Ah, fucking hell, please. Someone make him stop with that puppy nonsense already.
“Adrian.”
As Raphael stepped forward as if to shield me, Adrian raised an eyebrow with an amused look.
“Long time no be see?”
“Well, I suppose not. Considering how frequently you’ve been gracing the recent news. You decorated the front page of the social section just a while ago, didn’t you?”
“Why? Are you pissed off it wasn’t you?”
Despite the provocative tone, Raphael maintained a leisurely smile.
As expected of a clergyman, his mental fortitude was out of this world.
Seemingly displeased by that reaction, Adrian let out a dry laugh and continued.
“Haha, I hear this upcoming movie needs some investment. Guess that wasn’t true?”
“It doesn’t have a massive cast, nor is it a project requiring a huge budget. It’s quite alright.”
Hearing that answer, Adrian narrowed his eyes.
Then, pulling out his phone right away, he made a call.
“Pygmalion, you’re the director, right? I’d like to make a little investment.”
……What?
He was actually going to invest just like that?
I glanced sideways to check Raphael’s expression.
He furrowed his brows, looking slightly troubled.
Adrian watched that reaction with amusement, slowly curving the corners of his lips as he continued the call.
“I’d love to invest, provided Raphael accepts a single condition. Give me a call back and let me know your answer.”
Beep.
The moment the call hung up, Raphael’s phone rang instantly.
Vrrr—vrrr—
Looking heavily distressed, Raphael sighed as he checked his phone.
Then, slowly lifting his head, he spoke toward Adrian.
“……What is this condition?”
“Weren’t you just talking about acting with the little puppy a moment ago? Am I wrong?”
Adrian raised the corners of his mouth again and glanced sideways at me.
I had a bad…… a very bad feeling about this.
“I’d love for our ‘little puppy’ to star in the movie, too. I’ll invest immediately if you create a role for him. The director will probably give the green light on the spot, but an actor like you is terribly picky, aren’t you?”
Raphael’s gaze twisted slightly.
He threw a glance in my direction, then furrowed his brows as if caught in a bind.
On the flip side, Adrian was staring at me with a spinning, mischievous grin, thoroughly entertained.
……No, why on earth are you looking at me like that?
“……Seohyun.”
Raphael sent me a look that seemed to say he was genuinely sorry.
…Why are you looking at me with an apologetic expression?!
“What should we do with our little puppy?”
……Why on earth am I suddenly becoming part of ‘we’?
Just that single word made goosebumps break out across my entire body.
Raphael and Adrian’s gazes locked and clashed in midair.
Raphael stared back at Adrian calmly, yet with unmistakable repulsion.
Meanwhile, Adrian wore a relaxed expression while his eyes flashed with a sharp, predatory gleam.
There was absolute certainty baked into his smile.
As if taking it for granted that I would accept the condition.
Watching the two of them clash, I swallowed hard and blurted out,
“……Why me?”
……Seriously, what does your petty fight have to do with me?
“…….”
“…….”
Chime, chime—
An alarm went off from somewhere yet again.
Glancing down at my phone, it looked like Lucian had bought something else.
[Queen’s Department Store Hand-Crafted Croquette: -4,500 KRW]
Adrian was trying to force me into a movie role, while Lucian was out here buying a mere 4,500 KRW croquette to snack on.
……What the hell kind of situation is this?
While I stared blankly down at my phone, a flabbergasted voice reached my ears.
“……Wait, really?”
Raising my head, the reddish tint that always lingered around the corners of Adrian’s eyes had vanished as he parted his lips slightly and spoke in a quiet voice.
“Our conversation has nothing to do with the puppy, does it?”
“No.”
The moment I answered without missing a beat, Adrian tilted his head and asked slowly,
“Puppy, aren’t you close with Raphael?”
“Today is literally the first time I’ve ever exchanged more than three sentences with him.”
“Is that so?”
Adrian twisted his lips into a lopsided grin, then suddenly bent double with laughter.
It looked like his bouts of madness were flaring up again.
“Right. What the puppy said is the absolute truth, so why is this so damn funny?”
Fucking hell, stop laughing.
The exact moment I started stealthily inching my feet away, Adrian abruptly leaned in and grabbed me by the wrist.
Swallowing a startled breath, I looked up at Adrian, only to find his golden eyes gleaming with a bizarre, uncanny expression.
“Puppy, is there anything you want invested in? Huh?”
“I am a student.”
“Ah?”
Adrian rolled his eyes, chuckled a beat too late, and muttered,
“Now that I think about it, you were hanging out with the second one, weren’t you? Right.”
“By the second, you mean Cedric?”
“Hm? The second. Hm……? No, wait, our youngest!”
The words tumbling out of Adrian’s mouth were strangely grotesque.
Normally, when talking about the ‘youngest’ in Crown Maker, it would refer to the main shouzu who died in the game, the 3rd Prince Brigel Ephon Crown.
But seeing him refer to Cedric as the second and then correct it to the youngest…… did that mean Cedric was already dead here, too?
My brain froze at the thought of the game and reality bleeding together.
Just as I instinctively tried to step back, Adrian tightened his grip on my wrist.
“Give me your number, puppy.”
Right then, Raphael intervened with a smooth, gentle smile.
“Just a moment, Adrian-ssi.”
A savior! As expected of a clergyman!
The very second I looked at Raphael with eyes full of gratitude, our eyes met, and he curved his eyes into a smile as he added,
“I go first.”
……Was he actually helping me out here, or what?
That lingering doubt crossed my mind.
At that moment, the two men’s gazes clashed in midair, and a strange, heavy tension hummed between them.
Amidst that suffocating silence, an oblivious notification chimed.
[Queen’s Department Store Miscellaneous Goods: -2,400 KRW]
What is Lucian buying now?
As I glanced down at my phone with a twitching brow, my phone suddenly slid right out of my hand.
“Ah?”
Startled, I jerked my head up to see Adrian holding my phone and punching in his own number.
Then, with utter nonchalance, he dialed a call to his own device.
“What the—”
As I reached out to snatch it back, Adrian grinned broadly and tossed my phone backward.
“I’ll be off, puppy. Make sure to check my texts.”
“Ack!”
I haven’t even finished paying off the monthly installments on this yet, you lunatic!!
Flustered, I threw my hands out, but my phone was already flying through empty air.
The exact moment the thought of repair costs made the world go dark before my eyes, a hand reached out lightly from behind and plucked the phone out of the air.
“Don’t worry.”
It was Raphael.
Lucian come back here, two guys are trying to take your master away 😭