“Why the hell did you come all the way here looking like that?”

Duke Arteum looked at Julius with a disdainful expression.

Julius, without responding to the Duke’s words, struck a deadly pose.

“How about it? I think I’m more enchanting than Yulia.”

“….”

The Duke, holding the wavy fringe of his wig, felt embarrassed about his longtime friend’s actions.

The Duke didn’t hide his displeasure.

“It’s disgustingly repulsive.”

With a shaky expression, the Duke glared at Julius. However, Julius seemed entirely unaffected by the Duke’s words.

“Lies. I’ve already seen your expression admiring me when you received the letter.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. It’s just frozen because it gave me chills.”

Julius shrugged off the Duke’s words and confidently walked towards his bed.

After throwing away his shoes, he sat down with legs spread wide.

The Duke, watching Julius, couldn’t hide his frustration and grabbed his throbbing head.

“Sigh. I didn’t ask you to come.”

“After traveling a long way as soon as I received your letter, what’s with that statement to a dear friend? It hurts.”

“Medalion must be worried. You couldn’t give up your childhood hobby, and even as a grown adult, you continue these absurd actions.”

When childhood stories were mentioned, mischievousness sparkled in Julius’s eyes.

“Hmm… I remember the day we first met.”

“Well, I don’t remember.”

The Duke’s straightforward words made Julius’s eyes gleam with mischief.

“Are you pretending not to know?”

Leaning forward, Julius pressed the Duke for an answer.

“I vividly remember our first encounter.”

Whistling, he teased the Duke’s emotions.

The Duke’s first meeting with Julius wasn’t a pleasant memory.

Because…

“You fell for me at first sight and kept chasing me, saying you’d marry me.”

“Shut up!”

It was because the Duke had fallen for Julius, who was disguised as a woman.

That incident was a black mark in the Duke’s history.

He didn’t want to admit that he had fallen for such a rascal.

The Duke, with a fierce glint in his eyes, raised his fist.

“If you say one more word, I’ll crush that handsome face of yours.”

“Oh, scary.”

Julius responded with words that he didn’t mean.

The Duke suppressed the boiling anger with great effort.

‘Dealing with him will only be a loss for me.’

Feeling irritated by Julius’s constant interference, the Duke sighed.

“Now, stop your hobby. You’re going to be the king leading a kingdom. Keep your composure.”

“I stopped cross-dressing a long time ago. I came to see my long-lost friend, who didn’t even keep in touch. I just prepared a little event because I was excited. How about it? Are you excited?”

“You won’t be sincerely asking.”

“What if I am?”

“…You’re not a child anymore. Learn from your twin sister, Yulia.”
Yulia and Julius were twin siblings. Not only their appearances but also their builds were similar, to the extent that they wouldn’t feel uncomfortable even if they switched their looks.

Julius raised the corner of his mouth with amusement at the Duke’s words and picked up the fallen wig from the floor. Nonchalantly, he walked to the mirror and skillfully put the wig back on.

“Are you not going to get rid of that disgusting wig now?”

“No, I can’t. As long as I’m at your mansion as Yulia, I have to stay as Yulia until I return. If the fact that I, the prince, cross-dressed spreads to other countries, it will greatly damage the prestige of our Mederion Kingdom.”

Julius spoke alluringly, clenching his fist with a dignified posture.

It was behavior contrary to expressing concern.

“Did someone who knows about it come cross-dressing without thinking?”

The Duke scanned Julius with a pitiful expression.

“Well, it’s amusing. I can enjoy freedom away from the prince’s position for a while.”

“Did you accept your suggestion for Yulia to temporarily change her status?”

“No. I just came out secretly.”

“…”

Julius confidently answered.

With a low sigh, the Duke looked at Julius with a pitiful gaze.

“The knights mistook you for Yulia quite easily.”

Even if they were identical twins, someone closely overseeing them should be able to distinguish them easily. Why did they get fooled?

The Duke looked at Julius with a puzzled expression.

“You prepared thoroughly. Wearing a large hat covering your face and acting like Yulia.”

He smirked, claiming he left the hat in the carriage.

A disappointed laughter was all that came out of the Duke’s mouth in response to Julius’s sunny reply.

“Innocent fool.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. Can’t you stop frowning, Lucas?”

Julius approached the Duke and playfully brushed shoulders with him.

“And you don’t need to worry about me leaving my position. With our Yulia here, there’s no need.”

The Duke lightly pushed away Julius’s arm, which had climbed onto his shoulder, and took a step back.

With a smile that seemed to imply familiarity with the Duke’s harshness, Julius opened his mouth.

“Yulia will greet the foreign guests in my stead.”

“What?”

The Duke’s face distorted oddly at Julius’s words.