“I’ll go alone then.”

“That’s not a place to go alone.”

He roughly removed Elena’s hand from his coat and went ahead. In the end, Elena had to force her reluctant body to follow him.

‘Things were too strange earlier.’

It was just him preventing her from bumping into a passerby, but strange emotions arose and she wanted to avoid it. She needed time to catch her breath, but where they were going now was too dangerous.

“How are we supposed to eat… the candy stick…”

How could they eat it face to face?

Just thinking about it made her face heat up and her heart race — how could they possibly carry out such instructions?

Elena fanned her face with her hand but still reluctantly followed him.

* * *

“Welcome.”

The man from earlier greeted them as if he had expected this.

‘I didn’t want to come.’

They weren’t even a couple, but they were here because of Grand Duke Rudfelix’s decision.

“This way, please.”

The space was partially concealed by hanging fabric. The man led them to an empty space and bowed extravagantly with his hand on his chest.

“I am your waiter for today. Isn’t the charm of a night market enjoying the dark night? And since a couple has come, I hope you’ll understand that this is the perfect game where you can boldly do this and that.”

Elena pulled her hood down lower. Though her face was already covered, pulling it down made even the waiter invisible.

“The rules are simple. Draw one paper from here and succeed in following what it says.”

The waiter held out a cylinder filled with long, folded papers.

Rudfelix quietly looked at the papers before drawing the closest one.

“Now, please unfold and read it.”

Before the waiter could finish speaking, Rudfelix was already unfolding the paper. For once, Elena was also curious about what it would say and quietly moved closer.

“Is our love just one sheet of paper?”

When Elena read it aloud, the waiter made a snapping sound with his fingers and bounced around frivolously.

“You’ve drawn a very good one.”

Then he brought a piece of paper the same size as the one Rudfelix had drawn.

“You need to place this paper on the floor and both stand on it.”

‘That’s not so bad.’

Making her previous worries seem foolish, the paper wasn’t that small. If Rudfelix stood on it, Elena could manage by standing on tiptoe with one foot.

“Is that all?”

Just as Rudfelix reached out to take the paper, the waiter held it with both hands, smiling.

“Of course not.”

The waiter, still smiling, tore the paper repeatedly. To Elena, the sound seemed quite ruthless.

“No, if you tear it like that…”

Elena, unable to watch anymore, reached out to take the paper. But the waiter escaped with a light jump.

“I decide the size of the paper.”

“That’s ridiculous, what kind of rule is that?”

“I’m in charge of serving you two today. I saw you two hugging earlier, so I’m increasing the difficulty accordingly. Here you go.”

The waiter held out a piece of paper only as big as a palm, with a kind smile.

As Elena couldn’t bring herself to take it and just stared, the waiter’s subtle voice followed,

“If you succeed, I’ll reward you with something satisfactory.”

“I don’t want to. It’s absurd to expect us to stand on that paper for some unknown reward.”

At any other time, she might have watched with amusement, but now that she was the target, she couldn’t just laugh.

“Let’s do it.”

“What are you doing?”

Elena stared blankly at Rudfelix’s hand as he took the paper from the waiter.

“Is there any reason we can’t?”

“Of course there is.”

When Rudfelix crossed his arms holding the paper, asking her to explain why, Elena became anxious.

‘To stand on that paper, one person would have to hold the other at least.’

It was impossible because they would need to be held stably to maintain balance.

“Ah, I see now that you two aren’t lovers.”

The waiter, who had been watching the atmosphere, cut in with a grin.

“So if you’re at that stage where you might or might not become closer, this is even better. This game will be the opportunity to bring you two closer together.”

“It’s not like that.”

Though she lowered her voice to suggest he shouldn’t interfere, it had no effect.

“To become lovers, you need to take one step closer to each other, but it seems there’s some obstacle. That makes this even better. Today, break down that obstacle with the power of love.”

“Does this person think words are everything?”

Frustrated, Elena rolled up her coat sleeve, about to argue against such talk.

“We’ll do it.”

“Oh, really.”

Though she wanted to shout ‘Your Highness,’ Elena barely held back and was startled by the warmth she felt on her hand.

“It’s not impossible.”

It felt different from when he had asked “Is there any reason we can’t?” Unlike earlier when he seemed to be giving her a chance to explain why not, now it was a firm “Let’s do it.”

“Come here.”

“That’s it. That’s exactly it. As they say, if both hesitate, the distance will never close.”

The constantly interrupting waiter was becoming annoying.

Though the pull on her hand wasn’t strong, strangely, she couldn’t refuse.

‘This is why I didn’t want to come.’

She hadn’t wanted to come because she expected this, but they were already here. In the end, she was being helplessly led by his guidance.

The paper on the floor threatened to fly away in the wind, barely staying down.

“I’ll, I’ll carry you.”

Elena hastily offered to carry him. Though it would be unstable, she thought that would be better. But then hands came to her waist, moved down to her legs, and her body was lifted up.

Her bottom rested on his arm as he held her.

“Relax and lean on me.”

Rudfelix’s pleasant voice reached her ear directly. Like an obedient child, Elena relaxed her waist and put her arms around his neck.

Standing on the paper with one foot, and on tiptoe at that, Rudfelix didn’t waver at all.

“Success!”

It was an unexpectedly easy success that made their hesitation seem foolish.

The waiter clapped his hands in congratulation. He celebrated boisterously, even whistling, before disappearing to get their prize. Elena slightly lifted her hood and met Rudfelix’s eyes. His long, dark eyes were shining clearly under his deep gaze.

“It was good to come to the night market.”

“I’m regretting it a bit now.”

Elena remained quietly in his arms with a resigned face.

“Other people would never imagine me being held by Your Highness like this.”

“It doesn’t matter what others think.”

“Still, please don’t tell Senior Quiet.”

Elena felt his arm shift under her bottom.

“Do you like Quiet?”

“No.”

Though she answered immediately because it seemed like a simple question, his arm returned to steadily supporting her bottom.

“Still, it’s embarrassing to say we did this while coming to investigate.”

Elena looked at Rudfelix sheepishly.

“You can put me down now.”

She gently swung her legs back and forth asking to be put down, but his arms showed no sign of letting go.

‘Sigh.’

Elena inwardly sighed while waiting for the waiter to return.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

When Elena shot back at his sly smile that seemed to ask if it hadn’t been fine,

“Just give me the item quickly.”

“Here it is.”

As the waiter held out a carefully wrapped box, Elena quickly jumped down from Rudfelix.

She was able to get down because he relaxed his arms; otherwise, she would have had to receive it while being held.

“Let’s look at it right here.”

After being held by her superior and standing on that paper, she had no patience to carry it around.

Rudfelix stared at his own hand, seemingly lost in thought and not hearing Elena’s words.

When he held Elena, he actually couldn’t speak. She was so light that he thought she might fly away in the wind, wondering if women were always such light creatures.

“I’ll open it.”

Elena spoke loudly enough for the unresponsive Rudfelix to hear as she untied the tightly wrapped knot and tore off the wrapping paper.

Opening the lid and looking inside, Elena held her breath.

Soon Elena rummaged through the box with disappointment. The waiter whispered with his hand to his mouth that that was all, as she busily searched to see if there was anything more.

Really… is this it?

“It’s just towels.”

Two round rolled towels were neatly arranged to fit the box’s shape.

The towels felt soft and quite thick when touched lightly. They seemed like they would absorb water completely just by pressing them against something, without even having to rub.