“Episode 54”
Romeo sat down next to her without further ado, and as he took out a cigarette case, Daphne intervened.
“Don’t smoke.”
“Why?”
“Smoke from over there will blow into my face.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Plus, your sister doesn’t seem to be in a good mood today. How about going back to your wife?”
Daphne looked back to see if he had come with someone. Not a single ant was in sight.
“Did you come alone?”
“My wife isn’t a child.”
“She seems like one to me. She’ll be like that for the rest of her life.”
“Oh, did you give birth to my wife?”
Seeing her flesh and blood being dissected in front of her eyes felt awful. Daphne and Romeo were familiar enough to spit on each other’s faces.
Moreover, now Romeo had escaped from the wedding market. Psiche was the same. They would soon have a child, and after that…
“Ugh, what a headache.”
Daphne couldn’t fathom what crazy nonsense might be thrown at her next.
While Daphne was narrowing her eyebrows seriously, Romeo was grinning as if he was in a good mood.
“Romeo, you’re drunk.”
“It’s possible. It’s my wedding after all.”
Daphne finally relaxed her expression and smiled.
“Congratulations on your marriage.”
“….”
“You’ve been through a lot. You’ll have to work harder in the future, too. Don’t pretend not to know when you become king.”
Despite being partially absent-minded for years, her cousin had been even more absent-minded due to being in love.
However, as the “crown prince,” he always maintained his dignity and decorum. He always had to hide his nervousness and various thoughts behind a noble facade, even in front of the woman he loved.
Even in front of her.
“It’s just putting on airs. If I put it bluntly, it’s just arrogance, but…”
So, this relaxed demeanor was probably only seen by Psiche.
Daphne didn’t mind that he was finally relaxing and grinning at her.
“Why are you so relaxed today? Have you developed a new belief or something?”
At Daphne’s casual question, Romeo stared at her intently.
“What are you looking at?”
After a moment of hesitation, Romeo laughed softly. His golden eyes wandered towards the sea for a moment.
“Are you imitating your brother?”
Romeo grinned. His gaze returned to Daphne.
“What do you mean?”
“Sometimes you and your brother act similarly. In speech, for example.”
“We’re very close. We sleep together every day.”
This time, suspicion returned to his eyes.
“Stop glaring.”
“Oh, our sister is really in love.”
Daphne quietly interjected.
“Couldn’t the one who knows stop the accomplice?”
“It was beyond my authority. Did you come here to protest? You’re not yourself.”
Romeo’s guess was completely off, but he caught on to her hesitancy as quickly as she did.
“This wedding was actually…”
“Actually?”
‘The thought that it might have been Celestian’s wedding was so horrifying.’
Daphne coughed out of sheer frustration at the absurd thought that had just occurred to her. Then she shook her head and gave a different answer.
“Who’s going to play with me now? I feel sad. Will you understand the heart of a woman who lost her best friend?”
“Oh, I see.”
As Romeo leaned forward as if he were going to disappear, Daphne recoiled.
“You were a woman, too.”
She was just trying to sit more comfortably.
“Do you want to be the leader of the good days…?”
Daphne stopped pushing Romeo like a child and crossed her legs, thinking deeply. Romeo placed the cigarette case on the chair after fumbling with it a few times.
“Did you say congratulations?”
“I did earlier.”
“I didn’t hear.”
Daphne sighed and then smiled.
“Are you talking about the end of the contract? Congratulations. I bought a gift for myself. I hope His Royal Highness keeps all his promises to me.”
The bizarre contract between Daphne and Romeo had come to an end today.
But this contract was aimed at “keeping Daphne and Celestian alive.” It didn’t seem necessary to bind such a thing with a contract, but that’s what she thought.
“My sister says you’re breaking your promises.”
Romeo added jokingly. Daphne looked at him with eyes full of curses.
He smiled, seemingly satisfied with the response he wanted.
Daphne didn’t react any further and returned to her thoughts.
She remembered Celestian trying to strangle himself in that narrow corridor. He might have been trying to strangle her out of anger.
‘Whatever it is, if it weren’t for Psiche, I wouldn’t have made it this far.’
It could have been Celestian who fed her to the alligators, not the angry “Romeo.”
Daphne squeezed her hands together in infinite gratitude to Psiche, allowing herself to momentarily close her eyes.
“Alligator.”
“What?”
Daphne visibly jolted. Romeo gestured below the railing with his chin.
“It’s not a dolphin?”
“Why don’t you want to go down and see for yourself? You liked reptiles, didn’t you?”
“I only liked snakes. I’ve never seen an alligator, and I’m scared.”
“You’re scared of something too.”
“Aren’t you scared? Your face would be scary at night too. Psiche is amazing. She’s surprisingly brave, isn’t she?”
Daphne chuckled and turned her head sideways.
‘Oh.’
Romeo’s expression returned to its usual state. With an inscrutable face, he smiled with one cheek deeply dimpled.
Daphne hesitated, feeling a creepy sensation, and backed away slightly. But Romeo just sat there silently, like a smiling doll.
‘Is he kidding?’
Thanks to him, Daphne could once again think about where Celestian might be and what he might be doing now.
‘Is he perhaps in some kind of underground prison?’
She had looked at the ship’s blueprint several times, but such a place didn’t exist.
