By Zephyria 
After Carlisle, whose spirits had utterly deflated, went back after fetching a wet towel and meticulously wiping my body. I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. Perhaps because of the unexpected nighttime exercise. The next morning, after such sound sleep, I woke up feeling refreshed. The moment I opened my eyes, I called for Nicole and said.
“Nicole. Can you get me some earplugs and a sleep mask?”
“That’s not difficult, but why?”
“Just because. I keep hearing strange noises at night. It keeps disturbing my sleep.”
“Maybe the wind…? Anyway, I understand, Young Master! I’ll get them for you by this evening!”
No matter how much the wolf pretending to be a puppy whines pitifully, no matter how cutely it scratches at the door……. I won’t give in any further. It was a declaration of that resolve.
*
“You. Have you been crying?”
The moment we met, my chin was grabbed. Quite the gentle morning greeting, Your Highness the Crown Prince.
“Hmm, the area around your eyes is slightly puffy and has a reddish tinge remaining……. It certainly seems like you’ve been crying.”
…What a devilish bastard. I forced myself to ignore the goosebumps rising on my skin and curled my lips nonchalantly. Carlisle had even brought potion and meticulously applied it all over because of the bite marks and handprints still mottled on my skin, but it seemed even the potion couldn’t completely reduce the swelling where the skin wasn’t broken.
“I’m not crying. I just had trouble sleeping last night, so I stayed lying down and fell asleep a bit late. I suppose that’s why.”
“Hmm…”
The Crown Prince still narrowed his eyes suspiciously, showing no intention of releasing my chin. Andrew, who had been openly showing displeasure since the Crown Prince first grabbed my chin, was the one who stopped him by saying, “Your Highness.” The annoyance in his arrogant eyes grew even thicker. The Crown Prince’s purple eyes glared coldly at Andrew, but it seemed to have no effect on Andrew. Instead, he pulled me back, saying, “I must beg your pardon.”
“As a mere subject, I dare not show disrespect to Your Highness. I beg you to understand this subject’s fraternal affection, wishing to look after his younger brother.”
If you thought about it, I wasn’t even officially recognized as the Crown Princess yet, so it was definitely the Crown Prince who had crossed the line by acting so rudely toward someone from another family. While the imperial family and the Grand Duchy of Graham were exceptionally prominent, the Count Hamilton family wasn’t exactly a lowly or insignificant house either.
In that context, Andrew’s response could be considered quite appropriate. If only it weren’t for the… very subtle, and very sharp, animosity flowing between the Crown Prince and Andrew.
“Haha. My apologies, I’ve been quite discourteous. Your brother is also someone very close and special to me, you see. I got carried away without realizing.”
“While I cannot imagine any relationship closer and more special than that of family, since it is Your Highness’s word, I shall accept there must be reason to it.”
The atmosphere froze over again for no reason at the meeting of these two Alphas, whose talent seemed to be rolling their tongues like snakes. It was somewhat fortunate that Carlisle, who had been crestfallen after being harshly kicked by me last night, hadn’t come down yet and wasn’t present here now.
Andrew, a simple doting older brother character, and the Crown Prince, the main character, were never on particularly good terms in any iteration, but this time was especially severe. Hmm, is it because this time, instead of just mutually keeping an eye on their younger sibling’s lover and the lover’s sibling, they are in a direct rival relationship? Even if Andrew is, the Crown Prince shouldn’t even know yet that Andrew is in a rival relationship with him, so why is he acting so prickly and sharp? Anyway, his instincts are devilishly sharp.
Anyway, seeing these guys, who looked no different from each other, find each other grating was just amusing.
“…”
The Crown Prince, who had quietly listened to Andrew’s eloquent speech, soon let out a light ‘pfft’ laugh as if cleanly giving up. Then he pulled my hand and left a brief kiss on the back of it.
“I’m letting it slide because there are no traces of other Alphas on you. After all, I should be the only Alpha who can leave pheromones on you, and who has tried leaving them.”
Oh… So he didn’t give up but hit an even bigger home run…?
But Andrew, and even Lennox and Carlisle, already… I suddenly felt a bit sorry for the Crown Prince, who was being foolishly deceived. Of course, among them, only Andrew could be considered a proper Alpha at this point, but still…
“Ha, haha, ha… Of course. Naturally…”
Even against the Crown Prince’s confident strike, Andrew only crookedly raised and lowered an eyebrow once; his calm expression still showed no major disturbance. The Crown Prince, perhaps thinking Andrew was feigning composure after being hit, laughed mockingly once more and then gradually moved away. Behind such a Crown Prince, attendants carrying mountains of documents swarmed and clung to him like shadows. It seemed he was handling his work this way as his stay in Bartolo lengthened. See, I told you if you’re busy, just go up…
“I’m worried.”
“Yes…?”
Andrew, who had been waiting for the Crown Prince to completely disappear down the corridor, whispered softly as soon as we were left alone. What is he worried about now?
“To think the future ruler who must support the nation would cling to such a futile dream.”
He even clicked his tongue.
“The facade of being Crown Princess or whatnot should no longer be important to you. It seems he still doesn’t know that for you, the position of Crown Princess is merely one of various means to escape the mansion.”
“…”
“The mansion you wanted to escape from will now fall into my hands if I so wish, and you now have a place in an outstanding family where you could refuse the Crown Princess position and still have no trouble sustaining your life.”
He hit the mark perfectly. The former must refer to Andrew himself, and the latter to Carlisle.
“So how can I not worry? It’s truly regrettable and pitiable to see such a state, unable to even distinguish who holds the hilt of the sword.”
“…And you, Brother, are…”
Andrew didn’t let me finish my words and abruptly grabbed my hand. Then he pulled it straight to his own lips and pressed his lips down firmly, like stamping a seal, on the exact same spot where the Crown Prince had kissed.
“Thus, I too am striving like this.”
“…”
“How is it? As one of the choices given to you, do you think this is worthy of being selected?”
The soft affection mixed with the arrogant look that had been looking down on me still didn’t feel familiar. Andrew, who had come close and stuck to me as if sharing some great secret, gently bowed his head. As his long fingers brushed the hair by my ear back, a warm breath began to be distinctly felt on the exposed earlobe.
Crunch.
“Ah…!”
A blunt canine bit my earlobe hard. It hurt enough to make tears well up instantly.
“However, let me give you one warning. Speaking as someone still responsible for the family you have as an enemy.”
While tenderly wiping the corner of my eye, which was scrunched up in pain, Andrew still whispered affectionately.
“There are limits to my leniency. Stop bringing dogs into the bedroom.”
“Ugh…”
“Understood?”
…
I silently nodded my head. I was determined not to open the door for real starting today, so it felt somewhat unfair.
“Good. You’re a good child, my brother. You must listen well to your brother’s words to be a good child.”
The fraternal hand patting my shoulder left a shadow within me, weighted down with an especially heavy burden.
***
“It’s strange, Young Master.”
Nicole muttered in a serious tone while handing over the eye mask and earplugs I had requested earlier. I just let it pass as usual. It wasn’t once or twice that Nicole had expressed suspicion and called things strange regarding everything surrounding me after my disappearance-that-wasn’t-a-disappearance incident.
It was mostly like this. His Highness the Crown Prince is staying too long, it’s strange. Why are the Masters so reserved about coming and going? It’s strange. The Grand Duke Graham seems too nice; seeing him show interest in our Young Master, that guy—no, that person—must definitely have some twisted aspect somewhere, but it’s strange. Why is Young Master Andrew acting so unlike himself lately—no, so virtuously? It’s strange.
It’s not that these questions were unimportant, as they all pierced through the truth, but perhaps hearing them too often made it difficult to raise alertness, or maybe the effect had worn off…
As I examined only the earplugs and eye mask without answering, Nicole, with his eyes scrunched up to the utmost, ruthlessly snatched the items from my hand. I decided I had no choice but to answer.
“Why, what’s strange now?”
“No, no. It’s Young Master Allen.”
“Allen? What about Allen? It’s not like his strangeness is a day or two old.”
He’s currently collapsed, so there shouldn’t be any strange grounds for it now, I wonder? Is he saying it’s strange that he’s been unconscious for too long?
“This time, it’s not Young Master Allen himself who is strange…”
I waited for Nicole’s next words still without any great sense of crisis or expectation.
“They say a ghost has appeared in the room where Young Master Allen is lying…”
…Huh? What nonsense is this now?