Brother, do you... love me?

Deciding not to brush him off, she teased him gently.

「With all that worry, maybe you really are my older brother.」

She spoke lightly on purpose, and Seoyeop’s reaction was unexpected.

A faint blush colored his face.

「What? All of a sudden...?」

「Seoyeop, my brother?」

His eyes flickered, and his hands shook faintly.

He struggled to find a response, the hesitance in his reaction unexpectedly endearing.

「D-Don’t do that,」 Seoyeop said.

Amused, Jin Ye pressed further.

「Brother, do you... love me?」

With his face now a deep shade of red, Seoyeop lowered his head, unable to respond.

The cloth slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor.

Jin Ye glanced down and chose to ease off.

「Why are you so flustered?」

「Y-You’re going too far... This is too much, Your Highness...」

「Your reaction makes it seem like you really do love me.」

In that moment, Jin Ye remained oblivious to the depth of Seoyeop’s feelings.

He came from a noble family long allied with the royal house.