The emperor’s decree contained the following:

[I command the protection of the Holy Maiden’s safety until the first congratulatory party.]

The order was specifically directed at Kashar.

Elcious slightly stuck out her pink tongue.

“I asked His Majesty to let me stay here instead of giving him my first blessing.”

It was a shy smile, as if asking for praise.

“At first, he hesitated. But when I said I’d give my second blessing to the Duke, he gladly agreed, didn’t he?”

The current emperor of Rihart was a devotee of the goddess Shaina.

Initially, it was just for political reasons, but for some reason, after Empress Viviana was confined and passed away, his devotion to the goddess intensified.

Then it was natural that he yielded to Elcious.

“His Majesty was heartbroken when he heard that Kashar refused my blessing. We shouldn’t be more unfilial than this. The priests think so too, right?”

“…That is correct.”

“You are right.”

Ferveroff answered as if pushed from behind.

The rest of the priests were the same. Judging by their expressions, this too seemed to have been Elcious’s unilateral decision.

The emperor’s orders cannot be refused. At least not while the leash is on.

“Why are you going this far?”

The decree crumpled in Kashar’s hand as he received it.

Elcious snatched it from Kashar, as if to say he shouldn’t do that, and said,

“Well, to set the fate right.”

Her smiling gaze was now directed at me.

‘Kashar will fall in love with me.’

She couldn’t have said such a thing without knowing the original work.

The female protagonist who can’t break the curse. But she knew more.

By now, Dracu and Eshtra, who had heard the commotion, had stopped in the hallway.

Eventually, Elcious, who had been looking Dracu up and down, ordered him.

“You’re the castle’s butler, right? Now, guide me to the best building.”

“A building, not a room?”

“Of course. I’ll use the whole thing. I’m the Holy Maiden, after all.”

“…For now, please wait. Eshtra, escort the guests to the lobby.”

“Understood. This way, please.”

Elcious hummed as she passed in front of Kashar and me.

The priests followed behind the Holy Maiden, acting as her tail as they left the corridor.

In the end, we were in a situation where we had to accommodate unwelcome guests.

“What should we do?”

Dracu inquired about his master’s intentions.

Kashar pressed his deeply furrowed brow for a while before issuing an order.

“Give her the newly built annex. She asked for a building, so she should be satisfied.”

It was a place that anyone could tell was a new building.

“If she asks why only this building is new, tell her I went crazy and rampaged. Also, tell her I might go crazy again at any time.”

“Understood.”

“Also, tell her not to leave the annex.”

This was a warning.

It meant that while accepting the guest ordered by the emperor, he could crush her like a collapsed building at any time.

“With that head of hers, she probably won’t understand. I hope one of the priests gives her a hint.”

His sarcastic tone was full of irritation.

The emperor’s order was like a threat to Kashar, so it was remarkable that he was even suppressing his anger.

‘Will it be alright?’

The Holy Maiden’s appointment celebration party at the imperial palace was still a month away.

The thought of Elcious staying at the duke’s castle until then was already giving me a headache.

‘No, maybe it’s for the best.’

There was a need to confirm exactly what Elcious’s identity was.

‘If strong holy power isn’t the medium for breaking the curse, how was the curse broken in the original work?’

There was a mountain of things to check.

And so began the cohabitation with the Holy Maiden.

[This is the timeline separator]

Boil boil – chop chop!

The sound of soup boiling and knife hitting the cutting board was a mysterious harmony.

That’s what Mihail, standing in the kitchen, thought.

In front of Mihail was a large wok.

He greased it, fried some spring onions to bring out their flavor. Then he added rice that had been thoroughly soaked in egg mixture.

Mihail quickly moved his chopsticks to gently break up the clumped rice grains.

After frying for over 5 minutes, the moist rice grains gradually became fluffy and started to shine.

Now, if he shaped it with a small bowl and flipped it onto a plate, a round-shaped egg fried rice would be complete.

“Oh, you’ve succeeded!”

Babito clapped beside him.

The egg fried rice that Eileen had taught Babito had somehow been passed on to Mihail.

“Golden color and rich spring onion aroma. It’s a perfect egg fried rice!”

“…It’s all thanks to your good teaching.”

“Oh, have more confidence. What did the future mistress say? Didn’t she tell you to always keep your back straight and shoulders up?”

“Ah, yes. I should do as elder sister said.”

Mihail straightened his back at the mention of Eileen.

Babito looked at Mihail with fond eyes. With eyes that said, I wish I had a son like this.

But Mihail didn’t notice Babito’s inner thoughts.

He was just happy to have the completed dish in front of him.

‘I’m happy.’

Mihail was experiencing the happiest time of his life.

For the first time, he had something he liked to do.

Moreover, he could learn and practice it without being watched suspiciously.

‘…I didn’t even expect praise.’

It was also the first time he had received so much praise in his life.

Here, everything was a first for him. Mihail muttered inwardly that it felt like he was having a happy and sweet dream.

“Is that for the young princes’ lunch?”

“Yes. I hope the children will like it.”

“What are you worried about? They’ll definitely clean up two bowls in no time!”

Babito laughed heartily.

Mihail was shy at those words, but he had an underlying confidence that they would enjoy the food he made.

‘It tastes like Eileen and elder brother combined! That’s why it’s even more delicious.’

That’s what Louis had said one day.

Of course. The cooking Mihail learned was based on Eileen’s recipes.

But to Mihail, it was the best compliment. When Louis said such things, he felt happy as if he really had a family.

‘Of course, elder sister belongs to elder brother. It’s just… I want us all to be family.’

The two he respected and the adorable twin siblings. And himself.

It would be so nice if they could become a family like this.

This was the secret imagination Mihail had every night since settling here.

“Shall I pack it for you?”

“No. I’ll do it myself.”

“Then, here are the lunchboxes.”

Mihail packed the egg fried rice and side dishes into lunchboxes decorated with chick pictures.

He cut boiled quail eggs in half and decorated them with sesame seeds to make cute quail chicks.

“Our young prince is good with his hands too! Take care!”

Babito laughed heartily and patted Mihail’s back.

Mihail thought to himself that he was just like the image of a jovial father.

‘They should be in the magic tower now.’

Mihail, who had packed the lunchboxes, left the kitchen.

As he was about to turn the corner, Mihail paused for a moment.

‘Ah, right. They said there were guests in the annex.’

It would be faster to cut across, but it wouldn’t be good if rumors spread about the 7th prince staying at the duke’s castle.

‘I should avoid encountering them as much as possible.’

He reassured himself that it wouldn’t be a big problem since they said the guests rarely came out of there anyway.

It was at that moment when Mihail was feeling relieved.

“Oh?”

It was a clear and beautiful voice.

Mihail stopped in his tracks, seeing the mysterious silver hair.

He stiffened and observed the woman in front of him. She was wearing the priest’s robe that only holy maidens could wear.

‘Could it be that the guest staying in the annex was the Holy Maiden?’

He was well aware of the news about the Holy Maiden’s appointment through newspapers.

But he never imagined encountering the Holy Maiden at the duke’s castle.

“I greet the Holy Maiden.”

Mihail greeted her properly according to etiquette for the first time in a very long while.

The Holy Maiden, who had also frozen, slowly blinked her eyes and then spoke as if she knew him.

“…Could you be the 7th Prince Mihail?”

Mihail stiffened in surprise.

He didn’t expect the Holy Maiden to know who he was.

But it was awkward to deny it now that he had already given himself away.

Mihail slowly nodded.

“That’s correct.”

Upon his admission, the Holy Maiden’s expression became even stranger.

“…Why are you here, Your Highness?”

It was like an interrogative question.

Hearing such a sharp tone after a long time, Mihail bit his lip.

It felt as if he was being questioned about why he was here, and a surge of indignation welled up inside him.

“I’m employed at the duke’s castle as a nanny for the princes.”

He could have just said he was staying here briefly. Unnecessarily, he ended up revealing everything.

‘I shouldn’t have done that.’

Regret and self-reproach flooded in.

He was afraid that his incompetence might cause some harm to his elder brother and sister-in-law.

But the Holy Maiden’s next words shocked him even more.

“What are you talking about? Your Highness should be suffering abuse in the imperial palace right now!”

Abuse.

That was Mihail’s greatest shame.

Not only was he constantly compared to his elder brother, the crown prince, but the empress would glare at Mihail as if looking at something terrible.

Thump. Thump.

His heart started beating fast and his breathing became rapid.

The anxiety he had forgotten in his happiness was now sprouting as if it had been waiting for this moment.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Elcious asked irritably.

Strangely, that sharp tone helped Mihail regain his composure.

“It’s not like that anymore.”

Leaving the imperial palace was Mihail’s own decision.

So he couldn’t let himself be held back by past nightmares.

“What are you saying? Go back to the imperial palace right now!”

The Holy Maiden’s finger jabbed at Mihail’s chest.

However, he didn’t back down either.

“I don’t quite understand what you’re saying, but I’ve become free here and I’ve found a dream I want to achieve.”

“Dream? What is it?”

The Holy Maiden seemed to be expectant.

Mihail, disregarding her attitude, talked about his dream.

“To become a chef and open a restaurant under my name.”

Seeing people happy eating the food he made.

That was the greatest happiness Mihail had newly discovered.

But there was someone who didn’t think so.

“What did you say?!”

The Holy Maiden screamed as if horrified.

“How can there be such a pathetic dream?!”

Pathetic.

The sharp word pierced Mihail’s ears.

“Ah, I feel dizzy…”

“Holy Maiden!”

The priests who had been looking for the Holy Maiden rushed in and supported her.

The Holy Maiden leaned on the priests with a pale complexion.

“I need to rest.”

Before leaving the corridor, the Holy Maiden delivered a final blow to the prince.

“Your Highness, please come to your senses. What on earth did that woman do?”

Shocked by her words, he didn’t hear the rest.

Mihail was left alone in the corridor. He ended up dropping the lunchbox he was holding onto the floor.

As the container broke, food splattered everywhere.

Mihail stepped back.

He started to run away to escape his fear.