I ssed Up.
There was no other way to describe it.
I had stepped out onto the terrace for so fresh air, had a conversation with the Second Princess, and, swept up in the mont, I had drunk the Ssanghwatang she gave .
And then...
"You crazy bastard."
Thinking back to the previous night made my head spin.
As if my brain had short-circuited, I had crashed my lips against hers.
Sure, I had drunk the Ssanghwatang with Mandrake without a hint of suspicion, but that was no excuse.
No matter how powerful its effects were, it wasn’t like it could override my rationality.
If it could, then Ssanghwatang wouldn’t be known as a tonic—it’d be classified as a love potion.
No.
This was all on .
I had simply gotten caught up in the mont—and acted on it.
Of course, it was the Second Princess who had set the stage for such a mood, and maybe the Ssanghwatang had so effect...
But regardless of the circumstances, it was my doing, and there was no excuse for it.
"..."
I stole a glance to my side.
She stood there; her gaze fixed on the closed doors of the banquet hall.
And suddenly, mories of the night before flooded my mind.
The sweet warmth of Ssanghwatang.
The soft sensation of her lips.
The dizzying entanglent that followed.
Even just recalling it made my heart pound.
"This is bad."
My mind scread at , blaring warning signals, but my body refused to calm down.
"You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?"
I turned my head—her red eyes were now fixed on .
"...To be honest, yes."
"..."
Then, without warning, she reached out and took my hand.
Her fingers intertwined with mine, and the warmth of her palm seeped through my skin.
"Feeling better now?"
"..."
If anything, my heart pounded even harder.
Like a runaway train, completely off the rails.
But just as it seed I was about to lose control again, a calm, soothing energy spread from my hand to my chest.
It was her magic.
Only then, as my mind settled, did I manage to lower my head and say—
"...Thank you."
"No need for thanks."
She gave a small, knowing smile.
"I’ll just collect my paynt from last night tomorrow."
"..."
She was impossible to keep up with.
The mont I let my guard down, I’d find myself trapped in yet another impossible situation.
And yet, after what happened, it was hard to say no to her.
"I’m an idiot. Why the hell did I do that?"
I ntally berated myself, forcing my thoughts back into order.
If I let things slip further, I’d be swallowing a poisoned apple—and that would be the end of .
Then, in a low voice, she said sothing unexpected—
"It was also my first-ti."
"..."
For a mont, I was at a loss for words.
And before I could even process it, the doors of the banquet hall creaked open.
—"Her Highness, Second Princess Christina, is entering!"
"Let’s go," she said, gently leading forward by the hand.
I matched her stride, stepping into the hall.
And despite my best efforts, my heart was pounding all over again.
*
For the rest of the banquet, I escorted the Second Princess.
Thankfully, after the third day, she stopped attending, aning my ti in the public eye was limited to just two days.
Under normal circumstances, those two days alone would have caused a massive stir.
But not this ti.
"Did you hear? Marquis Sumrnut has started courting a northern noblewoman."
"Oh, I did! From the Arden Kingdom, right? What energy he must have! Speaking of which, I heard Count Schultz is considering remarrying."
"...What?! At his age?!"
Apparently, after drinking Mandrake Ssanghwatang, many nobles got caught up in the mont—leading to unexpected romances and rekindled passions.
Compared to all that, my ti escorting the Second Princess barely registered as newsworthy.
"They say history is made in banquet halls, and they weren’t wrong."
In the Empire, it was common for couples to sneak off into the gardens during grand banquets.
Co to think of it, maybe that was why imperial gardens were so massive.
The labyrinth-like designs weren’t just for aesthetic appeal—they probably served as a convenient way to avoid awkward encounters.
Regardless, Ssanghwatang was a smashing success.
After the first night, we began selling the remaining stock at a premium price.
By the end of the four-day banquet, we had made a substantial profit.
There was even a minor scandal about soone stealing the Emperor’s private stash of Ssanghwatang, but... I chose to stay out of it.
The morning after the banquet, Zion burst into the eting room.
"Elder brother, this is huge!"
"What happened?"
"All six allied nations have contacted us!"
"Oh?"
The Empire’s six allied nations included:
Yuren, the Alchemist Nation The Three Northern Kingdoms Fioré, holand of the Beast Cards Carcel, the Mariti Kingdom
There were also Elves and Dwarves, but these six were the major players.
And every single one of them had reached out—expressing interest in purchasing Warming Cabinets and Ssanghwatang.
"Look at this."
Zion handed a list, and as I skimd through it, I imdiately understood why he was so excited.
The top six rchant guilds from each kingdom were on this list.
Even Ranya, peeking over my shoulder, stamred in disbelief.
"Y-Yuri... This is..."
"Yes," I nodded.
"These are the six most powerful rchant guilds on the continent."
Each na represented a major economic powerhouse.
It wasn’t entirely surprising—the ripples from the Imperial Banquet were bound to reach their ears.
The most information-savvy rchants would have already learned everything about what transpired at the banquet.
And, of course, they had caught the scent of profit.
"This ans I can spread warming cabinets everywhere at once."
Warming cabinets had previously struggled to gain traction, but the mont it was presented to the Emperor, its value had skyrocketed.
It was no longer just a machine—it was "The Goddess’s Box."
The marketing impact of that one phrase alone was unimaginable.
Now, people would co to understand the importance of a hot beverage on a cold winter day—and the comfort of Ssanghwatang’s warmth.
Ranya, overco with joy, suddenly froze mid-celebration.
"Y-Yuri, should we... build another Magic Tower?"
"..."
A few days ago, she was content with a re remodeling project—and now she wanted an entire new branch.
anwhile, Zion was grinning ear to ear.
But—
Sothing was off.
I turned to Aria, who had been oddly silent.
"...Sothing wrong?"
She had barely spoken since the banquet.
And her expression was...
"Why does she look so tense?"
"Let’s talk for a mont."
"...?"
Aria stood up and spoke to .
"What’s going on?"
Puzzled, I followed her out of the conference room.
As we left, I heard Zion click his tongue softly behind , as if he had been expecting this to happen.
*
Leaving the White Tower, Aria recalled what had happened on the first night of the banquet.
She had been stuck fending off conversations with various nobles for a long while.
Finally, when she was able to get a mont alone, she started looking for Yuri.
But he was nowhere to be seen in the banquet hall.
Then, she spotted him stepping out from the terrace.
"Senior!"
Relieved, she called out to him and started walking over—
But then, she froze.
Because behind Yuri, erging from the terrace as well, was the Second Princess.
The mont she saw that, a chill ran down her spine.
It could have been nothing.
Maybe they had just gone outside for so fresh air together.
Or perhaps they had simply run into each other by chance on the terrace.
But despite all those rational possibilities, an unshakable sense of unease settled in her chest.
Sothing about their atmosphere felt different.
She could sense it instinctively.
The distance between Yuri and the princess—soone he had always been wary of—had noticeably closed.
She could have just asked.
Could have simply questioned why they had co out together.
But she couldn’t.
She was afraid of what she might hear.
After all, Yuri was soone who had never cared about romance. His mind had always been filled with processed foods and nothing else.
So, she dismissed it.
Convinced herself that she was just overthinking it.
Even though she knew, deep down, that she was just running from the truth.
But no matter how much ti passed, the image wouldn’t leave her head.
And so, she finally decided to confront it head-on.
She couldn’t keep agonizing over this forever.
"Haah."
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Aria turned around.
Through the entrance of the White Tower, Yuri was walking toward her.
That carefree, clueless look on his face only made her want to smack him.
But she held it in.
Instead, she asked,
"On the first night of the banquet... what happened with the Second Princess?"
"...Huh? What do you an?"
The mont he answered, Aria’s heart sank.
Because he was avoiding her gaze.
His vague, hesitant response told her everything she needed to know.
Sothing had happened.
She wanted to run away.
But she didn’t.
Her pride wouldn’t allow it.
At the sa ti, she also couldn’t bring herself to act like everything was normal.
So, she decided to end the conversation quickly and leave.
But then—
"No matter what happened, I have no intention of seeing the Second Princess again."
At those unexpected words, Aria’s eyes widened.
’Wait... does that an... he knows I saw them?’
Yuri felt a flicker of unease.
Aria’s reaction made it seem as though she had witnessed what had happened on the terrace.
Otherwise, there was no reason for her to be acting so suspiciously.
If she had seen—
That would be bad.
If rumors spread that he had kissed the Second Princess, it would be a disaster.
The thought alone made his stomach churn.
He wasn’t ready for that kind of entanglent.
So, he firmly denied it.
But then—
"You’re not dating the Second Princess?"
Aria asked with wide, uncertain eyes.
"Dating? What? No."
Yuri responded as if the idea was ridiculous.
"We’re not together."
"Really?"
"Yeah, seriously."
Of course, there had been... an incident.
But he definitely wasn’t at the point of calling it a relationship.
Dating in the Empire wasn’t a casual affair.
It ant commitnt, with no easy way out.
Even the Second Princess had told him there was no need to rush into anything.
So, for now, he had decided to take his ti.
He felt bad about it, but he needed to think things through.
Call him selfish, but he wasn’t about to turn his life into hard mode just yet.
He just wanted a normal life—one where he could work, relax, and enjoy himself in peace.
But for so reason...
The shadow that had been lingering over Aria’s face suddenly disappeared.
Her expression brightened instantly.
"What?"
"Nothing. Let’s go inside."
Aria felt lighter.
She was so glad she had asked.
If she hadn’t, she would have kept overthinking things and suffering in silence.
It was clear that Yuri wasn’t exactly disinterested in the Second Princess...
But as long as they weren’t dating, that was all that mattered.
Because that ant—
She still had a chance.
As she stepped back into the White Tower, her footsteps felt lighter than ever.
***
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