“Well, His highness the Crown Prince is going to be an emperor in the future, isn’t he?”
Benjamin nodded. He meant to keep talking.
“So, of course, I’m interested. Of- Of course on the good side!”
I never thought of backstabbing him and taking my brother away from him, and I also never thought he was a jerk and a bad boss.
Please believe me, brother.
“…On the good side?”
“Yes! On the very good side.”
Irene tried to smile as purely as she could, to prevent the insidious malice within her from being exposed.
“Well, you’re saying it’s just to thoroughly prepare for the future, right?”
Fortunately, her persuasion worked, and Benjamin answered with a bright smile.
“Tha- That’s right! I’m preparing for it.”
Phew. She sighed inwardly in relief.
“I’m a little worried.”
Worried?
“Because it is not only the emperor who is responsible for the future, nor is he responsible for all the work alone.”
“Of course I know!”
It’s not just that.
‘That Crown prince is not just not working alone, he’s not going to work at all! He’s going to be crazy about love, and going to pass all the blame on brother, and enjoy the honor by himself! He’s really mean, isn’t he?’
I wanted to say that…. but I held it in.
“I’m glad you know.”
“You want me to pay attention to a variety of places besides his Royal Highness the Crown Prince, right?”
“Yes.”
“Of course I’m doing that.”
For example, I’m trying to find out where the best welfare jobs are.
A place where 9 o’clock work and 6 o’clock leave is guaranteed, and places where they don’t contact on weekends.
It would be better if it was a place where there’s a stable annual salary increase and where you can use annual leave without any notice.
I do not know what my brother’s taste will be, so I am looking for a place where the uniform is and where it isn’t.
The problem is that there are few jobs that satisfy all of those conditions.
I’m sure Benjamin will grow up to be a man who can meet the needs of anywhere.
He’s smart enough to hear that he’s already a Webber’s family genius.
“Besides, I don’t think there’s a lot of articles about the Prince. I just keep an eye out whenever I see something. I don’t even know what he looks like.”
As I said a moment earlier, many aristocrats don’t like his presence.
A young Crown Prince, favored by the emperor.
Naturally, people who couldn’t accept the facts started to think,’If only that young thing disappears, the emperor can’t help but have a concubine.’
In order to not feed those scum, the emperor strictly restricted the appearance of the prince’s portrait from going out of the castle.
Even when an article about the Crown Prince proclamation ceremony was published, only a small picture of the back was printed.
‘Plus, when I read the book…’
It was only the cover of the female protagonist. There was no such thing as illustrations, so the appearance of the male protagonist would be different from the imagination of the reader.
So Irene doesn’t know the face of the Crown Prince yet.
This is a very serious problem. If you don’t know the face of your enemy, you can’t prepare for anything.
“I can’t wait to find out what you look like… and I want to know more about who you are…”
I was worried if I could protect my brother with this limited information.
Irene muttered those words with a sigh then, stared at the small fire that had briefly risen in the fireplace.
She had no clue that Benjamin was looking at her anxiously.
***
A few days after having such a conversation, Irene caught a cold.
The sudden cold weather must have been unbearable for the young body.
‘It’s because we don’t have an ondol* room.’
*room with the Korean floor heating system
Irene lay in bed and complained, hugging her warm water bag.
‘Uh, I want to do exercise. My body will cool down after sweating a lot.’
I hated medicine that was tasteless, and I hated eating soup because I felt sick due to side effects.
But more than that, I hated that I couldn’t go to the hunting contest.
I wanted to see my father and my brother’s wonderful appearance.
I was angry that I couldn’t deliver the ribbon because I fell asleep after taking the medicine. I even put a magnolia-shaped ornament to symbolize the Weber family.
‘I’m upset…’
Irene spent the whole three days in bed depressed.
The fever has gone now.
But the doctor told Irene that she would have to take more medication and stabilize for the next three days, so Irene was again down to the bottom.
“My lady.”
Then Beth, my personal maid, told me a good story.
“Today, the master and young master are coming back.”
“Already? The banquet’s not over yet.”
That’s why I said it would take a whole week.
“Yes, but they’re coming back today.”
“Did something happen? Someone’s hurt or…”
Beth laughed a little as she looked at the worried Irene.
Of course, no one was hurt. They’re just worried about Irene’s illness, so they just showed up at an important event and are rushing back home. But the young lady doesn’t seem to be used to receiving such love. Even though she’s been receiving love since she was born.
“Of course not.”
“I’m glad to hear that, but you know, Beth…”
Irene fiddled with her hair, which had been a bit of a mess.
“I… can I wash up?”
Until now, the fever had not gone down, so I couldn’t even stand. I felt sick, but I couldn’t do anything because it was a doctor’s instruction.
“You haven’t fully recovered from your cold yet, Miss.”
“See it yourself, the fever is already gone.”
Irene stuck her face out of the bed.
Beth touched her forehead and muttered, ‘That’s true, though.’
After all, an eight-year-old girl may want to look pretty.
I do not want to let my brother whom I haven’t met for a long time, see me in this state.
“So, you’re just going to wash up quickly with warm water?”
“Yes!”
“I’ll dry your body and your hair as soon as you get out of the bathroom, so after that, you have to go straight to the bed.”
“I promise.”
“You’ve to eat hot paprika soup and medicine without saying a word.”
“Ugh…”
I didn’t want to eat it. It’s not that it doesn’t taste good but, I’m tired of it now.
“…Okay. I promise.”
Still, Irene accepted all the terms because she didn’t want to greet her brother in a dirty appearance.
After washing up and coming out shiny, I kept my promise without complaining.
I ate paprika soup and also the tasteless medicine, and covered the thick blanket up to the nose to protect my temperature.
Beth said, ’I’ll let you know when the masters get back home, so take a rest.’ and went outside.
Irene, who was left alone, leaned against the headboard, sat down, and read the backlog of the newspaper.
I also did not forget to separate and classify pages that require scraping. By the time I had almost completed reading the backlog of the newspaper, I heard the sound of horse hooves in the garden.
Irene had forgotten to wait on bed calmly and jumped out of her bed.
I looked out at the window with my small face close to it and saw the carriage procession was entering the garden. Not only the servants but also the family members were busy carrying their luggage.
You’re back!
The quiet mansion was quickly filled with a vibrant atmosphere.
When I thought, ‘I can’t wait to meet him’, I saw the ribbon that I had made in advance.
It was made to pray for luck, for the hunting competition.
It’s weird to give a gift to someone, wishing them luck after they have already returned and, I think it’ll make the recipient look bad.
Should I just put that somewhere?
It’s a little disappointing.
Irene put the ribbon in a drawer and wore a thin leather shoe that she had taken off nearby.
I wanted to be as calm as possible, but I don’t think my two legs feel that. After opening the door and sneaking out of the room without letting Beth know, my steps accelerated little by little, so soon I ran.
The stories I wanted to tell Benjamin were piled higher than the sky.
How bad the medicine she took was, and when she lay still in bed and woke up and realized already a day had passed, and how big the moon was when she opened her eyes at dawn…
Irene ran in an instant and knocked in front of Benjamin’s room.
Knock knock.
With the beat the two promised.
But there was no answer from inside.
Maybe he hasn’t come back to his room yet?
After agonizing for a moment, Irene decided to enter his room first and surprise Benjamin.
I thought it was a little rude to enter a room without an owner, but Benjamin once said this.
「If it’s Irene, it’s all right.」
Thinking about it, she carefully turned the doorknob.
A little… Is it because I feel like I’m doing something bad?
My heart pounded for no reason.
‘I’m not even trying to steal anything.’
The door opened a little, and I felt a warm sensation through the narrow gap.
Maybe someone lit the fireplace in advance so that Benjamin who returned from the long trip can rest warmly.
‘They really are grateful people.’
Thinking about it, I put my hand on the door and opened it wide.
The strong sunlight came into the room, brightening the whole room. With a slight frown, Irene raised her head.
Then I noticed the shadow on the window.
“Broth…”
I called Benjamin naturally but soon shut my mouth.
It wasn’t Benjamin.
I couldn’t see his face, but I knew it when I saw the figure standing in addition to the silhouette.
Who… is that?
Questions rose naturally. What surprised me a little was that my opponent felt the same. His eyes looking at Irene was wide open.
The person was a boy.
Of course, he was older than Irene. He was probably about Benjamin’s age.
He had combed his hair neatly and wore a simple but neat suit.
He seems to be sincere.
‘Brother’s… friend?’
But Benjamin rarely invited his friends to his house. Even if he meets someone sometimes, he used to use places like the library.
What should I do now?
“Well, His highness the Crown Prince is going to be an emperor in the future, isn’t he?”
Benjamin nodded. He meant to keep talking.
“So, of course, I’m interested. Of- Of course on the good side!”
I never thought of backstabbing him and taking my brother away from him, and I also never thought he was a jerk and a bad boss.
Please believe me, brother.
“…On the good side?”
“Yes! On the very good side.”
Irene tried to smile as purely as she could, to prevent the insidious malice within her from being exposed.
“Well, you’re saying it’s just to thoroughly prepare for the future, right?”
Fortunately, her persuasion worked, and Benjamin answered with a bright smile.
“Tha- That’s right! I’m preparing for it.”
Phew. She sighed inwardly in relief.
“I’m a little worried.”
Worried?
“Because it is not only the emperor who is responsible for the future, nor is he responsible for all the work alone.”
“Of course I know!”
It’s not just that.
‘That Crown prince is not just not working alone, he’s not going to work at all! He’s going to be crazy about love, and going to pass all the blame on brother, and enjoy the honor by himself! He’s really mean, isn’t he?’
I wanted to say that…. but I held it in.
“I’m glad you know.”
“You want me to pay attention to a variety of places besides his Royal Highness the Crown Prince, right?”
“Yes.”
“Of course I’m doing that.”
For example, I’m trying to find out where the best welfare jobs are.
A place where 9 o’clock work and 6 o’clock leave is guaranteed, and places where they don’t contact on weekends.
It would be better if it was a place where there’s a stable annual salary increase and where you can use annual leave without any notice.
I do not know what my brother’s taste will be, so I am looking for a place where the uniform is and where it isn’t.
The problem is that there are few jobs that satisfy all of those conditions.
I’m sure Benjamin will grow up to be a man who can meet the needs of anywhere.
He’s smart enough to hear that he’s already a Webber’s family genius.
“Besides, I don’t think there’s a lot of articles about the Prince. I just keep an eye out whenever I see something. I don’t even know what he looks like.”
As I said a moment earlier, many aristocrats don’t like his presence.
A young Crown Prince, favored by the emperor.
Naturally, people who couldn’t accept the facts started to think,’If only that young thing disappears, the emperor can’t help but have a concubine.’
In order to not feed those scum, the emperor strictly restricted the appearance of the prince’s portrait from going out of the castle.
Even when an article about the Crown Prince proclamation ceremony was published, only a small picture of the back was printed.
‘Plus, when I read the book…’
It was only the cover of the female protagonist. There was no such thing as illustrations, so the appearance of the male protagonist would be different from the imagination of the reader.
So Irene doesn’t know the face of the Crown Prince yet.
This is a very serious problem. If you don’t know the face of your enemy, you can’t prepare for anything.
“I can’t wait to find out what you look like… and I want to know more about who you are…”
I was worried if I could protect my brother with this limited information.
Irene muttered those words with a sigh then, stared at the small fire that had briefly risen in the fireplace.
She had no clue that Benjamin was looking at her anxiously.
***
A few days after having such a conversation, Irene caught a cold.
The sudden cold weather must have been unbearable for the young body.
‘It’s because we don’t have an ondol* room.’
*room with the Korean floor heating system
Irene lay in bed and complained, hugging her warm water bag.
‘Uh, I want to do exercise. My body will cool down after sweating a lot.’
I hated medicine that was tasteless, and I hated eating soup because I felt sick due to side effects.
But more than that, I hated that I couldn’t go to the hunting contest.
I wanted to see my father and my brother’s wonderful appearance.
I was angry that I couldn’t deliver the ribbon because I fell asleep after taking the medicine. I even put a magnolia-shaped ornament to symbolize the Weber family.
‘I’m upset…’
Irene spent the whole three days in bed depressed.
The fever has gone now.
But the doctor told Irene that she would have to take more medication and stabilize for the next three days, so Irene was again down to the bottom.
“My lady.”
Then Beth, my personal maid, told me a good story.
“Today, the master and young master are coming back.”
“Already? The banquet’s not over yet.”
That’s why I said it would take a whole week.
“Yes, but they’re coming back today.”
“Did something happen? Someone’s hurt or…”
Beth laughed a little as she looked at the worried Irene.
Of course, no one was hurt. They’re just worried about Irene’s illness, so they just showed up at an important event and are rushing back home. But the young lady doesn’t seem to be used to receiving such love. Even though she’s been receiving love since she was born.
“Of course not.”
“I’m glad to hear that, but you know, Beth…”
Irene fiddled with her hair, which had been a bit of a mess.
“I… can I wash up?”
Until now, the fever had not gone down, so I couldn’t even stand. I felt sick, but I couldn’t do anything because it was a doctor’s instruction.
“You haven’t fully recovered from your cold yet, Miss.”
“See it yourself, the fever is already gone.”
Irene stuck her face out of the bed.
Beth touched her forehead and muttered, ‘That’s true, though.’
After all, an eight-year-old girl may want to look pretty.
I do not want to let my brother whom I haven’t met for a long time, see me in this state.
“So, you’re just going to wash up quickly with warm water?”
“Yes!”
“I’ll dry your body and your hair as soon as you get out of the bathroom, so after that, you have to go straight to the bed.”
“I promise.”
“You’ve to eat hot paprika soup and medicine without saying a word.”
“Ugh…”
I didn’t want to eat it. It’s not that it doesn’t taste good but, I’m tired of it now.
“…Okay. I promise.”
Still, Irene accepted all the terms because she didn’t want to greet her brother in a dirty appearance.
After washing up and coming out shiny, I kept my promise without complaining.
I ate paprika soup and also the tasteless medicine, and covered the thick blanket up to the nose to protect my temperature.
Beth said, ’I’ll let you know when the masters get back home, so take a rest.’ and went outside.
Irene, who was left alone, leaned against the headboard, sat down, and read the backlog of the newspaper.
I also did not forget to separate and classify pages that require scraping. By the time I had almost completed reading the backlog of the newspaper, I heard the sound of horse hooves in the garden.
Irene had forgotten to wait on bed calmly and jumped out of her bed.
I looked out at the window with my small face close to it and saw the carriage procession was entering the garden. Not only the servants but also the family members were busy carrying their luggage.
You’re back!
The quiet mansion was quickly filled with a vibrant atmosphere.
When I thought, ‘I can’t wait to meet him’, I saw the ribbon that I had made in advance.
It was made to pray for luck, for the hunting competition.
It’s weird to give a gift to someone, wishing them luck after they have already returned and, I think it’ll make the recipient look bad.
Should I just put that somewhere?
It’s a little disappointing.
Irene put the ribbon in a drawer and wore a thin leather shoe that she had taken off nearby.
I wanted to be as calm as possible, but I don’t think my two legs feel that. After opening the door and sneaking out of the room without letting Beth know, my steps accelerated little by little, so soon I ran.
The stories I wanted to tell Benjamin were piled higher than the sky.
How bad the medicine she took was, and when she lay still in bed and woke up and realized already a day had passed, and how big the moon was when she opened her eyes at dawn…
Irene ran in an instant and knocked in front of Benjamin’s room.
Knock knock.
With the beat the two promised.
But there was no answer from inside.
Maybe he hasn’t come back to his room yet?
After agonizing for a moment, Irene decided to enter his room first and surprise Benjamin.
I thought it was a little rude to enter a room without an owner, but Benjamin once said this.
「If it’s Irene, it’s all right.」
Thinking about it, she carefully turned the doorknob.
A little… Is it because I feel like I’m doing something bad?
My heart pounded for no reason.
‘I’m not even trying to steal anything.’
The door opened a little, and I felt a warm sensation through the narrow gap.
Maybe someone lit the fireplace in advance so that Benjamin who returned from the long trip can rest warmly.
‘They really are grateful people.’
Thinking about it, I put my hand on the door and opened it wide.
The strong sunlight came into the room, brightening the whole room. With a slight frown, Irene raised her head.
Then I noticed the shadow on the window.
“Broth…”
I called Benjamin naturally but soon shut my mouth.
It wasn’t Benjamin.
I couldn’t see his face, but I knew it when I saw the figure standing in addition to the silhouette.
Who… is that?
Questions rose naturally. What surprised me a little was that my opponent felt the same. His eyes looking at Irene was wide open.
The person was a boy.
Of course, he was older than Irene. He was probably about Benjamin’s age.
He had combed his hair neatly and wore a simple but neat suit.
He seems to be sincere.
‘Brother’s… friend?’
But Benjamin rarely invited his friends to his house. Even if he meets someone sometimes, he used to use places like the library.
What should I do now?
