Michael looked down at the invitation that had suddenly arrived.

“The opponent is not as easy as I thought.”

The invitation was stamped with the seal of Blandiche. It was a different format from the previous letters sent by Anette, so it was immediately clear that she had not sent this one.

As expected.

The host of the invitation was the Grand Duke of Blandiche, Hertian.

“Didn’t Anette say she would invite us last time?”

The man who received the invitation tilted his head.

“When we met in the alley, there was no mention of the Grand Duke, Your Highness.”

The other person was the empire’s one and only prince, Serdis.

Not long ago.

Michael received an absurd proposal.

A message offering him the opportunity to be the prince’s temporary assistant.

Additionally, it was added that he would be placed in the position of the next marquis, surpassing his brothers.

The other party was Prince Serdis, a man who held power in his hands. There was no room for doubt.

For him, who was merely the third son of a marquis family with neither the ability nor the influence to surpass his brothers, it was like a pile of treasure falling right before his eyes.

Of course, there were conditions attached.

‘Just pretend to be Anette’s pen pal. Simple, right?’

But merely pretending to be someone else was nothing compared to what was being offered to him.

‘I’ve followed orders to kill people before, so how could I not follow an order to simply deceive one woman with lies.’

Michael decided to simply enjoy this moment.

If he could become the head of his family just by deceiving one woman, he’d be a fool not to enjoy this moment.

He secretly thought Serdis was lenient.

Having a position equivalent to the next emperor, yet unable to properly possess one woman.

‘Even if she’s a half-sister, can’t he kill her because she’s still a sister?’

What does it matter when she has no proper backing to really challenge him? If it were him, he would have found a simple solution, whether killing her or forcibly taking the woman.

“What should we do?”

But he deliberately refrained from revealing his true thoughts.

After all, it was because of this leniency that he was receiving special treatment.

“That bastard is annoying as ever.”

Serdis set aside the stack of documents he was holding and skimmed through the invitation first.

“Oh? But if that guy sent the invitation directly, it means Anette must have told him about you.”

Anette doesn’t talk about herself first. She only manages to say a word after her heart truly opens up.

He didn’t expect her to tell Hertian about Cassian, even though she might talk about Hertian to Cassian, with whom she already has a close relationship.

The relationship between the two was deeper than expected.

‘Why? It’s just a contractual marriage relationship.’

No matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn’t understand.

Serdis’s mood instantly soured.

“Should we decline? I’ll do as you say.”

Michael, who keenly detected the change in his expression, subtly suggested.

Serdis immediately shook his head.

“Declining the invitation would be playing right into his hands. What if Cassian’s trust in Anette gradually diminishes because you don’t go? He’ll just make you into Cassian and cut off the tail, that’s all.”

If that happens, the reason for setting up a fake Cassian disappears.

“Go and perfectly act as Cassian. You’ve memorized all the letters, so that should be simple, right?”

Serdis turned his gaze to look at Michael. It was a look that said to handle it well on his own. If not, he would take away that position at any time.

‘As if there’s any doubt.’

Michael stood up from his seat without a word.

“If the ultimate goal is to build a friendship with the Grand Duchess, I will do my best to become Cassian.”

“Goal? My goal is to kill that bastard. Just kill him when the time is right and come back.”

His eyes widened at the blunt words.

“Do I have to kill the Grand Duke myself?”

It would be one thing if Serdis did the killing, but for himself, who hadn’t even become a marquis yet, to directly get blood on his hands was risky.

Even if he promised him the marquis position.

“Are you trying to back out now?”

“No… It’s just a bit surprising.”

“Think about why I went through the trouble of going against the marquis to make you the next marquis. Positions aren’t given to just anyone. Am I wrong?”

“No. You’re right.”

He immediately agreed.

After turning it over in his head, there was no way to back out now anyway.

Serdis, who had been subtly pushing him, quietly observed his attitude before bursting into laughter.

“Hahahahaha.”

Unlike before, his face now looked like he was having the time of his life.

Michael didn’t understand the meaning behind that laughter.

Was it funny to see him submitting? Or was he happy to have found someone to directly kill and eliminate the Grand Duke?

After laughing hysterically for a while, Serdis wiped the tears from his eyes and said,

“I’m just joking, so relax.”

Joking about killing someone.

Michael thought that the prince might be enjoying this situation.

Like a cat playing with a cornered mouse before slowly killing it. He might think he could have him anytime he wanted.

Sure enough.

Serdis looked into the air with expectant eyes, as if he had never been in a bad mood.

“Right. Enjoy it a lot. Soon, you’ll be bowing your head in gratitude before me after I burn all the letters.”

Because it was he who prevented the war.

He receives thanks even after stealing and burning the letters.

How thrilling is that?

Judging by the fact that he sent the invitation directly, he seems quite angry.

“I want to go too.”

A strange light flashed in Serdis’s eyes.

“You need to really rile him up.”

“I’ll do my best. Within the bounds of not offending Her Grace the Grand Duchess.”

“Good. Report back as soon as you return.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Serdis waved his hand as if telling him to go.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he got up from his seat and grabbed something.

“Give this to Anette.”

“Is it a gift?”

It was a beautifully wrapped box. A box with the name of a patisserie written at the end of the wrapping.

Dessert?

Michael wondered why he was giving him such a thing.

“Our Anette really likes sweet things, you know.”

Only then did he realize. The Grand Duchess in the letters often talked about desserts.

Still, he was curious.

“How did you know an invitation would come today and prepare a gift?”

Desserts change in taste and shape even after just one day.

He wouldn’t give desserts that were several days old.

“I bought it to eat myself.”

“Does Your Highness also enjoy desserts?”

“I didn’t like them originally. But I kept imagining Anette eating them so deliciously, so I tried a few, and now I find myself craving them every day.”

For the first time, Serdis smiled pleasantly.

“It was originally mine, but I’ll specially give it up for Anette.”

That was sincere.

‘What’s so good about the Grand Duchess?’

As someone more interested in power than women, Michael couldn’t understand this part.

All preparations for welcoming the guest were complete.

“The preparations are so perfect, it might be overwhelming.”

“Should we take down that decoration?”

Hertian pointed to a decoration hanging on the wall.

“No. That’s the one you barely managed to hang up, isn’t it?”

“Barely? Such decorations are a piece of cake, hundreds of them.”

“Come on. There was sweat on your forehead, you know?”

I exchanged jokes with him while looking at the townhouse that had suddenly become splendid.

The awkwardness from yesterday’s incident had also disappeared due to the preparations for welcoming guests.

“Then, my lady, please wipe it off.”

“Alright, let me see your forehead.”

I tapped his forehead gently with a handkerchief.

Of course, even though the awkwardness had disappeared, it was inevitable that his lips looked more prominent than before.

‘They look especially moist today.’

It seems the mint leaf cream he made himself had an effect.

The swelling had gone down and his lips had a sheen to them.

In contrast, my lips were still swollen since the herbs didn’t have any effect on me.

It feels like there’s still some heat left too.

Maybe that’s why yesterday’s events keep coming to mind. Once the swelling goes down, perhaps I won’t think about yesterday anymore.

“Is there a lot of sweat?”

He opened his eyes, which he had gently closed, and asked.

I, who had been lost in thought without realizing how close our faces had become, flinched and took a step back.

“Ah, no. It seems to have dried up already.”

He smiled slightly and moved away.

“The guest will be arriving soon.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Is there anything I should be careful about?”

Hertian had been asking this repeatedly.

If there was anything he should be careful about or pay attention to.

“As long as you don’t talk about family matters, it’s fine.”

Even I, his longtime friend, met him for the first time. He seems worried about possibly offending him.

“Can I speak freely about other topics?”

“Of course. Cassian is a very open person as long as it’s not about family matters. Unlike me who’s all closed off, he has a lot to learn from, is kind, and very considerate.”

There were circumstances that prevented us from meeting, but Cassian is truly a good person.

“I hope you and Hertian can become good friends too.”

He smiled brightly.

“I would like to have a friend too. When I first saw your letter back then, I felt that this person was genuinely sincere.”

A bright smile poured out.

“Right? Whenever I read the letters, I always feel at ease. You can feel that every single word wasn’t written carelessly, but with consideration for the person reading the letter.”

I was glad he recognized how good a person Cassian is.

“Did you talk a lot about the letters when you met in person?”

However, I couldn’t readily answer “Yes!” to that question.

In reality, I didn’t feel the gentleness from the letters when I met Cassian in person.

He was being considerate of me, but his eyes looked somewhat tired.

‘Am I being oversensitive? Michael might be tired because of family issues.’

“Hearing you speak like that, I’m looking forward to today’s meeting too. I’m certain he’ll be a good person.”

Somehow, Hertian seems even more excited than me.

The way he’s shrugging his shoulders and all.

“Are you that pleased?”

“I only have one precious friend, so.”

He smiled at me as he said that.

Come to think of it, Hertian didn’t have many friends he frequently associated with either.

He probably only had friends from when he was younger and living in exile at the Grand Duke’s residence. Even then, it didn’t seem like he kept in touch with them often.

The precious friend he’s talking about must be Eleanor.

“Your Grace, Michael, the young marquis, has arrived outside.”

Just then, the townhouse’s resident butler announced that the guest had arrived.

“I hope you gain one more precious friend today.”

Hertian closed his eyes tightly with his hands behind his back, then opened them.

As if suggesting that someone precious to me would be precious to him as well.

I liked this expression of Hertian’s.

I thought that today’s meeting with Michael would be much better than before.

Not knowing what was about to unfold.