“Episode 14”
On the night we fell asleep together, the last note of the last song hit like a period. The audience rose to their feet and applauded.
Mildred, standing up from her seat, gracefully bowed and walked offstage. As the lights gradually came on, the hall was illuminated.
Daphne walked to the railing and glanced at the backs of the audience. The royal couple was standing, applauding and looking around the hall.
Turning around, Daphne’s eyes met Romeo’s. She waved leisurely to him, then discreetly nudged Celestian in front of her, out of Romeo’s view. Romeo stiffened momentarily, then smiled and quickly escorted Psyche out of the room.
“I won~”
Daphne turned around whistling. Celestian lowered his head, still keeping his eyes closed. Celestian’s habit of mumbling to himself during the first piece came to mind. Daphne felt like she was a cruel owner teasing a cat with unreachable prey.
“It’s all your fault, cute prince.”
Daphne glanced briefly at the spot where Psyche had been sitting and then stood up.
“Celestian. Open your eyes.”
Celestian lifted his head. The area under his eyes, when Daphne gently brushed her thumb over it, felt warm.
“Oh, did you cry?”
Daphne felt regretful for being so absorbed in the organ performance in another world. She missed the timing for direct intuition.
“No, I didn’t cry.”
“Where does it hurt?”
Celestian raised his head, showing a restrained expression. The coldness emanating from Daphne’s hand seemed welcoming.
“What made you imagine that?”
“I was moved by the performance because it’s my favorite piece.”
Despite her cute remark, her inability to meet his eyes and her downward gaze made her look desolate. Each time he blinked, his golden eyelashes fluttered. Even the shadow cast by his eyelashes under his eyes aroused suspicion in Daphne’s mind. She coughed lightly and withdrew her hand.
Mildred’s stage theme was tragic. Today’s selection, suitable for a tragic play, continued. Perhaps due to the grandeur of the pipe organ, this concert felt like a solemn funeral.
“Lies.”
Could someone say they liked this kind of song? Is a funeral a good thing? No way.
“You didn’t hear a single thing, did you?”
Daphne muttered. Celestian remained silent, not even uttering empty words. She said, as if speaking to herself:
“If you go out now, you can see Psyche up close. She’ll probably be greeting the performers. I should go see her too.”
“You’ll feel awkward.”
“Oh, Your Highness, you care about me too?”
There would probably be Romeo, Psyche’s counterpart, in the dressing room. Meeting like this would make things awkward, as Celestian had pointed out.
“I’ll stay here.”
Celestian hesitated for a moment, his voice resigned.
“Is this enough for you?”
“What if it’s not enough?”
His features momentarily cooled.
“I’m classified as trash, not even worthy of being called a rebel or dissident… Can I afford to have desires?”
‘Facts.’
Suddenly understanding the topic, Daphne could quickly draw a conclusion.
This prince is weighing me. He’s trying to gauge which side of his heart I’m leaning towards. If I say this, will I disappear into oblivion, or will he stay by my side? Let’s test him!
She pretended to contemplate, lightly clenching her fist under her chin and sighed.
“Let’s go.”
Until now, Celestian hadn’t had a choice. So even this gesture of giving him an opportunity… couldn’t help but make her feel better. Daphne smiled and extended her palm. It was an invitation to hold hands. Celestian looked at her hand, then raised his head to look at Daphne.
“Where to?”
Daphne liked the look on Celestian’s face as he looked up at her.
“To smoke a cigar?”
She answered, putting her index and middle fingers to her lips. It wouldn’t matter if they smoked here, but Daphne didn’t have a cigarette case with her. She would have to quickly move to the villa and get ready with the attendants.
Before her extended hand could become awkward, Daphne bent her knees and grabbed Celestian’s wrist, pulling him up. He looked startled as he stood up from his seat.
“Aren’t you going to see Serena?”
“I don’t want to be alone, remember? Milady Psyche will come back in her original form tomorrow.”
Together, and going somewhere entirely different wasn’t expected, so Celestian followed Daphne with a slightly bewildered expression.
“Is it okay?”
Although his face couldn’t be seen from behind, his voice sounded reserved.
“What’s not okay?”
“I don’t smoke cigars.”
“Really?”
Daphne suddenly thought of the royal family. All the royal people she knew spent half their lives smoking cigars, eating dessert, smoking cigars again, and drinking alcohol until they reached their coffins.
‘Is the prince different?’
Comparing Celestian to Romeo, whom she had no other choice but to compare him to, Daphne chuckled. Her cousin was a chain smoker, barely sleeping four hours a day, and lived his life smoking cigars and drinking from the moment he woke up until he passed out, even after meeting Psyche.
“Learn now.”
“You probably wouldn’t like a man who smokes cigars, would you?”
Daphne didn’t walk towards the door but turned around.
“That’s true.”
She had a brief vision of Celestian smoking a cigar. Not a regular cigarette, but a hefty cigar.
The fantasy shattered. It was really unappealing.
“You definitely don’t suit it. But what does that have to do with what I don’t like?”
“I’m your slave. I shouldn’t do things you dislike.”
Daphne burst into a hollow laughter at his quite bold remark. Then she playfully slapped his forearm. Due to the gloves and clothes, it made a dull sound. She immediately regretted it. His body was so firm that only her palm felt a little stung.
“You’re my prince.”
“That’s amusing.”
He didn’t look amused at all.
“Then are you my princess?”
Daphne also made an unamused expression.
“Oh, this feeling. Thank you for making me empathize like this, Your Highness.”
Finally, Celestian smiled.
Daphne had no resistance against the beauty, especially the smile of this man. She shook her head as if to dispel the tickling sensation and forcefully opened the firmly closed door of her heart.
And then she met his golden eyes.
‘Why is he here again?’
Romeo Rodriguez, who she thought had disappeared earlier, was leaning against a mural filled with details.
<The protagonist in a brown vest standing in a corridor painted with gold>. Daphne titled the painting and quickly tried to escape, pretending not to know Romeo and turning her feet.
“Didi.”
The painting called out to Daphne. With his dark eyebrows raised and his lips twisted, his expression clearly indicated displeasure.
Daphne felt sorry for Celestian because he couldn’t hide behind Romeo’s tall figure.
“Oh, Romeo…”
Daphne raised her voice in a coquettish tone and lifted the corners of her mouth.
“Why are you here?”
Unconsciously, Daphne guarded against Romeo, leaving Celestian behind. If she made a mistake, they would both die. The exaggerated clown’s cheeks twitched.
“Our Viewcater seems to have raised a good talent. I wanted to praise him.”
“You acknowledged my talent a long time ago. It’s embarrassing to bring it up again. And ‘our’? I’d like to decline such a formal term now.”
Daphne felt extremely embarrassed to speak in a coquettish tone.
Romeo’s expression softened after seeing Daphne’s acting, which was remarkably similar to the past.
“Are you going to carry impurities wherever you go now?”
“Oh, impurities? Where are the impurities here? Are you perhaps talking about yourself?”
Daphne said the last sentence in a hushed tone, lowering her voice by a tone. If Celestian heard it, there was nothing she could do, but she felt she couldn’t just sit back and watch her anger rise.
At that moment, Celestian grabbed Daphne’s wrist and pulled her into his arms. Daphne, who almost leaned into his chest, lowered the corners of her mouth straight, making them flat.
‘What’s going on now?’
As she raised her head, her eyes met his. His gaze was incredibly sweet, as if he had replaced his eyes with marshmallows. Daphne’s earlobes tingled.
“We’ve been asleep together for several nights.”
Celestian whispered as he tucked Daphne’s red hair behind her ear. His touch was warm.
“Is our princess still in an unresolved relationship with the past?”
Daphne couldn’t help but be astonished by the words that followed. Her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped.
‘Is he really… No, did he just call me by mistake because he doesn’t know my name?’
Romeo chuckled and then approached with large strides.
With a similar height to Celestian, Romeo nodded towards his stepbrother and bowed. Then he grabbed Daphne’s hand and pretended to kiss it.
‘What’s wrong with him? Seriously, is he crazy?’
Daphne felt chills all over her body. And then she remembered the insult she had just thrown at him a few minutes ago. Anyway, impulsive choices can create long-lasting embarrassing moments.
Romeo’s lips parted again. Daphne suppressed the impulse to punch his dimple-deepening cheeks with her fist, as his jaw muscles moved, creating a deep dimple.
“Don’t you know how much Didi loved you, Brother?”
A crack appeared on the prince’s face, which was smiling like a newly blossomed flower.
