“Wait a moment, I have something to say.”

“Go ahead, speak.”

I stared intently at him, not letting his appearance deceive me, and then spoke.

“It seems like your attitude toward me has changed a bit? Your tone, for instance….”

“Yes, it’s changed.”

His response was so indifferent that I was slightly taken aback.

“Why?”

“We’re competitors, after all.”

“…”

Is that how it is?

It was an obvious statement, yet strangely shocking.

Of course, once the competition starts, the royal heirs become competitors, which makes their attendants competitors as well. But for me, it felt surreal.

More than anything, I had no solid reason to believe that I had become a lady-in-waiting to the princess.

He continued emotionlessly.

“But let’s not become enemies, Lorisha.”

“…”

Only then could I grasp the meaning of his words, the subtlety in his changed demeanor, and the reason he had climbed through my window late at night.

But it was amusing. Who doesn’t know that the upcoming competition is a battle between the first and second royal heirs?

It was unexpected that he would be cautious of me. Duke Caidel seemed to be more worried and anxious than he appeared.

Whether he knew what I was thinking or not, he spoke seriously.

“I’d like it if we could pretend our past interactions never happened. In any case, even if it would benefit our respective masters.”

What past interactions? The misunderstanding on the street? The event at Zevron Beach? Or the parasitic relationship with His Highness Grayon? The royal library?

Come to think of it, we had been through many adventures together. Seriously.

He even secretly helped me steal a carriage.

He had made my coming-of-age day perfect…

And now, he speaks of us as competitors and enemies. It felt unreal.

I spoke, pretending to be calm.

“I had already forgotten about all of it, had it not been for you reminding me.”

“Is that so?”

“Don’t worry. I will forget those things again. Well, maybe by tomorrow morning? When you wake up, you tend to forget trivial matters.”

At that, he faintly smiled. But his eyes didn’t smile.

So, this is what they call a smile for male socialization.

I looked straight into his eyes and wore my own form of a female social smile.

“Does this mean you will also stop asking me about that letter, Duke?”

“…”

I saw his eyes waver for a moment and felt a thrilling sense of joy.

You didn’t expect this, did you, Your Grace?

But then he shook his head firmly.

“No, that’s not possible.”

“Ha! You said we should consider past matters null and void! How can you so quickly go back on your word? Is that the kind of person you are, Your Grace?”

“That’s not it; this matter is different!”

“What’s different? How is it different?”

“That letter is purely a personal matter between you and me. It’s entirely separate.”

I know that, don’t I?

If anyone didn’t know, it was Duke Caidel.

Duke Caidel wants to protect the second royal heir, and I want to protect myself. Naturally, I’m more important than His Highness Grayon.

“How is it separate? You called it a past matter. Then why is this the exception? What public matters have there been among our past interactions?”

“Lorisha!”

Duke Caidel called out to me, seemingly annoyed.

But I also spoke defiantly.

“If you want to shut me up, you’ll have to kill me. You already know very well where to find me.”

“…”

He looked at me, defeated, and closed his mouth.

“Don’t worry. Even if Lord Rond is with me, he won’t lift a finger to protect me. Killing me would be as easy as pie.”

“Lord Rond would be disappointed to hear that.”

I had slipped up, revealing that I knew how he spent his time at the sponsorship events.

I quickly clarified.
“No, it’s not that Lord Rond is a bad person, it’s that I’m not Her Highness the Princess. A person responsible for protecting Her Highness the Princess would take a risk to protect a maidservant? That’s unacceptable! Lord Rond is a responsible person.”

“……”

I looked to Duke Kaidel to confirm if I had navigated the crisis safely. His face remained stern as he looked at me.

With one slip of the tongue, Ceril had ruined Her Highness the Princess’s plans for today, and I almost made the same mistake.

Be careful with words!

But his silence made me increasingly uneasy.

Is this man really weird? What’s so upsetting about a mere letter when he’s heard absurdities from Lord Grayan time and again?

In the meantime, Duke Kaidel slowly stood and walked towards me. The closer he got, the more I had to tilt my chin up to look him in the eye.

He was entirely lacking in redeeming features.

He spoke coldly.

“Let’s make a deal.”

“Do we have more to deal with?”

“The palace entrance records.”

“……Ah.”

The record that showed Lorisha Robara had entered the third palace while delivering medicinal ingredients to Chief Royman.

Before, keeping quiet would have been enough for Duke Kaidel, but the situation had changed.

My minor past infractions could now be a crisis for Her Highness the Princess and the Earl.

I looked at him wide-eyed, and he grinned.

How annoying!

“Suit yourself!”