Reborn As Noble

Chapter 1010: The Perfect Prank ( 1010 )

Lithia and Harny returned to the table, each carrying a plate from the buffet. Harny smiled warmly as she set a plate down in front of Marcellus. ”Dear... your meal.”

”Thank you,” Marcellus glanced up at her, his smile softening.

”Prince Javier, here is your food,” Lithia said, placing a second plate before him.

Javier looked down at the meal, a generous serving of meat, fresh fruit, and a neatly arranged pile of vegetables.

”Ugh! Lithia... you know I don’t like veggies.”

Marcellus narrowed his eyes. ”Oi. You should feel lucky my wife brought you food at all.”

Javier glanced back at him with a smirk. ”Wife, huh? Well, you’re not wrong. You are marrying them next week.” He took his fork, carefully separated the vegetables, and slid them onto Marcellus’s plate. ”Still, I don’t like veggies.”

”Hoy! Don’t be a picky eater. Eat them.”

”Nope.” Javier grinned, leaning back. ”You should eat those veggies, Marcellus. You’re the one getting married. You’ll need all the energy you can get for your honeymoon~”

”Guh!”

Lithia just chuckled softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. ”She’s right, dear. You should eat them.”

”Gih... fine, fine.” Marcellus shot Javier a mock glare. ”You’re lucky your sister-in-law is here to defend you. Otherwise...”

”Oho~ So scary~” Javier grinned, then bit into a piece of fruit and chewed it with deliberate, smug satisfaction.

Javier then snapped his fingers. A shimmer of spatial magic flickered as his dimensional storage opened, and he reached inside, pulling out a bottle of expensive-looking wine.

Marcellus’s eyes widened. ”Oi,” he hissed in a sharp whisper. ”Don’t tell me you raided Father’s wine cellar again.”

”Hah! Don’t lump me in with you and Cedric. You two are the ones who always sneak into Father’s cellar and take whatever you please.” Javier grinned, cradling the bottle. ”I earned this one. Ehehehe... totally different.”

”Yeah, yeah. Like you’ve never ’borrowed’ a bottle before.”

”Oi! That’s rude. Of course Father has good taste, especially for serving his best friends. But trust me, this one I got from my time in Arjam. The old estate there had an impressive collection. Let’s just say it’s safer in my storage now.” Javier wiggled his eyebrows, his grin widening.

Marcellus snatched the bottle from Javier’s hands and inspected the label, a sly smile spreading across his face. ”Oho... this is good quality. Alright, let’s open it.” He placed a fingertip on the cork, and with a soft pulse of mana, it eased out with a satisfying pop.

”Oi! Don’t just open it without my permission!” Javier reached for the bottle, but Marcellus tilted it back and took a long, direct swig.

”Oi! At least pour it into a glass!” Javier shouted, lunging again to snatch it back.

Marcellus just grinned and deliberately ran his tongue over the rim right in front of him.

”Eww! That’s disgusting!”

”Bwahahaha! It’s mine now!” Marcellus laughed, then offered the bottle toward Javier’s wine glass with a taunting grin. ”Oh, want some?”

”Hell no! You drink it yourself!” Javier snatched his glass back before Marcellus could pour a single drop.

”Dear...” Lithia said softly, a note of gentle reproach in her voice.

”Hmm? What?” Marcellus grinned, still pouring the wine into his own glass.

”You shouldn’t tease him like that.”

”Haha! He’s my little brother! I can bully him if I want! Ehehehe!” Marcellus reached over and rubbed his knuckle roughly through Javier’s head.

”Oi! My hair! My perfect style! You’ll make me bald in the middle!” Javier swatted at his brother’s hand, but Marcellus just slung an arm around his shoulders.

”Aw, come on! We’re brothers, right? Don’t be shy~” Marcellus grinned, tilting the bottle toward Javier’s empty glass.

”Yikes! Don’t you dare pour that dirty wine in here!”

”What are you two doing?”

Javier, who was still trying to swat Marcellus’s hand away, glanced up.

”Oi! Don’t scare us like that, Cedric. I thought you were Father for a second!”

”Yeah! Don’t talk like that. You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Marcellus looked up, one hand pressed to his chest in mock fright.

Cedric sighed, dragged a chair over, and sat down. ”I don’t sound like Father and you both know it.”

Javier and Marcellus exchanged a look and burst out laughing.

”He says he doesn’t sound like Father!”

”Can you believe it!? Ahahahaha!”

Cedric exhaled, shaking his head. ”These two. You always pick the perfect time to gang up on me.”

Javier was still doubled over, grinning as he pointed at Cedric. ”No way~ You and Marcellus are the ones who always gang up on me. Consider this payback!”

Marcellus wiped a tear of laughter from his eye, his grin sharpening. ”So, how about a drink?” He offered the bottle, poured a generous amount into an empty glass, and slid it toward Cedric.

Cedric took it, lifting it slowly toward his lips.

But then he noticed Javier and Marcellus had gone quiet. Both were staring at him, identical grins plastered on their faces.

”...What’s wrong with you two?”

”Oh? Nothing, nothing,” Javier grinned, waving a dismissive hand even as his eyes remained locked on the glass. ”Go on... drink it. It’s ’high quality’ wine, you know.”

Marcellus’s eyes were also fixed on the glass, a sly, expectant smile playing on his lips. ”Yeah, Cedric... go on... drink... drink...”

”You two are being weird.” Cedric exhaled and slowly raised the glass to his lips, taking a careful sip. ”Mm... this really is good quality.”

He noticed Javier’s cheeks were puffed out, his face reddening as he fought to hold back laughter. Marcellus was staring intently at the glass, his shoulders trembling with suppressed giggles.

”What’s wrong?” Cedric glanced between them, then over at Lithia and Harny, who were also hiding smiles behind their hands, shoulders shaking.

”Man, you’re all being so weird.” Shrugging, Cedric took another, longer drink.

Javier burst out laughing. ”Marcellus already licked that bottle and drank straight from it! Bwahahahaha!”

Cedric sputtered, coughing hard as he pulled the glass away. ”Oi, Marcellus! That’s disgusting!!” He turned aside, gagging dryly as if trying to spit the taste out.

( End Of Chapter )