Chapter 39
What Celestian Is Good At
A man wearing a crisp suit with a blue sapphire pin on his tie sat next to Daphne, sliding a glass of water toward her.
Even without turning her head, his dignified demeanor was unmistakably royal.
“Dedee.”
His jet-black hair was neatly combed, gleaming like obsidian under the sunlight. Despite being in the sun, his skin remained as pale as a corpse. The dimples in his cheeks, oddly mismatched with his intimidatingly handsome features, were maddening.
“You’re attempting regicide, you know.”
Romeo muttered under his breath as he grabbed one side of Daphne’s hair. The ribbon Celestian had tied was barely holding together, and Daphne tilted her head in the direction of Romeo’s grip to prevent it from coming undone.
“Your Highness, would you kindly ease up on your delicate cousin’s hair?”
“Explain why you’re late first.”
Romeo ignored her comment. Daphne crossed her arms and glared up at her towering cousin. If she resisted, it would only amuse him more, which was precisely what he wanted.
“Don’t be petty. The invitation was missing.”
“That’s impossible.”
As Daphne predicted, Romeo quickly lost interest, releasing her hair and muttering under his breath.
“Wasn’t this your doing?”
“Why would it be?”
Romeo looked genuinely puzzled. Daphne narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him.
“Have you eaten?”
“Hungry?”
“You seem to have completely forgotten our lunch appointment.”
Romeo smirked as the memory of their planned meal—arranged out of some notion of sibling duty—finally dawned on him.
“I’m telling you, the invitation really wasn’t there.”
At her words, Romeo chuckled, his dimples deepening.
“And yet, you managed to get in.”
“Is there anything I can’t do?”
“Hm, kill me, perhaps?”
Daphne nearly choked on her water. Who says that at their own wedding?
“It’s not that I can’t, I just won’t. I have too much to lose.”
Daphne met Romeo’s gaze as he smiled at her, eyes full of mischief.
“You jerk. Are you finding this amusing?”
“Cousin, did you just call His Majesty a jerk?”
“Woof, woof. So, is it funny or not?”
“Absolutely.”
Romeo rested his chin on his hand, blinking lazily. It was a gesture eerily reminiscent of Celestian. If Daphne had made slightly different choices, Romeo might have been the groom today. She cleared her throat deliberately.
“My wife has been eagerly waiting for you. Why not go see her?”
“Right, Psyche…”
Psyche was probably a nervous wreck by now, waiting for Daphne to arrive and blaming herself for the delay.
“No doubt about it.”
Daphne sighed heavily.
“And yet, you somehow ‘lost’ my invitation?”
“I told you, it wasn’t me.”
“And I’m supposed to believe that?”
“If it was missing, why didn’t you come to the palace? If someone really did steal it, knowing your temper, you’d have stormed in and flipped the entire kingdom upside down. Why didn’t you?”
Now that she thought about it, the invitation had only arrived two days ago. Normally, she’d have marched straight to Romeo’s palace and demanded answers.
“I just assumed I’d get in anyway.”
“You’re the one who insisted on no exceptions.”
“Did you enjoy your ‘Daphne Beaucater’ parade?”
“Oh, I happily let the first ‘Daphne Beaucater’ onboard.”
Daphne’s jaw dropped.
“You—ugh! Go get your head checked, cousin.”
“Hearing that from someone as crazy as you doesn’t sting much. Shall we go together?”
If she nodded, he might actually take her to a mental asylum by swimming across the ocean. Instead, Daphne shook her head and popped a green grape into her mouth.
“You get all flustered when someone calls Psyche crazy. You like it, don’t you?”
“You’re the same when someone says your brother’s crazy.”
No rebuttal. Daphne raised an eyebrow in surrender.
“If I hadn’t managed to get in, Psyche would’ve yanked every strand of hair from your head.”
“My wife would never do that to me.”
“You really don’t know Psyche, do you?”
“Do I need to? In love, it’s sometimes better not to know everything. If she knew all about me, she’d probably want to run away again.”
Frankly, Daphne couldn’t argue with that either.
But hearing Romeo say the word love made a shiver run down her spine.
“Cousin, I feel so wronged.”
“And what, pray tell, are you so wronged about now?”
Daphne stabbed her fork into her salad and stared at him. Romeo, looking genuinely aggrieved, pouted slightly.
“Well, I…”
Daphne pulled a sour face and tossed an olive at him. Romeo caught it easily, setting it back on the table without retaliation.
“You’re so unpredictable, Dedee. That’s what makes you more fun. I never thought you’d gamble, let alone bring along your ‘brother-in-law.’”
“What? Did you spy on me too?”
Romeo shrugged, his nonchalant attitude so familiar that Daphne could only shake her head in resignation.
“So, he was always planning to let me board, but only after making sure I’d play by his rules.”
Daphne sighed deeply, erasing the assumption that Romeo had stolen her invitation in the first place.
“I cried, you know. In third class.”
“I heard. Something about cutting out the one you love. Truly heartbreaking.”
“How do we arrange to never see each other again? Should I seek asylum in a duchy? Or maybe actually marry into the Empire?”
“I’ll make sure to turn you into an international criminal first.”
“Amen.”
Daphne clasped her hands together in mock prayer.
“Are you suddenly that eager to become a criminal that you’ve found new faith?”
“What are you on about? Thanks to you, my moral compass just died en masse and went straight to heaven.”
Her soft tone contrasted with her biting words, making Romeo laugh heartily.
When he’d invited her to eat, she’d foolishly thought they’d enjoy a peaceful meal. But it seemed Romeo’s primary intent was to torment her. Even dogs are left undisturbed while they eat, yet here she was, sipping lime soda with her appetite utterly ruined.
“Did you like my reply?”
“Your reply… Oh.”
Daphne remembered the note that had perfectly transcribed her bitter words from third class in elegant handwriting.
The thought of the royal guards and navy officers acting as her cousin’s eyes and ears sent a chill down her spine. Daphne raised her middle finger with a sweet smile.
“Screw you.”
Romeo matched her gesture with a smirk.
“I’m glad you liked the gift, though. It’s nice to see you wearing it.”
“Romeo Issuin Rodriguez, Crown Prince. Why are you so chatty today? Isn’t this supposed to be your wedding day? And unless I’m mistaken, your bride is Psyche, not me.”
“……”
“This is exactly why people keep misunderstanding and thinking there’s something going on between us.”
Daphne coolly pointed out, jabbing her fork into the table with a dramatic flourish.
“Is the adrenaline rush from becoming a married man making you hyper? Can I eat in peace now, dear brother?”
“Of course, sister.”
Romeo finally fell silent, leaving Daphne fuming at his earlier antics.
“Princess.”
Romeo’s sudden address made Daphne grit her teeth.
“What, ‘princess’?”
She mimicked the nickname mockingly, but Romeo remained unfazed.
“Did you bring him along?”
“Obviously.”
She wouldn’t miss the chance to see Celestian quietly observing the heroine marrying another man. The mere thought of it sent shivers down her spine.
“I might borrow him later.”
“Celestian? Why?”
“I’m hosting a bachelor party.”
A bachelor party full of the dimwits from the royal club.
“Not that complicated, really.”
Attending such an event by the crown prince’s invitation would solidify Celestian’s ambiguous position, leading to future invitations to various royal functions. It wasn’t a bad deal for Daphne either.
“I’m curious. How did the schedule get rearranged this time?”
“We’re in the memorial party phase now. It’s to honor my mother. Afterward, the bachelor party. The wedding is tomorrow.”
“…What?”
Daphne’s golden eyes widened in disbelief.
A memorial party for a queen who’d passed away years ago, held during what should be the one and only wedding ceremony? The absurdity of it defied all logic.
“It was those fools, wasn’t it?”
Romeo nodded, and Daphne gulped down her drink in frustration.
“To hell with the royal family. Just die already.”
A parade of irritating faces flitted through her mind—people of lower rank, or with no titles at all, who had the audacity to look down on her.
Wasn’t there even a rumor that she’d seduced an old man to inherit her title?
“Well, I guess that’s not entirely untrue.”
Daphne had, after all, been fortunate in her choice of a godfather.
“But a memorial party during a wedding? This from the people who called my aunt a greedy demon.”
Leeches living off royal privileges without paying taxes, their lavish lifestyles funded by the national treasury.
And they seemed determined to harass Psyche, who worked harder than anyone else, to the point of obsession.
“Unbelievable. And you just let it happen?”
“My father insisted. Orders are orders.”
“The way he’s parroting my tone…”
Daphne froze for a moment at Romeo’s imitation of her casual language, then chuckled slightly.
“I’m just wondering when your father will finally pass on.”
She thought of her uncle, whose pallor grew more ashen by the day. His condition didn’t seem promising.
Romeo smirked, knocking an olive across the table with his finger.
“Do you know that’s treason?”
“What do you mean, dear cousin? I’m merely concerned for his health. As I said, I have too much to lose to take unnecessary risks.”
“I still don’t get why you saved him.”
“Think of it as love. I couldn’t help it.”
“Your nonsense gets more ridiculous by the day.”
“Rhetoric is my specialty, Your Highness.”
Daphne cut him off, stacking her empty plates neatly before taking a sip of the water he’d poured earlier.
“Send him to me later, then go see Psyche.”
“You always make me clean up your messes.”
“Once again, I haven’t made any messes, dear cousin.”
At least he only blamed her when it involved Psyche. She supposed that was a small mercy.
Inwardly, Daphne admitted she appreciated that Romeo wasn’t some unhinged warlord or lunatic.
“Not that he isn’t an obsessive male lead, though!”
But Psyche’s beauty made such behavior almost understandable.
“So, who dealt with the fallout from saving a traitor? Oh, right, your dear cousin.”
It had been Romeo who silenced the dissenting royals.
“True. Why are you so cooperative, oh future king?”
“Let’s just say Psyche’s pointless fondness for you works in your favor.”
Even if Romeo spent hours flattering Psyche, she would melt at a single word from Daphne.
“Oh, are you jealous?”
Romeo didn’t answer.
“I was planning to go anyway, but now I don’t feel like it because you asked. What’s in it for me?”
Daphne leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms and legs in a haughty gesture.
“You’ll gain more than you’ll lose, businesswoman Daphne. Now, prepare your dear brother-in-law.”
“What exactly are you doing at this bachelor party?”
Romeo tapped his nail against the table, then glanced over Daphne’s shoulder with an odd expression. She turned to see members of the royal club smirking in their direction.
“What Celestian is good at.”
