Sweetcrasy

***

“These are the clothes His Excellency has given you. Change here.”

How many hours had passed? Still confined in the interrogation room, I changed into the clothes Cedar had given me, right in front of the knights. The outfit was plain and clean, with no ornate patterns, clearly not intended to treat me like royalty.

The problem was that I had to change in front of four burly knights. I was ordered to strip completely, left naked while they thoroughly examined my front and back, and then allowed to change into the new clothes… How should I put it?

‘I feel like I’m some criminal being sent to prison?’

Perhaps it was because I was a prisoner attending a banquet, and they were making sure I wasn’t hiding anything. But still, it was humiliating.

Of course, I couldn’t express any complaints in front of those grim-faced knights. After that, the four knights surrounded me and escorted me to the banquet hall.

“That one from Milos……”

“He is Johan’s beloved youngest brother, who ran away.”

“His Excellency said we’re in for some real entertainment.”

All the piercing gazes directed at me were filled with hostility. Pretending to flinch slightly, I stepped onto the banquet hall’s sleek marble floor. Everyone else wore shoes, but I was barefoot and could feel the coldness of the floor.

“Kneel here.”

The oldest-looking knight among those who had escorted me stopped in the center of the hall and gave me the command. I hesitated at the sudden order. Then, out of nowhere, a flash of light appears in front of my eyes.

Thwack—!

This bastard slapped me in the face…!

“Kneel here.”

He repeated the command in the exact same tone. Fearing I’d get hit again, I quickly knelt down, feeling nothing but humiliation.

‘Fuck, this bastard…’

As I was grinding my teeth with my head bowed, I felt someone approaching. The knights standing around me instantly straightened up.

“Your Excellency.”

It was Cedar that appeared.

It was like he was waiting for me  as he came to see me as soon as I arrived.

“…Why did you slap him?”

Cedar must have seen me getting assaulted. I clenched my fists in shame, while the knight who had hit me responded without hesitation.

“He did not obey the order, so I disciplined him.”

“Is that so? Then why aren’t you obeying my orders?”

“…Pardon?”

Since I hadn’t lifted my head, I couldn’t gauge Cedar’s tone from his calm voice. But a moment later ‘Thud—!’ a heavy sound rang out. Startled, I looked up and saw the knight who had hit me flailing to regain his balance. His face was a bloody mess.

‘Whoa, wait! Are you even allowed to hit that guy? Now it looks like you’re taking my side…!’

But unlike me, frozen in shock, Cedar simply questioned the knight coldly.

“Didn’t I say to bring him here unharmed?”

“…Y-yes, sir. You did.”

“I haven’t even touched him yet. Why did you take it upon yourself to act?”

“I apologize. I’ll correct myself.”

Then, my eyes met Cedar’s. I could sense genuine concern in his gaze, so I blinked hard, trying to signal that I was okay.

Seeming to understand, Cedar stopped pushing the matter. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the surrounding knights, then placed a small bowl in front of me.

“You haven’t eaten dinner yet, have you?”

“…Th-thank… you.”

It was warm soup but the problem was that there was no spoon in sight. Only after seeing my hesitation did Cedar seem to realize he hadn’t brought one. But instead of going to get it, he simply stared at me.

‘Should I just drink it directly?’

But then a good idea struck me.I lowered the corners of my mouth, placed both hands on the floor, and leaned toward the bowl, sticking out my tongue.

I began to lap at the soup like a dog.

Those who were watching this side started to murmur in shock.

“Unbelievable. A royal, eating like an animal from the floor…”

“Haha! The remnants of Milos should’ve seen this disgrace!”

“I heard His Excellency interrogated him personally today… What kind of torture could make a proud Milos heir endure this kind of humiliation?”

And just as I had hoped, the people in the banquet hall now believed that Cedar had forced me to lick the soup like a dog.

‘That should cover up the fact Cedar just hit one of his own knights for me, right?’

While licking the soup, I subtly looked up so only Cedar could see.

‘Thanks for scolding that guy for slapping me, but seriously…  you supposed to humiliate me?! Come to your senses!’

I tried to convey the message with my eyes.

“…You’re quite the performer, aren’t you?”

Cedar seemed to understand. He paused briefly, then smirked and mocked me. The atmosphere in the banquet hall immediately heated up.

***

After finishing the soup, I was dragged to a seat beside Cedar. He drank a few glasses of wine offered by his subordinates, occasionally offering them vague compliments.

Among them was the knight who had been slapped earlier, his nose now swollen to the size of a fist, but his eyes were burning with admiration for Cedar. He even offered Cedar a drink and apologized politely.

“Thank you for forgiving my earlier mistake!”

“Yeah. Try to know your place from now on.”

“Yes, sir! I’ll keep it in mind!”

‘How is he smiling after being talked down to like that?’

But judging from the others’ indifferent expressions, Cedar must always speak that way. Well, Haejin already said Cedar was a master manipulator… He must’ve handled it well.

‘That was a close call back there…’

I hadn’t expected him to intervene like that. I wasn’t even hoping for it.

Maybe he panicked because his supposed ally was being assaulted by one of his men. He couldn’t allow the imperial crowd to feel off about it… He must’ve been aware of that. But still, it felt like he was more concerned about my feelings.

‘What a good boy.’

Even now, he was discreetly dropping roasted almonds on my thigh like it was an accident. I quickly gathered them and slipped them into my pocket because  Cedar whispered in Korean:

“Eat these later in the cell.”

Given our situation, he couldn’t blatantly improve my meal, so summoning me to the banquet might have been his way of ensuring I got something decent to eat. I gave him a subtle nod, raising his score in my mind.

“That was quite a surprise earlier.”

Just then, a giant knight nearly two meters tall handed Cedar a large glass of wine and laughed heartily.

“Gerard.”

Cedar, who appeared to be close to him, smiled slightly as he said his name. The man called Gerard grinned and continued.

“Summoning a prince out of the blue, then striking one of your own knights… I couldn’t imagine what you were thinking…”

But the words that followed were sharp. Unlike me, who was startled, Cedar simply downed the drink in one gulp and nodded.

“So?”

“I’ve realized once again that you’re far more terrifying than I am. Hahaha! Treating the Dragon of Milos like a mutt.”

“…”

Cedar maintained a subtle expression as he said nothing but Gerard’s praise stirred up the surrounding imperial knights.

“Indeed. Remarkable.”

“When I return to the homeland and tell them what I witnessed today, those who couldn’t come to the expedition will regret missing this.”

“So satisfying!”

No one seemed to care about me, who was listening to such things from the side, as the knights hurled curses and jeers at Milos, reveling in their scorn. Gerard, in particular, locked eyes with me for a moment before making a chilling suggestion to Cedar while smiling.

“Johann probably hasn’t left the capital yet. Why not hang the prince’s head on the city wall?”

‘You fucking lunatic!’

“Announce that you’ll cut off one part of his each day. Start with the limbs, then hang the head last, Johan might go mad with rage.”

‘Th-this bastard. He’s not even joking…’

Gerard’s glittering eyes were filled with unrelenting hatred toward Milos.

The rest of the imperial knights erupted in cheers, raising their glasses high. If Cedar so much as nodded, they looked ready to chop my head off right now.