“Your Highness, you’ve come out?”

The servants all bowed at once. Noah nodded slightly and stood next to Amy, looking around at the maids and saying indifferently:

“I almost didn’t recognize our girls.”

“Oh my…”

The maids blushed and fidgeted, uncannily understanding that it was a roundabout way of calling them pretty. From behind, whispers of “the sinful Crown Prince…” could be heard.

Noah then looked Amy up and down and made a disgruntled expression. Amy silently rolled her eyes. She was wearing a beige underdress that could pass for commoner’s clothing, with a light green gown over it and a tight-fitting brown bodice.

Noah raised one eyebrow.

“You’re going out like that?”

“Yes, Your Highness. I was planning to take a quick look around. But isn’t it your study time now?”

Amy, who had intended to slip out while Noah was studying, felt guilty and pulled her robe tighter to cover her clothes. But then she noticed something strange.

“Your Highness, whose clothes are those?”

Noah was also wearing clothes that weren’t his own – brown trousers with suspenders and rough shoes like a village youth might wear.

Noah quickly tried to change the subject.

“Ah, well…”

He glanced somewhere and his expression turned irritated. Following his gaze, Amy saw Spencer approaching hurriedly. He was looking around as if searching for something, then spotted Amy and Noah and rushed over.

“Your Highness, why are you here?”

“What else? To go see the festival.”

“With the head maid?”

He gave Amy a suspicious look. Noah stepped between them, blocking his gaze.

“What brings you here? I heard you were busy making timber contracts with representatives from other territories.”

Noah’s look at Spencer was ominous. Rita immediately understood why and whispered to Mary.

“It seems the rumors about Baron Burton having feelings for our head maid are true.”

“Really? But he’s glaring at her so much?”

“Silly, that can happen when you like someone too much. And look, he follows the head maid everywhere she goes, like now.”

“That does seem suspicious.”

As the two whispered, Noah’s expression grew darker. In fact, he had spotted Spencer walking along the castle walls during his lesson. Wondering why he was there, Noah narrowed his eyes, when suddenly his aide Charles came running up breathlessly with unexpected news.

‘Baron, I hear Amelia the head maid is about to go down to the village.’

‘Is that so?’

‘Yes. It seems she’s going to check on the festival situation. She was in disguise.’

‘My, then I should change into similar clothes and follow her.’

‘But why do you keep following her like this…?’

‘Isn’t it obvious? You’re my aide and you don’t know this? Use your head, use your head.’

He said coldly before turning and leaving. Left alone, Charles frowned and muttered:

‘I mean, there’s only one reason a man follows a woman around, right?’

Noah immediately pressed his tutor to end the lesson, badgered Ethan to give up his clothes, and rushed over. Noah glared at Spencer as if he could kill him.

‘At least he has eyes to see.’

It was already suspicious how he kept bothering Amy for ridiculous reasons, but now,

‘Calling her my lord’s lover while pulling this behind my back.’

It was the decisive moment when the vassal Coleman family fell out of favor with the Grand Duke, their overlord.

Spencer, unaware of this, answered Noah’s question sincerely.

“It’s a festival held in the North after such a long time. Since I’m here anyway, I came out to take a look.”

“Why now of all times?”

When Noah looked at him askance, Spencer was flustered, not understanding why the young Grand Duke he respected was being so curt with him.

Amy saw the cowed Spencer and thought she should wrap this up.

“If Baron Burton is also on his way to the festival, shall we go together?”

“!”

The two men had opposite reactions to those words. Spencer felt pleased but also uneasy about why this witch would suggest such a thing, while Noah’s eyes narrowed as if feeling betrayed.

‘Why, what, no why?’

Unable to understand the meaning of Noah’s gaze, Amy was flustered. Just then, the maids behind her fidgeted. They should have left earlier, but the arrival of the Grand Duke and Baron Burton had delayed them.

“We’re going to the same place anyway. Let’s go. We have to take turns, so if we’re late we might not be able to go at all.”

“…Fine.”

Noah gave a meaningful look behind him before reluctantly starting to walk. Spencer shot Amy one sharp, wary glance before quickly falling in behind him. Amy shook her head in disbelief as she followed after them with the servants.

Suddenly she heard Jack and Dwayne whispering something behind her.

“Lure… to a secluded place…”

“No sense… where do they think this is…”

“If we can just distract them for a moment…”

Amy was inwardly alarmed. Recalling the fierce temperament of the Northerners, she grew anxious.

‘What are they talking about, kidnapping someone? Surely they’re not planning to ruin the festival?’

More worried about ruining the festival than kidnapping, Amy sidled up to them and questioned:

“What are you talking about?”

“…A recent crime case.”

Jack glanced at Noah before answering in a monotone voice, staring into space as if reading from a book. It seemed odd, but Amy’s anxiety dissipated since it had nothing to do with the festival. While she was focused on them, she completely failed to notice other guards subtly luring Spencer away somewhere.

“…Jack, buy something tasty for the guards when they return.”

Noah took out a pouch from his chest and tossed it. Jack’s face lit up as he caught the pouch, heavy despite its small size. Noah praised him in a more relaxed tone:

“Good work.”

“Thank you.”

Amy tilted her head, not knowing what he had done well. Jack grinned as he noisily left with the knights and guards, saying they were going to look at weapons. After they left, the maids exclaimed while looking around.

“I had no idea it would be this successful!”

Mary marveled. Cecil was so busy sightseeing that she almost bumped into someone coming from the opposite direction.

“I’ve never seen the town this packed before.”

“I see.”

It was crowded everywhere. This was considered quiet since there were no performances at the moment.

Amy scanned the plaza, temple walls, and street surfaces with hawk eyes. She had already inspected on the first day, but she was still worried about areas that had been under construction before the Grand Duke’s arrival. Fortunately, despite the crowds, there were no cracks in the walls or broken paving stones.

‘The shops look fine too.’

Amy saw the jewelers and cobblers she and Joseph had negotiated with directly, all smiling broadly. She smiled too, seeing the banners embroidered with Northern symbols hanging from each building. There was no reason not to smile when the Grand Duke’s territory was thriving.

“I’ve never felt so proud to be from the North as I do today.”

Rita whispered, sticking close to Amy. Amy silently nodded as she looked around. Not just Rita, but almost all the Northern natives had moved expressions. They held back their emotions as they looked at Noah, recalling his words from the coronation ceremony.

‘I want you to be my witnesses and companions, together cultivating and enjoying the prosperity of the North that begins today.’

Though Noah’s expression was indifferent, his eyes were sharp as he observed the situation. He had personally overseen and checked even small details of this festival while handling his usual duties and studies. If there was one person in the Grand Duke’s family who was busiest and worked the most, Noah would be unanimously chosen.

Just then, Noah beckoned to a guard. As he quickly approached, Noah whispered:

“There’s someone who looks like a pickpocket at that intersection. Block their escape route and catch them.”

“Yes, sir.”

Several guards quietly vanished. Soon after, a pickpocket was dragged away, screaming loudly with their arm twisted behind their back.

After finishing their sightseeing, people headed to the teahouse, saying they were thirsty. Amy waved to Mrs. Weaver and the other maids who were already there, then sat down across from them with Noah.

Cecil, looking around the teahouse, lowered her voice and said:

“But why isn’t anyone recognizing the Grand Duke?”

It was strange, since they had hung his portrait in the town square. Amy replied nonchalantly:

“Ah, that… We altered the painting a bit.”

“What?”

Amy explained to Rita and Cecil, who were blinking in confusion:

“We added some touches to make him look older. There was an assassination attempt, so we couldn’t display His Highness’s face as is.”

“That’s true.”

The maids stole glances at the young-faced Grand Duke quietly drinking his tea. My, his beauty was refreshing and invigorating no matter when you looked at him.

Just then, the pastries Mrs. Weaver’s group had ordered arrived at their table.

“Why did you order these pastries?”

At Lucy’s question, Eva suddenly shook her shoulders and said in a nasal voice:

“I heard they were tasty, that’s whyyy.”

“Hahahahaha.”

As the maids burst out laughing, Mrs. Weaver spilled her teacup. She calmly cleaned up the table, but Amy noticed the tips of her ears had turned bright red. Amy sipped her own tea, thinking of Captain Vernon who was probably sobbing alone in the castle by now.

‘Not a failure at all, but a great success.’

The maids seemed to think so too, giggling amongst themselves. Mrs. Weaver, probably feeling embarrassed, abruptly left saying she was going to the bathroom.

Just then, Noah leaned forward. Realizing he had something to say, Amy, Rita, and Cecil also leaned in until their heads almost touched. Noah’s lips moved:

“There’s a woman two tables diagonally from us who keeps looking our way.”

“!”

Cecil’s head shot up. Rita quickly grabbed the back of her head and pulled her down.

“Ugh!”

“Have some sense. What are you doing turning around so obviously?”

“Ah, sorry…”

As Cecil sheepishly scratched the back of her neck, Noah suddenly tilted his head.

“The face looks familiar, who is it?”

“What?”

Amy was alarmed. If it was a woman Noah recognized, she must be someone from the Imperial Palace where he had lived his whole life… Just then, Noah whispered again:

“She’s coming this way.”