***

Leticia was well aware of her appearance.

Objectively, she was handsome.

She looked more like a handsome man than a beautiful woman, but Leticia felt no regret about that.

From the beginning, it had been helpful rather than problematic—both during her childhood when she aimed for male roles in a theater troupe with few female parts and throughout the past 10 years when she had to live as a “prince” in a male disguise.

A beautiful golden-haired prince from a fairy tale.

Leticia’s appearance was that of a typical, classic pretty boy.

In this Grand Duchy, where the average build was larger than in the Empire, Leticia in male disguise looked like nothing more than a boy no matter how you looked at her.

That’s why Leticia found it somewhat curious when normal women, not just naive young girls, showed interest in her.

‘Don’t they usually prefer tall, muscular types who can protect them…? Why choose this scrawny body when there are plenty of big men in the Grand Duchy…’

She thought her appearance, while objectively handsome, lacked distinctiveness.

‘This typical appearance is the kind only inexperienced youngsters would like; wouldn’t people get tired of it as they grow older?’

If someone had heard this, they might have responded, “Haha, such modesty. Classics never get old; that’s why they’re classics.” Unfortunately, since Leticia had never voiced these self-deprecating thoughts about her appearance, no such exchange occurred.

Thus, Leticia’s misconception continued.

Of course, this was because Leticia herself was unaware that her own preference was for muscular types. She unconsciously felt attracted to large, rugged, muscular people.

‘Isn’t strength and health the greatest charm? I might be acceptable in the Empire, but in the Grand Duchy, I’m too scrawny…’

So when Leticia woke up with a dizzy head after collapsing and found herself in the middle of a forest lake, she was more surprised by Chamuka’s confession—who had fallen into the water with her despite not knowing how to swim—than by her surroundings.

Was her appearance really that impressive? It didn’t seem that way to her.

Master Chamuka wasn’t a young girl dreaming of a fairy tale prince, so why?

‘Why this scrawny, unmanly body…’

No, wait, was it even appropriate to make such an open confession?

For the heir of the Grand Duke’s family to confess to a boy of the same gender whom he couldn’t marry was certainly not something a sane person would do.

Of course, there didn’t seem to be many sane people in Basilinte anyway… but still.

Yes, Chamuka could like the same gender.

And preferences, sure. He could prefer scrawny, pretty boys. Chamuka’s ideal type might be exactly the same as a young girl’s.

Leticia somehow managed to accept this.

Then it would make sense that he developed feelings for the pretty boy he saw most often besides his family. After all, as Leticia herself admitted, she did have a handsome face.

But if Chamuka truly liked the same gender and confessed to Leticia, a nearby pretty boy(?) who happened to be his type(?), that would be even more problematic.

Because she wasn’t really a man.

She had no intention of accepting his feelings in the first place, but she also shouldn’t accept them.

***

Not long after entering the lake, the prince’s closed eyelids trembled and finally revealed his eyes.

Recognizing Chamuka, those eyes, filled with confusion, blinked rapidly.

Then immediately, the prince’s arms wrapped around Chamuka’s neck.

Unaware that Chamuka had frozen, the prince held onto him and rose to the surface of the lake.

“Puha!”

Breaking the surface, the prince held Chamuka’s shoulders and stammered.

“What, suddenly what lake…? And why is Chamuka…”

The prince was at a loss for what to ask first. Despite this, the hand that wiped away the water from Chamuka’s hair and cheeks was gentle.

Chamuka could feel his face and hair drying under the prince’s touch.

“Get out quickly. What are you doing here when you can’t even swim?!”

Chamuka grabbed the prince’s arm that was trying to push his shoulder away.

Normally, such a slender arm wouldn’t have been able to push him away, but they were in water. The prince could control the lake water to push Chamuka all the way to the shore.

“If you’re going to send me out of the lake, come with me.”

The prince slightly frowned at that and lightly tapped the surface of the lake with his other hand that wasn’t held by Chamuka.

With that light gesture, the water rippled and gently pushed their bodies toward the shore.

Soon, their feet touched the bottom.

Chamuka held the prince’s arm tightly as they splashed out of the lake.

The prince muttered in a confused tone while wiping his wet face.

“I’m sure I was in the study…”

“That’s right. I brought you here after you collapsed in the study.”

The prince, whose clothes were now completely dry as if he had never entered the lake, smiled slightly. As if Chamuka had made a great joke.

“Collapsed? Why do you say it like that when I was just taking a short nap?”

“You were trying to get up from the sofa when you grabbed your head and collapsed. Fortunately, you fell toward the sofa. I took you straight to the physician…”

Chamuka instantly rolled up Leticia’s sleeve. Her forearm was covered with needle marks.

Chamuka stared at Leticia. He was curious what excuse she would make.

No. Actually, he was curious if her excuse could suppress his anger.

“…The physician said it was due to blood deficiency. Why is your blood deficient?”

The physician, not knowing the situation well, asked based on prejudice against magicians if Astrid had conducted some kind of experiment.

Upon hearing this, he calmly picked up the prince again and went to find Astrid.

Then, he smashed through the firmly locked door of the Grand Duke’s bedroom in broad daylight.

Fortunately(?), Astrid, who had not yet undressed, saw the unconscious prince in Chamuka’s arms and attacked him, shouting, “It was you after all!”

Of course, Astrid’s attacks weren’t very effective since she couldn’t use magic.

However, Ferik, who would do anything Astrid ordered, was there half-n*ked beside her, so soon the Grand Duke’s bedroom began to be thoroughly destroyed.

After much shouting, fighting, and misunderstanding, Astrid finally sees the prince’s forearm and is shocked.

Her reaction showed she truly knew nothing, which saved Chamuka from committing an unfilial act, and Ferik was finally able to put on clothes.

But regardless of what the two Basilinte did, Astrid’s eyes were fixed only on her unconscious disciple.

She hurriedly drew water for a bath to replenish the prince’s energy and tried to put him in it…

…Anyway, after another round of fighting, Chamuka fled to the lakeside with the prince in his arms.

Leaving behind accusations that he could never put this pure child in a bathtub where his mother and father might have done who knows what.

And now, here they were.

Chamuka asked again when there was no answer.

“Why did you draw blood? So much of it. What were you going to use it for?”

“…I needed it for an experiment.”

“What experiment?”

The easy excuse that someone who wasn’t a magician wouldn’t understand didn’t work on Chamuka.

Although he hadn’t awakened his magical power, his knowledge of magical research was quite advanced.

“Among your recent research, what experiment requires your blood?”