Of course, this could be my presumption. The Crown Prince might not have had any interest in someone like me.

Nevertheless, the embarrassment didn’t easily fade. The shame of having my flaws exposed tormented me.

What emotion could this burning face be compared to?

When caught by my sibling while secretly taking money from Father’s wallet? When confronted by a teacher while bullying an ostracized friend? When deliberately tripping my cousin before her debut……

Haa, the conclusion is one. I was a pathetic maid caught doing something wicked.

“Why that expression? What are you thinking about?”

I only mumbled with my lips. I simply couldn’t think of any words to respond with.

But the Crown Prince seemed to see right through me. He recited a soliloquy quietly and slowly.

“Yes, you were particularly visible today. Your dress color was quite eye-catching. I don’t know how it was for you, but I was grateful you wore that dress. If I happened to lose sight of you, I could quickly find you again.”

Strange words. They sounded as if he had been trying to keep an eye on me.

But the Crown Prince immediately corrected himself.

“Ah! I just meant you were easily visible. Because of your blue dress, inevitably.”

I wondered why he emphasized “inevitably” so strongly.

The Crown Prince quickly turned his head toward the window, then couldn’t help but face me again after a moment.

“You’re not misunderstanding, are you?”

Misunderstanding? What? Not understanding what his question meant, I countered with an unexpected question.

“How much did you see? My cousin falling? Her collision with the servant? Her being drenched in sherbet and wine? And also…… how she came to fall……”

“Everything. Your cousin falling. Her collision with the servant. Her ruining the debutante dress completely. You deliberately stepping on the hem of her dress. ……Disappointingly.”

The Crown Prince emphasized “disappointingly” again, and I lowered my head in shame. But then.

“Raise your head. I said I saw everything. I saw your cousin deliberately touching the candle. I saw how your dress almost caught fire. I saw everything, including your cousin dousing you with water.”

“……”

“So I was displeased. Disappointed. You only ruined your cousin’s debut, but you could have been seriously injured. Your response was too weak.”

I slowly raised my head and stared at the Crown Prince.

Though the time we made eye contact was extremely brief as he avoided my gaze.

“Don’t act too kindly. There are many rude people in the world. You’re the one making them rude. Etiquette is cunning; it tends to deviate when facing someone who seems easy to push around. To avoid being an easy target, you need to be a little bad. That way, cunning people won’t make the mistake of being disrespectful.”

Then the Crown Prince slightly raised the corner of his mouth.

“Still, it was impressive. You didn’t wait long before retaliating. Just like three days ago. Actually, I saw that too. The scene of your sister being carried by the servants. How dare the Count’s servants lay hands on a Viscount’s lady. The will incident is also strange.”

The Crown Prince muttered casually like an old friend.

But the content seemed somewhat peculiar. It felt as if he had closely examined our family situation.

“The will incident?”

“Your late grandfather’s will. Even the executor of the will was perplexed. The content was completely opposite when the will was written versus when it was opened.”

“Yes……”

“Since your father was ill, the executor couldn’t do anything. He only gave a warning in passing. He said if the Viscount happened to die, he would request a detailed investigation into the circumstances. He had a feeling that was the only way the Viscount would survive.”

“Yes…… But something seems strange.”

“Strange is an understatement. Forging a noble’s will is a serious crime.”

“No, I mean that Your Highness knows so much detail about internal family affairs. Such matters are known only to our family.”

The flustered Crown Prince studied my expression. He fidgeted with his fingers and shook his leg a bit.

“You’re not misunderstanding again, are you? Thinking that I investigated your family affairs.”

The Crown Prince spread his arms, claiming his innocence. But all his current actions seemed exaggerated.

“As you know, I don’t have that luxury. I have to meet dozens of teachers as soon as I open my eyes. Without a moment’s rest, how could I pay attention to individual noble families? I’m far too busy for that.”

“Yes……”

“Count Ruargo’s will? I’m not interested. Even the report about the Viscount’s family suffering from poverty, I just heard it in one ear and let it out the other. If you’re really suspicious, you can check with the servant who reported this content yesterday. I clearly showed no reaction.”

The Crown Prince, who had been speaking with increasing excitement, suddenly stopped all movement. He seemed to realize he had just made a verbal mistake.

To say he received a report about our family affairs from a servant yesterday.

The Crown Prince furrowed his brow and bit his lower lip tightly. He crossed his arms gruffly and stared beyond the window, seeming to suffer from embarrassment.

Heh.

I laughed silently and observed the Crown Prince in detail. As I had felt before, he was such a handsome man that my gaze was naturally captivated.

The harmonious coexistence of white skin and dark eyebrows, the blending of a round forehead and a high nose bridge.

Black hair paired with a smooth jawline, cool eyes matched with red lips.

My eyes especially couldn’t escape from his lips. His plump lips of dry rose color looked so neat.

The lip color was distinctly red, with clear lip lines forming a definite boundary. Like a three-dimensional strawberry decorating a whipped cream cake.

So I developed a slightly apologetic feeling toward the Crown Prince. His lips looked so delicious that I thought I’d like to taste them just once.

“I’ll return this to you.”

Suddenly, breaking the silence between us, I made an impulsive move. I handed one of the necklaces I received from my father to the Crown Prince.

“The silver coin you gave me last time. It’s your mother’s keepsake. I’m sorry I couldn’t return it intact. Actually, we needed a half-moon necklace. When we made a half-moon shape from the round silver coin, it became two necklaces. I only need one, so I’ll return one to you.”

The Crown Prince just stared at me. Whatever he found suspicious, his clear blue eyes were full of curiosity.

“Please take it. Half a silver coin is enough for the cooking competition prize.”

I pushed the necklace closer to his hesitant hand. After quite a long time of hesitation, the Crown Prince finally opened his palm.

“Alright then.”

A short and clear answer. Yet it seemed like he was taking a step back, leaving the decision to me.

The Crown Prince barely accepted the necklace and turned it over. Then he briefly shared his thoughts.

“But what should I do? Thanks to cutting it in half, this silver coin has lost its usefulness.”

“Why?”

“There are two reasons my mother carried this silver coin. The first was to use it as a mirror.”

“A mirror?”

“This side of the silver coin is particularly shiny, isn’t it? If you hold it up like this, your face is reflected like a mirror. Being Queen is a position that always has to endure people’s gazes, so she had to check every moment that her appearance wasn’t disheveled. So she would pretend to fiddle with the silver coin while actually checking herself.”

The Crown Prince held up the half-moon medal and looked at his reflection.

“It still works. It’s smaller, but still visible. It seems it can still function as a mirror. So it’s only lost its second use.”

“What’s the second use?”

“Deception.”

“Deception?”

“People sometimes use coins to determine fate. They bet on which side the coin will land when rolled.”

The Crown Prince showed me one side of the silver coin. It was the opposite side of the mirror-like surface.

“This silver coin lands on this side 7 out of 10 times when rolled. While one side is smooth like a mirror, the other side has a relief that creates a weight difference. This side is heavier, so it’s more likely to land on this side. Especially when the silver coin is set upright and rolled.”

“No way.”

“You don’t believe me. It’s true.”

“Let’s say that’s true, since we can’t test it.”

Thinking we had become somewhat closer, I teased him. Since I wasn’t embarrassed despite having my flaws exposed, I could say he and I were extremely close. At least in my heart.

I looked at him, hoping the Crown Prince felt similarly. The man with unreadable thoughts gave a strange smile.

“We don’t necessarily have to be unable to test it.”

“But it’s already cut in half.”

“Just because it’s cut in half doesn’t mean the other half is gone. If we put them back together, it’s possible.”

The Crown Prince’s last words were barely audible.

“It’s possible if we put them together. ……You and ……me.”

The Crown Prince turned his head toward the window again, avoiding my gaze. Simultaneously, as if by mistake, he placed his hand over mine, which was resting on the floor.

Our hands overlapped and didn’t move. The third, fourth, and fifth fingers were entangled with each other, unable to budge.

So I ended up following Frederick’s lead. Afraid I might act impulsively if I looked at his lips reflected in the window, I turned my head in the opposite direction.

If I observed his three-dimensional lips again, I would surely want to taste them.

I stared fixedly at the black wall, trying to suppress the lustful demon acting up inside me.