Not wanting to reveal her flushed face, Liriope turned her gaze toward the window, effectively ending the conversation. 

Theo, who had been staring at her for quite some time, finally let out a small chuckle and turned his head to the window when she continued to ignore his gaze.

Liriope soon became captivated by the scenery outside.

As she looked at the vast meadows and the large mansions scattered throughout, she suddenly realized that this was the world she had read about in her romantic fantasy novels.

She couldn’t help but think that in such a vast land, having transportation was an absolute necessity. A silly idea crossed her mind—if only she could develop teleportation portals as a form of public transit, she’d make a fortune.

It was while her head was full of such trivial thoughts that Theo spoke.

“What are you looking at so intently?”

When Liriope turned to look at him, he was resting his chin on his hand, gazing at her as if he were in a fashion magazine.

“There’s not much to see out there, really.”

She had no idea how long he had been watching her like that, but just the thought that he’d been staring at her with that face and in that pose made her heart heat up instantly.

Really, it was only because she was a rational adult that she could keep it together. If she’d been even slightly more impulsive, she might’ve just grabbed his hand and started playing with it like a curious child.

‘Seriously. I want to touch it. I want to hold it. Why does his hand have to be so exactly my type?’

Liriope glanced at Theo’s hand and smacked her lips inwardly.

Then suddenly, startled by her own thoughts, her shoulder flinched.

‘No, no. Don’t fall for him. You can’t fall for this guy. He’s the male lead. Rosearin’s man!’

Scolding herself for nearly falling for that beautiful face, she answered his earlier question.

“I wasn’t really looking at anything interesting.”

“So, why are we going into the city?”

‘Now he asks.’

Liriope narrowed her eyes at Theo, inwardly amused at the timing.

“To get some tea leaves.”

“Tea leaves?”

“I told Lady Rosearin that I invited her over to try a new blend I supposedly imported from across the sea… but that was a lie.”

“…Lady Rosearin?”

At the sound of Rosearin’s name coming from Theo’s mouth, a strange sensation swept through Liriope. 

She couldn’t quite explain it, but it wasn’t a good feeling. Hearing the female lead’s name from the male lead’s lips brought with it an odd, complex wave of emotion.

“Yes.”

As Liriope nodded in response, Theo tilted his head slightly, clearly puzzled.

“You lied just to invite a count’s daughter to your house?”

She suddenly felt that this might lead to some ridiculous misunderstanding—like maybe he’d think she was planning to bully Rosearin or something—so she hurried to explain.

“I just wanted to get closer to her. I really—well, a lot—like Lady Rosearin. But I haven’t had any opportunities to meet her, so I made something up to try and get to know her better.”

Theo’s brows drew together slightly. He looked genuinely confused.

“You might already know this,” Liriope added quickly, “but Lady Rosearin is really into tea. She even collects rare tea leaves.”

“Why would I know what the count’s daughter likes?”

“Then remember it from now on.”

“Is that necessary?”

“Just remember it when I tell you to. Everything I say is bound to be helpful to you, Your Grace. Trust me.”

At Liriope’s words, Theo’s expression shifted subtly. He seemed puzzled, likely because he still had no meaningful connection to Rosearin.

But his next words revealed that the subtle expression had a different meaning than she expected.

“So, you’re already starting your duties as a supportive wife?”

Liriope’s face immediately twisted in disbelief.

“What?”

Completely unfazed by her reaction, Theo spoke with a faint smile on his lips.

“Well, I don’t mind.”

“There’s nothing to mind or not. I’m not supporting you like a wife, for the record.”

Liriope let out a dry laugh, clearly exasperated, and turned her gaze back to the window. She could feel him staring at her again, but she did her best to ignore it.

Still, with Theo’s persistent gaze boring into her, and no food on her face to justify it, the inside of the carriage became increasingly uncomfortable and awkward.

At this rate, he was going to burn a hole in her profile with his eyes.

Unable to endure it any longer, Liriope suddenly turned her head toward him. Theo, without the slightest hint of being flustered, simply curved his eyes into a faint, near-imperceptible smile.

“Wh-why are you looking at me like that?”

She stammered in surprise at his barely-there, teasing smile. Theo remained in his elegant pose, chin resting on his hand, simply watching her.

The sheer intensity of his stare was overwhelming, and Liriope didn’t know what to do. Her eyes darted everywhere.

“You didn’t use to feel like this.”

At his words, Liriope turned her gaze toward him. His jet-black eyes gleamed in an oddly intense way.

“You’ve changed.”

“M-me?” 

“Yes, you.”

‘What the hell? Does he know something? No—he shouldn’t know the real Liriope… right?’

“When have you ever seen me before?”

Liriope narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. When she’d told him she liked him, he had flatly said they’d never met. So why was he talking like he knew her now?

“You don’t remember?”

“…What?”

‘Wait. Has he met the real Liriope before?’

A chill ran down her spine. If he had, then when she faked knowing him and talked about made-up locations, the fact that none of the places matched might have tipped him off.

What if he had realized she wasn’t actually Liriope? The thought made sweat beads on her forehead.

“D-did we meet before?”

Liriope asked nervously. She forced a smile to hide her tension, but the corner of her mouth twitched slightly.

“You said it yourself.”

“…What?”

“The day you saw me and fell for me.”

But with that single line from Theo, all her tension instantly turned into pure irritation.

“Of course, I must’ve seen you then, too.”

Apparently, he just wanted to mess with her. 

No, he was messing with her.

Liriope, rather than being flustered by Theo’s teasing, forced herself to smile as brightly as she could.

“Well, back then, I was trying to charm you since I had a crush on you, so I probably acted all coy.”

“Not really. You were quite fierce.”

But Theo shot her words down without hesitation, wiping the smile right off Liriope’s face.

“And very arrogant, too.”

“M-me… arrogant?”

“Yes, you.”

“…Ah. Haha. So I was arrogant, huh…”

“Well, back then, you acted like you couldn’t see anyone other than that foolish crown prince.”

“Ah, haha. I looked like I only had eyes for the foolish crown pr—ah, wait, forget the ‘foolish’ part. That was a slip of the tongue, totally unintentional.”

Calling the Crown Prince of Gardea foolish was something only the Emperor or Theo—who’d grown up bickering with him like a brother—could get away with.

Even as a duke’s daughter, saying such a thing bordered on treason, so she quickly corrected herself.

But Theo, with a crooked smirk and words sharp enough to cost a fortune, clearly didn’t find her correction all that pleasing.

“You’re allowed to call a fool a fool in front of me. Not calling him that won’t make him look any less foolish.”

Liriope wasn’t sure how many times the word foolish had been used in that single exchange, but she had to admit—even she had occasionally thought the crown prince was kind of an idiot when reading the original novel. So Theo’s assessment wasn’t entirely wrong.

“A-anyway, I think the biggest reason I seem different now from the girl you saw before is because I no longer have a crush on His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Liriope tried to wrap things up with her best professional smile, but Theo lazily narrowed his eyes and replied:

“Right. Because now you like me.”

She had no idea why he kept throwing lines like that out of nowhere, but one thing was certain—if she didn’t keep her guard up, she was going to fall hopelessly for his charms.

‘But more than that… this is starting to feel off.’

Liriope glanced at Theo, who was watching her with a playful grin, and thought carefully.

The Theo in front of her felt different from the one she’d read about in the book. Well, in the original story, Theo did have a mischievous and teasing side—but only toward Rosearin.

That was the whole point. He never acted like this around any other woman. Readers had fallen for him because he only ever softened when he was with the female lead.

But now, he was showing glimpses of that same behavior toward her. It was unsettling.

Theo Artein had never shown his feelings this openly to any noble lady. He was the kind of man people admired from afar, and only from afar.

Cold, noble, and unapproachable—to the point people hesitated to even greet him. That was the reputation of Theo Artein.

‘Yeah… he even had nicknames to match. So why is he…’

And just then, as those thoughts swirled in Liriope’s mind, Theo asked with a devilish smile:

“So, I’ve been wondering—what exactly made you fall for me, Riri?”