At those words, Liriope’s already flushed face burned even hotter.

Theo stared at her with an unreadable gaze. She wanted to escape the intense eye contact, but for some reason, her body wouldn’t move. Frozen like ice, Liriope could only look up at him in silence.

Who knew how long they stared at each other like that?

Just as the corners of Theo’s eyes seemed to crease ever so slightly, he turned and began walking ahead.

Liriope stood there blankly watching his back until he called out, telling her to hurry up. That snapped her out of her daze, and she quickly chased after him, shouting,

“I do like you! Why won’t you believe what I’m saying?!”

She couldn’t possibly let him find out she was only using him to avoid an engagement with the crown prince — so she kept insisting as if her life depended on it.

Whether he found her funny or was just telling her to drop it, Theo nodded with a slight smile.

Still, Liriope followed him, continuing to plead.

“I really like you! I seriously do!”

And so, in the middle of the bustling city, the daughter of a noble family — whose engagement to the Northern Duke had already made front-page news — loudly confessed her love to him.

***

“Oh, look!”

While they were walking toward the combat gear district, Liriope suddenly spotted something in the middle of the street — a snack that looked strikingly similar to cotton candy from her original world.

Here, it was called “cloud candy,” and unlike the round shape of typical cotton candy, this one really looked like a fluffy cloud.

“Oh, it looks delicious.”

Without realizing it, Liriope ran over and began admiring the display of cloud candy in various pastel colors. She didn’t particularly want to eat one — it just felt nostalgic — but before she knew it, Theo had already bought one and placed it in her hand.

“Ah, thank you.”

Liriope thanked him, and Theo responded only with a faint smile.

Then he quietly watched her as she began munching happily on the cloud candy.

Maybe mistaking his gaze as a sign that he wanted some, Liriope tore off a piece and held it out to him.

“You should try it too, Theo.”

Theo stared at the bit of candy she held out, then, without a word, leaned in and bit it right from her hand.

Liriope’s eyes widened in surprise, and Theo, too, looked slightly taken aback.

He hadn’t realized what he was doing.

He had never eaten food someone else offered before — and definitely not like that.

Seeing Liriope’s face turn bright red, Theo cleared his throat awkwardly. He could still feel the warmth of her fingertips on his lips.

Trying to shake off the sensation from his mind, he glanced at her and asked,

“Is it good?”

“Yes,” Liriope replied with a fiercely blushing face, nodding.

As Theo licked his lips to erase the lingering sweetness, he noticed a small tuft of cloud candy adorably stuck to the bridge of her nose.

Theo couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle as he reached out his hand.

“Why are you eating like this, getting it all over your face like a child?”

Before his mind could fully register what was happening, his hand and mouth moved first. Once again, he reached out and plucked the piece of cloud candy from the bridge of her nose, popping it into his mouth.

“Yep, still not good.”

He scrunched up one eye like a child and grumbled about the taste.

Liriope was so stunned that she momentarily forgot how to breathe, but Theo didn’t notice. Nor did he realize that his ears and neck were just as red as her face.

***

‘Something’s definitely off with the original male lead…’

Liriope furrowed and relaxed her brows repeatedly as she walked, lost in thought. She tried to make sense of the absurd situation and, before long, arrived at the combat gear district.

She quickly scanned the area, recalling the small shop next to a general store that the original heroine, Rosearin, had stumbled upon in the novel. A general store with a blue lantern hanging in front — opposite it, a large potion shop. And the shop selling tea leaves was a small accessory shop nearby.

While Liriope was busy scanning her surroundings, trying to match what she remembered from the book, Theo, who had been watching her, asked,

“Tell me what you remember. I’ll find it for you.”

At his words, Liriope repeated what she’d just recalled. Theo nodded once and began looking around. After a moment, he tilted his head in a certain direction.

“That way.”

As his steps quickened, Liriope followed, briefly wondering if he really did know where he was going. But when he finally stopped, and she caught up beside him, she realized he had found the place exactly.

To the left, a general store with a blue lantern — and across from it, a potion shop noticeably larger than the others.

‘What is he, clairvoyant or something?’

Liriope glanced at Theo with a mix of amazement and disbelief, then turned toward the small accessory shop beside the general store and pointed.

“It’s there.”

Thanks to Theo, they’d found the accessory shop quickly. As Liriope stepped inside, she immediately asked the shopkeeper for the tea leaves.

“You have the tea leaves, right? The ones imported from across the sea.”

The shopkeeper looked at her with a puzzled expression, but then his eyes landed on Theo behind her. Instantly, he nodded vigorously and exclaimed,

“Yes, yes, of course!”

He quickly turned and disappeared through a small door, returning shortly with a square wooden box. Opening it before Liriope, he pointed to the neatly arranged tea leaves inside.

“These are rare finds that were very hard to come by.”

They didn’t look particularly special, just ordinary green leaves.

“I happen to be steeping some right now. Would you like to try it?”

Before Liriope could even answer, the shopkeeper turned away and returned with a teapot and cups.

It seemed he recognized Theo as the Northern Duke and was more than willing to offer the expensive tea as a courtesy.

This became even more apparent when he handed the first cup not to Liriope but to Theo, who stood behind her.

Theo brought the cup to his nose and sniffed the aroma. Then, with a subtle flick of his hand, a breeze-like energy stirred the tea in the cup into a small whirlpool before it settled again.

He handed the cup to Liriope.

“It’s safe.”

Liriope stared blankly at the teacup Theo held out, then took it and asked,

“What do you mean, it’s safe?”

Instead of answering, Theo simply stretched the corners of his mouth into a smirk. She looked at him curiously, then brought the cup to her nose—and her eyes widened.

‘Wait… this smell…’

The familiar scent made her instinctively take a sip.

“Yep, it’s buckwheat.”

It definitely smelled like buckwheat tea. That gentle, nutty aroma—one of her favorite types of tea back in her original world.

Of course, buckwheat tea wasn’t made with leaves but with whole buckwheat grains, so this wasn’t technically the same. Still, the aroma was remarkably similar, and the fact that she could drink something like this in this world made her almost as happy as the time she discovered they had coffee here.

“Try it! It’s got a really rich, nutty flavor,” she said, offering the cup to Theo.

Theo stared at it for a moment, then leaned down and brought his lips directly to the teacup.

His elegant nose and sharply beautiful eyes were suddenly close, and Liriope instinctively tensed up.

‘I mean, isn’t it normal to just take the cup and drink it yourself…?’

This guy had a habit of using his mouth first instead of his hands whenever someone offered him something.

What a weirdo, she thought, carefully tilting the cup so he wouldn’t burn his lips on the hot tea.

Theo took a sip with her help, then straightened up and gave a small nod.

“It’s good.”

“Right?!”

“It’s an incredibly rare tea,” the shopkeeper chimed in excitedly, clearly emboldened by Theo’s approval. 

“We only offer it to special customers who hear about it through word of mouth. The batch we received this time is of the highest quality—I daresay it was destined for Your Grace. Ha-ha.”

Clearly, the shopkeeper knew Theo was the Duke of the North. It seemed Theo showed up often enough, even in this commoner’s area.

“How much do you have?” Theo asked, glancing at Liriope, who was happily sipping her tea.

‘Ten boxes total.’

“We have ten boxes in stock,” the shopkeeper replied.

Exactly the number Liriope had recalled from the book. She sipped again and thought she’d just buy two boxes—one to give as a gift to Rosearin.

“I’ll take them all.”

At that moment, Theo declared he’d buy all ten boxes. Liriope and the shopkeeper’s eyes went wide in unison.

“W-well, Your Grace,” the shopkeeper stammered. 

“Since these were imported from overseas, the price is rather…”

“I don’t care how much. Just bring them all out,” Theo interrupted.

‘Excuse me, WHAT?!’

Liriope, stunned by his reckless words, quickly set her teacup on the table and glared at him. Even if he was swimming in money, to tell a merchant “price doesn’t matter” was sheer stupidity.

What if the shopkeeper got greedy and demanded the price of a mansion for a few boxes of tea leaves?

Her fears were confirmed by the price that came out of the shopkeeper’s mouth.

“Normally, it’s 400 gold per box. But for Your Grace, I’ll give it to you for 300 gold each,” he said with a smug, generous smile.

Liriope’s face twisted in anger.

“Didn’t you use to sell them for 200 gold per box?”

The shopkeeper’s eyes bulged at her sudden comment.

“Honestly, I’m annoyed that you tried to scam His Grace,” she continued. 

“But since I really need the tea leaves, I’ll let it go—for now. Sell them for 200 gold per box, and only charge for nine boxes.”

“Wh-what?!”

“I also know that even 200 gold is over ten times what you paid to get them.”

The shopkeeper gulped and looked like he didn’t know where to look.

Then, trying to save himself, the clever merchant turned to Theo and said,

“Y-Your Grace, it seems that the Duchess isn’t very familiar with the value of goods in the market…”

…What? Duchess?