The Prince's Taste - Chapter 3.3
“How could His Majesty not know? Your Highness has been agonizing over this for years. How desperate must they be this year to ensure Lady Emers is in your arms…”
“Enough. That’s as far as you go.”
Hans shut his mouth and instead clenched his fists tightly against his chest in encouragement.
Richard shook his head, wondering how he had ended up like this.
There were many women who would gladly fall into his arms. But there was only one woman he truly wanted to hold.
“If you’re going in early, then let’s take action right away—before the other princes do.”
Richard frowned at the thought of his half-brothers.
Of course, he understood their feelings; they were not much different from him. However, when it came to Judy Esther, he could never concede to them alongside the throne. Richard checked himself once more.
“A tailcoat is best if I want my muscles to stand out.”
Richard was also considering his formal attire.
“Of course. Formal wear looks austere. You must go with a tailcoat now.”
At some point, Hans, who had become an expert on Judy Esther, pushed strongly for this. This was not the time to waste on such worries. Even now, the young wolves were likely targeting Judy Esther.
Richard hurriedly entered the banquet hall. As he arrived, the eyes of the young ladies sparkled, but his goal was the terrace where Judy Esther was. According to reports, young nobles were loitering near the terrace, hoping to catch her attention.
Richard fixed his gaze directly on that group. With a cold smile and an arrogant glare, he looked at each one of them individually. The royal family was still far from entering; why had the crown prince appeared so suddenly? A few sharp-eyed nobles let out a sigh of lamentation. After giving them a silent warning, Richard opened the door to the terrace.
He was anxious. Would Judy Esther be startled and like last time, bolted as if she had seen a ghost? Would Hans’s advice help him even a little?
Fortunately, Judy Esther was leaning against the railing, enjoying the view outside. Holding a bottle of wine, she mumbled something to herself as she took a swig. Then she turned around and looked at him with bleary eyes.
“Who are you?”
Even in her drunken state, her ingrained habit kicked in as she took a step back. Why did Judy Esther run away whenever she saw him? No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with an answer. Richard hadn’t particularly wronged her; if they had met and talked, he wouldn’t have made any mistakes.
“It seems it’s time to end this. I want to stop this chase-and-run relationship with you.”
Richard kept recalling Hans’s advice to ‘show off your muscles and strike a pose that highlights them!’
“Who says I’m running away?”
“Can’t you just let yourself be caught by me now?”
“…….”
“I can’t understand why you tremble every time you see me.”
Judy Esther let out a faint sigh, muttering, “I’ve fought so hard to survive, I can’t just die like this,” before taking another swig from the bottle.
“Judy, do you even know what kind of wine you’re holding?”
“It’s sweet and delicious, so I just drink it.”
“I figured as much.”
Adrian is famous for producing sweet grapes due to its sea breeze and hot sun. The wine in Judy Esther’s hand is made from the finest grapes of Adrian. With its smooth and sweet first taste, it encourages continuous drinking, but eventually leading one to crawl on all fours and become so intoxicated that they fail to recognize even their family—a notorious reputation for this wine. Thus, it is a drink to be savored slowly, in small sips.
“If you drink the whole bottle, you’ll be on the ground barking like a dog.”
As he reached out to take the bottle from her, Judy Esther protested.
“I’m not that drunk. I used to be a bomb-shot expert, the queen of cocktails. When I served my golden ratio vortex shots at company gatherings, everyone would get tipsy and beg for more. I miss those days; it’s been 15 years already…”
Judy Esther was rambling on drunkenly. It seemed today would end in failure again. He wasn’t a beast who would take advantage of a drunken young lady. The National Founding Day Ball had just begun, so he could only hope for another chance.
“I’ll take you to your room. Let’s go.”
As he approached to support her, Judy Esther suddenly began to feel his chest.
“Wow, your chest muscles are like a work of art.”
“Really?”
He had always been naturally slender. Even when he increased his food intake, he struggled to gain weight and build muscle. Although he had learned swordsmanship and self-defense since childhood as the prince of the kingdom, he wasn’t naturally gifted like Alex, so he didn’t develop much muscle. Instead, he found that using his brain suited him better. However, after witnessing Judy Esther’s gaze linger on Alex’s well-trained body several times, he had gritted his teeth and swung his sword harder. Alex, who only knew how to swing a sword mindlessly, was blissfully unaware that Adrian’s fairy had feelings for him.
“Are other parts like that, too? If so, you’re exactly my type.”
“Would you like to check?”
The words came out unbidden. His resolve not to touch a drunken woman still stood firm; it was just that his situation wasn’t relaxed enough to reject the fairy’s temptation that might not come again. Reason and instinct were clashing within him.
“…How?”
“Why not just take off your shirt?”
“Here?”
