Chapter 24: The beast Human prince is a diva
I sat in the grand entrance hall, legs crossed neatly as I waited.
The palace was too polished, too perfect. The kind of place that screamed "political traps disguised as hospitality."
A servant approached quietly and placed a glass of freshly squeezed juice in front of me. I eyed it for a moment, suspicious, before finally taking a careful sip.
Sweet.
My shoulders relaxed a fraction.
"Grape juice," I muttered to myself in approval. "At least they have taste here."
"Hello there!" I looked up sharply. Standing in front of me was a cat eared boy who looked like he had stepped out of a fantasy character selection screen—except someone had clearly cranked the chaos settings to max.
He had shoulder-length red hair tied into a small ponytail, and—most confusing of all—heterochromatic eyes. One gold. One purple.
Okay. Either this kingdom really likes genetic lottery wins… or I'm in trouble.
He grinned mischievously, tail flicking behind him.
"I'm Oliver min Gacier, second prince of the Buarheld Kingdom. But you can just call me Oliver."
He dropped into the seat opposite me like he owned gravity.
"I'm Shiori Koromi," I replied politely. "And this is Mochiko."
I lifted my small stuffed companion slightly as introduction.
"Pleasure to meet you!" He reached out and shook my hand enthusiastically. Then he leaned in, studying me like I was an interesting side quest.
"Wait… you're the tutor?"
"Yes."
"You look closer to my age…"
"I get that a lot."
Then he suddenly perked up.
"Oh! My brother and I are twins!"
I blinked.
"…Say what?"
Before I could process that information, his grin faded slightly, just for a moment.
A darker tone slipped into his voice.
"Just a fair warning…" he murmured. "Be careful around my big brother."
Something sharp flickered in his mismatched eyes.
"He's… not easy to deal with." just like that, the smile returned.
"Anyway! Nice meeting you!"
What was that warning supposed to mean? Threat? Advice? Trauma bonding???
The palace doors opened again.
"Oliver." A deep voice spoke, King James entered, patting Oliver's head fondly before turning toward me.
And just like that, everything began.
I walked through the hall beside King James, Oliver, several advisors, and a few armored guards.
Oliver kept glancing at me from the side.
"You did better than expected earlier," he said casually. "For a girl."
"…Was that a compliment or a backhanded insult? I need clarity for documentation purposes."
He chuckled. "You're interesting."
Red flag. Noted.
King James leaned in slightly, tone amused.
"Just don't use your charm to seduce my sons."
"I have no intention of committing a diplomatic incident."
"That confidence again," he said with a smirk.
"I won't know my limits unless I meet the target."
The doors to the inner chamber opened.
"Chris. Your new tutor is here."
The moment I saw him, my brain immediately produced one conclusion:
Boss fight energy.
He stood with a wooden sword in hand, posture relaxed, but wrong somehow. Like a coiled weapon pretending to be a person.
Striking red hair tied similarly to Oliver's.
Golden eyes.
And an expression that looked permanently one insult away from violence.
My instincts screamed:
RUN. THIS IS A DELINQUENT MC. NOT A PRINCE.
I bowed slightly anyway in respect for his noble status
"Hello. I'm Shiori Koromi, your new tutor."
His eyes narrowed.
"…What is this? You're younger than me!" he spoke Loudly . Way too loud.
I resisted the urge to cover my ears.
"I assure you, my age is irrelevant to my qualifications."
"Disagreeing with me already?!" he snapped.
"You're being unreasonable. Show basic respect." I said calmly
His gaze dropped.
"…Says the kid holding a teddy bear."
Silence.
Something in my brain clicked.
Mochiko hit the floor.
"…Oi," I said calmly, looking back at him. "That was unnecessary."
I turned to him slowly.
"Why did you do that?"
"Because it's childish! I don't need a kid tutoring me—"
SMACK!
My palm met his cheek.The room froze.
Even the air stopped breathing.
"Just because you're a prince," I said coldly, "doesn't mean you get to look down on people."
…He stared at me.
Then—
SMACK.
He hit me back, Hard. I staggered. The silence shattered.
"You dare hit a woman?!" I snapped.
"I believe in equality!" he growled. "And now you're going to regret that!"
He cracked his knuckles.
This wasn't a prince. This was a final boss training arc delinquent.
I panicked, grabbing mochi and making a run for it, the prince hot on my tail....
Literally!😣
Steven you bastard, what exactly did you sign me up for?!
I ran into the closest laundry room and dived into the sheets, hiding for dear life.
"Where are you woman?!" He yelled, pissed as f*ck.
"Just a little willful?~..." I mocked
This was no Tsundere pretty boy.....
His the MC of an action, delinquent Manga!!!
A watchdog sent from the deepest pits of hell!!!
....
I finally came out of my hiding place and sneakily entered the mall. surprisingly, Oliver and King James were already sitted, as if waiting for me.
"So what do you think?" King James asked with a knowing smile.
"To be honest your sanemi shinazugawa wannabe son is the most violent person I've ever met..." I sigh, still trembling that may still be lurking around.
"What was that?" Oliver's brow twitched
"You heard me whiskers, I'm not sure if that thing needs therapy or a Asian mother.." I deadpanned
I'm not going to shut my opinion, take it or leave it!
"An Asian?.... what?" Oliver eyes widened at my comeback while the king laughed
"That's quite the vocabulary you have there, so what are you going to do? Give up?" He quired, Still looking amused
"No" they were surprised
"I really need that recommendations and nothing is going to stop me from earning it, even if it means taming a vicious cat boy" I spoke, my voice laced with determination.
"Well said, most of them accept defeat at this point, and the ones that do stay only last till a month..."
"So do you have a plan?" Oliver quired.
"Let me think"
I could just beat him up with my skills, no no no. That's not going to change anything.
I'm not going to win that brat's approval by hitting him...
plus he'll hit back despite me being a girl, and if I'm not careful him might disfigured my pretty face!
That's not funny at all, I can't cast spells if I can't speak! What do I do?!
Then it hit me...
"What if we put on an act to trick him into studying" I suggested
"An act? What do you have in mind?" King James asked curiously
"Well I was thinking....." I said my whole plan to them as they listen carefully.
...
I laid down on my bed with a sigh.
I've set mine plan now all I have to do is wait.
I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep
I slowly opened my eyes to see nothing but darkness, I noticed my hands were bounded with ropes as I moved around to feel for my surroundings.
A box? . I kicked it open and hopped out of my makeshift coffin. I seemed to be in some kind of dungeon, stinky piles of armor in a corner as rats skittered around. my nose wrinkled at the stench.
Not bad at all, although I should've requested for a cleaner environment, I guess the ambiance suits the grave situation. I turned to the wooden crate close by and opened it up revealing the prince already bounded by rope as he slowly opened his eyes.
May the show begin!😏
"Good morning my prince" I said smiling.
"What is going on?" Hus eyes were trying to adjust
"It seems like we've been kidnapped, how horrible, if you knew magic you could free yourself " I said using fire to burn through the ropes.
"Like hell I need that!.." then he broke the ropes with sheer strength.
What in Tarzan?!
"Oi! Guards! Opened this door before I knock it down and break your faces!" He yelled banging on the door.
Expected reaction. I sighed
The door swung open causing him to fall on his butt as a large guard glared at him.
Wow! Nice choice! I nodded in approval at the menacing man before us.
"Pipe down you brat!" The guard spat.
"Do you know who I am-eww! Don't come any closer you smell disgusting!" Prince Christopher scowled.
Is he being serious right now....
Then guard Walked closer to him and kicked him in the side, his back crashing into a wall.
"Don't you have any idea who I am!" He yelled lunging at him but was dragged by the hair and thrown onto the ground.
"It's seems like you don't know you're place!" The guard said before harshly stomping on Christopher's body over and over.
Isn't that a bit too far?! I paled seeing the gursome display. The guard soon stopped and turned to me, his eyes roaming my body with a wicked grin.
Uh oh....
He walked over to me, lust clear in his eyes. As he touches my ears I kicked him in the face. He growled, slapping my face.
I chuckled darkly as if daring him to try that again.
"Tch, creepy shit..." He scoffed before leaving and slamming the door shut behind him.
I sighed in relief. Okay this is clearly not an act anymore, we've officially been abducted.
I looked at the prince's stated, blood seeping from his body, his clothes covered in dirt and Stains, his face littered with bruises, How awful.
I knelt down beside him
{Healing master activated}
Most of his wounds soon faded away but as He tried getting back up but fell back down.
"Heal me completely" he order in a hoarse voice.
"If I do you'll just yell at me again, just heal yourself..." I said flatly
"I can't , I don't know how..." He admitted
"If you learned magic you wouldn't have a problem right now, now would you..." I smirk as he growled lowly at me.
I got up and pressed my ear against the door to listen on the guards conversation...
"You didn't kill them right? We need them alive" one of them said
"So what, we can just make do with the girl " the fat one replied.
Oh, No you can't. I could just kill them, however I don't want to teach this cat boy here that violence is the answer.
I walked up to the window, using earth magic to turned the corners into dust before taking the bars out.
"Well I don't want to die nor get raped so, see ya!"
"You can't just leave me here!" He yelled
"I told you to shut up!" The guard were about to barge in but I blocked the door with a large thick slime sticking it in place.
"Ok, bye bye" I said heading out the window.
"Don't... leave me here..." He begged seeming desperate
"Just beat them up baki style, you're good at that..." I smirked
The door kept trying to bust open as the slime doll was slowly losing its grip.
"I'll take you along if you promise not to get violent or yell, can you do that..." I offered
He paused before speaking " h...help me..."
"Promise" I said firmly
He kept looking from me to the door with a conflicted expression.
"Fine!" He replied. I smiled
"Good answer" I took his arm and yanked him out there with me. I ran, carrying him on my back as he was still in no shape to walk.
We reached a roundabout where carriages were parked. I finished fully healing him up as he sighed in satisfaction.
"Thanks!" He spoke
"Hey what did I just say about your voice!" I scolded in a hush tone.
"So? I don't have to keep my promise to you!" He smirked
"Suit yourself, i'm going now" I said walking away. Christopher huffed but tensed as he realized he didn't know the way home.
"Ok, I'm sorry...." He whispered defeated as he tagged along.
"It seems like this is a roundabout, and you can get fares here" I said as i read the sign.
"I can't read" he admitted embarrassed
"If you study, you can learn to and if you knew math you could calculate the cost and get back on your own." I stated bluntly
"Why can't you just do it " he asked with a raised eye brow.
"Because I'm not your servant nor employee, you brat " I said with a straight face.
"But your my tutor."
"I'm not, because of some diva didn't like me I'm not hired yet" I reminded him, he pouted.
We rode a wagon in silence until we reached buarheld.
"We should be safe now" I said walking through the silent streets. Staring ahead I saw a familiar figure in was it was a servant I had seen in Christopher's room.
I smiled waving at them but froze as I turned back to see Christopher was gone. I chashed down to culprits down the ally way.
"Damn you b*tch, you could have gone home in peace" the man scoffed
"Let me go!-" Christopher immediately covered his mouth, remembering our promise.
I turned to see the servant again by the end of the road.
"Go alert the guards on duty!" I yelled
"I'm sorry child, but the prince has to go somewhere for me" the servant grinned wickedly.
"What are you even talking about?" My face darkened
"That brat has given me nothing but hell since day one. he'll do the the same for you because unlike his brother, his nothing but an arrogant brat!" The servant laughed but stopped when they were wrapped in thin, sharp webs.
"him? Arrogant? Big words coming from you. Your given payment, three square meals a day, clothes to wear and a roof under you heads yet your still not satisfied and chose to betray the hand that fed you..."
"You don't know anything! Your just a girl!" They barked
I see everything now, his like this because of constant comparison to his twin brother despite him being the older one...Sound rough....
"And who are you to lecture me, sure the prince is a pain in the neck and dealing with his anger problem is a major red flag, however constantly comparing him to his younger twin is only making its worse... No one is perfect, We all have strengths and weaknesses. It's all about finding what were all best suited for..." I spoke calmly.
Christopher's eyes widened at my words.
" Now As for you, your not my responsibility so I wouldn't kill you, however that doesn't mean you won't go unpunished!" I tighted my grip as the screamed in agony.
By sunrise, we had made it to the palace, king James and prince oliver looking pale with worry.
"Christopher!..." King James cried
"Big brother!" The rushed over.
"What happened?!" the king glared at me, seeing his son's injured state.
"Them..." I said tossing the traitors on the ground as they grunted at the impact.
"I see, take them away" guards nodded before dragging the traitors onto the streets, ignoring their cries and pleas for forgiveness.
"Brother Christ-" Oliver tried touching his brothers shoulder but Christopher swatted his hand away before standing up with slight struggle.
"I promised to be quiet until we got home, so I can talk now right!" He said in his loud tone.
"Yeah.." I said looking at the ground defeated. I had failed, he didn't learn anything and I'm sure he'll only keep getting compared to his nice and polite brother, poor guy...
How am I going to break the new to my followers. I was turning to leave for my mist portal.
"Wait!" My eyes widened as I turned to the voice of the first prince.
"I'm giving you special permission to call me Chris, special permission okay!..." He stated with lightly flushed cheeks.
Was his blushing?! And what's with the soft tone?!
"Are you saying that I can work as you tutor?!"
"I'm not doing this for you! I'm letting you teach me because I want to learn magic and prevent an incident like this from happening again!" He huffed looking away, walking into the palace
I guess the bratty strong head prince has become the soft, Tsundere... I giggled.
I guess he did learn something after All.
I smiled chasing after him as the king and second prince stared in disbelieve.