Chapter 17

Was that so surprising?

Prince Luciano’s response was stronger than expected.

It was really embarrassing to hear it.

I looked around for a while and decided just to keep asking.

“Just … let’s be comfortable with each other.”

After a long time, I showed the sunshine female protagonist smile.

Then Prince Luciano looked at me as if he had woken up from the shock.

I smiled softly again, telling him to make a quick decision.

After a while, he slowly nodded his head.

“Alright.”

“Wow, you’re really listening.”

I suggested it, but I didn’t know that he would really listen to it, so I said it out loud.

Then Prince Luciano looked at her with a bewildered look.

And he shook his head as if he couldn’t stop her and let out a small sigh.

“By the way, Aesvin’s attitude has changed a lot.”

“Wow! You called my name!”

Although it was done urgently, it was clear that the way he addressed me had changed.

I clapped my hands on the monumental thing.

Prince Luciano laughed in vain.

“How far do you plan to change?”

What do you mean?

“Now is just the beginning.”

“!”

He really didn’t know anything.

Of course, friends and love interests were different.

‘I don’t have to pretend to be the sunshine heroine in front of you. You’re not even my man’s candidate.’

“You’ve seen everything you shouldn’t see.”

“… I never thought you would be this kind of person.”

Somehow, he seemed to sigh, regretting that he had decided to be friends with me.

That wasn’t good.

Prince Luciano had been weighing me for more than a year, and I couldn’t accept him as a friend right away.

I was just getting started.

* * *

“Aesvin.”

I raised my head at the call I heard while I was concentrating.

“Did you call me?”

Prince Luciano called and just stared at me.

Somehow he looked like he had a lot to say.

“Why?”

“Sit down when you read a book.”

He must have been annoyed to see me reading a book while lying on my stomach on the sofa.

“This is more comfortable.”

“…….”

Prince Luciano sighed.

* * *

“Checkmate.”

Luciano’s queen caught my poor King at once.

I’ve already played chess for ten games, and I’ve lost ten games.

I couldn’t stand it!

“Please step back!”

“What?”

“That’s not right! You just made a mistake. It’s not the prince’s turn. Get out of there!”

At my compulsion, Luciano sighed and pulled his queen back.

“Two times before!”

With another sigh, he moved his hand once more.

* * *

“Stop moving!”

I shouted while grabbing Luciano’s hand as he pulled out the card.

He looked at me as if he didn’t know what to say.

“Oho! How dare you cheat in a sacred card game!”

“… You’ve been playing tricks on me for a while.”

“Oh, you know that?”

Oh, I didn’t know you caught me.

‘He didn’t say anything, so I thought my hands were faster than lightning.’

In my sly attitude, Prince Luciano also sighed.

* * *

“Let’s make a bet today.”

“A bet?”

“We’re not betting on money, we’re betting on finger flick. How about that?”

“What’s a finger flick?”

I rolled my middle finger in a circle, pressed it with my thumb, and then made a bouncing motion.

“Like this. It’s a slap on the forehead.”

“Will you… be all right?”

Prince Luciano looked at my gesture for a while, checked if I was really okay.

That arrogant attitude!

This was all because he was too good.

His genius brain was also shown in the game.

We played quite a few different games, but I couldn’t beat Prince Luciano in most of them.

If a person who didn’t even know the game’s rules actually played the game, he would win every time.

I shivered every time.

Even Prince Luciano knew well that I was burning with a desire to win.

‘And yet, even if he sees that, he’s not let me win.’

Anyway, I asked if I could make a bet every time I lost.

“I’m confident.”

I was confident of winning this time.

Why?

This was a game that didn’t exist in this world!

Prince Luciano accepted the bet even with my confident expression.

“All right.”

I’ll make you regret it!

I’m going to win!

“Bring the chessboard.”

While Prince Luciano was bringing the chessboard, I unpacked my prepared pocket.

Clatter.

It was pebbles from my backyard.

They were about the size of a finger, and there were each five black stones and white pebbles.

“Rock? What are you going to use it for?”

‘Huhuhu.’

“Have you heard of Alkkagi?”

I was called an Alkkagi master in my previous life.

Although it wasn’t a go stone, I believed in my victory, so I didn’t doubt it.

That was ten minutes ago.

“Shall we play another round?”

Even with Prince Luciano’s suggestion, I couldn’t hide my frustration.

It shouldn’t be like this.

‘I can’t believe I’m losing in Alkkagi.’

“Then, let’s stop and do something else.”

As I was stunned by the shock, Prince Luciano tried to clean up the pebbles.

“You have to give me a finger flick.”

I was angry, but I had to keep my promise.

I raised my bangs with the palm of my hand and showed my forehead.

“It’s okay.”

Prince Luciano casually said he was okay, but I wasn’t okay.

“No, bets are bets. Come on, hit me!”

He stared at me and moved.

I looked at his hand approaching my forehead and closed my eyes tightly.

It would hurt, right?

No, it might not hurt because he didn’t know what a finger flick was.

But he was Prince Luciano.

A genius who was good at everything.

‘A finger flick from a genius. It must hurt a lot, right?’

I shivered and prayed for a quick hit.

However, no matter how long I waited, there was no pain hitting my forehead.

I opened one eye and looked at Prince Luciano.

“I won’t hit you.”

“You can’t do that. Hit me.”

When I strongly insisted, Prince Luciano made a strange expression.

“Do you want to be beaten so badly?”

No, why did he say that?

“No way!”

“I said it’s okay, so why do you keep asking me to hit you?”

“Of course, I also want to hit you!”

You didn’t know my next big picture.

Prince Luciano looked at me in as if I was ridiculous.

“All right. Come here.”

I raised my bangs again, closed my eyes, and waited.

When will you hit me?

If you’re going to hit me, hit me quickly.

Why do you keep dragging your time?

It was scary.

My body trembled with nervousness.

At that time.

Tuk.

An unexpectedly weak touch landed in my forehead.

I opened my eyes wide.

I saw Prince Luciano’s blank face.

“Why?”

“Did you just hit me?”

“Yes.”

Prince Luciano remained calm.

“Did you really hit me?”

“I told you so.”

There was something Luciano couldn’t do, right?

“Good! Let’s play one more round!”

I cried out excitedly.

* * *

As we met a few more times, I saw how far Prince Luciano would tolerate my attitude.

I had been cheeky and tried to force him a few times.

I also did something that I thought was wrong.

‘But it seems that the boundaries of Prince Luciano’s generosity are wider than I thought.’

He sighed at most of my actions but showed a ‘do as you please’ attitude.

As if compensating for the past year, Prince Luciano has adjusted everything to me.

He was cautious when it came to getting people into his line, but once he did, he seemed to have an infinite generosity.

Objectively speaking, he was an indifferent person, so he didn’t feel like a good friend.

He didn’t explain something properly, and he was very blunt.

In many ways, he wasn’t a comfortable person.

‘But if you adjust to my behavior to this extent, I don’t think it would be bad to be friends.’

Upon reaching a conclusion, I declared to Prince Luciano.

“All right, I’ll take you as my friend.”

Prince Luciano stiffened as if he had heard something he couldn’t hear.

I looked at him to say something, and he said, “I think I heard a very shocking remark—you’re taking me as a friend? What have we been after all this time?”

Well, we had been playing a lot together for months, and you’ve been receiving a lot of my coercion.

I understand a little when he felt absurd.

“Until now, it has been a period of judging whether the Prince is suitable as my friend.”

“I’m surprised I didn’t even know I was being examined. So, did I have passed now?”

“That’s why I’m telling you now.”

Prince Luciano smirked as if my answer were amazing.

“I really can’t stop you.”

“Now, let’s get along well.”

When I declared that with a smile, he shook his head.

Either way, I was proud.

Because I conscientiously judged Prince Luciano for only three months.

He had been watching me for a year.

‘This is good enough!’

So I accepted Prince Luciano as my friend and quickly became close.

* * *

I was particularly hungry today.

“I’m hungry. Do you have anything to eat?”

I asked Prince Luciano to get some food while grabbing my hungry stomach.

“Wait here.”

Prince Luciano looked at me for a moment and left the room.

Then I suddenly realized that tea was always served, but I had never had a meal with him.

I often visited the Imperial Palace, but I didn’t feel the need to eat because I didn’t stay for a long time.

Prince Luciano had returned before I knew it and had two apples in his hands.

“Here, eat this.”

An apple in its original form was given to me.

In a form complete with the skin.

“You said you were hungry.”

When I didn’t answer in a hurry, Prince Luciano waved his hand as if he wanted me to accept it quickly.

“I never thought you would give it to me raw.”

Didn’t you usually eat only good things at the Imperial Palace?

‘Isn’t it too raw?’

“I usually eat like this.”

When I didn’t take it, Prince Luciano spat out.

I belatedly realized it and felt discontent.

‘He’s sensitive to food because of the poison.’

“You’re not even peel it.”

I accepted the apple.

In fact, I wasn’t that sensitive either.

I rubbed it to my clothes and bit the apple.

The sweet and sour tasted good.

As I mumbled, I glanced at Prince Luciano, he began to eat.

I had doubts while eating.

When he said ‘I usually eat like this’, did he mean snacks?

Or did he mean a meal?

If you simply thought about it, it might be the former, but somehow I had an ominous feeling that it would be the latter.

He was also sensitive to muffins.

“Do you even eat meal like this?”

Prince Luciano’s jaw stopped moving.

Then he stared at me.

His red eyes turned cold.

I was choking because I knew the answer just by looking at his face.

As soon as my nervousness grew stronger, Prince Luciano spoke.

“Chefs are easy to bribe.”

It means that it has been a long time since he had a proper meal.

Not for health, but for survival by eating raw food.

My stomach was all choked up.

I was foolish again.

I knew he was worried about this, but I should have paid more attention.

I never thought the situation would be this bad.

Still, he’s my friend!

I sprang to my feet.

“Can you go out?”