“Episode 33”
A surprise proposal
It only took an hour for one human to completely mess up.
“Looks like we’ve won again!”
Suddenly, people were bustling around the square table. Celestian leisurely raised his whiskey glass to his lips.
The green eyes that met in midair turned back to Daphne once again. Then, they tilted slightly to the left, as if asking, ‘How about that?’
In this game, the one who bet more money had the upper hand, and the one who could deceive even the expressions and angles of the mouth was more likely to win.
Just now, Celestian pretended to have a straight flush even though he had a bad hand, leading Chadwick to fall into the trap.
“If it isn’t Romeo Rodrigues in the world of poker faces…”
The stack of bills under Celestian’s arm enticed Daphne. By the third round, any objections about betting too much money had long been forgotten.
“Shall we take this gamble to the continent?”
Daphne briefly considered it and shook her head. For her, aiming for one big gamble in life was too risky for her pursuit of a stable life.
“Dealer, this is clearly cheating.”
Chadwick, who had been clutching the cards tightly, released his grip and shook his head.
“Cheating is prohibited.”
The dealer firmly replied as he collected the cards and shuffled them. Chadwick clutched his temples with his hand, groaning. It seemed he had been on a losing streak for four consecutive rounds.
The golden ticket was shining under Celestian’s hand.
Thanks to that, Daphne didn’t need to use someone’s head as a punching bag.
Celestian not only took back all the money he had lost, but also won the boarding pass. And all in just one hour!
“Cele, well done!”
Daphne felt like embracing the handsome man’s face and giving him a kiss.
“Is that all?”
Celestian frowned slightly, as if not pleased with Daphne’s praise.
“Did you do well, Your Highness? Amazing? Should I give you a warm hug?”
Daphne willingly opened one arm. Celestian leaned back and ran his large hand through his black hair. She grabbed his wrist, looking at his watch.
“We’re running late. Let’s go.”
There was only an hour left until departure. Suddenly, Chadwick, who had been approaching from behind, grabbed Daphne’s wrist.
“Where are you going? Write me a check. Who’s going to exchange cash?”
Chadwick glared with a reddish-purple face. But there were no servants here to listen to him.
“Maybe you should take off your clothes. Well, there might not be much to see.”
Daphne mocked Chadwick, looking down at him.
Already feeling embarrassed due to his eyes flashing yellow under the lights, Chadwick had to feel even more humiliated. When Daphne was about to raise her fist to punch his wrist, he let go first.
“You guys…”
Chadwick looked at Celestian. With a sigh, he said with a meaningful tone.
“Are you being so careless because you know who she is?”
Only then did the spectators, who had been laughing and marveling among themselves, look at Celestian.
‘It’s mine. Will you at least pay for the entertainment…’
Daphne’s mood worsened as she felt their stares tearing into Celestian’s face.
“Is he a foreign actor?”
“He’s handsome.”
“First time seeing him.”
People murmured.
“This hotel only gathers anonymous people, so we can’t know. Then, do you know who she is?”
The man with a mustache like a ribbon asked, “Don’t you read newspapers? Even though you changed your hair color, I know it’s you.”
Chadwick alternated his gaze between Celestian and Daphne with a sly expression.
“It’s Princess Theriosa the traitor.”
“Am I really that handsome? It’s an honor.”
Celestian replied, raising his eyebrows in surprise. Daphne sighed and blew a breath of frustration at his gesture of pretending not to know, as he groped his own cheek as if truly unsure.
“Oh… You do resemble her a bit.”
“But doesn’t the traitor have golden hair? You look exactly like that beautiful Princess Therios.”
The gazes once again turned towards Chadwick at the mention of the traitor.
“But this one does have blond hair.”
“Ah, yes. Duke Yurian’s ghost is said to be so handsome that even other men would fall for him… But definitely not this one.”
The dealer waved his hand dismissively. Chadwick’s expression crumpled.
“And what if this one is related to the traitor? Are you suggesting we report it? What does the royal family gain from bothering us with such trouble?”
“The owner of Saturnmerial.”
“Me?”
Daphne turned, thinking she was being called.
“She offered a big reward if someone brings the traitor’s head. Didn’t you all see the advertisement?”
Chadwick added dismissively. But it seemed more like just mentioning it, rather than recognizing Daphne.
The eyes that had been focused on Daphne from earlier now turned slightly murky in Celestian’s direction. Daphne pretended not to notice.
“Take a break, Chad. A true man should know when to accept defeat.”
The dealer, who had been quietly listening, interjected. Celestian simply smiled appropriately when all eyes turned to him. He seemed to enjoy the praise coming his way.
Standing next to him, Daphne felt like she had become invisible.
“Um, excuse me… Does anyone… recognize me?”
“The lady’s face does seem familiar. Is she from a noble family?”
Daphne nodded. Several people whispered about which family she might belong to, as if recognizing some famous stage actor.
“Daphne Beaucaire and Green. The man mentioned as the owner of Saturnmerial…”
“Oh, really?”
The conversation was cut off again!
“The lady doesn’t look like a villain from Secradien. Her hair doesn’t seem like it would burn like fire either.”
“It seems like there are a lot of people claiming to be Daphne Beaucaire today. What’s going on? Several of them passed by just now.”
Daphne suddenly remembered the women who had been standing behind her. Her mouth fell open in a situation where she couldn’t laugh.
Celestian burst into laughter with a snort. When Daphne glanced at him, he quickly covered his mouth and coughed awkwardly.
Daphne reached out her hand to the ticket under Celestian’s arm.
“Huh?”
Daphne was puzzled as Celestian blocked her hand.
He leaned his chin on his elbow on the table, looking at Daphne with his eyes level with hers.
“I’ll forgive you for making me angry all this time since you helped me. I’ll give you this. We need to leave soon.”
Daphne extended her hand.
“Where to?”
“Page-Rene.”
“What’s that?”
“My future nieces and nephews… Celestian, stop joking. I really have to go. I was going to give it to you, that’s all.”
Daphne whispered, pointing to the ticket.
“That’s not it. I just got lucky with the pot.”
Celestian’s green eyes disappeared between his folded eyelids.
“I’m serious, give it to me.”
“Really? Daphne, do I look like I’m joking?”
Was it just a joke? It felt more like outright teasing.
“You…”
“Yes?”
“Don’t call me by my name. I never gave you permission.”
Daphne growled, but Celestian just smiled mysteriously.
“You used to get mad when I didn’t know your name, and now you’re telling me not to call you. I really can’t understand your mind.”
“That’s because you…”
“Celestian Theriosa. Even if the others don’t recognize you, I do.”
Chadwick, who still hadn’t left, intervened again.
Daphne, having once again been subjected to humiliation, grabbed the crystal glass. Celestian put his hand on top of hers.
“You failed to kill the king, and how did you hear that I’m staying at this hotel? Did you also hear that my succession rank has risen? Are you planning to uproot the royal family from the line of succession, starting with me? That’s quite sinister.”
“Huh?”
“Did you dye your hair that color to resemble Romeo? Your efforts seem quite futile.”
From one to ten, every word seemed completely nonsensical. Daphne wasn’t the only one bewildered. Everyone around the table, who had been chatting, stopped and wore perplexed expressions.
“Haha.”
Daphne burst into laughter.
“Trying to uproot the royal family from the line of succession? My rank has risen…?”
Even upon careful consideration, Chadwick’s words were hilarious.
“Hahaha.”
Chadwick, as if he were somebody important, was delusional. Daphne hadn’t seen someone like him in a long time!
Her laughter filled the momentarily quiet gambling hall with a refreshing sound of ridicule, making everyone reluctantly join in with the mocking laughter.
“What’s so funny, hahaha…”
Celestian laughed as he supported Daphne, who was laughing. It was neither impolite nor strange to call it impolite. Chadwick muttered in utter confusion.
“He’s really losing it.”
He muttered curses while holding up his discarded suit jacket and disappeared.
“What an idiot.”
Daphne murmured as her laughter subsided. Then, she reached behind and placed her hand on the ticket on the table. Celestian’s hand covered it again, preventing her.
“Daphne, stealing is bad.”
“Stealing? It’s mine.”
“What’s yours? Is it mine?”
Daphne looked at the smiling prince with triangular eyes.
“You… are.”
“Since you haven’t refunded it yet, it’s still mine. Therefore, what you have is also mine. The money on this table, and the boarding pass.”
“You can take the money. I don’t want the boarding pass. Let’s play another game and win it fair and square.”
“Goodness, why are you like this, Prince? I don’t have time, Celest. Give it to me?”
Daphne reached out her arm, but Celestian’s hand holding the ticket rose higher. Eventually, they both stood in a standoff, with Daphne extending both arms upward in an attempt to reach the ticket.
“This damn height difference!”
Daphne suddenly realized her predicament and corrected her posture. She tried to kick him in the shin, but Celestian withdrew his leg faster.
He looked at her forehead as if she were cute, then laughed.
“You give up too easily.”
Daphne clenched her fist and punched his chest loudly.
“…Ow.”
Celestian grabbed her hand with his other hand. Daphne seized the opportunity to grab the ticket, but she failed.
“Celestian Theriosa, you’re insufferable. Give it to me!”
“Ow.”
“My fist hurts more. Is my body made of rocks?”
“Why do you always have this habit of kicking and raising your fist?”
“It’s all mine. Even my habits are mine, so why should I give them to others? If you don’t like it, you do it.”
As if they were the only two in the gambling hall, the onlookers watched the two argue back and forth. One gambler, holding a bag of money, whispered to Colin.
“Colin, are those two a couple?”
“Yes, it seems so.”
“Are they having a lovers’ quarrel?”
“Yes, it seems so! The gentleman has been waiting for the lady.”
Colin’s response was still confident and bold.
“Tsk tsk, it’s obvious even without looking. He must have been driven out by his wife for being immature.”
A smiling spectator leaned in and shouted to the couple.
“Hey, you two. Why don’t you book a room instead? It’s so obvious, dear. If the gentleman has some spare money, it seems he can afford to check in!”
“What are you talking about?”
Daphne, who was about to hit Celestian again, was astonished.
“How convenient. No wonder the gentleman has been staring at the lady since earlier.”
“Are they married?”
“I’m single!”
Daphne, with widened eyes, showed her empty ring finger.
“Marriage isn’t something the crown prince has to do, they can do it together. Go and conquer a ship or something. I’ll even offer some congratulations here at the hotel.”
The subsequent teasing made Daphne want to scream. Instead of screaming, she wanted to shake the necks of the old men who were teasing her and laughing along!
Feeling more embarrassed than angry at the obvious mockery, she wanted to shake her own neck as well.
“Would you, Daphne?”
Daphne turned her head quickly to look at Celestian.
“Conquer a ship and occupy it…”
He was sitting in a bar chair now, looking up at her from a lower height than Daphne, laughing softly.
“Shall we get married?”
