Sunlight poured into the tranquil knight commander’s office. The air in the room was warm, but the atmosphere between the commander and me was as cold as a frozen winter.
“No.”
I frowned at the sternness in the voice, which came after a long moment of poring over documents.
“Why is it?”
“If you want to increase your budget, fill your track record. You haven’t done that in two years already.”
“. . .”
I couldn’t argue back. I had no words. That man was right; the ‘Grievance Counseling Center’ hadn’t had results for the past two years. The name had long since faded from people’s minds because no one would come. The center was pitifully located in a small corner of the First Knight’s building without signage.
‘Whose fault is this?’ I wanted to thump my chest in frustration.
It was the commander who had brought the counseling center under his wing and was holding on to it instead of letting it fade naturally. But then he was like, “You can’t do this. You can’t do that.”
‘If you were going to act like that, why don’t you just let it fall apart?! Damned bastard.’
I looked at the commander as if I were looking at my mortal enemy. And it wasn’t a lie at all. That man and I were in a relationship you could call that of enemies or rivals.
“Just stop and leave.”
‘I was about to go out anyway!’ I spun around without saying goodbye. Even if you washed your eyes with bleach, you wouldn’t ever see me respecting my boss. It was my little revenge—a very petty one.
“Childish,” said Phil, my subordinate, after hearing my story.
“I know.”
“You do it every time, so what’s the point?”
“I’m in a bad mood today.”
‘So don’t bother me.’
Phil shrugged. “I’m sorry you’re in a bad mood, but… you know you have to attend today, right?”
“Where?”
“The party. All the departmental ‘chiefs’ have been ordered to attend.”
“…That’s awful.”
“It’s awful for me, too.” Phil’s eyes looked at me as if screaming, “When am I going to get through all this paperwork? Because someone’s not doing their job…”
I ignored his gaze.
‘What’s the point of working so hard?’ All the papers that occupied the center were from the First Knight’s Aid Office. In other words, even if I worked hard, I was only helping that damned knight commander.
‘Yeah. I absolutely hate it. Even if I die, I won’t ever like him.’
Suddenly, like thunder falling out of nowhere, Phil spoke, “Can I quit?”
‘…Huh?’
“Qu-quit?! Don’t you dare say such mean things! Look, I’m doing it. I’m working, okay? My hands are moving!”
“Yes. Please keep it up until I get off work.”
I had no dignity as a boss and no pride as a noble. I moved fast as a meek servant.
‘Dignity and pride… What’s the point of that? You can eat it?’
I had to hold onto my one and only employee and never let go. Because I always knew how to choose my battles, I moved my hands diligently.
* * *
The lavish party took place in the fanciest hall of the imperial palace. With expensive items, a magnificent orchestra, an endless supply of food, and delicious liquor, the nobles swarmed about like fish in water. My eyes scanned the dizzying hall with discomfort—”You disgust me”—a kind of gaze.
Pow–
“Fux yer phaze,” my older sister, sitting next to me, elbowed me in the side while speaking through her teeth.
‘If I could fix my expressions with just that, then I wouldn’t do it to begin with.’
“Terry…”
Pow. Pow. Pow.
“Face.”
Pow. Pow. Pow. Pow. Pow.
‘Ah! Why d’you keep hitting me?!’ My side tingled. I slapped my sister’s arm away. However, the tenacious Duke of Mellys didn’t back off. Finally, I squealed in frustration as she continued her constant assault.
“It hurts!” Right at that moment, the music stopped. The startled stares of those taken aback fell on me. I could hear appalled gossiping everywhere. My sister rubbed her forehead as I remained unaffected.
“I really… because of you…”
‘Yeah, you should have stopped when I told you not to.’
As she staggered in shock, my brother-in-law next to her put a hand on her shoulder as if to comfort her. She burrowed into his arms as if crying. The affectionate behavior was so natural that anyone took them as lovebirds.
“Terry. You always make sure to get into trouble.” At that moment, the crown prince came to my side, chuckling. As if in a relay race, my sister and brother-in-law left after telling him to keep an eye on me.
‘Am I a child or something?’ I sipped my wine as I gave the crown prince a sidelong scowl.
“Don’t you think you’re wasting too many national funds on this party, Your Highness? It’s not like there’s any particular reason for it; it’s just a party for aristocratic socializing. The people in the slums, who can’t even get enough to eat, would be very disappointed.”
“Don’t pick on me. You’re just mad because you have to look at the commander’s face even after work.”
‘You’re so sharp.’ I clamped my mouth shut because he hit the nail on the head. Crown Prince Orgon giggled in amusement.
“What? Do you want me to congratulate you for giving the correct answer?”
“No need. Why don’t you stop drinking?”
‘This?’ I pointed at my cup, and Orgon nodded. I scoffed and drank my wine in a gulp.
‘Mmm, sweet.’ While licking my lips with my tongue and ignoring Orgon’s “tut-tut,” I looked over at the other glasses on the table.
“Why on earth do you hate the commander so much?”
“Because I don’t like him.”
“That’s why I’m asking why.”
‘Why, you say?’ I glanced at the knight’s commander standing in the distance. A man who would wear his usual inexpressive face and his usual knight’s formal uniform at a party stood upright, uninterested in the party, refusing food or drinks.
“Just his bare existence?”
“. . .” Orgon seemed at a loss for words. I stared at him, amused, and then picked up a new glass of red liquid.
‘You wouldn’t get it even if I told you. Of course. It’s utter nonsense if I say that you, the crown prince, are the male protagonist of this story, and Anella, the apprentice for Saintess, is the female protagonist. And most of all, that man, the commander of the knights—Ashed Astrea—is the sub-male-lead.
‘Who would believe me if I said, “I remember my past life, and this is a world I read about in a novel”?
‘It’s hard, even for me. Recalling the memories of my past life was the most humiliating thing ever. I remember how I challenged Ashed to a duel and lost monstrously. I was defeated and humiliated. And I felt a great sense of despair and futility, knowing that the commander wasn’t like a human and that I was bound to lose forever. I was a hapless character who was second under the shadow of the splendid sub-male-lead… and even got a catastrophic ending where I got caught planning to murder Ashed and ended up killing myself in prison!
‘Thus, I decided to change my future. I graduated from the tedious academy and spent three years chilling in bed—fun times. But then my sister’s patience ran out. “If you don’t work, don’t eat.” She urged me to get to work using the Mellys family’s new motto. That’s why I hurried and took the job at the Imperial Grievance Center. But then, at the same job, I met my nemesis, Ashed, and somehow ended up working for him, so I hatched a new plan.
‘I’m going to the countryside. A remote place where no one knows me. I’ll live off the land, make enough to put food on my table, and be self-sufficient. But the cost of settling in the countryside was much higher than I expected, and with no savings or inheritance, my plan and I became cotton candy-washed raccoon-like.’
‘Well, making that much money is a piece of cake.’
The biggest mountain was my family. I couldn’t hide from the eyes of my godfather, the emperor, and my sister, Duke of Mellys. Even now, I had Orgon playing protector and a watchtower. I gave up my search for a chance to escape the boring banquet and quelled my frustrations with alcohol instead.
“Drink slowly.” Orgon sighed, knowing it wouldn’t work. And, of course, it didn’t.
“Isn’t the party about this?”
“And you regret it later.”
“This much?” I snorted. How much could I possibly regret having a few drinks? My shots were practically light.
Or that’s what I thought.
* * *
My eyes were blinding. My head pounded as I slowly came to my senses.
“Ugh…”
‘Damned hangover.’ I grunted and rolled onto my side.
‘Is today my day off?’ Yeah, for sure. The party was on the last night of the week.
“Princess.”
‘The heck? Am I still dreaming? I think I heard Ashed’s voice? I must be thinking too much about work.’
“**sshole…” Hearing the voice of that bastard on my only day off. My luck is definitely death, tut-tut.
“Princess.”
‘Ah! Why do I keep hearing it? If it’s a dream, I’ll just wake up; if it’s a hallucination, then just go away, go away.’
“Stop and get up.”
‘Go away… uh?’
“. . .” I snapped out of my daze. An ominous foreboding struck me. Even more scared I got, knowing my hunch was never wrong.
I slowly opened my eyes, and through my narrow vision, I could see beige curtains covering the window. As I slowly turned my eyes around, I saw a view that was both very familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. It was as if I had read about it somewhere.
‘In a book or…’
“My lady.” The same voice came from the bedside. My neck turned to the side like a wooden doll with a broken neck. I was so stiff that you could hear my neck creaking.
The first thing I faced were hard abs and sleek pecs beneath a loose gown. Water was dripping from the damp silver hair. The lips looked redder than usual, and the cheeks were slightly flushed. The perfect situation for a misunderstanding—
“Why…”
I met those baffling eyes, proof of the exquisite mix of black and silver. At that moment, my mind went blank.
“Why am I…”
‘Why… how here…’ I had just woken up in an unfamiliar room, in a bed. And a man, freshly washed, wet, and naked.
‘No way…
‘It can’t be, right? Hey, there’s no way.
‘It can’t be…
‘So-someone tell me it’s a lie.
‘Please! ¡Por favor!’
As many of you already know, when someone refers to a duke’s daughter, they call her ‘princess.’ But she’s not from the imperial family. Her elder sister is the duke because she is the head of the family. Calling her duchess wouldn’t be appropriate for her title and position.
At the end, Terry screams “please” in Korean and English, so to keep up the word game, I chose to write it in Spanish since it’s my mother tongue lol.
