“Episode 34”
“Prince Malmejal Teriossa.”
Daphne slowly blinked her eyes open and closed. The speed of her blinking eyelashes gradually increased.
Feeling embarrassed at having lost her words due to her confusion, Celestian raised his hand to cover her mouth.
“Are you… insane?”
As her red lips moved, a faint whimper escaped. With a gulp, she straightened her neck and pushed his arm away with the back of her hand.
“Maybe a little?”
With his chin resting on his hand, Celestian looked languid. Daphne, rolling her eyes around, noticed a glass on his elbow.
“So that’s it.”
Upon closer inspection, she noticed that Celestian’s cheeks were flushed.
“You’ve been drinking.”
“A little.”
Not only was he staying at a hotel near where Psyche’s wedding was taking place, but he had also dyed his hair a color similar to Romeo’s. And now he was even proposing to any random woman after getting drunk.
“He finally escaped, only to end up indulging in gambling.”
She was sure that when she was lying down, Psyche would have rejected him again. The escapade of a disappointed prince was both amusing and poignant. Without saying more, Daphne quickly turned away.
“Where are you going?”
Celestian grabbed the hem of her dress.
“Let go.”
“Where are you going?”
“Oh, give me a break. I’m really late. I have to swim if I have to. If I get stuck in the ship’s propeller, I’ll blame you for it.”
Daphne grabbed his warm hand to remove it, but his hand, firmly fixed on the railing, didn’t budge easily. Daphne’s expression became strange as she wondered why this man was acting this way.
“When did you become so friendly with Psyche?”
“Psyche?”
Daphne naturally remembered Psyche’s bold first impression. It couldn’t be said when exactly. Even though she was a bad Daphne who unilaterally harassed others, it was Psyche who approached her, saying she liked her.
“Do you understand if I tell you?”
“Why? You dislike Psyche.”
“I don’t dislike her. A pretty girl wants to be friends with me, so there’s no need for me to refuse. And from now on, every question mark is worth a million liens, Your Highness. Will you let go?”
After a shallow breath, Celestian stood up from his seat. Daphne climbed the stairs like a prisoner eagerly awaiting her release. Celestian quietly followed behind her.
“He acts like he doesn’t want to go, but he follows anyway.”
It didn’t take long to reach the harbor. Citizens waving the symbol flag of Secradion were seen bidding farewell to the cruise ship.
Daphne suddenly looked back. Right behind her, under the scorching sun and breaking waves, Celestian’s expression had become very dark. He was furrowing his brows and frowning deeply as he placed his palm on his forehead.
It was exactly as Daphne had imagined a few days ago. Except instead of golden hair like moonlight, it was black hair.
The royal family finally made a belated move for Psyche’s wedding.
All the schedules Daphne Viewcater had arranged for the future princess were changed in a matter of hours.
“On the first day, let’s hold a memorial reception for the late Queen Mother. Then we can proceed with the wedding ceremony. How does that sound?”
Of course, Romeo protested vehemently, but the royal families did not back down easily. At times like this, it was the duty of Psyche’s maternal relatives to support her, but they were absent.
“We might need to inform Miss Viewcater of this and get her opinion…”
“Miss Viewcater, Miss Viewcater. Why does everything revolve around Miss Viewcater? Was Miss Denver the daughter of a viscount?”
“Exactly. Anyone would think Miss Denver was the granddaughter of Viscount Viewcater and Lady Amber Green.”
“Stop causing trouble. This is something that even the Green family, who were the ancestors of the former queen, would find unacceptable. To take away her clothes and now her seat, it seems they intend to take everything from her.”
Late last night, Psyche found herself cornered for that reason. She finally decided to “respect” their decision with her head bowed and eyes downcast.
Thus, with the wedding postponed by a day, Romeo would return late after having a bachelor party with his navy or close friends.
Psyche anxiously stared at the door of the special guest room, which seemed to be twice her height, as she gathered her hands on her thighs.
“It’s almost time to set sail.”
Whatever happened, everything was fine. As Daphne said, dwelling too deeply on bad things only harmed one’s mental health.
But from the moment Psyche boarded the ship, she hadn’t seen the friend she had been waiting for.
A face with beautiful red hair tied neatly, a face that would smile brightly and extend her hand whenever she spotted Psyche.
There was no response on the invitation sent to Daphne’s share of Viewcater Manor.
“Could it be that they forgot about the schedule and dress code? Are they upset that things changed without their consent?”
Such thoughts flickered in her mind.
When she asked Romeo’s sleeve, he smiled slightly, with a face somewhat similar to Daphne’s, and replied simply and clearly, “She’ll be here soon.”
Psyche stood up abruptly. She didn’t want to wait any longer. She needed to find Daphne and talk to her, even if it meant searching the entire ship. She felt it was her fault. Maybe she should have been a bit firmer.
“A wedding on board. It’s an outrageously luxurious wedding.”
“Well, originally it was supposed to be Rodriguez and Green’s wedding, so it fits.”
“Marrying into the royal family without even a penny of dowry from the Marquis’s heiress.”
“Dowry? Didn’t Miss Viewcater provide that?”
“Oh my, really? Why would Miss Viewcater distribute something like that for Miss Denver?”
“No, one face is half and half…”
Psyche was caught in the voices that came to mind and hesitated to sit down. She couldn’t help but think about what kind of gossip she might hear if the future princess, who was more important than the daughter of the Marquis, roamed around before the ceremony.
“The formal attire on the first day should be black out of respect for the late queen mother. It wouldn’t be too late to hold the wedding on the second day, right?”
The elders of the royal family were truly “Terryosas” above all else.
Psyche couldn’t understand why she had to accommodate Romeo’s mother at her own wedding, but their stubbornness was so strong that she couldn’t even find a chance to argue. They were even more stubborn than Prince Romeo himself.
She felt a little guilty for not being able to push back against their stubborn opinions, considering she would soon be a princess herself. Knowing that Daphne would not be disappointed with her this time either, she felt a bit of guilt for not being able to resist the elders’ stubbornness and pushback as forcefully as her friend would.
“You don’t have to feel sorry for something that’s not your fault. If you really want to, you can apologize after starting the fight.”
Psyche bowed her head and flicked the hem of her black dress adorned with split pearls. It was the sixth dress out of the twelve dresses Daphne had bought for her.
“Daphne wouldn’t miss this.”
Golden hair cascaded over Psyche’s cheek as she spoke softly. Suddenly, Celestian Teriossa came to mind.
“Did he disappear, and won’t he come?”
Such a strange and absurd thought choked her throat.
—
The tall man with a head taller than the others, with his black hair, was fervently following the woman’s footsteps through the crowd.
“Daphne, you don’t have to attend. Do you really have to ride this?”
The entrance door to the first-class section was closing. Daphne became anxious, hearing Celestian’s words with one ear and ignoring them with the other.
“This whole interior is my hotel. If the owner doesn’t ride, who will?”
“That’s possible. You can ride next time.”
Daphne looked at Celestian with a look that demanded him to make sense. He seemed strangely anxious.
“What did you hear earlier, Your Highness? I’m really going to swim if I have to.”
“As far as I know, you hate the sea.”
His voice, now considerably lower, was trembling slightly. Daphne didn’t think she misheard due to the noise around her.
“What nonsense. I go to Larugo Beach for vacation every summer.”
Daphne crossed her arms as if she were about to throw off her dress at any moment.
Daphne, who valued social etiquette more than anyone else, knew that she wouldn’t undress or jump into the dangerous sea here. But Celestian, startled, gently grabbed her arm.
“You can’t swim.”
“You?”
“That’s… ”
There was no need to ask how he knew. Being from the upper echelons of society, Prince Celestian knew that royals and noble ladies avoided risky sports due to the exorbitant value of their lives. And ever since the accident, Daphne’s legs had stiffened like logs whenever she entered the water.
“You’d regret it if you died. But it’s my choice and my destiny, so it doesn’t matter.”
She spoke calmly, her ruby-red hair cascading down to her chest.
“Daphne.”
His earnest call made Daphne’s stomach flutter.
“Don’t call my name. I was… until yesterday, you…”
Daphne raised her hand and grabbed Celestian’s shirt around his neck.
“I was going to strangle you if I found you. Your Highness, you’re kneeling down and apologizing wouldn’t be enough.”
Celestian didn’t flinch or panic. He just lowered his eyes, looked at the floor, and nodded slightly.
“Don’t follow me. I said I’ll jump, and if you say anything else, I’ll throw you into the sea first.”
Daphne turned around without hesitation. She stretched her torso to look at the stern of the “Page-Renée.” Realistically, jumping into the vast ocean where the large ship floated was nothing more than suicidal.
It was a gamble. Whether he would leave her alone to jump into this sea, or…
“I was wrong.”
Would he resist?
Celestian chewed on his lips, then took out two boarding passes from his trouser pocket. The gleaming gold embossing seemed to congratulate Daphne’s victory.
Daphne smiled slyly and reached out to grab it.
“Instead, let’s go together.”
As he withdrew his hand, the target disappeared again. Daphne’s swaying body leaned boldly toward Celestian, who did not dodge, but instead embraced her without avoiding her.
From a very close distance, their emerald-green eyes and star-like pupils met.
“I wanted to do that from the beginning.”
Straightening her body, Daphne grabbed Celestian’s large hand and led him to the entrance of the third-class cabin. Her cheerful laughter rang out like a clear bell.
