With this, Calix could know for sure.

‘Damn Rose Estanya!’

Rose Estanya was no different from a double-edged sword to him.

He felt like cursing her outright.

“Your Highness, anyway, at this point, it’s a good thing…”

“Shut up.”

As soon as he heard the rumor that Rose was in that kind of relationship with that wretched kitchen servant, Calix felt as if the whole world was twisting.

He was bewildered by such complex feelings he had never experienced before.

Calix wasn’t a fool. He knew very well what it meant to feel such emotions.

‘Damn it.’

He needed Rose Estanya.

In many ways.

Calix clutched at his head.

When he first saw her, he had no intention of getting this close. Not until she risked her life for him.

‘You dare to play with me?’

When he faced her, he couldn’t say anything.

Isn’t it strange to anyone?

Where in the world is there a master who cares this much about whether the maid he employs is dating or not?

Nevertheless, the more he thought about Rose, the more his insides twisted and knotted.

Before Rose opened her mouth, and after.

This wretched feeling had no intention of leaving him alone.

“But as Your Highness knows, unhealthy rumors with Miss Rose are of no help. Rather, it seems Miss Rose has made a wise choice.”

Calix looked at Ruel, who kept spitting out unpleasantly accurate words.

He had nothing to say.

In fact, Calix had no idea how to resolve the current situation.

The only fortunate point was that the relationship between that damned bastard and Rose was false.

Calix liked Rose.

He wanted her attention so much that he thought he was going crazy.

Not the kind of attention wrapped in loyalty, but the dynamic, purely worried attention for him that he felt that day in the Leviathan cave…

“I understand Your Highness’s intentions well, but keeping Miss Rose by your side can be done after you become Emperor.”

When the heart moves, one takes action. It wasn’t a difficult thing to do, whether as an Emperor or as a Crown Prince.

“But the Crown Princess should at least be from a noble family with a definite power base…”

“Who said anything about a Crown Princess.”

Calix roughly messed up his hair.

And for a moment, he examined his reflection in the mirror.

If Rose saw his disheveled hair, she would surely sigh with a sad face, saying all her morning efforts had gone to waste.

“Damn it.”

Calix hurriedly fixed his hair and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes.

No matter how he thought about it, it was normal.

Rose was charming.

Unlike him, she was always positive and energetic about everything.

Above all, she had the talent of making people comfortable when they were with her.

So it would be strange not to fall for her. Even if it wasn’t him.

Thinking like that made him feel more urgent.

What if her ridiculous love game with that kitchen bastard actually turned into something real?

It was awful.

There was nothing Calix could do about it.

“Your Highness, that doesn’t mean you can put Miss Rose in the position of Crown Princess.”

“Are you crazy? Why are you jumping to conclusions?”

Ruel stared back with widened eyes, bewilderment clear on his face.

“Aren’t you considering Miss Rose?”

Calix stared at Ruel with his mouth wide open.

He started to find that unnecessarily serious face of his increasingly unpleasant to look at.

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Calix slowly exhaled a deep breath.

These feelings will just be momentary anyway.

If he endures, it will end. How long could feelings he harbored for a mere maid last?

‘Let’s take time and lose interest.’

He had endured countless hardships alone until now.

So he could control his emotions by himself.

Rose wasn’t important right now.

That’s what he clearly thought.

But from the moment he admitted he had feelings for Rose, all his thoughts began to revolve around her.

Even though he saw Rose’s face every day, he became curious about Rose during the times when he wasn’t there.

The damn man named Aaron, who stuck to Rose’s side like glue, bothered him to an unbelievable degree.

So Calix had no choice but to follow Rose.

“Hey! Can’t you do it properly?”

He felt like a dog following only its master.

“I want to go back to the kitchen!”

The first reason for following her was the ridiculous excuse that there had been many suspicious points so far.

“Teiron said it’s okay to take you and use you in the kitchen since you’re just playing around anyway? If you’re disappointed, you should have worked hard from the beginning, you brat.”

The second excuse was that he would monitor whether she was performing the tasks he had assigned well.

“But wait, today’s menu is my favorite seasoned grilled chicken thighs?”

“Rose, didn’t you declare yesterday that you would maintain your dignity as His Highness’s closest aide?”

Every time he secretly followed her, he felt as if he was sinking into a very deep quagmire.

Rose, when not in front of him, was quite different from the person Calix knew.

The already bright Rose shone even more vibrantly and brightly outside his sight.

She was a bit quirky and even funny.

He started to have trouble sleeping again.

His sleep time had clearly increased since Rose started working by his side.

Useless thoughts kept lingering in his mind.

‘What am I to her? What… what do I want to do?’

Calix could not, in the end, come to an answer about that.

***

“Your Highness, here’s the script for the speech to be held in the main hall of the Crown Prince’s palace and the overall event planning proposal.”

Calix became strange.

“Do as you see fit.”

“You’re not… going to review it?”

“Review? Why should I respond to every detail of your strange system?”

I just blinked blankly in front of him.

He hadn’t said a word about my work methods until now, so why the sudden fuss? Is he picking a fight?

“You handle it yourself.”

I stood still, tightly gripping the speech I had held out, not knowing what to do with Calix’s suddenly cold attitude.

‘Well, reorganizing the palace servants isn’t the most important thing for him right now.’

I quickly understood and answered.

“Understood, Your Highness. Then I’ll go finish the tasks you’ve assigned.”

“Where are you going?”

Calix stood up and grabbed me.

I stared down at my wrist which was suddenly caught.

I took a short deep breath.

Because I was starting to get annoyed.

Of course, a mere maid can’t get annoyed at the Crown Prince, but still.

I looked at Calix with a forced smile and asked kindly.

“Your Highness? What’s the matter?”

At my words, Calix staggered with a stiff expression and then quickly withdrew his hand as if he had been burned.

And then he said this.

“Tea.”

“…Tea?”

“I can’t sleep, so prepare tea.”

I narrowed my eyes and stared at Calix quietly.

Strange.

He’s definitely been acting weird since returning from Desart.

I first put water in the kettle in the corner of the office as instructed.

‘He says he can’t sleep again. Surely nothing bad has happened again?’

A short sigh escaped.

I needed to ask Calix for a vacation soon.

Because of the diary, and it was about time to look into the female lead.

I had to introduce the female lead before he went crazy.

That’s the only way to form a smooth relationship.

But with Calix’s attitude like this now.

I couldn’t thoughtlessly ask for a vacation here.

“Your Highness, is there any particular type of tea you’d like?”

“Bring anything.”

Ah, yes.

The answer I hate the most is ‘anything’. How does he know so well?

I pouted and served chamomile, which seemed to be Calix’s favorite.

“What are you doing? Sit down.”

“Yes.”

And then silence followed.

I awkwardly watched him drink his tea.

It’s a face I see every day, but he’s still handsome.

If only he could control his temper a bit, it would be so nice.

“And give me that speech thing again.”

“Pardon? Ah, yes…”

What’s this? He’s all over the place.

When did he tell me to handle it myself, and now he’s like this not even 10 minutes later? I passed him the paper with a sour expression.

Calix sat comfortably on the couch and read through the speech I had written, racking my brains all night.

And then he asked.

“Did you write this?”

I nodded vigorously at Calix’s question.

His expression as he read wasn’t bad.

“Yes!”

Calix glanced at me.

“You seem to have studied various subjects in your youth.”

My face might have turned slightly red.

“Before that, don’t you think the content is too excessive?”

Thud, Calix put the paper down on the table.

His finger pointed to a specific phrase.

Our Crown Prince, molded by Kamesis’s grace! He is a true ruler who knows how to embrace his people kindly, and he will protect the people by eliminating our invisible enemies!

I tilted my head as I read the phrase I had written.

“I don’t think it’s particularly exaggerated. If you look at the main text, the invisible enemies refer to the forces of other princes and the opposing forces threatening the imperial family, and also…”

Calix covered his face with both hands.

A deep sigh echoed throughout the room.