Her ears turned bright red from embarrassment. It wasn’t that she was ashamed of her feelings toward Carl, but her behavior just now was slightly embarrassing.

Not only had she reacted seriously to a joke by herself, but she had even raised her voice in front of the crown prince.

When she covered her face with both hands, the crown prince spoke in a calm voice.

“It’s fine, thanks to that I think I’ll be able to sort out my feelings more easily.”

“……Is, is that so?”

Then that’s fortunate.

She stealthily lowered her hands and looked up at him. His face wearing a bitter smile was perfect like a sculpture.

He really was handsome.

Of course, Carl was more handsome and cuter though.

Having roughly finished their conversation, they began walking again. When they reached the end of the garden, the crown prince suddenly stopped walking.

“I think I should escort you this far. I have business to attend to.”

Noticing his deliberate action of drawing a line, she played along.

She placed her hand on her chest and bowed politely.

“I shall take my leave now.”

“If there’s an opportunity, let’s meet again next time.”

“Yes.”

Turning her back on the crown prince, she deliberately didn’t look back and headed toward her carriage.

***

Linus quietly gazed at the slender figure slowly moving away.

Silver hair mysterious as if it contained moonlight, a long slender neck and arms, a small frame compared to her height.

Suddenly, Shailyn from their first meeting overlapped over that image.

She who had cautiously revealed herself from behind a tree was, to tell the truth now, like a fairy.

Even he, tired of all sorts of seductions aimed at becoming crown princess, momentarily hesitated and frowned with one eyebrow.

But as soon as she opened her mouth, boldness befitting her delicate features burst out.

She remained the same before and after knowing he was the crown prince.

‘It would exist if it’s reasonable to exist. Then who are you to be here?’

‘I didn’t know. And I walked in.’

Thinking about it again, she was truly bold and unexpected. And…… cool too.

The youthful face that had competed with him fair and square and ultimately received even his apology was still vivid in his eyes.

He learned for the first time then that something covered in dirt could shine more than something gorgeously adorned.

But he didn’t know exactly when he had come to hold her in his heart.

Had it seeped in through the childish wordplay he used to throw out casually, or had he fallen after receiving help regarding his mother’s illness.

‘……Perhaps it was from the beginning.’

From when she came out from behind that tree that day.

Shailyn, gradually growing her presence within Linus, instantly captivated his heart that was said to be frozen.

But despicably, she didn’t give her heart in return.

‘To think I’d feel Mother’s teaching that even crown princes can’t have everything in the world here.’

Linus smiled bitterly. Actually, he had no special schedule today.

However, after receiving Shailyn’s letter saying she had something to say, he felt an inexplicable anxiety and refused to meet her right away.

He wanted to delay the rejection even a little. Maybe a clever plan to change her heart would occur to him in the meantime.

But in the end, he couldn’t change the approaching fate and it turned out this way.

He looked at the empty space where Shailyn had left and thought.

‘If I had been…… a little faster, would the result have been different.’

When she complimented his hair, when they first danced together, when he saw her sleeping in his office.

If he had realized his feelings then.

No. At least if he had stood up for her at the court meeting, could he have been chosen by Shailyn.

Realizing he was making pointless assumptions, he soon shook his head.

It would only be pathetic to have lingering attachment to what had left his hands.

Shailyn’s honesty and liveliness, her smile bright as sunshine had always made him happy, but now it was time to let go of his lingering feelings.

Linus, standing as if nailed in place for a long time, slowly lifted his feet.

His heart was heavy as gold but his steps were light, this feeling seemed to be exactly what they called relief.

At least he had heard an answer.

Linus decided to be satisfied that his course of action had become clear.

***

Meanwhile, at that time.

Kyllen, going out to the shopping district and buying dessert thinking of Shailyn, headed to the Diart residence.

He wanted to quickly feed her a bite and see her enjoying it, but unfortunately Shailyn was absent.

Instead, Dain who greeted him dropped a bombshell.

“Shailyn probably went to meet Linus. His Highness the Crown Prince told her he would hear the answer to his confession today.”

“……Is that true?”

“Yes, I saw the carriage carrying Shailyn heading to the imperial palace—”

“No, that’s one thing. His Highness the crown prince…… confessed to Shailyn?”

Coincidentally, it was a confession that had taken place after Kyllen left Shailyn’s side.

Dain, momentarily detecting his slip of the tongue, hesitated then nodded.

Kyllen, completely unaware of this fact, fell into great shock.

‘I wasn’t fast at all.’

He was far too late, late enough to allow a rival to confess.

To be honest, he had been quite confident. Confident that he could capture Shailyn’s heart and make his confession successful.

Because sometimes stars sparkled in Shailyn’s blue eyes when she looked at him.

Like a leopard targeting prey, his senses sharpened acutely and he instinctively caught Shailyn’s favor.

He brilliantly picked up the fragments of emotion she inevitably let slip even when trying not to show it.

So he must have become too complacent.

Kyllen, his expression becoming serious in an instant, asked in a gloomy voice.

“What should I do to win a woman’s heart, young lord?”

“Even if you ask me, I’m someone who’s never dated once…… And I’m Linus’s supporter……”

Dain scratched his head with a troubled face.

Of course, with his knight’s intuition still alive, he knew that the possibility of Linus getting together with Shailyn was very slim.

But even so, he couldn’t bring himself to push his close friend’s competitor with his own hands. It could become betrayal.

When an even deeper shadow fell over Kyllen’s face at this, Dain, unable to bear it, offered clumsy advice.

“How, how about throwing a grand party just for that woman?”

“A grand party……”

A strange light flickered in Kyllen’s red eyes.

Having thought of a good idea, he immediately got up to realize the plan floating in his head.

“Could you please deliver this dessert to Shailyn in my place?”

“What? Ah, yes. I’ll definitely deliver it.”

“Thank you. I’ll be going now.”

“Go safely, Your Grace.”

Dain, who had seen Kyllen off in the confusion, made a puzzled face.

‘Was my advice that excellent……?’

Since he seemed to have performed quite well in a field he thought he was an outsider in, the corners of Dain’s mouth slowly rose.

He always got scolded for dating his sword, but maybe he was actually a born romance genius?

In a good mood, he immediately brought Kyllen’s dessert to Shailyn when she returned home.

“What, Carl came and went?”

Shailyn looked around needlessly. She was very disappointed not to receive it while seeing his face directly.

It had already been more than three days since they last met…….

Having no choice, she ate the dessert with Dain instead of Kyllen.

Dain tactfully pushed the fork away so only Shailyn would eat and smiled contentedly.

From her reaction looking for Kyllen, it seemed things hadn’t gone well with Linus, but that was something he could comfort her about later.

To confirm in more detail what good advice he had given Kyllen, he asked.

“Shailyn, what kind of behavior from a man would appeal to you?”

“There’s no particular behavior I want, but there are things I wish they wouldn’t do.”

“What?”

“Making a big fuss.”

The answer that fell without a moment’s hesitation was quite firm.

“I absolutely hate it.”

“……Ah, really?”

From her appearance even frowning, Dain’s intuition sent a very sharp warning.

He had been slouching with his chin propped up, then stealthily corrected his posture and forced a smile.

“What if someone threw a grand party for you? That’s not really making a big fuss, right?”

“What are you talking about, that’s completely making a big fuss.”

But Shailyn retorted with a serious expression. The fork that fell from Dain’s hand clattered and rolled on the floor.

‘……I’m sorry, Your Grace.’

He who apologized to Kyllen inwardly squinted his eyes and smiled wistfully.

Believing that if Shailyn and Kyllen were meant to be together, they would connect on their own even if he did this.