The Crown Prince’s Maid Brews Tea Too Well

Chapter 6 – Part 5

“Don’t say things like that out loud!”

What on earth could those people be for Dame Ramona to react this way?

I slightly raised my head to look down at the terrace again.

And then I made eye contact with one of the men who happened to be looking straight up at us.

“Waaah!”

I immediately recognized who it was and quickly hid behind the terrace railing. There was no way I couldn’t recognize him.

After running into him daily and after he finally confessed to me yesterday—my superior. The Crown Prince.

Following Dame Ramona’s lead, I crouched down and urgently whispered to her,

“Dame Ramona, why is the Crown Prince here?”

Dame Ramona whispered back,

“I don’t know! If I’d known His Highness was coming, I wouldn’t have come here today!”

“Aren’t you a guard? How could you not know?”

“He keeps ditching me because he finds it bothersome! Honestly, the Crown Prince doesn’t need a guard anyway. Realistically speaking, if something were to happen, would I be protecting him, or would he be protecting me? Be realistic, okay?”

“Wow, Dame Ramona, you’re disqualified as a knight!”

As we squabbled and crouched behind the railing, His Highness suddenly leaped over the terrace railing, making me jump in surprise.

This is the second floor, and he just casually jumped up here. His physical ability is incredible.

The Crown Prince was still dressed in a black robe with the hood pulled down over his eyes. If he carried a scythe, he’d look just like the Grim Reaper.

Honestly, it was a little scary.

“Y-Your Highness.”

“What’s the matter?”

“I came here to buy some tea leaves for you….”

What in the world had happened for His Highness to be wandering around outside the palace in such a suspicious outfit?

The Crown Prince frowned slightly and pointed at Dame Ramona, asking,

“Did this person bother you? I heard some commotion on the terrace.”

“Oh, no, we were just tasting tea together.”

The commotion was because we were shocked to see you, Your Highness.

Dame Ramona had her face buried in my side. She looked like an ostrich with its head in the sand.

Did she think she wouldn’t be recognized if she hid her face?

Under her frock coat, you could still see the Imperial Guard uniform and boots. Not to mention, the gold decoration on the tip of her sword’s scabbard was sticking out from under the coat.

It was obvious to anyone that she was an Imperial Guard.

His Highness sighed at the pitiful sight.

“What is the deputy commander of the Second Imperial Guard doing here?”

She was immediately recognized. See, that red hair is hard to miss.

* * *

And five minutes later…

For some reason, we were all sitting around a small tea table, having tea together.

Though calling it “together” might be a bit of a stretch.

Dame Ramona, feeling guilty, was sitting stiffly, while Roel, the shop attendant, was fidgeting anxiously.

It was understandable. I’d gone downstairs briefly, and by the time I came back, there was an extra person at the tea table.

And that extra person was a tall, suspicious man in a pitch-black robe who didn’t even show his face.

Even the Crown Prince didn’t seem entirely comfortable.

Earlier, he had asked me, “Do you like this shop’s tea?” Then he dismissed his attendants and settled down on the terrace.

But now that he was actually sitting at the tea table, he seemed awkward, keeping his mouth tightly shut and simply drinking his tea.

If he were incognito, he could’ve come up with a plausible excuse, but it seemed that wasn’t his style.

Seeing the tension in his jaw beneath the robe, I could imagine him later saying something like, “It is unbecoming of the Crown Prince of the Empire to deceive the people,” if I were to ask him about it back at the palace.

‘Oh dear…’

I sighed inwardly.

At this rate, Roel was going to be so stressed that he’d fall ill tonight. I had to step in as a regular customer before that happened.

I lightly tapped Dame Ramona’s calf under the table and made eye contact with her when she looked at me in surprise.

‘Introduce the Crown Prince to Roel; make a good impression.’

If she could be a source of reassurance for the anxious Roel, it would look good.

If, at the same time, she could alleviate the Crown Prince’s awkwardness, it might work in her favor later.

Dame Ramona seemed to catch my meaning, her eyes sparkling with realization.

“Ahem. Roel, let me introduce you. This here is my… subordinate!”

Wait, Dame Ramona! That’s a bit much, isn’t it? I thought she’d introduce him as a friend or acquaintance, but she went straight to calling him a subordinate.

I glanced at the Crown Prince to gauge his reaction. Fortunately, he didn’t seem displeased.

After all, if he was Dame Ramona’s subordinate, that meant he was affiliated with the Imperial Guard, which would be a guarantee of his identity.

Roel’s expression brightened slightly.

“If he’s your subordinate, is he also a knight?”

“Uh, yes, you could say that! His name is, um…”

The Crown Prince, who had been quietly drinking his tea, spoke up.

“Ian. My name is Ian.”

Ian—an alias that could easily be used as a nickname for the Crown Prince’s real name, Adrian. Not a lie, but not the whole truth either.

It was also a common enough name to be suitable in situations like this.

And calling him a knight wasn’t wrong either. Among the many titles the Crown Prince held, there was undoubtedly a knightly title as well.

Roel smiled, looking reassured.

“I’m Roel. It’s an honor to meet you, Sir Ian.”

“The honor is mine, and thank you for accommodating us without notice.”

To my surprise, the conversation was warm and normal.

Dame Ramona, encouraged by this, puffed up with pride.

“Roel, don’t worry too much about Ian always wearing his hood. He’s just very shy.”

“I see. There’s someone I know who always wears a hood, too.”

I nodded in agreement.

After that, the atmosphere became much more relaxed, and we chatted about various things.

“The first flush this year was really good.”

“Especially the green tea, it seems to be of particularly high quality. Would you like me to throw in a little extra?”

“That would be great!”

As I considered whether I could sneak the extra tea into my room, I glanced at the Crown Prince.

Since he liked tea as well, it might be nice to let him pick out a few tea leaves himself while we were here.

But ever since he introduced himself, he had been playing the role of a quiet and shy knight, making it hard to strike up a conversation.

Dame Ramona, undeterred, kept flirting with Roel and getting rejected repeatedly.

“Roel, don’t you have anything for me? I like freebies too.”

“No.”

“Roel, you’re so cold! But that’s what makes you charming. Aren’t you hungry? How about I buy you dinner? Something delicious, on me. I’m rich.”

“No, thank you.”

I quietly marveled at her.

Flirting so persistently, even in front of the Crown Prince. It was impressive in many ways. Thanks to her, the Crown Prince’s cover story became more convincing.

“How about dinner tomorrow, then?”

“No.”

“I’m free the day after tomorrow, too.”

“I’m not.”

The conversation quickly escalated.

Dame Ramona’s relentless persistence finally pushed Roel to his limit, and he snapped.

“Dame, you’re being too much! Why don’t you just have dinner with Moze?”

Dame Ramona looked genuinely confused.

“Huh? Who’s Moze?”

I poked her in the side and whispered.

“The greenhouse, remember? The man who rejected you. Baroness Arbata’s son.”

“Was that his name?”

Oh dear, did you really not even know his name while flirting with him?

Roel’s eyes welled up with tears.

“You didn’t even know that Moze was my friend, did you? You’re always like this. I know you’ve never been serious about me, not even for a moment. But I… I…”

I was curious about what he would say next. It felt like a confession was coming.

‘Does Roel actually have feelings for Dame Ramona?’

Roel wiped his eyes and took a deep breath before shouting,

“I’m having dinner with Lady Erica!”

“W-What, me?”

Out of nowhere, I got dragged into this. The Crown Prince’s shoulders shook with laughter.

‘Wait, wasn’t Roel about to confess to Dame Ramona?’

But it turned out it wasn’t a confession, more like a counterattack.

Roel, his eyes slightly red, continued speaking.

“So, Dame Ramona, you can have dinner with Moze. Or with Teona, Anton, or even Lucas!”

“No, it’s really not like that with Lucas. Teona and Anton, well, that was ages ago…”

“And you gave flowers to Emil and Nicola, didn’t you?”