12. Did you approach me just to gain my favor?

This place is a forbidden underground hot spring for the general public. Therefore, this audacious frog should not be here at all.

Chiiing.

Realizing this, Kincaid drew the sword that was resting on the floor.

‘Calm down.’

As she stared at the blade of the dagger aimed at her vital points, Hailey made a resolve.

“Your Highness, please… spare the life of Her Grace, the Grand Duchess.”

Hailey’s damp red hair, soaked in the humidity of the hot spring, fell downwards. Kincaid roughly grabbed Hailey by the shoulder.

“Ha, you want me to spare the Duchess’s life?”

At Kincaid’s voice, filled with rage, Hailey swallowed hard.

“Before that, you should worry about your own life.”

Kincaid, poised to swing his sword at any moment, spat out the words. Then he shoved Hailey’s upper body roughly.

“Ugh…!”

Hailey stumbled and fell into the marble bathtub.

Splash!

Hot water splashed everywhere. Kincaid, drenched in the water, frowned again.

“Impudent, audacious fool.”

Seeing Hailey floundering in the tub, Kincaid ground his teeth.

When they first met, she had thrown laundry in his face without warning, then bewildered him with cunning words, and now…

“How did you even get in here?”

The underground hot spring was the most secretive place in the prince’s palace. The intrusion of an outsider meant that the palace’s security had been breached. This was not something a mere maid could accomplish.

“I will find out who is behind this, even if I have to twist your limbs.”

Kincaid spat out angrily and glared at the hot spring.

Bubble bubble bubble.

Droplets of water continuously surged up from the surface of the hot spring. Kincaid suddenly realized that quite a bit of time had passed, yet that audacious maid had not emerged from the tub.

“…What the hell?”

His heated gaze turned towards the bath. The marble tub, which contained the surging hot spring water, was enormous compared to an ordinary bathtub. To exaggerate a bit, it was deeper and wider than a typical pond.

“Don’t tell me… she’s drowning?”

As Kincaid calculated the depth of the tub against the height of that audacious maid, he frowned in disdain. If she died here, he wouldn’t be able to uncover who was behind that detestable maid.

“Seriously, this is ridiculous.”

Kincaid threw off the robe he was wearing and jumped into the tub. Just as he expected, Hailey was helplessly floundering in the water.

‘If I had known this would happen, I should have learned to swim.’

In her past life and this one, Hailey had always been hopeless at sports.

And to make things worse…

The senior maid uniform she had stolen to sneak in was far too large for her, wrapping around her like a set of ropes and dragging her down.

‘Damn it… I’m going to drown before I even see the original ending!’

She kicked and twisted, trying to steady herself, but the strong current only tossed her about even more.

‘This is why core muscles are important!’

She cursed internally …

At that very moment of Hailey’s lament… a strong hand grasped the nape of her neck, which was falling like a wet cotton ball.

Splash!

Hailey’s body, soaked in the tub, was pulled out above the water’s surface.

“Cough, cough!”

After a harrowing struggle, Hailey was finally dragged out of the water, gasping for air as she expelled the hot spring water from her mouth and nose.

“You can’t even swim, you frog?”

Kincaid sneered as he looked at the audacious maid he had rescued.

Hailey weakly lifted her head—
Only to realize she was being held against a very muscular chest.

And then she screamed:

“Mommy!”

Right in front of her face was Kincaid’s bare upper body.

Beads of water dripped down between the sharply defined contours of his muscles.
His broad chest expanded powerfully with each breath, and beneath that, his abdomen was tightly packed with clearly outlined muscles.

That’s when Hailey’s brain overloaded.

“Ugh…”

Even the thin pants that Kincaid was wearing were soaked through, revealing his bare skin. As her gaze fell between his legs to a particularly dark area, Hailey couldn’t help but shout out.

“W-Why are you undressed?!”

“Do you bathe with your clothes on?”

“Well… no, but still…!”

Kincaid raised an incredulous brow at her flustered question.
Hailey couldn’t even lift her head properly, her fair, flour-pale face now flushed a deep crimson, like a ripe strawberry.

“Aghh…”

Hailey, fanning herself with her hands, looked completely different from the audacious maid she usually was. Kincaid finally recalled that the person before him was a young maid who had just barely reached adulthood. His rising irritation subsided a little.

‘Still, she’s just as audacious.’

Kincaid scoffed inwardly before fixing a sharp gaze on the troublemaker in question.

“You came here to save the life of Her Grace, the Grand Duchess Eleonora?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Hailey, calming her wildly racing heart, replied respectfully.

The underground hot spring of the Crown Prince’s palace. The interior of the Crown Prince’s residence, where the male lead Kincaid lived, often appeared in the original story.

‘Secret passages, shortcuts, eavesdropping spots…’

Recalling several locations that had appeared by each episode, Hailey chose the underground hot spring.

‘There’s no better place for a private meeting with the Crown Prince without interruption.’

However, the downside was that it was a place where one had to risk their life.

“Then why did you jump into the bath of all places?”

‘Because there’s no better place for a private meeting with Your Highness.’

Before she could deliver her prepared response, Kincaid twisted his mouth and made a sulky sound.

“Are you perhaps using the Grand Duchess’s life as an excuse to approach me for favor?”

At Kincaid’s cryptic remark, Hailey’s eyes widened. Then, before she could stop herself, she blurted out a response.

“I have absolutely no intention of doing that.”

“…What?”

Kincaid’s brow furrowed deeply. But Hailey was being completely honest.

‘What, do I look crazy? As if I’d ever get involved with that tyrant…’

Thankfully, she had enough sense left not to say that part out loud.

Still, the dead-serious expression on Hailey’s face—as if she’d just run into a snake on the road—dealt a blow to Kincaid’s pride.

“Why don’t you have that intention?”

He ground his teeth in disbelief.

With a face that resembled his mother, the most beautiful woman in the empire, and a well-trained, muscular body, he had never met anyone better looking than himself.
Moreover, he was the unmarried heir to the throne.

He had been so preoccupied with subduing the rebels that popped up every moment and stabilizing the imperial authority that he had yet to have a fiancée, let alone get married.
Thanks to this, Kincaid had long since emerged as the top marriage prospect in high society. In fact, proposals were even coming in from foreign royal families.

“Don’t you think your life would change if you gained my favor?”

Crown Prince Kincaid tried to make the foolish maid realize his superiority, but the audacious little frog seemed completely uninterested.

“I’m sorry, but I have my own preferences.”

“…”

“And besides, didn’t you call me a frog?”

“So what if I did?”

‘Are you perhaps fond of amphibians that way?’

Hailey’s incredibly cautious question made Kincaid’s expression turn to one of disbelief, as if he were choking.

“Ughh…”
He bit down on his perfectly shaped lips, suppressing a groan. A long silence followed—then Kincaid finally muttered in a low voice.
“If I were to kill you here, Her Grace the Duchess would be heartbroken, wouldn’t she?”

To the prince, who was grinding his teeth, Hailey quickly replied.

“I think she’d be very upset, Your Highness. She cares for me very much.”

Crown Prince Kincaid had to forcibly remind himself once more that this audacious little frog was a maid cherished by the Duchess Eleonora of the palace.

“Enough, just get to the point. My patience is running thin, and if you don’t speak quickly, I’ll kill you.”

Finally, the long-awaited opportunity had arrived, and Hailey took a deep breath.

“Please save Her Grace the Duchess.”

“Is someone perhaps plotting against Her Grace the Duchess?”

In an instant, Kincaid’s gaze turned cold.

“No, that’s not it.”

“Then what is it?”

“Are you aware of the incident that occurred at the palace yesterday?”

As Hailey briefly and clearly explained the situation, Kincaid furrowed his brow.

“So, in the end, it’s just that a maid made a mistake. How does that relate to the safety of Her Grace the Duchess?”

“Annie is not the kind of child who would steal. The Grand Duchess herself knows this very well.”

Hailey replied firmly. And seeing Kincaid still not convinced, she continued her explanation.

“However, Her Majesty the Empress and other members of the royal family do not think so. In fact, the Empress scolded Her Grace for not managing her subordinates properly.”

Kincaid fell silent as he recalled the situation.

“Her Grace the Duchess values her honor more than anyone in the palace. But because of this incident, her reputation has been completely tarnished.”

“…”

“Moreover, this incident could further undermine Her Grace the Duchess’s position. This situation is exactly what they want.”

“They…?”

Kincaid murmured softly.

“Tell me who they are.”

Under Kincaid’s interrogation, Hailey paused for a moment. Then, looking into the Crown Prince’s sharp eyes, she spoke.

“May I speak to you privately?”