Laughing at the Crown Prince

In the end, the emperor kicked Faenia and the crown prince out of the room after ordering them to get to know each other. Lord Orephia didn't stop them and only told his daughter that he would pick her up once he was done with the emperor. Faenia wondered what they were going to discuss; it was probably about her and the crown prince. Anyhow, now she was stuck with the male lead whom she tried to avoid for he was her red flag.

They were in the imperial garden, standing on the grass awkwardly—none of them said anything. The crown prince didn't look at Faenia, his eyes looked in another direction, not paying attention to her as if she wasn't there. Faenia eyed him and subconsciously hummed quietly.

This time, he wasn't dressed shabbily and wore expensive clothes only fitted for an imperial. She wasn't sure if he still remembered her from last time; he acted like he didn't know her. Checking his appearance once again, she couldn't help but click her tongue in annoyance.

'This high and mighty brat. Fine, let's say it's our first time meeting then. '

Faenia stood in front of the crown prince and curtsied. "Greetings to the crown prince of Viterra. I am sure you already know, but I am Lord Orephia's daughter, Faenia Lutatia Roscius. It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

She waited and waited but received no response. The male lead really had a nasty personality even when he was a child, he didn't even glance at her. She shrugged lightly, walked to the pond that wasn't far away from them and crouched down. If he didn't want to talk to her, then so be it. The less attention from the male lead, the better it was for her. She gave him a chance to get to know her and he didn't take it so there was nothing that could be done. Yes, just stay away from her, from her life, so she could live a long life.

Unfortunately, it didn't go as she had wished for. The crown prince stood beside her and finally spoke to her. "Hey, you. What are you doing?"

His tone wasn't polite at all, which made her roll her eyes. Then, something appeared in the corner of her eye and her face lit up. Slowly, a smirk formed on her face.

"Your highness, are you curious?" she asked with a hidden trace of mischievousness in her voice.

The crown prince frowned at her. "What?"

"Do you really want to know? If you want to know, come closer and you will see."

She made it out like it was a mysterious thing and the crown prince couldn't help but be drawn to her temptation. He hesitated at first but he eventually crouched down. It looked like she was holding something in her hands.

"Yes, come even closer and look at my hands."

He listened to her and leaned forward to have a better look.

"Wait for it…"

He squinted his eyes and watched her slowly opening her hands and then something jumped towards him, catching him off guard. He was surprised at the sudden movement, resulting in losing his balance, and fell back on the grass.

Faenia burst out of laughter as she held her stomach. She didn't think it would feel that good to scare the male lead.

The crown prince glanced at the frog that had landed on the grass. He looked at the laughing girl beside him and gritted his teeth furiously. "You—!"

He was tricked by a girl younger than him! He couldn't accept it. How dare she trick him, the crown prince. "Stop laughing! How impudent of you to offend an imperial member!"

Faenia stopped laughing and looked at his sorry figure. She put a worried look and spoke, "Oh my, I am so sorry, Your Highness. I didn't expect you to be so surprised. Are you alright? Do you want me to call someone?"

At her sudden change of tone, the crown prince glared at her skeptically. He grunted and got up from the grass. "Not only did you trick me but you also laughed at me… Aren't you afraid I will punish you?"

His blue eyes were cold but they also had a tint of childishness in them. Faenia lowered her head and her body began to slightly tremble.

"Apologies, Your Highness. Please forgive my childish behaviour, it was not intentional. I…" she stuttered as she tried to beg for forgiveness. "... It's just my first time playing with someone around my age…"

She had thought he would excuse her from her brazen act when she heard him snort.

"You… Are you a fool? The daughter of Lord Orephia is someone childish and ignorant as you? If I was your father, I would be ashamed of you. I feel sorry for Lord Orephia."

Faenia widened her eyes and raised her head to look at his arrogant, stuck-up face. 'This fucking brat… I will fucking end you.'

She bit her tongue to keep calm. Tears began to flow from her eyes and she sobbed. "H-How could you say that, Your Highness? We are supposed to, to be playmates… Why are you so mean to Faenia?"

At the end of her sentence, her sobs became louder. The crown prince didn't expect for her to actually cry and was startled.

He knitted his eyebrows and said, "Stop crying immediately. It's unsightly."

His voice was cold and didn't hold a bit of empathy. What he was most annoyed at was the sound of cries. He didn't understand why his father had picked someone like her. It would have been a lot better if he had picked a boy at his age but instead he had gotten an annoying little girl.

Seeing that she was still crying, he raised his voice. "I said, stop crying!"

Faenia immediately shut up and stopped shedding tears. She wiped off the remaining tears on her face with her sleeves and sniffed. "Then, will Your Highness forgive me?"

The crown prince looked at her coldly and said, "Whatever. Just don't bother me."

Faenia brightened up and smiled happily. "Thank you!"

He didn't plan on playing friends with someone like her so he wanted to leave and do something productive. As he began to leave, he had thought she would follow him quietly but she didn't. He walked and turned around to see her still standing in the same position. She didn't move or said anything, only watching him leave her.

He didn't know why but it annoyed him; it annoyed him that she was acting like nothing he had expected. Pointing his finger at her, he confidently said, "Listen here. I don't want to be your playmate, nor do I want to talk to you so you better stay out of my sight. Understood?"

She nodded obediently and opened her mouth to say, "I understand, Your Highness."

She received a glare from him and waited for him to leave so she could go back to her father and return to the manor. But he didn't even move from his spot, he stood still and quiet with no intention of leaving.

'What's he up to?' Faenia thought suspiciously. He seemed so eager to leave a moment ago and now he had changed his mind. This guy...was really bipolar.

She sighed helplessly. They couldn't just stand still and do nothing and she couldn't carelessly offend the male lead. Should she befriend him and be on his good side? Perhaps if she got close to him, he wouldn't execute her. A sudden flash passed through her mind and she ridiculed herself for her naïve thoughts.

Whether she was his friend or enemy wouldn't matter, the fact that the Roscius family was powerful and influential wasn't going to change. They were a potential threat to the imperial family and the paranoid male lead would never allow such a risk to stay by his side. Besides, she had never liked him from the start. She needed to act weak and delicate, just like any other noble girls, to avoid getting too much of the male lead's attention.

"Your Highness, I don't think you have to worry about us being playmates," she said.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Faenia placed a finger on her chin and pretended to think. "Well… It's unlikely we will end up being playmates. I am sure my father and the Emperor are having a discussion about us. My father knows that Your Highness doesn't like this idea so I'm sure he's trying to convince the Emperor right now!"

The crown prince looked at her as if she was dumb. On what basis made her think like that? His father was a decisive ruler, once he had said something, he would rarely take his words back. He wouldn't back down for trivial things such as this. He frowned at how naïve she was to believe what she had said.

Faenia who stood opposite of him could see through him, she clenched her fists hidden under her sleeves. 'Oh, you think you're so smart? Let's see who's really the smart one then. I believe in my daddy!'

If she could, she would have laughed out evilly at her thoughts.

The crown prince pursed his lips, he was discontented about his current situation and wanted to leave the place but he couldn't. He didn't know what his father would do to him if he found out. He glared at the girl with disgust.

'Does she think if she acted nicely, she could get closer to me? And since she's now a playmate of the crown prince, she thinks she's special? How stupid.'

As if she noticed something was off with him, she asked concernedly, "Your Highness, are you okay?"

She held out her hand but it was swatted away by the crown prince. Surprised at the abrupt action, she widened her eyes in disbelief and held her hand that got slapped.

His eyes grew colder as he warned her, "Don't you ever touch me, you imbecile."

That facial expression, that voice tone… He was serious.