Chapter 35

A day in the Imperial Palace passed as usual. People moved about to attend to their tasks, and the office was no exception. However, Neil, sitting at his desk, couldn’t focus on his work at all; he just sat there blankly.

“…….”

Diana noticed Neil’s strange behavior, but she simply continued flipping through her documents. She knew exactly why he was acting that way.

“…My world is over, Senior Aide.”

“Why say something like that? It’s fine. Don’t dwell on it too much. You’ll only make it harder on yourself.”

On his way to the office, Neil had run into Kahil by chance in the corridor. He’d approached the man he’d dreamed about and admired so much, and the result was exactly what everyone expected. Neil, who’d arrived at the office looking haggard after that brief encounter, hadn’t been able to do anything since, sitting in his chair, utterly dejected.

“I told you to prepare yourself before meeting His Highness, the Grand Duke.”

“I thought you meant I should prepare for being so excited and thrilled to meet him. But, but…”

Unable to even describe Kahil’s true nature, Neil squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in his hands.

“If this is a dream, please, Senior Aide, slap my cheek and wake me up. I can’t believe this is real.”

“I tried slapping my cheek after meeting His Highness, but unfortunately, it wasn’t a dream.”

“No, no! My Grand Duke, my Grand Duke…!”

Even Diana herself had been shocked by Kahil’s demeanor, so Neil’s devastation was understandable. Diana looked at Neil’s suffering with pity. Judging by his symptoms, he’d need at least a few hours to recover.

Yes, Grand Duke Kahil’s presence was affecting the entire palace right now.

And everyone who had met Kahil showed a reaction similar to Neil’s. Especially Neil, who had admired Kahil, was even more shocked, staring into space.

But unfortunately, Neil’s suffering didn’t end there. At that moment, the office door swung open energetically, and Kahil appeared.

“Hello! Diana!”

“Your Highness?”

Startled by Kahil’s sudden entrance, Diana jumped up from her seat. Kahil glanced around the office, taking it all in.

“So this is the Imperial Palace office? The palace office and my house’s office are equally boring.”

“Ah… What brings you here, Your Highness? And how did you know I was here?”

“Sophia told me. I came with her.”

As Kahil turned, Sophia appeared behind him. She entered the office with a natural smile.

“I brought him. His Highness wanted to see you, Diana.”

“Right! I came especially to talk to my fan!”

Kahil stretched his arms out triumphantly. The office instantly became lively. Diana forced herself to smile, not expecting him to show up like this.

“I’m sorry, but it’s working hours right now, so I don’t think I can spare time for you, Your Highness.”

“Huh? But I heard that welcoming important guests to the palace is part of the aide’s job?”

“…Who said that?”

“Sophia did.”

Sophia, now beside Diana, added with a cheerful laugh.

“Yes, and I heard there’s no urgent work this morning anyway, so you could spend a little time with His Highness, couldn’t you?”

“…….”

They were having far too much fun. Sophia hadn’t been joking when she said she’d visit the palace every day. Both Sophia and Kahil looked at Diana with bright faces. In the end, Diana relented.

“Well… I suppose that’s fine.”

She figured she’d have to talk with him at some point, and Neil wasn’t in any shape to work, so Diana decided to spend a little time with them. All the while, Neil writhed in agony every time Kahil opened his mouth.

“Neil, step outside for a bit. Get some fresh air and come back when you’ve recovered.”

“…Yes.”

At Diana’s words, Neil staggered out. His face was obviously troubled. Once Neil left, Kahil asked,

“What’s wrong with him? Why does he look so weak?”

“He had quite a shocking experience. So I told him to take a break.”

“Really? Must’ve seen something pretty shocking, huh?”

“Yes, very much so.”

Diana led Kahil and Sophia to the table and chairs.

“I’ll have the attendants bring some tea.”

“I don’t like tea. Make it hot chocolate. Oh, and lots of sweet desserts.”

“…Understood.”

By now, nothing surprised her anymore. Diana resigned herself, and Sophia, seated beside her, looked thoroughly entertained. Diana whispered very quietly to Sophia, so Kahil wouldn’t hear.

“You tremble so much around His Majesty, but you stick right next to his cousin?”

“If someone makes things fun for me, I don’t care if they’re the Emperor’s cousin or anyone else. Thanks to him, things have been so entertaining lately.”

“Fine, just please don’t do anything weird.”

It was a truly unpredictable combination, and Diana couldn’t help but sigh. Whether Sophia understood Diana’s anxious heart or not, Kahil sat down with a cheerful face.

“Come on, come on. You two sit down. You must have so much you want to talk about with me, right?”

Kahil looked at Diana with a proud face.

“I already talked with Sophia earlier, so now it’s your turn, Diana. Don’t you have anything you’re curious about? Ask me anything.”

“Well, actually, since you came so suddenly, I haven’t prepared any questions… hmm…”

She wasn’t really curious about anything, but Diana tried to think of something.

“Then, was there any special reason why your book was published, Your Highness?”

“Oh, that? My father made it at first. He thought it would be nice to have something like that.”

Diana quickly understood when she heard the late Grand Duke had started it. She could feel the father’s love, trying to protect his son.

“But once it was made, it turned out really well! So after that, I started making it myself.”

“You made it yourself, Your Highness?”

“Oh, well, I just gave the orders. The attendants did the actual work.”

“I see. Then, is everything in the book… something you actually did, Your Highness?”

Maybe his personality was like this, but perhaps he was still good at sword fighting. Diana held onto her last hope.

“Like things that happened on the battlefield, or stuff like that.”

“Hmm, well… There might be a little exaggeration here and there, but that’s not really important!”

Seeing Kahil avoid her gaze, Diana let go of her last hope. This wasn’t just a little exaggeration—it was fantasy novel territory. The genre of the book had shifted.

“…I see. Thank you for explaining.”

What was she supposed to do with this man? The more they talked, the more Diana started to feel sorry for Kahil.

Meanwhile, the attendants began bringing in loads of desserts, and Kahil eagerly grabbed a fork.

“Wow, there are so many delicious desserts in the palace!”

“Yes, please enjoy, Your Highness.”

She gave up. Diana just sat there, watching Kahil eat desserts with abandon. After a while, Kahil, chewing cake, suddenly spoke as if he’d just remembered something.

“Oh, right. Diana, I wanted to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“Could you arrange a palace banquet?”

“…Excuse me?”

She’d expected him to ask for another cake, but Kahil’s request far surpassed her expectations.

“I want to meet more people who’ve read my book, not just you both. Wouldn’t it be better to meet them all at once? A palace banquet would be perfect! Throw a welcome party for me in the palace ballroom.”

“Wait, wait. A palace banquet? Inviting all the nobles? You want to be the guest of honor at such a banquet?”

“Yes. Sophia said it was possible, isn’t it?”

“Sophia?”

So that’s why Kahil was talking about a palace banquet—of course, the culprit was sitting right beside her. Sophia smiled with her eyes curved in delight.