Whitney avoided looking directly into Cheston’s eyes. However, if she continued to avoid his gaze, he would realize she was lying.

“Have I done something wrong to Your Highness?”

She asked him instead. In fact, she hadn’t done anything wrong in this returned life. The feelings she harbored in her heart were from before.

“Why do I feel guilty when I haven’t done anything wrong?”

Cheston’s blue eyes stared intently at her as if trying to dig into her innermost thoughts. Whitney felt pangs of conscience under his unwavering, upright gaze.

“I’m only worried about causing Your Highness to experience things you shouldn’t have to, I have no other intentions. Isn’t it the same for you?”

Whenever something like this happened, Cheston would feel sorry for her. Even though it wasn’t his fault, he would feel guilty for not being able to protect her. That was also because he was a good person.

“…For such emotions.”

‘It must be showing.’

Whitney waited for Cheston to continue speaking.

He seemed to have difficulty explaining, rubbing his face before standing up. With a frustrated expression, he paced around the room with his hand on his chin, then suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Whitney clasped her hands together and looked up, speaking in a voice that betrayed no trembling. They weren’t in a relationship where they cared about each other’s feelings, so there was no need to be sensitive.

“I’m not sure if it’s right for me to explain Your Highness’s feelings. In fact, doesn’t it not matter how I see you?”

“…It doesn’t matter, you say.”

Was that too harsh?

But if she didn’t speak like that, he would likely keep asking persistently. Whitney felt frustrated, unable to tell how she was looking at Cheston.

Even though she tried to hide her emotions, memories of the past kept surfacing, and traces of guilt seemed to seep out occasionally.

She quickly glanced at his expression. Cheston’s straight eyebrows twitched, but his expression remained unchanged.

‘Should I say something else? If I say that wasn’t what I meant…’

In fact, it seemed like anything she said now would be strange. So she kept her lips tightly sealed.

Whitney mulled over her words as she waited for him to speak, but Cheston didn’t continue. Finally, she spoke first.

“Would it matter if it were compassion, guilt, or pity? Of course, I’m not feeling any of those emotions. We’re just in a relationship of mutual need, so there’s no reason for emotions to be involved.”

That was better for both of them. Whitney felt indebted to him due to her guilt, but that was just her own feelings.

“Are you saying that in a relationship of mutual need, one should be insensitive to the other’s feelings?”

“That would make it easier for both parties when the relationship ends.”

“It seems the lady is always thinking about the end with me first. I’m curious about what other feelings you’re worried about.”

“Romantic feelings.”

Nothing made people weaker than that. Moreover, it wasn’t a feeling that could exist between her and him. She wanted him to become a good ruler, but she didn’t want to be by his side.

The desire to save him and romantic feelings for him were different.

“…Romantic feelings?”

Cheston repeated the words. His expression changed moment by moment before the corners of his mouth curved upward.

“It seems that developing such feelings would be a problem for you.”

“…Pardon?”

He shook his head as if it was nothing. Then he walked towards the door and turned his head to speak to her.

“If it’s not seen as guilt, that’s fine. I’ll just have to make you see me with different eyes.”

Whitney blinked after Cheston left.

‘What does he mean by making me see him with different eyes?’

Did he want her to see him differently? Cheston had said something similar when they first talked.

‘Pity or compassion…’

If it were such emotions, her heart wouldn’t ache so much every time she saw him. She wouldn’t feel suffocated by guilt or anxious that something might happen to him because of her.

She wished it was like a calm lake reflecting the sunlight. Not a sea with waves constantly crashing, breaking, scattering, and surging again, but just a beautifully shining lake.

If that were the case, Whitney might have seen him differently too. But Cheston, like Lake Barendel, was still living a life like a sea with raging waves.

That’s why she cared more, why her eyes were drawn to him more.

Whitney got up and sat in front of the mirror. Her green eyes were clouded with a different light. She looked in the mirror while thinking of Cheston, but she didn’t feel like her gaze was changing particularly.

No matter how she looked, her gaze remained the same. Whitney stared intently at her own eyes before giving up.

‘What kind of look did I give him to make him say such things?’

She trudged back to the bed and lay down, staring at the ceiling. Any emotion was fine as long as she didn’t harbor feelings for him in her heart. Remembering what Karl had tried to do to her sent chills down her spine.

‘I need to be more careful from now on.’

Whitney needed to find a way to avoid encountering him. It seemed he thought he no longer needed to manage his image due to the scandal with her sister. If that was the case, she needed to be more cautious too.

There would be no more sweet temptations, and she would act in her own way. Karl was currently very agitated.

The Princess of Petrontra might have been the trigger, but her unexpected engagement to Cheston must have also irked him.

Above all, she couldn’t understand Cheston’s behavior. She only now realized how much interest he had in her. Whitney recalled how he had protected her from Karl.

‘I didn’t expect him to step in like that…’

To be honest, it felt good. It was reassuring and comforting. But she knew well that she shouldn’t rely on him. Whitney shook her head and closed her eyes. She tried hard to shake off the thoughts of him swirling in her mind.

“Pull yourself together, Whitney Orlean. You have things you need to do now.”

Safely rescuing Cheston at the upcoming banquet and leaving this place. Until then, she had to get along well with him. Only if Cheston trusted her could she prepare for what was to come.

Whitney tried hard to ignore her fluttering heart. She didn’t try to hold onto the warmth of his touch that lingered on her waist, his gestures, knowing that it was all in vain.

He was originally kind to everyone, and she was just one of those people, no different from the rest.

Cheston’s mood didn’t seem good. Because of that, Aaron was scanning through documents while watching his expressions carefully.

‘Something must have happened last night…’

Cold air flowed from Cheston to the point where it was difficult to speak to him. Moreover, the maid who had been by Whitney’s side was nowhere to be seen overnight. The maids’ gossip was rife with talk that she had been dismissed by Cheston.

Aaron had heard that Karl had come and gone from the annex, but he was frustrated that he couldn’t hear what had happened.

Cheston was holed up in his office, lost in thought all day about who knows what. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Aaron cautiously asked.

“The annex seems to be in an uproar, did something happen?”

“Nothing happened, so don’t worry about it. It seems the Princess of Petrontra still hasn’t left.”

“How did you know?”

Cheston pointed his chin towards the window. There was no reason for her to visit the annex.

“Since when did the annex become a place where people come and go? Everyone used to avoid it, but now there are many visitors.”

“…If they’re coming to see Your Highness, isn’t that a problem?”

His head was already aching thanks to Karl stirring things up. And now Violet, who was to be his fiancée, was coming here.

“Send her away appropriately.”

“I will relay that message. But you won’t run into the lady, will you?”

“The lady won’t even think about it, so don’t worry unnecessarily.”

Aaron tilted his head to the side. Somehow, His Highness’s attitude towards the lady seemed quite different. It seemed sharp… there was an inexplicable strange atmosphere that made him uncomfortable.

“Then why don’t you go out? If the lady doesn’t even think about it, why avoid her? It might be something important.”

“If it were important, she wouldn’t deliberately come at a time when everyone can see. Especially given the situation where talks of engagement with my brother are ongoing.”

“…I heard that Princess Violet is not in a good mood due to the scandal with Melissa.”

Cheston wore an indifferent expression. He wasn’t curious about stories concerning the princess. He just wanted to know why she had come here and what her purpose was.

However, it wasn’t long before Cheston learned the reason.

“Prince Cheston, Your Highness. It seems you need to attend the tea time arranged by Her Majesty the Queen. Princess Violet has come personally to invite both of you.”

“…Hah.”

Cheston ran his hand through his hair as he stared out the window at her. It didn’t make sense that she would act knowing he wouldn’t meet her if she came looking for him. It was clear that the Queen had arranged this meeting to make things clear to the princess.

He finally walked towards the door to go outside. Aaron quickly blocked Cheston’s path and whispered quietly.

“Are you going? We don’t know what kind of mischief she might cause.”

“Aaron. You heard it too. The Queen arranged this meeting, it’s not a situation we can refuse, so step aside.”

“…I have a bad feeling about this.”

“I must not have told you before. Your hunches have never been right.”

Cheston smiled slightly and headed towards the room where Whitney would be. He didn’t like the idea of sending her alone to a place where she had no allies.