Having resolved to just endure until the next salary raise, Renata rationalized the disaster she had brought upon herself and tried to sort out the complicated thoughts in her head.

 

It seemed highly unlikely that the prince would start a civil war right before the next salary negotiation, and anyway, if she were to run away, she still needed to save up money first. 

 

She also thought that observing Theodore a little longer wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

 

‘Above all, if the rebellion actually succeeds, there won’t even be a reason to leave anymore.’

 

Although she had set a deadline of three months for herself, deep down she was secretly thinking about how she could manage to settle down here permanently.

 

First and foremost, if the crown prince discovered the prince’s true identity, everything would collapse into nothing, so she had to pour all her energy into maintaining secrecy.

 

As a result, lately, all of Renata’s attention had been focused entirely on Theodore.

 

She meticulously observed every expression he made, the way his eyes moved when they talked, even the small habits he showed in daily life.

 

Whenever she spotted a potential vulnerability, she tried to cover or correct it.

 

And through that process, she came to realize one thing: even though he didn’t seem like it on the surface, Theodore was actually paying quite a lot of attention to her.

 

“Renata, why is your hair still the same shape again?”

 

The moment Renata entered the office to pick Theodore up for the hunting festival, he immediately reached out and poked at the stray baby hairs that had fallen beside her ear.

 

Ever since she told him to stop touching her body, he had started making these light, teasing, almost-but-not-quite contacts that tickled.

 

Renata shook her head vigorously from side to side as if to say, “Don’t touch.”

 

“It’s the optimal style for efficient work performance.”

 

Truth be told, she had once tried to change her hairstyle as a bit of an experiment, but her stubbornly voluminous curly hair kept ruining every attempt.

 

Even today, she had painstakingly tamed and neatly arranged it, she absolutely could not let it get messed up again.

 

His clothes were more dignified and refined than usual, but her face remained exactly the same, and Theodore grumbled discontentedly at the sight of her.

 

“Why don’t you at least change your hair accessory or something?”

 

Ah, was he referring to that huge jeweled hairpin?

 

A few days earlier at the tailor’s shop, Theodore had pushed toward Renata a luxurious item made with the same diamonds as the buttons on his riding outfit.

 

It was certainly flashy and beautiful.

 

The problem was the price.

 

“The jewels you recommended to me were canceled after consultation with the tailor’s shop. I clearly submitted the approval request, and it was Your Highness who signed off on it.”

 

Her words carried the clear implication of, “Did you just stamp it without even reading the report again?” 

 

He gave a weak laugh and averted his eyes.

 

“What are you going to do if I ever decide to put you in a difficult position by deliberately submitting documents full of problems?”

 

Theodore half-listened, half-ignored her as he opened the office door, urging that they should hurry to the venue where the event was being held.

 

But once started, her nagging showed no sign of stopping, and he pretended to listen attentively while doing his absolute best to let it go in one ear and out the other.

 

“How many times have I already told you about this? Do you even remember?”

 

“If you were the kind of person who would do that, you wouldn’t have caused an accident in the first place.”

 

“Be careful. I’m in the middle of steadily building up Your Highness’s complete trust… so I can stab you spectacularly in the back later.”

 

“Oh no, what should I do? I’m already getting so excited at the thought of being betrayed by you.”

 

“Really, how infuriating… ahem, never mind.”

 

As they walked down the corridor together, he casually reached out and lightly touched the neatly rolled-up ball of her hair.

 

“I saw your hair down for the first time at the tailor’s shop. I want to see it again.”

 

Renata glanced up at him and shot him a sharp “don’t touch” look.

 

“Can’t you just let it down once?”

 

“No. Absolutely not.”

 

Faced with her ironclad defense, Theodore let out a powerless sigh and suddenly turned his steps in a direction opposite to where the carriage was waiting.

 

“Ah, you’re no fun at all. Now I don’t even want to go anymore.”

 

In the past, she would have anxiously stamped her feet and asked what the problem was this time, but now she no longer did.

 

The scoundrel prince arriving early at the event venue would look far too out of character—so it was obvious he was deliberately killing time like this in order to make a dramatic, last-minute entrance.

 

As she followed Theodore, they somehow ended up strolling through the central garden of the palace.

 

Perhaps because spring was truly approaching, the blowing breeze no longer felt entirely cold, and the sunlight was warm; it was actually quite a pleasant day for a walk.

 

Since a banquet would be held at the palace on the final day of the hunting festival, the gardeners were busily moving about, trimming boxwood hedges and flowers in preparation.

 

From one corner came the crisp snip of shears; from another, the rustling sound of someone shaking a tree to dislodge the cut branches.

 

While quietly taking in that peaceful scene, Renata suddenly grew curious about what expression Theodore might be wearing and glanced at him.

 

His gaze wasn’t on the beautifully manicured garden at all, it was fixed far off on the crown prince and the nobles trailing behind him. His brows were faintly furrowed as though he were lost in deep thought. 

 

After letting out a small breath, he slowly turned his head.

 

Their eyes met, and as though the serious moment had never happened, he broke into an innocently bright smile.

 

Renata thought to herself:

 

This prince is actually living every moment as though he were on a battlefield. That’s why he’s always so tense, always on guard.

 

“Your Highness, when do you ever get to rest?”

 

“Me? You take care of all my work for me, so I rest every day, don’t I?”

 

…Right. Shouldn’t have asked.

 

“…But when you’re not around, I almost never get to rest. That’s just how it is when you live a double life, isn’t it?”

 

His words, delayed by a beat, prompted Renata to blurt out an impulsive reply.

 

“Then how about I come in on weekends whenever I can squeeze in some time, and you get to rest properly during those hours? If there’s anything urgent that needs handling, I can take care of it for you, too.”

 

Theodore looked at her as if he’d just heard the strangest thing in the world, waving his hand in vigorous refusal.

 

“I’m not that much of a ruthless employer.”

 

“Your Highness has given me so much, yet compared to that, there’s almost nothing I can do in return. I really want to repay you somehow…”

 

“Then buy me a meal or something.”

 

A meal out of the blue, and wasn’t that an absurdly cheap way to repay everything?

 

“Speaking of which, how about this weekend?”

 

When Renata didn’t answer right away and just stared blankly at him, Theodore took it as a refusal. 

 

Unable to hide his disappointment, he abruptly turned his face away.

 

“Your Highness.”

 

“What?”

 

His reply was curt and sulky, anyone could tell he was clearly in a bad mood.

 

“The hunting festival’s closing banquet is this weekend. Looks like I’ll be going alone?”

 

“Ah.”

 

This was one of those moments that made it crystal clear just how diligently this prince was committing to playing the role of a lazy good-for-nothing.

 

And so Renata ended up gazing at Theodore, the very picture of a spoiled young master who couldn’t do anything on his own, with faintly irreverent eyes.

 

If it had been the usual him, the moment he caught that look, he would have immediately launched into dramatic whining about how pitiful his life was, being constantly nagged by his aide.

 

“We’ll see each other next weekend then, right?”

 

Unexpectedly, he broke into a wide, dazzling smile and whispered in a low, seductive tone.

 

Renata, almost entranced, simply stared at Theodore for quite a long while, drinking him in with her eyes.

 

☄️

 

The prince’s carriage arrived fashionably late at the campsite where the hunting festival was being held.

 

Renata, assuming there wouldn’t be many people waiting to greet them and feeling quite relaxed, was preparing to step down from the carriage when Theodore’s muttered words slipped into her ear.

 

“No wonder it was so hard to track him down…”

 

Wondering if the person Theodore had secretly been investigating was standing right in front of them, Renata cautiously poked her head out, and was instantly shocked.

 

“Haah, I was seriously about to head back to the palace, thinking he wasn’t coming. Would it kill you to show up a little earlier?”

 

A man with long black hair tied high in a ponytail was approaching with movements so precise and elegant they seemed measured with a ruler, completely at odds with his casual, almost insolent tone.

 

The face was familiar, but the eye color was different.

 

The man with blood-red eyes, the very ones she had seen before but dismissed as a trick of the light—was now looking at Theodore and the person half-hidden behind him, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

 

“So this is the second prince…”

 

The man gave Theodore a glance and let his sentence trail off suggestively.

 

Then, with eyes full of curiosity, he flicked his gaze toward Renata as if demanding she fill in the blanks.

 

“And if he’s your lover… then you must be something like the princess consort…?”

 

A person who spoke down to everyone regardless of status, yet was still permitted to attend a royal-sponsored hunting festival…

 

‘Wait, could this man actually be the Tower Master…?’

 

Renata hurriedly tried to climb down from the carriage to answer the Tower Master’s question, but she hesitated, unused to the unfamiliar clothing.

 

In moments like this, it was wiser to ask for help than to struggle awkwardly and end up looking ridiculous.

 

“Um… Your Highness?”

 

She called out, meaning only to borrow his hand for a moment, but he turned, extended his arm, and wrapped it around her waist.

 

In one smooth motion, he lifted her lightly out of the carriage and set her down on the ground—yet he kept his arm around her as he spoke in an unruffled, almost amused tone.

 

“Yes, well… as you can see, something along those lines?”

 

The mere fact that the insane Tower Master and the kingdom’s greatest madman prince were standing together in the same place was already drawing every eye in the vicinity.

 

And on top of that, Theodore had put on the same murderous glint in his eyes that always appeared whenever he was about to become tabloid fodder.

 

The moment Renata tried to step away from him, silently signaling that he should behave, the black-haired man grabbed her hand and pulled her forward in one swift motion.

 

“In that case, since you’re not yet royalty, there’s no need for you to bow your head in greeting.”

 

The man, who from the very first moment had shown zero regard for etiquette, now suddenly lectured her on proper protocol before finally revealing his identity.

 

“Marex, Master of the Magic Tower and also known as the Sage of the World. A formal introduction.”

 

And he did so while pressing a rather firm kiss to the back of her hand.