Chapter 277: Room 204, Mission Room – ‘Hotel Cinema’ (1)

– Elena

How strange.

That was the thought that had crossed my mind countless times since entering Taming the Crown Prince.

About ten minutes ago, I had woken up in bed and dressed in an extravagant gown for the party.

Up until that point, everything seemed normal.

The strange part came afterward. I had expected to take a carriage when stepping out of the mansion, but that didn’t happen at all.

The moment I walked through the front gate, I arrived at the royal palace!

The sudden teleportation was so jarring that I was completely thrown off.

If not for my experiences in the Hotel—where mysterious and bizarre occurrences were an everyday thing—I might have screamed.

After a bit of thought, I understood.

This wasn’t reality; it was a movie.

Films, whether two or three hours long, had to condense an entire narrative into a short span.

The scene of the heroine dressing up in a lavish gown?

That was something audiences would want to see—elegant and beautiful, worth portraying in real time.

On the other hand, taking a carriage to the palace and making small talk with a maid on the way?

Boring and irrelevant.

So, the film simply skipped it and teleported me straight to the ballroom.

The moment I arrived at the venue, a steward’s booming voice echoed through the hall.

“Lady Elena Crossbell has arrived!”

So Crossbell is my name here.

As if waiting for my entrance, noblemen in refined attire approached, requesting dances or boasting about themselves.

I smiled politely and brushed them all aside.

Through their chatter, I naturally learned that I was the daughter of a Count.

Where is the Crown Prince?

My prey—show yourself!

「My prey—show yourself!」

“Wait, is she really the heroine of a romance movie? She sounds more like a hunter in the middle of a boar hunt.”

“If it weren’t for the narration, it’d still be a fitting scene.”

Finding the Crown Prince wasn’t difficult.

Nearby, a group of noblemen in peacock-like outfits had gathered.

Among them stood a tall, broad-shouldered man with sharp features, laughing heartily as he tossed out playful remarks.

That had to be the prince.

But I hesitated slightly.

Would it be wise to approach him directly?

Romance is a game of push and pull.

If you shove bait right into a fish’s mouth, it’s more likely to swim away.

I needed to lure him in.

I moved to the window, glanced at the position of the lights, took two steps forward to find the perfect spot, straightened my posture, and cast a subtle, emotion-filled gaze over the ballroom.

A more melancholic atmosphere might be best.

A noble lady with a tragic backstory—yes, that kind of character would be ideal.

It was a bit challenging, but I had to trust my instincts.

Unclasping my brooch, I stepped even closer to the window.

The breeze from outside brushed against my hair, sending my golden locks flowing like silk down to my waist.

– Click!

The sound of approaching footsteps.

A faint smile crossed my lips, but I didn’t turn around.

A true heroine must leave her admirer longing—she must never be the one to cling first!

In one corner of the grand palace, by the swaying curtains, Elena stood against the window, her golden hair fluttering in the wind.

As if scattering crushed gold into the air, her serene presence radiated, shifting the entire movie’s focus away from the dancing guests and toward her.

No—the movie itself had literally refocused on her.

Watching Taming the Crown Prince – Elena’s Version unfold, nearly all the spectators in the Hotel were left speechless.

“Wow…”

“Is that CGI? How is her hair glowing?”

“Kain, your mouth is hanging open.”

“W-What? No, it’s not.”

As she observed her teammates looking as if they were about to step into the screen themselves, Ahri couldn’t help but think—

How is anyone supposed to pull that off?

All Elena did was let her hair down and stand by the window.

But because of her looks, even that simple act created a scene straight out of a romance film—a perfect, picture-book moment.

It wasn’t something just anyone could imitate.

If Elena failed and someone else had to take her place, copying this method would be impossible.

“I wish Elena would show us a way that others could follow.”

Or, she could just succeed on the first try!

“Lady Crossbell, do you have something on your mind?”

Turning around, I found myself face-to-face with the confident, broad-shouldered nobleman I had seen earlier.

Just as expected. From there, we exchanged light conversation, sipped on wine, and began moving toward the center of the ballroom.

“Today, I, Pendleton, have realized that I have lived my entire life as a blind man.”

“Oh my! Whatever do you mean by that?”

“To have never once seen such a radiant sight as Lady Crossbell until today—how can I call my eyes anything but useless?”

This line… Honestly, it’s a bit much.

But since he’s a handsome prince, I’ll let it slide.

“I noticed you gazing out the window for quite some time. Is something troubling you?”

I was wondering how to make you fall for me in one move.

“The weather is growing colder. As you may have heard, my father left for the northwestern territories to handle affairs of the empire. I couldn’t help but wonder how he’s faring in such harsh conditions.”

My ‘father’ really did go to the northwest, right?

I heard something like that while changing clothes earlier, but I’m not sure if I remember it correctly.

“Haha! The Count of Crossbell must keep in mind that such a beautiful daughter thinks of him day and night! I have met the Count on occasion. If the opportunity arises, I shall be sure to pass on your concerns.”

Count Crossbell?

Pendleton?

“Wait… Are you perhaps Lord Pendleton, the Heir of Duke Pendleton?”

“Haha! Perhaps you didn’t recognize me? Surely, you jest! Lady Crossbell, I did not take you for one so full of humor.”

「This bastard isn’t the Crown Prince?! Who told him to look so much like one?!」

The audience groaned as Elena’s frustrated narration echoed through the theater.

“Ugh… He literally said his name was Pendleton at the beginning! The Crown Prince is Veruson! Both his first and last name were mentioned by the maid in the intro!”

Watching Kain sigh in frustration, Songee hesitantly tried to defend Elena.

“Oppa, to be fair, I can see why she got confused. It’s because you don’t read romance novels or watch these kinds of movies. The Crown Prince is always the most handsome one. Up until a moment ago, I also assumed Pendleton had to be the prince.”

“But the Crown Prince is the Emperor’s son, not the hottest guy in the room. What does being handsome have to do with it?”

“Kain, don’t say things you don’t understand. If the male lead is a Crown Prince, then he has to be the most gorgeous man around! That’s just common sense! The casting in this movie is weird.”

With even Eunsol chiming in from the back, Kain finally gave up and shut his mouth.

Wait, am I the one in the wrong here…?

Calm down! Stay composed! There’s still plenty of time left in the ball!

After pushing aside the unnecessarily prince-like duke heir, I finally spotted the real Crown Prince, Joshua Veruson, seated at a table with his attendants.

The moment I realized where he was, only one thought crossed my mind.

The Hotel set me up.

I mean, come on—there’s a standard age range for a male lead in a romance movie!

Shouldn’t he be in his mid-to-late twenties?

At worst, early thirties?

What was I supposed to do with this kid who looked younger than Seungyub?!

I felt a surge of irritation, but when I considered other possibilities, I also felt relieved.

If the Hotel wanted to be truly evil, they could have cast a sixty-year-old man as the Crown Prince.

After all, in reality, there have been heirs who only took the throne in their seventies.

Now that I had my target, I repositioned myself so he could see me and repeated the same ‘performance’ as before.

What excuse should I use this time?

Maybe a devoted daughter worrying about her ailing mother?

It didn’t take five minutes for my second ‘bait’ to work.

Just as before, I heard approaching footsteps—only this time, it was a boy who looked barely a year or two older than Seungyub.

“L-Lady C-Crossbell! Do you have something on your mind? T-Today, I, Verus—”

“‘—have realized I have lived my entire life as a blind man?’”

“Hiccup!”

Who the hell started this trend?

“Pfft! I’m sorry, I just… I’ve been hearing that exact phrase all day.”

“I-Is that so?”

At first, the boy seemed a bit flustered, but he soon began chatting enthusiastically.

He talked about the yacht he recently received as a gift, his struggle with a temperamental horse that kept trying to throw him off, and—perhaps most amusingly—his barely concealed jealousy toward Pendleton, who was just a duke heir yet still far more popular at the ball.

After listening for a while, I figured out what kind of character this Crown Prince was.

「A Seungyub who’s born into royalty  Conquering him should be easy. The empire’s future is concerning, though.」

“Uh, Elena-noona! What exactly do you mean by that?”

“AHAHAHAHA!”

—CRASH!

As Ahri burst into laughter, she slipped off her chair.

Watching this, Eunsol sighed.

Truthfully, she completely agreed with Elena’s analysis.

A prince who couldn’t even breathe loudly in front of a beautiful woman, who lacked the confidence to take charge of his own ballroom despite being the Crown Prince, and who harbored an unmistakable inferiority complex?

Honestly… he did resemble Seungyub a bit.

“Uh… she must mean that he’s young and cute, like you Seungyub.”

“But she said, ‘Conquering him should be easy.’ And, ‘The empire’s future is concerning.’”

Eunsol figured that at this point, it was probably best for Songee to just stay quiet rather than attempt meaningless reassurances.

The conversation had completely derailed.

It seemed that this young prince wanted to appear as impressive as possible in front of me.

He rambled about heating policies for the capital, only to trail off awkwardly, unable to continue.

Watching him struggle, I had a realization.

Don’t forget!

I’m the heroine of this movie, so I’m supposed to help him out!

“The care Your Highness holds for the people of the capital—may others come to recognize it as well. Even an emperor cannot stop winter, but if your warm heart for your people reaches the heavens, surely even the gods will be moved.”

“Y-Yes! Exactly!”

Something like this.

It seemed like things were progressing smoothly.

The age gap worried me a bit, but at least this young Crown Prince was clearly falling for me.

Judging by the setup, the ‘Duke’s Ball’ was an event where the heroine captured the prince’s heart, and so far, it was a success.

The next event is…

“Oh, Lady Elena!”

“Your Highness, did the lady permit you to call her by her first name? According to etiquette, you should refer to her as ‘Lady Crossbell.’”

“…L-Lady Crossbell!”

Watching the Crown Prince get scolded by his attendant in just those few seconds made me feel a bit sorry for him.

I decided to help him out.

“Oh my, did I not tell Your Highness earlier that I wouldn’t mind if you called me by name?”

“Eh?”

“Would you?”

“I-I would! Lady Elena! You’re aware that next week, we’ll be holding a New Year’s fox hunt, right?”

So, the next event was a fox hunt.

But more importantly… watching how this clueless young prince instantly became elated just because of a few kind words, I couldn’t help but sigh.

Sure, it’s just a movie, but at this rate, this empire won’t last beyond the next generation.

“Seungyub! I told you to rule properly! The empire’s doomed in the next generation!”

“…It’s fine. I’m not actually a prince.”

As Seungyub sulked under Ahri’s teasing, Kain, who had been laughing along, suddenly froze.

Wait. This isn’t funny!

Elena didn’t realize that her thoughts were being narrated!

Just now, she compared the Crown Prince to Seungyub.

But… who would be next?

What if she thought of him?

His breath hitched.

Meanwhile, across the room, Songee’s mind was racing.

There’s no way the Hotel’s script would be this smooth. The villain should be appearing any moment now….