Dale Bliven was just as peculiar as the princess.

Ian had first met him at the Royal University.

He, too, had lived his life in the shadow of his older siblings.

The Bliven family had produced military officers for generations, so people had high expectations for Dale, the only son of Admiral Bliven.

However, Dale was different from his accomplished older sisters. He was hopelessly unskilled at anything physical.

“Sigh… Really, who on earth let that guy play polo?”

Ian pressed his forehead and let out a deep sigh.

Still, Dale had inherited the Bliven family’s strong genes, growing into a tall, well-built man.

In fact, this made it even harder for people to believe that he’d been a sickly child and had avoided all physical activity his whole life.

He was sensitive and compassionate, so he could never become the ideal child his family wanted. He could barely handle the pre-enlistment training, let alone become a military officer.

Ian found it hardest to deal with people like Dale, who were altruistic without expecting anything in return. Such people were difficult to tempt with any bait, since they wanted nothing.

Inevitably, they would come to feel Ian had betrayed them. That he’d abandoned them. All they really wanted was Ian’s sincerity, and that was something he couldn’t give.

Such troublesome types.

“And now here I am, following him to the hospital and waiting for his surgery to finish safely.”

It was all because he’d let his guard down. He never imagined that letting Dale see his lonely expression long ago would still be holding him back now. Dale had genuinely worried about Ian and treated him as a friend.

Ian closed his eyes, troubled.

“It can’t become sincere…”

He needed to keep his distance, but sometimes that was hard. Still, he had work to do.

“…They’re just people I’ll have to leave behind eventually.”

So sincerity wasn’t necessary. Just hide it deep within, where even he couldn’t notice it himself.

He took a deep, steadying breath.

Dale would be fine. He’d get up and laugh like an idiot as if nothing happened.

……

Ian slowly opened his eyes.

Determination had settled in them.

***

“Ian! You’re here!”

When Ian opened the hospital room door, Dale greeted him with a hearty wave.

……

Seeing Dale looking so perfectly fine left Ian feeling drained. Clearly, there was nothing to worry about.

“Why did you even play? You’re hopeless at sports.”

“Haha, I couldn’t refuse. The guy who was supposed to play got sick at the last minute. I was just going to fill in for the first half, but I didn’t know I had appendicitis!”

Watching Dale laugh like a fool, Ian felt his annoyance grow.

“I want to thank the princess. I saw her talking to you before the game. You two seemed close.”

“…Do we?”

Ian thought that didn’t sound bad at all.

“Aren’t you?”

……

Ian looked at Dale for a moment, then smiled.

“Well… we’re close.”

She probably wouldn’t admit it, but it mattered that others saw it that way.

He struggled to keep his lips from curling up.

“Please pass on my thanks. The princess is my lifesaver. If she hadn’t rushed over, I might have died while everyone else was panicking.”

***

A few hours later, the one who came after hearing the surgery update Ian had sent to the palace was none other than Diana herself.

Ian hadn’t expected her to visit in person, so he was caught off guard when she opened the hospital room door.

Dale, seeing Diana, tried to sit up but flopped back down, looking like he might die.

“It’s all right. Please stay lying down.”

“I-I’m sorry…”

Dale apologized, flustered.

Jerome followed her in.

“Lord Ian, did you get any sleep? I heard the surgery took quite a while.”

Jerome greeted Ian politely.

“Thankfully, since it’s a royal hospital, there was a comfortable place to rest. I wasn’t inconvenienced.”

After exchanging pleasantries, the two stood side by side near the door. An awkward silence fell between them.

Jerome cleared his throat a few times, then asked meaningfully,

“That… wink, did you practice it?”

“Pardon?”

“It just seemed so natural…”

Ian looked at Jerome with a face full of question marks.

While the two endured the awkward moment, Diana placed the fresh flowers she’d brought as a gift into the vase by Dale’s bed.

“They say these are hospital flowers that don’t scatter pollen. I heard the surgery went well, but are you feeling all right?”

“Yes. It’s all thanks to you, Your Highness.”

“No, not at all. Has your fever gone down?”

Diana unhesitatingly placed her palm on Dale’s forehead, causing him to gasp in surprise.

Ian’s expression noticeably darkened at the sight.

“Hmm, no fever.”

Diana smiled kindly at Dale. Watching this, Ian felt an odd irritation rising inside him.

As Diana withdrew her hand from Dale’s forehead, Dale suddenly grabbed her hand.

“Y-Your Highness…”

Dale stammered, his face bright red.

“I-I admire you…!”

His unexpected confession, eyes shining with awe, startled Diana.

“…Pardon?”

She couldn’t hide her embarrassment and asked again. Dale only confessed more fervently.

“Your Highness is an angel descended from the heavens, a goddess who has bestowed grace upon me, my savior…”

“S-stop…”

At his passionate outpouring, Diana instinctively glanced at Ian.

Ian’s face seemed calm, but she saw a vein bulging on his forehead.

‘Help me…!’

Diana mouthed desperately to Jerome for help, but he just turned away, struggling not to laugh.

Dale, still holding her hand, began reciting a love poem. As Diana frantically wondered how to stop him—

“Dale!”

Suddenly, the door burst open and a woman entered.

She called Dale’s name in a nearly tearful voice, then blinked in shock at the scene before her.

She saw Dale holding a woman’s hand and her face instantly chilled. She lifted her head to glare at the hand’s owner—

“Y-Your Highness the Princess?”

But when she realized it was Diana, she recoiled in surprise, her already large eyes growing even wider.

“It’s an honor to meet you! I’m Grinelda Rovice…”

“Hello, Lady Grinelda.”

Grinelda neatly tucked her flamboyant red hair to the side and greeted Diana with perfect manners, despite the sudden encounter—a very noble gesture.

“You’re the daughter of Count Rovice, aren’t you?”

“Y-yes! That’s right! I’m honored that Your Highness knows me…”

Grinelda, still bowing, gazed at Diana with sparkling eyes.

Diana thought she’d seen that look somewhere before. Turning her head, she realized Dale was still giving her the same adoring gaze—and still holding her hand.

“Lord Dale…! I’d appreciate it if you let go of my hand now…”

“Oh, yes! I’m sorry, I was terribly rude…”

“No, it’s fine.”

Diana, flustered by Dale’s pitiful look, quickly waved her hands.

“Your Highness! I was at the match yesterday too!”

Suddenly, Grinelda stepped forward.

“I saw you rush to Dale without hesitation when he collapsed. Thank you so much for saving him!”

“Haha… I only performed some emergency first aid…”

“And even when Dale so rudely… did that to your dress, you forgave him so graciously! I was truly moved!”

Grinelda seemed ready to drop to her knees as she poured out her gratitude.

Diana’s head spun between Dale and Grinelda.

“S-stop! All right! I get it! I really did something amazing! Wow, I’m so great!”

“That’s right!”

“Exactly! You truly are an angel sent from heaven…”

As Diana was trapped in their inescapable prison of praise, Jerome just watched with amusement. Diana shot a desperate look at Ian.

Meeting her eyes, Ian finally stepped between them and rescued her.

“What are you doing?”

Grinelda’s expression, so sweet toward Diana, turned cold as she looked at Ian.

“That’s enough, both of you. It’s overwhelming.”

Unlike Dale, Grinelda didn’t seem willing to back down. She crossed her arms and glared at Ian.

“Ian, thank you for staying with Dale while I was gone, but now that I’m here, you can leave.”

“I wanted to leave ages ago because of you two.”

Ian responded with a cold face.

Diana found this side of Ian unfamiliar. It was the first time she’d seen him drop his usual polite smile and show this much hostility.

“Come now, let’s not fight in front of the patient. Your Highness, shall we return?”

At last, Jerome stepped in to change the mood. Diana quickly nodded and began to prepare to leave, but Grinelda called out to her urgently.

“Your Highness! Thank you so much for saving Dale. Without your quick action, things could have been much worse.”

“I think I’ve received plenty of thanks. Lord Dale, I hope you recover quickly.”

“Y-Your Highness!”

As Diana was about to leave, Grinelda stopped her again.

“If it’s all right with you… I’d like to invite you to the Rovice Hotel!”

Diana was caught off guard by the unexpected invitation.

“When Dale is discharged, I’d like to properly thank you. Please accept my sincere invitation…”

“Miss Grinelda, it almost sounds like you’re confessing your love to Her Highness,”

Jerome whispered teasingly from the hallway, and Diana discreetly jabbed him in the side.

“Thank you for the invitation, but I’ll have to decline. Your feelings alone are more than enough. It was a pleasure meeting you both today.”

Diana politely but firmly refused and left the room. Grinelda watched her go, looking disappointed.

Jerome glanced between Grinelda and Diana’s retreating figure, then suddenly spoke.

“Why not give it a try, Your Highness?”

Diana turned to him with a puzzled look.

“I mean the Rovice Hotel. Why not visit?”

“What? I don’t have time for that…”

“Really?”

Just then, Grinelda came running out of the room, staring at Jerome and Diana with excitement.

“You don’t have any pressing engagements, and you’ve been diligent with your duties. A short vacation might be good for you.”

“…Why are you suddenly saying this?”

“Miss Grinelda, if you’d send an official invitation to the palace, we’d appreciate it.”

“Yes, of course! Thank you. I’ll make sure to prepare everything!”

Grinelda beamed, and Jerome answered with a kind smile, ignoring Diana’s incredulous look.

“Wait, I never said I was going…”

“Then I’ll go too.”

Just then, Ian’s voice came from inside the hospital room.