“Ah, no, that’s not it, in my dream-“
As I was stammering my explanation, ‘Waaaaaah!’ The audience erupted in cheers from all directions.
The stage had been hidden by curtains, so I hadn’t realized the performance had just ended.
Thanks to that, my words were drowned out. The gloom on Raynous’s face deepened even further.
No. At this rate, the misunderstanding won’t end.
I firmly grabbed Raynous’s hand as he tried to pull away from me.
Then, just as he had done, I kissed the back of his hand and spoke firmly into his ear so he could hear clearly.
“I like this kind of thing. Please do it more.”
“……!”
Raynous’s face instantly turned red like a newlywed bride’s.
Phew, I managed to handle that well.
I tapped his arm, suggesting we should get up now.
Raynous stood up awkwardly beside me, then suddenly pulled me into an embrace and asked in almost a whisper.
“You really like it? Is it really okay to do it more?”
“Yes, I like it. Please do it more.”
“Okay…”
Raynous buried his face in my shoulder. He stayed that way for quite a while.
He seemed incredibly happy, so I had to think for a moment about what in my words had made him so joyful.
*** *** *** *** ***
After the performance, our date went smoothly.
I took Raynous around according to the pre-planned date course, and about 80% of it involved street food.
I must really like street food. I mean, I even got possessed while eating chicken skewers.
Raynous, having lived only in the royal palace, was unfamiliar with most street foods. It was fun teaching him, and the funniest moment was this.
“Ray, would you like some cotton candy?”
“Cotton candy?”
“You don’t know what it is?”
“Is it candy made of cotton?”
Hmm. He knew all about fancy desserts, but it seemed cotton candy wasn’t something they had in the palace.
When I mentioned cotton candy, I thought of the ‘raccoon washing cotton candy’ video from the world before my possession. Hehe.
Feeling mischievous, I put on a straight face and said naturally.
“Yes. That’s why you have to wash it in water before eating.”
“Oh.”
Raynous, innocent as he was, believed me.
I asked him to wait and stood in line at the cotton candy stall.
Before long, I handed a large pink cotton candy to the innocent man and pointed to the fountain.
“You can wash it over there.”
“The fountain water isn’t for drinking.”
“It’s okay since you’re just washing it.”
“Everyone else seems to be eating it as is.”
“Well, washing it is healthier.”
“Really?”
Raynous, looking puzzled, did as I instructed and put the cotton candy in the fountain.
The cotton candy dissolved instantly upon touching the water.
The cotton-washing… no, cotton-washed Raynous turned to me with a bewildered expression.
“It’s gone.”
“…Pfft.”
I tried to hold it in, but I couldn’t. I quickly covered my mouth and turned away.
“My Lady?”
Trying not to laugh, I pulled my lips tight, and my cheekbones hurt. I handed him the blue cotton candy I was holding.
“It must have been defective. How about trying mine?”
With question marks floating above his head, Raynous followed my suggestion. He washed the cotton candy in water again.
“…Ugh.”
Trying to suppress my laughter made a strange sound escape.
Finally realizing something was off, Raynous raised an eyebrow.
“This isn’t supposed to be washed, is it?”
“Uh-huh-huh…”
“Just laugh.”
“Ahahaha!”
As soon as he gave permission, laughter burst out.
I hadn’t laughed so hard in a long time. I forgot I was teasing the Crown Prince and laughed until tears came to my eyes.
Then, noticing the looks from passersby as if I were crazy, I wiped my tears and composed myself.
“Ah, I’m sorry. It’s actually meant to be eaten as is. Are you mad?”
Raynous, standing there blankly, didn’t look quite right.
I thought we had gotten closer, so I played a prank, but maybe it was rude.
Worried, I asked, and Raynous chuckled, lifting one corner of my mouth upward.
“No, you laughed so beautifully. So to make you laugh, I just need to wash cotton candy.”
Raynous joked and bought two more cotton candies. When he tried to put one in the fountain again, I quickly stopped him.
“Just eat it.”
“I know.”
Raynous responded lightly and tore off a piece to offer me. When I accepted it, he looked at me with eyes that seemed to say I was adorable.
“Ray, you should try some too.”
I tore off a piece and gave it to him. After eating the cotton candy, Raynous’s eyes curved gently.
“It’s sweet.”
“The weather’s hot, so you have to eat it quickly before it melts. It gets sticky when it melts.”
I tore off another big piece to offer him. But I accidentally brushed his lips with my fingertips.
Ugh, the electric sensation made me flinch and pull back.
Raynous, without taking his eyes off me, lightly licked his lips covered in cotton candy. It was a strangely sensual sight.
…Why is he eating cotton candy like that?
This won’t do. To signal that I wouldn’t feed him anymore, I stuffed the cotton candy into my mouth.
“Not giving me more?”
“No. I want to eat too.”
At my not-so-funny excuse, Raynous looked disappointed and began to nibble on his share of the cotton candy.
He seemed to want me to feed him… so I didn’t look at him until he finished eating the cotton candy.
As we were walking around, looking at our surroundings, I spotted Tirielle and a group of nobles surrounding her in the distance.
Among them were some ladies I had seen at Lema, who seemed to be on good terms, chatting and smiling brightly.
I scoffed inwardly.
‘Interesting.’
When they were all competing to criticize her for stealing Labyrinth’s fiancé, and now they’re clinging to her.
Is it because of the recent rumors that ‘Tirielle Puritina is being considered as the Crown Princess’?
Social circles are indeed amusing.
“…because of that, …they say.”
When Tirielle whispered something in a small voice, a lady from Lema nearby laughed loudly and said.
“Of course, naturally. The lady is soon to be the Crown Princess!”
At those words, Tirielle’s expression hardened.
Why? Is there a problem? I was about to pass by, tilting my head in curiosity.
‘Wait, why is that group like that?’
Something seemed off. I took another look at Tirielle’s group.
Even on a second look, it was indeed a group led by the children of families hostile to Raynous, who was born of the Empress.
“Why are they pushing Tirielle as the Crown Princess?”
According to the original story, the Empress should be praying for Raynous to turn into an evil dragon. Why are they supporting Tirielle, who has purification abilities?
Moreover, now that I look, there was someone I knew among Raynous’s close aides. Count Nordic, the person who exchanged letters regarding Tirielle’s engagement.
If that person was in that group…
‘Did Raynous order it?’
I needed to confirm just in case.
I nudged Raynous, who was still nibbling on the cotton candy, to look over there.
Seeing Count Nordic, Raynous laughed and said it was nothing.
‘Ah, he must be a spy planted in the Empress’s faction.’
With that assumption, I left the place without hesitation.
*** *** *** *** ***
“Traitor.”
As soon as we reached a secluded spot inside a building, Raynous casually dropped the word.
“Pardon?”
“I said traitor, Count Nordic. I realized from the hint you gave that the Count had joined hands with the Empress.”
“A hint I gave?”
“You mentioned that Puritina and I were to be engaged. Upon investigation, it turned out the Empress was pushing for it.”
“Wait, why would the Empress… Hold on. So, Your Highness didn’t know about the engagement with Tirielle?”
“Yes. Not at all.”
Raynous laughed as if embarrassed after saying it. But I was thinking about something else entirely.
If Raynous didn’t know he was to be engaged to Tirielle, then the reason he accepted my proposal for a fake relationship was…
As a certain assumption struck me like lightning, my fingertips tingled stiffly. No, I’m not sure yet.
I quickly organized my thoughts and changed the subject.
“Why would the Empress want to engage you to Tirielle? If Tirielle becomes the Crown Princess, she would be called out.”
“By bringing Puritina to her side, she could gain control over me.”
Control… Ah. Only then did I realize why the Empress reached out to Tirielle, unlike in the original story.
In the original, Tirielle was rescued by Raynous’s aide and met Raynous immediately.
So the Empress had no chance to approach Tirielle.
But this time, I twisted the original story and saved Tirielle, preventing her meeting with Raynous. This gave the Empress a chance to approach Tirielle.
“My Lady?”
Raynous called me worriedly as I stood there with a dark expression.
But I didn’t hear him, as I was calculating what would happen next.
In the latter part of the original story, Raynous finds a way to break the curse without Tirielle.
However, since Siella died before that method was revealed, I only knew the clue to finding the method.
I thought that even if it didn’t lead to love, Tirielle, being a purification ability user, wouldn’t turn her back on Raynous.
‘To think Tirielle would side with the Empress.’
It was entirely my mistake. Wasn’t it like handing over the elixir of life to the enemy?
And on top of that, even Count Nordic, who was thoroughly on Raynous’s side in the original story, had defected, so how should I…
Wait.
‘Something’s strange here.’
I suddenly found a contradiction.
If the Empress had time to approach Tirielle, it means Raynous also had time to approach Tirielle.
However, even after Tirielle’s abilities became known, Raynous didn’t actively move to secure her.
It means he wasn’t interested in Tirielle from the start.
Which means…
“Your Highness, don’t you need Tirielle’s abilities?”
“Hm?”
Raynous tilted his head, puzzled by my sudden question.
Then he slowly nodded in agreement.
“No, I don’t need them.”
“You do know what Tirielle’s abilities are, right?”
“I do.”
“And you still really don’t need them? Why? How… Your Highness!”
I suddenly screamed as his eyes unexpectedly turned red. His brilliant golden hair was also turning black from the roots.
The evil dragon’s curse, which had been suppressed by medicine, was starting!
‘They said the medicine’s effects were short and hard to control during the Ruby Moon, and it was true!’
Raynous froze, startled by my scream. Your hair, your hair! I pulled at my own hair frantically.
Understanding the situation, Raynous took out a small medicine bottle from his chest. The bottle contained liquid presumably meant to suppress the dragon’s curse.
Crack.
When Raynous applied force, the bottle started to crack.
Oh no, he can’t control his strength. Alarmed, I snatched the bottle that was about to break.
“I’ll open it!”
“Wait, my Lady, it’s not something you can open with your strength-“
Whoosh.
As Raynous reached for the medicine bottle, he vanished. More precisely, he evaporated, leaving only his clothes behind.
Huh? Where did he go?
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