0&1 Ch 9.2

As I stared at him, Grey’s expression became increasingly strange. “What is it?”

“No, you’re right.” I turned to the children. “I’m sorry for the late introduction. I’m Joffrey Biscotti.”

The children weren’t interested in my name. It seemed as if Grey’s words were stuck in their ears.

“Prince?”
“Are you really a Prince? But why…?”
“Shh. Don’t say anything.” 

The children whispered among themselves. Then the girl nudged the boy with her elbow. The boy groaned.

“Why? What were you going to say? I won’t say you’re rude, so go ahead.” I asked the boy. 

The girl shook her head vigorously, but stopped when I looked at her. Was she the more mature one?

Relax. I smiled at the girl. Her eyes grew wide.

“I thought Princes had blond hair.” 

Taking advantage of the moment, the boy replied. This time, the girl’s eyes widened for a different reason. It was a ‘you idiot’ look.

“Why?” I asked, trying not to laugh. 

The boy replied quickly again. “I read it in a storybook. The Prince was blond.”

“Mac!” The girl snapped.

“What?” The boy replied in a defeated tone.
“The Prince doesn’t have to be blond!”

“That’s true. But there are blond princes,” I said.
“Really?”
“Sure. His Majesty is blond.”

The children looked confused. How could I explain it to them? Genetics? DNA? Biology? Dominant and recessive genes?

Actually, I didn’t know much about that either.

If I explained it and they asked why Joffrey wasn’t blond, I might be in trouble.

“Then why isn’t the Prince blond?” But the boy asked anyway.
”I don’t know.”

“Be quiet. The director told you to be quiet.” The girl poked the boy. She made her hand like a knife and quickly silenced the boy.

The word “director” made me think of Alex.

Right. This was a charity event to support an orphanage.

These kids seemed to have been chosen because they looked good. Nobles would want to sponsor kids who look presentable and decent.

“Prince. The event is about to begin. Come this way.” The Queen called me.

“I have to go. You can eat the food here. Just pick it up with your hands. Will you be participating in the event?”

“We memorized a poem. We have to recite it in front of the nobles,” the girl replied.

“You’ll do great. Don’t be nervous. Everyone here came to help you,” I told the children and turned to Grey. Grey had a strange expression on his face. “What? You’re coming too, right?”

“No… I mean, yes. I’ll come.” He followed me without saying a word, which was unusual. I thought he would complain about having to come along when I wouldn’t be staying long.

The Queen and the Duchess had become close friends. At least, that’s how it looked from a few meters away.

When I came closer and listened to their conversation, it was a little different from what I had expected.

“Our Joffrey was recently praised by Duke Pie. He said how outstanding his academic achievements are.”

“Oh, that’s impressive. The Duke is not one to give compliments easily, is he? Of course, he has always said that Gray would make a good scholar and that it would be a waste for the academy to miss out on someone like him…”

“Hoho.”
“Haha.”

My face was burning. I looked at Grey to share my feelings, but he was holding his head high with a smile on his lips.

It was the same smile I saw in front of the Prime Minister. He was like a steel man, unable to hear a single word I said.

“Did you have a good time with His Highness? He said he wanted to talk to you about something important and took you away,“ the Queen asked, smiling contentedly. 

There seemed to be a misunderstanding. She seemed to think that Grey and I were close friends and that we had had a good time together.

”Yes. His Highness was very considerate of me.”
“Oh, really? What did you talk about?”
“He advised me on how to introduce myself properly. I was embarrassed to be among adults, so I had a hard time being on my own. I guess it was obvious that I wanted to leave,” Grey replied with a steel smile.

But everything he said was meant to be sarcastic.

It seemed like Grey was close to reaching the maximum level of skill in sarcasm. Even without seeing the game status window, it was obvious.

“The little Duke must be shy,” the Queen said to the Duchess. 

The Duchess waved a hand. “It’s because he was taught piano when he was young. Artists are like that, they have such delicate personalities…”

What was meant to mock me ended up embarrassing Grey as well. But Grey’s smile didn’t waver. He lowered his eyes and smiled shyly.

“Oh my,” the Queen exclaimed in admiration. “Perhaps Prince Joffrey should have been taught piano. Artistic sensibility must be cultivated from an early age…”

I have to get out of here.

I slipped away without making a sound. The Queen was so engrossed in conversation that she didn’t notice me leaving.

I stood against the cold wall, out of earshot of the two of them. There were many eyes on me. I couldn’t laugh out loud, so I covered my mouth with one hand. In fact, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Grey stood next to me, leaning against the wall. This time, I didn’t ask him to follow me. It seemed that he had followed me on his own.

He seemed to be trying to control his irritation. His face was expressionless, but his forehead was wrinkled.

Your forehead turns red when you’re stressed.

It was very noticeable. Still, it would be polite to pretend not to notice.

The Queen and the Duchess were the same kind of parents. Both were giving their children the same kind of stress.

If Joffrey hadn’t bullied Edward when he was little, Joffrey and Grey would have gotten along well.

“What is it?” Grey asked without looking at me. I tried to pretend I didn’t notice.

“It’s nothing.”
“Say something.”
“I have nothing to say.”
“You do.”
“Is there something you want to hear?”

Do you like being bullied?

We’ve had this conversation before.

“You’re already saying it with your eyes.”
“What’s the problem? You’re so artistic and sensitive, Grey.”

“I knew you’d say that.”  Grey was annoyed.

I almost burst out laughing. Grey looked cute. What was wrong with my eyes?

Grey was upset and turned his back to me. Come to think of it, the children who had been talking to Grey earlier weren’t much younger than him. They were just kids.

I felt like I had teased him for no reason. I approached Grey to appease him.

“The Prime Minister and the Duchess trust you very much. That must be a lot of pressure.”

I understand. I said it in a sympathetic tone. Joffrey also knew what it was like to have high expectations placed on him. Maybe we could find some common ground. And at the same time, I could try to make him like me a little more.

Grey looked at me like I was speaking nonsense. “It’s not that much of a burden, is it? It’s not that hard to go along with it.”

Oh, really?

“As you said, my parents trust me. That’s why I’m worried. They’ll support me no matter what choice I make. I can’t fail. Even if I make the wrong decision, my parents will still believe in me.”

Grey frowned and looked at me. It felt like he was scrutinizing my face. Was he evaluating Joffrey? It seemed like he had already decided that he was trash. Grey was different from Joffrey.

I meant to tease him by saying he was mature. 

But Grey really was mature. Honestly, all the capture targets in this game had that quality. Edward and Alex were like that too.

It seems that Joffrey is the only one who isn’t.

Joffrey was a character who felt so pressured by the queen’s expectations that it developed into an inferiority complex. I wanted to choose the best character for the heroine, but I ended up giving her the worst one.

Grey was a better character than Joffrey.

I was still reeling from the realization when the event began. The host called the children forward. They stood trembling in the middle of the salon. Everyone’s attention was focused on them.

“Th-thank you for sponsoring us. To repay your kindness, w-we wrote poems.”
“I will read it aloud.” The girl and boy spoke in turn. They were about to begin.

The nobles waited calmly. The girl opened her mouth, then hesitated. Her face turned red. She seemed nervous.