Prologue
“I’ve got something to say!”
I knew it was rude, but my heart was racing, so I burst open the door and shouted.
Then, I froze at the sight before me. Three pairs of eyes were staring back.
“Hello, Luci, Harrison, Damian.”
I greeted them reflexively.
“Come in, Espin.”
Luciano welcomed me calmly.
“Fancy meeting you like this—must be my lucky day.”
Damian teased with a warm smile.
“You’ve arrived.”
Harrison greeted me politely.
Even their hellos perfectly reflected their personalities.
“How are you three all here together?”
It made sense for Luciano, the owner of this place, to be here.
And it wasn’t odd for Harrison, his knight escort, to be present either.
But the other one—Damian being here was truly surprising.
“Is there some reason we can’t be together?”
Luciano’s voice was soft, but there was a chill to it somewhere.
‘Is he in a bad mood or something?’
I studied Luciano for a moment.
The nickname “Empire’s Sun” suited him perfectly, with his golden hair framing him just right.
His sculpted face made even a slight frown look beautiful.
No wonder he’s the male lead—his looks were downright unreal.
I shook my head at Luciano’s blank expression, which somehow felt edged with sharpness.
Truthfully, there was no real reason they couldn’t be together. It was just…
“Why ask like that?”
“Why? Because you guys don’t get along.”
“…”
“It’s not like that, really.”
Luciano fell silent at my blunt words, while Damian smiled and denied it. Harrison fidgeted uncomfortably.
“Damian.”
“Yes, Espin?”
When I looked at him, he gave me that usual soft, curving smile. It was so pretty it stole my gaze for a second.
If Luciano had a striking, dazzling beauty, Damian’s was delicate and fragile, with a strangely alluring sensuality.
As always, that gentle expression on a face like his felt like cheating.
No wonder he’s the villain—deep down, he’s cold and calculating, but on the surface, he seems endlessly kind and good.
‘More importantly, where do you get off trying to laugh this away?’
“Lying is bad, remember?”
I fixed him with a serious stare.
Damian’s pretty smile stiffened.
But he quickly recovered, smiling again.
“It’s not a lie.”
Must be the villain in him.
He has this habit of deceiving people without a second thought.
“Another lie.”
I planted my hands on my hips and glared at him sternly.
Admit it. Just admit it.
“…”
“I’m sorry.”
He apologized under my intense gaze. Only then did I relax my eyes.
No one was unaware that Crown Prince Luciano and Damian, the son of the Quaid ducal family, were bitter enemies.
The heavens knew it, the earth knew it, everyone in the palace knew it—and he tried to lie about that?
“Seriously, stop lying.”
“It’s really not a lie…”
“What’s going on?”
Luciano cut off Damian’s quiet murmur. He definitely looked displeased.
“Are you busy?”
“Who are you asking that to?”
Damian jumped in again when I countered.
“Who else? She must be here for me, obviously.”
Luciano’s voice sliced coldly through Damian’s words.
When I looked back at Luciano, the gaze he sent my way had sunk even colder.
It was a look that demanded, ‘Obviously you’re here for me, right?’
‘Well, yeah, I am here for you…’
“There are three of us here. Espin could be looking for someone else. There’s no guarantee it has to be Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
Damian’s words came too fast, and I missed my chance to respond.
Then, his eyes fixed on me, making me feel oddly uncomfortable.
“Why wouldn’t there be a guarantee? She came to my palace, so she’s here for me.”
“No, that’s not it. She could be here to see Sir Olendo, or maybe she heard I was here and came for me.”
“Espin, your business is with me, isn’t it?”
“Your Highness, saying it like that sounds like coercion. Espin, speak freely.”
‘What is with these guys?’
They always acted in confusing ways, but today it felt especially burdensome.
So I turned my eyes toward the composed Harrison.
I sent him a pleading look: Please help me out of this awkward situation.
Harrison was solid and steadfast, like a true knight.
His reliable nature had helped me a lot.
“If you two keep this up, Espin will feel uncomfortable.”
‘Huh?’
His words took my side, but the look Harrison gave me was no different from the other two.
As the sub-male lead, Harrison was handsome too, and being stared at so intently made my face heat up.
‘What? You too? Why?’
If you all act like this, it seems like you’re all vying for my attention.
I quickly soothed my fluttering heart.
This ambiguous behavior from them wasn’t new, but all three at once threw me off for a moment.
But soon I realized it wasn’t that dire a situation.
“Perfect. I actually have something to say to all of you.”
At that, all three flinched simultaneously.
They exchanged glances among themselves, then stared at me with stiffened or flushed expressions.
“What is it?”
Luciano’s red-tinged eyes gleamed oddly.
His slightly flushed cheeks and impatient tone revealed his heightened state.
“I’ll listen attentively. Speak comfortably.”
Damian’s blue eyes had settled calmly.
He wore a serene smile, but his lips were slightly tense—he seemed nervous.
“I’m fine with whatever you have to say.”
Harrison added, fixing his green eyes on me.
Their focused gazes, as if I were the only person in the room, made it hard to meet them straight on.
All three were concentrating solely on me, staring at my lips. The awkward atmosphere made me steel myself.
Don’t get shaken unnecessarily.
I need to live realistically.
I have to find my own life before it’s too late.
“I’m going back to our estate.”
As I declared it solemnly, silence suddenly fell.
They all looked at me with shocked expressions, as if they’d expected something else.
“What?”
“Why so suddenly?”
“Is something wrong?”
Luciano let out a single exclamation, and Damian and Harrison followed suit.
To their surprised reactions, I explained calmly.
“It’s about time I prepare to inherit the estate. I’m going back to find a suitable husband.”
As I laid out the reason, their expressions hardened in an instant.
“What, find a husband?”
Luciano’s once-sparkling eyes turned icy.
His gaze was cold enough to shoot me dead.
“This is truly unexpected.”
One corner of Damian’s mouth lifted in a twitchy, irritated smile.
“What do you mean…”
Harrison trailed off, looking bewildered.
Their reactions were oddly sharp, laced with clear dissatisfaction toward my plan.
Honestly, anyone watching would think all three liked me.
But that’s not the case.
Until recently, I’d mistakenly thought they did like me.
I hadn’t heard a direct “I like you,” but their attitudes made me assume they did.
With this ambiguous vibe among the four of us, I felt like the bad guy, and I thought we needed a clear resolution.
So I’d asked outright.
“Luci, do you like me?”
“Why would you think that?”
Luciano had asked, sounding baffled.
Oh, guess I misunderstood on my own.
“Harrison, do you like me?”
“You shouldn’t say things like that lightly.”
Harrison had said seriously.
Hmm, another misunderstanding on my part.
“Damian, do you like me?”
“Would you like it if I liked you? Should I like you?”
Damian had asked, lifting one corner of his mouth high.
I hadn’t expected to be mocked.
Getting rejected three times was a shock. I’d thought they liked me, but it was all my imagination.
Realizing that brought a wave of emptiness. I’d been swimming in a sea of delusions all alone.
Drinking bowls of kimchi soup, thinking I was so popular—what was I going to do?
My past self felt so embarrassing I wanted to dig a hole and hide.
But they were at fault too. Acting interested in me like this all the time—how could I not misunderstand?
Anyway, recalling it brought back that devastating feeling.
As I glared pointedly, Luciano narrowed his eyes sharply, as if to say, ‘How dare you?’
“Espin, explain properly. Finding a husband?”
His reaction was like, ‘Leaving me behind?’
He always acted like that whenever I got friendly with another guy.
“Espin, why do you need a husband? When you have me.”
Damian always slyly implied he’d be by my side.
“Espin, must you go?”
It sounded like he was pleading, ‘Don’t leave me behind.’
Harrison seemed composed, but whenever I tried to distance myself, he’d hold me back like this.
With them acting this way, how could I not misunderstand?
Remembering those rejections made my head heat up with anger.
“I’m an only child, you know. To continue the family line, I need to bring in a son-in-law. So I’m going. Eat well, live well, everyone. I came to say goodbye.”
“Stop! Espin Samuel!”
Luciano sounded urgent.
“Espin, this joke’s going too far.”
Damian tried to laugh it off.
“Don’t go.”
Harrison’s plea was earnest, but none of it reached me.
‘Hmph, like I’d fall for that again?’
I won’t misunderstand their actions anymore.
“I’m busy. Bye!”
I waved indifferently at them as they poured out their emotions.
