TPOP 51

Chapter 51

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This was the center of attention. The Crown Prince and the Prince meet face-to-face in the same room. Some nobles traveled from the countryside to witness the scene in person.

For Eisen, it had been a long time since he had seen Felix. It had been five years since he saw Felix on the hunting grounds, but he didn’t acknowledge him. Since then, the hunting grounds had been off-limits to royalty, so there had been no chance of seeing Felix, even by chance.

“He's a child. A child who's been hiding in his uncle's arms until he's that age. He's a hollow shell.”

Then, as now, Felix did not give Eisen a second glance. The nobles who supported the Crown Prince surrounded him like a fence.

Eisen approached the Crown Prince with a friendly smile. Duke Christen, glancing at him, whispered something to the Crown Prince. He was teaching his nephew how to treat the Prince. Eisen snorted inwardly and held out his hand.

"I'm glad to see you looking well, brother. It's been a long time."

Felix's head was turned toward Duke Christen, but his eyes moved to meet Eisen's. Even the slightest movement, rolling his eyes and lifting his eyelids, was dignified.

But now that they were face to face, the Crown Prince's eyes were cold. Like a frozen lake in the dead of winter.

Eisen was a little taken aback. In his memories, the crown prince was always smiling. Sometimes his expression was so constant that he seemed like an animated object, but his smile was always gentle.

It had been like this.

"Long time.... Yes, it's been a long time, Eisen."

Felix repeated Eisen's greeting. He didn't seem to see Eisen’s outstretched hand. Eisen watched him look away nonchalantly, then spoke.

"I wondered what brought you here, I thought you would not be interested in such a noisy occasion."

"Because you have such a good heart, brother, and I cannot count the number of people you have sent to check on my condition."

Still, Eisen's right hand remained outstretched. Felix glanced at his hand.

"I’m already showing my face so stop being cute.”

That was the last of the snide remarks. Felix didn't shake his brother's hand, instead turning to greet another nobleman who had come to greet him.

Eisen was shocked, to say the least. The Crown Prince's only relative, Duke Christen, and his vassals had always looked down on him, but he hadn't expected such contempt from Felix himself.

It seemed Felix was not the only one shocked. The nobles watching with bated breath covered their mouths with fans and hands. He could almost hear the gossip going on behind the dainty peacock feathers.

"Brother."

Eisen clenched his teeth and called out to him, though he didn’t intend to bring it up.

"I have a gift for you in honor of your return, would you accept it?"

The arrogant man seemed determined to treat Eisen as if he didn't exist at all. Felix didn't even show the least bit of sincerity to stop walking at his call.

Duke Christen, his eyes darting between the two, interrupted at just the right moment.

"I will deliver the message, Your Highness."

“Don’t you know the hierarchy, Duke?”

Eisen's eyes narrowed.

The difference between royalty and nobility was as stark as the difference between Crown Prince and Prince. Just as a Prince could not give orders to the Crown Prince, no Duke could stand in the way of a Prince.

"I have made it clear that this is a gift I have prepared for my brother. Get out of my way."

Hugo swallowed hard and stepped aside.

Eisen pulled a fine golden envelope from his pocket and held it out to Felix's back.

"You'd better keep this, because regrets are always too late."

Count Letwal, who had been talking to Felix, glanced nervously at the Crown Prince. Felix's shoulders rose slightly, then fell again. He blew out a long breath and turned back to Eisen.

His demeanor remained relaxed, but his approaching strides were larger than before.

"Don't try to test me, little brother."

Felix took a step forward and smiled as warmly as he had as a child. His whispered words were the same, and for a moment Eisen was transported back to those days.

"My horizons are much wider than yours in this palace, which is why it's not easy for me to come out here. It's been a long time since I've felt the need to tear someone apart as violently as I did today."

Perhaps that's why. The chilling voice in his ear is unbelievable.

"I always get into trouble on days like this...."

Felix, still smiling, caressed his brother's neck. To the untrained eye, he looked like a loving older brother showing his younger brother affection. But Eisen could not keep his composure.

‘The artery, now...?’

Felix crushed Eisen’s pulsing vein with his thumb. His face was no longer angelic as he lowered his eyes and moistened his lips with his tongue. Instead of the fragile Crown Prince Eisen had heard about, he saw a furious beast.

"Of course, today is not my only chance."

Felix slowly withdrew his hand, his mouth curled up.

Only when the envelope was snatched away did Eisen come to his senses. Felix tossed the golden envelope he had taken from Eisen to Hugo. It was neither taken nor given.

"I may be behaving myself for the sake of your dignity and the poor Duke's pleas, but if you creep up on me like this again, won't even the most patient of nations change their minds?"

"...Brother..."

"So behave yourself, Eisen. If you don't want to be stuffed into my canvas as a headless corpse."

Hugo, two steps away, sighed openly. His expression and demeanor said he'd seen it coming.

The murderous intent surging from the Crown Prince seemed to scratch his entire body. Eisen barely managed to clench his throat.

"So... you're not going to open my gift?"

"It's a gift my sweet brother especially got for me, and I can't just open it anywhere."

With all that babbling, Felix didn't seem to pay any attention to the contents of the envelope. He raised his hand and ruffled Eisen's hair. It was the kind of affectionate gesture that brothers used to exchange when they were younger, but now all Eisen felt from Felix's touch was a deadly warning.

"...I didn't realize you were always like this, brother."

“Why are there so many people talking nonsense these days?

Felix turned away as if there was nothing more to say. The young nobles who had been loitering at a distance hurried to greet him. The Crown Prince, back after thirteen years, blended into the picture as if this was his place all along.

The Count of Montaigne, who had been watching the confrontation, hastened to block Eisen's path.

"The Crown Prince has changed his personality. I don't think it was necessary for him to be so aggressive."

"You're lucky he stopped there, Count. Unless you want this to be the end of your life."

Duke Christen advised bluntly.

"And Your Highness, the Prince. You'd better let go of that maid you're holding in due time."

"Don't give me advice, Duke. You're being impudent...."

Eisen’s cheeks burned as he turned away.

So Felix already knew: the maid was in Eisen’s possession, and her sordid past that he was about to wield as a weapon.

Prying eyes clung to the back of his head, but he ignored them. Striding out of the ballroom, he gritted his teeth at his escort, who hurried after him.

"Take that bitch from her cell and throw her in a brothel. With the rumor that she is the woman the Crown Prince was in love with!"

***

The noise from the banquet hall above ground drifted into the dungeon. Diana was hugging her legs and burying her face in her knees.

"You're as stupid as ever, and the richest man in the country doesn't give a damn about you, when he could hold a more beautiful woman than you, as long as he wanted."

Outside the bars, Antoin babbled incessantly.

"Do you hear that sound outside? It's a banquet to celebrate the Crown Prince's return to the palace. Your prince is enjoying a sumptuous feast right above you.”

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