“Do you often take walks in this garden, Your Highness?”

It was a question she already knew the answer to.

“When I have time, I come here quite often. Do you like it?”

His answer being exactly as she had expected, his words were true.

Based on what she knew of his personality, Delia intended to figure out the true feelings hidden behind his smile.

“I like it. After all, Tranade is quite a barren region.”

Delia suddenly remembered Kaiel buried in work at his office.

Despite Tranade’s extremely barren land, the fact that Tranade ran well was due to Kaiel as its ruler and the servants who followed him.

All the servants working under him also cherished their work and were loyal to their duties.

‘It’s a good place. With Kaiel, Lisa, and Ian……’

Observing Delia’s expression, Niol laughed heartily.

“My, despite your words, Miss Averbit, your face shows quite some satisfaction with life in Tranade?”

Wondering if she now had to manage her facial expressions in front of Niol too, Delia turned her gaze back to him from the garden.

“It’s good enough, I suppose.”

Her eyes briefly flickered to the dimple beside Niol’s mouth. Whether to say the original work was well implemented or not, his smile was extremely charming. She especially liked the dimple.

“Miss Averbit?”

At his voice, Delia hurriedly shifted her gaze elsewhere.

A small laugh was heard from above.

“It seems you like my face.”

How could she not!

As an author, isn’t it the ultimate reward to see the protagonist you’ve only imagined standing before you with such a handsome face?

Delia spoke carelessly.

“Well, rumors praising Your Highness’s appearance are widespread throughout the Empire……”

“Really?”

Niol pretended to think for a moment, tapping his long fingers on his chin before asking.

“What do these rumors say?”

He must know, given how widespread they are. Delia met Niol’s blue eyes and answered.

“They say you’re very beautiful and shine brightly.”

Niol nodded silently.

“I’m curious what you think about those rumors, Miss Averbit.”

At Niol’s mischievous words, Delia finally stopped walking.

“……Your Highness.”

At her call tinged with embarrassment, Niol stopped walking too and began laughing.

“Alright, alright. I’m sorry for teasing you. Your reactions are just too entertaining.”

For a moment, Delia almost nodded in agreement with his words without realizing it.

Hadn’t she also enjoyed tormenting Kaiel for his reactions?

Thinking about it now, she had gone too far.

They had already circled around from the end of the garden and were heading back toward the imperial palace.

While occasionally responding to Niol’s words, Delia was contemplating how to raise the plausibility score with him.

If villain Kaiel’s displeasure, anger, and unhappiness raised the plausibility score, then for protagonist Niol, she would likely need to draw out happiness.

‘How should I do it, should I try to butter him up to please Niol?’

Delia carefully recalled what Niol liked and what made him happy in the original work.

By the time Delia had thought this far, they had finally emerged from the garden.

“Well, if you wait here, you should be able to meet Lord Tranade.”

Niol withdrew the arm he had offered her.

That’s when it happened.

“Delia.”

A familiar voice came from the direction of the imperial palace. Turning her head toward the sound, Delia called out with a brightened face.

“Ka…… Grand Duke!”

She almost forgot she was in front of the Crown Prince and nearly called out Kaiel’s name. As soon as she saw his face, Delia was enveloped in a warm sensation like coming home, feeling an inexplicable sense of security.

Just as Delia was about to move towards where Kaiel was…

“……”

She found herself held in place before taking even a single step.

When Delia looked down at her elbow, she saw Niol’s hand preventing her from moving forward.

She thought he had withdrawn his arm earlier, but now he was supporting her hand even more firmly.

When Delia, showing obvious signs of confusion, looked up at him, he gave her a slight smile.

“I’m sorry.”

He lifted the corners of his mouth gently and whispered so only she could hear.

“Would you mind staying like this for a moment?”

Delia ended up standing still, unable to move, watching Kaiel.

Seeing how Niol was acting, it seemed he intended to provoke Kaiel’s temper.

Kaiel spoke firmly to her while completely avoiding looking in Niol’s direction.

“Come here.”

Delia answered in her heart.

‘I want to come!’

When Delia didn’t move, Kaiel, who only then glared at Niol who was stuck close to her side, called her once more.

“Delia.”

Since he hadn’t forbidden her from answering, it should be fine to respond.

“Yes!”

Though she answered, she still didn’t move, causing Kaiel’s expression to crease further.

Somehow as the situation flowed like the two were in a standoff with her in between, Delia felt stifled.

Looking back and forth between Niol and Kaiel, she finally realized something.

Why Niol had sent Kaiel to the Emperor.

‘It was because of me……!’

Niol had deliberately sent him for an audience with the Emperor to completely separate Kaiel from her and buy time!

“Lord Tranade. Did you have a good audience with His Majesty the Emperor?”

“……”

A subtle tension began to circle between the two.

Of course, Niol, being the Crown Prince, wouldn’t have done this just because of her, a mere northern researcher.

What Niol had taken notice of wasn’t ‘just’ a northern researcher, but a researcher ‘working under Kaiel.’

Well, having stuck to Kaiel like a leech, it was impossible for Niol not to take interest.

Given Kaiel’s personality of rarely keeping people around him, perhaps he found her interesting?

‘So what are you trying to do with me?’

Delia straightened her posture.

‘Just need to keep my wits about me. Right now the plausibility score is sufficient, I just need to not lose it!’

When she adjusted her posture, Niol, perhaps thinking his grip was uncomfortable, quickly changed the direction of his hand and placed it gently.

“Are you more comfortable now?”

Though it wasn’t because of that, her posture did become much more comfortable.

“……I think so.”

That’s when it happened.

Kaiel, who had been standing still, strode toward her. A heavy voice burst from his lips.

“Your Highness.”

Seeing Niol’s hand placed on Delia’s arm as he approached, Kaiel’s brow darkened.

“Please let go.”

Though it was quite a polite tone, his voice was filled with suppressed defiance.

Delia found it quite fascinating to see Kaiel speaking politely and respectfully to someone for the first time.

But there was no leisure to enjoy it.

“Our walk isn’t over yet, Lord Tranade.”

Delia was dumbfounded.

‘It is over!’

“Let. Her. Go.”

Delia, caught in the middle, felt tremendous energy between the two.

They were both so tall that she had to crane her neck up high to read their expressions, which were well above her head.

Niol sneered.

“Are you trying to interfere with my time? What kind of manners are those?”

‘Oh geez, take it easy, you two!’

In the original work too, whenever these two met, they would clash and growl at each other like this.

They were opposites in personality from the start. While their early conflicts were mostly light and frequent, after Lady Rant died in the incident involving lapocia, it transformed into uncontrollable hatred.

Now that she had helped Lady Rant, she hoped it wouldn’t go that far. Though before that could happen, one of them would meet death at her hands anyway.

At that moment, Kaiel’s voice struck down from above.

“I apologize, but the person Your Highness is holding is my person.”

Delia snapped her head up. This was welcome news.

‘His person……!’

However, there was still no time to rejoice.

Niol asked politely.

“I didn’t know you had someone you cared about?”

Indeed, his tone was impeccably polite, but his words were not. Kaiel’s eyes began to shine dangerously, as if one more provocation would be perilous.

“Let go.”

Delia let out a small sigh.

It seemed neither of them had any intention of backing down.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to say something between them, an unexpected sound rang in her ears.

Ding.

[Villain ‘Kaiel’ feels anger.]

[Plausibility score increases by 5 points.]

Ding.

[Protagonist ‘Niol’ feels satisfaction.]

[Plausibility score increases by 5 points.]

Oh my.

Staring blankly at the status window that appeared before her eyes, Delia swallowed hard.

To think this could happen without her directly doing anything?

Looking at it closely, Kaiel was feeling anger towards Niol who wouldn’t let go of ‘her,’ and Niol was feeling satisfaction towards Kaiel who was trying to take ‘her’ away, so this result could also be seen as something ‘she’ herself had caused.

Delia’s heart raced.

What an unexpected windfall!

Meanwhile, as the standoff between the two continued and Kaiel discarded the politeness he had been maintaining to speak informally, Niol curled up the corners of his mouth.

“Your words are getting short.”

Kaiel took another step closer to him and warned threateningly.

“This is as far as I’ll keep up appearances, Niol.”

Delia, quietly watching their battle of wills, became curious inside.

Someone of Kaiel’s caliber could easily pull her hand away, yet he didn’t directly intervene to separate Niol and her until the end.

Was it minimal courtesy toward the Crown Prince?

‘That aside……’

Her legs were starting to feel stiff. It wasn’t strange, since she had been standing continuously since getting off the carriage.