Elena nodded without saying anything special. Her mouth was continuously moving cutely as she ate the sandwich.

When she picked up the second one, Rudfelix found himself unconsciously pushing the juice toward her.

“At the residence, you won’t be able to commute from home like you do here.”

Rudfelix pointed this out because naturally, Elena would be far from home when they moved to the Grand Duke’s residence.

“I know.”

Elena responded indifferently.

“What are you planning to do?”

“I’ll follow.”

“Will you stay at the grand ducal residence?”

“I’m planning to buy a mansion near the Grand Duke’s residence. I have one in mind.”

It meant she had already made all the preparations.

Rudfelix crossed his arms again. Elena stopped with the sandwich in her hand at the atmosphere that once again showed his disapproval.

‘Why is he like this again.’

Had she said something she shouldn’t have?

“You looked for a place to live alone when you won’t even be staying with Count Jellisto?”

“Then who should I live with?”

It was something she had taken lightly, thinking she would at most bring Ginny and a few others.

“There are many rooms in the residence.”

Elena immediately understood his intention.

‘He wants to keep me close to use me.’

“I understand.”

Though she cursed him as a spiteful superior in her mind, Elena continued eating her sandwich without showing it.

Rudfelix watched Elena eat as if enchanted.

She didn’t bow her head, so her hair didn’t fall forward. Even while eating the sandwich diligently, she was neat without dropping anything. She simply cleaned bread crumbs from her hands with a napkin.

‘But…’

While quietly observing Elena, a sudden thought occurred to him.

Though she had come as his aide…

‘Has anyone ever served her?’

Come to think of it, she rarely relied on others’ help.

“Then I’ll go out for lunch.”

Elena, after finishing with juice, slightly stood up.

Rudfelix’s gaze went to Elena’s plate. She seemed to have eaten 3 sandwiches, but she was going to eat lunch right away?

“I feel slightly unsatisfied.”

Elena immediately responded, understanding what his gaze meant.

“Go ahead.”

“I’ll be back soon.”

Elena stood up like she had been waiting for this.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her as she left.

“Your Highness.”

Quiet, who had returned, called out to Rudfelix. His superior was staring intently at empty space.

“What’s there?”

“I see the soul of the dead.”

“Eek!”

After teasing Quiet, Rudfelix stood up and stroked his chin. Elena, who had gone outside the building, was moving away with quick steps, her long hair fluttering.

“How much service do noble ladies usually receive?”

“For nobles, servants are like their hands and feet. From waking up to going to bed, there’s almost nothing they can handle alone without servants. Except for Your Highness and me, everyone else naturally receives service.”

Being different from ordinary nobles, Rudfelix and Quiet naturally kept servants at a distance as they have many matters they need to handle secretly.

“Yes, that’s what service is.”

Rudfelix’s thoughts weren’t much different.

He pointed to Elena, who was faintly visible through the window.

“Then what about Aide Elena?”

“Well, since she’s working as an aide…”

Quiet also noticed something strange and let his words trail off. The reason it was rare for a noble lady, not even a commoner, to become an aide was because the working environment didn’t suit them.

Elena accomplished her tasks efficiently without relying on others’ help.

“That’s right. Even if she’s a noble lady working as an aide, not a commoner, she still needs to eat and use the bathroom.”

No one else had ever entered their workplace. They hadn’t even seen a maid serving Elena.

Quiet put his hand on his chin like Rudfelix and thought seriously before reaching his own conclusion.

“Perhaps she was born to be an aide?”

Rudfelix turned his gaze away from Quiet.

It was his fault for expecting something.

* * *

The place Elena arrived at with quick steps, mentioning lunch time, was somewhere she had never been before.

“Is this really the Crown Prince’s palace?”

Though she had memorized the way beforehand, there was no one around to ask.

Unable to just go inside, Elena was walking along the outer wall when she spotted light blue hair over the wall and smiled happily.

It was because she immediately saw the person she was looking for.

Crown Prince Suharto also happened to notice Elena and saw her smile.

“It’s Aide Elena. Did you come to see me?”

“I greet the Empire’s small sun. I am Elena of House Jellisto.”

She made it clear she came as Elena, not as the Grand Duke’s aide. Suharto faced Elena across the wall. He realized she had come to thank him for the gift he sent yesterday.

“I received an undeserving gift.”

Indeed, it was as he thought.

“So you liked my gift too, my lady?”

Suharto smiled bitterly.

Perhaps because their first meeting had been while she was wearing aide’s clothes, it had been unusual. He felt she was different from ordinary ladies, but in the end, she was just an ordinary lady.

Still, it wasn’t bad that she was thankful for the gift.

“You have your debutante ball soon, right? I sent it so you could wear it beautifully at the annual event.”

“Yes, I am planning to have my debutante ball.”

She didn’t bother to add that nothing had been decided yet about the annual event.

“I brought a dress from a very famous designer in the Empire, so you’ll be the flower of the debutante ball. No one will be able to match you.”

“I haven’t opened the dress yet, but it was truly dazzling.”

With so many jewels adorning it, it sparkled so brilliantly in the light! Elena expressed how her eyes had closed from the brilliance.

“When I said I would give it as a gift, they said they put in extra effort, that designer is really something else.”

Pleased by Elena who seemed newly impressed by his greatness, Suharto happily continued the conversation.

“So I came to express my thanks.”

When she said she came in person because she was so grateful, Suharto touched the tip of his nose. His nose bridge was tingling for no reason. He tried to hide his disappointment that the reward for giving the lady a gift had turned out this way.

“Moreover, I came to return the gifts I received.”

“…What?”

Suharto asked back in disbelief. What did he just hear?

Elena gestured to the box she had placed to one side. Suharto’s lips twitched as she had gone beyond refusing and actually brought it back.

“Did you bring something else in the same box as a return gift?”

Though he answered playfully, Elena’s expression remained unchanged.

He had been disappointed when she graciously accepted it and expressed thanks, but seeing her bring it back made his mood sink.

When his upturned lips came down, Elena’s shoulders trembled slightly.

‘He’s scary even though he just stopped smiling.’

When he removed his smile, he became a completely different person.

“You understand well what it means to refuse a gift?”

Though gifts are considered as goodwill from others, Elena didn’t bend her intention.

“I am grateful for Your Highness’s shown goodwill.”

Elena didn’t dislike the gifts either. Would such dresses be any burden to the Crown Prince? He was a man who could buy all the dresses in the Empire.

“However, I cannot accept it. I’m sorry.”

Elena bowed deeply.

“Really…”

Suharto ruffled his hair at her polite refusal. His sunken mood instantly improved at her bow.

‘She really is interesting.’

That feeling he had when they met yesterday came back to life.

“Still, it was a gift given with goodwill, what will I become? What if rumors spread that the Crown Prince gave a gift to a woman and had it returned?”

Though Suharto spoke playfully, saying everyone would probably laugh, he clearly conveyed his intention for her to take it back.

Elena looked at the box and then at Suharto.

“Is the relationship between Your Highness and me deep enough to warrant such a gift?”

We met yesterday and I only greeted you as the Grand Duke’s aide.

Suharto was lost for words at Elena’s question regarding their relationship.

Elena kept her mouth shut to avoid making unnecessary trouble. Yet her gaze toward the Crown Prince remained confident. She had made up her mind firmly, worried that if she gave in here, she might have to take that gift back.

‘What kind of relationship do we have to exchange gifts?’

Moreover, to her, the Crown Prince was just the male protagonist. The protagonist who would become Emperor in the future and continue a beautiful love with the female protagonist.

To her, merely a supporting character, that protagonist was just burdensome.

Just as gears must mesh perfectly for a machine to work, the male protagonist should show goodwill and give gifts to the female protagonist, not to her.

“Thank you for your precious time.”

Elena glanced at her watch and moved away from the wall.

She had to hurry back as lunch time was running out.

As Elena rushed out of the Crown Prince’s palace trying to return to the office, she stopped as she ran into a man.

“Was your lunch appointment a meal with the Crown Prince?”