Why Won’t You Let Me Dote on You?! – The Arrogant Supporting Prince Falls for the Reincarnated Villainess and Loses His Mind - Chapter 1.3

“Clow-sama, please wait for me—!”
“You’re slow, Eliza!”

As promised, we met up in the garden, and the two of us set off to explore the castle together.
To me, it was just home—nothing interesting. But Eliza looked at everything as if she were seeing it for the first time, marveling at every little thing.
She stopped constantly, and it was honestly kind of annoying.

“The ceilings are so high!”
“They’re always like this.”
“There’s even a fireplace!”
“Well, it’d be a problem if there wasn’t one.”
“But wouldn’t it get too dark at night?”
“Just go to sleep!”

Even though Eliza had visited the castle countless times, she squealed over the most ordinary things.
Normally, I wouldn’t have the patience for this kind of nonsense. But her expressions were so… cute—no, honest—that I found myself letting her do as she pleased.

“This is my first time in a castle! It’s so big, and everything is sparkling clean!”
“Well, it’s the royal castle, so yeah—it’s the biggest in the country. And it’s been carefully maintained for over a hundred years.”
“Oh my, that long? This country has quite a long history, doesn’t it?”
“Sigh… About 150 years ago, a legendary knight defeated the Witch of Darkness—that’s how this kingdom started. That’s common knowledge, you know?”

I sighed exaggeratedly, teasing her.
Even little kids who just learned to talk know the tale of the Knight King.
The man who became our first king is famous—the story has been turned into songs and plays and is beloved even by commoners.

The castle displays many artifacts honoring our ancestors and is decorated with artwork everywhere.
Just like the commoners, the royal descendants hold deep respect for the Knight King.

“See? That big one over there is the Knight King’s portrait.”

I pointed toward a painting that stood out among all the other artwork.
Hung prominently in the entrance hall, it depicted a young swordsman clad in armor.
His golden hair flowed like a mane, and his eyes shone with a mystical violet hue—both considered the highest symbols of nobility in this country.

“And over there in the corner is the Witch’s portrait.”

The other painting was hung lower on the wall, almost hidden at the bottom of a staircase.
It depicted a fearsome woman—though, really, it was just a pale face floating in a pitch-black background.
If our eyes met in the middle of the night, I might be a little creeped out.

“So, since he’s called the Knight King, is he your ancestor, Clow-sama?”
“Well, technically, yeah. Not that I look anything like him.”

Saying that, I grabbed a lock of my bangs.
Our current king—my father—has golden hair just like the Knight King.
But me? I inherited my mother’s black hair.
Even though the maids kept it neatly trimmed, it still didn’t shine like gold.

“I wish I had golden hair too… like my brother.”

“Your brother? Do you mean Prince Leonhardt?”

“Use honorifics! And that name’s way too long!”

“Oh, pardon me—Leon-sama, right?”

Eliza had brought up my brother.
That’s right—I have a twin.
The prince in my dream—the one who slipped a ring on Eliza’s finger and kissed her—was Prince Leonhardt.

“My brother’s got it all. Same golden hair as Father, and he’s better at academics and the arts than me.”
“Oh my, he sounds like a wonderful older brother.”
“No way. No matter how hard I try, I can’t measure up. It must be nice, being born blessed like him.”
“Well…”

Eliza hesitated, like she was about to say something, but held back.
She must be disappointed in me for being so bitter about my brother.
But I don’t think I’m wrong.
Even though we’re twins, everyone places their hopes in him, the “gifted” one.

“But… His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen love both of you equally, don’t they? So, you shouldn’t say such cruel things.”

“Ahahaha, you’re such an idiot, Eliza! If they really treated us equally, I’d be in the library studying with my brother right now.
No one expects anything from me—that’s why they leave me alone.”

I couldn’t help bursting out laughing at her naive logic, clutching my stomach.
No servant had ever dared talk back to me like this when I’d confided similar things before.
Come to think of it, as a prince, I didn’t have anyone in the castle who’d speak to me like an equal.
My parents were always busy with royal duties, and I hadn’t talked to my brother in a while.
In the end, Eliza had been my only playmate.

“……”

“What? Can’t argue anymore? Guess that means you are an idiot, Eliza, huh? Heh?”

I laughed triumphantly.
Meanwhile, Eliza lowered her head and fell completely silent.
Curious about what kind of expression she was making, I leaned in to get a look at her face.

“Wait… are you crying?”

I was stunned.
I had assumed she was sulking after being teased, but instead—tears welled up in her eyes.

Her tear-streaked face was scrunched up in an effort to hold back her sobs—not exactly a pretty sight.
But the sheer desperation on her face was enough to tug at anyone’s heartstrings.
Naturally, as the cause of those tears, I was thrown into total panic.

“W-Why are you crying?! Was it because I called you an idiot?!”

“That’s not why! And I’m not telling you anything, Clow-sama!”

“O-Okay, okay! I get it! I was wrong, alright? So calm down, will you?”

“No! You don’t even understand why I’m mad!”

“Ow!”

As I scrambled to calm her down, Eliza responded by punching me—hard.
I had no clue what was going on, and could only try to shield myself as her fists rained down on my face and stomach.
Sure, we’d brawled plenty of times before, but this was the first time she’d ever hit me while crying.
What had I said that made her suddenly so furious?

“R-Right! Come to my room! I’ve got a new board game, and books about the Knight King! Yeah, let’s do that!”

I had to get us out of here before someone saw this mess.
If any adults caught us like this, they’d definitely assume I made her cry.
And knowing how overprotective her father, the duke, was, he might forbid Eliza from ever seeing me again.

“I won’t be distracted by something like that.”

“Fine, fine! Then how about this: I’ll figure out why you’re mad by tomorrow. Sound good?”

“…Hmph.”

Eliza looked away, her eyes swollen and red, refusing to meet mine.
It seemed I wasn’t even worth looking at right now.
Still, at least she wasn’t punching me anymore.
Her puffed-up cheeks and sulking expression screamed, I’ll let you off for now, and it was… strangely cute—
No, no, infuriating. Definitely infuriating.

“Damn it, why do I have to deal with her mood swings?”
“Oh my, did you say something?”
“N-No, nothing at all…”

Muttering curses under my breath, I took her hand and led the way, still grumbling internally.