Cal stared at me with his chin tucked. Somehow, I slightly averted my eyes from his piercing gaze.

“First, the content of the request is guaranteed to be kept confidential, right?”

“Of course. No guild keeps clients’ requests as perfectly confidential as ours. Even if it were to be my master.”

Seeing Cal’s face that seemed to say not to worry needlessly and just spit it out, I hesitated for a moment before opening my mouth. Anyway, there was nowhere else to make a request.

“I think I’ll be going to the First Prince’s Palace soon.”

“Is that so? Too bad. You’re going to that crazy bastard you don’t even want to associate with.”

What’s with this spiteful tone?

As I looked at him quizzically, Cal tilted his chin as if telling me to continue.

“But as you know, the First Prince’s temperament is not just ordinarily nasty. So I want to know about him in advance. Wouldn’t that make palace life a little easier?”

Knowing your enemy and yourself leads to victory in every battle, after all.

“What kind of things do you want to know?”

Even though I came here having made up my mind, it was somehow awkward to speak in front of this man. After closing my mouth for a moment, I finally continued speaking under his gaze urging me to hurry up and talk.

“…First, I want to know what the First Prince’s preferences are.”

Floria had said some sugary words about how I could work as a lady-in-waiting rather than a maid if I went to the First Prince’s Palace, but that was only possible if he ordered it.

It was obvious that he would ask me why I suddenly came to become a palace servant.

I heard that the First Prince was so sharp-minded that even the king couldn’t handle him as he pleased, matching his physical abilities.

If I said I still hated Floria and came to stand on the opposite side of her, there was a higher chance he wouldn’t believe it. Then there was only one excuse left.

‘To say that I came to admire him.’

Since I had often encountered him visiting Princess Isola recently, it would rather make sense to say I had fallen for him at some point.

Nothing justifies absurd actions as much as affection. Of course, I couldn’t avoid suspicion of intentionally approaching him, but there was no other way.

So I first intend to try to match his preferences. If I don’t want to be stabbed right after confessing, it’s better to have at least something he likes.

‘Though I can’t guarantee he’ll like it.’

“Preferences… What kind of preferences are you talking about? Swords? Food? Or hobbies?”

Cal asked, stretching his lips. Judging by his expression, he clearly understood what I wanted while teasing me.

“Wo.men.pre.fer.ences.”

Already feeling terribly anxious, I spoke syllable by syllable at his amused face that made me heat up.

“Didn’t you say before that you had no desire to meet the prince?”

“I told you I think I’ll be going to the First Prince’s Palace. To become a lady-in-waiting, I need to please him.”

“You haven’t developed an interest in the First Prince, have you?”

“Not at all.”

As I cut him off, Cal chuckled. Then he crossed his arms and tilted his head.

“Why are you suddenly trying to go to the First Prince’s Palace?”

“That’s…”

I pondered how to answer. Even if this man was on Floria’s side, I couldn’t tell him everything honestly.

Besides, telling the truth to Floria’s follower would only make him suspicious of me. I answered plainly, without beating around the bush.

“I want to be of help to Lady Floria.”

“What do you mean?”

“The succession battle will start in earnest soon, so if I’m in the First Prince’s Palace, wouldn’t I be able to extract some information?”

“You’re having dangerous thoughts.”

“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for Lady Floria. She forgave me for acting so terribly foolish, so I need to do something to repay her kindness. Of course, Lady Bi doesn’t know about this.”

I added the last clause just in case.

“That’s loyalty unparalleled in this world.”

Cal nodded briskly.

“Alright. I’ll accept that request.”

“Really?”

“It’s for Lady Bi’s sake, how could I refuse?”

Cal continued, tilting his head.

“Finding out about the First Prince is incomparable to mere catalog delivery, but since our mistake caused a request to fail before, we won’t charge an additional fee.”

What, why is this person being conscientious for once?

In fact, since it was a request, I was prepared to use up all my assets, so it was welcome news.

When he nodded towards the back, Marchi brought the contract. I immediately signed without further thought.

‘Whew. It went more smoothly than I thought. Thank goodness.’

Just in case, I had asked Silvia to send the guards to the bookstore if there was no contact within two hours, but it was an unnecessary worry.

‘Come to think of it, he doesn’t seem that bad.’

Thanks to him, I even learned about the first queen. Suddenly feeling grateful, I looked at Cal, and he frowned at the corners of his eyes.

“Why are you looking at me so lecherously?”

“……..”

He’s just a bit unpleasant. Unable to stab someone with a fork, I stabbed the strawberry cake instead. Scooping up a heaping forkful of cake as much as I was annoyed, I put it in my mouth and immediately covered it with my hand.

‘What is this strange taste?!’

Why does the cake taste like mint?!

I frowned at the indescribable combination of flavors lingering in my mouth. Seeing my expression, Marchi nodded as if he had expected it.

“As I thought. It would be better to reconsider acquiring that bakery.”

“Hmm.”

Cal nodded briefly while drinking his coffee.

‘You, you damned guys!’

Come to think of it, the cream cake had completely moved to my side. As I glared at them trembling, Cal raised his eyes as if asking what the problem was.

‘I take back saying he doesn’t seem that bad, you bastard!’

After painfully swallowing the cake, I stood up abruptly.

“Then I’ll be going now.”

I greeted him with trembling lips and was about to turn away without lingering when Cal stopped me.

“Aren’t you hungry? It’s past lunchtime.”

“No. I ate cake until I was full.”

As soon as I retorted sarcastically, my stomach growled like in a drama. I wonder if this man is somehow cursed. Otherwise, there’s no way such embarrassing things would keep happening.

“Your body is honest, unlike your mouth.”

“……”

“There’s a pretty good restaurant nearby. It’ll be much better than where you were sitting across from some guy last time.”

The restaurant Cal brought me to was not just good, but quite excellent. I forgot my reluctance in coming and focused on eating the food.

“You came along with a reluctant face. Is it delicious?”

At Cal’s words mixed with laughter, I came to my senses and cleared my throat in embarrassment.

“Hmm. It’s alright.”

“I guess this is what they mean by being full just by looking. You’re eating so well in front of me that it seems like you don’t need to eat.”

“…Are you teasing me?”

“You know it.”

“Just hurry up and eat.”

At my words, Cal picked up a piece of steak. The way he put the large cut piece in his mouth in one bite was not clumsy at all, but neat.

I sometimes see royalty eating, but Cal was not at all inferior in comparison. Rather, he was so effortlessly elegant that I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

He raised his eyes slightly and stretched his lips.

“Why. Can’t take your eyes off me because I’m handsome?”

“…Just eat.”

He seems fine but then… As I shook my head, Cal asked in a casual tone.

“I’m curious about something.”

“Go ahead.”

“You said you’ll match his preferences to enter the First Prince’s Palace as a lady-in-waiting.”

“Yes.”

“What if the First Prince really likes you?”

The steak got stuck in my throat and I choked. Cal handed me a glass of water. Only after emptying two glasses in succession did I finally calm down and looked at him with an expression that said what nonsense are you talking about.

“That won’t happen. He’s a cold-blooded man with no interest in others at all. There must have been many people approaching him besides me, but there’s not a single rumor, which tells you enough. It’s so bad that…”

I looked around and leaned forward. Cal followed, bending his waist.

“So bad that?”

“There are even rumors that he might be homosexual. He doesn’t have anything to do with women at all, but he often bathes with men and spends a lot of time with them.”

At my meaningful look, Cal let out a hollow laugh.

“Where did you hear such rumors?”

“The maids were whispering about it.”

I continued, returning my body to its original position.

“Anyway, whether he’s homosexual or not, there’s no way the First Prince, who’s never had even a single rumor with women until now, would show interest in me.”

“Then is there any need to match the First Prince’s preferences?”

“It’s like grasping at straws. I heard he’ll behead you just for making eye contact if he doesn’t like you, so I should avoid that as much as possible. Especially since I’m Lady Floria’s elder sister, I’m at a disadvantage.”

Not just as much as possible, but absolutely must avoid such a thing. As I chewed a piece of steak, determined to survive somehow, Cal said incredulously.

“He’s never done that.”

“Pardon?”

“He’s not crazy enough to kill someone just for making eye contact.”

“Is that so?”

You were just saying he was the craziest person in the world. As I shrugged my shoulders, I suddenly became curious.

“But you speak as if you know the First Prince well.”

“I’m not unfamiliar with him.”

Ah, maybe he’s already had contact with the First Prince. Come to think of it, what did he request from the guild?

As I pondered and unconsciously turned my head towards the window, I saw a familiar face just getting out of a carriage and frowned deeply.