A Painting of the Villainess as a Young Lady

Facing his close friend who’s keeping his mouth shut and was showing only calmness, Roen clicked his tongue.

There was nothing that the crown prince couldn’t do. Roen’s complaints couldn’t leave through his mouth, and so it was impossible to vent to the very person involved.

“Haha. My dear, one and only close friend. Look at your face, all wrinkled up like this. Is something wrong?”

“Who do you think is to blame, Your Highness?”

“Not quite sure. Have you missed having teatime with me that much?”

“……”

Roen put on a nice and friendly smile. An oh-so-gentle smile was necessary when cursing someone out.

“You’ve taken the time to welcome me despite your hectic schedule, so I am at a loss for what to say, Your Imperial Highness the Crown Prince.”

“At ease now, at ease. Good grief, should I hear such stiff politeness from my dear friend?”

“So why did you call me when you’re so busy?”

“Tut, tut. As soon as I said it, you really went for it. Gosh.”

“You’re being fickle, Your Highness.”

Roen just did as he was told, yet this was the result. In vain, he felt wronged.

Moreover, of all things Roen was being served a kind of tea that he hated the most, so it was obvious that the crown prince was teasing him.

“Doesn’t the tea smell positively fragrant? This tea has come from across the sea, and I heard it takes quite a pretty penny to acquire it. Only the best tea leaves are being served to the imperial family, so drink as much as you want.”

“Why did you call me here?”

Unable to endure further, Roen only repeated the same thing.

And here, Roen wiped off the full smile on his face and showed only an expression of disapproval. Right then, the crown prince burst into laughter.

“It’s been a while since we last met each other, so can’t I play a little prank? You and the members of the imperial family are such dreary people.”

As much as he hated it though, this duke’s heir couldn’t do anything against this ‘prank’.

“We’re both busy people, Your Highness, but don’t tell me that you’ve summoned me here only for a cup of tea and a short break?”

“…You know, you scare me sometimes whenever you make that expression.”

“Oh, how could I dare do any harm to you, Your Highness the Crown Prince?”

“I-I got it. You don’t have to think that way because I called you here for a reason.”

When Roen smiled again, the crown prince—while clicking his tongue—eventually raised the white flag.

The only reaction Roen had to this was to raise his teacup to his lips and take a sip. Then, with a calm look on his face, he set the cup down.

The tea tasted even worse than the tea that Violet always served him.

“I thought it would be alright to catch up with you a little first since we’re close friends. I mean, if you came to visit me earlier, I wouldn’t have been left with no choice but to summon you through the imperial decree, now would I?”

“I was busy.”

“Busy schmissy. You completely forgot about me.”

“I was busy.”

“Fine, fine, I got it. I was wrong.”

As the man who was to become the country’s monarch had given him an apology, Roen picked up a refreshment from the table, the corners of his lips tugging up to a soft smile.

Seeing this, the crown prince clicked his tongue once again.

“Do you know that there are strange rumors about me going around?”

“No, I don’t. I’m not very interested in Your Highness.”

The bold answer induced an incredulous look on the crown prince’s face. They were close friends, but they weren’t close enough to have a leisurely teatime together like this.

“There’s a false rumor going around that I like men.”

“I see.”

“And the other party involved is none other than you. People whisper amongst themselves, ‘Oh, so that’s how it is between Prince Rajaden and Lord Everett.’”

“Cough—!”

The abrupt mental damage caused Roen to gulp down his tea the wrong way, and this made him cough heavily. The coughing fit lasted for a while.

Tsk. Rajaden handed Roen a gold-trimmed handkerchief, but Roen refused.

“Just why— Of all the rumors…”

“It’s actually been a while since that rumor has been going around. It started back when we were at the academy, so it’s been… about six years, I believe?”

“And it’s been a while since I was aware that you were taking advantage of that rumor. But I don’t understand why you’re bringing it up now.”

“Oh, don’t be sulky. I’m not particularly interested in you in that way either.”

Unable to figure out the crown prince’s intentions, Roen scowled unpleasantly.

The crown prince had long since voiced out how he wanted Roen as an aide, announcing very loudly that he would make Roen the next prime minister, however what he’s talking about now with him was far from this.

“That’s why I’m thinking of taking in a consort.”

“…Yeees.”

No, perhaps not far. It was a topic that was as close as close could get.

Roen briefly cast a pitying look at the crown prince, who had no friends. So he called Roen here because he had no one else to talk with about his love life.

Be that as it may, the pitying look was still endlessly cold.

“I see. Congratulations.”

“Gosh. Yes, it’s something to celebrate. I’m more than happy to hear that you’re congratulating me.”

“Yeees…”

Roen was giving the crown prince the same treatment that Violet gave himself. For a moment, he was struck with an earnest realization of why Violet tended to answer him with such half-heartedness.

By nature, people who were at the top treated marriage as a political tool. The fate of the nation was, quite literally, at stake when it came to the crown prince’s marriage, so it was a matter to be handled with utmost care.

Roen briefly recalled the candidates for the crown prince’s consort. If she had already been chosen, then it’s impossible that Roen hadn’t heard about it yet. So far, just the candidates had been decided.

Then, an ominous feeling soon took over Roen.

No. It can’t be.