Chapter 35: Astrid's plan

ASTRID glanced at the time on his Terminal. There were still 15 minutes before the drug took effect. He glanced at the prince who was now glaring at the vegetable patch on the back garden of their house as if it was his mortal enemy. And of course, Astrid had to accompany him. They weren't alone though. The prince's subordinate and Reas were hovering just behind them.

In almost two hours since the prince ate that batch of meat dumplings that were sprinkled with the sleeping drug, this royal pain in the ass had been very active. He had eaten two dozen meat dumplings. Yes, 24 pieces. If Astrid had prepared more, he would have probably eaten more than that. 

Actually, after eating those dumplings, the prince wanted to eat more. So, they gave him other dishes prepared by Astrid's mother. But for some reason, after eating one bite, he would show this disappointed expression and then he would push the plate away from him. One didn't need to be a genius to know that he didn't like what he tasted. 

Emmy's smile became gentler and gentler as the prince repeated the same action over and over again. Because he was showing obvious dislike towards the food that she cooked. It's like a complete 180 from his reaction when he ate the meat dumplings. Astrid was sure that if he was not the prince, his mother would have already thrown him out of the house. 

After that, the prince no longer wanted to eat and asked to be toured around the house. And Astrid became the unofficial house guide. He politely toured him around the house, telling him some trivia here and there. No matter the request the prince made, Astrid catered to it. And if he tried to tease him, Astrid would just show an uncomfortable expression. But he would not fight back. Unlike what he did when they met at the lake. 

Of course, Astrid was not doing that because he just completely gave up. But because he realized that the way he tackled things when it came to the prince was wrong from the start. The reason why the prince showed an interest in him was because of the uniqueness he saw in him. It was not just his appearance but also his overall attitude.

Based on the rumors he heard about him, Astrid was sure that a lot of people that he encountered showed instant fear towards him. But Astrid did not do that. He even fought against him despite being much physically weaker. Not only that, he even showed him his SSS level mental strength. And even after finding out his real identity, Astrid still didn't tremble in fear as ordinary people in his shoes would. Those things piled up one after another made him completely interesting to the prince.

So, all Astrid had to do was break that interest.

He knew that even if they managed to make this prince leave today, he might still come back and pester him once again. Astrid didn't want to have anything to do with him. So, he had to make sure that he would never come back. And the best way to do that was to make himself as ordinary as he could. 

Of course, he couldn't do that right away. He had to slowly transition into it. So, it would be more believable. That all the courage he showed earlier was just a façade. That he was as ordinary as they came. A person who would crumble under the pressure and majesty of the only prince of the Empire.

Acting like that was easy for him. He wasn't even worried that the prince would see through his act. After all, he didn't become a movie emperor in his last life for nothing. 

Astrid could see that he was already making progress. Because as minutes passed by, the prince's face was getting darker and darker. He must be getting more and more annoyed at how he was acting. 

He smiled secretly inside. [Good. Continue to be annoyed and be disappointed in me.]

As Astrid thought, Wulfric was indeed annoyed. No, that was probably a huge understatement.

He didn't know what happened, but as he continued to stay here, Aster was slowly losing his edge. The sharp edge he showed him since they met at the lake was slowly turning dull. He became more and more obedient. And even if he did something unreasonable, Aster would just put up this 'bear with it' expression and wouldn't fight him on it.

It's like he just became a person who accepted that the person in front of him was the fearsome prince of the Empire and if he didn't want him and his family to be killed, then he had to cater to everything he wanted.

It was infuriating. The person he found interesting suddenly became boring. As if he was truly nothing more than that. It's making Wulfric want to beat the hell out of someone.

He glanced at Aster standing beside him. The other still had that 'let's bear with everything' expression. He suddenly wanted to test his bottom line. To know if his edge truly became dull or if he was simply hiding it. 

"Can I have all the vegetables in this patch?" he asked.

"Of course, Your Highness. I will ask my mother to pack it up later for you."

Wulfric almost gritted his teeth. That damn obedient tone again. 

He turned to Aster and without saying anything, he clutched at his slim waist and pulled him close to his body.

"What the heck are you doing?" Reas shouted.

"General, please calm down," Edmund said almost at the same time.

Wulfric ignored them and gazed down at the person in his arms, staring straight at those black eyes that seemed to now lack any kind of luster. "If I kiss you right now, what would you do?"

"Shit- get your hands off my brother!" Reas growled. 

When he was about to attack, he was stopped by Astrid. He turned to him with a pleading gaze. Before looking back at the bastard holding him.

"If that's what Your Highness want, then I could only acquiesce," Astrid said, closing his eyes. 

His whole body was trembling as if he was waiting for something that clearly disgust him but he couldn't do anything because the man holding him was someone he couldn't go against. Because if he did, it could only mean disaster for his family.

After he said that, Astrid felt the sudden eruption of violence around him. The arm holding his waist tightened like a whip. When he thought that he was about to be beaten up, the hold on his waist suddenly loosened until it was let go. 

When he opened his eyes, he saw the prince striding inside the house in great steps. The atmosphere around him was clearly telling others that they shouldn't get near him.

Seeing that, Astrid once again smiled secretly.

Wulfric walked towards the house and back into the drawing room. He felt that if he stayed near Aster for another second, he would truly beat the other. He plopped down on the couch. The violence inside him still hadn't subsided. But before any concrete thoughts entered his mind, he suddenly felt sleepy.

He didn't even have time to feel confuse. Because after another second, everything around him turned dark.