The Problematic Prince

ince’s estate.
I could go anywhere I want!”

“…I guess that makes sense.”

He nodded while slowly getting up to sit down on the ledge of the fountain.
When he saw her bright red face standing in front of him, he unexpectedly burst out laughing.
The stars shone above his head when his consciousness clouded, and now Erna Hardy was here in front of him.

For a while, he thought that he was just hallucinating.
With the time so early that the sun was still rising up and in a place outside like here, it was impossible to meet Lady Hardy.
However, the Erna in front of him was definitely the real Erna, and he suddenly felt the situation unbearably funny.

“Let me go!” As he struggled to regain consciousness, she roared once more.

“If you need help, I will call someone.
So please, let go of my hand…”

“Hey, Miss Hardy.
Do you really want to sell yourself to me?” Bjorn, who was exhaling slowly with his head bowed down, asked in a low-pitched voice. 

“… … I beg your pardon?” Erna, who had been fussing while waving her arms, became calm at the moment she heard his question.

When the lady who asked him with an innocent face came into his view, he couldn’t help but laugh.
It was because the lady, who talked about making a reasonable deal with him a few days ago, was now chasing after his back.

“Are you going to visit your lover even after the rumors about us spread throughout the kingdom? It’s not that I don’t understand you, but isn’t it too blatant of you to do something shameless like this so early in the morning.
What do you think, Ms.
Hardy?”

“I understand, this conversation is just plain rude and unpleasant.
Please let me go now.”

“If you want to make a deal with me, you have to bargain first, you know.” He staggered and stood up to face her.

“How much?”

With his eyes closed, he softly asked.
His gray eyes, that were unusually clear despite him being drunk, gleamed in the faintly bright dawn light.

“Let, go..
me… … .” She couldn’t speak properly and only let out a moan-like sigh.
Meanwhile, he took one step closer towards her.

“Tell me how much it is.”

For the first time, she realized that all senses could be paralyzed due to too much anger thanks to the prince’s insults.
She should have poured out some curse words, but no voice came out of her throat as her mind went blank and the pain in her wrist slowly faded away.

“I don’t want to have this insulting conversation with you anymore.
Please stop.”

Erna barely managed to speak after a while.
Bjorn, who was gazing at the distant sky, slowly lowered his gaze and met with her gaze once again, his eyes held an indifferent look.

“So what if you don’t like my words?”

“You should know when enough is enough.
Aren’t you being too rude?” She screamed in a rage.

“So you’re telling me you know how not to cross the line?”

He calmly asked her with his lips in an obvious smirk.
For a moment, the words she wanted to say got stuck at her throat, making her unable to answer his question.

How could such a messy prodigal son become the crown prince of this country at one point!?

She was shocked by that fact to the point of making her dizzy.
Meanwhile, Bjorn, who wanted to say something again, slowly closed his eyes.
When Erna felt something strange, it was only after his already staggering body had tilted sideways.

Surprised by the sudden turn of events, she instinctively supported him but it was impossible for her to endure the large frame of a drunken man with her petite body.
Their bodies were tangled together and rolled on the floor of the square at the same time.

Half conscious due to the fall, Erna realized that she was now lying on the cold stone floor only after the bright dawn sky came into her eyes.
Additionally, the cursed prince was lying on top of her.
The breath he exhaled tickled her neck and his tight body was very hot and rigid, making her feel threatened.

“Sa-, please save me! Help me!”

Barely coming to her senses, she screamed with all her might and started to struggle.
However, no matter how much he pushed, the unconscious Grand Duke wouldn’t even budge just a bit.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps approaching from afar could be heard.

“Go away! Let go!”

Erna slapped the prince’s shoulder and back with her clenched fist but Bjorn, who wanted to open his eyes for a moment, lowered his head once again.
Even in the midst of this unfortunate incident, the prince did not let go of her wrist and as his hot, soft lips brushed the nape of her neck, her face crumpled slowly as if she was going to burst into tears soon.
Meanwhile, the footsteps of the approaching people became more and more clear.

She turned her head in fear, trying to find anything to help her out of this predicament.
Picking up the golden object that had fallen near was an instinctive choice, as there was no rational judgment left in her head other than the desperate feeling that she had to do something.

“Let go of me! Please let go!”

She struggled as she swung the trophy she was now holding.
Her desperate movements pushed the hem of the dress up to her knees, but she didn’t have the energy to worry about it for now.

“Help me!”

With a scream that grew sharper, Erna started slamming Bjorn’s back with the trophy without mercy.
At the same time that Bjorn opened his eyes to the pain that had grown to overcome his drunkenness, the sound of footsteps from those who approached where they were suddenly stopped.

“Your Highness!” Surprised by the absurd sight, the Grand Duke’s driver and attendant shouted.

With a frown on his face, the Grand Duke let out a groan and turned around.
As he flopped down on the ground, Erna could finally stand up while tightly holding his trophy she used to beat him in her hand.
Seeing her current state with barely focused eyes, a new smile spilled from Bjorn’s lips.

Erna, who refused the help of the attendant, took a breath and stepped back.
Tears seemed to fill her eyes, but she did not cry since crying was something she was fed up with.
Instead, she shot a gaze filled with hatred back at him

While the coachman and the attendant raised his tired body upright, Erna quickly turned around and started to run away from him once again.
The sound of her heels from her frantic running echoed throughout the stillness of dawn.

“That’s… … A- Are you okay, Your Highness?”

The attendant, who was looking at him with a strange gaze, asked stammeringly.

Bjorn, however, closed his eyes slowly without answering.
When he opened his eyes again, Erna had already gone to the other side of the square, the ribbon tied to the end of her braided hair fluttered as if it was a pair of wings trying to lift her petite body.

The last thing he saw before losing consciousness again was the golden antler still in Erna Hardy’s grasp.

His bounty gleamed beautifully in the bright morning sun.