Chapter 38

The announcement that the Crown Prince of Alastair had arrived came as a genuine surprise. This was my first time seeing him in person.

The crown prince appeared shortly after, accompanied by his escort.

He was a classically handsome man with a sturdy build, golden hair, and blue eyes.

If he had been the first person I met after transmigrating into this world, I would certainly have thought, this must be the male lead.

But I had already found my own leading man.

I looked up at Hid. Sensing my gaze, he turned and smiled at me warmly.

My boyfriend was still so much more handsome. Just looking at Hid’s face made me happy, and I found myself grinning without meaning to.

Ah, wait. This wasn’t the time for that. I needed to focus on the crown prince. Anyone could see he was the top candidate for a major investor.

I turned my attention back to Crown Prince Diestran.

He was making his way through the nobles in the hall, greeting them one by one. Then he turned his head in our direction.

His gaze was clearly aimed at Hid.

The hall went quiet in that instant. This was the first time the crown princes of two countries were meeting face to face.

Everyone began looking back and forth between the two men with expectant eyes. I quietly stepped back a little to give them space.

Crown Prince Diestran approached Hid and extended his hand.

“I am Diestran Evel Alastaire. Welcome to Alastair.”

“I am Hijef de Shtandes. It is an honor to meet you.”

The warm sight of two handsome men shaking hands brought smiles to everyone’s faces.

Then Crown Prince Diestran said something unbelievable.

“So I finally meet the Crown Prince of Shtandes I have heard so much about. Though I still cannot say I know where exactly that kingdom is.”

“……!”

The atmosphere turned ice cold in an instant.

Every person in the hall fell silent, glancing at one another. I was just as stunned.

How could he say something like that. This was clearly a dismissive remark aimed at Hid. And why was he speaking so informally the entire time, when our Hid was addressing him with proper courtesy despite being of equal rank!

I quickly looked to Hid. He must have been startled and embarrassed by that rudeness.

But my man was different. After a brief pause, he turned toward Crown Prince Diestran and smiled pleasantly.

And spoke. He said he had long regretted the lack of exchange between their countries and intended to bring about change soon.

He even elevated the other man.

“For that reason, I have come here hoping to learn from Alastair, a great nation.”

“……I shall invite you to my palace before long.”

With that, Crown Prince Diestran turned away from Hid. But this time his eyes met mine.

His gaze wavered when it landed on me. Could he have known the original Raphindel?

“……Are you the daughter of the Datinggale trading house master?”

Fortunately, it seemed that wasn’t the case. I quickly offered a proper greeting.

“I am honored to stand before Your Highness. I am Raphindel Datinggale.”

“The Datinggale trading house has always been of great service.”

“The honor is mine, Your Highness.”

Of course, in my head I was thinking, honor, please, as if.

Regardless, the brief and meaningless exchange ended, and the crown prince disappeared into the crowd. Only then could I properly check on Hid.

In a situation like this, saying nothing at all seemed better. Hid would be embarrassed too.

So I quietly took his hand and held it tight. Hid whispered softly.

“I’m fine, Rafi. I hear things like that often.”

“But……”

“If anything, it worked out well. Now I’ve had the chance to meet the Crown Prince of Alastair.”

And then he smiled.

Goodness, Hid was far stronger than I had imagined. To find the positive in a moment like that. Most people would have felt humiliated or angry.

Just then, Count Nevil, the host of the party, raised his glass toward the assembled guests.

“Then, let us now begin the charity auction.”

❀❀❀

The charity auction began.

Nobles took turns stepping forward to present the items they had brought. Most were rare luxury goods, sold at absurdly high prices.

The saving grace was that all proceeds from the day’s sales were going to charity.

Then it was Hid’s turn. A different kind of tension settled over the hall.

Understandable. Everyone was curious what mysterious object had come from the Kingdom of Shtandes, a place they had only ever heard of in rumors.

Hid first presented several distinctive magitech devices that satisfied their curiosity. Items well suited to promoting the Kingdom of Shtandes.

And finally, DibsTalk was introduced.

“The Dibs trading house is set to release a new magitech messenger device, one designed for general use rather than dating. In light of this, the Kingdom of Shtandes has decided to invest.”

Those words were the signal. The entire party erupted in noise.

The effect was tremendous. The DibsTalk sample brought to the auction sold for the highest price of the day.

And after the auction ended, a crowd of investors began gathering around Hid.

Not only nobles hoping to open ties with the Kingdom of Shtandes, but many who wanted to invest in DibsTalk through Hid as well.

I, of course, sat quietly to one side. The fact that I was the Dibs trading house CEO was still a secret.

While Hid dealt with the investors on my behalf, I quietly moved to a table where a group of ladies had gathered. It seemed the more natural place for me to be.

But the looks directed at me were far from warm. In that instant, I had a feeling.

‘Oh no, could this be the noble ladies’ rivalry I had only ever read about in books……?’

A thrill ran through me. I had always wanted to see this in real life! The excitement of watching a proper drama unfold after so long.

Soon, Lady Irjine of the Marquis family, who appeared to be the center of the group, opened her mouth toward me.

“A love that transcends social standing, how terribly moving, I nearly wept. Let us pray that this reckless little flame of a romance lasts, shall we!”

Yes, keep going, more! I worked desperately hard not to accidentally smile.

But the ladies seemed to interpret my expression differently and piled on with enthusiasm.

“The Crown Prince of Shtandes put DibsTalk up for auction earlier, didn’t he.”

“That’s right. If it were me, I wouldn’t have put a new product like that up for auction. I would have given it to my fiancée first.”

“Come to think of it, didn’t Lady Irjine’s fiancé win the bid on DibsTalk. Surely it was meant as a gift for you?”

“Oh, but of course. We each have one now!”

The ladies laughed along with Irjine. But inside, I was nothing but disappointed.

What was this, why so weak. I wanted something spicier!

Then, from somewhere, an alert tone chimed. A completely different sound from the existing Dibs device.

One of the ladies cried out.

“Oh my, Lady Irjine. It seems your fiancé has sent you a DibsTalk message!”

Everyone made a fuss, urging her to check the message right away. Lady Irjine flushed and opened her DibsTalk.

But there was nothing there. Which meant……

I quietly opened my handbag and took out my own DibsTalk. The design was far more elaborate than the one that had gone up for auction.

The expressions of the ladies across from me crumpled instantly.

Well, of course. I was the Dibs trading house master. The best product should naturally go to me first.

And sure enough, there was a message from Hid.

[Hid: Rafi, everything all right?]

Seeing that, I smiled without meaning to.

Ah, there was something far more interesting to go look at. My boyfriend’s handsome face.

“I apologize, but I’ll take my leave first. I need to exchange a few messages with my fiancé on DibsTalk.”

“……!”

“Then, goodbye.”

With one last look at Lady Irjine trembling with indignation, I got up without a second thought. And replied to Hid immediately.

[Rafi: It’s boring here. Want to hang out with Hid]

Then my hand paused. The thought came to me that I shouldn’t take away the time Hid needed to connect with Alastair’s nobles.

After all, the reason he had come to this country was to open the doors of Shtandes. And that work had been getting pushed back more and more because of our romance.

‘At least today, I won’t get in the way.’

So I deleted what I had been about to send and wrote something new.

[Rafi: Still talking with people. It’s nice seeing peers I haven’t seen in a while.]

The reply came back exactly as expected.

[Hid: Good. See you later.]

[Rafi: Yes. Hope you’re having a good time too, Hid.]

Right. This was the right thing to do.

But I had no desire to go back to where the ladies were.

‘Maybe I’ll just wait in the VIP lounge……’

Yes, that was better. Decision made, I turned my wandering steps around.

The empty corridor had only me in it, as expected. Everyone else was absorbed in enjoying the party.

Feeling a little lonely, I arrived at the lounge and slowly opened the door and stepped inside.

Then, a familiar voice came from within.

“Rafi, you came?”

“Hid?!”

He was sitting on the lounge sofa, smiling warmly at me.