When she said they were going to have lunch, she naturally thought they would go to the dining room, but unexpectedly, Kalos headed towards the greenhouse garden in the north.

The very place she had come with Kalos before to pretend to be affectionate lovers.

The greenhouse garden was still beautiful, and thanks to that, Irene was able to forget for a moment her worries and fears about having lunch with Kalos.

“Sit down.”

For a moment, Irene’s expression stiffened, overwhelmed by the heavy voice behind her. She clasped her hands tightly and slowly turned around.

Kalos was already standing in front of a table set up in one corner of the greenhouse garden.

The table was perfectly prepared with lunch items such as sandwiches and fruit juice.

Kalos glanced at the food laid out on the table, then silently beckoned Jessie, who had quietly followed them, to come closer.

As Jessie approached and bowed her head respectfully, Kalos gave some sort of order.

After receiving the order, Jessie disappeared with quick steps, and Jerdin, who filled her place, asked.

“What’s going on?”

Kalos said nothing and sat down.

Since he didn’t expect an answer in the first place, Jerdin shrugged and gestured to Irene, who was standing still like a statue.

“Don’t just stand there, come and sit down.”

In the past, she wouldn’t have dared to even make eye contact with the Crown Prince, but now he was pulling out a chair for her and waiting. However, Irene didn’t move an inch.

She was so scared of Kalos that she couldn’t even think of moving.

“Sit down.”

Her body had frozen upon hearing Kalos’s voice, but strangely, it was his voice again that unfroze her.

Irene quickly approached and sat down in the chair, fearing a harsh command. She gently placed the book she had brought on her lap.

After Jerdin sat down as well, Jessie returned and placed a thin soup with hardly any solid ingredients in front of Irene.

Seeing this, Jerdin asked Irene curiously.

“Are you sick?”

Irene answered in a small voice.

“My stomach is a bit upset.”

“Oh dear. And yet I insisted we have lunch together. I’m sorry.”

For some reason, Jerdin apologized, even though it was Kalos who had insisted on having lunch together.

“Do you want to go back now?”

Irene wondered if that would be alright. She didn’t immediately answer and instead glanced at Kalos. He must have felt her gaze, but he just silently drank his water.

“It’s… fine.”

Interpreting this as a refusal, Irene answered in a slightly dejected voice. Jerdin clicked his tongue and turned to Kalos.

“Smile a bit, Master. The young lady is too scared of you to express herself properly.”

Kalos frowned at the words that seemed to be scolding him.

“N-no, that’s not it!”

Irene hastily denied it, worried that Jerdin might be unnecessarily provoking Kalos’s anger.

“That’s not it. I, I…”

His Grace the Duke is not scary.

Irene tried to say that, but the words wouldn’t come out. It would have been a blatant lie.

The fear that had sunk beneath her luxurious lifestyle resurfaced and grew with the death of the disciple right before her eyes, preventing her from lying.

“…”

After hesitating, Irene finally closed her mouth without saying anything.

Looking at her with pity, Jerdin suddenly noticed the book neatly placed on Irene’s lap and asked.

“What’s that?”

Irene flinched in surprise and clutched the book with both hands as if to hide it.

“It’s just… a book. I borrowed it to read before bed.”

“Is that so?”

Irene had worried that Jerdin might show more interest and ask what kind of book it was, but fortunately, he changed the subject as if he wasn’t particularly interested.

What a relief. While Irene felt relieved, she also found it strange that she was feeling relieved about such a thing.

Kalos didn’t forbid me from learning magic, so why am I getting scared on my own?

As she was thinking this while fiddling with the book, an indifferent voice came from above her head.

“Eat.”

Though it sounded more like a suggestion, to Irene’s ears it was a command or even more than that.

As if he was threatening to do something to her if she didn’t eat.

So Irene ate the soup, almost forcing it down. Fortunately, there were no solid ingredients, and she was hungry, so it went down smoothly.

When Irene emptied the soup bowl completely, Jerdin whistled softly.

“You said your stomach wasn’t feeling well, but you ate it all. You must have been very hungry.”

I was very hungry indeed. She had only eaten a bowl of consommé since waking up in the morning. What she just ate wasn’t enough to satisfy her.

“I’m fine.”

But she didn’t want to eat more. In this situation, if she ate more, it would surely upset her stomach severely like yesterday. She didn’t want to go through the same suffering again.

“Come on, you’re not fine. Anyone can see you ate hurriedly because you were hungry.”

Thinking that Irene was being modest like other noble ladies usually do, Jerdin put a sandwich on Irene’s plate.

“You’ll be hungry if you only eat soup, so have a sandwich too.”

“…”

Irene stared down at the sandwich filled with fresh vegetables and red ham.

Until just a moment ago, she hadn’t particularly wanted to eat, but now that she saw it, her mouth watered. Her stomach, which had only had thin soup all day, churned.

As Irene couldn’t take her eyes off the sandwich, Jerdin smiled mischievously.

“Don’t just stare at it, eat it quickly. The chef here would want you to enjoy it too.”

With the Crown Prince urging her this much, wouldn’t it be polite to eat at least one?

It would also be courteous to the chef who worked hard to prepare the food.

And since she was hungry, eating one shouldn’t be a big problem, so Irene picked up the sandwich.

‘It’s delicious.’

The crisp lettuce and various vegetables, the salty ham and sweet sauce all harmonized perfectly, and her lost appetite returned.

Irene ate the sandwich with relish, forgetting for a moment that Kalos was sitting next to her.

“…”

Only after finishing the sandwich did Irene realize that Kalos was staring at her, and her face stiffened. Her chest tightened as if the pieces of sandwich she had just swallowed were blocking her throat.

“Is one not enough? Do you want more?”

Thinking she was still hungry, Jerdin tried to give her another sandwich, but Kalos reached out to stop him.

“That’s enough.”

He turned his head to look at Irene.

“If you’re done eating, you can go now.”

At this cold dismissal, Jerdin clicked his tongue, but Irene stood up happily.

“Then I’ll take my leave first.”

As Irene bowed politely and withdrew, Jessie followed behind her.

As soon as the greenhouse door closed, Jerdin asked Kalos.

“Weren’t you trying to be affectionate towards her?”

At this unexpected question, Kalos looked at him, and Jerdin added a more detailed explanation.

“You said that for the flower to bloom as soon as possible, she needs to open her heart to you. But instead of being affectionate, you’re as cold as ice, so I’m asking because it’s strange.”

“I think I’ve been plenty affectionate.”

Jerdin made an incredulous expression.

“How so?”

Kalos answered as if it were obvious.

“I saved her from a life-threatening situation and cleared her of false accusations of being a witch. On top of that, I’m taking care of her without letting her lack for anything. Isn’t this affectionate enough?”

That’s true. Kalos wasn’t someone who showed such kindness to just anyone.

Considering his usual temperament, he was being quite affectionate towards Irene, but…

“That’s… by your standards, Master.”

Kalos frowned in displeasure at the retort, but he didn’t stop Jerdin from speaking. Rather, he leaned back in his chair, resting his hands on his knees as if to say, go on, continue.

“That woman doesn’t think of it that way at all.”

Jerdin continued slowly.

“You saw it earlier, didn’t you? How that woman trembled like a weak rabbit before a fierce predator, constantly watching your expression. If she thought of you as a kind and good person, she wouldn’t have been so scared.”

“That must be because of yesterday’s incident.”

He had killed someone right in front of Irene. It was natural for her to be afraid of him.

“Then was she not afraid of you usually?”

“…”

At the returned question, Kalos closed his mouth and searched his memories.

Soon, deep wrinkles formed between his brows, and Jerdin shrugged as if to say, ‘See?’

“She was afraid of you even in normal times, wasn’t she?”

Kalos, hit right on the mark, replied in a disgruntled voice.

“…Humans are naturally afraid of me.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Jerdin propped his chin on his arm and looked into space.

“When I first saw you, I was so scared that I couldn’t say anything and just trembled.”

Jerdin met Kalos about 13 years ago, when he was only 10 years old.

The young child, faced directly with the notorious Duke Esper whom even adults feared, was so afraid of Kalos that he couldn’t eat or drink for days.

Usually, when a child acts like this, people try to comfort them with sweet candies or toys, but not Kalos. He completely ignored the child, showing not even a hint of interest.

Ironically, Kalos’s behavior calmed Jerdin’s anxiety and fear.

The fact that he showed no interest meant he had no intention of killing or harming him.

Moreover, while other nobles were trying their best to impress Jerdin, the future emperor of the empire, Kalos didn’t do that at all, which was refreshing.

Curiosity soon transformed into interest. Jerdin gradually opened his heart to Kalos, and at some point, he became the only member of the imperial family who wasn’t afraid of Kalos and followed him well.

Perhaps because of this, Kalos, who disliked humans, didn’t ignore or reject Jerdin.

“I’ve met all sorts of people while living in the imperial palace, and I’m quite perceptive, so I quickly realized that you’re not a bad person… but that woman isn’t like that.”

“…”

“So if you want to open her heart, treat her more kindly than you do to me or your subordinates. I think it would be okay to treat her so well that you wonder if it’s really necessary to go this far.”

Considering Kalos’s usual personality, even doing that would only be average.

Kalos, who had been quietly watching Jerdin as he spoke at length, turned his head to look at the seat where Irene had been sitting.

The image of Irene looking at him with eyes full of fear floated in his mind like a mirage.

He was already bothered by the feeling that they had returned to when he first met her, and Jerdin’s pointed remarks made it even more irritating.

“You need to quickly regain what you’ve lost.”

Kalos nodded slowly, closing his eyes momentarily and then opening them at Jerdin’s words of advice.

“I’ll try.”