“It’s morning.”

While in his arms, Roxiana muttered. Floyd brushed away her messy hair and said:

“Shall we depart tomorrow?”

“No. Let’s leave today… Ugh!”

As Roxiana tried to get up, she groaned at the pain felt throughout her body. Floyd wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close as he whispered:

“We can leave tomorrow, Roxy.”

“No, we can’t. We can’t delay our schedule because of this. It will already take a long time since we’ll be searching for Ranian along the way.”

“Because of this? Is spending the night with me just ‘this’?”

“That’s not what I meant… You know that’s not it.”

Roxiana lightly hit Floyd’s shoulder. He grinned as he sat up.

“The princess is famous for her stubbornness. Alright, I’ll call a maid so you can get a massage before we leave. Around noon.”

She couldn’t take her eyes off his back as he got out of bed. It was dark last night and they were constantly together, so she hadn’t noticed, but the sight before her eyes was marvelously impressive.

From his broad shoulders to his muscular back and firm thighs.

She couldn’t believe she had been in such a physique all night long.

“You’re staring too much. Should I get back in bed and hold you again?”

He asked, picking up his clothes and pretending to throw them away. Roxiana’s face turned bright red as she pulled up the blanket defensively and nodded.

He grinned as he put on his clothes.

“Tell me if you’re not feeling well. Don’t overdo it.”

After confirming Roxiana’s nod, Floyd left the bedroom and met eyes with Robert standing in the hallway. Robert glanced at Floyd’s disheveled hair and clothes, then looked away pretending not to have seen.

Petria, who was walking down the hallway to start her morning duties, also saw Floyd’s disheveled appearance. Petria blushed and lowered her head, then as soon as Floyd disappeared, she ran to Robert and whispered:

“Did, did His Highness spend all night with the princess…?”

When Robert nodded slightly, Petria cupped her cheeks and stamped her feet.

“Oh my, oh my.”

Watching Petria make a fuss, Robert thought to himself.

That’s right, what’s going on? Our princess, who still looks like a child in my eyes, has already grown up.

“No, this isn’t the time. What, what should I do? Ah, right. Oil. Oil massage. And… What else should I do, Sir Chenare?”

How would I know what to do?

Robert was perplexed, and that bewilderment turned his ears red. Seeing his pure reaction unbefitting his age, Petria was startled, her eyes widening before her own face turned bright red.

“Oh my, I’m sorry. I don’t know much… I shouldn’t have asked Sir Chenare. I’ll go in then.”

Petria grabbed the doorknob but hesitated and turned to look at Robert.

What now?

“Um… Is it okay to go in?”

Robert, not wanting to discuss the princess’s first night with a much younger maid, quickly nodded. Only after Petria entered the room and closed the door did Robert lean against the wall with a sigh of relief.

+++

“Princess, are you awake?”

Hearing Petria’s voice from outside the bedroom door, Roxiana pulled the blanket up to her neck. She hadn’t noticed when Floyd was here, but after he left, she saw that his marks remained all over her body.

She didn’t want anyone to see, but she couldn’t keep hiding in the bedroom either. There was a schedule today and she didn’t want to postpone it.

“Petria, I… I’m a bit…”

“Yes, yes. It’s alright. The bath is already prepared, and I’ve called a discreet and skilled maid. We’ll wait outside, so please call us when you’re finished.”

Roxiana got out of bed, deeply grateful for her perceptive maid’s consideration.

“Ugh…”

Her whole body ached as if she had been beaten. Especially her back and thighs felt like they were being stabbed with knives at the slightest movement.

She didn’t want anyone to see, but it seemed she would need that massage.

As she immersed her body in the warm water of the bathtub, the pain subsided a little. As the pain faded, all of last night’s activities came to mind, making her face flush hot. Recalling how she had clung to his neck, she lost confidence in facing him again.

‘What have I done…?’

Even though she hadn’t done anything wrong since they were engaged, the embarrassment wouldn’t go away. It was the same when she received a massage from the skilled maid, and when she changed into travel clothes with Petria’s assistance.

So even when noon came and she approached the waiting people after finishing travel preparations, she couldn’t raise her head, feeling as if everyone knew about last night.

In reality, the knights had different thoughts as they watched Roxiana approach with her head lowered.

‘Is the princess feeling unwell?’

‘She probably doesn’t want to go to Gania. With only those damnable people there…’

‘Still, she came this far after steeling her heart. She’s truly amazing.’

‘I must protect the princess with all my heart and soul.’

‘I should kill Lucas. To abandon such a princess… No, perhaps it’s fortunate? Thanks to that bastard abandoning her, our lord was able to get engaged to the princess.’

Roxiana took Floyd’s hand and boarded the carriage, and only after the carriage door closed could she raise her head and breathe. Floyd smiled as he looked at Roxiana wearing a dress that went up to her neck.

“Why are you all bundled up like that?”

When Roxiana glared at him without answering, Floyd pulled down the edge of his shirt with his finger and said:

“I’m quite proud.”

There were red bite marks on his shoulder.

“Th-that…?”

“You left these last night.”

“I…!”

Roxiana, who hadn’t realized in the heat of the moment, let out a small scream and rushed towards him. Due to the carriage starting to move, she ended up sitting on his lap, but without even realizing it, she focused on carefully buttoning up his shirt.

Floyd watched her lovingly, then wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close as he said:

“We won’t stop for the next 4 hours…”

He took her hand that was buttoning his shirt and kissed the back of it.

“And the carriage is spacious.”

Realizing what he was saying, Roxiana quickly pulled her hand away and said:

“I’m going to start looking for Ranian now.”

“We haven’t even left Selshar City yet, you know?”

“What about you? We haven’t even left Selshar City and you want to… do such things… in the carriage?”

“So it’s okay once we leave Selshar City?”

“Wh-what is?”

“Such things.”

“No. I’m going to look for Ranian.”

Floyd wrinkled his nose. Seeing his mischievous gaze, Roxiana realized he had been teasing her.

“You’re truly ridiculous.”

“I could become even more ridiculous, so don’t provoke me. When you glare at me like that, I want to devour you.”

Floyd laughed heartily as he watched Roxiana tightly close her mouth and avoid his gaze.

+++

Elise laughed loudly. Then she abruptly stopped laughing and glared at Madam Histin.

“Are you saying this because you suspect me?”

“Suspect you? I’m merely stating the facts. After His Highness left, the fan from this room disappeared.”

“That’s the same thing. Besides, didn’t you say this room had a reservation? I don’t know who came after me, but wouldn’t that person have taken it?”

“There was a reservation, but since that person canceled, the room was empty until we cleaned it at night.”

Elise was perplexed.

The fan Elise had given to Madam Histin was worth 150 gold, so she thought the fan in this room would be that expensive too. But the money Ranian brought was only 25 gold.

Since Ranian wouldn’t deceive her, it meant the fan was worth only 25 gold.

She couldn’t be held back because of such a fan.

“Madam, you don’t think I would have touched that measly fan out of greed, do you? I’m the crown princess. I’m about to become the most precious woman in this country.”

“Of course I know that. I was just upset about the fan disappearing and mentioned it to Your Highness, but now I feel uncomfortable since you got angry thinking you were being suspected.”

Seeing a slight wrinkle form between Madam Histin’s brows, Elise realized her mistake. Due to her bewilderment, she hadn’t considered Madam Histin’s feelings. She still needed to maintain a good relationship with Madam Histin.

“I’m sorry, Madam. Everyone’s trying to find fault with me, so I get sensitive when things like this happen.”

“No, Your Highness. You’ve fallen out of the Queen’s favor, and you’re working tirelessly even though you’re with child. How could you not feel that way? You must be anxious, and I spoke unnecessarily. Please just pretend you didn’t hear this.”

“Yes, that would be best.”

Madam Histin smiled faintly as if nothing had happened and picked up the teapot to pour tea into Elise’s cup. Her gaze briefly touched Elise’s face before falling away.

Madam Histin poured tea into her own cup as well, speaking as if in passing:

“By the way, Atanta City will be bustling soon.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t you know? The Duke of Ratean from Torkan is coming soon. Since Torkan is a wealthy country, when Torkan people come to Gania, they’ll spend an enormous amount of money. The merchants are already busy preparing to welcome the Torkan people.”

The Duke of Ratean is coming.

Elise had no idea about this fact.

Even if she had been too exhausted to pay attention to other things after returning from working at the relief center, it didn’t make sense that she knew nothing about a state visit. Even commoners knew about this, but Elise alone was unaware.

Realizing her isolated situation once again, Elise almost burst into tears.