He had knelt from a distance when he thought he’d encountered the princess, yet he didn’t even ask for the name of the princess’s lady-in-waiting.

‘This means he has no interest in any woman other than the princess.’

Even the fact that he remembered seeing her at the concert was because she was the woman beside the princess, the woman who resembled the princess. It was a commendable behavior befitting a male lead.

Bella smiled contentedly as she watched Florian’s retreating figure.

But after just a few steps, he stopped in his tracks. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before turning back.

Bella, who had been grinning as she watched him, found herself making direct eye contact with Florian.

He appeared a bit flustered.

“There’s a fork in the road.”

“Pardon?”

Bella shifted her gaze beyond his shoulder, and true to his words, the path split in two directions.

“So it does. Now, which way did I come from? Ah, I came from the left path.”

“Hmm…”

He looked troubled, slightly lowering his eyes. His silver eyelashes briefly concealed his eyes, but when he blinked and raised his head, his irises caught the light and sparkled purple.

Could even the act of blinking be this beautiful? While Bella couldn’t tear her gaze away, Florian spoke.

“If you’re not busy, would you mind accompanying me at least part of the way? I don’t have much confidence in finding my way.”

He seemed apologetic for making such a request, unable to make proper eye contact, and the tips of his ears had turned slightly red.

‘Ah, how cute.’

Did Florian have a poor sense of direction in the original game? Bella chuckled and readily agreed.

“I was planning to head back soon anyway. Let’s go together.”

“Thank you.”

Perfect. Bella moved beside Florian with a satisfied smile.

She was in a state of paranoia. Of the three male leads she had met so far, two—excluding Leon—were despicable men. For her future’s sake, she needed to determine whether the fourth male lead was normal or not.

And now was the perfect opportunity. It was broad daylight, and they were outdoors, so nothing untoward could possibly happen.

Bella took the lead and began asking Florian questions that wouldn’t seem too suspicious.

Where he was from, if he liked the Summer Palace, how long he planned to stay, if the songs were his own compositions.

Florian responded in a perfectly reasonable manner with sensible answers. His responses exactly matched with the settings Bella knew from the game.

There was a slight awkwardness typical of first meetings, but everything seemed normal.

Bella began to feel increasingly reassured.

What she particularly liked was how he slightly stumbled over his words whenever Natalie was mentioned. His face would redden a bit, and his gaze would wander, not knowing where to settle. It was unmistakably love at first sight.

Watching him like this made Bella’s heart flutter with excitement.

‘Yes, this is what I wanted to see.’

Florian was normal. Bella felt happy.

But then another problem arose. A large garden tree blocked their path.

“Huh?”

“It’s a dead end.”

“That’s strange. I’m certain I came this way.”

Having confidently led the way, she now turned back embarrassedly.

“What should we do? It seems I’ve gotten lost as well.”

Florian smiled faintly, appearing unconcerned.

“Perhaps we should have gone the other way at the fork earlier. Shall we go back?”

“Yes, let’s.”

Feeling apologetic, Bella hurriedly turned around. That’s when she heard the strange sounds.

“Ah… mmh. That’s good, my lady. Like that…”

“Mmm. Mmmh.”

The sound of a man’s moans and wet, sucking noises reached them.

Bella instinctively looked in that direction.

A couple had positioned themselves in a spot that had been empty just moments before. The man stood leaning against a tree with his shirt unbuttoned while the woman knelt before him, her face pressed against his waist.

Each time the woman moved her head back and forth, something like a red sausage appeared and disappeared between her lips, causing the man to twitch and moan.

‘Are they insane?’

Bella hastily backed away. She grabbed Florian’s collar from behind and whispered.

“Don’t go that way.”

“What’s the matt— Oh.”

Florian had started to turn his head in that direction but then obediently stepped back as Bella pulled him. Of all places, the couple was engaged in such activity right where they needed to pass.

These people seemed to lack even a grain of common sense. Bella’s face turned bright red, having previously felt safe because it was broad daylight outdoors.

She kept mouthing ‘they’re crazy, they’re crazy’ without lifting her head.

The couple causing Bella’s predicament remained oblivious, deeply immersed in their own world.

“Ah…! Don’t use your teeth. Mmh, roll your tongue more, ah, that spot feels good.”

The woman seemed to be inexperienced at oral s*x. Between her awkward sucking sounds, the man could be heard instructing her on where to lick and how to suck.

‘Why do I have to listen to all this!’

Bella was furious. But going back the way they came would lead to a dead end, and walking boldly past the couple was something she couldn’t do as a person with moral and ethical sense.

Having Florian beside her made it even more awkward. Just when she thought she’d finally met a decent male lead, they had to encounter such a scene.

The lewd sounds felt like they were contaminating the pure male lead, and Bella’s hand trembled as she pulled at his clothing.

“….”

Florian quietly observed the delicate hand gripping his clothes, then traced his gaze up her arm.

Bella had her head bowed and eyes tightly shut. She clearly hated hearing those sounds.

He looked down at her and smiled silently.

He had known from the start that she wasn’t the princess. A royal would never walk alone without attendants. Her unadorned, loose hair was also evidence that she wasn’t from a noble family.

To have her hair completely undone like this outside the bedroom. Through the carelessly flowing strawberry blonde locks, he caught a glimpse of her nape, flushed red.