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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Unexpected Dinner Guest
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To my abrupt question, Crown Prince Luciano just stared at me blankly.
He seemed to wonder what unpredictable thing I was up to this time, given how erratic I always was.
There was no explaining it in words anyway.
“Even if it’s impossible, we’re going out. Let’s head out right now!”
I grabbed Crown Prince Luciano and pulled him along.
He looked displeased but didn’t shake off my hand.
The place I brought him to was my family’s mansion.
“A guest has arrived! Prepare a grand dinner for tonight.”
I hopped down from the carriage and called out to the butler.
“Miss, you’re back early. A guest all of a sudden?”
The butler sounded stunned that I’d returned from the imperial palace with a guest in tow.
He tilted his head in confusion, since this had never happened before.
But a moment later, as Crown Prince Luciano descended from the carriage, the butler froze.
Recognizing him instantly, the butler bowed politely.
“Crown Prince Luciano, it is an honor to host such a noble guest.”
“I apologize for the sudden visit.”
He’d been troubled ever since realizing we’d come to my family’s mansion, but in front of others, he acted quite composed.
Our capable butler responded smoothly as well.
“Not at all. It is truly an honor to serve you, Your Highness. However, the Count and Countess will be dining out due to prior engagements tonight. Is that alright?”
“Yeah, of course it is. I didn’t come to see my parents. Enough about the prince—come over here already.”
Afraid they’d drag the conversation out if I left them be, I quickly interrupted.
Crown Prince Luciano shot me an incredulous glance before turning to the butler.
“I’ll just be here with Espin, so don’t trouble yourself too much.”
“Please call if you need anything.”
“Would you like a tour of the mansion?”
Crown Prince Luciano shook his head, so I led him to my lounge.
“Rest here until dinner’s ready.”
I gestured to the sofa for him to sit comfortably, but he didn’t settle right away.
Instead, he kept running his hand through his hair, looking irritated.
Letting out heavy sighs of frustration, he muttered,
“This is truly difficult.”
“What’s so difficult?”
“You’re impossible to predict. Who drags someone off like this out of nowhere? Now I’m imposing. Good thing your parents aren’t here—what a nuisance this is.”
Hmm. His uncharacteristically grumpy expression and long-winded complaints suggested he was quite shocked.
‘The guy who always went along with whatever I did is showing his real age now that he’s letting his emotions show.’
“But we had to do it like this, out of the blue, so no one else has a chance to interfere.”
Crown Prince Luciano, who had been pacing irritably around the room, stopped dead in his tracks.
He turned to look at me with newfound eyes.
“……Did you go through all this just to treat me to a meal?”
“No one could’ve seen this coming, so the other side can’t pull any tricks. You can eat in peace, right?”
Crown Prince Luciano looked truly speechless this time.
After staring at me for a moment with those red eyes, he finally sat down.
His lips pressed into a stubborn line.
He might have been touched at the prospect of a proper meal, or annoyed at being forced into this situation.
Knowing his feelings were complicated, I didn’t say anything more.
Crown Prince Luciano didn’t speak again until word came that dinner was ready.
“There may be shortcomings due to the short notice. We appreciate your understanding.”
The butler informed Crown Prince Luciano first, before the meal was served.
Hosting royalty without warning was undoubtedly a burden for him.
I wanted to tell him not to worry so much, but Crown Prince Luciano replied curtly first.
“It’s fine.”
“Then I’ll have the meal served.”
At the butler’s signal, a maid waiting nearby brought in a tray.
The butler placed the appetizer plate in front of Crown Prince Luciano first, then set one before me as well.
“Wow!”
I couldn’t help but exclaim.
The butler’s warning about possible shortcomings must have been an overstatement.
“Grilled shrimp with tomatoes. Ricotta cheese stuffed inside for extra flavor, drizzled with orange sauce for a tangy finish.”
The head chef must have gone all out knowing royalty was here—the dish looked even more appetizing than usual.
I wanted to dig in right away, but Crown Prince Luciano just stared at the food without eating.
Blankly.
His expression was as if food itself was something utterly foreign to him.
“Go ahead and try it.”
That was why I urged him.
Those red eyes, fixed on the plate, turned to me.
I could guess at his strange hesitation.
“Our head chef is great. Come on, give it a taste.”
Crown Prince Luciano picked up his fork.
Slowly, he speared a shrimp and tomato together and brought them to his mouth.
His eyes widened gradually.
His jaw moved deliberately.
Crown Prince Luciano chewed the food thoroughly, almost savoring it, before swallowing.
I deliberately waited until he’d swallowed.
“How is it?”
I’d roughly anticipated his reaction, but I wanted to hear it straight from him.
Crown Prince Luciano’s eyes met mine.
They trembled faintly, swirling with indescribable emotions.
I’d only been curious about how it tasted after so long without a proper meal.
But at his moved expression, I belatedly realized.
Though the muffin had been a failure, it was similar to his reaction when he realized his feelings for the female lead.
His intense gaze held a torrent of emotion.
‘Ah, this wasn’t what I intended.’
Crown Prince Luciano’s flushed cheeks betrayed his feelings.
His twitching lips seemed full of things he wanted to say.
Was this making up for my past mistake?
Was the perfect protagonist buff stacking up his favorability properly?
‘But if he actually falls for me now, it’d be kinda awkward.’
I felt a twinge of embarrassment.
As I unknowingly pondered what to do,
Crown Prince Luciano, who had been staring at me, swallowed slowly as if his throat were tight, then spoke.
“Flavorful.”
“……”
……Huh?
What?
His novel phrasing threw me off.
“Not ‘delicious’?”
I asked just to be sure.
“……Just, flavorful.”
With a slightly sullen face, he spat it out and continued eating.
His curt reaction left me feeling deflated a beat later.
Of course. What romance would there be between us?
‘I’m the idiot for even worrying.’
Maybe because he’s not my guy, but his reactions to the female lead and me were worlds apart, even in similar situations.
The absurdity of it all aside,
‘As long as Luciano eats well, that’s what matters.’
That thought came naturally.
Seemingly pleased with the food, he picked up the pace.
He was trying not to wolf it down.
But his quickening movements soon had his plate looking like it’d be licked clean, so I told the butler,
“Bring the rest of the food faster. Actually, bring it all at once? We’ll eat casually, just us.”
“Understood.”
After that, the butler swiftly brought out the rest.
Once the table was filled, he stepped away.
With fewer eyes on him, Crown Prince Luciano ate even faster.
‘Guess he’s comfortable around me.’
He minded his manners less than in front of the butler.
Watching him focus solely on the food, ignoring me completely, I thought a hundred times over that bringing him here was the right call.
By the time he finished the main course steak, he finally slowed down, looking full.
His relaxed expression showed his satisfaction plainly.
He’d been prickly from hunger all this time, I suspected.
“How tasty, right?”
Half teasing, half curious about his true feelings, I asked.
Only then did Crown Prince Luciano notice my grinning face, and his expression soured.
Returning to his gruff demeanor, he grumbled,
“I said it’s novel.”
Tch, so stubborn.
So what if his reaction’s different from how he’d be with the heroine?
‘He ate so well.’
“Let’s go out sometimes and eat together from now on.”
Suggesting a next time since he’d enjoyed it so much, I watched his face stiffen instantly.
“It’s dangerous. We can’t.”
I understood his need for caution, but it bothered me that he couldn’t keep having proper meals.
At his age, he shouldn’t be surviving on rations alone.
“It doesn’t have to be here. We can eat out somewhere.”
Crown Prince Luciano clamped his mouth shut, as if holding something back.
“If we pick a place on the spur of the moment, it shouldn’t be risky, right?”
I wasn’t sure if my persuasion worked or if the long-awaited meal had charmed him.
“……Sometimes.”
Stubborn as he seemed, Crown Prince Luciano hesitated but promised more to come, filling me with warm satisfaction.
It felt like successfully feeding a starving stray cat.
‘I’ll have to pay more attention to his meals from now on.’
That much I could do as a friend.
And so, we took another step deeper into friendship.
