How to Live as the Enemy Prince

Franz had not even bothered to change his clothes. The sloppily buttoned shirt and the wide-open collar showed his bare skin – no matter where he was from, whether Secretia or Kyris, it was unheard of for a member of the royal family to be seen like that.

Despite Calian’s surprise at Franz’s rude behaviour, he did not make the mistake of putting a knife to his brother’s neck. He sighed briefly and carefully managed his expression to not let his surprise show. 

Randell frowned at Franz’s appearance, but turned his head away as if he had seen nothing. Calian did not miss that action. 

The First Prince cannot do or say anything to the Second Prince. It was understandable why.

All three princes were half-brothers, and Queen Silica was the mother of the Second Prince, Franz. Because of this, it did not matter that he was the First Prince, he could act like he was above the Second Prince. 

‘The power of the Queen’s family is significant indeed,’

While Calian was thinking of such things, the people in the room could only shut their mouths and prepare to serve their food. Soon well-made dishes began to be placed before them one by one.

There was fragrant soup and savoury breads along with scrambled eggs and thinly sliced ham. There were salads full of fresh vegetables and a variety of fruits. For Calian, who had suffered from a long war, it was a mouth-watering sight. If he were alone, he would have eaten everything.

But his hands did not reach out to grab any of the dishes.

His head was filled with thoughts of worry about his brother Chase, and his lifelong enemy, Franz, was in front of him. The chilling atmosphere within the dining hall also played a part in keeping his hand from moving to the food. 

‘It feels like treading on thin ice,’

The three princes of Kyris were certainly brothers, but there was no conversation among them. Even if they were half-brothers, that alone could not be the reason for this silence.

He knew because Chase and Bern were half-brothers, too.

Despite this, they had laughed and chatted while their meals were being prepared. Chase had always taken care of him, and his voice seemed to echo in Bern’s mind.

‘To think you became a knight. You’ve become very reliable, Bern.’

‘Don’t worry Bern, you don’t need to worry about anything.’

He remembered how Chase had looked, as the King of Secretia – the one for whom he would even sacrifice his own life without regret. However, he could not ask for news of him in this place, and because of this, he was gripped by more worry and longing. There was even an impulse to just run away right this instant to go and meet him. 

And with those thoughts, his anger against Franz flared up again, so he picked up a glass of water and drained it all at once – someone scoffed,

“How Frivolous.”

Of all things, it was Franz’s voice. Despite being barely dressed, Franz smirked and spoke mockingly.

“You resemble your mother – not a hint of dignity.”

It was a sneering jab about Calian’s mother, a commoner. Unable to hide the anger that flared up inside him, Calian’s eyes became filled with rage.

Franz saw Calian’s red eyes burning with hatred through his fringe. Franz’s gaze became sharp in response.

Even in this situation, Randell did not raise his gaze from his food as he carried on eating peacefully – a perfect bystander. 

Calian turned to Randell with the same harsh look in his eyes. 

Then, Franz spoke with a threatening voice.

“You dare–”

Calian’s gaze shifted to Franz again and their eyes locked – neither was willing to turn away. Only then did Randell open his mouth to speak quietly.

“Stop it.”

Franz kept his gaze fixed on Calian as he spoke.

“I’ve lost my appetite because of those cursed bloody eyes. I shall be leaving first.”

Franz did not bother to wait for Randell’s permission to leave – he just stood up and left.

That was rather fortunate. Calian’s patience was not so great that he could look at his face for too long.

“As his Majesty’s birthday celebration is not far off – you should be careful.”

Calian lost even more patience when hearing this voice.

Randell had spoken with an indifferent expression, not even sparing Calian a glance. 

‘So, he’s saying I was the problem? What about the bastard who just left?’

The words that blamed him were so ridiculous that Calian almost laughed.

If it had not been for this absurd situation, where he had met his death and woken up in another body, Calian would not have held back as much as he had done today. 

Of course, Randell was completely oblivious of his brother’s efforts in suppressing his murderous intent – and left without paying attention to Calian’s reaction.

“It has not even been a full day…”

He could hear Yan talking to himself from behind.

Calian leaned his back on the chair and exhaled to calm his anger. This was a sigh that sounded like the mournful breath of the youngest who received plenty of abuse. Yan stared at the prince with a face full of sympathy. 

After a while, Calian rose quietly from his seat. Yan came up to him to pull out his chair and straighten out his dishevelled clothes, working meticulously to make sure every detail was perfect. Even though he had most likely watched Calian be ignored and looked down on every day, Yan’s hands remained gentle and careful. 

Calian saw that the other two princes’ attendants were not really as attentive. There were deep fingernail marks imprinted on Yan’s palm while Yan’s eyes seemed even fiercer than Calian’s. At the sight, Calian’s boiling anger slowly subsided. He spoke in a low voice.

“Thank you.”

Yan’s eyes widened and he turned to look at Calian. The prince was neither weeping nor angry. Instead, he had a small smile. Calian had expressed his gratitude for the first time and Yan struggled to find the words to answer him but before he could even open his mouth, Calian spoke again, 

“What’s next on the schedule?”

“In one hour, there is lesson on the War of Gods,”

“Then I want to be alone until then.”

Upon hearing these words, though he did not protest, Yan looked back at the prince with worry.