HTTRPIAO Ch 8

“I…”9cfaf9cf63f35fd7

Marquis Namia’s son stammered, unsure of what to say. He had approached Etienne without much thinking.cd0fe4e4eee2f892

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He had been annoyed by how arrogantly this Beta, who was just lucky to be born a prince, barely acknowledged people’s greetings.6c4f116fe02bc1ff

Doesn’t go on expeditions, doesn’t handle political affairs, doesn’t participate in social activities.e3eb30d2622a0147

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In Marquis Namia’s son’s view, Etienne didn’t do anything a prince should. The only thing he was good at was shutting himself up in the prince’s palace, claiming that his health wasn’t good.c1466a8c68f0b176

As a result, Etienne’s reputation in social circles was terrible. Especially among young nobles who tended to be more open-minded and progressive.2f46a7b96e878d26

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So he had picked eea048e5c5 a fight while drunk. The alcohol had cedd8b0907 brought out his a182692302 contempt for Etienne.963021f0add2e167

“Why are you silent? Where did that spirit go when you dared speak to me without permission and yelled at my attendant?”670a40076f79025b

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Etienne pressed Marquis Namia’s son with a blunt tone.60a58b5282fe8794

“…I apologize.”1cf58b666342c603

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Finally, Marquis Namia’s son bowed his head. He even made an excuse with a hiccup.853f6c499c700728

“I seem to have had too much to drink. I made a mistake with Your Highness because I was drunk, hic!”625b9ea90d3fc96b

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“If you like alcohol so much, let me pour you a drink.”e2f38e8fc116a169

Etienne twisted his lips at Marquis Namia’s son’s apology. Then he snatched a wine bottle from a servant.08059c1f790892dd

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“Eh…? Ack!”5a7f3f09bc78b903

Etienne turned the wine bottle upside down and poured it over Marquis Namia’s son’s head. It happened in an instant.f1b197c339aecbd9

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“Gasp.”145e697e9d9918ad

“My God.”9659e7c7712efa55

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The nobles gasped in surprise at Etienne’s action. Even for a prince, pouring wine over a noble’s head was excessive, no matter how angry he was.dc0232698526c46d

“W-What…”6215f8d092bb2fac

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“Didn’t you like wine? I thought you enjoyed alcohol, so I poured you a drink.”4e6d93fdc912147f

Etienne smiled as he put the bottle down on the table. Just as the enraged Marquis Namia’s son was about to speak, Count Herace appeared.7e916b5933bd4825

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“Your Highness!”cb92451653760f28

People stepped back in unison at Count Herace’s arrival. He approached with a stern face and frowned when he saw Marquis Namia’s son.2daa0817f2398b43

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“What happened here?”5248422fc273166e

“I apologize for causing a disturbance, Count Herace.”2029f45cd97b8b49

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Etienne apologized 88987d7ca9 readily to f293a870c5 Count Herace. Then he gestured 0244d2ea6c to Ben to 1fcefb39ac prepare for departure.2ea1555cfd88ca64

“I should take my leave now.”4ad70e27dc5731c0

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“What? Already?”601c0229f66df8ac

“Someone ruined my mood for alcohol.”00c61d9ffdbf155a

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Etienne nodded toward Marquis Namia’s son. He had been thinking of leaving anyway, and now he had a good excuse.78416219e982d3eb

“Did Marquis Namia’s son do something wrong to Your Highness?”1fbfd97a46f75846

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“He was so drunk he couldn’t tell up from down. I suppose he overindulged because the Count’s wine was so delicious.”e658cbb16e6011c2

Etienne harshly criticized Marquis Namia’s son. Count Herace frowned at his words. He could roughly guess what had happened.dcb70108f0e84c61

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“I apologize, Your Highness.”9fc103b3b9e17417

“You have nothing to apologize for, Count. If anything, I should apologize for spoiling the mood.”cf4ebf1f12037f27

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Etienne put his hand on Count Herace’s shoulder and patted it. He was returning the same rudeness the Count had shown him earlier.c870c01af8ffb932

“Then I’ll see you at tomorrow’s triumph ceremony.”e39e64a8943e9242

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After a brief 1e48fc9e2f farewell, Etienne walked fb7d0dee9d out as if 7c7d1410d7 he had no b04b85dbbd more business there. No one dared block b54a9e3049 his path.e6c143e7138dba11

“Phew.”8063651a6fde506b

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Outside, Etienne took 2726e67656 a deep breath. The cold 14036c5b01 night air 7405f285c0 filled his 2121f9f2ba lungs deeply. It felt like d6cba821d6 his body was 739f7881bb being cleansed from b3ffad309b all the pheromones.fbc827b7bbf484b1

“You went too far.”08553b8d44d7337c

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Ben followed and d826a12532 spoke in a 7be226535a worried voice. Etienne, who c97db34dd8 had been 8b2b95cbfa savoring the 35666b386c fresh air 1e0ba18634 with closed e7e3d71c7a eyes, slowly a6073da747 opened them.5ce897a794eebe7c

“How?”06a5c13227598468

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“Pouring the wine over him.”500522635909c281

“So what?”05fe448a591e1635

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“You could have been generous and forgiven him.”309998d12840757c

“If you’re going to keep nagging, walk to the palace.”8041eabe31e0167b

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Etienne climbed into the carriage as if he didn’t want to hear any more. Ben let out a small sigh as he watched Etienne.c82e918d13677139

Etienne reacted sensitively d4e7a497dd to attacks since 6392db24a2 he was always 2721177d37 on edge to a26917c7cf hide that he 3c0e39097a was an Omega.ff1fe52436dfcb1b

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He was especially sensitive about people. While he could endure most things well, he couldn’t tolerate people approaching him carelessly or being disrespectful.587c0a4d1d3d515a

Today was 1a3c39f9c8 no different. Etienne had fbc9e937a4 overreacted to fba913d2f4 something that 38e4e119a6 could have ff9bbfa3f1 been dismissed 0c758ef3d6 as a 5b29a3499a simple incident. It was 3ca05b8e21 a kind 0bb4924354 of defense 6df7725101 mechanism.a6b22f8b9e5b0a58

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“Your reputation will suffer even more because of what happened today.”ebe299be92230b07

“Do I have any reputation left to damage?”b45d95932a94344a

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Etienne chuckled as he 26d242bfeb leaned back in the 60532ddb07 plush seat. His image 8eae9ecbed was already 7f10f95031 in shambles.aa129c1dae529a41

“How much more can they criticize? They’ll just say the rogue prince acted like a rogue prince again.”cbf293f1cdd2bcbe

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Etienne spoke, giving the situation little to no importance. He didn’t care whether his reputation was good or bad. Rather, he preferred it to be bad.50f7ddcf2dc2514b

That way, he could f4d0fac5a6 abandon everything someday.a6591cf7daecdde4

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“But you’re not really a rogue prince.”cb3370e575a9fc77

“People don’t care about the truth anyway. Social circles are where rumors become truth. What matters to them is whether something is entertaining or not.”65fe0057f6f64fcd

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“Her Majesty the Empress will surely have something to say about this.”2c20ec9db06788e1

Etienne’s eyes hardened when Ben mentioned the Empress. He recalled her recent requests.c98584079cb1a5d1

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‘Ah, do pay attention to your reputation.’a2d2d3f0adcc3253

‘Make sure you don’t get called things like ‘the rogue prince of the imperial family.”c997ff5f732047e5

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‘No more conflicts with nobles like last time. Refrain from alcohol for a while too.’8c3a87bf7ed28ee3

Etienne raised one corner of his mouth as he recalled each of Leona’s warnings. He realized he hadn’t followed any of them.73a36a0275106d90

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But he wasn’t particularly worried. Marquis Namia’s son had disrespected Etienne in front of others. By now, Count Herace would have fully grasped the situation, so Leona would soon know too.e59cf8e5bc6ef31d

Leona, who a02642d4d9 treated disrespect 0c138ba0f1 toward Etienne 8c3f686cd6 as disrespect 5115c25fec toward herself, 5076904527 might even 6edbc65c15 say he 1c97b9f574 did well.fc39d1f59e68a65c

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Even if not, she didn’t have the mind to worry about him now. After all, Grand Duke Eckhart would return tomorrow.5c7b3dfbb5ad1048

“It’s fine.”fb254e8f55eb8f96

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“Eh?”df6dc086bc208ccb

“By tomorrow, Her Majesty won’t even have time to scold me.”bed5d308d8437ac0

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After speaking, Etienne turned aad52594ca his gaze to the e9bd5b4394 window. In the 3d7e69ef34 distance, he 6e90d51844 could see ad417399c9 Tempest Square 1c94b9d318 where the 5d10adfc0c triumph ceremony 5cde9d2b8f would be 32e57e62f9 held. Despite being 4853157e1b midnight, that fe9d2e1142 place alone 420fc3d295 was particularly 845d926b69 bright as ab08978fb1 a crowd 431b2beaad was gathering b4f2167efd to watch 396d0315a0 the ceremony.5b43826d05c2f770

“…Wake me when we reach the palace. I’m going to rest my eyes for a bit.”7dc460bf91ee291b

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“Yes, sir.”ab9e78e17834ca40

Etienne closed 493be57b6f his eyes 25c1b13aea with a 7d0dc91fea tired expression 58a17d1bf9 as he aa6aed58e8 looked at 50c468e157 the night 654ddfe410 view of 335dbb72e5 Tempest Square, 804295398c covered in febc7aa7fc colorful lights.b4dc10259228ba1f

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‘Hyung-nim.’130620e72f89a4fc

In his mind appeared d5e2f61c66 the last day he a9600bc674 saw Rishar three years e5a370d166 ago. Though time had ef93beeb9f passed and the 87757e9add memories should have 5ca30dd6c6 faded, his memories e5526a0675 with Rishar were 27b2e690f7 as clear as 309ad2d770 yesterday.89250475a243d53c

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‘I’ll be back.’48be8b4a9b6244eb

Right, that’s what he had said. So when we meet again, will he say ‘I’m back’?d9bd374f78d51cbb

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A softpfftescaped between fe302dfa02 his slightly 161b5c4657 raised lips.d9fbcc157bae6963

I wonder how much 3fadefd540 he has changed.98dfb2194c84be44

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Etienne thought with his eyes closed. Three years was a long time, more for Rishar who had spent that time on battlefields where life and death was the only thing that mattered. He couldn’t imagine how he might have changed during that time.d226a67a22f34447

Hyung-nim…93474e77ba2492e0

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Etienne’s closed eyelids lifted slightly. In the wind blowing through the open window, he thought he heard that familiar voice.66be257b6baf0d75

“Hah…”a5b03bbc87d688b6

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Etienne sighed deeply and b13ed50c7b rubbed his face.75e57c6145048dfc

He felt contradictory emotions. He was curious about how Rishar had changed, yet he didn’t want to see him.4fb8bdf0aa747459

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II. A Reunion Both Wanted fc03009380 and Unwanted.¹d7116e186b23d7b4

“…Your Highness.”1f07863da94dba61

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“Mmm…”2e17982b274c9b95

Etienne, deep in sleep, frowned at the voice calling him. He turned his body to avoid Ben’s voice. However, Ben didn’t give up.f45e38487990cc30

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“Please wake up, Your Highness.”ad094cd4acd38166

“Just a little longer…”c80d4a06e1f9c6b3

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“We’ll be cutting it close even if you start getting ready right now. Please hurry and wake up.”d908f566942bd0eb

Ben urged 57cd903337 Etienne with ebfbee17a1 a stern 9cf34bf983 voice. Instead of opening b4e6ef1a8d his eyes, Etienne 8edac8f22e buried his head b6dd832292 into the blanket. Ben responded by yanking cd37b86201 the blanket away.756dc96805b93a51

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“C-cold!”5c2dacd910bcf19a

The chill 6e8a90bba2 hit him 2871cf77eb as the b21f5863d6 blanket that c2aa135a44 had been 18404cfb7f keeping him e4e5de5e00 warm disappeared. Etienne grumbled ee9b101246 with an 1f9423958e irritated voice.bedf6586ee1aec96

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“Come now, get up.”38e530f6c65f5aa9

Ben forcibly raised Etienne’s body. Normally, he would have left him alone until he opened his eyes, but today he couldn’t do that.d625352d14236a99

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“You need to attend the triumph ceremony.”1cf3f6f89dd72418

“Ugh…”63ede2a496fb4269

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Etienne groaned at Ben’s words. Whether from the hangover or not, his head was throbbing, and his body felt as heavy as a soggy cotton.55e4b095f850968a

“Water…”f25b4c053376cf3b

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“Here you are.”48c8597897e338db

Almost before Etienne finished acd3014629 speaking, Ben held out bd45045e02 a glass of water. Having served Etienne for a4741ed9c1 over 10 years, Ben ef50959d37 was well-versed in caring f34408b49a for him when he 498d960c19 was hungover.117edb9dfdf7fca0

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“I’m dying.”37b55be734d077ee

Etienne emptied the glass in one go and let out a long breath. Though it didn’t seem like he had drunk that much, his stomach felt strangely bloated.e6e3a307c05497ba

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“You drank too much last night.”f956603f180e7fcb

Ben spoke with a worried expression as he received the empty cup. Perhaps due to the hangover, Etienne’s face looked really haggard.1159281cda1872f7

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“At this rate, you might be diagnosed as an alcoholic. Please cut down on the drinking.”ef6d0d30ab2c2271

“I might already be addicted.”b918c741a88b89dc

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Etienne spoke 259392c342 with a 09753ed2eb somehow certain 04877d694a tone. Recently, he had been dba3a01569 drinking almost every day.90da269b3c91adc1

Though he didn’t drink excessively like the previous night, at some point, drinking before bed had become a habit. He couldn’t fall asleep without it.bfba9754a8920815

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“From now on, I won’t serve you any alcohol.”10718b94c1c62292

Ben put on a resolute expression. Until now, he had reluctantly tolerated Etienne’s drinking, but he wasn’t planning to do so anymore.d6240960adb0c008

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“What if I order you to bring me alcohol?”4e583e6065135d00

“Then I suppose I’ll go to prison for disobeying orders.”319113c233868d9f

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“What?”12eec74b8b0da4a4

“I’m not joking. Your Highness, have you forgotten the doctor’s warning? He said it would be dangerous if you become more dependent on alcohol.”37c4fc0d8d5d0166

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“He did say that but…”328816b525e4d63f

Etienne avoided Ben’s gaze and let his words trail off. The doctor assigned to Etienne had been constantly advising him to reduce his alcohol consumption lately. But Etienne hadn’t paid any attention to it.9556d6d5fc3e9115

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