Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Not That Mouth
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……What’s with this atmosphere.
For some reason, the next scene felt like it would only be awkward if we didn’t kiss naturally.
Caught in a whirlwind of dilemmas in that instant, Lark grinned, straightened up, and took a couple of steps back.
Then he tapped the ground lightly with his foot a couple of times.
“Oh my.”
Just like that, a single rose bloomed as if by magic.
A red rose, not made of iron, one you couldn’t even buy at a flower shop—it resembled the one he’d given me exactly seven years ago.
Lark bent down, snapped it off lightly, and handed it to me.
“Here, a gift.”
The rose extended with that same playful smile.
I stared blankly at Lark’s face and the flower in turn, then averted my eyes slightly and took it.
“Thank you. You’re still such a pro.”
“What?”
“No line? It matches my hair color, doesn’t it?”
“Hey now, calling me a pro is a bit hurtful. Should I say it was the sincere heart of a pure twelve-year-old boy?”
“Sure, let’s go with that.”
“Ruby.”
In that moment, Lark, who had been purely playful, called my name in a serious voice.
“Yes?”
“I have a question. Mind if I ask?”
He leaned in again, meeting my eyes up close with a smile. My gaze was inevitably drawn to his lips curving lazily.
Pretending not to notice, I looked away to the air and answered.
“Why ask permission all of a sudden? What is it?”
“You said before that you didn’t even want to date me.”
“Oh, when did I say it like that? If anything, it’s not that I don’t want to—it’s that I can’t.”
“Same difference. Because I’m the crown prince, nothing’s allowed.”
“Anyway, it’s different.”
“Hey.”
Lark tilted his head slightly and added.
“Apart from having to get married five times, if it weren’t for that circumstance, I could be your boyfriend, right?”
“……”
Gulp. My throat tightened with sudden tension, and I swallowed dryly.
“Why ask something like that?”
“Who knows.”
Lark shrugged. Unlike me, flustered by the odd question, he was completely at ease.
His handsome face, his languid voice, even his unflappable expression in this atmosphere—all of it.
Trying my best to act nonchalant, I said.
“Well, sure? That was the reason I drew the line with you at first, wasn’t it?”
“Good. That’s all I needed.”
At my affirmative answer, Lark beamed. I stared straight at his face.
The thick sunset draping behind his radiant smile was utterly beautiful.
“Shall we head out?”
Lark extended his hand to me like an escort.
In that moment of confusion—whether it was the sunset landscape or his grinning face that was more beautiful.
“I’ll take you home.”
“Pfft.”
At those words, exactly like seven years ago, I laughed helplessly and placed my hand over his.
“Alright.”
* * *
After seeing Rubette all the way to Lubon, inside the carriage heading back to the palace.
Lark, who had been gazing at the passing scenery outside, quietly lifted his own hand and looked at it. The hand he’d held all day long.
‘Pretty…… impure, wasn’t it?’
Honestly, he couldn’t say it was the pure brotherly affection from seven years ago when he’d walked around holding his little sister’s hand.
“Haha…….”
Feeling embarrassed for no reason, Lark let out a forced laugh.
“Looks like you’re enjoying yourself?”
Then, a grumpy voice came from beside him.
A massive figure that made the spacious carriage feel cramped. With white hair and copper skin, this man was Lark’s spirit, Randian.
For some reason, he spoke with a deeply uncomfortable expression.
“You brat, how long are you going to treat me like a gardener?”
“Hahaha……!”
“A few days ago, plant a tree here, a tree there. Today it’s make flowers bloom?”
“You were bored. Gotta use you like this or your skills’ll rust.”
Lark, hands behind his head and leaning back, said playfully.
Randian chuckled in disbelief, turned his head to the opposite window, and muttered.
“Lately, you seem like a different person.”
“Me?”
“Normally, you’d be diligently doing things to get scolded by the emperor. You’ve already broken how many imperial laws for that girl? Skipping work to wander around like this……”
Not pleased about it, apparently. Lark shrugged.
“Well, I’ve been like that lately.”
“Ah, don’t misunderstand. I mean it looks good.”
Randian turned back to Lark and smirked.
“At least you seem a lot more human than before. I like it.”
“Once you try rebelling, the first time’s hard, but from the second, it’s easy.”
“So you keep doing it? You’re really going to grant that girl’s request?”
“Request? Oh…….”
Lark chuckled, gazed out the window again, and thought of Rubette.
Right before parting, that infuriating yet impossible-to-hate girl had pulled out a request with a sly merchant’s grin.
The watch and clothes, even touring the festival together—it seemed all part of her scheme.
“She’s too much, really.”
Contrary to his words, Lark’s face lit up with amusement as he thought of Rubette.
“What choice do I have? Gotta grant it, since it’s her request.”
“This one’s pretty big, isn’t it? The emperor’s gonna blow up.”
“No helping it.”
Randian’s eyes widened in surprise at Lark’s nonchalant response.
He’d expected at least some hesitation from Lark, who’d lived his whole life following the emperor—his father—as if his word were law……
“My contractor’s gotten tangled with a very dangerous girl. She’ll have me handing over my liver and gall before long.”
“True. She’s really dangerous.”
In every way. Even harboring the huge secret of contracting a dangerous-class spirit.
Suddenly recalling it, Lark said.
“Come to think of it, you knew the duchess was Vista’s contractor, but couldn’t say because of the taboo.”
Spirits could communicate at the Spirit Spring, so secrets didn’t exist among them. Randian must have known about Rubette’s situation.
But their world had strict taboos, so they didn’t easily reveal another spirit’s secrets.
“Vista…… Well?”
For some reason, Randian smirked and tilted his head nonchalantly.
“What’s with that reaction?”
“Well, she’s certainly dangerous, but she’s the human you need more than anyone. If you get wrongly involved and sealed, it’ll be big trouble—so protect her well.”
Lark watched Randian’s expression curiously, then murmured quietly.
“Need……”
Having Vista’s contractor on his side was certainly an enormous gain.
But.
“Well, at this point, it doesn’t matter anymore. Whether she has Vista or not.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Lark shrugged and added.
“The mindset of keeping her around out of necessity was surpassed long ago.”
“……”
Randian narrowed his eyes and stared at Lark, his mouth slowly falling open.
Soon, he shook his head with a furrowed brow and muttered.
“You’re smitten. Totally smitten……”
* * *
A few days later.
This was the filming studio meticulously prepared in the basement second floor of the Lubon villa for this very day.
On the white-painted interior walls, stylish phrases for subtitles were written.
His Luxury Secret—
Standing with my back to the wall, I slowly walked forward, making eye contact one by one with the video stones placed at various angles.
It had been quite a while since I’d done model walking on a set, but as a lifelong profession, it felt familiar.
After walking to the end, I smirked and said.
“Here, a haughty smile. And—”
Staring straight at the left video stone, delivering the line.
“From Blanc de Ruby’s winter.”
Step, turn.
With my hand plunged into the pocket of the suit pants, I turned to show my back, then looked over my shoulder.
“How’s that? Not hard, right?”
Lark was in the studio too.
My angel who agreed to model without a second thought, my light, my salt!
“……Duchess.”
Lark, who’d been blankly watching my demonstration, blinked a couple of times.
“Yes. Any difficult parts?”
“No, not that…… Where on earth did you learn this? It’s amazing.”
“Hehe, what’s so hard about this? Easier than eating cold soup. Come on, give it a try.”
“Huh.”
Lark hesitated a bit, embarrassed, but soon walked toward me right there, mimicking my walk.
‘……?’
As he approached, he even added the haughty smile at the corner of his mouth as instructed, then turned.
‘What is this?’
Nearly 190 cm tall. Broad shoulders, long straight legs. Inverted triangle build with god-given proportions.
His physique would shine even draped in a sackcloth, but in a luxurious black suit, delivering veteran-level model walking—it was dazzling.
My mouth, frozen in place, slowly fell open.
‘Why is he better than me?’
It turned out Lark might’ve swapped bodies with a model-turned-Hollywood star or something……
“How’s this? Good? Should I loosen the cravat a bit?”
“……”
“……Why? Not good? What to fix?”
Embarrassed by my silence, Lark asked worriedly.
I blinked, stared at him for a long moment, then slowly shook my head.
“No…… You’re so perfect and handsome, I was just speechless. Nothing to fix. Do it just like that, and loosening the cravat gesture would be great too.”
I thought I was a genius, but sure enough, this vast world overflows with talents.
Our exclusive model Sera too, and now Lark, who seemed to have no shortcomings from birth……
Excited, I moved to capture Lark on the video stones, then paused.
“Um, Your Highness.”
“Yeah?”
“……Thanks for agreeing to the request, but is it really okay?”
“What?”
“Saying this now is a bit late, but it doesn’t burden you too much, does it? With your image and all……”
Lark was the crown prince of the empire, after all. Him modeling for a clothing store promo.
The promo video would play on video boards in the boutique district, so his face would be all over town.
‘Definitely a bit shameless, huh?’
When I first planned to use Lark as a model, my ironclad business mindset hadn’t worried me……
“You said His Imperial Majesty is strict? Won’t you get in trouble for filming this?”
“It’s fine.”
Unlike my worry, Lark smiled as if it were nothing.
“Don’t just say it’s fine. If there’s anything bothering you, you really don’t have to……”
“I know what you’re worried about, but it’s really okay. It’s not like I’m doing it reluctantly because you asked. I’m getting something out of it too.”
“……Something? How?”
“Honestly, shouldn’t I get some fun out of it? You’re my benefactor, sure, but I’m human too—I can’t just keep taking losses.”
Lark raised one eyebrow and grinned.
Seeing his expression—like he wanted something—I inwardly cheered. That was exactly what I’d hoped for.
Feeling uneasy about sucking him dry in exchange for a few favors……
“Oh! Of course, my liege!”
Like Lark’s loyal vassal, I immediately clasped my hands and rubbed them.
“Tell me what gain you want and how…… For modeling fees, I’ll pay you handsomely.”
“Hahaha……!”
Lark burst into laughter at my playful tone, shook his head, and said.
“Money’s fine.”
“Then what do you want? Name it. Anything.”
Lark grinned and said.
“Give me a kiss.”
“……Pardon?”
“What, you don’t want to?”
No, that’s……
Flustered, I clamped my lips shut and backed away a couple of steps like fleeing.
“……?”
Lark watched me curiously, then soon clutched his forehead and let out a “Pfft,” bursting into laughter.
“Hey, not that mouth.”
……Huh?