TSPCOB Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Under his straight-cut bangs, his nose rose high, and his expression was filled with arrogance, as if he were an emperor himself.

When Brefni lifted his chin towards the orchestra members, his perfectly cut golden bob sparkled like golden dust.

At the same time, the orchestra’s beautiful melody began to play.

I deliberately walked gracefully, watching the second prince, Brefni.

Brefni, who had been walking with his chin up and focused ahead, suddenly stopped.

Then, with a few steps backward, he came to a halt.

“Heh, I see you here, Princess Rondinella.”

When our eyes met, the fleshy part under Brefni’s eyes curved mischievously.

“I am honored to meet the second prince, the second star of the empire.”

As I naturally bowed, Brefni lifted his high nose and clicked his tongue.

“The second star of the empire, huh? I hate that term. It sounds so pathetic and dull compared to the sun.”

People referred to Claude, the first prince, as the small sun of the empire, and Brefni as the star of the empire.

It was obvious that Prince Claude was being undermined by the comparison of the two in front of the nobles.

“Then, should I call you the ‘little sun,’ Prince Brefni?”

I calmly replied, and murmurs spread among the crowd.

Brefni’s neatly groomed eyebrows fluttered.

He would never accept this.

Admitting to it himself would be saying something that would risk the imperial succession.

“Haha, haha, Princess Rondinella, what’s with such a serious joke?”

Brefni laughed loudly, his shoulders shaking violently.

The attendants behind him, as if trying to match his mood, also began to laugh falsely.

After laughing for a while, Brefni lifted his nose even higher.

Then, with a sudden change of expression, he stepped closer and whispered in my ear.

“You’ve been looking upset for a while. Is it that time of the month? Does your fiancé, Prince Claude, know?”

A hot breeze suddenly rushed at me, sending chills down my spine.

I wanted to snap at Brefni for asking such a question, but I held myself back.

I remembered something that Prince Claude had said a while ago.

[It seems a rat snuck into the castle and spread the rumors. You don’t need to worry. The rat’s neck was sliced off and thrown to the wolves, and the owner has already been dealt with.]

The rat had been identified as the royal physician…

So, the owner must be…

It was you, Brefni.

You were the one who leaked the secret about my engagement with Prince Claude to the newspapers.

After piecing everything together in my mind, I smiled brightly.

“Prince Brefni, if it’s alright, may I ask you for a dance?”

Surprisingly, Brefni raised his shoulder.

“Really? That sounds fun. I was getting bored.”

He stood with a crooked leg and gracefully extended his hand.

I gently took the edge of Brefni’s hand and walked with him.

When we reached the center of the floor, his long fingers, free of any dirt, touched my back.

The sensation sent a shiver down my arm, but I tried to act as natural as possible.

“But you got engaged pretty quickly considering you’ve just met. Was there a special reason?”

“No.”

“Then how did you meet? Did you fall in love at first sight? Or maybe you got physical first? Nobody really follows the whole premarital purity thing these days.”

His red eyes were filled with mockery and excitement, making them look disturbingly twisted.

They both had red eyes, yet how could they be so different?

Prince Claude’s eyes were deep like jewels, but Brefni’s…

They were cold, like a snake.

I suppressed the bubbling anger and smiled.

“Well, not really. We just met like everyone else.”

“Ahh—”

Brefni yawned, pretending to wipe away nonexistent tears.

“How disappointing. I thought you’d be different.”

As he seemed to lose interest in the dance, I quickly parted my lips to capture his attention.

“No, actually, now that I think about it, I think it was love at first sight.”

“Hmm? Really?”

Brefni’s eyes began to shine again.

“What happened? How did you meet? Is there a fun story?”

Seeing him press for details, I realized I had successfully caught his interest.

I lowered my eyes shyly.

“This is a secret, but please come closer.”

When Brefni leaned in with great anticipation, I slipped my arm around his neck to prevent him from looking down.

Then, I quietly slipped a small bottle into his coat pocket.

“Don’t make me wait. Tell me, what happened?”

“Well… I was the one who confessed to Prince Claude. I asked him to get engaged to me.”

“That’s interesting. So… what happened next?”

Now that my goal had been achieved, I had no intention of becoming his storyteller.

I took a step back from the prince and shrugged my shoulders.

“He agreed to the engagement, and that’s all.”

“Ah, no way. There must be more to it. And why would my boring and unappealing older brother even agree to an engagement in the first place? I don’t get it.”

Brefni’s eyes narrowed as he scanned me up and down.

His suspicious gaze made me reply quickly.

“Of course, it’s unbelievable, right? But Prince Claude’s face is literally like a sculpture. His appearance is handsome and tall, with eyes that are so deep and beautiful, you couldn’t put a price on them. And he’s so full of charm that I couldn’t stop thinking about his face. I had to get engaged before another woman could.”

I might have raised my voice a little too loudly in my defense.

Clearing my throat, I fanned myself, feeling my face grow warm.

“How amusing. I hope that happiness lasts for a long time.”

Brefni smirked, his eyebrows furrowing.

“Yes, I plan to live happily. Until my hair turns white, calling him ‘darling.’”

I subtly aimed for a strike at Brefni, adding a bit of exaggeration to my response.

He was speechless for a moment, then stroked the handle of his sword before abruptly turning his head.

Luckily, he didn’t notice the bottle I had slipped into his coat.

As expected, he wouldn’t just take some random medicine without knowing what it was.

I had turned the substance into a harmless powder and filled the bottle with it.

If he experimented with it, most likely, he’d give it to animals or lesser humans first.

If he found something interesting, he’d definitely come looking for me.

I grinned, recalling the note I had attached to the bottle.

[This medicine will solve your worries. If it helps, come find me.]

Knowing Brefni’s curious and playful nature, I had made sure he’d come to me on his own.

If I had outright given him a bottle labeled “hair loss treatment,” he would have scoffed and thrown it away.

I wasn’t speaking from experience, but from stories I had heard in my previous life.

He despised anything predictable and boring.

Brefni’s hair loss had started around this time in my past life.

Despite trying everything from magic to dark arts and even animal dung, he couldn’t stop his hair from falling out.

Eventually, he would lose all his hair, becoming even more hysterical than before.

As someone obsessed with his appearance, I could only imagine how much stress this caused him.

Anyway, I was relieved that my plan had worked, and Brefni now had the medicine in his possession.

Now I just had to wait for him to come find me.

Feeling a bit tense, I massaged my stiff shoulders when suddenly, the grand music signaling the start of the coronation ceremony filled the room.

Everyone standing on the floor turned to face the tall platform.

After a moment, the Emperor appeared, seated on a golden throne adorned with red velvet.

Beside him were the armor and the magnificent crown to be used in the ceremony.

“My loyal subjects, I have something to tell you today.”

The Emperor, with his elderly voice, kept coughing repeatedly.

“The owner of this crown is not me.”