Vol-3: Chapter 18

496 18 1
                                    


I couldn't even sleep.

Étienne buried himself on the sofa, feeling his eyes tingle.

Last night, I had no idea what the hell I was thinking.

"Please eat."

Clink.

The sound of something being set on the table was heard along with a gruff voice. Étienne lifted his heavy eyelids to see what Ben had brought.

"What?"

“It’s citron tea.”

Ben answered with a hard face. He was mad at Etienne. How surprised he was to see Etienne shivering with a blanket over his head when he came in to check on Etienne at dawn.

If Etienne hadn't caught him, Ben would have rushed to the palace court right away. To that extent, Etienne's appearance was nonsensical.

“Ehh.”

Ben let out a deep sigh as he recalled the small commotion at dawn.

I thought I couldn't live up to my name like this.

Étienne watched Ben sighing deeply, then grabbed a teacup from which white steam was rising.

As I carefully sipped the tea, the sweet and sour taste spread in my mouth.

“Haah.”

Étienne drank the citron tea while blowing air from his mouth. Ben glanced at Étienne, who was sipping tea with a drawn face.

He didn't like anything about the red bloodshot eyes, the dark circles under his eyes, or the lips that coughed once in a while.

“Next time, never go out alone.”

Ben, who was looking at Etienne, opened his mouth with a stern face. Étienne wordlessly brought his teacup to his mouth. Ben's eyes hardened as he evaded an answer.

"Your highness."

“..........It's just a bit of a breeze."

Étienne excused himself in a muffled voice. Ben looked at him and bit his lip.

" The person who just got a little wind can't sleep at all, and the cold is coming up, so he's groaning?"

“Don’t be sarcastic.”

Étienne set down the teacup, frowning at him.

Anyone else would have realized their mistake and jumped to the floor, but not Ben.

“At least talk to me and leave. The same thing this morning is a specification.”

“If I say that I will go out for a while, I will not say that I will go with you.”

“Well, it depends on the condition of the charge. Yesterday, as soon as you came back, you kept throwing up.”

“Are you going to say it’s okay to walk around alone, unless it’s the same situation as yesterday?”

“I'll see that then.”

Ben did not say that he would leave Étienne alone until the end. He pouted his lower lip in displeasure at Étienne, but he couldn't help it.

To Ben, Etienne was like a child put out by the water. He's anxious, so it's like an existence that has no choice but to keep watching.

“By the way, whose cardigan is it?”

Continuing the conversation would only lead to pointless bickering, so Ben turned around. He put what he wanted to ask earlier into his mouth.

The cardigan neatly folded on the bed was clearly not Etienne's. Etienne hesitated for a moment before answering Ben's question in a low voice.

“…....It's Richard's."

"Yes? His Highness's?”

"Hmm. I met him while walking yesterday.”

"How…....”

Ben opened his mouth in disbelief. He wondered if that might be the case, but when he heard it directly from Etienne's mouth, his head throbbed.

“Did something happen with His Highness the Grand Duke last night?”

“….....no."

Etienne answered Ben's question one beat slowly. Noticing the oddity in his demeanor, Ben widened his eyes.

Something must have happened.

“No, what is it? You can fool monsters, but not me.”

Ben said confidently. When he thought that the two had met last night, he understood Etienne's appearance at dawn.

As far as he knew, apart from the emperor and the empress, only Richard could emotionally break Étienne.

“Tell me.”

“No big deal.”

At Ben's questioning, Étienne sneaked away from his gaze.

It wasn't that I didn't want to talk to Ben, but I was careful not to scratch and scratch.

It's alright, it'll be alright.

Étienne held his teacup hard, remembering what had disturbed him all night. He decided to think positively.
Because of the various medications he took since he was a child, he himself smelled lighter than the gluttonous omega. In addition, he was able to control his pheromones almost perfectly through constant training.

So it will be fine. Although he wasn't feeling well yesterday, and his composure was broken for a moment, he couldn't have noticed that much. No matter how Richard........

Étienne struggled to rationalize it and pushed away the creeping anxiety. He put strength on the tips of his lips and pretended to be as calm as possible.

“All we did was talk for a while. Cardigan.......I took it off because I was cold."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Étienne shut his mouth as if he had nothing more to say. Ben narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

But he couldn't ask any further. He couldn't help himself if Etienne didn't want to talk about it.

Ben swallowed his sigh, suppressing his urge to ask Etienne. Just a little while ago, he had already crossed the line as an attendant by nagging him. Here he couldn't be more cocky.

"Then I'll wash it today and send it to the grand duke's mansion tomorrow."

“No, just do the laundry.”

"Yes?"

“I decided to return it myself.”

“What is that.....”

“I said it would be nice if I could return it myself, so I decided to do it.”

What is this again?

Ben's face twisted like crumpled paper. Étienne avoided Richard from the time he came into political confrontation with him. It was like that just a few days ago.
Then, he did not know what kind of wind suddenly came and he said that he would go to meet him in person.

“Just do the laundry.”

“….....All right."

Ben answered with a puzzled expression. Étienne, who was rubbing his eyes with a tired face, did not see Ben, who was uneasy. He used a cushion as a pillow and lay down on the sofa.

“I am tired. I'll close my eyes for a bit."

“Don’t do that, just go to sleep.”

Ben said as he drew the curtains. The room went dark in an instant. Étienne closed his eyes without answering. He still couldn't sleep.

Hiding That The Damn Prince Is An OmegaWhere stories live. Discover now