The Prince’s Taste - Chapter 7.2

“I’ve warned you many times what happens to those who turn their backs on me without asking for permission, yet you’re fearless.”

“Why are you following me?”

“Isn’t it more fun by your side than at the palace?”

The silver-haired secondary male lead followed closely, teasing and threatening. He seemed like a dangerous shadow.

“If you follow me, you might get into trouble. I’m going home.”

“…Do you really have to go now? I don’t think it’s likely you’re coming back in one piece.”

“My father isn’t that harsh. He’ll just nag. The problem is, it’s a long nag—very long.”

That’s why she had to hurry home. Once the lecture started, it would last at least three hours.

She needed to get it over and done with to be able to attend the evening banquet.

“Stop following me. Do you need a carriage?”

“Just one question. Are you really not curious about me at all?”

“How many times do I have to say no?”

“Isn’t it polite to pretend you’re considering?”

He sounded genuinely offended — probably wasn’t used to getting shot down in under a second. But she didn’t have the bandwidth to coddle a second male lead’s fragile ego. She had to put out the fire at her own feet first.

“I’m not asking because I’m not curious. If you keep asking why I don’t ask, I have nothing to say.”

“Wow. Never met a woman like you before.”

“I’m kinda special. So, can I go now?”

Judy Esther lifted her chin and deliberately put on a haughty expression.

“With my looks, everyone falls for me.”

“Well, I’ll give you this — you are ridiculously good-looking.”
Judy Esther gave the second lead a once-over. His silver hair shimmered under the sun, practically glowing, and those red-tinted eyes… up close, they had a spellbinding hue.
“Which is exactly why we wouldn’t work.”
“You just said I’m handsome. Isn’t that enough?”
“Think about it. If you mix silver paint with pink paint, what color do you think you get?”
“…Something hideous?”
Calix furrowed his brows, clearly confused about where this was going.
“Now mix red and green.”
“Wait—are you talking about what our kid would look like?”
Judy’s pink hair and green eyes had clearly inspired the color theory tangent, and Calix looked at her like she’d just gone off the rails.
“People are supposed to think ahead. If you don’t consider the future, you’re gonna regret it.”
“Even if we had a kid, they’d probably get either silver hair or pink hair. It’s not like the colors would blend.”
“You don’t know that. And if it did? That poor child would hold a lifelong grudge against us.”
Judy argued that relationships led to marriage and kids, so yes — genetics were absolutely on the table.
“Take Richard’s black hair. It cancels out pink, sure. But gold and green? Still ends up ugly.”

“Better one bomb than two, right?”

“Honestly, I don’t see the difference. And besides….”
Calix cut in adamantly, emphasizing that his genes were dominant, so any child of his would have silver hair and red eyes, just like him, his father, and his grandfather. It was the imperial lineage’s trademark.
“And what if, by some bad luck, kid number three or four comes out all mixed up?”
“Then… that’s their problem, isn’t it?”
“Picture this: gorgeous mom, ridiculously handsome dad. All the siblings look like royalty. And then there’s one poor kid with mousy gray hair — a sad blend of pink and silver — and muddy, dull eyes. Just imagine.”
“Then maybe we just don’t have kids?”

“I’m Judy Esther. Do you think that’s even remotely possible?”

He stared at her for a long beat before speaking.

“…Okay, but seriously. Why are we arguing about the hair and eye color of kids who haven’t even been born yet? And wait—were you actually planning on having four with me? I mean, not that I’d complain if we ended up with ten.”

Judy raised her index finger and waggled it like a ticking metronome.

“Exactly why this won’t work. Out of ten, at least two are statistically bound to come out looking like unfortunate color swatches.”

“Pfft!”

The second male lead burst into laughter. He’d never been rejected before, and certainly not for something as absurd as imaginary offspring aesthetics. Being turned down over hypothetical hair pigment—this was one for the imperial archives.

“Judy, if it’s your kid, I’d still adore them, even if they had mousy gray hair and poop-colored eyes. So stop shutting me down outright and give it some actual thought.”

“I told you, stop following me.”

Judy shot him a glare as they reached the carriage.

Just seeing the Emers family crest made her heart twist with relief. It had only been a week, but the coachman and footmen looked like they’d aged rapidly. The moment they saw her, they choked up with, “My lady…!” like they were reuniting after decades of separation.