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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: A Friend at Last
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He, the man who had stubbornly insisted on calling me “you over there” without any familiarity, had used the honorific “you.”
It was more astonishing than the fact that he had invited me or served me tea.
“Why the sudden change?”
Have you truly lost your mind?
I swallowed the second half but couldn’t help letting my tone come out accusatory.
Unlike me, Crown Prince Luciano remained perfectly calm.
“What’s the problem?”
You—you’re the problem!
“You’re suddenly using honorifics with me!”
“Is that dissatisfying?”
“It’s not dissatisfaction. But it’s weird!”
“Is it weird?”
No, this man! It is weird! Of course it’s incredibly weird!
“You’ve been treating me with such extreme disdain until now. You wouldn’t even call me by name and just brushed me off with ‘you over there’!”
“...And knowing that, you kept coming back persistently?”
I can hear you! Don’t badmouth me like it’s to yourself!
“That’s not the point! Don’t change the subject. Why on earth are you treating me like this? Is it some new form of torment? Pretending to be kind to make me dry up and wither?”
Crown Prince Luciano’s attitude had shifted so drastically that I was starting to get genuinely scared.
I crossed my arms in an X shape, wrapping them around myself.
At my defensive posture, Crown Prince Luciano furrowed his brow.
“Does this feel like torment to you?”
“That’s how strange it is. You’ve treated me worse than a roadside pebble.”
I had only spoken the truth, yet he grimaced as if he’d heard something he shouldn’t have.
“That’s... ha. It seems your personality has really changed a lot.”
“Back then, I wanted to get close to you. And no matter how much I’ve changed, it’s not as drastic as the shift in how you’re treating me.”
I’ve already shown you my worst sides, so what’s the point of acting sunny now?
“And since I’ve already shown my absolute worst, there’s nothing to fear or regret.”
Because of this mindset, I let words spill out without choosing them carefully.
Seemingly exhausted by my brazen behavior in another sense, Crown Prince Luciano let out another small sigh.
“I decided to show you a little respect. That’s all.”
“Ha, respect?”
An incredulous, hollow sound escaped me before I knew it.
Doesn’t that word feel completely out of place between us?
Even though he’d clearly seen my stunned reaction, Crown Prince Luciano seemed composed.
‘Is this guy pretty shameless too?’
“Just how much have you looked down on me all this time?”
“It’s better if you don’t know.”
Don’t answer that.
My emotions kept surging up.
“I can’t sort out my feelings.”
“Why?”
Who knows? He says he’ll respect me, so why am I so angry?
Is it because I wasted a year?
Or is it because he’s doing this right when I’m ready to end things?
Only complicated thoughts filled me.
“Why the sudden urge to respect me?”
“Because I realized you’re someone worth respecting.”
He’d been answering diligently so far, but the core of the conversation was missing.
“Where did you get that impression?”
“Didn’t you prove it yourself?”
‘When did I?’ I started to think, then shut my mouth.
‘Don’t tell me it’s that?’
I wanted to believe it wasn’t, but only one incident came to mind when he mentioned proof.
“Don’t tell me it’s that thing...”
I started to say it, then clapped my hand over my mouth.
The muffin incident.
Something I absolutely didn’t want to mention myself.
But as if he’d guessed what I was about to say, Crown Prince Luciano nodded.
“Yes.”
He was really starting to trust me because of that?
I thought it was an incident that would sever our ties, but for him, it was the trigger for fondness.
‘Of course, I desperately ate it to prove myself...’
But the end was a shocking scene.
And after that, he still wanted to see me again?
“This is incredibly bewildering.”
“What’s bewildering about it? You made the effort, and I acknowledged it. That’s all.”
“So you’re saying you’ll finally treat me like a proper person now.”
Crown Prince Luciano answered with just his eyes.
He seemed to know it would be rude to say it outright.
At the same time, I realized this prince’s conversational style had a lot of issues.
Maybe that’s why we could meet for a year without actually talking.
There were quite a few things that made me hesitant to simply accept Crown Prince Luciano’s words at face value.
If he truly respected me, why hadn’t he replied to the letter I sent after my health improved?
Why had he been so cold at this tea party?
And so on—things that nagged at me if I pressed.
But I decided not to dig deeper.
From the start, [Your Majesty, Don’t Obsess!] wasn’t a novel that bothered much with plausibility.
There had even been multiple comments like, “Plausibility goes out the window in specific parts.”
‘Searching for plausibility in a novel like this would just make my head explode.’
I quickly resigned myself to reality.
Maybe this was all thanks to protagonist privileges stacking up.
In romance fantasies, surrounding characters warming up to the protagonist is par for the course!
Even if the protagonist twists her ankle and tumbles forward, the people around her go, “Ooh! What a stylish fall!”
“Ha, the protagonist’s life...”
It’s great.
“What?”
Crown Prince Luciano’s gaze shifted to one that looked at me strangely, as if he’d heard my mutter.
“No. I was just reflecting on my life.”
At my excuse, his gaze grew even more suspicious.
But right now, with my emotions heightened, I didn’t care.
I’d suffered for a year, but things had resolved in such an unexpected and easy way.
The next parts would be even simpler.
What if Harrison, Damian, and everyone else ends up falling for me and suggests we all live together?
‘Already getting a headache thinking about sorting out the love interests.’
I shook my head to shake off the worry, when Crown Prince Luciano’s piercing gaze landed on me.
“Why are you staring like that?”
Do I look different today or something?
Buoyed by confidence, I looked back at Crown Prince Luciano smugly.
“I was wondering if you’ve lived long enough to need to reflect on your life.”
“...”
It wasn’t the kind of sentence a nine-year-old should say.
But a strange feeling started to creep in.
According to romance fantasy rules, Crown Prince Luciano should be showing obsessive-male-level enthusiasm by now, but it felt a bit off.
Was it because of the lingering uneasy glances?
His current reaction didn’t seem like the attitude toward someone he’d fallen for.
More like the treatment you’d give someone upgraded from an object to a human.
‘...Now that I say it, it’s pathetic.’
What have I been doing for the past year?
And am I deluded even now?
Observing carefully, I could feel it more clearly.
There wasn’t a gushing fountain of affection toward me.
Crown Prince Luciano just seemed intent on treating me with basic human decency.
Because of that, I started doubting if I’d truly gotten the full protagonist buff.
When in doubt, ask directly.
“So, does that mean you want to keep meeting with me from now on?”
Crown Prince Luciano flinched as if caught off guard.
“...Yes.”
His slightly delayed answer came.
This lukewarm reaction was what was making me uneasy.
“Are we friends now?”
“Is that what you’re asking?”
You acted that way, making me ask it.
I didn’t answer and just sent him a blank stare.
Say what you want, but I’ll listen or not—something like that.
Whether it got through, Crown Prince Luciano opened his mouth with a tired look.
“Yes, friends.”
After a year, I finally heard the word “friends” from Crown Prince Luciano.
* * *
“Miss, did something happen?”
“Huh?”
“You seem out of it, so I’m worried. Did something happen? Did the prince bully you again?”
Because of the muffin incident, my household probably thinks Crown Prince Luciano is tormenting me.
Well, even Imperial Consort Isabel had that misunderstanding, so others likely think the same.
Lost in thought for a moment, Nanny’s expression soured, so I quickly shook my head.
“No. I told you, the prince didn’t bully me.”
“But you went to the imperial palace and came back like this—what’s wrong?”
I’d gotten the friend spot from Crown Prince Luciano and was feeling all mixed up, spacing out, so Nanny kept worrying.
“I became friends with Crown Prince Luciano?”
“Really? How?”
Her voice rose high, revealing Nanny’s shock.
See? I’m not the only one surprised.
“Well, it just sort of happened.”
“That’s what you desperately wanted, miss. You should be happy—why do you look so down?”
“It wasn’t that desperate.”
I quickly retorted, and Nanny narrowed her eyes at me.
I know everything.
Should I list it all out?
Under that gaze, I surrendered even faster.
“Hmm, I put in a little effort.”
I didn’t forget to show her a tiny space between my thumb and index finger.
Nanny burst into a chuckle.
“So you got what you wanted—why do you seem unhappy?”
Who knows.
It was the friend spot I’d earnestly hoped for, but maybe because of all the incidents?
‘Or because it doesn’t feel like the protagonist buff fully kicked in?’
It felt more subdued than expected.
Even after wrapping up tea time and returning to the mansion, my mood was just meh.
“Just... that’s how I feel.”
“Are you tired of the prince even though you like him?”
“I didn’t say I like him.”
“But he acknowledged you. Do you prefer chasing after him alone? Our miss has such a unique personality.”
“Nanny lives for teasing me every day, huh?”
“Of course. How else would I live without that fun?”
“Nanny!”
I yelled at her cheekiness and glared.
Noticing the warning that I’d get mad if she kept going, Nanny approached and cupped my cheeks, rubbing them.
My plump little cheeks jiggled under her palms.
“Aww, how is our miss so lovable?”
Her voice full of affection melted away my sulking heart.
“Right? I’m super lovable. That’s why I’m worried. What if everyone falls for me?”
When I replied seriously, Nanny burst out laughing.
“Our miss, really.”
Seeing her unable to hold back her laughter, I just pouted.
‘What? I’m being serious.’
I’m seriously pondering what happens if we get a harem ending.
It’s just pitiful that Nanny doesn’t know I’m the protagonist.
