Chapter 152 - Playing Hard to Get

Confident that Jubelian would react positively, Max had originally planned to reveal that he was the crown prince tonight. However, the lady stood before him with a dissatisfied expression, her brows slightly furrowed. Trembling like when she had encountered the carrier pigeon, she looked even frightened to some degree.

Puzzled, Max couldn't help but think, 'I thought she would be relieved… so why does she look so taken aback?' Still, he was not willing to ask these questions out loud, afraid of how she might respond.

"Max," Jubelian called at that moment with a weary voice.

Instead of answering her, Max stared at the lady.

Sighing heavily, Jubelian confessed, "I think… the crown prince has his eyes on me."

'No way. Did she realize from that short letter that I…' Max shuddered as he thought back to the events at the banquet earlier in the evening.

'Come to think of it, I did make it a little obvious—escorting her back to the palace and staring at her the whole time on our way back…'

Max's heart fluttered with anticipation, wanting to reveal that he was the crown prince at this moment. Nevertheless, he decided to remain patient and inquired in a collected manner, "What do you mean by that?"

"I think I've done something to anger him," Jubelian answered quickly.

Frowning, Max once again retraced his memories. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't recall a single moment he was even close to angry—in fact, he had spent a rather pleasant time with her. Even if Jubelian had succumbed to the raging gossip about the crown prince, it didn't matter to Max as it was something he dealt with on a daily basis. Perplexed, Max queried the lady again for clarification.

"Why? Is there anything you've done to irritate him?"

Sighing, Jubelian shook her head and replied, "Even if I tell you, you won't understand."

Hoping to hear her thoughts, Max protested, "Whether I will understand or not is not up to you to decide, so—"

"I'm tired, Max. Could you just let me rest? I don't have the energy to talk anymore today."

Realizing that his plan had been ruined, Max began to search for an excuse to stay and listen to Jubelian's thoughts. The corner of his lips rose when he thought of protecting her from the pigeon, but this idea was shot down in an instant. Jubelian soon sighed and said, "And I would appreciate it if you could send that pigeon out of here as well."

Max couldn't believe such cruel words. He had even held the banquet just for her! At his side, his little messenger cooed as if to console him.

***

From the time Max had left the imperial palace to send the letter, Victor had been standing in for the crown prince in the banquet hall until the very end. Berating his master for ruining his chances of making acquaintances with Lady Janet—the noblewoman he was fond of—Victor began to curse whatever romantic encounters Max might have in the future.

Just then, the window to the bedroom opened, and the crown prince entered.

"Welcome—gah!" Victor squealed, startled by the sudden appearance of a pigeon. "I-isn't that Lady Fresia's p-pigeon? Why is it here?"

"Shut up," Max muttered under his breath.

Grasping that his master was in a foul mood, Victor zipped his mouth shut. Deafening silence filled the room until the crown prince opened his mouth again.

"The word is that you're the best womanizer in the military, is it?"

Gritting his teeth, Victor complained inwardly, 'I. Am. Not. A. Womanizer! It's just that I date people for a short amount of time!' In any case, Victor lacked dating advice since he was constantly going in and out of relationships. In addition, he was always the one to get dumped, so he couldn't figure out why such a rumor about him being a player was spreading.

But to admit all of this would bring him misery, and so Victor suppressed his emotions and laughed, "Please just refer to it as having a lot of dating experience, Your Highness."

"Same thing," Max said indifferently.

Victor struggled to quell the bubbling anger inside him. The job as the crown prince's aide was indeed a difficult one. Those who were unaware of the advisors' circumstances were envious of them for serving the heir of the throne, but there was no frank advantage to being close to the prince for Victor—all he did was serve as a body double. The only reason why Victor remained loyal was that Max had saved his life in the past.

'I will bear with it until His Highness takes the throne. That would be enough to repay his kindness,' Victor reminded himself.

Thinking that even living as a serf might be better than his current job, Victor uttered, "If there isn't anything else, I will be leaving. Rest well, Your Highness."

However, the prince stopped his aide. "Sit down, I have something to discuss with you."

****

Hope you enjoyed it,

Love,

Biji ^^,

Nov.2.2023