Reniel’s words surprised the head servant inwardly.

“It’s strange. The room is oddly dirty, as if you thought Lord Thanasis would not return.”

Reniel said this while examining not only under the lamp but other places as well.

The real Thanasis would have noticed such things immediately.

Perhaps he would have realized it as soon as he arrived here.

The fact that he didn’t notice the room was oddly dirty was because Reniel was in the same space.

“Head servant.”

Soon Thanasis followed where her gaze rested and then called the head servant.

“Did you think I wouldn’t come back?”

“What? No, that’s…!”

“Why? Did someone say I was dead again?”

Thanasis was coldly angry.

From the beginning, he knew he had no one of his own in this crown prince’s palace.

However, what angered him now was that Reniel had noticed it.

He thought at least they pretended to obey him, but to be humiliated like this in front of Reniel.

That made his anger boil to an unbearable degree.

But if he showed this side in front of Reniel, it would be difficult to imprint.

He thought it would be difficult to fulfill Reniel’s wish to spend the first night with someone she loved, but he didn’t want to take her by force.

He didn’t want to show more unfavorable sides to the person he would see for life.

“Your Highness…! I’m sorry! Please have mercy…!”

“I don’t need you. The head servant is fired.”

“Your Highness!”

“Why don’t you go to Jeiren?”

Thanasis said this and gestured. As if to leave.

The servants who had prepared the food left, looking at the head servant. The head servant immediately knelt down and put his head on the floor.

“Please, forgive me.”

“Why should I?”

Meanwhile, Thanasis tried to pull out a chair for Reniel. However, Reniel didn’t understand this and pulled out the opposite chair to sit down.

Seeing her not understand his intention to pull out her chair and pull out her own chair to sit, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

He was quite used to her acting like this now.

“How long are you going to stay like that? Didn’t you hear me tell you to get out?”

Thanasis was very cold to the head servant prostrating at his feet and begging.

That was natural. It wasn’t the first time he had endangered Thanasis while being inside as Princess Jeiren’s spy.

It was natural to seize the opportunity and drive him out.

Until now, it had been difficult to drive him out because there was no proper excuse, but if his attitude was as if he didn’t expect the master to return, he could naturally be driven out.

“I just didn’t know when Your Highness would return…”

“Strange? I remember that even when I went on a tour of local territories, the room always had to be kept clean for the master who might return unexpectedly?”

Thanasis said this while pushing the soup towards Reniel.

Reniel realized she should eat that first and picked up the spoon.

“But this time…!”

“Shut up and get out! Don’t disturb our meal.”

When Thanasis shouted as if he couldn’t bear it anymore, the head servant reluctantly got up.

“I, I’ll be outside the door. Until Your Highness’s anger subsides…”

“Do you think I can control my strength if I see you when I step out the door? I’m barely holding back my anger even now.”

Thanasis was indirectly saying that he might burn him to death. The head servant, terrified by those words, trembled but still.

“Even so, I’ll be, outside the door…”

Then he quickly went out the door and knelt down. Soon the knights tactfully closed the door.

As the door closed, the room became very quiet.

“Eat.”

“Ah, yes.”

Reniel, who had been frozen with the spoon in her hand, came to her senses at Thanasis’s words and scooped up the soup.

“Mmm…”

“Hey, let it cool. You’ll burn the roof of your mouth.”

Thanasis thought Reniel was careless for putting the steaming hot soup in her mouth prematurely.

He unconsciously got up from his seat and held a napkin to her mouth. As if telling her to spit it out if it’s too hot.

“Th, thank you.”

However, Reniel swallowed the soup as if it was fine. Then her eyes widened in surprise at the taste.

“Oh my.”

“The main dish might be a bit lacking compared to Duke Le Pelique’s mansion, but the soup and appetizers should be similar.”

Thanasis said this and sat down, resting his chin on his hand.

“It’s so delicious.”

“I’m sure. It must be even more of a comparison after eating that trash food earlier.”

Thanasis dismissed the food from the inn as trash and looked at Reniel as if bored.

“Aren’t you eating, Your Highness?”

He pulled out the silver needle he was carrying and then used his ability to light it on fire. Then he extinguished it and poked the soup Reniel had eaten.

“No poison.”

“…Don’t you usually do that before eating?”

“Usually, they don’t put poison in what the person eating with me eats. They put it in mine.”

“Why?”

“So that you can be framed as the culprit, and they can hold a trial to eliminate you for the crime of killing me?”

Thanasis knew this well from having experienced it several times.

The person who dined with him had to become the culprit, so they absolutely don’t put poison in their food.

In the first place, since it came out as a course meal, it wasn’t difficult to designate the target.

Thanasis said this and poked his own dish with the silver needle as well.

He confirmed that even that didn’t change. Reniel was still not eating, as if watching his reaction.

He realized that for her to gain some weight and become healthier, he should at least pretend to eat well, so he picked up his utensils.

“What did you just do?”

Thanasis made the utensils very hot and then removed the heat.

“Disinfection?”

And he picked up the spoon and carelessly scooped up some soup.

He didn’t want to eat, but he couldn’t not eat because she was rolling her eyes again.

He put a croissant from nearby on his plate and elegantly cut and ate it, while Reniel watched him as if enchanted.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Eat yours too.”

“No. It’s… It might be disrespectful to say this, but I suddenly felt strongly that Your Highness is the crown prince.”

“What are you talking about?”

He smiled pleasantly, though puzzled.

He could understand why she felt that way.

Until now, she had only seen him in a wretched state, trapped in the secret room, so it was natural for her to be surprised.

He used tongs to put a croissant on her plate as well. Then she stabbed the croissant with a fork and dipped it in the soup.

“Where did you learn that? Your table manners are a mess.”

“Is that so? We often did this when dining among servants.”

Reniel seemed to realize for the first time that this was against table manners and tried to pull out the fork. But Thanasis picked up the croissant with a fork just like her.

“Like this?”

Then he dipped it in the soup just as Reniel had done.

“Is it delicious to eat like this?”

“Try it.”

He brought it to his mouth after she ate first. Then he bit into it gently.

The soup and croissant blended exquisitely in his mouth, creating a nice flavor.

“It’s delicious.”

Then he carelessly put it back down on the plate.

“It’s delicious… why aren’t you eating more?”

“I don’t have much appetite originally.”

He said this, but seeing her watching his reaction again, he dipped the bread in the soup once more and roughly pushed it into his mouth.

Thanasis found this situation strange as well.

Usually, he didn’t taste food that much. He would have just eaten moderately if it wasn’t bothersome.

But eating with Reniel, it seemed quite tasty.

At first, he started eating forcefully, but afterwards, he was eating the same way as Reniel, watching her eat.

Still, Thanasis got full first.

He was already full and tired of the food before the main course came out.

Knock knock.

Soon, another servant tactfully entered, took away the soup bowls and used utensils, set up the main course, and left.

As that servant was leaving, Reniel noticed the head servant still kneeling.

Then the door closed again.

“By the way. Is it true that I can become the head maid if I do well?”

“Yes, do you have something you want to do?”

Thanasis couldn’t help but smile again as he saw her expression brighten as she smelled the veal steak.

“I’m not sure. But I like always having such goals. I couldn’t become the head servant at Duke Le Pelique’s mansion. I must become the head maid here.”

She decided this and started cutting the steak.

“Shall I cut it for you?”

“No, it’s fine.”

Thanasis was about to cut it for her but left her to do as she pleased.

He was enjoying this time.

Even though there was a mountain of things to do.

He should discuss the first night with her and say he would spend the night, but he was strangely relaxed.

He was acting as if there was no need to hurry yet. And this unfamiliar side of himself was strangely odd.

****

After the meal, as per Thanasis’s order, Reniel was to spend some time and come to his bedroom when night fell.

So she bathed first and fell asleep while waiting in his room.

“Don’t resent me too much.”

Reniel opened her eyes at the voice coming from somewhere. Perhaps because her body trembled at the unfamiliar man’s voice, her reaction was slow.

The moment she tried to turn around towards the voice coming from behind her, someone struck Reniel’s head hard.

Thud!

“Ah…”

With the strong impact, she lost consciousness right away.