“I must have underestimated you. I didn’t know before that you were so clever.”
Claire stared at , her gaze unfocused. She called by a different na than before, perhaps because she thought there was nothing more to hesitate about. But there was sothing else that bothered more than her rude words. Earlier, Claire’s face had looked like that of soone who was agitated.
Now, however, she looked very calm. But she couldn’t hide the hatred glowing with an eerie light in her gaze. What Claire had just said was so out of courtesy that I could punish her if I want to take issue with this.
But now that we were alone, who would believe if I called it into question?
So instead of pointing out Claire’s arrogance, I smiled lightly.
“I’ll take that as a complint.”
“…..Then, I’ll be on my way. I don’t know how I got over the crisis by accident this ti, but I don’t know if such good fortune will befall the Princess next ti.”
“I don’t know what kind of play you’ll prepare next ti, but since you’re so confident, I’m looking forward to it.”
After the short conversation, we each took a step in opposite directions.
I quickly left the building and went to the garden. I walked a little further through a chest-high wall of grass and saw a large tree. I may have been mistaken, but I seed to have made eye contact with soone who was standing here earlier.
“Who are you looking for so desperately?”
I turned my head to the sound and saw Elvin standing there. Today, he was wearing a white shirt and a dark blue coat with low saturation. The collar and edges of the coat were elaborately embroidered with gold thread.
The vest he wore inside was also embroidered with gold thread, making him look very gorgeous. It was the first ti I had seen his face in such bright light, and I felt a little nervous. The red light from the sun dyed his profile a red color.
He had white skin, straight eyebrows, a high nose, a sharp chin, slightly long and sharp eyes, and red lips.
It was true that Elvin’s appearance was sothing to marvel at.
And the atmosphere overwheld people. Even though it wasn’t the first ti I saw him, I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
However, his behavior was like that of a stray cat. He was unpredictable. He ca to visit when I hadn’t invited him.
Co to think of it, he and a cat looked a little alike. Of course, with his tall, elevated shoulders, he looked more like a lion or leopard than a small, cute cat. Elvin slowly walked towards with a smiling face.
“I don’t think the person you’re looking for is the Crown Prince. Could it be that you were looking for ?” (Elvin)
“I just ca to check because I think I saw soone suspicious.” (Rox)
“A Princess without a guard? You’re brave. I wouldn’t have been able to do that.”(Elvin)
It was not an action that I had thought about deeply.
I imdiately denied Elvin’s words inwardly.
However, I felt a little embarrassed, as if my true intentions had been exposed and I was trying to hide them.
“Why were the Lord in the sa place? Were you waiting for ?”
I tried not to play with the tone that seed to tease , so I asked back.
But Elvin nodded casually.
I imdiately regretted saying those words. I felt even more embarrassed when he admitted it honestly.
I was a little flustered.
But Elvin continued on, unconcerned about my reaction.
“I didn’t know we’d reunite this soon. By the way… Are you here to et His Highness?” (Elvin)
“I have a few things to take care of.” (Rox)
Elvin stared at , his eyes narrowed.
When my eyes t his, I naturally flinched, as if I were a mouse in front of a cat.
“I heard that there was a small accident at the Count Evans’ residence yesterday. Is what you have to deal with related to yesterday?” (Elvin)
“It wasn’t sothing that the Lord would be interested in. It was just a small accident.” (Rox)
“Is that so?” (Elvin)
It was a searching question, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he already knew. Since he was the head of the Hers of information trading, there was no reason to be surprised that he knew what happened yesterday.
“May I ask what you and Lady Dana talked about?”
“Has the Lord been waiting to interrogate ?”
When I pointed out that Elvin had crossed the line, he fell silent.
“Of course not. If my question was rude, I apologize.”
Unlike his polite deanor, Elvin’s gaze was still mischievous.
“Is this the fourth ti the Lord and I have t like this?”
Today, Elvin’s attitude toward was that of a friend. However, this was only the fourth ti he had appeared in front of as the Grand Duke of Croix, including the first day I fell into this world.
The number of tis I had encountered Elvin was not very many. He and I had exchanged a few words of greeting, but it was nothing special. When I pointed it out, his smile faded a bit.
But he imdiately smiled brighter than before and shook my hand.
“I’m sorry I haven’t introduced myself properly. I’m Elvin Croix.”
Elvin kissed the back of my hand briefly.
Sothing warm and soft fell over the thin gloves after a few monts of touching. We were not even at the banquet hall, what was he doing now?
But when I took my hand back, he looked unconcerned. Looking at his calm face, even my remaining anger disappeared.
“It’s the fifth ti, to be exact. But I’m honored. I didn’t know that the Princess had counted every single ti she had run into .”
I wrinkled my brow and glared at Elvin.
“That sounds like sothing soone would misunderstand if they heard it. It seems that the Lord is not even afraid of being accused of having an illicit relationship with the Crown Prince’s fiancée.”
I pointed out Elvin’s boldness that he didn’t even care about the Imperial family. Nevertheless, he still looked down at with a calm face.
“Of course I’m afraid. But if it’s worth it, I have to take a certain amount of risk.
I thought the Crown Prince was the best when it ca to unpredictable behavior, but now I thought differently. When I first saw him, I thought he was good and weak-minded. With Elvin, I thought he was a man of deep compassion and unfathomable depths. But now he seed like a very light person in terms of rationality, perhaps because he was a cousin to the Crown Prince. Or was it because he has helped , or because of his outstanding appearance?
Unlike when I t the Crown Prince, I did not feel unpleasant. But he was still suspicious.
When I t him at Hers, he hid his face with a mask to conceal his identity, but now he ca to the Imperial Palace and proudly revealed that he knew …. I couldn’t tell if he was trying to hide his true identity or if he was just trying to be found.
“Since when have you two been so close?”
It was then. I didn’t know how long he had been here, but the Crown Prince was not too far away, looking at us with a twisted face. His cold, stiff face was filled with discomfort. He was unhappy with the current situation.
“Ti’s up, so I’ll be on my way. I hope we can talk longer next ti.”
When the Crown Prince approached, Elvin looked at and said his goodbyes. Then he walked past the Crown Prince. Elvin’s attitude toward the Crown Prince of the country was very rude and arrogant.
For an attitude towards the crown prince of the country he belonged to, Erwin’s attitude was overly rude and arrogant. The Crown Prince’s face twisted as his pride was hurt.
“Arrogant b*stard….”
The Crown Prince clenched his teeth so hard that I could hear it. I watched him with amusent. If I had to say, I was closer to the Crown Prince than Elvin. However, I rembered that earlier the Crown Prince had pointed an arrow at in response to Claire’s complaint. Every ti he stood in front of Claire, he trampled on his fiancée’s pride and honor. There was no reason why I couldn’t act like him too.
Sure, it was a little different this ti, not because I embarked on it, but because a third party has that perspective. It was rather a good thing that I could see the Crown Prince being indignant even if I didn’t co out directly.
‘Elvin Croix.’ I smiled as I thought of his face.
It was not yet known whose side Elvin would be on. But after what he had just done, I developed a bit of a liking for him. Apart from the Emperor, who else besides Elvin could really be capable of insulting the Crown Prince that much? The Crown Prince was angry, but he cald his anger faster than before.
“Let’s go.”
He still seed to be in a bad mood, but with a smiling face he held out his arm to . His smiled looked certainly unnatural. But I didn’t care and silently placed my hand on his arm. The Crown Prince took to a garden at the back of the East Palace.
There were several gardens in the Imperial Palace, but this one was a little special, unlike the others. There was a collection of rare varieties of flowers that could not be seen outside. These were all rare and even a single flower was of great value.
Therefore, not only were people not allowed in and out of this place, but if the gardener damaged the flowers, he would surely be severely punished. I have always loved to look at flowers. Under the care of the gardener, the flowers, strictly controlled, ford a harmony. It was the first ti in my life that I saw such a beautiful scene.
“You look very happy.”
I was admiring a kind of rare purple flower for the first ti when I noticed the Crown Prince’s voice.
‘Did I give off too much good feeling without knowing it?’
I took a step back to manage my expression. But it seed too late.
“I don’t think it’s because you like the garden. Is it because of Elvin?”
The Crown Prince asked. There was a hint of doubt in his voice.
“I don’t quite understand what Your Highness is talking about.”
When I denied it, the Crown Prince looked even more suspicious.
“What exactly is your relationship with Elvin?”
“I think I’ve heard that question before. The answer I will give you is the sa as that ti. I am not related to him in any way.”
The Crown Prince wrinkled his brow at my answer. My answer seed to frustrate him.
“Then why did Elvin say….”
The Crown Prince fell silent, not concluding his words. For so reason, his expression was worse than before.
I didn’t want to argue with him unnecessarily when he was already in a bad mood. He kept his mouth shut and said very little, as if he was unhappy about sothing.
I also didn’t talk to him first or try to warm up the atmosphere. So naturally, the atmosphere afterwards was cold. We walked silently for a long ti. The garden was still beautiful, but it was no longer visible in my eyes.
“My servant can take you ho.”
The Crown Prince said to after our walk was over. After a while, his expression beca a little calr. I couldn’t tell if his anger had subsided or if he was suppressing it.
“No, it’s okay.”
“…”
I declined his favor at once and climbed into the carriage.
“It was fun to see the garden. Then, Your Highness, see you next ti.”
After my greeting, the carriage started moving. Then I glanced at the Crown Prince through the window. But he was looking down, so I couldn’t see his expression clearly. The carriage drove fast. I looked out the window and saw that the setting sun had turned the golden fields red.
The sky was a mysterious mixture of red and blue, and there was already a crescent moon in the sky. It was early evening. When I returned to the mansion, there was white smoke rising from the chimney as if food was being prepared in the kitchen.
As soon as I returned, I went to see Stephen. I told him about the events of yesterday and today. Then, I had Stephen to bring in the maid at the Count Evans’ residence.
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