had suffered a plague of pests that had escaped from the Altair territory. Only after a month was the situation finally under control.

At first, other territories blamed Duke Altair for mishandling the situation. But after dealing with the infestation themselves, they quickly shut up. The pests were far more terrifying than anticipated.

Though the criticism of Deneb’s abilities faded, new rumors began to spread—that he had released the pests just to sell his pesticides.

To stop the rumors before they grew too large, Deneb distributed a downgraded pesticide made by Haishan—only to his allies, and for free.

The nobles who had criticized him, including those from the Emperor’s faction, had no choice but to grovel for the pesticide.

“Haishan, is the anti-inflammatory medicine ready?”

“As instructed, its effectiveness is less than half of the original.”

“Good. Distribute it for free to those allied with us. As for Arin’s medicine, sell it at a premium to the nobles—bleed them dry. We need to use this chance to repair the roads in the territory.”

The anti-inflammatory formula, a product of Haishan’s research, was distributed across the continent under both Arin and Deneb’s names.

It worked quickly and was cheaper than even low-tier potions, making it extremely popular. And the more it spread, the more their names became known.

Then, today, the Imperial family announced that Asilla’s trial would take place in two weeks and declared Arin a key contributor to resolving the crisis.

“They actually invited her…”

The letter, bearing the Emperor’s seal, invited her to the post-trial celebration, stating that she would be granted a title. Deneb ground his teeth in anger at the insolent tone.

The reason for the invitation was obvious.

It was the Crown Prince’s greed—and a hasty attempt to restore the Imperial family’s reputation among the people. The official commendation list conveniently left out Deneb and only included Arin. The Imperial family clearly intended to give her all the credit, even though the medicine had been developed jointly.

Fury surged in Deneb as he prepared to block the Empire’s underhanded attempt to take Arin for themselves.

While packing for the capital, Arin eventually gave in to Ad’s adorable antics.

“Fine, you can come. Now get out of there.”

Arin had initially planned not to bring Ad. She didn’t want to risk exposing his alchemy, and the journey was dangerous for a child.

She’d thought to leave him temporarily with Lord Altair, but Ad had figured it out and acted preemptively—by curling himself into her suitcase so she couldn’t leave him behind.

Hearing her agreement, Ad squirmed out of the box, his hair a mess from hiding, and hopped around excitedly.

“Heehee! Yay!”

From his giddy expression, Arin realized there was something else making him excited besides staying close to her.

“You little rascal, why are you so happy, huh?”

“’Cause I’ll see Respan again! Yay!”

They’d only met once—was Respan really that great? As Arin pondered what made him so appealing, Ad tapped another one of her luggage boxes.

“Behold, my entrance!”

Yellow popped out.

“Why were you in there?”

Seriously, these two were impossible to deal with.