“……No, Lady Stevain will certainly not sit idly by.”

Stevain Yeongshik was the sole heir to the Stevain Ducal family.

And Lady Stevain was a socialite who wielded significant influence. Her scrutiny was severe. She had no faith that Adel would make a suitable match. However, Stevain Yeongshik was still attached to the comfort of his mother’s skirts, so he had a childish side.

‘What if he actually decides to marry Adel…’

Lady Stevain would have swiftly taken care of Adel, dismissing her as a commoner without a second thought.

“Stevain Yeongshik will attend the party hosted by his mother. And he will hold hands with Duchess Calipso, not Adel. Only then will Adel realize the truth. The truth that you’ve been constantly telling her.”

At Benjamin’s almost cruelly certain prediction, Yurisien could not utter a single word.

They had been happy just being together, the four of them. Yurisien did not want to lose any of them, so she had given up on Adel, who kept refusing to understand despite being told multiple times.

[No, Edna said so. That there’s nothing between me and Stevain Yeongshik!] [Edna is just playing games with you. Wake up, look and listen. The only one who doesn’t know about the engagement talks between them is you!] [Please, Yuri! I’m really thankful to you. Always thankful. For playing with someone like me. For including me. For letting me speak freely and seek advice from you, someone as great as a Windsor and a princess. It’s unimaginable. So I know it’s only natural for you to ignore me like this.] [Adel… What are you saying, why would I ignore you? I really…!] [Think we’re friends? But listen, Yuri. If you really think of me as a friend… just say you hate me if you hate me. Don’t try to ditch me with such petty tricks.]

Unable to say another word before the crying Adel, Yurisien was silent.

Yurisien knew best what Adel ultimately wished for. That’s why she had initially kept her distance. But as they spent more time together, as they shared more stories, she couldn’t help but become fond of her.

‘I couldn’t let her be ridiculed by Edna and Yeriel.’

But this was clearly hypocrisy. She had told Edna and Yeriel not to mock Adel multiple times, but it was all just talk.

[Why, it’s fun.] [Adel should know, right? That’s why she suggests shopping every time she meets us.] [Right. She wears whatever she wants, has whatever she wants, always saying it’s a sign of friendship.] [Because she knows we never wear the matching outfits we agreed on.] [Exactly. How can she? They overlap with others. And her taste is just poor.]

Edna and Yeriel always responded like this to Yurisien, who tried to stop them.

Caught between them, Yurisien was at a loss. She knew well that the allowance from Edna and Yeriel made Adel’s life as luxurious as that of a quasi-noble. That’s why it was difficult to act decisively.

[Finally, it feels like I’m living like a human!]

Because Adel, laughing and saying such things, weighed on her mind. Moreover, because the Calipso Ducal family and the Gelda Count family had long maintained a close relationship with the Windsor Ducal family, she couldn’t easily sever the friendship between the four of them.

Benjamin, seeing Yurisien unable to utter a single word, tilted his head. The freshly grown grass in the garden was very peaceful.

“Human relationships are tough.”

Benjamin murmured softly. Hearing his voice, Yurisien took a sip of her tea. She muttered a question.

“You’ve surrounded yourself with your people, haven’t you, Your Highness?”

Even in isolation at the temple. Yurisien swallowed the rest of her sentence and looked at him. Benjamin, after a moment of thought, snickered.

“Not really?”

“But that man.”
Leaning against a tree near Yurisien, a man yawned while resting his head on his palm covered with a glove.

“Coperador Guild member, aren’t you?”

By now, Benjamin knew what Coperador meant. Benjamin’s elite force, a secret power. Someone belonging to such a place couldn’t possibly not be Benjamin’s man. However, Benjamin smiled even more deeply and responded.

“But he’s not my man.”

“Then…?”

Upon Yurisien’s query, Benjamin stretched in his seat and snapped his fingers to call Ivan. Believed to be dozing, Ivan discerned the silent summons incredibly and descended.

“Why?”

Despite his walk resembling someone highly trained, it was oddly slack. It looked as if a swaying cat’s tail could be seen dropping below.

“Ivan, who do you follow?”

At Benjamin’s question, Ivan’s gray eyebrows flickered. The sheer irreverence in his black pupils troubled Yurisien. How could someone show such insolence in front of the Crown Prince?

‘Really not the Crown Prince’s man?’

Ivan hesitantly opened his mouth, observing Yurisien who was internally startled.

“Michel Sieron.”

“Only him?”

“Only him.”

Ivan responded, curling his cat-like eyes even more fiercely, as if questioning why it needed to be confirmed. Benjamin chuckled briefly, beckoned Ivan with his chin, and looked at Yurisien.

“Heard that?”