“Huh? Are you mocking me?”

“Yes, Your father. I saw him in such a helpless state for the first time.”

“She doesn’t seem to be such a filial daughter. It seems my father enjoys being in distress when I see him like that.”

“That’s right.”

Sesenia calmly poured tea into two cups in front of me. The sound of the pouring water was so quiet that even a rustling sound couldn’t be heard. As the white tea cups were filled with tea, Sesenia placed them in front of the Crown Prince.

“Among those who have seen the Crown Prince, you are the first to be so relaxed.”

“Do I look relaxed? I’m in a very tense state.”

“Is that so?”

The Crown Prince’s gaze swept over Sesenia. It was not because Sesenia was tense seeing him for the first time. It was anger. The anger that he couldn’t kill that human right away, the anger towards himself.

It was something that happened in the past, and he thought it would be fine if he took revenge, but it wasn’t.

It was different from when he saw Elzair. The anger had built up. It was annoying to see him with a curious expression, looking at himself as if he were interested.

‘He didn’t act like this in the past.’

Because Sesenia had to forcibly engage with the Crown Prince due to Elzair’s declaration of fasting, Sesenia had to engage with the Crown Prince even though he didn’t want to. At that time, they got engaged without even seeing each other’s faces. An engagement made without any love, affection, or interest.

Every time she met the Crown Prince as his fiancée, Sesenia was always stiff. The Crown Prince didn’t like that.

In addition, when Elzair, who was originally expected to be engaged, made a splendid debut in society and received attention from people, the Crown Prince often became annoyed.

The fact that he had a useless woman by his side, with such a fine woman, bothered him.

Moreover, people said that the Crown Prince, who welcomed Sesenia as his fiancée, was foolish in comparison to the wise Elzair. All the repercussions came back to Sesenia.

Since the beginning was like that, the middle and the end weren’t good either.

But now it was different.

In the past, the Crown Prince didn’t like Sesenia even though he saw her, but now he looked at Sesenia with interest.

‘Gross.’

Just receiving that gaze made her feel as if bugs were crawling all over her body. That man who thought of a woman as just a plaything, and with only the reason of being born from noble blood, thought of other people as no more than stones on the street, was so hateful.

‘Endure. I have to endure.’

Sesenia raised her head, trying to suppress the emotions she had to force.

“Do you have anything to say?”

To eliminate the unpleasant gaze that was directed at her, Sesenia smiled forcibly and turned the topic.

“Do you have anything to say…”

“You were looking at me too closely.”

“Oh. That’s different from what I heard in the rumors.”

“Was I someone worth spreading rumors about?”
“Interesting. Do I not even know rumors about myself?”

“Well, I don’t really care about such things. How am I portrayed?”

As Sesenia continued talking out of sudden curiosity, he nodded as if amused.

“No need to be curious. Your appearance is so charming that it might not be understandable through those rumors.”

The Crown Prince, tongue gliding over his lips, scanned her body with interest, as if inspecting prey. He felt an immediate desire to run his hands all over her body like sprinkling salt.

How can someone’s gaze be so cheap? Sesenia forced a smile.

“Why do you act like that? I thought I would be doing well recently because of what I’ve done.”

“Well, someone spread vicious rumors. Foolish, greedy, ugly compared to my sister, and unable to participate in society due to lack of refinement. Such rumors, you know?”

“Are these recent rumors?”

“Yes, because no one cared about your existence before, it’s recent rumors. But those rumors spread strangely fast, so I thought they might be true until I came here. Even now, I didn’t expect much…”

“It seems you quite like me.”

Sesenia looked at him with a wry smile.

“Of course.”

“But, Your Highness. Are there not many who like you?”

At the words that hit home, Prince Helbert’s expression stiffened.

“What did you say? Are you saying that I’m now talking nonsense, flirting with all kinds of women? Is that what you’re saying to me, who is now the Crown Prince?”

“Is that not the case?”

“Heh. Are you saying that now, I’m not attractive, but foolish? Or perhaps, you’re unaware of your own position. Or, is it that you think you’re a noble just because you’re the Crown Prince’s fiancée?”

As if poking a sore spot, Prince Helbert made a cracking sound. It was a loud enough voice for the knights who were keeping a distance due to the prince’s order to quickly move their bodies.

“You’re really arrogant.”

“Your Highness.”

“Why.”

“Aren’t you going to become the Emperor of the Empire? So, I was just asking if you have many who like you as the future Emperor. That’s all.”

Sesenia smiled, looking like she genuinely didn’t know anything.

“What nonsense is this?”