To accommodate Evelyn, who was riding a horse for the first time, Reynard guided the horse slowly. Thanks to that, she was able to ease the tension of her first ride, but Evelyn tensed up in a different way.

Every time the horse took a step, her body would rise and fall slightly, brushing against Reynard’s. She tried to pull herself in as much as possible to avoid touching him, but due to the posture required, it was inevitable.

To make matters worse, his breath was drifting in between the strands of her loose hair.

“If you stay that tense, you’ll have a hard time later.”

At that moment, Reynard whispered softly to Evelyn. Startled in advance, Evelyn flinched and blinked her eyes.

“I’m fine.”

In response, Reynard looked down at her for a moment. Though he could only see her from behind, it was clear what kind of expression she was wearing.

“Even if you say you’re fine, Epha isn’t.”

Reynard chose a different approach to help Evelyn relax.

“If you stay that stiff, Epha will notice. Horses are sensitive creatures. If the one riding them is rigid like that, they get nervous and scared too. When that happens, things can go wrong in an instant.”

When Reynard noticed Evelyn shrinking even more, he let out a helpless smile. He had meant to calm her, but it seemed to have backfired. 

Telling someone who was already afraid of animals that something could go wrong was no different than scaring her.

Frowning slightly in frustration, Reynard recalled how she had been tense from the moment she got on the horse.

“Are you still afraid of me?”

It was a question he had asked once before. Evelyn’s gaze wavered. He seemed to be hoping she would say no, but Evelyn couldn’t bring herself to give that answer.

To be honest, she was still afraid of Reynard. Because to Evelyn, Reynard was someone who held her life in his hands. Though Reynard had said he wouldn’t harm her, she couldn’t afford to take those words at face value.

Just thinking back to when she had tried to escape was enough proof of that. She could never forget the way he pointed a sword at her as if it were nothing.

Someone who could so easily threaten her with a blade. A man called a monster by others. There was no way she could remain calm in front of such a person.

“Yes. I’m afraid.”

In the end, Evelyn confessed her true feelings. She had already shown how nervous she was, so denying it would have been awkward.

“I see.”

Reynard’s reaction was more composed than she expected. For Evelyn, who had worried he might take offense, it was a relief.

For a while, neither of them spoke. Evelyn found the silence very uncomfortable and awkward. But she didn’t have the courage to speak to him first, so she kept her lips tightly sealed.

“You said you were a maid?”

Suddenly, Reynard broke the silence with a question. Evelyn flinched and glanced around. Thankfully, Reynard had spoken in a low voice, so no one else seemed to have heard.

Feeling a small sense of relief, Evelyn gave a slight nod.

“Yes.”

“What kind of person is Princess Ophelia?”

“…”

Evelyn opened her mouth but then closed it again.

“…She’s beautiful and graceful.”

That was the answer she gave after much hesitation.

“That’s all?”

“Do you need more of a description?”

Not knowing what Reynard was really thinking, Evelyn couldn’t understand what more she was supposed to explain.

In Evelyn’s mind, what mattered most to Reynard—who had agreed to take Princess Ophelia as his bride without even seeing her face—was the princess’s appearance. What else could he possibly be interested in?

“Like your relationship with her, for instance?”

At the unexpected question, Evelyn lifted her head slightly.

“What relationship? I was a maid, and Her Highness was someone far above my reach.”

Although Evelyn’s mother, Glenna, had been Princess Ophelia’s nanny, Evelyn herself had hardly ever seen the princess. She wasn’t a lady-in-waiting, just someone who handled chores around the castle—what opportunity would she have had to interact with Princess Ophelia?

“Then what about you?”

“Sorry?”

“What kind of person are you?”

The sudden question made Evelyn swallow dryly.

She simply couldn’t understand Reynard. 

The fact that he had spared her life, the way he now seemed interested in her—she couldn’t help but wonder if he had feelings for her. But she quickly erased the thought.

That couldn’t be. As the Emperor of Bait, he must have seen countless beautiful women. Women who were elegant, refined, and born into noble privilege—how high his standards must be.

There was no way someone as plain and insignificant as herself could ever capture his heart. Then why?

“May I ask what your intention is in asking that? Surely you’re not showing interest because you like me.”

As soon as Evelyn finished speaking, Reynard suddenly burst into laughter. Every time he laughed, his breath stirred her hair and tickled the back of her neck.

“You really are a bold one.”

Startled by the unfamiliar sensation, Evelyn blinked several times before regaining her composure.

“Me?”

“Yes. Have you always been like this?”

Evelyn took a moment to recall what she had just said. No matter how much she thought about it, nothing she had said seemed particularly strange. She had no idea what he meant.

“Could you tell me what part of what I said may have come across as disrespectful, Your Majesty?”

Evelyn asked carefully. This was the second time. 

The second time he had commented on something she said. Judging by his tone, he didn’t seem displeased, but she couldn’t be sure.

From Evelyn’s perspective, Reynard was an inscrutable man. She couldn’t read him at all, nor even begin to guess what he was thinking.

He was smiling now, but for all she knew, he might be inwardly offended by her words.

So this was something Evelyn wanted to make absolutely clear. If her words had made him uncomfortable, she needed to apologize and bow her head immediately.

That was how she had survived in the royal palace of Hesta all her life.

“Did I say you were being disrespectful?”

Reynard let out a low, puzzled hum.

“No. You didn’t say that.”

However, the fact that someone of Reynard’s status had called her “bold” likely meant that her words had come off as quite inappropriate. Though “bold” could sound like a compliment, it wasn’t a good word for someone of Evelyn’s low status.

More often than not, it was something one heard after overstepping one’s bounds.

That was why Evelyn interpreted his words as meaning she had been disrespectful.

“But clearly something I said must have bothered you, Your Majesty. If you tell me what it was, I will correct it.”

After Evelyn spoke, Reynard quietly stared at the back of her head. From Reynard’s point of view, Evelyn was a difficult person to figure out.

Perhaps it was because she had lived as a maid for so long—she was excessively humble. Even though he had spared her life. And that, to Reynard, felt rather uncomfortable.

“It didn’t bother me.”

“Pardon?”

Evelyn tilted her head slightly, not quite believing what she had just heard.

“It didn’t feel disrespectful either.”

Reynard’s voice was calm, without the slightest hint of agitation.

“But you do seem to have a tendency to misinterpret my words.”

Evelyn’s grip on the saddle tightened. Reynard noticed but pretended not to.

“It’s a bad habit. Sometimes you need to take things as they are—hear them as they’re said, and see them as they are.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Evelyn replied in a subdued voice.

“No need to be that sorry. It’s fine with me. But from now on, you should be more careful. That carefulness might one day become the noose around your neck.”

Hoping Evelyn would grasp the meaning behind his words, Reynard guided the horse forward.