Why Won’t You Let Me Dote on You?! – The Arrogant Supporting Prince Falls for the Reincarnated Villainess and Loses His Mind - Chapter 1.8

“Haha, I’m honestly shocked, Clow. I never thought I’d be completely outmatched like that.”

Despite losing, my brother laughed with genuine satisfaction.

“You’re exaggerating, Brother. I only won because of luck.”
“No, it wasn’t luck. I’m certain of it now—even if we played ten times, I still wouldn’t beat you. It’s frustrating, but true.”
“Trying to butter me up won’t work, you know. Right, Eliza?”
“Ufufu, you were both splendid~”

The three of us began cleaning up the game board together.
When the noon bell rang, Professor Hawkeye’s lesson would end, and my brother would return to his grueling schedule.
We needed to be out of the library before then.

“It’s not flattery. I’ve been studying tactics seriously, and yet you still beat me so easily.”
“I told you—it was just a fluke. You’re so persistent, Brother.”
“No, Clow, it’s talent. You and I… we’re just born different.”
“Huh? Don’t give me that nonsense…”

His words made me glare at him in disbelief.
Of all people, it wasn’t something he—blessed with every imaginable gift—should say to someone like me, who had none.
But the moment I saw his expression, I had to reconsider.

“Hm? What’s wrong, Clow?”

My brother was smiling.

But the sunlight streaming in through the window didn’t touch him.

I realized then what his smile was hiding—
Because it mirrored something I had felt for him for as long as I could remember.

“I’m jealous of you, Clow. Sure, I’ve achieved some things through effort. But effort means nothing in the face of true talent.
…Though I doubt you’d understand that feeling.”

He reached out and gently ruffled my hair.
There was no trace of jealousy in his touch—only warmth.
He clearly cared for me.
I realized then: he’d endured all this by turning his own envy into fuel for his efforts.

“S-Stop saying weird stuff! I’m going home!”

I turned my back on him, flustered.
He didn’t know—
that I harbored the same envy toward him.
But unlike him, I’d let it control me. And that… that was embarrassing.

Yet someone blocked my escape.

“Wait, Clow-sama! Don’t you have something you need to say to Leon-sama?”

“E-Eliza?! Don’t get in my way!”

Eliza grabbed me in a tight embrace, stopping me head-on.
As I struggled, she countered my push with a perfectly timed leg sweep—
and I went down hard.

“Ow! Damn it… you’re too strong!”
“You need to do what you can, when you can!”

I slammed against the stone floor, and the pain knocked the fight right out of me.
Eliza stood over me, arms crossed, while my brother looked on in concern.
Dust sparkled in the light, creating a strangely peaceful scene—
aside from me, sprawled out on the ground.

“Um, Eliza? What exactly does Clow need to say to me?”
“As Leon-sama asks—what is it, Clow-sama?”

“F-Fine, I’ll say it! Just stop looking at me like that!”

Reluctantly, I took my brother’s hand and stood up.
They waited quietly, letting me gather my courage.
By the time the pain faded, I felt calm enough to speak honestly.

“The truth is… I’ve always been jealous of you, Brother.
Everyone in the castle fawns over you, always expecting great things.
But me? I’ve always been left on my own.”

“Y-You’re jealous of me?!”

My brother’s voice cracked with surprise.
He clearly hadn’t expected that from me.
And honestly, I hadn’t realized he was jealous of me, either.

“Of course they expect great things from the future king.
But still… I wanted praise when I succeeded, and someone to scold me when I failed.”

“I… I didn’t know…”

His false smile vanished, and he let out a quiet sigh.
His shoulders, always so stiff, finally seemed to relax— like someone who had just laid down a heavy burden.

“Clow… it seems we’ve misunderstood each other.
If I’d known, we could’ve avoided all this pointless resentment and been closer from the start.”

“Haha, yeah. But still… I do think you’re amazing.”

We both laughed.
From afar, my brother always seemed distant and perfect—
but up close, he was just like before.
Eliza sighed in relief, and somewhere behind us, we heard a sniffle.
Was the professor still here?

“By the way, why did you suddenly ask to play a board game with me? You’ve never done that before.”

“Oh, that? It was Eliza’s idea… a penalty game. Right, Eliza?”

Now that things had settled, my brother voiced a simple question.
This whole situation had started with Eliza’s suggestion.
She’s always been whimsical, but why this idea?

“I see… Thank you, Eliza. Thanks to you, Clow and I finally cleared the air.”

“Ufufu. I never expected it to end quite like this, either.”

Eliza said something strange.

I’d assumed she had set up the penalty game to help my brother and me reconcile—
but it seemed that wasn’t her intention at all.
Now that I thought about it, her real goal had been to break off her engagement to my brother.
Yet, in the heat of our match, that plan had completely fallen by the wayside.

“So, what was the penalty game, anyway? Don’t tell me Clow lost to Eliza or something?”
“As if I’d lose to this weakling! The penalty game was…”

I started recounting what had happened in front of the Knight King’s portrait.
My brother listened quietly at first, but just before I reached the part where Eliza cried, his brow furrowed.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a groan.

“Eliza… you’ve really had a rough time, haven’t you?”
“Exactly, Leon-sama… hmph…”
“H-Hey! Don’t give me those looks, both of you!”

It seemed my brother had figured out why Eliza cried.
Meanwhile, I still had no clue.
Without a word, he took both our hands and started walking.

“Alright. Let’s go see Father. We need to discuss a few things—about you, Clow, and about you, Eliza.”

“About me?”
“About me?”

We both voiced our confusion in unison.
Surely, he wasn’t planning to report me for making Eliza cry, was he?
Even Eliza tilted her head at his unexpected decision.

“Clow, I can’t have you wallowing in inferiority anymore. It’s time you started studying properly!”
“Whaaat?! No way—I hate studying!”
“And Eliza… I’m scrapping the ministers’ proposal for an annulment. You’ll remain my fiancée.”

“E-Eh?!”

While I was already shocked, Eliza’s reaction was even more extreme.
She looked absolutely blindsided as my brother tugged her along.

“Wh-What the—NOOOOOOO!”

Our cries of despair—and my brother’s laughter— echoed through the castle, louder than the midday bell.