Kiaros couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Jaden had always been shy around him—he’d never approached Kiaros affectionately, but he had always behaved with the utmost politeness and formality.
But... the Jaden standing in front of him now didn’t even have the sa look in his eyes.
“I said, where’s the Minister of the Scroll Departnt?”
Kiaros had never done anything to Jaden, and yet always felt vaguely apologetic toward him.
He was smart and cute... and compared to him, Kiaros felt strangely guilty for being born the Crown Prince—an accident of birth without love.
[Brother, you’re here? Please have a seat.]
[You don’t have to be so formal. Just relax.]
[No, it’s only right. It’s proper etiquette. Have you been under a lot of stress? You don’t look well. Please take it easy.]
[I’m fine. By the way, what are all these books? Did you read all of them?]
[Yes. Well... it gets lonely when I’m alone... and reading makes the ti pass fastest.]
He rembered how, at that age, he hadn’t fit in with the common children either. So Jaden had always been on his mind.
That pained, wise-beyond-his-years look in his eyes...
‘That disrespectful letter he sent to Her Majesty the Empress... wasn’t that sothing Liden forced him to write?’
anwhile, Namia had hurried out of the Minister’s office.
She stopped in front of Jaden and gave a respectful bow.
“I greet Your Highness the Prince. I am Namia Roafi, Minister of the Scroll Departnt.”
“Hmph.”
Jaden looked down at her with an arrogant face.
Kiaros felt dizzy. He’d never seen this kind of expression on Jaden before.
Jaden averted his eyes for a mont, as if embarrassed, and began to speak.
“I heard Liden ca by earlier. Trying to hurt you, I an.”
“Ah, yes.”
Namia replied politely. Then, with a sunny smile, she added,
“But our team leader here took care of it, so I’m fine.”
Anastasia blinked blankly, holding a cup of coffee. Namia continued, gesturing dramatically.
“She blinded him with the harmful powder she always carries and, when he resisted, imdiately subjected him to heat torture.”
Well... considering Jaden himself had once called coffee grounds “harmful powder,” she wasn’t wrong...
Jaden flinched and took a step back.
He gave Anastasia a sideways glance, now seeing her in a new light, and coughed awkwardly.
“Ahem. So she was a hidden powerhouse, huh. Good thing you’re not hurt. I was worried, so I ca to check on you. Also...”
He turned back to Namia and said,
“We need to talk.”
“Of course. Would you care to step into the Minister’s office?”
Since Kiaros hadn’t followed Namia out, he was still in the office when they returned.
He watched, dazed, as Jaden and Namia ca in.
Jaden glanced at Kiaros—currently in his Kibon Altess form—and asked,
“Who’s that?”
“Oh, that’s my assistant. An intern from abroad.”
“Really?”
Kiaros looked at Jaden’s round cheeks and wide eyes and tried to steady himself.
That sweet, polite child—there he was.
‘He must’ve just been startled by the coffee comnt. He’s still the adorable, well-mannered boy I know.’
He’d rushed here to make sure Namia was safe after hearing about Liden—that warm-hearted and sensitive nature of his...
But then—
“What’re you looking at?”
Jaden suddenly snapped.
“You’re just so green intern. You can’t stand up and greet a prince? Don’t you know there are rules in this empire, even if you’re a foreigner? Your boss is falling all over herself and yet you just sit there staring at ? Fix your attitude before I—damn, seriously...”
In that mont, Kiaros’s world shattered into pieces.
***
Kibon looked utterly shaken by the child’s verbal assault.
I forced him up and made him bow.
“I apologize on his behalf, Your Highness. I’ll take responsibility. As the Minister, I should’ve made sure he stood up—he’s still unfamiliar with the Empire’s culture.”
“Unfamiliar with the culture, huh? So he’s dead weight? Then why’s his desk so full of work?”
Jaden clicked his tongue, suspicious.
I hurried to explain, worried that Kibon might get caught in the crossfire.
“Well... I’ve been rolling him around a bit. He hasn’t even fully adjusted to the Empire yet, but I’ve been overworking him because we’re short-staffed...”
“Looks like he’s in good shape. You could work him even harder. They say young people should go out of their way to suffer—grind him more.”
This kid even had boor energy.
Kibon was visibly shaking as he looked at Jaden.
So you do get irritated by rude little brats, huh? I thought you didn’t care about anything.
“Anyway.”
Jaden crossed his arms arrogantly and sat down.
“Thanks to you, I had a good talk with Her Majesty the Empress. It’s a bit late, but we agreed to stop hiding our feelings and try to get along from now on.”
“That’s wonderful news, Your Highness. I’m truly glad to hear that.”
I bead at him, and Jaden stared at intently.
After °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° a mont, he turned his gaze and cleared his throat.
“Ahem. Well... I guess I owe that to you.”
“Thank you for the praise. I’ll have that honor passed down through the Roafi line for generations.”
“Good. So, I told Her Majesty... that honestly, I’ve been a bit rude. I think my letters hurt her a lot.”
“Ah...”
Jaden continued, looking a little downcast.
“So I just told her straight—‘I have a foul mouth and rotten character.’”
“Oh my, really? And what did Her Majesty say to that bold confession?”
“She loved it.”
Huh?
“She said that with my reputation already in the gutter at this age, no one would dare try to push into the Crown Prince’s spot anymore.”
Ah...
Well, I guess that counts as a happy ending?
“So I’ve decided I won’t hide who I am around Her Majesty anymore. And she said she’d do the sa—just live as she pleases.”
“I see...”
“Of course... I still want to act like a polite child in front of His Majesty and the Crown Prince... They don’t know what I’m really like yet.”
Jaden smiled shyly and fiddled with his fingers.
It could have been a cute mont—but Kibon was staring at him with ice-cold eyes. He must really hate bratty kids.
A brief silence passed, and then Jaden spoke again.
“Ahem, I heard it was you who first noticed sothing was wrong with the stockpile of soundproof scrolls.”
“Yes. It was only natural.”
“It wasn’t. It was sothing worth being thankful for. So...”
He smiled at .
“I want to go ahead with that Saint Cairo banquet event you proposed.”
Ah, here it was at last. I smiled brightly.
Perfect. Everything was going according to plan.
Now that he’d nded things with the Empress, of course he’d want to participate in the event.
“Her Majesty said she wants to make mories with —even if it’s a bit late.”
“Of course. The Scroll Departnt would be honored.”
I resisted the urge to cheer out loud. Instead, I nodded with a gentle smile.
The royal family co-hosting an event with the Scroll Departnt at the Saint Cairo Banquet?
‘Let’s use this to boost our departnt’s reputation!’
I’d put my whole soul into making this a spectacular show—even if it ant grinding my bones into dust.
We had plenty of budget this ti, too. My heart thumped at the thought of pulling off sothing unforgettable.
I smiled sweetly and said with determination,
“I’ll begin preparations and send over the instructions soon. It’s simple—once I hand you the scrolls, you and Her Majesty just need to activate them together. I think it’ll beco a cherished mory for both of you.”
Of course, that ant I’d be pulling more all-nighters.
“Ahem, ahem.”
Even though we’d wrapped up the event discussion, Jaden didn’t stand up. He coughed again.
It seed like he had sothing else to say.
I waited patiently, giving the embarrassed little one ti.
“Uh, so...”
After a long pause, Jaden mumbled.
“I heard you dumped my brother.”
...Oh, that’s what this was about?
I smiled gently and nodded.
Right at that mont, Kibon choked and coughed violently.
“Ku—Kkgh!”
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