Chapter 15

Mel sat on the sofa in Genoa’s office, looking out the window. The office had large windows, making the ongoing fireworks display more visible. The strange thunderous sounds that had been heard in Duke Ivanstein’s mansion had stopped. Only the popping sounds of fireworks continued to be heard.

The butler poured herbal tea into Mel’s cup, her attention caught by the fireworks outside, and said:

“The Duke has returned to the imperial palace. Since I informed him that you’ve awakened, he will be back soon.”

Mel smiled sweetly at the butler as she picked up her teacup.

“Do you know why the Duke briefly visited the mansion on such an important day? Duke Ivanstein should be at the imperial palace until the coronation is properly concluded.”

“He said it was personal business.”

“I see.”

Mel already knew from Lin that the Duke had returned to the mansion briefly and watched her sleeping for a while. If that was the case, the statement that he had now returned to the imperial palace was a lie. He must be dealing with the head maid somewhere in the mansion. Mel wondered if the butler knew this fact.

“I heard the capital is incredibly crowded with people wanting to watch the coronation and enjoy the festival.”

“Yes, there are crowds of people even in front of the mansion.”

“Oh my, then it must be difficult for carriages to travel to and from the imperial palace through those crowds. I didn’t want to trouble the Duke, so there was no need to relay a message.”

Mel put down her teacup with a burdened expression. The butler responded in a respectful voice:

“The Duke ordered us to contact him when you awoke.”

“I see. Then when will he arrive?”

“It shouldn’t take long. By the time you finish enjoying a cup of tea, he should be here.”

“Alright.”

So he knows. Mel’s eyes brightened as she sat back down and lifted her teacup. The butler was indeed completely Genoa’s man. Unlike the head maid. It was said that the butler had been cautious around the head maid, but it became clear that he had actually kept his distance because he didn’t want to be involved with her.

“I’d like to see it too.”

“The fireworks, you mean?”

“Yes, it’s my first time seeing them.”

Nodding as she answered, Mel looked just like an innocent child. Her slightly excited voice was higher than usual, and her eyes sparkled more. She seemed to have momentarily set aside the royal dignity she usually maintained in front of the butler.

“I believe explosives are imported to Reibritton as well, so I find it curious that this is your first time seeing them, Princess.”

At the butler’s words, Mel replied without taking her eyes off the window:

“They never let me see anything. When the fireworks started, I had to go to a room without windows.”

Perhaps they thought the sight was too beautiful to show to a lowly slave. Mel swallowed the rest of her words and took a sip of tea.

“……”

The butler made no response to Mel’s words and quietly left her alone. He was perceptive, and it seemed like a considerate gesture to give Mel some time to herself as she gazed out the window, seemingly lost in gloomy thoughts.

“Thank you, butler.”

Only after the butler had left did Mel softly express her gratitude.

“For leaving so willingly.”

Smiling enough to raise the corner of her mouth, Mel carefully put down her teacup and first removed her shoes. Then, lifting her skirt slightly, she began to tiptoe around Genoa’s office, making sure no sound of her footsteps escaped outside.

“……There was definitely something here.”

Mel tried to recall her childhood memories. She had been here before in the past. After Genoa had been dragged into the basement, she came looking for a map that supposedly existed somewhere in Duke Ivanstein’s mansion.

Back then, she searched by the faint moonlight shining through the windows at night, so the now brightly lit office seemed unfamiliar, different from her memory. The structure had also changed. The previous duke’s belongings had probably all been removed when Genoa became Duke.

“At this rate, there’s no benefit to having been here once before.”

It meant she had to search for everything from the beginning.

In the map in Mel’s mind, it wasn’t marked, but somewhere in this office was a space where one could peek into the basement. A transparent glass in the ceiling and a telescope inside.

‘Among the generations of Ivanstein dukes, there must have been one who enjoyed watching his children die one by one in the basement.’

The map marking the escape route from the basement was said to have been created long ago by a duchess who went mad, trying to save her son. Since that space wasn’t marked on the map, it must have been secretly built in the office by a later Duke who wanted to observe the basement.

“It’s creepy, but I need to find it now.”

In the past, Mel had accidentally entered that space once. She had sneaked into the office looking for the map, but had to quickly hide when the previous duke entered. And that space had swallowed her by chance.

‘Does the young master know about this space?’

Mel suddenly wondered, but quickly erased the thought. Whether Genoa knew or not, the fact that Mel needed to find that place remained unchanged. There weren’t many opportunities for Mel to be alone in Duke Ivanstein’s office. Not unless there were special circumstances like today.

“Knock, knock knock, knock!”

Just then, she heard someone making a knocking sound with their mouth outside the door. It was Lin’s voice. A moment later, the door opened carefully, and Lin poked just her head through the crack.

“Princess, the butler has gone down to the lobby for a moment.”

“Really?”

That was welcome news. As Mel’s face brightened, Lin grinned and said:

“A servant dropped a potted plant in the lobby. And it just happened to be a plant that you’re supposedly very fond of.”

“Me?”

Mel asked as if hearing this for the first time. Lin nodded shamelessly and continued:

“The butler went down because I made a fuss about how upset you’d be if you found out, saying we need to find an identical replacement.”

Lin’s face was full of pride. She would probably insist that every plant the butler brought wasn’t the same one.

“Now it’s up to you, Princess. If we’re caught, it’s over for both of us. You understand, right?”

“Of course. Thank you, Lin.”

Lin didn’t know what Mel was looking for here. She simply trusted that whatever Mel was searching for wouldn’t harm Duke Ivanstein’s mansion.

Mel appreciated Lin’s trust.

“I’ll hurry.”

“Yes, don’t push yourself too hard. There will be other opportunities if you can’t find it now.”

“Okay.”

Lin pulled her head back and closed the door. Though she’d said not to push too hard, Mel couldn’t help feeling urgent.

“Where could it be? What did I do back then?”

Mel felt around various parts of the office. Back then, it was dark at night and she couldn’t see well, so she might have found it by feeling around like this.

As she wandered around searching for the hidden place, Mel heard someone approaching near the office door. She thought Lin might have returned, but then she recognized the faint familiar voices.

“……so, I’ll……”

“But……”

Mel pressed her ear against the door and focused all her attention on the sounds outside. As they drew closer, she could identify the owner of the voice.

“Why don’t I meet her first and talk, then she can meet with my lord?”

It was Bane. She didn’t know why Bane had arrived ahead of Genoa, but he was approaching the office with the butler. Lin’s perfect plan had been disrupted by Bane’s appearance.

Mel worried about Lin being upset, but her priority was to avoid being caught by the butler searching through the office.

‘Shoes, I need to put on my shoes first!’

Mel hurriedly picked up the shoes she had thrown off. She lifted her long skirt to put them on, but it wasn’t as easy as she expected. She was used to Lin’s assistance when putting on shoes while wearing a dress, so doing it alone felt awkward.

Mel lost her balance and staggered. Biting her lip, she tried to steady herself by placing her hand on the table, and felt something unusual under her fingertips.

‘What’s this under the table……’

Mel felt around and touched something blunt under the table. It felt like a protruding piece of wood. She was suddenly seized by a strange feeling.

‘This is it.’

Mel pressed it firmly with a click. Then—

“Gasp!”

Her vision spun instantly and her body sank downward with a whoosh. Just like that time.

“Princess?”

She heard voices calling for her from outside. The sound of Bane’s heavy footsteps was accompanied by the creaking of the wooden floor above her head.

“Why is no one here?”

“She was definitely here……”

The conversation between Bane and the butler about Mel could be heard from above. This meant that this space was beneath them, near the floor.

“……”

Mel remained frozen in the position she had fallen, not even daring to breathe. She felt dust that had been floating in the air settling on her shoulders. The air smelled musty. Suppressing her desire to search the space immediately, she concentrated on the sounds outside.

“You’re saying she suddenly disappeared?”

The butler remained silent for a moment in response to Bane’s sharp voice. Probably because he had no idea where Mel might have gone.

“I’ll look for her……”

“Are you looking for our Princess?”

Lin’s voice, interrupting the butler, was heard from a distance. The sound of clicking heels approached along with Lin’s voice.

“The princess went out to see the fireworks up close, didn’t she?”

“When did she leave?”

“When I came up to the office briefly earlier. She said she wanted to enjoy the view until the Duke returns.”

“……”

Bane said nothing in response to Lin’s words. Instead, the butler asked Lin:

“Where exactly did she go?”

“Let me see. Where did she say she was going to watch from……? I was so preoccupied with dealing with the potted plant that the princess cherishes, I can’t quite remember, but I think she said she was going to the garden.”

Lin’s voice was composed. Since Lin was Mel’s dedicated attendant, the two men seemed to believe her without question, as they made no further comments.

“Understood.”

With Bane’s reply, Mel heard his footsteps leaving the office. She inwardly sighed with relief and focused on the presence of the butler and Lin who might still be in the office.

“Butler, the fireworks will end soon and the Duke will return. Before that, we need to restore the princess’s potted plant! It’s the only thing she’s grown with affection here. How upset she’ll be if she finds out the pot is broken!”

“……Alright, let’s take care of that first.”

“Hurry!”

The office door slammed shut as Lin made a fuss, dragging the butler away. Mel kept still and listened carefully for a while, but there were no more signs of anyone.

“Haaah……”

Mel released her tension with a long sigh and finally examined the space she had fallen into.

The time Lin had bought her was very brief. Genoa would soon come here, so she needed to quickly examine this place and get out before then.

“……”

Mel felt along the wall, searching for something that remained in her memory. As a child, she had also groped around until she found a candlestick that could illuminate this small space.

Following her childhood memory, Mel found a candlestick in a slightly recessed gap, identical to the one in her memory. It had been covered in dust back then, and it was the same now.

Using the matches placed beside the candlestick, she lit it, brightening the surroundings and finally allowing her to see the space clearly.

“Ugh.”

Mel couldn’t help covering her mouth to suppress the nausea that rose unexpectedly. Except for the wall where she had found the candlestick and the ceiling, all the other walls were made of glass.

Though slightly obscured by dust, the vast basement of House Ivanstein, where Mel had once been and where Genoa had been imprisoned, was spread out before her eyes. The basement, dimly lit by faint lights, evoked the terrible atmosphere of the past.

“……So it was still here, still beneath this mansion!”

Mel shuddered at the fact that that space still lurked beneath the mansion. Goosebumps rose on her skin and her legs nearly gave way. She staggered like a newborn kid.

“But I have to look.”

Mel fumbled her way toward the telescope in the middle of the space. The telescope was draped with cobwebs, and dust had accumulated so thickly that its depth was visible. It looked as if it had been abandoned for a very long time.

“……No signs of use. For a very long time.”

Mel compared the amount of dust where she had fallen with the dust piled on the telescope. Except for the areas she had disturbed, the dust was accumulated in relatively uniform layers.

“If someone had been coming and going, it couldn’t be this neglected, no matter what.”

Mel concluded that Genoa had never entered this place. This meant he was unaware of this space as well.

There was a high possibility that the previous duke also didn’t know about this place. If he had known, he would have checked it when Mel accidentally hid here in the past.

‘That means I’m the only one in Ivanstein mansion who knows about this space.’

Mel dusted off the telescope and put her eye to it. Since she hadn’t properly cleaned it and it had been neglected for an unimaginable amount of time, the view through the telescope was blurry. However, it was sufficient for what she needed to confirm.

The interior of the basement, which had appeared dim from a distance, now filled Mel’s vision through the telescope.

The maze-like basement consisted of enormous iron walls painted reddish-black in places. The telescope couldn’t see into areas completely surrounded by these massive iron walls. However, parts where the ceiling was open were fully exposed to the telescope’s view, allowing her to look inside.

Skeletons with only bones remaining were scattered haphazardly, and a corpse that had been stabbed from behind while scratching the wall remained, not fully decomposed and abandoned as it was.

‘Are the people Lin said disappeared ending up like that? Stabbed and left to die……’

The hellish situation that must have unfolded down there formed in her mind.

“Ugh.”

Mel felt sick as memories of what she had seen here in the past kept resurfacing. It was horrifying to think that sometime in the past, one of the previous dukes had watched the trials taking place in that basement below.

But Mel stubbornly kept her eye on the telescope. What she needed to find today was the location of the basement entrance and exit marked on the map she had seen in her dream.

The basement of Duke Ivanstein’s mansion had as many entrances as its size would suggest. Mel had seen ten of them on the map. However, each exit was rigged with traps that prevented anyone from entering or leaving. These traps were lethal enough to kill people horribly. Mel had witnessed many slaves die trying to escape through them.

‘That waterway I saw before must have been one of the exits too?’

That waterway where something unknown had dragged away a slave desperately fighting to live, leaving only bloodstains. The sight of rippling water and the terrible screams still seemed to echo in Mel’s ears.

“Ha, ah……”

Mel had to take deep breaths as memories kept flooding back.

‘There are four places without traps. I need to find them.’

She wasn’t sure how accurate the map from her dream was, but that memory was all Mel had to rely on now. She needed to remember the current location right beneath the office and, with Lin’s help, find the locations of the trap-free exits. To do that, she had to look straight at every corner of this basement and face it.

Cold sweat ran down Mel’s back.

“Found one.”

Mel succeeded in finding one of the largest exits she had noticed on the map. But where the exit should have been located was now filled with a pile of rubble.

‘It collapsed.’

Mel narrowed her eyes and turned the telescope elsewhere. Regardless, she had found one of the escape routes marked on the map, so she could quickly find the remaining safe exits using that as a reference.

‘This one is collapsed too.’

But sure enough, one of the escape routes had collapsed. Judging by how much rubble had spilled into the basement, it appeared to have collapsed from an external impact.

“Then that sound I heard today was indeed……”

Only after seeing it with her own eyes could Mel be certain. The thunderous sound that Lin said was occasionally heard in the mansion. The sound that was said to have occurred when the previous duke Ivanstein disappeared was the sound of destroying the basement entrances.

‘It’s the young master’s doing.’

The map Mel had given was in Genoa’s hands. That’s how he could find and deal with the safe exits.

Near the collapsed exit, she could see what appeared to be human bones. They were between the fallen stones. They must have been crushed to death.

Mel tried to find another exit while suppressing her disgust. The telescope, fixed to the floor, was stiff from accumulated dust and difficult to adjust.

Just then, something out of place caught her eye.

“……!”

It was a person. A living, moving person. She could see the silhouette of someone moving in the distance.

‘Please move!’

Mel’s heart beat irregularly as she saw the figure squirming in an angle she couldn’t properly view through the stiff telescope.

Mel thought there could only be one person in this basement where no successor trials were being held.

The head maid. The First Prince’s spy driven here by Genoa. She was still alive. In the basement of Duke Ivanstein’s mansion.

The head maid was running as if being chased by something. Mel narrowed her eyes and struggled to follow her as she ran freely through various areas, too quick to keep up with through the stiff telescope.

‘Why is she running like that?’

Because it was her first time in this basement? Is that why she could run so recklessly? Because she knew nothing?

The head maid had no idea what dangers lurked in various parts of this maze-like place with walls blocking the way.

‘If she wants to live, she shouldn’t be doing that.’

Although the head maid and Mel had been enemies pointing knives at each other, as a fellow human being, Mel wanted to warn her against such dangerous behavior.

But Mel couldn’t convey any words or signals to the head maid from here. This space was so small that it couldn’t be found from inside the basement, and it was designed so that the inside couldn’t be seen from the outside.

“Don’t leave my sight……”

Mel instinctively held her breath as she saw the head maid heading toward a rectangular space enclosed by iron walls on all sides in the depths of the basement. Her face instantly turned pale.

The corridors of the basement, where anything could jump out, gave people a sense of pressure and fear at the same time. Since they stretched out endlessly, one feared something might leap out from ahead or chase from behind. The head maid, running as if being pursued, must be feeling the same.

“Don’t go in there, please.”

At times like this, humans seek comfort in enclosed spaces. But in Duke Ivanstein’s basement, such places were the most dangerous. Spaces surrounded on all sides. Spaces with ceilings. Such spaces, where one never knew what might lurk, killed people.

Knowing this, Mel could only watch helplessly as the head maid entered the rectangular space that was beyond the telescope’s view.

“……There’s nothing I can do from here.”

Mel bit her lip and took her eye off the telescope. Though dusty, the telescope’s quality was good enough to see quite far, but that was all. From here, she truly could do nothing but ‘watch.’

In the past, Mel had found a clue about the map in Duke Ivanstein’s mansion from this place. It was a memo written by an Ivanstein duke from the distant past who had used this space.

[I can’t believe my wife discovered an entrance that even I didn’t know about. To think she would sneak into the basement under the pretense of sleepwalking and record the path…… Having such a mother might be a talent in itself, but it’s no fun if it ends too quickly. That’s too unfair, isn’t it? After I’ve spent so much time in there……]

The memo, scrawled in anger, ended there. But in the past, this memo had convinced Mel of the map’s existence. That there was a map recording the basement’s interior in the tower where the mad duchess was kept.

‘The one who used this space and the mad duchess were husband and wife.’

The wife had risked entering the basement to create a map to save her son. The husband knew this fact.

The fact that she died locked in the tower after going mad probably meant the map wasn’t successfully passed to her son. Then the map must have fallen into the Duke’s hands. The map would be somewhere in the mansion.

In the past, Mel had left this space based on this judgment and……

“Ah.”

As she calmly recalled the past, Mel belatedly realized she didn’t have much time left.

She needed to leave now. The fact that the head maid was running around the basement like that meant considerable time had passed since she entered. Though Mel couldn’t confirm which entrance the head maid had used, she would have to check later.

‘Let’s get out of here quickly.’

Mel went to the wall where she had found the candlestick when she first entered this space. She put down the candlestick and turned it clockwise halfway.

“……!”

With a creaking sound, an iron ladder descended from above. Remembering how she had almost hit her head on this ladder in the past, Mel instinctively covered her head.

“The memory is engraved in my body.”

Mel hated how her body remembered this feeling despite so much time having passed. She wanted to shake it off but couldn’t, and now she found herself back in this space, following her past actions.

‘……Should I remain by the young master’s side like this?’

Mel bit her lip hard as she climbed the ladder. As she ascended rung by rung, she checked for any presence above her head. It seemed no one was in the office yet. There was no sound or any sense of presence.

Without lowering her guard, Mel went outside. When she pushed hard on the door leading to this space, she was suddenly pulled upward, just as when she had entered.

“Ugh!”

Thinking it was a strange sensation no matter when she felt it, Mel opened her eyes that she had tightly shut. In the empty office, she was under the table where she had pressed the button earlier. The quiet office seemed peaceful, as if unconcerned with whatever was happening beneath the mansion.

Mel looked out the window.

“……”

The fireworks had already ended.

“Princess!”

Just then, the office door opened carefully, and Lin, who saw Mel sitting under the table, rushed over in shock.

“Where have you been! Do you know how shocked I was when you disappeared!”

“I’m sorry……”

“Really, my heart was pounding so hard trying to cover for you!”

Mel remembered the moment when Lin had covered for her with Bane and the butler. Lin had appeared so composed that Mel had almost believed she had actually gone to the garden. She considered telling Lin the truth but swallowed it back.

“Thank you, without you I would have been in serious trouble.”

“Of course! If you’re going to disappear so suddenly, at least give me a hint next time.”

Mel smiled bitterly as she watched Lin’s relieved face as she stroked her chest. It was as if Lin was asking Mel to tell her when she would eventually leave this place. Of course, Mel couldn’t do that for Lin, but she made a promise she couldn’t keep.

“I will.”

Reassured by Mel’s answer, Lin asked in a more relaxed voice:

“Did you find what you were looking for?”

“……Yes.”

She compared the locations of the entrances with the map in her mind. Considering the position of the space below the office, she had a rough idea of the locations in her head.

There were two safe exits she hadn’t confirmed. If the head maid had entered through one of them, it would certainly have been collapsed. The thunderous sound that came with the fireworks was evidence of that. That meant only one remained.

“It seems to be in the western garden.”

The entrance in the western garden. The place where Mel, as a slave in the past, had presumably been moved with her eyes blindfolded, remained.

Was this just a coincidence? Mel somehow didn’t think it was a coincidence, but she organized her thoughts before delving deeper.

“Has Duke Ivanstein returned?”

“Ah! Yes! That’s why I came to get you. The Duke is in the eastern garden now. I told him you might be there……”

“Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

Mel and Lin hurried along. No matter what excuse she had given about watching the fireworks, the fact that Mel had disappeared without a word could raise Genoa’s suspicions.

Tension lingered on Lin’s face. As they walked, Mel poked Lin’s cheek with her finger.

“Ah, Princess!”

“Relax. We’ll be doing this a lot from now on. Are you going to be this serious every time?”

“……I suppose not.”

“I’ll give you a special bonus.”

“You should have mentioned that first!”

Lin’s face finally brightened. Pleased by this change, Mel felt her own tension-stiffened body loosening. As she smiled and tried to say something more to Lin:

“So here you are.”

Genoa’s voice suddenly came from behind them.

“……!”

“……!”

Mel and Lin, who had been joking with each other, turned around in surprise at the same time.

Genoa smiled gently as he faced their two pairs of enormously widened eyes. That smile, beautiful beyond words, looked too harmless for someone who had just pushed the head maid into the basement.

“I heard you wanted to watch the fireworks, so I came to watch them with you.”

Mel swallowed hard as she watched Genoa trail off his words with regret. The image of the head maid’s desperate sprint she had just seen through the telescope flashed in her mind.

Would the day come when Mel would have to flee like that too? From this man?

“Still, it worked out well. The air is nice, so why don’t we take a walk together, Princess.”

“……I’d like that.”

Mel took Genoa’s outstretched hand. No matter how frightened she might be, she thought she couldn’t refuse this one hand that this man extended to her.

* * *

They said the lights in the imperial capital would not go out all night until the coronation ceremony ended. That was why the night sky, where the fireworks had ended, looked so chaotic.

Mel strolled through the garden beside Genoa, admiring nameless flowers that showed off their white petals in the moonlight.

“How was your day today?”

“Not bad.”

“You didn’t look so peaceful while sleeping.”

Mel narrowed her eyes and glanced sideways at Genoa’s face. She remembered Lin’s words that he had watched her sleeping for quite some time before leaving.

It was natural that her face soured automatically. She had once read in a social magazine that the most uncomfortable thing for a lady to show a gentleman was her bare face while sleeping. Usually, the reason would be that one doesn’t look pretty, but Mel felt uncomfortable just by the fact that she had shown her defenseless self to Genoa.

Mel, who had been dreaming of her mother, must have looked more like a slave than ever.

“I had a nightmare.”

Mel’s voice was curt as she answered. Genoa, as if recognizing his mistake, brought one hand to his chest and apologized politely.

“Ah, that was rude of me.”

“I’ll accept your apology. Next time, please don’t enter a lady’s bedroom so carelessly.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Mel stared directly at Genoa’s face, which strangely seemed to be in a good mood. Today his voice was especially gentle, his steps lighter than usual, and above all, the subtle smile on his lips showed no signs of disappearing. Genoa, emanating a more relaxed atmosphere, appeared excited.

If Mel hadn’t known that he had just imprisoned the head maid in the basement, she might have accepted this appearance at face value.

“Today, people couldn’t stop talking about your appearance. It reached even my ears at the mansion.”

“What did they say?”

“Well……”

Mel had heard praise for Duke Ivanstein’s beauty at today’s coronation ceremony to the point of weariness while at the mansion. That brilliant figure she had witnessed in the morning must have shone even more nobly beside the emperor.

“Did they say I’m excited to meet my new master?”

“Something like that.”

“So you think so too.”

“It’s true that Duke Ivanstein seems quite pleased with the new emperor.”

However, Mel didn’t think that the reason for Genoa’s good mood was simply because the emperor’s dog had finally found its master, as people were saying.

“That’s true, but rather than that……”

Genoa trailed off and stared at Mel’s face. Mel didn’t avoid his gaze, slowly blinking her eyes as she looked up at him.

‘Now she seems completely unaware again.’

This morning, the princess’s face had turned red when she declared that ‘love’ was necessary to accept his proposal. That face, trying to make various excuses in a hurry, had been quite a sight to see.

Whether politically or out of personal curiosity, the princess would make a perfect bride for Genoa. The reason he was trying to accommodate her wishes as much as possible was also because he himself knew better than anyone that he couldn’t find a woman as suitable as her.

‘She says she doesn’t want a marriage without love.’

The fact that this condition didn’t annoy him but rather made him smile was because he liked the princess that much. He might have actually been somewhat satisfied. Although Genoa himself didn’t know why, that ‘love’ she wanted seemed amusing and interesting to him.

To the point where calculating the benefits that came with respecting her feelings became more troublesome.

“I kept thinking about your appearance this morning, Princess.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you still have that fantasy about ‘love’?”

At Genoa’s question, Mel turned her head forward, her ears turning red. Without ever meeting his eyes, she said:

“Of course I do. It’s not the kind of fantasy that would disappear in just one day.”

“Haha!”

Genoa laughed loudly. Seeing this, Mel concluded that the reason he had seemed in a good mood was because he had been mocking her all day.

“You’re truly an interesting person, Princess.”

“……I didn’t intend to be.”

“I know.”

“You know.”

“Of course.”

“You’re a bit annoying, Duke.”

Mel felt both most comfortable and most anxious when exchanging these meaningless jokes with Genoa. She liked him when he seemed more relaxed, but also feared him.

‘When he learns the truth later, what kind of conversation will we have?’

Knowing that the time to reveal her identity was gradually approaching, she felt that these moments with Genoa wouldn’t last much longer.

Mel asked, feeling as if she were holding a knife to her own neck:

“Come to think of it, you haven’t asked about today’s tea party.”

“Ah.”

Genoa blinked slowly, as if just remembering his purpose. Then, with the corners of his eyes curving, he said:

“I was just wondering about that. How was it? Your impression of being the Duchess of Ivanstein.”

“……”

Mel recalled the three mistresses at Genoa’s question. They had come to this place today to threaten her. The First Prince’s mistresses told her he had leverage over her and ordered her to enter the forbidden places of Duke Ivanstein’s mansion to find the secrets lurking there.

But all their attitudes had been extremely polite, which was strange. From Mel’s perspective as a slave who had received countless threats and intimidation, this was extremely unfamiliar. Threats are based on disrespect and contempt for the other person. There is also arrogance underlying it, not considering the resentment the other person might feel due to the threat.

“They all tried not to become my enemies. Sincerely.”

The three mistresses Mel met today all tried their best not to offend her. They were desperate to show that they were merely following the First Prince’s orders and had no personal animosity whatsoever.

Baroness Cezarn, who first revealed herself as the First Prince’s mistress to gain Mel’s trust. Marchioness Mervissen, who exaggeratedly pretended to be interested in nothing but the First Prince’s love. And Viscountess Roland, who openly expressed her liking for Mel,her bright eyes saying she was happy to become friends.

All three struggled in their own ways to avoid incurring Mel’s personal grudge through this threat.

“The First Prince must have told them. At least that I proposed to you, Princess.”

“……”

“To achieve what the First Prince wants, the power of the Ivanstein ducal family is essential. In such a situation, you were too frightening a person for them to turn into a complete enemy.”

“I’m frightening?”

“Yes.”

The well-drawn smile on Genoa’s lips sent a chill through Mel.

“They probably can’t even imagine what would happen to them if they dared to offend the Duchess of Ivanstein.”

The image of the head maid trapped in the basement flashed in Mel’s mind and then subsided. Somehow feeling sweat on her hands, Mel turned her gaze away and answered as if nothing was wrong.

“……The Duchess of Ivanstein will be the pillar of the imperial social circle, so it’s natural for them to be cautious, since they won’t become the empress.”

“I hope that makes my proposal more attractive to you, Princess.”

Genoa didn’t say anything more. His steps, still leading Mel, remained cheerful. Mel stared at Genoa’s face for a moment before abruptly asking:

“Why aren’t you asking what conversations took place at the tea party?”

“……Because you’ll tell me. I’m waiting for you to speak first.”

Mel knew that face—eyebrows slightly raised as if not expecting the question, then smiling gently as he answered. It was the face he made when hit right on the mark. It was his habit that Mel knew, if no one else did.

“Or perhaps you already know everything?”

“My, Princess, only the emperor’s mistresses and the head maid were at that gathering. How could I possibly know?”

Ah, that’s right. Mel thought this while inwardly gritting her teeth. Genoa knew the content of the conversations at the tea party. This meant he also knew about the threat Mel had received.

‘He also knows that I secretly entered the western garden.’

Mel bit the inside of her mouth to avoid showing any signs of anxiety.

When did he find out? How much does he know?

The look in Genoa’s eyes as he walked beside her and smiled at her made her terribly afraid in this moment.

‘Did he hear all the conversations I had with the mistresses at the tea party through the head maid?’

Mel wondered how much Genoa knew. Would the head maid have willingly revealed all of the First Prince’s intentions to Genoa?

‘Probably not. If the First Prince wants to use me to obtain information about the forbidden places in Duke Ivanstein’s mansion, that’s information the young master absolutely must not know.’

If Genoa had tortured the head maid for information, he likely would have obtained information about the tea party from her.

But the head maid was imprisoned in the basement today. Torture to open the mouth of a trained spy wouldn’t end in just one day. Moreover, the head maid Mel had just seen through the telescope was running energetically. That wasn’t the movement of someone who had been tortured.

‘But if not the head maid, then who?’

As Genoa said, only the First Prince’s three mistresses, Mel, and the head maid were at the tea party. They had been thorough with security, so no one was eavesdropping on their conversation nearby.

Mel recalled the conversations she had with the First Prince’s mistresses at the tea party. Baroness Cezarn informed Mel that the First Prince had leverage over her, Marchioness Mervissen confirmed that the leverage was the fact that she had entered the western garden, and Viscountess Roland delivered the First Prince’s orders to her.

One of these three had disclosed the content of the conversation to Genoa.

“At the tea party, Baroness Cezarn and Marchioness Mervissen told me that the First Prince has leverage over me.”

Mel continued speaking, pretending not to know. She decided to think about how to explain her entry into the western garden a little later. For now, probing Genoa was the priority. The range of truth Mel needed to mention would be determined by whose mouth had revealed what happened at the tea party.

“My goodness.”

Genoa clicked his tongue as if Mel’s situation was very unfortunate. He didn’t seem particularly surprised, nor did he show interest in the conversation about the First Prince having leverage.

‘He knows this much.’

Observing Genoa’s reaction, Mel calmly organized the information in her mind.

“Viscountess Roland was……how should I put it, a clear person. She said she wanted to be friends with me.”

“The First Prince quite liked that aspect of her.”

“Indeed. She invited me to a party at the Roland viscounty. I’m planning to accept since the First Prince will probably try to contact me then……”

Mel looked at Genoa, seeking permission. He didn’t answer immediately.

“Viscountess Roland will be very pleased. Her parties tend to lack popularity, so with your attendance, she’ll receive attention she hasn’t had before.”

Genoa gave his permission right away, but Mel remembered that brief moment when he didn’t answer immediately. During that instant, he had calculated the benefits of Mel attending Viscountess Roland’s party. This meant that the viscountess’s party invitation was outside Genoa’s calculations.

‘He doesn’t know the content of my conversation with Viscountess Roland. That means either Marchioness Mervissen or Baroness Cezarn is cooperating with the young master.’

Mel swallowed the sigh of relief that was about to escape. It was fortunate that Viscountess Roland had insisted on sending the other two away first.

Mel quickly continued speaking before Genoa realized she had noticed this fact.

“It seems the First Prince has gone to Reibritton and made contact with the royal family. He might try to gain the cooperation of the Reibritton royal family using his leverage over me.”

“……”

Mel deliberately didn’t mention what that leverage was. Genoa knew what it was but continued to pretend he didn’t.

“Meeting with the Reibritton royal family at this point clearly means……”

“They’re preparing for treason.”

Mel nodded with a grave face.

The First Prince’s treason would proceed with the Reibritton royal family, so she had to show that she didn’t want to be involved. Apart from not wanting to be entangled in treason, she had to distance herself from the crown prince and crown princess who knew about Mel and Amelia’s relationship.

This news would have already flowed to Reibritton through the First Prince’s mouth, so guessing Mel’s identity would be no trouble at all. If the crown prince were to expose her identity to the First Prince…… Just imagining it made Mel close her eyes tightly in horror.

“I no longer want to remain as Reibritton royalty. I also refuse to be used by them anymore.”

Sincerity permeated Mel’s voice. Seemingly satisfied with this, Genoa welcomed her answer.

“They abandoned you first.”

“If this news reaches His Majesty the Emperor, please convey my position clearly. I absolutely do not share intentions with the Reibritton royal family.”

“As it happens, His Majesty wanted to have a conversation with you, Princess.”

“His Majesty?”

Could Rudrich, who had become the new emperor of Raon, also know about this treason?

“Does His Majesty know about this as well?”

“Not in detail. However, he knows all too well that the First Prince is not the type to step down so easily.”

“……I should explain things properly in advance to avoid misunderstandings later. Would I be able to have an audience with His Majesty?”

Mel asked Genoa for permission first. The emperor’s desire to speak with Mel had come before he knew about the First Prince’s treason.

Now that evidence had emerged of the treasonous First Prince joining hands with the Reibritton royal family, Mel had essentially become a princess of an enemy country to the emperor again. Even for Genoa, who had proposed to her and wanted to make her his duchess, it was right to be cautious about this meeting.

‘Since he’s noticed that I entered the forbidden western garden, he must be wary of me.’

He might even withdraw his proposal. Once Genoa became suspicious, he never lowered his guard until innocence was clearly proven. If that happened, Mel wouldn’t need to struggle with his proposal anymore, which could be a good thing for her.

But when she actually imagined Genoa withdrawing his proposal, her mouth tasted bitter.

“By all means. I’ll arrange a date for the audience.”

“……!”

While Mel was conflicted about her own ironic feelings, Genoa’s permission came easily. He didn’t show even a moment’s hesitation, acting as if it were only natural, which made Mel’s eyes widen in surprise.

Genoa, who immediately guessed what she had been worrying about, added:

“There’s no need to be nervous. You’re someone His Majesty needs.”

“Why is that?”

“This treason will cleanly end the war that has been dragging on. Thanks to you, Princess.”

Genoa seemed to have predicted that the First Prince would choose Reibritton for his treason.

“Is this your method of getting the First Prince’s answer?”

“……This too is part of the process. The method of solving it will depend on that answer.”

“Then I still have some usefulness to you, Duke Ivanstein.”

“You’re doing well, Princess. If you have an audience with His Majesty, you can be of even more help to me.”

‘Could this have been intentional?’

Could he have made it so the First Prince would have no choice but to choose Reibritton, enabling him to start a rebellion?

Genoa had said he wanted an answer from the First Prince. Mel was the card he needed to use to hear that answer. If this entire process was to achieve his goal, she suspected that even this treason might be Genoa’s intention.

‘No, that’s too dangerous a thought.’

If Duke Genoa Ivanstein, who claimed loyalty to the imperial family, had planned and intended this treason, then in a different sense, he would be committing treason himself. If Rudrich, who had become the new emperor, were to have the same thought that had occurred to Mel, the situation would become even more complicated.

She shook her head slightly and pushed her suspicion to a small corner of her mind.

“……”

Seeing Mel’s expression harden without her realizing it, Genoa seemed to think she was worried about the audience.

“If you would agree, won’t you be the lady of the Ivanstein mansion? When you have an audience with His Majesty, it will be permitted under my guarantee, so there won’t be any problems.”

“As I said this morning, I’m not ready for your proposal……”

“Shall we go on a date?”

“……Pardon?”

Mel’s mouth opened slightly at the sudden, unexpected invitation to date.

It was something that could never have continued in this conversation about the First Prince’s alliance with the Reibritton royal family, treason, and threats. Especially from Genoa, who had just discovered that Mel had entered the western garden.

“Didn’t you want to marry a man who’s fallen for you?”

He meant he would show her the image of a man in love while dating. As much as she wanted. In the way she wanted.

“……I remember you saying you could just pretend to be a man in love.”

“Then try to guess.”

Genoa broke off a flower blooming in the garden and held it out to Mel.

“Whether I’m sincere about you, or if it’s just an act.”

He placed the flower in Mel’s hand as she stared at it blankly, and said:

“Doesn’t that sound fun, Princess?”

* * *

The heat of the festival showed no signs of cooling even late into the night. Throughout the streets, praise and admiration for the new emperor flowed together like waves.

“They say His Majesty is going to adjust the tax rates as soon as he ascends to the throne. It’ll be death for the lords, but for people like us, we can finally breathe.”

“They say a change in the throne opens a new world, and it really looks like the empire is going to change.”

“My cousin runs a farm in Burdlingo County, and they say if you breed lots of piglets or calves, you’ll be exempted from taxes! Under the previous emperor, they raised the tax per head so much that they had to kill newborns.”

“Really? Then we’ll be able to eat meat to our heart’s content this year!”

“Long live our new emperor! Hahaha!”

The cheerful sound of clinking glasses could be heard everywhere. Normally, all streets in the capital were kept clean, and it was legally prohibited to eat or drink on the streets outside of shops, but the coronation festival period was the only exception.

During this period, even nobles secretly came out wearing robes or hats to enjoy feasts in the streets. It was considered virtuous to pretend not to recognize each other even if they did. Thanks to this, Mel and Genoa could also come out beyond the castle walls and enjoy the festive streets.

“……His Highness Rudrich has already become an emperor beloved by the imperial citizens.”

“A wise ruler is the joy of all people.”

Mel took the drink Genoa handed her. The paper cup contained a beverage made from unknown ingredients, passed through unknown hands.

“……”

Mel looked at Genoa, who drank it without the slightest suspicion, as if he were a stranger.

Though she had been a slave, since only nobles employed slaves, she knew their habits well. Nobles basically lived constantly thinking about the threat of poisoning. Those with family, money, position, and power rightfully needed to be cautious.

But Genoa was different somehow. No, he had changed. The Genoa that Mel knew as a child was nobility personified, but after meeting him grown up like this, he had changed significantly. It wasn’t simply his height, build, or the presence his position gave him, but something inside him had changed.

‘I don’t know what the young master saw and experienced there.’

This made Mel all the more curious, all the more eager to know. What would she see and experience when she entered that place?

Feeling her mouth go dry, Mel took a sip of the drink Genoa had handed her. It was an ade with the clean sour taste of lemon. Seeing her brow furrow involuntarily, Genoa laughed out loud.

“You can’t handle sour things.”

“……Yes, I don’t really enjoy them.”

“I’ll remember that.”

Genoa took the cup of lemonade from her hand and gave her a new drink. When Mel just stared at it blankly, Genoa urged her to try it.

“It’s a sweet drink, Princess. You like that, don’t you?”

At Genoa’s words, Mel took a sip of the new drink he had given her. Her eyes widened in surprise. Kingdom etiquette dictated that one should drink bitter tea rather than sweet drinks, so this sweet beverage was something she secretly welcomed but pretended not to enjoy, only having it occasionally when it came as dessert.

“……”

Mel subtly avoided Genoa’s gaze as he observed her reaction. It felt ticklish how he remembered what she liked and tried to take care of her, how he identified and remembered her preferences.

Acting like they were an ordinary couple enjoying their first date, Genoa smiled innocently. He wore the fresh face that a man experiencing first love might show. If she didn’t constantly remind herself that this was perfect acting, she might have been completely fooled.

Mel tried to change the subject to avoid being deceived by his performance.

“About the head maid.”

“Yeees.”

Genoa drew out his response, as if displeased with the topic she had brought up. The question that finally left Mel’s lips was far from the bright, sparkling festival where everyone was happy and excited.

“Did you kill her?”

For just a moment, Genoa’s foot hesitated. His smiling gaze lingered a little longer on the corner of Mel’s lips.

“I didn’t kill her.”

“……”

A gaze filled with blatant suspicion reached Genoa. He looked at Mel, who made no attempt to hide her suspicion, gave a slight smile, and said:

“That would be too merciful.”

Cynicism dripped from Genoa’s voice. His attitude suggested that even death was too good for a traitor.

“Sometimes, Princess, being alive can feel like the most terrible thing.”

Mel thought of the head maid trapped in the basement. Was the reason he kept the former spy alive rather than killing her to make her feel that being alive was terrible?

“Those who betray me must live long, long lives. Until I am satisfied.”

Genoa seemed to look forward to that day of satisfaction. Perhaps the day when he would stop breathing life into them, when their existence would be forgotten from his mind, would be the day they could find peace.

Mel swallowed dryly after learning how he dealt with traitors. Seeing her reaction, Genoa turned his gaze elsewhere and spoke as if it were nothing:

“You don’t need to worry about the head maid anymore. So how about enjoying this wonderful day, Princess.”

“……Alright.”

Mel nodded and deliberately erased the head maid from her mind. There was nothing she could do about it right now anyway.

“Did you ever enjoy festivals like this in the kingdom?”

“No, it wasn’t allowed. This is my first time.”

At Mel’s answer, Genoa replied as if quite pleased:

“Then I’m sharing your first time, Princess.”

“……I must be mistaken, but you look happy.”

“It might not be a mistake.”

“Or it might be.”

He smiled silently. His meaningful face confused Mel about his true feelings. It was truly absurd, but Genoa was genuinely displaying an attitude full of affection for her.

Mel knew how to react sensitively to others’ malice, contempt, and wariness. This was true even if that person was Genoa.

In the past, he had been kind to Mel while never forgetting that she was a slave. As the time they spent together grew longer, the wall of status that Mel initially felt from Genoa gradually blurred. That’s why it was all the more confusing.

“Speaking of which, I heard your favorite pot was broken. I’ll give you one as a gift, so choose one.”

Genoa led Mel to a shop selling various flowers and trees. He kindly explained that during the festival period, one could see rare items not available in the kingdom. Listening to his voice, Mel closed her eyes tightly for a moment before opening them again.

“When the test is over, let’s go out of the mansion together. I’ll buy you everything you want.”

“Really, Young Master? You promise!”

“Of course. You can think of everything your eyes land on as yours.”

“Wow, wow! Can I close my eyes for a moment?”

“Hm? Why?”

“I want to imagine it.”

“What? Haha!”

She recalled a conversation they had in the past. That day, Genoa had held Mel’s hand while her eyes were closed and asked what she wanted as if they had really gone outside, and Mel had imagined the boy before her, whom she could never have, without giving a prompt answer.

“How about this one, Princess? The buds have just started to form, so if you take it and place it by the window, it will soon bloom.”

“Yes, it’s nice.”

Mel answered carelessly without even looking at the flower Genoa mentioned. Being like this made her feel as if she were really on a date with him.

Genoa placed a flower basket in Mel’s arms.

“……Oh my.”

Mel blinked as she looked at the flowers about to bloom fully in the basket she held. They were roses with a bluish tint.

Blue roses were known to be extremely rare and not easily found. Even nobles would pay quite a high price for them or create them by painting white roses with blue dye. To find such blue roses in a shop they happened to come across while walking, even during a festival…….

“Did you arrange this in advance?”

“I wanted you to like them. They were prepared in a hurry, so the flowers haven’t bloomed yet.”

“……Thank you.”

Mel lowered her gaze, feeling a ticklish sensation at her toes. The lush flower buds were moist with dew. When she glanced up at Genoa again, he was observing her reaction. It felt ticklish.

“I’ll give you one flower too, Duke. As a token of gratitude.”

Mel tried not to attach meaning to this flower. She pulled one flower from the basket and handed it to Genoa. He took the rose she offered and smelled its fragrance. Though the rose hadn’t fully bloomed yet, its sweet scent wafted gently to the tip of his nose.

“Thank you, Princess.”

Genoa looked quite pleased, the corners of his eyes curving as he smiled brightly. At that moment, Mel’s heart beat differently than usual and sank with a thud.

“By the way, Princess, do you know what it means in the empire when a woman gives a single blue rose to a man?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“It’s a proposal. This single flower.”

“……!”

Genoa chuckled as he saw Mel’s eyes widen, then turned and left the shop, saying:

“My answer is ‘yes,’ Princess.”

Mel had to force strength into her legs that threatened to give way as she watched Genoa’s back as he walked away slowly. Otherwise, she felt she might collapse right there.

‘He’s crazy.’

That man was serious. Duke Ivanstein truly liked the princess of an enemy country. He intended to possess her without even knowing she was a fake.

‘What should I do……’

Mel felt as if she might be consumed by the sound of her own heart pounding loudly. The weight of the flower basket in her arms felt heavy. It was sincerity she wouldn’t have noticed if she didn’t know Genoa.

“Oh my, the crowd is getting thicker. Take my hand, Princess.”

Genoa extended his hand to Mel.

Should she take that hand? Mel was engulfed in intense contemplation at this moment. She felt that if she took the hand of this man who called her Princess, she might never escape from his grasp.

‘He’s offering his hand because there are many people gathering. Don’t assign meaning to it.’

This feeling must be due to her wildly beating heart. Thinking this, Mel hesitantly reached out her hand to take Genoa’s.

“Hey, be careful over there!”

A merchant shouted from a distance. It seemed a stone that had secured a cart wheel had been kicked away by someone’s foot, and simultaneously with the shout, the merchant’s cart was sliding down toward them.

People enjoying the festival began to scream and flee toward where the two were standing in response to the sudden accident.

“Get out of the way! Do you want to get hurt?”

“Move aside first!”

What might have been manageable with just a few people became overwhelming as the crowd gathered for the festival began to move, surging like a massive wave.

“Wait, Princess!”

Someone pushed Mel’s shoulder hard, causing her body to be pushed backward. Genoa’s hand reaching toward her grew distant.

“……”

At that moment, for the first time, Mel could witness Genoa’s surprised face. That fleeting moment when his violet eyes, wide open and filled with the image of Mel moving away from him, shone with urgency.

Somehow, Mel felt she would never forget that look in Genoa’s eyes. Forever.

“Miss, what are you doing standing there in a daze? If you get swept away by this crowd, you could get seriously hurt!”

Just then, a merchant from behind pulled the dazed Mel. Though it was a purely well-intentioned gesture, it was unfortunate for her. Because of it, she was instantly separated from Genoa with the surging crowd between them.

“Ah, wait.”

“Why are you so stunned! Are you from a rural province? If you came to the capital during the festival period, you should have been prepared for this kind of crowd!”

The merchant’s meddling contained kind intentions, but because of it, Genoa completely disappeared from Mel’s sight. The street instantly became chaotic with people startled by the rolling cart and those trying to continue on their way. Like land split in two by a burst riverbank’s flowing water, Mel was separated from Genoa.

“It should be safer here, so it’s best to move when the crowd thins out, Miss.”

The merchant only released Mel after bringing her to a place with fewer people. After giving him a brief thank you, Mel urgently looked for Genoa. As she headed back toward where they had been separated, ignoring the merchant’s warning, her steps suddenly stopped.

Had they been separated too far? Had he been swept away by the crowd like her?

‘If I turn these feet around now, could I escape from him?’

True to the word “date,” Genoa had not brought any attendants so that Mel could enjoy herself comfortably. Though Bane had offered to follow from a distance, he refused the proposal. The reason was that he wanted Mel to enjoy only the festival, completely free from her current situation.

So, though Genoa hadn’t intended it, at this moment, Mel was in a state of freedom, not under any surveillance from the Ivanstein ducal family.

‘Escape.’

The two-syllable word she had never considered because she knew it was impossible suddenly filled Mel’s mind.

Mel was now a princess. If she escaped, they would naturally secure escape routes that a princess raised in the royal palace’s greenhouse might take. But she was a slave wearing a princess’s skin, and in the busy capital before the empire’s biggest festival, the coronation, it would be very easy for Mel to slip away using methods nobles would never choose.

It would be no trouble at all to find a merchant who would hide her in a straw box and smuggle her out if she gave them a few coins on a donkey cart carrying goods.

‘I don’t have to go to Ivanstein’s basement. I don’t have to find the truth. I have enough travel money to go to the Eastern Continent where Mother might be……’

There was no reason not to turn around and flee right now. She worried about Lin who remained at the mansion, but Genoa couldn’t blame her either. This situation was unintended by both Genoa and Mel.

As the option to escape came into her grasp, cold sweat began to trickle down Mel’s forehead.

“I need to go.”

If she had decided to escape, she needed to move her feet. And quickly. She needed to get as far away from him as possible before Genoa found her.

But……

“I wanted you to like them. They were prepared in a hurry, so the flowers haven’t bloomed yet.”

The moment she recognized Genoa’s sincerity, his voice calling her with uncharacteristic panic, held her ankle. She simply couldn’t move her body.

“Why……”

Despite knowing that she would never be able to escape if not now, Mel couldn’t understand herself standing still. She tried to put strength in her legs, but each time Genoa’s face, his voice, flashed through her mind, her body froze with the feeling of blood draining away. As if a will she herself wasn’t aware of was blocking her.

Mel calmly reflected on herself.

Why wasn’t she running away?

“Mel.”

The voice that used to call her in the past came to mind.

“Princess.”

A low voice calling her softly echoed.

“……”

“……”

Their gazes intertwined. In the busy moving crowd, Mel saw Genoa, and Genoa saw Mel. Mel’s gaze reached Genoa’s chest, which seemed to move somewhat breathlessly. Genoa’s gaze reached Mel’s ankles, which stood as if rooted to the ground.

“Here you are.”

“Yes.”

“And you didn’t run away.”

“No.”

Genoa was silent for a while. Without fully approaching Mel, but not moving away either, he stood right where he could see her.

What was he thinking now?

“……”

She couldn’t know that, but as Mel looked at his face, she slowly organized her thoughts that had been searching for the reason why she didn’t run away. Mel found the reason. She could find it when she saw Genoa gradually lowering his shoulders that had stiffened when he discovered her from a distance.

Then, Genoa, who had been standing still, approached her with long strides.

“You chose to stay here. Right?”

Genoa’s hand gently cupped Mel’s cheek and lifted her face. His face slowly approached until Mel could see his trembling eyelashes up close. His somewhat rough breath touched her cheek. Genoa’s unique, captivating scent seemed to climb up Mel’s ankle like a snake.

Mel tried not to stutter as she answered.

“……Our date isn’t over yet.”

“Ha.”

Genoa let out a low laugh. At the same time, his face moved even closer to Mel.

As Mel blinked slowly,

“……!”

Their lips met. The kiss was careful, plain, and respectful. Genoa gently led her, and Mel closed her eyes slowly, letting herself be led by him.

Apart from her mother, Genoa, and everything else she had failed to protect while living a fake life, today Mel finally understood what she truly wanted.

“Don’t tremble. Don’t be afraid and trust me, Princess.”

Genoa gently soothed Mel, who was shaking slightly, and kissed her again. Carefully holding onto his clothes, Mel let a single tear fall.

The precious dream she had cherished since she was very young, the first precious dream she had ever held. The desire to watch Genoa’s smile from up close than anyone else.

Mel’s breath rose to the tip of her chin.

“I’ll cherish you, so just a little……”

Genoa gave Mel a moment to breathe. It was the first time she had looked into his eyes this closely. His eyes were beautiful, tinged with the same longing that resembled Mel’s.

He was consuming Mel to the point where her head felt dizzy. So that she couldn’t think properly.

‘Have I swallowed poison?’

Mel closed her eyes. As Genoa wiped away the tears flowing down her cheek, their lips met again.

It was desperately sweet.