Calsion simply gazed at her smiling face. He didn’t know what to say.

“So, what will happen to me now?”

April’s words echoed through the bedroom. At her question, Calsion pressed his lips together.

Anyone with divine power was as good as property of the temple—the temple’s asset. That was another name for a priest. Now that he knew about her power, Calsion was supposed to send April to the temple. That was the law of the empire.

“Am I supposed to go to the temple now?”

Calsion, who had been lost in useless thoughts for a moment, replied indifferently to April’s calm question.

“Do you want to go to the temple?”

“No!”

April answered immediately, her eyes filled with desperation. She wanted to find a way to persuade Calsion to let her stay here, no matter what. She was just grateful he brought it up first.

“I absolutely don’t want to go.”

The determination in her voice made Calsion ask,

“Why not?”

“If that happens, it’ll be no different from when I was at the Bright Duchy. Only the place would change.”

It wasn’t that April had never thought of revealing her power and going to the temple. She had many choices. In the end, she’d come to Calsion, the one the Duke had carefully selected, but she’d decided to search for a new path here.

A path to freedom. That path wasn’t anywhere else but here.

‘He must not have a good relationship with the temple.’

That’s probably why he suspected her, wondering if she’d been sent by the temple.

April steadied her breath. How she acted here would determine her relationship with Calsion.

There was no need to struggle to speak. She just needed to state her wishes calmly and confidently.

“I don’t want to go to the temple. So, can you protect me?”

“Protecting you is my duty. Is that something that really needs to be said?”

“Oh!”

April covered her mouth, unable to hide her joy. His words touched her heart. Of everything Calsion had ever said, this was her favorite.

She bounced her feet on the bed, then suddenly threw her arms around Calsion’s neck. The situation was the same as before, but this time, Calsion was different.

He hugged April tightly. Pulling her close by the waist, he whispered in her ear,

“There’s nothing left to hide now, is there, Vi?”

“N-no, nothing left!”

“Then I can finally relax, right?”

“Yes. So, um… ah!”

Calsion deliberately nibbled on April’s earlobe, then moved his lips again. April’s fingers tingled for a different reason now, and she didn’t know how to respond. She wanted to push him away and run, but she couldn’t.

From the strong arms that wouldn’t let her go, to the voice that gripped her heart.

“Your Highness, please… let me go now…!”

“There shouldn’t be anything more you’re hiding, Vi.”

Calsion blew into her ear again as if warning her, whispering,

“I’m reaching my limit.”

He was not in a particularly good mood. April had hidden so much from him. Even tolerating her until now was unusual for Calsion—he’d shown her far more patience than he ever had with anyone else.

He didn’t know why. Strangely, he found himself being lenient only with April, but his actions hadn’t changed.

Calsion tightened his hold on April. Her body felt so thin beneath the flimsy fabric that he worried he might break her if he held any tighter.

He wanted to protect this fragile woman, but he also wanted to break her, to keep her in the palm of his hand. Calsion didn’t know what to do with his feelings; his mind was a mess.

“Your Highness, please let me go now…”

April’s desperate voice finally brought Calsion back to his senses. He slowly loosened his grip. Once she was completely free, April edged away from him.

She wobbled as she reached the edge of the bed, raising her hand to steady herself. Calsion grabbed her arm just as she was about to fall.

Thanks to his help, she didn’t hit the floor, but she ended up in his arms again. April, her face pressed to his broad chest, blinked, then quickly pulled away. This time, she managed to keep her balance without falling.

“Are you all right?”

“…Yes, I’m fine.”

“You survived an assassin, but it’d be a shame to get hurt falling off a bed, Vi.”

“Y-yes, that’s true.”

For some reason, hearing Calsion call her “Vi” made her mouth dry. Why did that title make her heart race so much? April couldn’t bring herself to express those feelings and pressed a hand to her pounding chest.

“Vi.”

He could just call her by name—why did he keep using that title? April pouted, but still answered obediently.

“Yes.”

“You said you wanted to learn something other than etiquette?”

It seemed the finance minister had already mentioned it. April nodded quickly. Seeing her enthusiastic response, Calsion’s lips curled up slightly. April was so busy nodding that she didn’t notice his smile.

“I do want to learn!”

“And what do you plan to do with what you learn?”

“If I learn, I’ll find a use for it someday.”

She’d always wanted to study, but the Bright Duchy had never taught her anything. They hadn’t even given her the chance. But if she was given the opportunity, she was confident she could do better than anyone. That’s how desperate April was to learn.

For the past few days, she’d been learning not just etiquette but all sorts of common knowledge from the finance minister, and she loved it. She couldn’t put it into words, but it felt like her thirst for knowledge was finally being quenched.

“Yes, if you learn something, you’ll find a use for it.”

“So I can learn, then?”

“Of course. But you must remember: you can’t use what you learn for the wrong reasons.”

Calsion’s words of permission were clear. He’d added a warning, but his approval meant he was officially supporting April. Just as the emperor had supported him, now he would support April.

April, who hadn’t really heard the warning at the end, beamed with joy. And this public declaration quickly spread among the nobles as proof of the alliance between the Bright Duchy and the Second Prince.

***

“Did you hear the news?”

“You too, Count? I heard as well.”

“The Bright Duchy must have lost its mind to side with the Second Prince…”

Count Herace trailed off, sighing as he looked at Marquis Buchelsien.

“Sigh… this is a big problem.”

“And why is that?”

“My only daughter has completely fallen for the Second Prince and follows him everywhere.”

“But the Second Prince doesn’t even attend social gatherings.”

“That’s just it. She’s at the palace nearly every day…”

His words sounded worried, but the marquis quickly saw through the count’s real intentions. It meant he wanted his daughter to aim for Calsion, the Second Prince, rather than the much-coveted Third Prince, who had too many contenders.

Even though the Second Prince was already married, getting into the royal family’s favor would help the family’s status and social standing immensely. After all, the current empress had once been the emperor’s mistress.

“Don’t tell me you want to tie your family to the royal house?”

“Oh, no, of course not. I’m just letting my daughter do as she wishes.”

The marquis clicked his tongue and shook his head at the count. As a merchant who ran a trading company, he should have learned to hide his greed, but his eyes were still full of ambition.

All that talk about loving his daughter was nonsense. Who would push their beloved daughter into the royal family?

Whatever the marquis’s reaction, the count’s eyes sparkled with delight. He was only thinking about how, if his daughter could push aside the duke’s eldest daughter and take her place, his family could rise even higher.

He might have bought a noble title, but he was still considered a wealthy merchant in noble society. No crown prince or other prince would ever reach out to someone like him.

‘But the Second Prince is different.’

If it was Calsion, who’d spent most of his life away from the capital on the battlefield, he might see things differently. If he could just win over someone so unfamiliar with the capital’s ways, he might get close to power. If that happened, he could finally look down on the other nobles who’d always scorned him for being a merchant.

The count was confident. His daughter was beautiful—she was called the flower of the social world.

‘Even if it fails, it doesn’t matter. I’ll become the empress’s source of funds and make sure I set foot deep inside the palace.’

The count chuckled to himself, his laughter dark and sly.