Chapter: 09
Chase placed his hand over his chest and lowered his head.
At that, Castilian waved his hand once.
“Enough.”
At the same time, a deep, low voice resonated through the office.
It was completely different from the voice he used at the center.
The low tone emanating from Castilian’s chest wasn’t just weighty—it carried an overwhelming authority.
Chase straightened his posture and smirked.
“If His Highness wishes it, then I’ll follow orders.”
Castilian walked over expressionless and sat on the sofa.
He was lightly dressed, wearing only a robe.
In fact, Castilian was living at Chase’s mansion.
After escaping the palace, the only place he could hide safely was at Chase’s home.
Suddenly, Castilian fiddled with the back of his right ear.
Soon, he used his fingernail to peel something off.
Immediately, his black hair and eyebrows turned gold in an instant.
Chase glanced at the small object in Castilian’s hand.
“…A dye patch.”
A “dye patch” was an item that could change the color of the user’s hair or body hair.
It was a rare item typically traded only on the black market in the kingdom of Lehatten, so ordinary people didn’t even know such a thing existed.
Castilian only had it out of necessity due to his own circumstances.
Chase swirled the whiskey in his hand.
“Now that I think about it, it’s been a while since I last saw you with blonde hair.”
Castilian’s gaze, which had been circling the sofa table, fixed on him.
Chase raised the corner of his mouth playfully.
“No special meaning. Just looks unmistakably like the crown prince.”
“…….”
“By the way, any side effects?”
The dye patch was a “magical” item that could freely change hair or body hair color.
Because of that, if someone who wasn’t a magician used it, there would be major side effects.
Castilian, making eye contact with Chase, replied after a pause.
“…I don’t know.”
“Of course, you can’t feel pain anyway.”
Castilian La Idebert Carnon—he was the protagonist of a 19+ romance fantasy.
Because of that, he came with the characteristic 19+ stimulating traits.
Namely, he could not feel “pain.”
In the novels, Castilian was someone who pursued intense stimulation to the extreme.
He would hurt himself just to feel a little pain, gradually losing his sanity, while the heroine suffered…
Of course, this was not the case in the all-ages game version.
Still, because of this peculiarity, Castilian didn’t really notice the side effects of the dye patch.
Not knowing one’s own condition was a very dangerous thing.
“If he keeps using it, it could harm his health…”
Although Chase acted nonchalant, he was actually deeply worried about Castilian.
That was why he wanted to resolve Castilian’s “situation” as quickly as possible.
However…
“Judging by the lack of news, it seems there’s been no progress at all.”
Chase frowned and took a sip of whiskey.
Castilian stared at the sofa across from him.
The man, who hadn’t moved his eyes even once, suddenly parted his lips.
“It seems it’s no use anymore.”
“Hmm?”
“He’s already set his heart on Johan Beloster.”
Chase rolled the whiskey in his mouth and swallowed it once it had cooled.
“Johan Beloster?”
Chase repeated.
“You mean the Marquess Beloster?”
There was no answer from Castilian.
It was typical of his taciturn nature.
Blinking a few times, Chase added,
“That’s strange…? Sienna hasn’t even met Marquess Beloster before.”
“I don’t know.”
Castilian replied shortly and closed his mouth again.
Chase tapped the glass lightly with his fingers.
“How peculiar.”
It was a legitimate reason to be puzzled.
Sienna wasn’t the type to enjoy mingling with people.
She resembled Soren Willow, Chase’s eldest brother, more than Chase himself.
Because of that, she found managing connections bothersome and hated wandering around.
In short, a homebody.
In contrast, Chase spent all his time outside the house, meeting people constantly.
He assumed Sienna might secretly be lonely.
“Brother, why are you making me go to the center? It’s already the third day.”
“You’re busy, but Sienna, you have nothing to do, right?”
So, he had deliberately assigned her to the center.
It was Chase’s “project to turn loner Sienna into a social butterfly.”
“But when did she even meet the Marquess…?”
As he was wondering, a low voice pierced his ear.
“And your method won’t work either.”
Chase looked at Castilian at that.
Castilian leaned back against the sofa, eyes closed.
He looked quite exhausted.
Not physically, but emotionally complicated.
A long breath escaped from Chase’s nose.
“Rian.”
He stood up and moved toward the sofa.
As his footsteps sounded, Castilian’s eyes opened slightly.
Chase sat across from him and crossed his legs.
In an arrogant tone, he said,
“As you know, I’ve never been wrong before.”
“…….”
“It’s just that Sienna is slow and dim.”
Chase pointed to Castilian with his chin.
“And you chose to take the long way instead of the shortcut.”
To explain what this meant…
Let’s go back in time to understand the crown prince’s situation.
One year ago, Castilian boldly declared to the Emperor and Empress:
“I do not intend to enter a political marriage.”
In fact, the royal court had been turbulent since Castilian’s days as the first prince.
Although the prince had come of age, the position of crown princess remained vacant.
Castilian had rejected every noble daughter recommended by the Empress since he was sixteen.
Then, he suddenly revealed his true feelings: “I don’t want an arranged marriage.”
“Do you intend to live a life of bachelorhood?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“Please give me a little time.”
Castilian spoke vaguely and left it at that.
The Emperor and Empress were at their wits’ end with their inarticulate eldest son.
“Does this mean we’ll never see an heir…”
However, Castilian could not tell them the truth.
‘If I say I have someone in mind, they’ll insist on bringing her immediately.’
And then they would test if she was suitable to become the crown princess, torturing her.
‘Treating her like a doll, not a person.’
Truly, he found his own status and power burdensome.
After all, becoming the crown prince was not something he had desired.
So how would Sienna be, in that case?
Therefore, Castilian chose to leave the shortcut behind and take the long way around.
After leaving the palace, he went straight to Chase.
“I’ve liked your sister for three years.”
Chase was not particularly surprised.
“Sienna?”
“….”
“You have good taste.”
He merely showed his trademark Casanova smile as he would with any girl.
Chase Willow was not the male lead of a million-seller romance fantasy.
An NPC in <Male Lead Maker>.
A handsome friend who appears in the game when the male lead enters the academy.
“You, I like you. Be my rival.”
Thus, Chase didn’t have the usual #possessive or #obsessive male lead traits.
Nor the #brother-complex that many romance brothers have.
Chase’s mindset was simple:
‘I just have to connect the two of them!’
A few days later, he subtly asked Sienna:
“What kind of man does Sienna like?”
It was a weekend morning, and Sienna scowled as she ate breakfast.
“…Why are you asking that so early?”
“Just… I suddenly became curious about my beloved little sister.”
He winked, one eye closing.
‘I wish he’d just fix that damn winking habit and brother thing first…’
Sienna turned her gaze to her food and lied.
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t be like that—answer your brother nicely.”
“I honestly haven’t thought about it. Probably like other girls.”
“Ah, I see.”
Chase suddenly let out a sigh of admiration.
Then, pointing to himself, he said something ridiculous:
“So, Sienna wants to meet someone like me?”
Sienna genuinely recoiled.
“What are you talking about…?”
At the time, she had never considered what her type was.
But she knew clearly that she did not like someone like Chase.
‘I don’t know my ideal type, but I definitely don’t want a butter-boy.’
Yet Chase didn’t take her words seriously.
‘She’s embarrassed and pretending not to like me. Cute, as expected.’
And from there, a huge misunderstanding began.
Chase passed on seriously wrong information to Castilian:
“Sienna’s ideal type… is me.”
