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On the way to the dining hall, Lexus was spotted by Tex and a few of his buddies.
As if wordlessly telling them to pretend not to know him, Lexus brought a single finger to his lips, forcing them quiet. Tex blinked before gesturing to the other two with him to shut up.
He waved his hands at them, telling them to disappear, but they had already been trained to match Lexus’ rhythm by now, so they casually tailed him.
And after reaching the dining hall they’d never been to before, they sat at a table distant from where Valentia and Lexus were. The two of them sat together and even ate together. But then Valentia proclaimed that they would never meet again and disappeared.
Once the coast was clear, they stood up and began to fill in the seats next to and in front of Lexus, essentially surrounding him.
[ Tex ] “Come on. What did you guys talk about?”
He couldn’t sit any closer because then it would look too suspicious, but because of that, he didn’t catch even a whisper of their conversation. And that only served to worsen his curiosity.
Lexus was grinning like a loon the entire time, but the Iron Maiden’s expression was stiff. He felt like he was going crazy wondering what was going on with them.
But one thing was definitely certain.
The Prince just got rejected.
Otherwise, there’d be no reason for the person he was sitting and eating with, face to face, to get up and leave like that. Now he was really interested to know how that happened. Yesterday, Lexus was talking such a big game, so it was curious what kind of thing the Iron Maiden could say to Lexus that would crush him like that.
[ Tex ] “You got rejected again, Prince.”
[ Lexus ] “What?”
[ Tex ] “Rejected by the same woman twice. It’s almost amazing.”
[ Lexus ] “Who got rejected?”
[ Tex ] “Why else would the lady get up and leave first in the middle of her meal?”
The two of them were sitting together and one of them ended up leaving first. With that kind of situation, it was only obvious to think he’d gotten rejected. Any other kind of thought would be weird.
[ Lexus ] “We just…talked.”
But no one believed that.
Lexus got up from his seat, dumping the rest of his food into the leftover trash and throwing down his meal tray—tableware and all. The sound of the tableware hitting against the dish repository was loud.
[ Tex ] “Where are you heading off to? Today’s lectures have all been canceled.”
[ Lexus ] “I’m going home.”
[ Tex ] “What’s there to do at the Palace? Let’s go to a club.”
The club was a place where students from the Academy gathered, and it began only once the lectures were complete. It was a highly exclusive organization meant only for noblemen, and not somewhere that a common or ordinary person could enter.
If the Academy was an official social place, then the club was an unofficial one.
[ Lexus ] “Not interested.”
[ Tex ] “We could play billiards? Or maybe some cards.”
[ Lexus ] “I’m good.”
[ Tex ] “Or we could drink.”
[ Lexus ] “I’m curious to know why you’re so eager to get me to go.”
[ Tex ] “When the Prince is with us, lots of people end up showing up and it’s always fun.”
Even if Lexus were not a Prince, he was still an incredibly attractive man. He was not only attractive due to his handsome appearance that could make even a man’s heart flutter, but his personality was easy-going and made for good company.
And of course, his popularity and success with women earned him additional points in the eyes of his fellow men.
In the end, Lexus couldn’t be bothered to argue against the whims of his three friends, and went with them without fighting any further.
Once they arrived, Lexus’ presence was immediately known. Everyone there approached him, clamoring to get a word in. He smiled and spoke politely, but once he sat down somewhere, people gave him his space and not one person dared to come close.
Then Arthur and Ruth excused themselves, saying they’d go get their drinks.
[ Lexus ] “Did you get home safely yesterday, Tex?”
As if he was suddenly reminded of it, Lexus turned to Tex.
[ Tex ] “Oh, once my mother returned home, I paid dearly for my transgressions, believe me.”
[ Lexus ] “Then why did you run? If we had entered the Imperial Palace together, my mother might’ve been able to dissuade some of Duchess Langbell’s anger.”
[ Tex ] “I would’ve just gotten scolded again once we returned. Better to get it all out in one go, right?”
He wasn’t wrong, so Lexus chuckled.
Even if the Empress managed to shield him while he was at the Imperial Palace, no doubt the Duchess would’ve beaten him down with her words on their return trip home.
Just then, Arthur and Ruth were returning, shaking their heads as they carried glasses of alcohol in their hands.
[ Arthur ] “Our Prince certainly is something.”
[ Lexus ] “What’s with the unnecessary praise?”
[ Arthur ] “There’s already rumors going around that you got rejected back in the dining hall.”
The goddamn Academy. Rumors spread stupidly fast there, and sometimes, Lexus felt that the people’s excessive interest in him and his life was irritating.
[ Tex ] “Alright, sit down. It’s weird if you keep standing like that.”
Feeling unbelievably peeved right now as the news scratched his nerves, Lexus snatched a glass from Ruth, downing the entire drink in one go. But when that wasn’t enough, he took Ruth’s glass too and downed it again, following shortly after the first.
The alcohol burned and it set fire to his stomach.
[ Tex ] “But the Iron Maiden isn’t ordinary either. Angry or not, slapping a Prince in the face is crazy. She made you say you weren’t a Prince with your own mouth and then slapped you.”
It was a pretty smart move, all things considered. Still, it was a bit strange to carve out an escape route before committing the crime. Didn’t that mean she understood that what she was doing was wrong and yet did it anyway? It wasn’t normal to clearly state her crime before going off and hitting someone.
But she did that, all so she could slap the Prince in the face.
[ Lexus ] “I wonder how she managed to stay quiet this whole time.”
She must’ve always had that kind of personality, but she was hiding it all along. Or maybe she really was the quiet type, and her slapping him was merely a testament of just how angry she was. Angry enough to override her quiet personality.
But looking at what she said today, she definitely was hiding her true self. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to so freely say everything she wanted to say in front of him.
[ Tex ] “That reminds me.”
Tex moved closer, speaking casually but subtly.
[ Tex ] “Don’t you want to take the Iron Maiden?”
[ Lexus ] “What?”
[ Tex ] “The Iron Maiden doesn’t deal with men or women, much less have any friends. Wouldn’t it be interesting to conquer her?”
[ Lexus ] “What are you talking about?”
[ Tex ] “More than a few men got flatly rejected after pursuing her, but you’re not like those guys, now are you, Prince? Or wait, didn’t you also get rejected? Not only that, but you even got slapped.”
He playfully kept trying to scratch Lexus’ nerves, rattling off insult after insult, but Lexus remained quiet and dull.
[ Tex ] “So why don’t you try seducing her?”
That was something he’d never thought about doing. But even as Tex tried to bait and provoke him into following this thread, Lexus didn’t seem to find the idea all that appealing.
[ Lexus ] “I don’t know.”
Funnily enough, he’d never actually seduced anyone before.
There was no shortage of women who were interested in him, so he never had to bother with those kinds of tactics. In fact, there were so many women around him that it was enough to exhaust him.
[ Lexus ] “What will you give me if I do it?”
[ Tex ] “What?”
[ Lexus ] “If this is like a bet, then you need to wager something.”
[ Tex ] “No, you’re asking too much.” (1)
[ Lexus ] “Then I’m not interested.”
[ Tex ] “Why? Not confident?”
He tried provoking him, but it wasn’t so great that it couldn’t be overlooked.
[ Lexus ] “Do you really think you can goad me that easily?”
[ Tex ] “Damn, I thought that would work. What do you want?”
[ Lexus ] “Now that I think about it, I don’t think there’s much of a point of getting anything out of you. Like trying to take the liver from a flea.”
He knew he was the one who mentioned it first, but Tex felt a little crummy being treated like a flea.
But he eventually came around to the idea that it was better being treated like a flea than having to hang such an eye-catching prize before the Prince’s eyes.
[ Tex ] “Right? Between you and me, I’ve got nothing of value to wager.”
[ Lexus ] “But, without proper motivation, I have no reason to do this. So I’d like to get something in return for my efforts.”
[ Tex ] “You’ve got to be kidding.”
[ Lexus ] “Oh, I’m dead serious. Or have you forgotten what happened in the main entrance of the Academy yesterday?”
[ Tex ] “Dammit, I should’ve saved your face somehow. Fine, what do you want to bet?”
[ Lexus ] “I heard you recently built a villa by the lake in the Hector area. Bet that.”
[ Tex ] “If it’s just that, then fine.”
[ Lexus ] “And as an added measure, throw in the surrounding area too. Of course that includes the lake.”
Tex threw out the bait in order to scratch the pride of the ever popular Prince, but now that he was being roped into betting a great reward, he immediately frowned. But if he pulled back now, no doubt his cheeky friend would tease him by saying his contribution was about as big as a flea.
Any time they made wagers, Tex would always come out the loser, so naturally losing was something he was worried about. But this time, he had a serious chance of winning.
The Iron Maiden was a woman who slapped the Prince and rejected him twice. It was obvious she loathed Lexus, so there was actually a chance he could win this.
And if Lexus ended up getting rejected by the same woman three times in a row, he would be able to poke fun at him for it for the rest of his life. Thinking about that, the loss of a lakeside villa didn’t really feel like that big of a price.
The Prince was an expensive man, so if he didn’t put up at least that much, he wouldn’t be able to place his bet on the board. And considering this woman had continually shut down the Prince, coming out victorious two out of two times, so he could put his faith in a third.
[ Tex ] “Do you have any idea how much that property costs?”
[ Lexus ] “You should be prepared to lose that much if you want me to take the bait.”
[ Tex ] “Then what will you bet?”
[ Lexus ] “Anything you want.”
[ Tex ] “Anything?”
[ Lexus ] “Just say it.”
Tex thought for a moment, getting lost in the ideas. What was the best thing he could obtain from the Imperial Prince himself?
Material objects? No, that wasn’t the right thing.
This handsome Prince was a man lacking in nothing, so he wasn’t sure what he could take from him that could be considered precious. He was an arrogant bastard, but even that arrogance was loved because he was so attractive.
For him, material objects were not a precious matter. If they were, he wouldn’t be so eager to bet. He would neatly give away money, land, or jewelry if need be. He needed to have him bet something that couldn’t be given up so easily.
[ Lexus ] “Why do you look so worried? Do you really have that many things you want? Just tell me all of them.”
Look, even now he was so arrogant.
And right then, in that moment, a thought flashed through Tex’s mind. A thought that could only be described as the devil’s kindness.
[ Tex ] “I want you to say to me, ‘I lost’.”
[ Lexus ] “What?”
Suddenly Lexus felt like the flames of the alcohol were burning again, rising sharply in his stomach.
[ Tex ] “‘I lost’. I just want you to say that one thing.”
Lexus was a little bewildered to hear this kind of condition. Honestly, he’d rather Tex just ask for some of the riches being carried by the Imperial family, but he hardly expected this kind of bet.
[ Lexus ] “Is that what you want?”
[ Tex ] “That’s all I want.”
Now this was a bet Lexus definitely couldn’t lose.
It was one thing to have to give up material possessions in the event of a loss, but it was another thing entirely to wound his pride.
Normally he would never have made such a stupid bet, but the circumstances were special this time. Never before had he had the unique experience of being rejected twice by the same woman. And within the span of two days, no less.
Normally Lexus lacked energy and spunk, but this thought managed to spark the flames of his spirit.
[ Lexus ] “Alright. The bet is on.”