Whitney got into the carriage with Melissa. It would have been more comfortable to go separately, but there were eyes watching, so they decided to take the Duke’s carriage.

It was her first time riding in the Orleans ducal family’s private carriage, recalling memories of always riding alone in not-so-nice carriages before. Whitney looked at Melissa sitting across from her.

“Elder sister, have you ever seen His Highness Karl at a banquet?”

“Of course I have. Why wouldn’t I? He’s just such an unapproachable person that this is the first time I’ve seen him up close. I’m sure everyone will be envious when they find out about this.”

Melissa laughed as she ran her hand through her red hair. Whitney reached out and stroked the red hair, then pulled out a strand.

“Ouch! What are you doing?”

“I thought I saw something stuck in it, so I tried to remove it… I’m sorry.”

“Then you could have just said so! What kind of behavior is this!”

“I was worried you might dislike it if it was a bug. It would be terrible if you discovered it while meeting with His Highness Karl later.”

“Since when did you start thinking of me like that? Next time, just tell me. I’ll remove it myself or have a maid do it.”

Whitney nodded. She carefully placed the hair strand she had pulled out into a handkerchief. Melissa didn’t seem to notice anything else suspicious.

‘This should be enough to tell if her hair is dyed.’

Melissa kept running her fingers through her hair to tidy it. She looked displeased at the thought that there might have been a bug in it.

The carriage quickly arrived at the palace, leaving behind the uncomfortable atmosphere. The place where the carriage stopped was neither the Queen’s palace nor the right wing of the main palace where Karl was staying, but a separate palace.

Since only Cheston was staying there, Whitney thought they must have come to the wrong place.

“His Highness instructed me to bring the two of you here. My name is Blun.”

“Is this the right place?”

“Yes, His Highness is waiting in the garden of the separate palace.”

Whitney found it strange but couldn’t voice her doubts any further. There must be a reason why Karl chose this location. Perhaps he wanted to show something to someone.

Maybe he had told Cheston about her. Whether it was good or bad, she couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling.

In contrast, Melissa had an innocent look on her face, unaware of anything, as she looked around in admiration.

“Isn’t this garden too beautiful for a separate palace?”

“You’re right. It seems to be a beautiful place.”

Whitney recalled the lake here. Lake Bellende was bluer than anything else here and clear and transparent. That must be why the king had gifted the separate palace to Cheston. While other gardens might be more beautiful, nothing could compare to Lake Bellende.

The two followed Blun towards the garden of the separate palace. Although it was a familiar place, Whitney looked around as if seeing it for the first time, taking in her surroundings.

Soon they approached a table set up in the garden. A three-tiered tray on the table was filled with delicious desserts. Karl rose from his seat and approached the two.

He first extended his hand to Whitney, and she reluctantly placed her hand in his. Karl kissed the back of her hand with a smile. Only after kissing Melissa’s hand as well did the three of them sit down.

“What is he up to?”

“I thought it was strange. It was odd from the moment His Highness Karl’s attendant suddenly came and asked if they could use the garden.”

“I can clearly see what he’s thinking.”

Cheston crossed his arms and gazed at the garden. He must be showing off the woman he’s interested in and warning others. He stroked his chin loosely as he watched Whitney, who had come with her elder sister Melissa.

“I wonder if he knows I’m watching.”

“He must know that it’s visible from Your Highness’s office.”

Cheston burst out laughing at Aaron’s words. Whitney’s expressionless face and awkward smile as she sat there showed how uncomfortable she was in that situation.

‘She must not have wanted to come alone.’

Perhaps it was to prevent strange rumors from spreading. She seemed to have quickly grasped the situation and fortunately noticed what Karl’s intentions were.

Seeing Karl’s impatient face, Cheston felt like playing a prank.

“Shall we go for a walk?”

“It won’t do any good to run into them.”

“He’s openly enjoying himself in the palace where I’m staying. Couldn’t he have anticipated this much?”

“But…”

Cheston smirked at Aaron’s words. He didn’t care what Karl did. As long as he didn’t mess with him or his mother, he wasn’t concerned, and he pitied Karl knowing that no matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t match up to him in ability.

He simply lived quietly in his position, as that was the better choice for him. If it weren’t for those eyes looking at him with pity, he wouldn’t have been so bothered.

“Aaron, what would you do if your fiancée was having tea with another man?”

“It would be difficult to leave it be.”

“Yes, that’s why I’m doing this.”

“But you’re not even engaged yet!”

“She’s my prospective fiancée.”

They would soon be in that relationship anyway. Cheston wanted to see Whitney’s bewildered expression. She kept making him do things he wouldn’t normally do.

“You can’t. Why are you suddenly doing things you’ve never done before?”

At Aaron’s restraint, Cheston reluctantly decided to watch a little longer. After some time had passed, Whitney, who had been chatting over tea, looked around cautiously and quietly stood up.

Then she started walking towards the inner part of the garden. Seeing this, Cheston pointed at Whitney and said to Aaron.

“It looks like she’s coming to meet me.”

“…You need to be careful. If you upset him unnecessarily, who knows what he might do. I heard that recently, when the Karulo Kingdom ended up not receiving any compensation, the Queen went on a rampage, venting her anger.”

Cheston nodded. It seemed Aaron hadn’t realized that all of this was because he had tipped off the king.

He moved towards the garden with leisurely steps.

Whitney stood up, pretending to give in to Melissa’s subtle hint. Karl also seemed to not mind Melissa’s subtle seduction.

“May I take a look around the garden for a moment? This place is so beautiful, I’d like to see it for the first time.”

“Then I’ll guide you.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll just look around and come back, so please continue talking with my elder sister.”

At Whitney’s words, Melissa smiled shyly towards Karl.

“I’d like to hear more about Your Highness. Seeing you up close like this, I have so many questions I wanted to ask. How about we chat a bit more? Whitney doesn’t like sitting for long periods. She always likes to move around and even helps with the maids’ work.”

“…The maids’ work?”

Karl slightly frowned and looked at Whitney. His expression showed that he didn’t understand why she would help with such tasks.

“I had nothing to do, so I occasionally helped just to clear my complicated thoughts.”

“Even so, it’s better not to do such things in the future and not forget your position. I don’t even want to imagine a noble holding a rag and scrubbing the floor. Isn’t it vulgar?”

Melissa fanned herself gently and added words of agreement. She glanced at Whitney and made an expression as if she couldn’t help it.

“Whitney is actually quite good at those things, unlike how she looks. Of course, I tell her not to do it and that she should make them look up to her.”

“As Lady Melissa says, if you’re too nice to them, they’ll start thinking they’re equal to their masters. We pay them and employ them, so they should just do their best at their assigned tasks. If they find that unfair, shouldn’t they have been born as nobles themselves?”

“Oh my, how similar your thoughts are to mine. One should live according to the status they’re born into. Shouldn’t they blame their parents for giving birth to them in that status?”

The two seemed to have similar thoughts and conversed well. Karl had originally intended to stand up and follow Whitney, but after hearing Melissa’s words, he seemed to have no intention of getting up.

“Your Highness, and I have something I’d like to discuss in private. I’d like to tell you when we’re alone…”

Melissa slightly lowered her eyes and gently brushed Karl’s arm with the tip of her fan. A smile spread across Karl’s face, and he nodded towards Whitney as if giving permission.

“Then please enjoy your conversation. I’ll just take a slow walk around once and come back.”

Whitney thought it was rather fortunate as she bowed to Karl and walked towards the garden.

Only after the two disappeared from sight did Whitney shake her head. She hadn’t expected Karl to fall for Melissa’s blatant seduction just like that. Perhaps rather than falling for it, he too had agreed with the intention of enjoying it together.

Whatever it was, it was their business. In fact, it was impossible for Melissa to become Karl’s woman. The Queen didn’t approve of Melissa, so she would try to place another woman by Karl’s side.

Whitney suddenly stopped in her tracks as she was walking towards the inner part of the garden. She hadn’t known there was a greenhouse here too, and her mouth opened and closed at the sight of the much larger dome-shaped structure compared to the one at the Duke’s residence.

‘If it weren’t for those memories, I wouldn’t have viewed greenhouses so negatively.’

Whitney wore a gloomy expression as she turned her gaze away from the greenhouse. The garden of the separate palace was larger than she thought, so it would take more than an hour to look around slowly.

As she was turning away from the greenhouse, a familiar figure caught her eye. Tall stature, golden hair, blue eyes that seemed to have captured Lake Bellende’s sparkle.

“Your Highness Cheston?”

He approached her with a bright smile. Then he bowed his head and brushed her hair behind her shoulder as he spoke.

“How does it feel to be talking with another man in my space, Whitney Orlean?”