Eclise threw Lili’s words right back at her.

“……”

“If you want to seduce me because you like me, find another way, or if you’re still looking for someone to play the clown, just give it up from the start. That kind of approach to your father will only be seen as the rebellion of an imperial princess who doesn’t understand the world.”

Is that informal or formal speech?

Rodi fell into contemplation again.

Anyway, she wished he would let her go.

It was frustrating not being able to touch the ground.

“……”

“If you’re going to do something, do it properly, and when you challenge someone, choose your opponent carefully.”

Now Lili’s face was not only bleached white but looked like it might turn to dust at any moment.

“……”

“Do you understand?”

Eclise clicked his tongue and organized the remaining documents.

Even in the midst of this, perfectly reviewed documents were neatly stacked up.

“Y-you……”

After turning completely red and then deathly pale, Lili began to sob.

Her face flushed with belated outrage.

“You could have just said no! How, how great do you think you are to speak so rudely?”

Eclise shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m someone who lives for the pleasure of my own greatness.”

Lili looked like she wanted to slap him, but the words that flowed from her plump lips were completely the opposite.

“…I’m sorry. For being rude first. I thought it wasn’t a bad approach.”

“I’m glad you finally realize how terrible it was.”

“D-damn… But you’re going too far.”

“If you’re upset that your incompetent brother has taken the crown prince position and want to bring him down, you’ll need to act smarter than you are now.”

If you don’t want to be like him.

Lili, who couldn’t hide her embarrassment, opened her eyes wide.

“How did you know when it hasn’t even been announced yet… No, I get it, I get it. Just stop making that expression.”

Eclise, who was about to make a thoroughly disgusted and pitiful expression as if asking if he needed to repeat himself, just shook his head.

‘This isn’t right.’

Lili felt a shame incomparable to any insult she had ever received.

Because none of Eclise’s words were wrong.

They say Cheiles can find out any information if they set their mind to it, but this was something that hadn’t even come from the Emperor’s mouth yet.

It was surprising that he already knew with certainty and had seen through all the reasons she had come here.

The reason she had come this far was indeed correct.

First, she was upset that her stupid brother, obsessed with women and pleasure, would be made crown prince simply because he was born male.

Additionally, the Emperor was treating her like a consumable, trying to rush her into the marriage market to support her brother.

More precisely, it was closer to hatred for her father, the Emperor, who resembled her brother exactly.

She wanted to ruin what seemed to happen so naturally and to publicly smear her father’s face properly.

She knew it wouldn’t be easy, and she felt she had moved hastily.

But Lili truly thought Eclise was the right person.

‘He wasn’t like this before…’

Since Lili and Eclise weren’t meeting for the first time, she had been more confident.

She had visited a few times before for requests, and he had never treated her like this.

Rather, he had been much more gentlemanly than she expected…

It had always been for requests, but since she knew what she wanted this time, she thought they would be able to communicate today too.

She belatedly thought that her mistake might have been asserting her pride from the beginning when she had come for help.

‘Still, no matter what, how can he treat me like this when I’m an imperial princess?’

Even after she apologized.

As she was thinking this, Lili raised her head again at Eclise’s voice.

“Anyway, you’ve become so brazen and only learned bad things. Mouse, you absolutely must not grow up like that.”

Boss, why are you dragging me into this…

Rodi pretended to be asleep by quietly going limp.

“Snooore…”

Rodi felt wronged.

It seemed clear that the boss intended to shift this entire atmosphere onto her.

Hmph, I won’t be fooled so easily!

At times like this, playing dumb was the best strategy.

She had been thinking it for a while, but she could easily tell that she shouldn’t get between these two.

‘If my legs were just a little longer, I wouldn’t have been caught!’

Rodi felt wronged again.

When Lili let out a “Ha!” exhaling sharply, Rodi briefly opened her eyes slightly before tightly closing them again.

‘Don’t raise your head, absolutely not!’

She lowered her head even more.

“You’re only two years older than me.”

Lili was reminded of herself flirting about age earlier, but now she didn’t care about anything else and just wanted to land a blow on Eclise.

“Exactly. Only two years difference, so why are you acting so stupidly?”

“Please stop saying that…”

“What are you doing not leaving? Even if you ran, you’d barely have enough time for self-reflection.”

“……”

Lili glared at Eclise for a long time.

She seemed to have no strength left to fight back, as she dropped her gaze.

What she had prepared wasn’t just her background, but it was clear that trying to sell information to Eclise now would not work at all.

So the only option was to retreat.

Lili decided to clearly acknowledge her mistake.

“I was going to leave even without you saying that. Anyway, you don’t seem like you’ll listen to me anymore. I was very rude. Rodi, I’m sorry you had to hear unpleasant things.”

Lili greeted weakly and gave Rodi a slight smile.

Rodi glanced at Eclise and shook her head to indicate it was okay.

Lili greeted Rodi and turned to leave first.

***

After closing the door and leaving, Lili didn’t immediately go down the stairs but stood still.

Soon she bowed her head deeply and covered her face with both hands.

Her white neck turned bright red, coloring her face as well.

“How embarrassing…”

What kind of situation was this?

As if someone had splashed cold water on her, she came to her senses and felt indescribably ashamed.

***

As soon as the imperial princess left and the door closed, Rodi cautiously raised her head.

Having been hanging like laundry on a clothesline the whole time, her side was starting to hurt.

“Boss, put me down.”

“You seem to have gotten heavier. I thought my arm was going to fall off.”

Finally touching the floor, Rodi wrinkled her nose.

“No way! That’s because you kept holding me up. And I’ve gotten heavier because I’m growing taller!”

Eclise rubbed his chin and looked down at Rodi seriously.

Rodi secretly stood on her tiptoes.

“Doesn’t seem like you’ve grown in height at all.”

“N-no! I’ve grown a little.”

When Rodi spoke without confidence, Eclise sneered.

“When you grow a span taller, then you can pretend to be tall.”

Saying that Eclise sat down at his desk.

He still had work left because he had wasted quite a lot of time.

Rodi stuck out her lips far before quickly pulling them back in and approaching Eclise as he sat down.

“Boss.”

“What.”

“Do you dislike the imperial princess?”

“Yeah.”

“But she’s pretty. Really, really pretty.”

“I’m more handsome.”

At those words, the corners of Rodi’s mouth drooped and spread into a triangle shape.

“……”

“Fine, I’m not.”

“…Boss is right.”

Rodi replied glumly.

She should side with the person who pays her salary.

Still, the imperial princess looked very lonely when she left earlier.

When they were climbing the stairs together, she was extremely kind and friendly.

Of course, she was the same to Rodi until she left here.

“Boss.”

Rodi rested her chin on the desk and called Eclise again.

“I got a perfect score on my imperial language dictation today.”

“Really?”

“Yes! So Padrid gave me that as a gift. He said I could eat it all.”

“Good job.”

Feeling Rodi’s steady gaze, Eclise looked up from his documents.

He smiled slightly and stroked Rodi’s head.

Rodi, feeling good, smiled brightly.

“Hehe. Oh! Boss.”

“What now.”

“But what if you get in big trouble later?”

“What kind of trouble?”

“Well, the imperial princess is a high-ranking person. She looked like she was about to cry earlier.”

“If you’re scared of that, you should quit this job.”

“Still.”

“If things go wrong, I’ll just sell you off, mouse.”

“Ah, no! You can’t!”

“It’s too late. You’re an accomplice.”

“Why? I was pretending to be asleep the whole time!”

“So you’re going to betray me?”

Betrayal! I can’t believe he would say such a heinous thing.

“I’ll write a letter to the imperial princess asking for a good prison for you. Since I learned the imperial language, I can write five letters.”

Rodi’s cheek was immediately grabbed by Eclise.

“Oh my.”

“Owww! It hurts! Boss, I surrender! I surrender!”

“I knew taking in a red-headed beast was a mistake.”

“…Hmph, you’re the one who asked me to work together.”

“I didn’t know you’d betray me.”

“No, I’m on your side.”

When Rodi quickly changed her stance, Eclise looked at her as if she were ridiculous.

He clearly didn’t believe her.

“Boss, you know.”

“What, traitor.”

Ugh, I’m not a traitor.

Rodi quietly retreated about a span backward.

“But do you really only have a two-year age difference with the imperial princess?”

“So what.”

For a moment, Rodi’s small nostrils slightly widened and then narrowed.

“No, it’s just that you look so much older than the imperial prin-“

“Come here, you.”