In the awkward atmosphere, the two went about their tasks.

Today, the writing on the documents didn’t seem to catch Linus’s eye, and a wrinkle formed on his forehead.

‘Did I overreact? She wouldn’t even know what kind of book it is anyway…’

Shailyn’s face, which had turned sullen, kept lingering in his mind.

Eventually, unable to shake the uneasy feeling, Linus turned his head towards her to tell her to just rest.

“Miss Sharofe…”

But his words trailed off and stopped ambiguously.

It was because Shailyn had fallen asleep while sitting, leaning against the bookshelf.

Sunlight poured in through the window, illuminating her mysterious hair and white face brightly.

Linus, almost unconsciously, got up from his seat and approached her, drawn in.

Seeing her peacefully asleep brought a slight smile to his face.

‘Already tired? Well, I have been working her quite hard.’

It had already been a week since she started assisting him.

Linus was aware that he had been rather demanding and had put Shailyn through some hardship.

In fact, it was somewhat intentional.

Not that he wanted to make things difficult for her, but her reactions were subtly amusing, which made him want to tease her a bit more.

At the same time, he felt a sense of worry.

‘Am I keeping her too close…’

His mother’s reaction and his own precarious situation with the forbidden book meant that getting involved too deeply could cause significant trouble.

Linus murmured, lightly touching her soft cheek with his finger.

“Still, isn’t she being too defenseless?”

Falling asleep like this while the Crown Prince was working right nearby.

It was absurd, amusing, and perhaps a little cute…

Before he could scold himself for such crazy thoughts, Linus’s hand reached for the silver hair that had slipped down.

At the same time, her blue eyes snapped open.

* * *

To be honest, I was a bit sleep-deprived because I hadn’t slept well last night.

What awakened me while I was organizing the bookshelf and dozed off was…

— Ding!

A cheerful notification sound.

【Your male protagonist is within 1 meter ahead.】

The system window flashed in my still sleepy vision.

What? My male lead?

Instinctively, I reached out and grabbed something.

As the window disappeared, what appeared was… the Crown Prince.

What I had grabbed was none other than his hand. Calloused from holding a sword and pen.

“Your Highness…?!”

Suddenly coming to my senses, I released his hand and stood up abruptly.

The Crown Prince, who had been looking at his hand caught by me with a peculiar expression, cleared his throat and turned away.

“Does the lady think my office is her bedroom?”

“I’m sorry, I was just tired.”

“If you’re that tired, go home early today.”

“Oh, no! I’m not tired!”

I hurriedly waved my hands in refusal. Every minute and second was precious right now.

More than half of the mission’s two-week deadline had passed, so I was anxious.

I needed to quickly find out his troubles, solve them, and hear him say it was thanks to me.

I worried he might send me away for dozing off, but fortunately, the Crown Prince didn’t do that.

Watching him return to his seat, I quietly asked.

“Your Highness, aren’t you tired?”

“Not really.”

“If you’re ever tired or need help, please let me know.”

I subtly appealed and pretended to organize the bookshelf, glancing sideways at him.

Didn’t it just say my male lead was within 1 meter ahead?

Currently, in the office, it was just the two of us, and the only person within 1 meter was the Crown Prince.

‘Should I consider this confirmation that he’s the male lead…?’

I was drawing my own conclusions when it happened.

“Your Highness, His Majesty the Emperor has arrived.”

A servant suddenly announced.

Startled by the word Emperor, I froze, and the Crown Prince quickly stood up.

And before I could do anything, the door opened, and a middle-aged man appeared.

Dark blond hair mixed with brown, golden eyes like the Crown Prince.

His protruding cheekbones and hooked nose gave him a somewhat irritable impression.

‘So that’s the Emperor…’

He was a person who bore little resemblance to the Crown Prince, making it hard to believe they were father and son.

“Greetings to His Majesty the Emperor.”

Despite being his father, the Crown Prince greeted him with utmost respect.

I, too, stood in the corner, following suit and bowing my head.

The Emperor naturally took the head seat and nodded his chin.

“Sit.”

“What brings you here?”

The Crown Prince asked as he obediently sat diagonally across from him.

The Emperor’s sharp gaze, faintly frowning, was directed at his son.

“I hear you’ve been hanging around with some young lady lately.”

Ack, that’s me.

As I flinched, the Emperor pointed his chin at me.

“Is it that young lady?”

“Yes, she is Miss Shailyn Sharofe, who is assisting me.”

The Crown Prince introduced me plainly. However, it seemed the Emperor had other thoughts.

“You wicked boy, you rejected all the young ladies I introduced to you, but you accepted the one introduced by Diart?”

He openly grimaced, expressing his anger.

It seemed he thought I had been introduced to the Crown Prince by Dain for a matchmaking.

That’s not it…

Of course, if it were an actual matchmaking, I would have accepted it immediately.

“There is nothing between Miss Sharofe and me, Your Majesty.”

The Crown Prince firmly clarified the Emperor’s misunderstanding without wavering.

“And I have met every single young lady Your Majesty has introduced to me.”

“Then why haven’t you made any of them your fiancée or even your lover!”

“Well, perhaps they didn’t find me appealing. Maybe they were disappointed that I wasn’t as obedient as they expected.”

His tone was subtly sarcastic, and the smile on his lips was cold.

The Emperor, sensing this, stood up abruptly and shouted in anger.

“You dare mock your father!”

“Please calm down, Your Majesty.”

As his face reddened, the man who had entered with the Emperor intervened.

At first glance, I thought he was the Emperor’s attendant, but looking closely now, he was dressed in temple robes.

‘Which means he’s not an attendant but a priest…?’

I looked at the man curiously, wondering why a priest was here.

“Surely His Highness has his own thoughts.”

“Thoughts, my foot! He takes after his mother, secretly looking down on me!”

Despite the man’s words, the Emperor kicked the desk in frustration.

Bang!

Something rolled off the desk that shook violently.

Thud.

It was the red leather book that the Crown Prince had scolded me for touching.

“What is this?”

The Emperor frowned, prodding the book with his foot.

At that moment, I witnessed the Crown Prince’s expression subtly hardening.

“It’s nothing.”

Despite his straightforward answer, even the priest showed interest in the book.

“It looks like a book, and the leather seems quite luxurious. It must be important.”

The priest picked up the book, inspecting it and attempting to open it.

Seeing the Crown Prince increasingly losing his composure, I raised my hand high.

Judging from his reaction, it seemed like a book that shouldn’t be seen by others, so I intended to help.

“That’s mine!”

At my sudden shout, everyone’s attention turned to me.

I quickly corrected my posture and bowed my head politely.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. That’s my diary.”

The priest responded incredulously.

“This is a diary? This thick?”

“Yes!”

“It doesn’t seem like it to me. May I take a look?”

“No! Absolutely not!”

I refused immediately, and suspicion flickered on the priest’s face.

“Why not?”

“Well, it’s just…”

Unable to think of an excuse, I rolled my eyes.

Then, through the priest, I locked eyes with the Crown Prince.

Even in this situation, he looked incredibly handsome.

“As expected, I should verify it myself—”

“In fact!”

Looking at his remarkable face sparked inspiration, and I spoke impulsively.

“I’m in love with His Highness the Crown Prince, so I’ve been writing my feelings down and turning them into a book. You know, like an autobiography. So I’m too embarrassed to show it.”

“…Pardon?”

The priest looked at me dumbfounded.

Sounds like nonsense, right? I know. It’s complete nonsense.

I approached shyly and snatched the book from the priest’s hands, saying,

“Still, if you’re suspicious, I’ll read you a line myself!”

I opened the book at an angle they couldn’t see.

“……?”

I was startled by the strange demon drawing that popped out but maintained my composure and cleared my throat.

Then, shamelessly, I made up a story.

“Oh, why is His Highness the Crown Prince so perfect? Today, too, His Highness’s face is truly a killer face. Every time he becomes more handsome, I hit the wall, and now my room is one with the hallway. His Highness has looks, personality, and wealth, but there’s one thing he doesn’t have. That is the eldest daughter of the Sharofe family, me, Shailyn Sharofe.”

“…What does ‘killer face’ mean?”

“It means extremely good-looking, Your Majesty.”

After my response to the Emperor’s question, a dreadful silence ensued.

I could vividly feel the heat rising to my ears and neck from the overwhelming embarrassment.

Please, someone say something…

After a moment.

“Pfft.”

The Crown Prince broke the oppressive silence with a small laugh.

He covered his face with his large hand, his shoulders shaking silently.

Just laugh openly, for goodness’ sake.