“Miss Rosia! Miss! Where have you gone in this rain!”

It was the nanny’s voice. As Rosia quickly curtsied to Nigel and tried to leave, he held her in place.

“Will you accept my proposal?”

“……I need to go back now.”

“You seem quite keen on not letting anyone know you were with me.”

It was true. If the nanny found out, it would quickly reach her father’s ears. It wasn’t unreasonable since everyone in the mansion treated Rosia like a delicate flower in a greenhouse. But what power did a viscount family from the border have? If she continued to reject the Grand Duke’s proposal, she might incur his wrath. In the worst case, they would have to abandon the mansion and flee far away to escape the Grand Duke.

The viscount family’s situation wasn’t good to begin with. Unstable finances, brothers who couldn’t return to their homeland, and the Viscount’s graying hair. She couldn’t add Nigel to these complicated and headache-inducing matters.

One month, it wasn’t such a long time. Rosia carefully pushed away Nigel’s hand and answered.

“I’ll accept your proposal. Just one month. Can you promise that?”

Nigel’s expression became subtle. He withdrew his hand that Rosia had pushed away.

“Very well. One month.”

Rosia stared intently at Nigel’s beautiful eyes for a moment, then gathered the vase and hurriedly left the place, fully exposed to the thin streams of rain.

＊＊＊

Upon returning to the royal palace, Nigel was in a good mood. Though he wasn’t sure exactly why, he was somewhat excited nonetheless.

“You look happy, Nigel.”

A familiar voice stopped Nigel in his tracks. Though the tone was very affectionate, Nigel turned around while swallowing back an unpleasant feeling as if he had swallowed thorns. His brother Davion stood there with a gentle smile. He didn’t resemble Nigel in any way.

Compared to Nigel who was beautiful like an angel, Davion had a fox-like impression. Davion was a man with notably narrow, slanted eyes. When he smiled like this, his eyes curved so deeply that his pupils were barely visible. He looked Nigel up and down and asked.

“Where have you been?”

“Since when did you care so much about me? It would be better not to pretend to look after me unnecessarily, for both of us.”

“You still talk like a child. You’re the ruler of a nation. You should break the habit of acting emotionally.”

Davion shook his head and took another step closer. Nigel’s eyebrows furrowed deeply. Davion smelled of freshly picked wild grass. He must have been out as well. Dirty footprints marked where he had walked.

“Mother is looking for you. Won’t you play the role of the affectionate son in my place?”

“She would be quite pleased to hear that.”

Nigel sneered while pulling his head back. Davion raised his hand. Nigel glanced at those thin fingertips. Davion picked up a single hair from Nigel’s shoulder.

“This clearly isn’t your hair, and I feel like I’ve seen this color somewhere before, don’t you think?”

“……Stop with the creepy behavior, Davion.”

Nigel smiled back and snatched the hair. He immediately recognized whose hair it was. Rosia Berthe. The light peach-colored curly hair was definitely hers. She was such an unhelpful woman after all. Davion naturally found it strange. He looked at the hair that had disappeared between Nigel’s fist, then stared at Nigel again.

“I hear you’ve been meeting with Lady Berthe lately.”

“Are you monitoring me now? I’m touched by how much you care about my safety, Davion.”

“As my only brother, I can’t help but worry. Who knows what foolish things you might do. Given how you’ve been spreading colorful rumors lately, I should step in for the dignity of the royal family. Don’t you agree?”

Davion brushed off Nigel’s rain-soaked shoulders. Irritation briefly flashed across his seemingly indifferent eyes.

“Be careful, Nigel. Many eyes are watching. You need to return safely to your principality, don’t you?”

“I’ll handle my own affairs. Why don’t you mind your own business?”

Nigel asked while batting away Davion’s hand. Davion looked down at his dropped hand and replied quietly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Nigel.”

“Lady Berthe. It would be a shame if I claimed her first.”

“Ah, yes. Though I didn’t expect you to be like this……”

Davion put on a deliberately sad expression. Nigel felt nothing since he knew well that all these excessive emotional displays were masks. From his mother the Queen Gragford to everyone in the kingdom, no one knew Davion’s true nature. They only saw him as the perfect and benevolent Crown Prince who would become the next king.

“I don’t want to fight with you over just one woman. After all, it’s just a matter of having some fun for a while. For both you and me.”

Davion smiled again and slowly brushed past Nigel. Nigel clenched his fists and took several deep breaths. After not meeting for three years since his last visit, Davion had grown even more nonsensical.

Would there ever come a day when those dozens—hundreds of masks would all fall off? Since it was practically impossible to expect this, Nigel followed the Queen’s order to leave for the principality without protest. He had only visited as a son to celebrate the Queen’s birthday, and in a few weeks, he would leave this tedious kingdom.

Well, one month should be enough. If he could successfully manipulate Rosia Berthe and upset Davion’s plans, this visit would be successful. Though Davion had passed by acting nonchalant, Nigel had long since figured out his true intentions.

‘She’s fresh, Rosia Berthe.’

That’s what Davion had casually said to Nigel at the reception a few days ago. Lady Berthe, who had so few acquaintances you could count them on your fingers because her weak health prevented her from participating in social activities. Many people, including Davion, showed interest in her unexpectedly beautiful and pure impression.

Especially the Crown Prince, who said he had known about Rosia Berthe even before her debut. He must have found it interesting to discover a suitable toy to play with for a while. Given his personality, he must have been feeling bored with his long-standing engagement.

So Nigel decided to claim Rosia before him. It was also an opportunity to shake off his mother who was forcing an unpleasant marriage on him. According to Nigel’s plan, Rosia Berthe would surely fall in love with him.

Love, love indeed.

Perhaps because he had deliberately brought up that unfamiliar and disgusting word, a crumbling laugh escaped through his lips.

＊＊＊

Rosia kept her promise with Nigel a secret. She just needed to quietly spend one month, and there would be no more troubles afterward. But Nigel seemed to have no such intention.

“Miss, this……”

The nanny held out something with an expression as if she had just heard news of the country’s downfall. Rosia, who had been drawing a sparrow perched on the windowsill, looked up at it.

“What is that?”

“His Highness Grand Duke Gragford sent it……”

“……For me?”

“Yes, Miss.”

Rosia put down her brush and received the object. It was a box slightly larger than her palm, containing a tiara decorated with expensive jewels. The nanny spoke while trembling all over.

“Why is he doing this to our Miss……”

“Calm down, Nanny.”

Rosia spoke calmly while closing the box with a loud snap. However, the nanny had already sunk to the floor and was on the verge of wailing. Things were getting bigger and bigger. Rosia tried to hide her troubled expression as she pushed the box under her vanity table as if hiding it. The nanny watched this and spoke with even more anxious eyes, stumbling over her words.

“Could it be that, really, the Berthe viscount family has somehow… incurred some grudge?”

“People don’t propose marriage because of grudges.”

“So that rumor was true! Oh, what shall we do!”

The nanny screamed in agony. Rosia stood up and gently held her shoulders while affirming.

“Don’t worry, Nanny. I won’t ever marry him. You know I’m not such a pushover.”

“That’s…… true…… but…… We can’t send our lovely Miss to such a demon!”

The nanny blurted out nonsense and immediately covered her mouth with both hands. Then she looked around nervously, afraid of non-existent presences. Rosia held the nanny’s hands tightly.

“Grand Duke Gragford isn’t here. So don’t be anxious.”

“Our kind and gentle Miss…… How heartless heaven is! How did you end up caught by such a frightening person……”

The nanny used her apron to dab at tears that hadn’t even fallen. Rosia wondered if she should meet with Nigel soon to draw up some kind of contract. She truly didn’t want this kind of arrangement. Was he really thinking of marriage within a month?

No, that couldn’t be. That arrogant, high-and-mighty person had absolutely no reason to get involved with the Berthe viscount family. It must be just a game. A brief amusement before returning to his principality. Though Rosia despised such types of people, she had already made a promise with the Grand Duke and had no other choice. But she couldn’t just leave things as they were. After thinking deeply for a while, Rosia carefully asked,