CH 37

“Now, it’s up to you to survive and bloom. Even if it is a hard path, if you can’t bloom and wither, then that’s it. I hope you get through this,” I said to the flower.

Honestly, I sympathized with the flower. It was like me, who struggled from a past relationship and decided not to love anymore, so I kept on mumbling, “Fight on. Bloom.”

I think I made a bitter smile. Yeah, maybe you still have a chance to bloom. But the flower within me, the feeling of love, may never be able to blossom. I shook that thought away, stood still and straightened myself. Then I headed toward the Royal Palace as if nothing had happened.

***

I couldn’t help but be amazed every time I saw him. The way he sat on the chair holding the documents was like an art piece carefully perfected by a master artist.

“The budget draft adjustment… Not too bad,” said the Crown Prince.

Of course, I know that man is only good on the outside. As such, I only saw him as a handsome nutjob.

“You don’t have the tray today. Are you brave or reckless?” asked the Crown Prince as he mentioned the tray and wore a smug look.

I almost laughed and decided to explain to him why I did not bring the tray by answering, “I can’t bear to lose something so expensive.”

Maybe others would consider me cheap, but mithril is worth the same as gold if they were the same weight. If I lost it while carrying it around, I wouldn’t feel good at all.

The Crown Prince was the type of a guy who finds an excuse to make a fuss. If that’s the case, then all I have to do is not give him an excuse at all. While I was an*lyzing the Crown Prince fiercely, swearing in my mind, he then spoke in such a mesmerizing low-pitched voice.

“…Reckless, I see. I’ll let this one slide since the adjustment is alright.”

Is he going easy this time? This was a surprise. But why would he, when he can’t find anything to pick on? I couldn’t find anything to pick on myself either. As I began to back off, I said, “If you’ll excuse me then, your highness…”

“Who said you can go?”

“I beg your pardon, your highness? I believe you have no more business with me,” said I, confused.

Then one part of his lip rose on his beautiful face as he said, “I said I’d let it slide, but I didn’t say I will accept the adjustment itself.”

As expected, I don’t think I can get along with this stupidly handsome crazy a*sh*le. Come to think of it, I’m not on good terms with his fiancée, Elise von Shuteiner. I couldn’t get along with her either. I didn’t do anything wrong, but she persistently bullied me. The way he picks on me even when he can’t find any excuses makes him the same as his fiancée. I bit my teeth in annoyance but smiled.

“If so, what must I do to get your approval stamp, your highness?”

“Let’s see… What do we have? Oh, yes. That will work.”

“As you wish, your highness.”

The Crown Prince smiled but seemed to be plotting something. He’s handsome even with such an expression. What a waste of handsomeness. The handsome nutjob- I mean the Crown Prince then scanned my face and viciously eyed me.

“If you win against me in chess, then I will stamp it,” said the Crown Prince triumphantly.

Thank you for that, your highness. To think he’ll pick something that I’m most confident in… What a lucky day.

The Crown Prince and I sat across from each other and began playing chess. After playing for a while, the Crown Prince, then struck down on the chessboard with his arm as if he made a mistake, messing up the game, then laughed.

“Oh, I made a mistake. We’ll play again.”

Gosh, I almost won that game, but it doesn’t matter. I’ll win anyway.

We played some more rounds, and the score came to be five wins out of five games. I think I smiled without realizing it. It’s been quite a while since I played chess with someone else, so I lost track of time and had fun.

Of course, the Crown Prince wasn’t too bad at chess, albeit he lost every game. He just seemed to be obsessed with the queen, which was why he lost. He had no way to win against me, who discovered his weakness and utilized it.

The Crown Prince walked over to his desk without a word, took out the royal seal, threw it at me, and said, “Just stamp it quickly and get out of my face. I don’t want you here anymore.”

I quickly crouched down to pick up the seal and stamp the document. It’s a success! He was nothing! I was satisfied that I at least beat him in a game. I stamped the document, then walked over to the Crown Prince again. He was showing his back to me, probably not even wanting to see me.

I fought hard to hold back my laughter and bowed at his back. Was it because of the pleasure that I came on top of the Crown Prince? My footsteps on the way out felt much lighter. Anyway, I had to return safely to my office, so I suppressed my rejoicing as much as I could.