…The two were currently in a bizarre confrontation.

Irene, who had arrived first, clutched her forehead.

“No way… Lumie, you’re so annoying!”

—Hey, that’s my line.

Irene leaned her head against my shoulder, and when I was tempted to do the same, I was greeted by Silver’s gaze.

“Oh, excellent timing. A duel between two gentleman is about to start, won’t you be the judge?”

“What are you going to do?”

Irene had the same question as I did.

Silver answered with a grin.

“Shouldn’t it be obvious? We’re doing Russian Roulette.”

“Oh no…”

—Wait, tell me what’s going on!?

Prince Grimwald enlightened me, who was confused.

“As you can see, there are nine glasses in front of us. …Well, one of them has poison. We’ll each drink a glass every turn, and whoever drinks the poison loses.”

Irene screamed.

“Huh!? Not vodka!?”

“If it’s only alcohol, then it wouldn’t be a proper match? Besides, I can down a glass of vodka in one gulp. By the way, this is all alcohol.”

“I know that, but…”

—Isn’t vodka a fairly strong drink?

As I was a minor, I didn’t know much about alcohol, but… At the very least, I knew it wasn’t good for Silver—who was also underaged—to be drinking alcohol. After all, as per the regulations here, one could only legally consume alcohol after reaching the age of 18.

—And yet, the prince who represents the people and the butler of the duke turned their backs on such a regulation…

Amidst my confusion, Silver urged the second prince.

“Then, how about you go first?”

“Well, well, how kind of you.”

“Not at all? Because Your Highness will be the one to drink the last cup.”

“Pfft, is that so? Alright.”

Prince Grimwald took a glass and drank it all at once.

Following him, Silver playfully drank a glass.

“Aah, what a nice taste~”

—Can you exercise more caution!?

Leaving aside whether or not it was really poisoned, seeing how the glass was gracefully emptied made my heart skip a beat.

On the contrary, they exchanged casual banter while downing the next glass.

—it was as if they were merely drinking in some tavern.

“Why do you cling to Lumiere, Silver? Seeing how competent you are, you could literally find employment anywhere else.”

“Well, the young lady saved me, so I decided to devote my life to her… You know, the classic.”

“Haha, to think you’re that loyal… Apparently, one mustn’t judge a book by its cover. After I win this game, I’ll be sure to find you new employment. Would you like to work in the castle? I’ll even let you live on the same premises as Lumiere.”

“Hey, hey, our match isn’t over, yet.”

While exchanging such words, they finished their second round.

Prince Grimwald got to choose his glass first. After Silver had chosen his, Prince Grimwald began to drink slowly.

“Oh, right. Lumiere, if you’d prefer, you may speak normally. That’s why I rented this entire place.”

—Is he trying to expose me?

When I hesitated, Silver spoke, “Well, everyone knows already,” and snorted. Thus, I reluctantly opened my mouth.

“…Why didn’t Your Highness inform his brother of my predicament?”

“Well, because it’s interesting this way.”

Upon hearing his whimsical reason, I lost all my strength. Then, while tilting his glass, Prince Grimwald rested his chin on the back of his hand.

“To fall for Lumiere’s clumsy acting, I must wonder what’s wrong with my brother and his friends?”

—…Clumsy.

Silver banged his arm against the table while laughing out loud.

While ruffling her hair, Irene also smiled wryly. “I agree.”

—This is hopeless…

“I agree. Therefore, I was investigating whether it was Prince Redmond and the others who’re cursed, but—”

“—Just leave them be?”

“Eh?”

Prince Grimwald had finished his glass. He then took his sweet time choosing the next one from the glasses that had been reduced by half.

I was sure they were only lying when they said one was poisoned. The reason? To make fun of me.

Therefore, I refused to be swept away.

“Well, putting Lord Bruno aside, Prince Redmond is your older brother, right? Furthermore, if the crown prince and his vassals become a bunch of yandere, what of the future of this kingdom—”

“So, what if they do? How is that going to affect me?”

My eyes went wide at that statement.

A grin slowly formed on Prince Grimwald’s face.

“If my brother is no longer up for the task, the right to succeed the throne will inevitably fall to me. I’m not particularly interested in the throne, but… if Lumiere is also part of the package, it’s a different story. For that reason, I’m willing to do my best, even if it’s a bit troublesome.”

After Prince Grimwald had chosen his, he urged Silver to follow suit.

“Besides, in the first place, both Bruno and Hielo belong to the [First Prince Faction]. If the superior is to be replaced, it’s only natural for the same fate to befall his subordinates. Regardless of what happens to them, it doesn’t concern me in the slightest.”

Prince Grimwald spoke as they started drinking at the same time.

“Actually, the same goes for the people. As long as the king runs the government properly, it doesn’t really matter who he is, right? Besides, I have no intentions of raising the tax revenue or going to war.”

—Certainly…

No matter who the king is, it might be a trivial matter that doesn’t directly affect the people.

Nevertheless.

“Don’t you agree? This bizarre phenomenon has no bearing on me. Although, if possible, I want you to refrain from placing yourself in the center of attention. I want to have Lumiere all to myself.”

—Prince Redmond is still your brother?

I didn’t have any brothers, so I might not be able to fully comprehend it.

“Until now, I’ve conducted an experiment with the fish in my aquarium. Out of mercy, I let Lumiere marry another man—I let her be impregnated by another man. Someday, Lumiere will give birth to many children. As long as he’s convinced that all of them are his children, I’m sure my brother will love them equally?”

Despite the fact that Prince Redmond was a man of few words, he occasionally told me.

‘My younger brother is very talented.’

He said that his younger brother was very thoughtful, and that he looked forward to the future where they’d be working together.

He also said that he didn’t mind if Grimwald succeeded the throne instead of him. At that time, he’d do everything in his power to support him.

“—But the real question is, how many of them are actually his? Hey, Lumiere, isn’t it exciting to think about?”

However, Grimwand went as far as saying such a thing about him.

Before finding him repulsive, I had other feelings.

—I feel so sad…

Irene put her hand on my shoulder when I didn’t know what to say.

“I don’t think Lumie can handle it.”

Then, she added a very simple conclusion.

“—This guy’s a natural-born yandere.”

---

***T/N: NO THAT GUY IS A NATURAL BORN SCUM.

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