IDHIT C10

Chapter 10

“That.”

Naomi’s irritating shadow, as she turned away, was quickly swallowed by Alexei’s figure.

“Brush that off first. Some of them can react to your skin.”

“Really?”

Startled, Angelina hurriedly shook off her hand.

“Don’t react to every little thing. What are you, a child?”

“I’m not a child. I’m already fifteen.”

“……”

“What’s with that look? You’re twenty, and you’re not any different.”

“…Did you learn mind-reading or something?”

“Alex, you—”

The fist she had unconsciously raised was easily covered by Alexei’s large hand.

“Still haven’t fixed that habit. You used to hit people at the drop of a hat, too.”

“When did I ever…?”

It wasn’t just his words that caught her off guard. Angelina stared at the hand covering hers.

Why is it so warm?

Judging by his tone and expression, she would’ve thought cold blood ran through him.

Something tickled strangely in her chest. When she fidgeted her fingers, Alexei let go without resistance.

And yet, the moment he did, it felt oddly empty.

Angelina clenched and unclenched her fist a few times, trying to shake off the unfamiliar sensation lingering on her skin.

“Naomi may be ill-mannered, but that’s because she wasn’t taught properly. You shouldn’t act the same way.”

“If you speak kindly, others will respond kindly too.”

“And yet you told me not to do that.”

“What?”

Leaving her blinking in confusion, Alexei turned away. Angelina, about to grab him and demand an explanation, suddenly paused.

Franz said it in a nasty way.

Still… it sounded childish.

So this was just a pointless clash of pride.

“That’s different—it’s a different situation!”

Before and after escaping are completely different!

She rattled off her flimsy excuses like a machine gun as she hurried after Alexei.

He used to be shorter than me.

Now, with legs far longer than before, he was already pulling ahead faster than she could catch up.

“Alex!”

The face that turned back was as indifferent as ever, though there seemed to be the faintest hint of a smile at the corner of his lips.

“What?”

“Look over there.”

Something that caught her eye became the perfect excuse. She pointed toward the sky. Alexei—and the other two—followed her finger.

At the end of it hung coconuts.

Brown fruit that wouldn’t kill you no matter what.

“They look like coconuts. Those are edible, right?”

“They look like it to me too…”

“Let’s take them.”

“……”

The two men tilted their heads all the way back, staring up at the fruit hanging from the top of the tree.

They looked tempting—but far too high.

“I don’t think we can get those, Angel.”

“So we’re just giving up?”

“……”

“Since His Highness the Crown Prince can’t climb, I’ll try.”

Franz stepped forward.

“Yeah, it’d be too much for Alexei.”

“I can do it.”

Stopping Franz, Alexei grabbed the tree.

“I told you, it’s too much. You’ve never even tried.”

“I have.”

“When? The trees in the imperial garden? The ones barely as tall as us?”

“They were taller than us.”

Climbing up with confidence, Alexei stopped halfway. The palm tree swayed from side to side. It looked impossible to go any higher.

“Find me a long pole. Hurry.”

At his shout, Franz snapped off a long branch and handed it up. Clinging tightly to the unstable tree, Alexei stretched the pole—but it didn’t reach the coconuts.

“You did well enough.”

It was meant as comfort, but Alexei only frowned.

“I’ll do it.”

But Franz fared no better. As the tree began to wobble, he seemed more concerned with keeping himself from falling than reaching the coconuts.

“It’s impossible.”

“Yeah, this won’t work, Angel.”

Having tasted failure, the two men quickly came to a conclusion. Naomi, however, couldn’t take her eyes off the coconuts.

“What if we grab the tree and shake it?”

At her desperate suggestion, the two men grabbed either side of the palm tree and shook it. The tree, which had swayed like paper earlier, didn’t budge at all now. Even with Naomi joining in, nothing changed.

“It really won’t work.”

Once Naomi reached the same conclusion, the two men let go of the tree with satisfied expressions—

unaware that someone hadn’t given up yet.

“Everyone, step back.”

Under puzzled gazes, Angelina adjusted her shoes. After loosening her arms and legs and rolling her wrists and ankles, she called out again.

“I said step away from the palm tree. Farther—go as far as you can.”

The energy radiating from her made the three of them instinctively retreat.

“What are you trying to do, Angel?”

“Coconut hunting.”

Angelina dashed toward the tree. In a single motion, she climbed to mid-height, then pushed off rapidly with both feet and reached the top.

“Watch out.”

Thud.

A coconut dropped—and a moment later, she landed as well.

It all happened in an instant.

“Wow…”

What is she?

Naomi’s jaw hung open.

She’d heard noble ladies get out of breath just from walking and collapse under the sun—

yet this Crown Princess was shooting guns, climbing trees—

and speaking without hesitation.

“Angel, how did you… I’m honestly speechless.”

“You’re putting us men to shame.”

“Oh, this? It’s nothing.”

Angelina shrugged.

She’d only done it out of frustration at how helpless they looked—but she hadn’t expected it to actually work. She’d never been good at studying, but she excelled in physical activities, and apparently the skills she’d gained from intense training under an action film director hadn’t faded.

Compared to the grueling preparation she’d gone through for films, climbing a tree was nothing.

More than anything, seeing Naomi—who clearly didn’t realize the look in her own eyes—felt satisfying.

Respect. Admiration.

When their gazes met, Naomi startled and quickly looked away as if nothing had happened.

“But… how do we eat this?”

“Just a moment.”

Franz pulled out a knife and stabbed deeply into the three “eyes” of the coconut.

“If you lift it, sweet water will come out. The flesh is hard to eat, so just enjoy it like this.”

Naomi quickly snatched the coconut Franz offered.

“Don’t you know respect for elders?”

“Respect? What’s that?”

“The elder eats first. Hand it over.”

“No.”

“I picked it.”

“That’s petty. Don’t take it—just eat that one.”

Naomi gestured at the second coconut in Franz’s hand.

“That one’s for the Crown Prince. Then Franz. You’re last.”

“I’m hungry!”

She shouted and lifted the coconut to her mouth—but the Crown Princess grabbed her hand.

No matter how hard Naomi tried, she couldn’t shake her off. Angelina spoke calmly as Naomi fumed.

“Say thank you.”

“No.”

“Then go hungry.”

“Ah, just give it to me already—ah!”

“Aah!”

A monkey suddenly appeared on Naomi’s shoulder. She screamed and fell flat onto the ground. Startled, Angelina also stepped back.

Between them lay the coconut—and the small monkey.

The monkey fiddled with the coconut’s surface, sniffed it, then grabbed it and darted away.

Wait—did it just steal our food?

Without a word, both girls chased after it.

“Screech, screech!”

Dodging their grasp, the monkey quickly climbed up a tree.

“You climb so well—why don’t you just pick your own?”

“……”

“Get down here, you thief!”

“……”

Ignoring them completely, the monkey sucked noisily on the coconut.

“How do we catch it?”

“Should we hit it with a stick?”

“Then it’ll just run. Think before you speak.”

“And do you have a better idea, Your Highness?”

“No. That’s why we’re standing here.”

The two crossed their arms and stared up at the tree. Eventually, the monkey, finding no more juice, dropped the coconut.

Thud—

The drained fruit rolled to a stop, tapping against their feet. Their gazes, which had dropped to the ground, slowly lifted again to the tree.

“Let’s catch it.”

“We’re definitely catching it.”

Sparks practically flew from their eyes.

“Come here, nice and easy.”

Angelina called out sweetly, as if beckoning a pet dog. The still-hungry monkey took the bait. The moment it reached for the coconut, Naomi threw a sack over it.

“Got you!”

“Yes!”

The two girls cheered and high-fived.

The sack wriggled and squeaked.

Watching silently, Alexei pressed a hand to his forehead.

“They fight like enemies one moment—and act like sisters the next… What on earth are you doing?”

At his exasperated sigh, the two women froze mid-laughter. Their expressions slowly shifted to embarrassment and awkwardness.