“Why emphasize so much that you like women?”

“Sorry for carelessly spreading unconfirmed rumors. I apologize, Your Highness.”

It seemed that receiving the misunderstanding of being associated with the color blue had left him feeling uncomfortable. I quickly sought forgiveness, and Cahillen chuckled.

“I guess you couldn’t tell by looking at that face.”

“What?”

“You seem observant, but not at all.”

Cahillen chuckled.

Though I had been irritated by his scrutinizing gaze, I couldn’t refute. If it had been Kahl rather than Cahillen, I would have received a direct challenge.

‘Never imagined the day would come when I miss that guy.’

“What are you thinking that makes you sigh like that?”

Oh, I didn’t even realize I sighed. Quickly realizing my embarrassment in the disappointing situation, I promptly apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

“Not only is it unpleasant when you’re lost in thought in front of me.”

Cahillen glanced at me with a dissatisfied expression and continued.

“You’ve been in a stiff attitude since earlier.”

Cahillen’s face now was different from when he was with Kahl. Still, it was inevitable for the attitude to change, right? How could it be the same?

Even though I warned him that I would stab him in the back, how could he be so indifferent!

“Ah.”

Cahillen sighed as if he understood. Then he grinned teasingly.

“Well, I did say I was going to play the role of a spy, so it’s natural for me to be suspicious.”

“…”

Darn it.

‘I wouldn’t have faced such trouble if you hadn’t deceived me.’

I felt resentful, but there was nothing I could do.

Thinking about why Cahillen went to such lengths to deceive me, there was only one answer. This man also intended to extract information about Floria from me.

Reflecting on the past when I trusted Kahl, I regretted my negligence and foolishness. However, considering that he even suggested going to the Second Prince’s palace together, how could I have been more suspicious?

Wait a moment. Come to think of it, when we first met in front of the mansion, he wasn’t acting as a court lady but came to investigate and happened to run into me, right? If it weren’t for this man, I wouldn’t have gone through such trouble!

‘Why did he persistently spy on me even though he’s not a court lady?’

Gazing at Cahillen with resentment, our eyes met. I quickly relaxed my eyes and blinked.

“…It seems Your Highness might be misunderstanding me.”

I cleared my throat and put down the cutlery.

Since the water had already spilled, and there was no way to put it back, I had to somehow recover the overturned glass. I decided to apologize.

“Misunderstanding?”

“When I mentioned it before, it was because… I found it embarrassing to talk about admiring you.”

Darn it. It was more pathetic than when I stuttered about my reasons for joining the First Prince’s palace.

“Admiring you, not showing any interest in the First Prince?”

“Not at all.”

Why did I firmly deny it at that time?
However, I had to persist. This seemed to be the best excuse I could offer.

“Besides, at that time, I thought Your Highness was the Second Prince’s servant, so I couldn’t be more honest.”

“I see.”

Regardless of what I retorted, I had firmly decided to push through, but Cahillen simply nodded without saying anything.

“Well, I’ve heard crazy or lunatic comments around me all the time, so I was a bit hurt.”

Cahillen raised his hand to his left chest, raising his eyebrows.

“That was all affection towards me.”

“Ah, yes, that’s…”

“Affection might be expressed quite roughly, but that’s okay. I like rough things.”

“…”

…Is this guy playing with me?

I gazed at Cahillen, who leaned his chin on the table with his elbow, looking somewhat pleased. His smiling face looked like a satisfied cat.

Though he might not believe a single word I said, judging by the strangely content expression, he probably wouldn’t draw his sword right away. Of course, I couldn’t guarantee when that face might turn cold.

Recalling the description of Cahillen in the original work, I looked at him with a trembling head.

Come to think of it, the First Prince in the original work wasn’t such a gentle character, right? That was one of the reasons why I didn’t think Cahillen and the First Prince were the same person.

“Lost in thought again.”

Cahillen’s voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts. As he joined in, he stared at me with a clenched fist.

“How can you be lost in thought when someone you like is sitting right in front of you? Hmm?”

Though their faces were identical, in a moment, the temperature suddenly dropped. This ability alone confirmed the Second Prince.

“What… I’m just not feeling well because of the thought of being with Your Highness from tomorrow.”

“Really. Actually, I’m quite excited too. I’m looking forward to how you’ll try to seduce me.”

He was casually narrating something that wasn’t happening. However, given the various vulnerabilities I had, I couldn’t argue.

Simply thinking of the steak as Cahillen, I weakly retaliated with my fork. Ah…

‘I didn’t expect him to be so pleased with my strange revenge.’