“Understood.”

Despite my destitute appearance, the waiter demonstrated professionalism by not treating me as a troublesome customer.

After taking my order, the waiter immediately turned towards Kashar’s direction.

“All the popular items here.”

“I’ll prepare them right away. Please wait a moment!”

The waiter was fully energized by Kashar’s order.

The curtain closed again, leaving just me and Kashar.

‘Please, let something come out quickly.’

I was inwardly chanting a prayer.

Kashar was resting his chin on his hand, observing me.

‘This is so awkward, I feel like I’m going crazy.’

No, was it fear that was driving me insane? Or was it because he was too handsome?

This was my first time sitting one-on-one with such a handsome man.

‘Anyway, this is troublesome!’

I was trying not to steal glances at him, but I wasn’t sure if it was working.

Seeming to sense my gaze, Kashar let out a deflating laugh.

“Don’t worry. I won’t eat you.”

“Th-thank you…”

“Not yet. I told you, I’m interested.”

His intense gaze was consuming me.

Everything felt unfamiliar, and I had no sense of reality. Kashar added more weight to his words.

“Why do you think a man sends gifts and asks for a date?”

As if waiting for an answer, I hesitantly replied to his expectant gaze.

“Because it’s a multi-level marketing scheme or a cult?”

At least, that’s what it meant for Kashar to approach me.

“…What’s multi-level marketing, and what’s a cult?”

Kashar’s brow furrowed.

Just as the atmosphere turned strange, a shadow flickered beyond the curtain.

“Excuse me. May I open the curtain…?”

“Please, come in!”

Nice timing!

I jumped up from my seat and pulled back the curtain to reveal the waiter standing there.

Unlike my bright welcome, Kashar’s face became even more creased.

“Th-then, excuse me.”

Startled by Kashar’s expression, the waiter hurriedly set down the plates.

“Here we have our café’s pride: fruit preserves in honey, sugar cake, marron cake, berry-scented tea from the North, and Ertin black tea. The crystal plate holding the fruit was crafted by an artisan from the Ruben region…”

The desserts and drinks were beautifully arranged along with the dazzling explanation.

This was the first time I had seen food from this world other than what I had made myself.

‘…It looks delicious.’

No matter what anyone said, food made by others was the best. Especially bakery items!

As expected of a café frequented by royalty, both the tableware and desserts were extravagantly luxurious.

While I was swallowing my saliva, the waiter finally set down a glass of water in front of me.

“Lastly, here’s the water you ordered. I hope you enjoy your time.”

Just an expensive-looking glass. It was truly pure water.

The waiter kindly closed the curtain and went downstairs.

“The water… looks very refreshing.”

What I had ordered stood in stark contrast to the desserts placed in front of Kashar.

‘A million won melting away.’

I gulped down the water, moistening my throat. Yet, my gaze remained fixed on the desserts.

Noticing that I couldn’t take my eyes off the desserts, Kashar spoke up.

“Eat.”

“I don’t have money.”

I need to save up what little I have for our young princes.

But my firmness was swallowed up by his laughter.

“You say amusing things. I told you I’d treat you. Go ahead. You’re drooling.”

He rested his chin on his hand, watching me.

His gaze was quite burdensome, so I finally nodded.

“…Then, I’ll enjoy it.”

I wiped my mouth once and picked up the fork.

As I put the honey-soaked cake in my mouth, a sweet taste enveloped my tongue.

“Mmm…?”

I thought it would be a taste that would make my eyes close involuntarily and my cheeks cup themselves…

‘…Something feels a bit off?’

It was sweet, and it seemed to use expensive ingredients, but something was missing.

I tried rolling it around with my tongue and chewing thoroughly, but perhaps due to the coarser texture than expected, it kept bothering me in my mouth.

I tried another bite, but the result was the same.

The only thing that was somewhat edible was the honey-preserved fruit.

‘…Is it because sugar itself hasn’t been around for long?’

In this world, sugar had been invented less than 100 years ago, and honey was also extremely rare. Even nobles would eat desserts like this only once a week, if that.

In other words, the history of desserts wasn’t very long.

‘How strange. The café looks exactly like it was brought from modern times.’

It’s disappointing that the taste doesn’t match the interior.

Given the price, it was inevitable to feel let down.

‘Well, it might not be to my taste, but it must be a very precious dessert here.’

Even though it’s not as good as Moncher or Choco Pie.

Coming from a country known for its food, I realized for the first time that this kind of problem could arise.

‘Alright. Tomorrow, I’ll give the princes some K-snacks.’

Louis always begged for sweet snacks, and Evan, while pretending not to care, often ate them well.

‘Thinking about the kids, I guess I’ve become a proper guardian.’

I felt like I could understand a parent’s heart a little bit.

As I was lost in thoughts about the children, Kashar caught me off guard.

“Not to your liking?”

Absorbed in the food, I had forgotten that I was alone with him.

In a small space enclosed by curtains, no less.

“Ah, no. It’s delicious!”

I nodded vigorously.

Even if they gave me stinky tofu, I should say it’s delicious in this situation.

Feeling the atmosphere might turn strange, I hastily scooped up some cake with my fork and brought it to his mouth.

“Your Grace, please try some too!”

It might not be tasty, but it wasn’t inedible either.

Kashar slowly blinked at the cake on my fork, then opened his mouth.

“It’s delicious, right?! As expected, you get what you pay for!”

As I exaggerated, the lips that had been moving to take in the cake curved into a smile.

His Adam’s apple moved, and then Kashar laughed.

It was a face that could bewitch people.

“Do you always want to feed people when you see them?”

“Oh, did I do that? Maybe it’s because I’ve been serving the young princes. They really like it when I feed them. And delicious things taste better when shared…”

My mouth rambled on due to excessive nervousness.

I have a condition where I can’t look at something too pretty or handsome for long.

Worried that a blush might show, I avoided his gaze while offering the fork.

‘Why is he suddenly being so nice?’

My mouth was sweet, but I was full of questions.

Suddenly, I remembered Kashar’s words about wanting to make my nonsense real.

‘Since it’s still before the original story… Maybe he has a personality where he’s especially nice to people he strongly dislikes.’

I had a strong feeling that if I didn’t ask now, I wouldn’t get another chance.

The problem was that I was too nervous.

“Your Grace, you don’t like me, right?”

Intending to ask about his reason for requesting a date, I ended up saying the wrong thing.

I was surprised, and so was Kashar.

How could I make such a mistake even when making a mistake?

I wanted to applaud myself instead of preparing money for the afterlife.

‘So this is how my neck flies off.’

While I was preparing for death, Kashar was laughing with his waist bent.

“…Hello? Excuse me?”

I called out carefully, but Kashar couldn’t answer because he was laughing.

After a while, he straightened up, looking refreshed.

“You’re not fooled by a little kindness. That’s why I like you.”

It was as if he was admitting with his own mouth that his gentleness until now had been fake.

I was dumbfounded, but I didn’t have the courage to spit in his smiling face.

‘If I were an ordinary woman, it might be different.’

A possessive madman who’s cold to others but warm to me.

And above all, who would reject a handsome man?

But for me, knowing the original story and bearing the guilt of that knowledge, it was out of the question.

“Or was my acting lacking? I was planning to put in more effort, but it seems that won’t work.”

Kashar rubbed his chin.

At this moment, I realized two things.

First, that he was in his right mind.

Second, that he had no intention of killing me.

As soon as I realized my neck wasn’t on the line, my courage swelled up.

I stood up abruptly.

“Listen. Let’s be honest with each other.”

I faced Kashar head-on.

Whatever it was, this man wanted something from me.

‘He’s going to fall for the female lead anyway, I don’t need this.’

I figured I might as well hear him out since I’d fulfilled my wish of seeing this character once.

Because.

‘I need to hurry home and feed the kids!’

In the Cold Palace, there are little prince chicks who only look at me.

I need to go quickly to feed them, put them to bed, and dress them so that your stomach won’t be pierced in the original story. Do you understand?

I didn’t bother mentioning things he wouldn’t understand even if I advised him.

“Well, alright. No need to drag this out any longer.”

Finally, Kashar got to the point.

“I need a lover. The Empress is trying to force me into arranged marriages. She’s dead set on attaching a woman who suits her taste to me.”

The Empress, you mean Wayeno Empress?

I couldn’t not know her.

She was the one who cast the curse of madness on Kashar and pulled him down to become the deposed crown prince.

‘The final villain of this novel.’

In the past, Wayeno, who was a concubine, finally succeeded in becoming the Empress and making her son the crown prince.

She tried to kill the deposed Kashar by driving him to the battlefield, but Kashar returned as a duke after achieving a great victory.

‘Then it makes sense to look for a woman to play the role of a lover.’

Placing a woman from the Empress’s faction as the duke’s wife would be no different than having an official spy by his side.

Now I understood the circumstances. But still.

“Why are you looking for that here?”

“Aren’t you my lover? And for quite some time, apparently.”

“…You know I was talking nonsense.”

“I know. But I want to make it real.”

His outstretched hand intertwined with my fingers one by one.

“Eek-!”

I had no immunity to this kind of skinship.

Especially in front of an extremely handsome man, I was like a mouse in front of a predator.

“Th-there must be many other women…”

No matter how much I might appreciate handsome men, this was a bit dangerous.

‘If I’m not careful, I might catch the Empress’s eye.’

If that happened, the twins’ safety would also be at risk. But Kashar acted as if he didn’t care about such things.

“I like your food.”

His outstretched hand wiped the corner of my mouth.

“And you’re funny, needless to say.”

With those words, Kashar brought his thumb with the cream on it to his lips.

“It’s not good. Your food is much better.”

He frowned.

I could only stare blankly as the cream disappeared.