Please Don’t Come To The Villainess’ Stationery Store!

Surprisingly, it wasn’t only the lord of the magic tower who was interested in Meldenik’s stationery shop in the outskirts.

There was another child whose heart raced at the thought of this stationery shop. It was the little kid who Meldenik had treated to a slushie, the shop’s first customer.

The boy rubbed his head while pacing back and forth in his room.

“Steward.”

“Yes, Your Highness, the Prince.”

“When can I go out? I think I need to go to my brother!”

The blond-haired, blue-eyed kid, whom Meldenik had treated for a scraped knee, was actually Prince Axion.

He was the youngest prince of the royal palace and the only survivor, apart from Cassian, who was expected to become the Crown Prince.

Axion pressed his chubby cheeks firmly while thinking seriously.

‘I can’t just sit around. I promised to meet Mel in style.’

But he was under house arrest until today.

After returning to the palace from Mel’s stationery shop, the ten-year-old boy had been scolded severely. After getting his leg treated again, he had to take a break from the academy due to the overprotective servants.

Fortunately, today, he was in the best condition after several days had passed.

“I’ve finished the potion, I want to go out!”

A few minutes later.

Prince Axion was just rushing through the palace corridors of his half-brother, Prince Cassian.

“I’m here, where is my brother?”

“Your Highness, it would be troublesome if you run like that!”

The prince slowed down as he hastily responded to his servant’s urgent words.

“Is my brother inside?”

“He is in the living room.”

“I see, thank you!”

Bang!

The living room door was nearly broken open by the swiftly running Axion.

Cassian, the Second Prince, who was sipping chamomile tea, looked at his younger half-brother, the Eighth Prince Axion, with a puzzled expression.

“Axion, what made you run here? I heard you were sick.”

Oh, right, I was supposed to be sick!

But that’s not important at all!

Axion puffed up his chubby cheeks and shook his head vigorously.

“No, brother! I’m all better now. But more importantly…”

As the prince spoke, the boy’s round cheeks turned rosy. Axion even twisted his body and made a triangle with his mouth.

Cassian, feeling an ominous premonition, cautiously asked.

“…Did you happen to cause some trouble?”

Axion shook his head hard and shouted.

“No!”

It really wasn’t trouble.

Axion had been surprisingly well-behaved recently, to the shock of the maids and servants.

And that was because recently, there had been only one person on Axion’s mind.

That person was…

“Brother, I’ve found a girl I want to marry!”

Hearing the bold words of his ten-year-old brother, Cassian almost spat out his tea.

Marry, what are you talking about?

Axion, who was fifteen years younger, was in a situation where even Cassian did not have a fiancee determined.

However, seeing the sparkling eyes of his younger brother, it was not something he could simply dismiss.

Cassian stumbled to answer with a bright smile towards the boy.

“Fi… Finally, spring has come for you too.”

“Yes. She’s really pretty. The best for marriage.”

The prince, having composed himself, smiled warmly and patted his brother’s head.

There was no reason to overreact to children’s play-pretend.

“Really? A friend from the academy? I guess I’ll see her at the upcoming debutante.”

“No. She’s older.”

“Older?”

“Yes. I met her by chance and fell in love at first sight. She’s really smart. I will, I will make her my princess.”

The boy’s eyes widened.

Considering that his younger brother had already fallen in love for the first time, Cassian laughed refreshingly.

“I hope that can truly happen. How much older is she?”

Maybe three or four years older. So, about fifteen?

“About ten years older than me…? No, maybe fifteen?”

“Oh, fifteen years…”

Cassian, who initially nodded nonchalantly, was suddenly startled and asked.

“Wait, fifteen years older than you?”

That would make her at least twenty-five, right?

Prince Cassian was typically known for his kind face and unceasing smile.

But hearing his younger brother declare he would marry many women at fifteen, he couldn’t keep his composure.

“Yes! I don’t know her exact age. She’s a commoner. Her name is Mel. It’s a really, really pretty name, isn’t it?”

In that moment, Cassian almost spat out his tea.

…And she’s a commoner too?

Cassian opened his mouth towards Axion.

“Axion.”

“Yes, brother!”

Full of chivalry and a strong sense of justice, but once he catches a fish, he never lets it go. That’s the youngest prince, Axion.

But to be smitten with a commoner woman ten years his senior. Cassian thought it best he intervene.

“That… When you have time, I think it would be good for me to meet this commoner woman named Mel.”

“Yes! Mel invited me to visit the stationery store later! Let’s go together, brother!”

“Stationery store?”

“Yes! She said she’ll sell me lots of stuff! I’m really looking forward to it. We have so much in common!”

Cassian’s facial muscles tightened even more.

She’s going to sell lots of stuff?

…Could that woman be a swindler?

“Ah, and receive a birthday gift too! Mel praised my taste, brother!”

Cassian reluctantly nodded as he received the music box handed over by Prince Axion.

“It seems like a good birthday gift.”

“Yes. It’s a music box! You like it, right? Right, brother?”

Cassian nodded, looking at his younger brother, Prince Axion.

“Then, I’m happy with anything you give me.”

“Exactly! Mel said the same thing! Mel is truly a genius!”

Axion, thrilled, happily shook his body and danced. Watching his joyful younger sibling dance, Cassian felt conflicted.

Who exactly was this Mel woman who had captivated Axion and even got him to do this strange dance?

‘She must be a scam artist, right?’

And just then, Axion pulled something out from his generous pocket.

“Here, take this too, brother!”

“…?”

Inside a transparent bottle were what seemed like blue salt grains.

“Is this some kind of experiment from the academy?”

“No! Mel told me to give it to you. Mel said, it’s a grape-flavored drink made from unmeltable ice, a slushie! It stays cool forever!”

Indeed, the color was indeed a grape-ish purple upon closer inspection.

‘How could a mere commoner possess ice?’

Moreover, ice that doesn’t melt. Such a substance could only barely be created by the most remarkably powerful magicians even within the royal palace.

So, Cassian, even he had rarely seen such a thing…

“Try it, brother!”

Pressed by Axion, Cassian reluctantly took a sip.

The ice swiftly passed down his throat in an instant. It was a type of beverage he had never tasted before.

Though it was cold as it entered the mouth, there was a feeling of instantly soothing fatigue.

It was curiously sweet and delicious. The overwhelming stress that filled his body cooled down instantly, leaving a sweet taste in his mouth.

It was the first time tasting such a unique and strange beverage. But…

“Of course! You also find the slushie extremely delicious, brother! The corners of your mouth are subtly turning up!”

…Strangely, after drinking this beverage, a smile naturally formed around my lips.

Cassian, without realizing, took another sip of the slushie and lowered his eyes.

I couldn’t deny that it was a decent drink.

“I really should meet this person named Mel at least once.”

It would be good to meet them once all the heavy workloads assigned to me were completed.

“Yes, brother. Absolutely!”

Axion nodded his head vigorously as if it was about to fall off.

My younger brother, who was indifferent even to the Duke of Hesman whom everyone admires and longs for.

That he opened his heart so much to a commoner he met for the first time means one of two things.

Either the person is a real scammer, or they are genuinely talented. At the moment, the former seemed more likely.

Axion puffed his round cheeks and chuckled, “Hehe.”

“Mel wishes for all children to be happy! That’s why he came to the academy!”

Thinking of doing a business related to children.

He sounded like quite a decent person just by hearing about him. However, one should not pass judgment until meeting him in person.

Axion, the first customer at the stationery store, was laughing obliviously, unaware that he had triggered his brother’s suspicions.

Then, the door to the reception room opened.

“His Excellency, the Duke of Hesman, has arrived.”

Some time ago, Duke Hesman had requested a private meeting with me. He mentioned that he was planning to start a new business.

He subtly hinted that he hoped the royal palace would invest in his business.

Come to think of it… I had also heard that the Hesman trading company, which used to mainly target aristocrats and adults, had changed.

Just then, Axion twisted his mouth and shouted.

“Is that detestable duke coming?”

“Yes, Axion.”

“Ugh, I gotta go, brother!”

Axion, who particularly dislikes Lennox, pouted his lips and got up like the wind and left.