Adelia reached for the bell pull. Her stomach felt empty as if her early breakfast had already been digested. Though it was earlier than usual for a meal, it wasn’t problematically so.

When she pulled the bell pull made of woven soft silk, a tinkling bell sound rang. And then,

“Ah! Why did this fall?”

The bell pull fell with a thud. Adelia stared at the fallen bell pull on the floor with a startled face.

The blue silk bell pull decorated with red rubies and small gold beads rolled on the floor. Several rubies rolled across the floor from the impact of the fall.

Adelia slightly furrowed her brow as she picked up the bell pull. At that moment, the gold thread connecting the small gold beads caught on her nail and snapped. As a result, rubies and gold beads rolled across the floor.

A surprised Adelia jumped up. Unfortunately, as she was wearing slightly high heels, she stepped on several rubies and gold beads on the floor.

As Adelia stood there not knowing what to do, there was a knock at the door.

“Your Highness the Crown Princess, did you call?”

“Ah! Come in quickly.”

Gina, who opened the door and entered, opened her eyes wide looking at the floor.

“Oh my! Did the bell pull fall?”

“It fell even though I didn’t pull it hard.”

Adelia smiled awkwardly in the middle of the messy floor.

Gina approached with quick steps. She crouched down and picked up the scattered rubies and gold beads. Even just the decorations on the bell pull were worth an enormous amount.

“Sigh, no wonder the servants were rushing saying they had no time, so this is what happened. I told them to take it slow. When you rush, even things that usually work don’t work.”

Gina grumbled while cleaning the floor. The floor quickly became neat, and Gina collected the bell pull and fallen jewels and left. And soon returned.

Adelia asked with an affectionate smile containing an apology.

“I’d like to have lunch early today. Could you prepare it?”

“Ah! About that…… earlier His Highness the Crown Prince……”

“Don’t tell me I’m having lunch today too?”

“Yes…… a servant came by earlier.”

At Gina’s words, Adelia let out a deep sigh.

It had already been a week since she had eaten more than two meals with Lucian.

At first, she accepted Lucian’s straightforward comment about being lonely and ate lunch together. After that, Lucian would visit in the morning, and sometimes come by for both breakfast and lunch.

“Ah…… I understand for now. Is His Highness coming here?”

“Yes, His Highness said to call when you want lunch.”

“Then contact him and prepare. I need to get ready since I’m meeting His Highness. I’ll dress simply, so call the maids.”

Adelia waved her hand and sent Gina out. Gina bowed her head and rushed out.

“It’s not that I don’t like it…… but it’s troublesome.”

Lucian maintained his neat uniform even while eating. He wore his crown prince uniform most often, but sometimes wore his knight order uniform or formal attire.

Even when eating with Adelia, he ate in his wrinkle-free uniform. It was like dining with a statue, which was pleasing to the eyes.

However, having decided to keep her distance from him, it was troublesome no matter how purifying it was to look at him.

“Well, I have no reason to refuse. Rather, it helps suppress the rumors.”

These days, more people were doubting their love marriage. There were fewer official banquets in the hot summer so they couldn’t show their public appearance, and since they barely met at night, rumors spread that their love had cooled.

At least since she started eating with Lucian, rumors began circulating again about their passionate love.

Adelia reluctantly stood up and prepared to get ready. The maids entered carrying clothes and accessories.

Though not as formal as Lucian’s uniform, it was indoor wear that maintained proper decorum. A soft dress in a mix of sky blue and silver wrapped gently around her body. Though it had some exposure suitable for summer clothes, combined with Adelia’s blue eyes, it created an elegant impression.

After finishing the preparations, Adelia went down to the dining room on the lower floor.

“His Highness the Crown Prince is already here.”

“Is that so? Please open the door.”

When the door opened, there was a scraping sound of a chair being pulled back.

Lucian, who had arrived first and was sitting at the table, jumped up from his seat as soon as Adelia entered.

Lucian walked toward Adelia. Though it was not a short distance, he was instantly before her eyes.

“You’ve come.”

Lucian greeted her while presenting God’s masterpiece. As always, his face was fantastical.

Lucian had put in several times more effort than usual to dress up for lunch.

He wore a brooch made of blue jewels that Adelia liked, and the light-colored uniform she had called pretty.

He added vitality to his lips with red oil and fixed his hair multiple times to perfect his appearance.

It felt like he had become a well-wrapped gift.

‘Not bad.’

Lucian was quite pleased with it. If making himself beautiful could be a good gift, he wouldn’t spare any time.

Lucian approached Adelia with his carefully prepared face. As the distance closed, his scent wafted over strongly.

‘The distance seems to have gotten closer lately……”

Adelia took a step back while slightly bowing her head. Lately, Lucian’s approaches made her strangely uncomfortable.

Looking at him made her feel good but also made her chest ache. Something indistinguishable between guilt and meager conscience wouldn’t leave her alone.

Adelia smiled brightly, her eyes forming crescents until she could barely see.

“You came early. Did you wait long?”

“…… No. It hasn’t been long. The meal should be out soon, shall we go in?”

Adelia smiled widely, hiding her emotions. The melancholy in her blue eyes was wiped away by her eyelids.

While she succeeded in hiding her emotions, she failed to notice Lucian’s feelings.

For a moment, Lucian looked at her pitifully with slightly downturned eyes like an abandoned puppy, but by the time Adelia’s smile faded, his expression had been cleanly erased as well.

The two sat facing each other at the table. Before they could start a conversation, trays of food entered the dining room, and the table was filled with appetizing dishes.

From beef browned on the outside and full of red juices inside, to lamb grilled with spicy and salty powder. From well-stewed pork stew to crispy fried fish—every kind of meat was present. There were also salads using various vegetables and light noodle dishes, but it felt certainly excessive for lunch.

“Please try this. It’s fish that’s good for energy recovery. I heard it tastes good too.”

Lucian infused his knife with a subtle blade aura and cleanly and quickly cut the fish dish. It was impeccable skill without a single crumb falling.

Lucian served some of the dish from in front of him to Adelia.

“You don’t need to take care of me, I’m eating well.”

Though Adelia grumbled a bit, she accepted the food he offered. When she took a bite, it was crispy outside and moist inside. The rich savoriness suited her taste.

Her eyebrows twitched upward and her calm pupils dilated slightly.

‘She prefers white fish.’

Lucian took in every detail of her appearance. At every meal, he prepared various foods to observe her preferences.

Though she didn’t have strong likes or dislikes with food, her expression would change when she found something she liked, full of vitality. Just seeing that beautiful sight made Lucian happy.

The meal didn’t last long. Though the table was filled with dishes, it was only lunch. Adelia had finished eating some time ago and was now nibbling on a light salad as she waited for Lucian to finish his meal.

“I’ll be going now.”

Shortly after, when Lucian finished eating, Adelia stood up from her seat decisively. Lucian stared at her intently with lowered eyebrows, looking regretful.

He couldn’t bring himself to hold her back. He already felt sorry for taking up her busy time using meals as an excuse.

“I’ll…… be going?”

“Then I’ll see you at dinner.”

“Yes, see you then.”

Adelia turned away without lingering. She walked proudly and brilliantly down the long corridor past the large door.

Lucian watched that spot until Adelia’s figure disappeared. Only after she vanished at the end of the long corridor did the large door close.

“Ah……”

Lucian slumped down in his seat. He let out a low sigh while running his hands over his face.

“Don’t go…… Stay with me just a little longer, Adelia. I want to be together……”

Lucian spilled out desires he couldn’t voice in front of Adelia. He spoke her name preciously and freely expressed what he wanted.

He had to fulfill his desires even like this. Because in front of Adelia, he had to be an impeccably polite and upright person.

Between his fingers covering his face, his red eyes filled with desire flashed. Those eyes hiding something dangerous and sticky gave off an eerie feeling.

Lucian spent quite some time there before leaving. His appearance when he left the dining room seemed somehow both happy and light.

The servants who entered later to clean the room tilted their heads.

“His Highness the Crown Prince’s meal times have been getting longer lately.”

* * *