Chapter 40
A Surface-Level Relationship
Celestian styled his hair just as Maril had done for him last time, combing half of his bangs to the side.
The black suit and white gloves fit him perfectly, and the deep navy silk tie was a color he found satisfying. As he expertly adjusted the knot, a voice popped into his mind.
“Hmm.”
It was Daphne’s voice, from when he had lied about not knowing how to tie a tie. She had patiently walked him through the steps, her nagging making up half of the instructions. Surprisingly, he hadn’t minded it.
“I suppose I’ll have to ask her to do it for me.”
He glanced at his reflection in the mirror, chuckled lightly, and pulled the tie loose again before leaving the room.
The hallway, empty until moments ago, now had a few people bustling about, likely preparing for the event. Despite their black attire, their ostentatious accessories made them resemble preening peacocks.
“Oh my.”
One lady who locked eyes with Celestian quickly raised her lace fan to her lips.
“He’s the traitor.”
She had spoken softly, but Celestian’s sharp ears caught it loud and clear. Perhaps because it was about him, the words registered even more clearly.
Smiling faintly, Celestian nodded in greeting, as if nothing had ever happened. The group quickly turned to murmur among themselves.
“Aren’t they tired of this yet?”
He brushed his hand under his ear, a habitual motion, as sunlight poured through a server’s opened door. The sudden brightness tickled his nose, and he felt like he might sneeze.
Daphne was there, as promised, seated on a terrace overlooking the horizon. Her posture was haughty, but her face was not as expressionless as usual. Her brows were slightly furrowed.
“Daphne.”
Celestian shaded her forehead with his hand, though it was unnecessary as his shadow already covered her.
Whether it was because of the shade or his presence, Daphne’s expression softened.
For a moment, her golden eyes disappeared under her faintly folding eyelids. Celestian waited for her next words.
“I told you not to look down at me.”
“Huh?”
Her unexpected comment made Celestian’s mind pause briefly. Daphne gestured to the seat across from her.
“Sit down. My neck hurts.”
“Haha.”
Shaking his head with a smile, Celestian instead sat right next to her on the two-seater bench. The sudden proximity made the space feel cramped. Daphne wrinkled her nose.
“That’s not the seat I meant. I told you to sit over there…”
“We’re surface-level lovers, aren’t we?”
Though he didn’t explicitly include “we,” Daphne understood what he meant. She scratched her cheek with her fingernail.
“We’re not even in any kind of contract.”
“It’s something more than that, Daphne.”
Celestian reached for the whiskey a server had just placed in front of him, but Daphne nudged his thigh with her knee.
“Don’t drink it. If you mess up again, I’ll throw you overboard.”
“What kind of mess-up?”
Celestian briefly recalled his words at the nameless hotel when he had asked, “Shall we get married?”
“Oh.”
He smirked slightly but didn’t touch the drink again.
Daphne wrinkled her nose at him once more. Back then, he hadn’t been drunk or mistaken, but if she wanted to believe otherwise, he didn’t mind.
“You’d throw me overboard? I doubt you have the strength for that.”
“Oh? Are you mocking me, Prince?”
When Daphne tilted her head quizzically, Celestian mimicked her gesture. The move made her visibly flinch, and she shifted slightly to give him more space on the bench.
As Daphne tossed her braid over her shoulder, the ribbon tying it loosened a bit more. Celestian instinctively reached toward her shoulder but stopped mid-motion. Just then, Daphne turned her head.
“Planning to assassinate me?”
“What?”
Her tone was light and teasing, and her golden eyes sparkled mischievously. Caught off guard, Celestian pulled his hand back slightly.
“If you want to touch, just say so.”
“……”
“It was a joke. Don’t get so serious.”
Without makeup, Daphne’s face looked softer, and her slightly flushed cheeks suggested she’d spent some time exposed to the sea breeze.
“Well, as it happens, I need help. Tie it again for me.”
Daphne turned to face forward, giving him an unspoken invitation. Resigned, Celestian bit off one of his gloves and set to work on her hair.
“How many more surprises will there be…”
A faint rose-lavender scent wafted from her hair. Holding the smooth, cherry-red strands, Celestian fought back the urge to press his lips to them.
*****
Celestian carefully finished tying Daphne’s hair and adjusted it neatly before letting the braid fall gently over her shoulder. Daphne, her posture straight, surveyed the cluster of nobles in black on the white deck below.
Her gaze swept over the aristocrats and royals scattered across the ship’s stern like surveillance cameras. Many of them wouldn’t care in the slightest about Celestian’s status as a “traitor.”
“Haven’t they seen anything beautiful before?”
The stares cast in their direction were blatantly filled with ulterior motives.
“They’re not gawking because he’s a traitor, but because he’s handsome. Probably plotting how to get closer to him.”
For a moment, Daphne seriously considered slapping a mask onto Celestian’s face.
Celestian, seemingly unaware of the attention, brushed his fingers over Daphne’s silken hair again before letting it fall forward.
“Thanks.”
“That’s it? Such a short thank-you?”
Celestian raised one of his dotted brows in mock complaint. Daphne smiled faintly and corrected herself.
“Thank you.”
Looking at his face under such dangerously romantic weather only made things worse. She’d almost run up to him and thrown her arms around him when she saw him walking directly toward her, ignoring everyone else.
Daphne’s gaze drifted to the seat Romeo had occupied earlier, and a peculiar thought came to her.
“If those two fought, who would win?”
When Celestian had first been reinstated, the debate between “sword versus gun” was often used to describe them.
“Swords can’t beat guns, right?”
As her mind wandered, Daphne found herself watching Celestian. The cliché pairing of the male lead and the secondary male lead came to mind, something she had grown tired of hearing.
“Celestian Theriosa.”
Though she spoke softly, Celestian was close enough to hear her. He didn’t respond immediately, lowering his gaze out of habit and crossing his legs. Daphne tapped his thigh with her fingers.
“Celestian.”
“Hmm?”
This time, his response came quickly, along with his gaze. Daphne noted a subtle difference in his reaction, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
“If you fought Romeo, who’d win?”
Celestian’s expression turned quizzical, as though he didn’t understand the question’s purpose.
“It’s just a straightforward question.”
“That depends on the circumstances.”
“Let’s put it bluntly: a fight to the death. Only one can walk away alive.”
Celestian mulled over her words in silence before raising his eyebrows slightly and curling his lips into a smirk.
“What do you think?”
“You’d lose.”
Gold can’t beat black. Green eyes can’t defeat gold.
Despite her blunt dismissal, Celestian didn’t seem offended. On the contrary, his relaxed expression deepened, and he leaned an elbow on the table, propping his chin with his hand.
“Would you like that?”
“…What kind of answer is that?”
“Depending on what you’d prefer, I might let him win.”
The sheer confidence of his reply was staggering.
In her mind, Daphne placed the two men in a dusty boxing ring, pitting them against each other. She didn’t respond, so Celestian continued in a playful tone.
“Even if Romeo came at me with everything he had, I wouldn’t tire.”
“What’s with this confidence?”
A memory of the boxing gym she used to visit for stress relief flashed through her mind. There were few fighters who didn’t tire eventually.
“If the fight drags on, Romeo will wear out first, increasing his chances of losing.”
Daphne blinked. She was tempted to point out that the male lead never loses in the end, her lips twitching slightly at the thought.
“How can you be so sure when you’ve never fought him?”
Yet, her imagination painted a vivid picture of Celestian raising his hand in victory, blood dripping from his lips, while Romeo lay sprawled on the floor. She found the mental image oddly satisfying.
“I’m his brother. I know all his weaknesses.”
“You haven’t lived under the same roof, though. I still think you’d lose.”
“Yet it seems like you just imagined me winning.”
Celestian tapped his cheek with his fingers, grinning. Daphne realized she’d been smiling without knowing and quickly straightened her expression.
“I was laughing at the thought of Romeo losing, not because of you.”
Celestian’s sea-colored eyes gleamed with amusement as he stretched an arm behind Daphne’s seat. Though the gesture was casual, it felt deeply inappropriate.
“What, does me smiling make you think we’re close now? Move your hand.”
“We’re surface-level lovers, remember? And we’re not exactly strangers.”
Daphne’s sharp retort was betrayed by the smile she couldn’t quite suppress.
“Should I pretend not to notice and just lean in once?”
Hesitating briefly, she made a bold decision and leaned against his side. The move elicited a soft grunt from Celestian.
“Ow.”
“Oh, sorry.”
Just then, a sailor announced that they were approaching the Arcas Strait for a brief stop.
“It’s been a while.”
Celestian muttered as if reading Daphne’s thoughts. Startled, she turned to look at him, only to see his lips, close enough that she almost bumped her forehead into his.
For a moment, she considered asking how he knew, but the words caught in her throat. He must’ve visited Arcas often. Still, the word “a while” made her uneasy.
Suddenly, Daphne remembered something.
“I just remembered.”
She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart.
“Remembered what?”
“That you’re right. We’ve met before.”
A memory she had inexplicably forgotten surfaced, and Daphne straightened her back, turning fully toward Celestian. Sunlight streaming from the sky illuminated his platinum hair like a halo.
“Right?”
