As I hurried outside, the entrance was packed with countless merchants, porters, and carriages.

“Oh, Lady Eileen. Good morning. Today, we have bracelets made of diamonds and hair ornaments made of high-purity rubies.”

“We have a hundred pairs of shoes and seventy dresses. These are custom-made! They’ll suit you perfectly! Here, try on this lace made by a master craftsman!”

“This box is filled with gold coins. The box itself is made of high-purity gold…”

As soon as I came out, a flood of words introducing gifts poured in.

I silently waited for them to finish speaking. I had learned from experience over the past few days that they wouldn’t stop anyway.

Taking advantage of the moment of silence that finally came, I asked.

“…So who sent these?”

I knew what the obvious answer would be, but I still couldn’t believe it.

The merchants, with their eyes wide open, spoke in unison.

“Why, of course.”

“Naturally.”

“It’s Duke Kashar, isn’t it?”

I wanted to think I had heard wrong, but the pile of gifts in front of me was simply unbelievable.

I avoided the sparkling gazes.

‘What on earth is going on?’

When Kashar left, I thought I was as good as dead.

I was so shocked that I even brought a baseball bat from the dream supermarket.

But the next day, what arrived at the Cold Palace were not blades, but lavish gifts.

‘No, was he that moved by the breakfast I prepared?’

He might have been captivated by food he had never tasted before, but this was still too much.

Gifts piled up from morning to night.

At first, I tried to send them back, but…

‘The Duke has sent a letter,’ Mihail said as he handed me the letter.

It read:

[If you don’t want to die, you’d better accept them graciously.]

From the start, these were gifts that couldn’t be refused.

And so, on the third day.

Today too, gifts sent by Kashar were about to pour in like a delivery service.

“Careful, careful! Those are silk dresses!”

Madame Marong from the dress shop shouted. Her assistants were unloading dresses in abundance from a luxurious carriage.

‘No wonder a tailor came to take measurements on the first day.’

But could dresses be made so quickly?

The fluttering hems were adorned with gold leaf, silver thread, and colorful jewels in harmony.

After seeing so many dazzling things for days, my eyes were spinning just from looking at the sparkling items.

‘How much is all that worth? The jewels Eileen had collected would be nothing in comparison.’

If we sold those, we could make beautiful clothes for our princes, prepare a feast, hire people to make the palace sparkle…

I might have unknowingly drooled.

At that moment, one of Madame Marong’s staff asked me.

“Yes, Lady Eileen. Where should we put these?”

“Ah, the room at the end of the corridor on the left should be empty.”

I hope they didn’t see me drooling?

After awkwardly composing myself and pointing in the direction, the mountain of dresses was carried inside.

At this rate, it seemed like all the remaining rooms would be filled with gifts.

‘It’s tempting, but…’

I disciplined my mind and body with a meditation technique I had seen somewhere.

With a bit of imagination added.

‘I’m in a pyramid ruin right now. I’ve seen enough movie series to know that touching jewels and such in there means game over.’

Life can be ruined in an instant.

And I felt like I was on the verge of stepping onto that path of ruin.

‘This must be a new type of harassment. Or it’s laying the groundwork for forced loan sharking. If not that, maybe he hit his head and really went crazy? Then wouldn’t I have to pay for his treatment?’

My worries deepened, but I couldn’t find a way to resolve this situation.

‘Surely I don’t have to meet him and talk about this, right?’

I could still hear that chilling voice in my ears.

I didn’t want to choose the option of meeting him directly. Even though he was a character I liked… he was too handsome and too scary.

‘If I meet him again, I might have a heart attack.’

I did want to see the muscles under his shirt just once, but that didn’t mean I wanted to die.

‘This will stop eventually.’

If he asks me to pay it back later, I can just return everything I have.

I decided to think simply. Otherwise, I didn’t think I could live out my natural lifespan.

“Um, Lady Eileen.”

“Yes?”

I had been so lost in thought that I didn’t notice someone approaching.

The one who spoke to me was Baron Shoppen, who had been delivering jewels for the past three days.

“We’ve put all the gifts inside, but there’s one thing I’d like to ask.”

“What is it?”

Shoppen rubbed his palms together and lowered his voice.

“I was wondering… what kind of relationship do you have with the Duke…”

Suddenly, the surroundings went quiet. Everyone was listening intently for my answer.

They all looked like they were itching to ask.

“We don’t have any relationship.”

I’d like to ask you to find out why Duke Kashar is doing this. But you might lose your head.

‘That’s what I want to say.’

I was one hundred percent sincere.

“Oh come now, you can be honest with us.”

“I really don’t have any relationship with him.”

I explained both outwardly and inwardly, but no one seemed to believe me.

‘Let’s just ignore them and go inside.’

No matter what excuse I made, gifts would keep arriving until sunset.

Just as I was about to turn around.

“Wow. There are so many people today too!”

Louis came running out and stood beside me.

The child kept looking around, seemingly fascinated by the crowd of people.

‘This must be an unfamiliar sight for the past few days.’

I understood Louis’s reaction, given that no visitors had come to the Cold Palace until now.

But the surroundings were full of things that shouldn’t be touched.

I tried to dangle bait to get Louis inside.

“Prince Louis. I’ll make you a snack…”

“Oh my, Prince Louis. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Baron Howard Shoppen.”

He cut off my words?

I shot Shoppen a bewildered look, but he was focused on Louis.

Louis, too, seemed intrigued by the adult addressing him, tilting his head curiously.

“Hmm?”

“We have gifts for Prince Louis and Prince Evan today as well. They’re from the Duke.”

Shoppen pulled out a large box. Inside were wooden blocks that children would likely enjoy.

“Wow!”

Louis’s eyes sparkled at the colorful blocks.

Other toys for children were also unloaded from the carriage. Each one was a high-quality item that noble children would play with.

While Louis was beaming, my face gradually turned pale.

Louis held up a carriage model and shouted to me.

“Eileen! This is all mine!”

“P-Prince Louis. Just a moment. I’ll give you something even better, so please put that down.”

I forgot to buy you toys because I was busy fattening you two up.
I’ll bring you the Shark Family and Pororo too, so please return that to the mister. Please!

I screamed with my expression, but Louis was too young to read my mind.

“Huh? Why should I? He said it’s for me!”

Louis asked with an innocent face, but the source of the toys was the most important thing to me.

‘We can’t accept even one of them!’

The toy Louis was holding looked like a death flag to me.

My expression must have been scary because Louis started to tear up.

“…Can’t I play with it?”

“I’ll bring you something even better tomorrow morning.”

“But I want this one…”

Louis hugged the carriage model preciously.

‘No, Prince Louis. If you see Pororo, you’ll regret saying that.’

The orange-glassed penguin was the president of children.

But Louis, who hadn’t encountered Pororo yet, already had tears welling up in his eyes.

“Sniff… I’ve been good, and I even ate the vegetables Evan doesn’t like…”

“Oh no, Prince Louis…!”

I was very flustered, seeing him whimper like that for the first time.

I ran over and hugged Louis tightly, but the child was still preciously holding onto the carriage model.

‘He must really want it.’

There weren’t any decent toys in the Cold Palace.

I reflected on the items I had brought from the mart over the past few days.

‘I should have brought toys instead of self-defense items.’

Baseball bat. Pepper spray. Tray.

I had brought them in case Kashar’s vindictiveness kicked in.

But I was seriously too ordinary a supporting character to stop him if he was in his right mind.

‘I’d die without being able to resist even once.’

I vowed to bring Pororo in tonight’s dream.

If not that, then at least dinosaur models.

Blaming myself for my thoughtlessness until now, I wiped Louis’s tears.

“…Just this one, okay? I’ll bring you even better toys tomorrow. Understand?”

“Yay!”

Louis nodded at my words and immediately stopped crying.

A smile spread across my face at the child’s bright expression.

While Louis was rolling the carriage model on the floor, I approached Shoppen and whispered.

“How much is that?”

“…Pardon?”

“I’m asking how much it costs.”

“Well, it’s 95 silver.”

The small model cost two months’ worth of food for a commoner.

I wondered if Shoppen was trying to scam me, but seeing the intricately crafted toy in this world, it seemed about right.

‘Damn expensive.’

I’ll have to sell the jewels Eileen had collected.

With tears in my eyes, I paid Shoppen the amount.

“This is something I bought. It’s not a gift from the Duke. Understand?”

“Huh? Y-yes, yes.”

Shoppen nodded, flustered by my serious expression.

I felt a little relieved after securing a witness.

‘As long as it’s not something Kashar sent, it’s fine.’

That way, I could return everything at once.

“Emma, are you managing the gifts well?”

“…Huh? Oh, of course! I’ll help move them too!”

Emma answered a beat late, as if she had been distracted.

As I watched Emma hurry off, my eyes narrowed.

Something was tugging at the hem of my dress from below.

It was Evan.

“Eileen, look at me.”

The small face was quite serious.

Bewildered, I nodded, and Evan dragged me to the backyard, still clutching my dress.

“What’s the matter?”

I was curious about what could be so important to come all the way here, but I was also a bit dazed since it was the first time Evan had directly spoken to me.

The child in front of me took a moment to catch his breath. Then he brought up a completely unexpected individual.

“Do you have a problem with the Duke?”

“How did you know the person who came that day was the Duke?”

I asked with wide eyes, and Evan replied calmly.

“Emma kept talking about it. The gifts pouring in are all from him. Besides, the Duke is the only royal with red eyes.”

I had forgotten that Emma had been pestering me all day about whether I was meeting the Duke.

But Evan seemed to know more information than what he had overheard.

‘Well, both Louis and Evan received regular education until their 4th birthday.’

I seemed to have underestimated the child’s memory.

If so, I could understand why Evan was acting this way.

The sudden visit of the disgraced crown prince must have made him think some big problem had arisen.

I felt I should reassure Evan first.

“Don’t worry too much. I won’t let him lay a finger on you princes…”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.”

Despite his gentle voice, Evan was firm.

Evan hesitated for a moment before speaking in a small voice.

“…You seem a bit, strange.”

“Me?”

Even at this point, I didn’t understand what the child was saying.

Evan looked anxious even as he spoke.

‘This is the first time I’ve seen Evan like this.’

It was the first time he had directly spoken to me, the first time he had touched me.

I had a feeling.

I crouched down to meet Evan’s eyes.

“Are you worried about me right now?”

“…”

Evan didn’t answer.

But his tiny ears were flushed red.

‘This is crazy. He’s too cute.’

I tried hard not to hug Evan.

I didn’t want to ruin this good atmosphere.

But my itching body was already…

“Prince Evan!”

“W-what are you doing!”

Poof. The small body filled my arms.

Evan struggled immediately, but not with enough force to push me away.

This gap was so lovable.

I rubbed my cheek against Evan’s cheek.

“Ah, I’m so happy that Prince Evan is worried about me.”

“I wasn’t worried!”

Evan’s face turned red.

I knew in my head that I should let go now, but I was so happy that the child had opened his heart to me even a little that I couldn’t control myself.

“Thank you, Prince Evan. Really.”

It was a greeting with several meanings.

After meeting my eyes for a moment, Evan turned his head away sharply.

The struggling I felt in my arms stopped. I held Evan for a long time after that.

“Let go now.”

“Hehe, okay.”

Time was up.

‘If I don’t back off now, he’ll never let me hug him again.’

Knowing when to push and when to pull back, I quickly stepped back.

Evan patted down his wrinkled clothes and glared at me.

“What’s going on with the Duke? It doesn’t seem like you were really meeting him.”

Evan seemed to have noticed that I was acting.

‘But he doesn’t know that I knocked Kashar out.’

How should I explain this?

It was quite tricky to speak honestly, so I unconsciously scratched my cheek.

“Well, actually…”

“Tell me honestly.”

“The thing is… we’re not dating…”

While I hesitated at Evan’s threat.

A low voice cut between the child and me.

“Not?”

“Y-yes. It’s not like that. …Huh?”

For a moment, I thought I had heard wrong.

My stiffened neck creaked as it turned towards the direction of the voice.

I met the gaze of red eyes.

“Hello.”

Kashar’s harmonious face wore a languid smile.

“Eek!”

Without realizing it, I picked up Evan and backed away.

‘Scary! And handsome!’

My heart pounded with ambivalent emotions.

Finally, he stood at an angle, seemingly displeased that I had backed up against the wall.

“Aren’t you overreacting a bit to seeing your lover?”

“Ah, right. That’s how it was. Right.”

Was it because Evan was here?

He still seemed to be acting as if we were lovers.

“What brings you here…?”

When I asked cautiously, a face that looked hurt was thrust forward.

“I came to ask for a date.”

Grin.

The chilling face broke into a pleasant smile.