The real can recognize the real.

Sensing similar energy, the two began to slowly circle each other clockwise, keeping each other in check.

Their appearance looked solemn, like knights just before a duel.

“This is Princess Resilia of the Kingdom of Shatonil.”

As the atmosphere became bleak, Prince Norton introduced Princess Resilia to the concubines.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Princess of Shatonil.”

Flustered, Rosie greeted her first.

Princess Resilia gestured for Rosie to wait a moment, maintaining her standoff with Melanie.

Feeling awkward, Rosie took a step back and observed Melanie’s expression.

Melanie had clearly heard who she was circling with, but she seemed completely unconcerned.

“I’m the princess of the Kingdom of Shatonil, you know?”

Eventually, as Princess Resilia completed a full circle and returned to her original spot, she snapped irritably at Melanie.

Melanie nodded her head briefly and responded confidently.

“I’m a concubine of His Majesty the Emperor of the Lafion Empire.”

“W-what? Concubine? Concubiiine?”

“!”

“!”

Rosie and Prince Norton were equally surprised by Melanie’s brief and intense self-introduction.

‘What kind of crazy thing is this?’

Princess Resilia couldn’t take her eyes off Melanie.

“The Empress of the Lafion Empire has really let discipline go to hell, hasn’t she?”

The princess, who had been momentarily dazed, snorted and mentioned Zelda.

‘If she had seen our Empress slap Catherine’s side of the head, she wouldn’t be able to say that.’

As Rosie inwardly refuted with a pouty expression while looking at the princess.

“Her Majesty-.”

Melanie smiled and wagged her index finger, speaking to Princess Resilia as if lecturing her.

“What?”

“Not ‘the Lafion Empress has’, but ‘Her Majesty the Empress has.’ That’s how you should say it.”

Rosie, standing next to her, quickly tucked her lips inward at Melanie’s tone, which was like scolding a child.

Given the tense atmosphere, it seemed unwise to show even a small smile.

“The concubine keeps speaking so briefly? Is this how you treat an honored guest?”

Princess Resilia asked with an agitated face.

Melanie responded with a resolute face, making an X with her arms.

“Not informal speech.”

“…Huh? Then what’s with that way of speaking?”

Princess Resilia asked back with an incredulous expression.

“It’s abbreviated speech. Like someone else. Hmph!”

Melanie answered primly, then suddenly turned her head and started humming a tune.

As Princess Resilia, highly agitated by this strange insult she had never experienced before, tried to approach Melanie,

“Let’s all calm down.”

Prince Norton grabbed the princess’s arm, restraining her actions.

“And Princess, you shouldn’t lower your speech either.”

“Norton… Your Highness!”

Princess Resilia spoke to Prince Norton as if throwing a tantrum, then belatedly added the title when he gave her a look.

“Lady Melanie, please show proper respect to the princess as well.”

Instead of answering Prince Norton’s attempt to resolve the situation, Melanie stared at his face and then exclaimed loudly, “Ah!”

“It’s you! Right? The one Lady Rosie talked about.”

Melanie looked back and forth between Prince Norton and Rosie, then smiled broadly.

“Lady Rosie mentioned me?”

Prince Norton asked Melanie with curious eyes.

Rosie tilted her head at her fuss.

‘What on earth did I say about the prince to make her act like this?’

…The moment she thought that, she realized ‘Oh no’ and raised her hand to cover Melanie’s mouth, but

“That you’re handsome.”

She was already too late.

“She said you’re as handsome as our Emperor, that you’re a beautiful man.”

Melanie giggled, exaggerating a bit more than what Rosie had actually said.

“W-when did I ever say that?!”

Rosie immediately flared up.

She felt like jumping into the lake in front of her to cool her burning face.

“Well, I may have added a bit to what I said, but it’s true that she said your appearance is excellent, Your Highness. Ohoho!”

Melanie laughed so hard her head tilted back, finding Rosie’s embarrassed face hilarious.

Princess Resilia glared at Melanie with displeasure, then turned to Rosie with an even more displeased gaze.

‘Who are you to go around talking about how handsome someone is?’

How dare you covet what’s mine.

That’s what the princess’s eyes were saying.

Princess Resilia, who had been frowning deeply, spoke with a vaguely smiling face but a regretful voice, as if about to say something.

“It’s truly surprising. I should console the Empress. How can all her subordinates be so terrible…”

The princess whispered to Prince Norton, but not quietly enough that the two concubines couldn’t hear.

“Gasp, Princess Gesilia! Have you already met Lady Catherine?”

Melanie asked, clapping her hands together once.

“It’s not Gesilia, it’s Princess Resilia…”

Rosie quickly corrected the princess’s name, poking Melanie in the back.

“Ah, I’m sorry. Anyway, have you met Concubine Catherine?”

“Who…?”

Princess Resilia was about to get angry at Melanie’s intentional rudeness, but ended up asking back unconsciously due to her sudden question.

“I guess not? Oh well, I thought you had met Catherine too…”

Melanie muttered to herself, crossing her arms in front of her.

“Who is that concubine that you’re asking me about?”

Princess Resilia asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

“If you haven’t met her yet, never mind. There’s someone else who’s the most terrible among the concubines, that’s why I asked.”

Melanie waved her hand as if explaining was too bothersome and glossed over the topic.

“You two… seem to be communicating quite well. Why don’t we go boating together on this lake sometime in the future?”

Prince Norton tried to wrap up the situation by promising a future outing, eager to escape this place.

“No way, what if there are sharks?”

Sharks in the lake? Is she joking?

Prince Norton and Rosie both gaped at Melanie simultaneously at her words.

“Hahaha, are you being serious right now?”

Princess Resilia burst out laughing, mocking Melanie.

“Why?”

“How could there be sharks in the imperial lake?”

“There aren’t?”

Melanie asked argumentatively.

Princess Resilia snapped at her with an expression that said ‘I don’t want to talk to someone as lacking in common sense as you anymore’.

“Of course not. They would have filtered them all out already!”

“…”

“…”

Melanie looked slightly cowed at the princess’s scolding tone, while Rosie and Prince Norton stared blankly at the two with dumbfounded expressions.

‘These two are really something! Really strange.’

Rosie wanted to leave this place quickly too.

She hurriedly gathered up her old book and knee blanket to put them in her basket, but dropped the book.

Prince Norton picked up the fallen book for her.

“Ah, thank you.”

Rosie held out both hands to him.

Prince Norton smiled as he handed her the book, but as he casually opened the folded part, he raised one eyebrow.

“Spirit Sword?”

Rosie was startled by Prince Norton’s quiet mutter.

“Um… Your Highness, do you know… the ancient language of the Partsha Empire?”

I hoped it wasn’t the case….

The drawer where I had hidden the magic potion bottle was slightly open.

And on top of the dresser was the pouch containing the magic potion bottles.

I rushed to the dresser and picked up the pouch.

What’s this?

Part of the pouch was damp.

I quickly opened the pouch to check the magic potion bottles inside.

Damn it!

Of the three magic potions I had brought from the ‘Proud Night’ clinic, one cork stopper was open.

‘That bastard is not human, really!’

I clenched the pouch opening tightly in one hand and approached Prince Tessler.

He opened his mouth with a nonchalant expression, shrugging his shoulders.

“I was just going to take a look.”

“What on earth are you doing!”

I couldn’t raise my voice as much as my anger wanted to because there were attendants waiting outside the bedroom.

Prince Tessler seemed to take advantage of this fact, responding leisurely with a feeble smile.

“I’ve never seen what a magic potion bottle that removes burn scars looks like, so I thought I’d take a look and then….”

“How… did you know it was behind the dresser drawer?”

I gestured to the dresser with my chin as I asked.

He then took out something palm-sized from his pocket.

It was two connected silver rods. At the end of each rod was a transparent bead, and inside the beads, liquid sloshed around.

“If you put the magic potion you’re looking for and a tracking potion together in these two beads, it will find where that component is. It acts as a kind of detector.”

Prince Tessler kissed the beads and then put the silver detector back in his pocket.

If he had just threatened me with a frown, I wouldn’t have felt this disgusted.

Seeing him threaten with a smiling face made my stomach churn.

What a vile and petty bastard.

If I had known this would happen, I should have strangled Magician Vik at the clinic that day to get more magic potions!

No, even if I had, he would have found them anyway.

The potion I drank in the ‘Proud Night’ clinic examination room the day before the royal wedding was said to have an effect of about three weeks due to its larger quantity.

The magic potions I brought back were smaller in quantity, with each bottle lasting about a week.

Even then, the time when burn scars reappear can vary slightly depending on the person.

I had drunk one of the four magic potion bottles I brought from the clinic this morning.

It was time to take it again, and I felt a high heat sensation from the right burn scar last night, so I needed to drink it.

So there were three magic potions left in total, but that bastard had carelessly spilled one potion bottle into the pouch.

Now I only have two magic potions left.

“I don’t know what I did wrong? I thought I was faithfully carrying out my duty.”

I asked in a voice that tried to suppress my anger as much as possible, but my eyes were already bloodshot.

“You’re performing your role very well….”

Prince Tessler spoke admiringly as he looked me up and down, but his expression quickly hardened.

“However, there’s something that confuses me.”

“What do you find suspicious?”

“That position where you’re staying temporarily instead of Resilia, I wonder if you’re gradually becoming greedy for that position. That’s why you tried to look good to the Emperor. Is that why the cold Emperor started to feel affection for the Empress? That kind of suspicion.”

I don’t know how many times I swallowed curses while listening to Prince Tessler’s words.

You’ve got it wrong.

Emperor Rinel Gardion Edfa.

Because I want to fall asleep next to that man, because I’m happy when he calls my name and embraces me, because I love so much the way he waits for me to laugh while making ridiculous jokes in that serious, deep voice…..

That’s why I’ve started to become greedy for him.

Not because I’m greedy for the position of Empress, you stupid bastard.

“It’s unfair. To tamper with the conditions of our deal based on mere suspicion.”

I wanted to respond to Prince Tessler with the same snickering smile, but I couldn’t even manage a sneer.

“That’s why I left two, just in case.”

Prince Tessler prattled on about how he was too soft-hearted, saying something completely unrelatable.

“Can’t you just get more of that potion from Magician Vik? Relax your eyes a bit, Your Majesty the Empress.”

Right, I could just get more magic potions from Magician Vik. That’s why it was even stranger.

If that’s the case, there was no need to do this in the first place.

It’s too weak for a warning.

I had an ominous feeling that there must be some other scheme.

“Ah, I have one piece of advice as well.”

“What a bountiful morning. First an unfair warning, and now advice.”

Prince Tessler burst out laughing at my words, then looked at me with a momentarily pitiful expression.

That expression was so fake that it made my hair stand on end.

Vile and petty bastard.

“A man’s heart can’t be trusted. But there’s something even less trustworthy than that. What do you think it is?”

I didn’t even bother to ask since I didn’t want to know.

When I just tilted my head and looked at him, the prince spoke again.

“A man’s eyes. These eyes.”

Prince Tessler emphasized by tapping the side of his eyes with his finger.

“What do you mean?”

“If Emperor Rinel sees Your Majesty the Empress’s true appearance, will he still give you such an affectionate gaze and a foam kiss?”

“…”

“It would be fortunate if he doesn’t foam at the mouth in shock.”

He snickered.

I almost argued that my burn scars weren’t that hideous.

“You should find someone who loves your true self. Masquerade parties always end when the time comes.”

Prince Tessler’s words were as painful and stinging as flesh being cut by a blade.

Without realizing it, I was imagining Rinel’s face being shocked at seeing my burn scars.

“During the masquerade, well, enjoy it to your heart’s content. But when the party ends, you have to come home.”

The prince spread his arms wide like wings, as if implying that his embrace was my place to return to.

He’s toying with me.

“Wasn’t I supposed to be free once my duty as a proxy empress ended? I’ll decide where to go.”

Knock knock knock-

At the moment Prince Tessler snorted at my words, a knock was heard from outside the bedroom.

Startled by the knock, we exchanged glances.

I gave Prince Tessler a look telling him to quickly hide somewhere.

As I hesitated for a few seconds in confusion…..

Click-.

The bedroom door opened.