After spending some time with Odin, Clea’s mood improved considerably.

She sighed, feeling a different kind of anxiety than she had felt until now.

Once realized, she would no longer be free from this emotion.

But thinking about it wouldn’t change anything.

She quietly accepted that even the sadness of not being able to stay with him for long was her fate.

“Did you have a good time?”

“I feel a bit better.”

“It’s thanks to Your Highness taking care of me.”

Shortly after returning to the Crown Prince’s palace, Admund also returned.

He didn’t seem to know that she had cried or that she had gone out.

Clea thought it was fortunate.

‘I don’t want to cause unnecessary worry.’

She already felt guilty for causing him so much concern.

Even excluding herself, his shoulders bore a heavy burden.

Not wanting to add to that burden because of her, she smiled.

“Did you eat?”

“Not yet.”

“Why didn’t you eat while you were out?”

“I wanted to eat while watching you eat.”

Hearing this, Clea laughed in disbelief.

She wondered what he would say if she told him she had already eaten.

She fell silent at Admund’s next words.

“Don’t lie. I know without asking.”

“Even if I say I’ve eaten?”

“You look too lifeless for that.”

Admund’s gentle hand touched her cheek.

He softly caressed her cheek, sharing his warm touch.

Clea didn’t push his hand away.

There was no reason to, as she also enjoyed his touch.

His hand slowly moved towards Clea’s lips.

Clea’s lips curled up, finding Admund cute.

“I think I need to eat something else before the meal.”

“Such as?”

“Your Highness’s lips, perhaps.”

At her words, Admund held his breath.

At this rate, it was only a matter of time before they headed to the bedroom instead of dinner.

Fortunately, someone nearby offered advice to keep his reason intact.

“Your Highness, you should have dinner first. If you’re concerned about the young lady’s health, that is.”

Hearing Oberon’s words, Admund withdrew his hand from her lips.

When the warm touch covering her face suddenly disappeared, Clea briefly looked towards Oberon with a displeased expression.

Despite the clearly discontented gaze, Oberon didn’t return it.

If it were the usual him, he would have responded with a look of disgust.

“You seem to be increasingly concerned about my health lately, sir.”

“At least after seeing that scene, how could I not be concerned?”

Clea wasn’t the only one who found his change unfamiliar.

Observing from the side, Admund wondered what Oberon had seen to change his attitude so drastically.

‘For someone who used to look at her like an enemy to suddenly change like this. Could she be terminally ill?’

But Admund thought his assumption was wrong.

Even though her health was poor, it was only occasionally. He couldn’t imagine she was carrying such a serious illness.

“As Oberon says, we should eat first.”

At Admund’s words, Clea withdrew her displeased gaze.

Perhaps it was because she had just spent such a lonely time earlier. Just being next to him was enough to make her feel good.

* * *

“Why don’t you eat a little more?”

“Overeating isn’t good for the body.”

“But eating as little as you do doesn’t seem good either.”

As they continued their meal, the two became more cheerful.

Perhaps it was because the things that tired each other out were completely out of sight.

“Where did you go today?”

Clea didn’t hesitate to ask Admund what she was curious about.

Admund pondered for a moment at Clea’s question about where he had been.

He wondered if it would be alright to answer truthfully about where he had gone.

Thinking she had the right to know since it was related to her, Admund answered honestly.

“I went to the Grand Duke’s residence.”

“Because of the matter between Lloyd and me.”

“Yes.”

The incident with Lloyd.

She looked at the back of her hand for a moment.

Perhaps the curse’s effect caused a rejection reaction when she was close to people she disliked.

‘Even though nothing happened when I faced him before, suddenly my body seems to be acting strange.’

She coldly observed her own body.

She showed a strong rejection reaction when disliked people were nearby.

Conversely, her body felt comfortable when good people were around.

What if the curse didn’t just bring death? The thought that there might be rules to the curse only occurred to her now.

Clea looked at the second hand on the back of her hand.

“Is there something on the back of your hand?”

“…Nothing.”

Hearing Admund’s words, she smiled bitterly.

Since it wasn’t visible to anyone’s eyes, of course he couldn’t see it either.

Even if he could see it, Clea didn’t want to show this pattern to Admund of all people.

She felt that whatever reaction he might have upon seeing this pattern wouldn’t be pleasant.

“So, what happened there?”

“I informed them that you came from the Odoi family.”

“The Grand Duke and his wife are good people.”

“Yes, they seem like good people.”

Admund acknowledged that point.

They truly cared for Clea.

The Grand Duke and his wife were extremely reluctant to attend social events due to certain circumstances.

Nevertheless, at gatherings they attended with Clea, they deliberately showed how deeply they cherished her.

They believed only in what they had seen and felt directly, not the rumors about Clea.

Admund remembered seeing this while standing next to Lloyd.

“I hope the Grand Duke and his wife don’t suffer any disadvantages because of me.”

“That’s no longer up to Lloyd.”

In reality, all Admund had done was inform the Grand Duke and his wife of the situation.

It was clear that Lloyd would be severely scolded just for being informed of this.

However, now that the Grand Duke’s family knew the truth, they would make some gesture.

That is, if they learned that Clea came from the Odoi family and understood what kind of relationship had formed between the three of them.

“More importantly, the Odoi family sent me a letter.”

“To Your Highness?”

At the mention of the name Odoi, Clea frowned.

She had never imagined that they would send a letter to the Imperial family, let alone to Admund.

Admund had the same reaction when he first received it.

Since the Odoi family itself belonged to a faction not particularly close to the Imperial family, it was extremely rare for them to contact the royals.

“It was a letter asking if I had met you.”

“Did you send a reply?”

Clea reacted calmly upon hearing the contents of the letter.

As if she already knew why they were looking for her.

Admund shook his head regarding that.

“I haven’t heard your answer yet, so I wonder how I should reply.”

Clea reached for the wine in front of her for a moment.

She took a small sip of the red wine in the glass and pondered for a moment.

Admund was willing to give her plenty of time.

He was about to say it would be fine even if it took a few days, as he wasn’t expecting an immediate decision.

“Could you arrange a meeting for me with them?”

“Are you sure that would be alright?”

Admund thought she wouldn’t want to face her family.

They were people who had never treated her like a proper princess, but rather used her only as a means to an end.

It seemed clear that even if they met, nothing good would come of the conversation.

He would have preferred if she had asked to cut ties with them forever.

But Clea’s thoughts were different.

‘I can’t leave even that to you.’

From the beginning, the people of the Odoi family were those she would never meet again for the rest of her life.

Whether they searched for her or not.

However, looking at Admund in front of her, she had a thought. She needed to make their relationship respectable.

After facing Aria, she examined her relationship with Admund.

Whether others would see her being by his side as justifiable.

“I need to stop them from looking for me anymore.”

“I can make that happen.”

“This is an issue I want to handle myself.”

Admund didn’t want to entrust this matter to Clea, but he finally raised the white flag.

“Still, don’t try to overdo it. I’m here by your side.”

“Thank you, Admund.”

After raising the white flag and declaring his surrender, Admund immediately sent a letter to Grit.

Expressing a desire to meet, and requesting a visit to the Crown Prince’s palace on the date specified inside.

* * *

“Father, be careful.”

“Ha! Just hurry up and come!”

Arriving in front of the Crown Prince’s palace, Grit inwardly expressed his dissatisfaction.

‘He’s already acting as if he’s the Emperor.’

He didn’t like the way someone clearly younger than him had summoned him like this.

In any other situation, he would have made an excuse about minor ailments and sent Steve instead.

But because of the last line Admund had written, he had no choice but to come in person.

That one sentence saying he would reveal Clea’s whereabouts if he came.

‘Clea, the moment I see you, I’ll make sure you never go outside again!’

Having been anxious for the past few days, he was determined to capture her the moment Admund revealed her location.

However, not long after making that decision, his expression completely twisted.

As they were about to reach the reception room, an unexpected person was waiting in front of Grit and Steve.

“Clea!”

The Clea they had been searching for so desperately was sitting right in front of them.

“Come, have a seat. I’m the one who called you two here because I have something to say.”

She was smiling as she looked at the invited guests.