Chapter 70

Rosie couldn’t close her mouth as she looked at the romance books piled in the corner of Vivian’s room.

“How much did all of this cost…?”

Tia, nodding as if she understood Rosie, whispered something into her ear.

“Eek! The eldest daughter of Dinever is really something else.”

Rosie gave Vivian a thumbs-up, and Vivian blushed with embarrassment, mumbling that her father told her not to skimp on buying books.

“Which book left the biggest impression on you?”

When Rosie asked, Vivian, without a moment’s hesitation, picked up a book and handed it to Rosie.

“If You Do This, Even a Cold Man Will Be Kind to Me.”

Rosie murmured the book’s title as she handed it back to Vivian and began to skim through the romance books Vivian had read.

“Did you read all of these?”

“Yeah.”

Rosie picked up a book and flipped through it, shaking her head.

“Vivian. Were you studying for some kind of certification? With underlines and… what are these stars?”

Seeing the traces of diligent study, Rosie looked at her friend with a bewildered gaze. Vivian mumbled in a small voice that doing so helps her remember better when reading books.

“So, did these books help?”

At Rosie’s question, Vivian slowly shook her head.

“First, let’s identify our problem.”

Rosie tossed the book aside and pulled Vivian to sit on the sofa. Vivian, looking sadly at the book on the floor, was led by Rosie to the sofa.

Rosie had rushed to the Dinever estate, putting aside her work, at Vivian’s urgent request for help. Vivian had apparently read through romance books yesterday to capture the Crown Prince’s heart, but it ended in failure.

Looking at her naive friend, Rosie rolled up her sleeves.

“I’ve done some research…”

Rosie rubbed her chin with a serious expression. Watching Rosie’s face, Vivian swallowed nervously.

“There aren’t any.”

“What?”

“The Crown Prince is a man too, so he must have preferences, right?”

Vivian nodded seriously, mimicking Rosie’s expression.

“But I can’t figure out his preferences. How is that possible?”

Vivian blinked rapidly, trying to understand Rosie’s words.

“No, there’s absolutely no talk about women. None at all.”

Vivian listened intently as Rosie recounted what she had learned about Louis during her investigations. Rosie clicked her tongue, saying she couldn’t find any information about women.

“How can such a man exist? Maybe…”

Rosie’s eyes widened to twice their size, and she covered her mouth. Vivian urged her to speak, but after a moment of thought, Rosie swallowed her guess, saying it couldn’t be.

“If it’s about preferences, I might know a little.”

Vivian, looking frustrated at Rosie, replied sullenly.

“Cute style? Or pure? Or sexy? Maybe all of them?”

“Empress Annette.”

“…”

At Vivian’s answer, Rosie let out a big sigh and crossed her arms, tapping her crossed legs.

“Should you just give up?”

Vivian burst into laughter at Rosie’s words. Everyone living in the empire knew of Empress Annette’s beauty.

An elegant, beautiful, and wise Empress.

When Duchess Daisy was alive, if one had to name the most beautiful young ladies, these two women were always mentioned.

However, they possessed opposite kinds of beauty. If Duchess Daisy was like a puppy, Empress Annette was like a cat.

“Of course, our Vivi is pretty too!”

Rosie hurriedly added to Vivian’s laughter, raising Vivian’s eyebrows with her words.

“A little, like this, huh? If you lift them like this, you kind of look like a cat…”

Vivian gently held Rosie’s hand.

“Am I pretty?”

“…I don’t really want to answer, but yes, you are.”

“That’s a relief. It seems Louis likes pretty women.”

Rosie clicked her tongue loudly and asked Vivian.

“What do you like about the Crown Prince? There are plenty of decent, smart people around. It’s not like you’re aiming for the position of Crown Princess.”

Vivian let go of Rosie’s hand, smoothed the wrinkled hem of her dress, and began to speak.

“When was it… I think it was from the first day I saw him in the library, or maybe the next time we met? Or was it when we went to the circus? I’m not sure.”

Vivian smiled at Rosie and repeatedly opened and closed her hand slowly.

“What I clearly remember is that I liked Louis’s hands.”

“Hands?”

“Yeah. Hands.”

Vivian tightly clenched her hand and gazed at it quietly.

“They’re incredibly big. His face is pretty, but his hands aren’t. They’re full of scars and calluses. But they’re warm.”

Vivian’s expression looked happy, as if she were recalling something precious.

“Hands… So, the Crown Prince’s hands are your type.”

“Oh. No!”

Vivian blushed and strongly denied it.

“I just feel reassured by them.”

As Vivian jumped up, Rosie said she understood and calmed Vivian down. Vivian glanced at Rosie and closed her mouth, not wanting to say more. Rosie pressed her lips with her index and thumb, indicating she’d keep quiet and urged Vivian to continue.

“…Even when I want to give up because it’s hard, thinking of that day makes me not want to give up. No, I can’t give up.”

“That day?”

“I was sick after my mother’s funeral. Very much so. At that time, Louis was by my side, and it gave me strength.”

Rosie gently patted the back of Vivian’s hand.

“Every little thing piled up, and it grew in my heart, so much that I couldn’t handle it. So…”

Vivian shrugged with a self-deprecating smile.

“Vivi.”

Seeing her friend’s expression, Rosie bit her lip slightly, stood up abruptly, and patted her chest.

“Don’t worry! I’ll help you! First, love is about push and pull. But since you have always been pulling, maybe it’s time to push, Vivi?”

“P-Push?”

Vivian bit her lip and nodded.

“How?”

She had seen something similar in romance books. Men easily get bored with women who are only submissive and take control of the relationship as they please.

Honestly, she didn’t quite understand it and had just underlined it, but hearing something similar from Rosie made her hopeful that there might be a groundbreaking way to capture Louis’s heart.

Rosie, seeing Vivian’s sparkling eyes, confidently opened her mouth.

“I don’t know that either.”

At Rosie’s shameless answer, Vivian’s mouth dropped open.

“We’ll find out from now on! Friend! We have plenty of time!”

Vivian’s shoulders slumped as she watched Rosie, who was discussing youth and love with her hands on her hips.

“There’s not much time.”

“…What do you mean?”

“We might have the wedding in April.”

“What?”

Rosie started shaking Vivian’s arm back and forth.

“Are you just going to rush the wedding vows? Even roasting beans on a flash fire would be slower than that. It’s not a commoner wedding; it’s a union between royalty and a Ducal family. How can you prepare in just three months?”

Rosie exclaimed in a near-screaming voice.

“What about the Duke? What did he say?”

“Father said he’d do as I wished.”

“Ha…”

Rosie, clutching her head and staggering, collapsed onto the sofa.

“Tell him no. Say we need a little more time.”

“That’s…”

When Vivian didn’t give a definite answer and trailed off, Rosie raised her head and looked at her.

“Louis must have a reason for choosing that date, right?”

“Oh, my head.”

Rosie, clutching her head again, picked up the water glass Tia had left and gulped it down. After emptying the glass in an instant, she set it on the table with a ‘thud’ and caught her breath.

“Vivi, you’re smart, but sometimes you seem like a completely different person.”

“…Louis is the hardest problem for me.”

“Hard problems stay hard no matter how long you look at them. Let’s put it off until last and execute our plan.”

Rosie wiggled her eyebrows at Vivian.

* * *

The piercingly clear sky looked even more vivid as it met the cold winter air.

Unlike the cold outside, the corridors of the Crown Prince’s palace were warm, thanks to the high-quality magic stone heaters.

Following behind Allen, Vivian took slow breaths to calm her quietly and quickly fluttering heart, like a butterfly’s wings.

“The meeting should end soon. His Highness asked you to wait inside.”

“Thank you, Allen.”

She slowly moved her head to survey her surroundings.

There were bookshelves filled with books, two large desks, and a sofa and table that could seat four to five people.

Books and documents were piled haphazardly on the desks and table.

“It’s a bit messy, isn’t it? Haha.”

Allen, seemingly conscious of Vivian’s gaze, awkwardly laughed and began hurriedly tidying up the empty cups and crumpled papers on his desk.

“It’s okay. I know you’re very busy. When I’m busy, my desk always gets messy too.”

“Oh… really. I’m touched.”

Allen paused his cleaning, removed his glasses, and wiped away the dust.

“His Highness the Crown Prince piles work on me, but if the desk is messy, he scolds me a lot. His desk isn’t exactly neat either.”

After cleaning his glasses, Allen put them back on with a sigh.

“We hired another assistant, but a few months ago, they ran away in tears.”

At Allen’s despairing expression, Vivian didn’t know what words of comfort to offer.

“You’re here to talk about the wedding, right?”

Allen’s already hunched back slumped even further. When Vivian nodded at his words, Allen looked at her with earnest eyes.

“I know you’re busy too, Young Lady… but could you help me? Please?”

Allen approached Vivian closely and bowed his head.

“Could you ask His Highness to hire someone, at least during the wedding preparation period?”

“What?”

“I’m already overwhelmed with public healthcare matters, and now with the wedding preparations, I might die from overwork. See this? My lips cracked a week ago and haven’t healed.”

“Oh, I see… oh dear.”

When Vivian expressed genuine concern, Allen’s green eyes began to glisten with moisture.

“I’m sorry. The workload increased because of me.”

“It’s not your fault, Young Lady. It’s all because I have no luck with bosses.”

Vivian’s concern made Allen feel as if he had met an angel and was being healed. The increased workload was one thing, but with the Emperor’s directive on public healthcare, the Crown Prince had become noticeably sharper.

And now, a wedding on top of that.

“So, could you say something to His Highness…”

“Say what to me?”

The office door swung open, and Louis entered, looking back and forth between Allen and Vivian.

“Vivian. Did you make Allen cry?”

Seeing Allen’s eyes, not just moist but red, Louis asked.

“Huh? What… no!”

Vivian jumped in surprise, and Louis chuckled as he placed the documents in his hand on the desk. Then, gesturing for Allen to leave, Allen bowed his head dejectedly and exited the office.

“Are you very busy?”

“Always.”

Louis, sitting in the main seat, gestured for Vivian to sit. When Vivian perched lightly on the sofa next to Louis, he began to speak.