Chapter 107

He must have felt miserable—having to confess what he always considered a weakness to a foreign princess.

After Sasha returned to his room, I explained the situation to the Princess.

“He didn’t say it out loud, but Sasha really likes romance novels. It started because I loved them when we were kids, and he would read along with me.”

It was the classic case of getting soaked without realizing it in a drizzle. What began as light reading to pass the time turned into genuine enjoyment, and since then, Sasha had devoured an impressive number of romance novels.

“What he said is true. I went downstairs to make tea and ran into him on the way back.”

“Then why didn’t you wake me?”

“You were sleeping so soundly… I just turned off the light and left. You had a long day with so much going on—I thought you must be tired.”

“Oh…”

“We’re twins, so maybe we’re closer than most siblings. Were you very startled, Your Highness?”

“No.”

The Princess fanned her face as she replied. For some reason, her cheeks were flushed red.

“I’m alright. I was just shocked because someone suddenly grabbed my ankle and pulled—it scared me, that’s all.”

‘Ah, that.’

That was one of Sasha’s usual pranks on me. He used to grab my leg and tug while I slept, and it never failed to make me jump. We’d laugh for ages about it. But for the princess, experiencing something like that in the middle of the night must’ve been mortifying.

“I’m really sorry.”

“No, I’m the one who should apologize. I made such a fuss and disrupted everyone. It seemed like Lord Roha was quite upset.”

There it was—Princess Florin’s angelic personality. I reassured her as she expressed concern for Sasha.

“He’s alright. He’s just embarrassed because he thinks it’s shameful you found out he reads romance novels.”

“Embarrassed? Why?”

“Because… Sasha thinks it’s a little shameful for a man to be into romance novels.”

The princess’s eyes widened. She shook her head firmly, clearly unable to accept that idea.

“That’s ridiculous. It’s even more admirable because he’s a man.”

“…Huh? What do you mean?”

“Just think about it.”

Her voice grew firm with conviction.

“Most men only talk about swordsmanship or politics—whatever makes them seem better than others. But he’s different.”

“Well… technically, my twin brother’s into those things too.”

Back in the day, Sasha could’ve been described as a walking bundle of unchecked desires. Yet somehow, Princess Florin had come to admire him.

“I think it takes real courage for a man to openly admit he reads romance novels. That’s what makes him admirable.”

It wasn’t in my nature to sprinkle salt on a situation that had already settled peacefully. So I simply nodded along, pretending to agree with her.

* * *

The next morning, the entire family gathered to have breakfast with their guest.

We usually sat four at the table, but now there were five. Technically, the princess held a much higher status, but since she was around my age and had a reserved personality, Father naturally took the head seat.

Everyone shifted down one seat. I sat next to Mother, which meant the seat that was usually mine—beside my brother—was now taken by Princess Florin. After last night’s unexpected and rather awkward encounter, the air between the two of them was thick with tension.

“About last night… I apologize.”

Sasha seemed more composed than he had been the night before. At his words, Princess Florin quickly shook her head in surprise.

“No, no! It’s fine. I was the one who screamed… It must have startled you terribly.”

“Please, don’t say that.”

What the…?

No one knew how proud Sasha was better than I did. I had been sure he would completely ignore the Princess. After all, she was a woman who had discovered his secret, and in a few days, she’d return to her homeland. I thought he’d simply keep a respectful distance.

But…

Something felt off as I watched the two of them from afar. They had exchanged all the necessary words—apologies, reassurances, understanding—yet their conversation just wouldn’t end. What was stranger was that the more they talked, the more Princess Florin’s face bloomed like a rose, and Sasha… he was cutting his food unusually slowly today.

No way…?

They say even a monk can’t shave his own head—and that was me. I was completely blind when it came to my own love life, yet I could feel this delicate pink aura beginning to form around them.

My heart started to tingle for some reason. My brother, who had never shown much interest in women, and the shy princess… the two of them together sparked something that made my chest tighten in excitement.

I decided to make good use of the lesson my brother had once taught me during the whole Prince Zeta fiasco:

“Hey, aren’t you busy today, brother?”

The lesson being—love burns brighter in the face of adversity.

Sasha’s face immediately stiffened as he looked at me, clearly recognizing the deliberate interruption. The Princess quickly lowered her head, flustered.

“I must’ve distracted you too much. I’m sorry. Please eat.”

“N-No, not at all. I’m not really… busy.”

“Not busy? What are you talking about? You came home late last night from working overtime. Go on and get to work. That way, you’ll be back early and can get some rest.”

Sasha gave me a familiar look. It was the unmistakable ‘Please shut up and just eat’ expression.

But the moment Princess Florin turned toward him, Sasha’s expression softened like a spring breeze.

“Is the food to your liking?”

“She already ate it yesterday. Why ask again? She said it was delicious.”

I butted into their conversation with a teasing grin.

“And it’s not like the Princess would tell the hosts, ‘The food was awful,’ right? Why even ask a question when the answer’s obvious?”

“Oh! No, really—it’s sweet of you to ask. The food is very good. And the tea too.”

Mother poked me in the side. She clearly meant: What on earth are you doing?

“Your Highness.”

“Yes?”

Feigning innocence, I turned to the Princess.

“You know the saying—strike while the iron is hot. How about we start today on what you mentioned to the Duchess yesterday?”

The Princess immediately understood and her face lit up. Sasha, who had no clue what I was talking about, could only glance between the two of us in confusion.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen that flustered look on my twin’s face. Except for when I caused trouble, Sasha was always composed to the point of being maddening. But now…

“What’s going on…?”

In the end, Sasha couldn’t contain his curiosity and spoke up. Princess Florin answered him with sincerity. Despite having said that she found it difficult to talk to men, her tone toward Sasha was gentle and warm.

“There aren’t really any stories in Gellang worth calling novels. So…”

That was all the Princess said, but Sasha immediately caught on to what she meant. Being as clever as he was, he probably pictured the entire situation in his head with perfect clarity.

“You’re thinking of translating them.”

“How did you know?”

The Princess looked at Sasha with wide-eyed surprise. Sasha must’ve received those kinds of looks countless times before, but his reaction this time was completely different.

“I just… figured.”

“You’re amazing.”

“…You flatter me.”

The Sasha I knew never stammered or hesitated. But during this conversation with the princess, he paused several times, carefully chose his words, and clearly tried to keep the conversation flowing.

“Wow. How long are they going to take with that soup?”

By now, our parents had already finished eating. The maids had brought out dessert, but they weren’t sure what to do, since the two of them hadn’t even touched their soup.

It wouldn’t be proper to leave the table before a royal guest, but it was awkward to just sit there waiting without eating.

Only then did Princess Florin and Sasha seem to realize just how long they’d been talking.

“Oh—”

Princess Florin quickly began eating her soup. Her ears were burning red. And Sasha wasn’t much different either.

* * *

The Emperor had personally requested that she be treated as a special guest. There was absolutely no way that having a date at home with such a special guest would be acceptable.

Sasha was always busy, and since the Princess was around my age and also a woman, I’d assumed it was my job to keep her company.

“You’ve read An Introduction to Economics by Besserit?”

“Yes. It reflects the latest international trends, so I found many of the explanations very convincing.”

“I see. I didn’t expect you to have read Besserit’s work. It hasn’t been out long, so I haven’t even finished it yet myself.”

Besserit? That was the first time I’d heard the name, but the two of them were talking like there was no barrier at all.

Sasha went to his room and brought out a book to show Princess Florin.

“I was just having trouble understanding this part.”

Was he really? The only person who couldn’t see how bizarre Sasha was acting was the innocent Princess Florin. As she read the page Sasha had opened for her, she let out a soft “Ah!” and smiled.

“There’s a translation error here. Right here. The axes on this graph are reversed.”

“Ah, I see.”

“But if you read the main text, you probably would’ve noticed that the axes were switched.”

“I suppose I wasn’t reading very carefully.”

As if that could be true. His ridiculous excuse and smiling face made it feel like I was looking at a stranger.

I couldn’t breathe in that weird pink haze any longer—I had to get out of there.

I had been reading a newly released novel, but now I shot up from my seat. From the moment we’d gathered in the parlor, Sasha and Princess Florin had been engrossed in a nonstop conversation about international affairs and nonfiction books I knew nothing about. I was like a decorative sack of rice dumped in the middle of it all.

“I’m going to step out for a bit.”

“Ah, go ahead.”

Sasha didn’t even pretend to stop me, and I let out a stunned, hollow laugh.

“You’re not going out today?”

“I took the day off.”

“You what?”

I stood there slack-jawed. I couldn’t believe the word vacation actually existed in Sasha’s vocabulary.