“I greet His Highness, the Second Prince.”

There was a momentary confusion at an unexpected encounter. Lena greeted Blitheus with proper etiquette.

She had thought that someday she would meet him if she became the Duchess. She just didn’t expect it to be so soon.

“I sent flowers on the day of the engagement ceremony. Did you receive them well? I didn’t get a response.”

The tone was somewhat disappointed, as if Lena was upset about not receiving a reply from a close friend. Lena quietly cast her eyes down, seemingly uncomfortable with the man’s attitude.

“Yes, I received them well. Thank you for sending the precious flowers from the Rose Palace, Your Majesty’s mother…”

“It wasn’t sent by my mother.”

A gentle voice brushed past her ear.

“Even though you knew.”

Lena’s eyebrows twitched as she looked at Blitheus, who was smiling with an inscrutable smile.

“…So, it was His Highness, the Prince, who sent them. I didn’t know. Thank you.”

A woman who would appreciate flowers sent on the day of an engagement ceremony by a man she had only met a few times would be hard to find. Especially when the card accompanying the flowers contained words that one could hardly consider congratulations.

Even though she knew, she intentionally thanked the Empress, and now he claimed to have sent them.

Lena, hiding her discomfort, changed the subject to divert the conversation.

“It seems you came to see the books.”

“Well, I came to see both books and other things.”

“‘Other things’?”

There was a slight sense of confusion in Lena’s voice at the man’s words, but Lena, who no longer wanted to stay, spoke.

“Then, enjoy your time. I’ll be going now.”

As Lena was about to leave, lifting the books she had taken out, the man blocking her way gracefully picked up a book from the side.

And that book was…

“The Mermaid’s Tale, Loved by the Prince.”

He said softly as he flipped through the pages.

“It’s a very famous story. I wonder if Your Highness is also familiar with it.”

“…Yes, of course.”

It was truly strange. This place she was in was not supposed to have fairy tale books like that.

Why.

‘Why that book…’

She felt a chill along with her puzzlement. But she answered with a calm voice.

“Who in the Empire wouldn’t know that book?”

“Then, of course, you know the ending.”

As it was a well-known story, there would be no one who didn’t know its ending. An mermaid who chose death to save her beloved prince.

Because that was the ending of the fairy tale book.

“…Yes, well.”

As Lena’s words trailed off in the familiar uneasiness she felt on the day of the engagement ceremony.

Tap.

The sound of closing a book echoed quietly in the dusty library. Then the man took a step forward.

“By the way.”

A chilly tone and a cold gaze different from before.

“Why did you come back?”

“…What?”

Lena’s eyes widened in surprise at the man’s attitude, which had changed as if flipping a hand.
“Why didn’t you just run away like that? Even though you clearly know how it will end.”

What is that man talking about? Why didn’t she run away, why did she come back?

The words were as if…

It felt like he knew everything that happened to her in the past.

‘How on earth?’

Most of the people who went to Festius with her believed that she miraculously survived with someone’s help after falling off the cliff, and that she returned late due to injuries. That’s what they knew.

That’s why only the Duke knew that she ran away herself.

Moreover, thanks to Valige’s decree, the fact that she went missing at the cliff didn’t spread widely across the empire.

Lena looked at the Second Prince with a confused gaze.

“…I can’t understand what His Highness is talking about.”

Then she denied. For some reason, she felt an unexplainable sense of unease and fear rising in her throat. Lena, who thought she should leave this place as soon as possible, spoke.

“Well, then, I’ll go now since the princess is waiting for me.”

It might have seemed somewhat impolite. But Lena, who didn’t care about that, took a step, leaving behind the handkerchief she had made.

Tap [Dash].

There was confusion in the sound of her footsteps leaving the library.

Meanwhile, Blitheus, who had been watching Lena’s empty seat, also took a step. Then he picked up the handkerchief that had fallen to the floor and murmured.

“You still have no talent for handicraft.”

As if recalling something missed. Suddenly, a small smile appeared on Blitheus’s lips.

And then.

He breathed in deeply, wiping his nose with the handkerchief. As if trying to find someone’s trace.

“By the way, Lena.”
The man wiped his nose with a handkerchief and took a deep breath, as if trying to trace someone’s footsteps.

“But, Lina.”

His voice echoed like a reverberation in the empty space.

“I haven’t even started yet.”

In the man’s eyes, which were more reddish than ever, determination was evident.

Lena, who almost ran out of the library with swift steps, sighed softly.

“We probably won’t meet here.”