“Is your little chat over?”

A deep, slightly growling voice resonated through the room.

Before they even noticed his arrival, Aiger was already there, leaning against the closed door.

As soon as Raylin spotted him and widened her eyes in surprise, about to greet him, Kertan suddenly sprang back from her like he’d been burned, quickly lowering his head.

“You’ve arrived.”

His tone was flat, yet Raylin tilted her head, puzzled.

The words ‘awkward,’ ‘regret,’ and ‘apologetic’ hovered beside Kertan.

Meanwhile, beside Aiger, the word ‘displeased’ stood out in an intense, vivid shade, making her even more curious.

The tension between the two was almost palpable, and Raylin’s lashes fluttered rapidly.

What’s with this sudden atmosphere?

Aiger’s bad mood—fine, maybe something happened before he got here. But why is Kertan acting like that?

His stiff, soldier-like posture made sense—he was facing a superior, after all. But why the sudden guilt?

Ah. Ahhh.

As Raylin pieced things together, realization struck.

To an outsider, it must have looked like the two of them were goofing off instead of doing their jobs!

Raylin had been about to explain that they had only spoken for a short while, but then she closed her mouth.

A new thought flashed through her mind.

What if Aiger’s displeasure wasn’t just because he had encountered something irritating before arriving?

What if it wasn’t just that he found Kertan’s conduct unprofessional?

Could it be—he misunderstood, thinking Kertan had spilled classified information to her?

No way.

Even though Kertan hadn’t been under Aiger’s command for long, Aiger wasn’t the type to distrust his subordinates that easily.

If there was a misunderstanding, then…

It would be about her, wouldn’t it?

The precious daughter of the Greuga family. Someone with enough power that even if a commoner like Kertan didn’t want to talk, he might have no choice.

If Aiger had that kind of misunderstanding, then the one he was directing his suspicion toward wasn’t Kertan—it was her.

Raylin felt sharp thorns sprouting in her chest.

Without realizing it, frustration bubbled up inside her.

It was an old, bad habit of hers—when she read emotions that no one else could perceive, she sometimes jumped to conclusions about their thoughts.

And that reaction itself was proof that Aiger had already solidified a place in her heart.

If he truly meant nothing to her, she wouldn’t have bothered trying to interpret his emotions and thoughts at all.

Of course, the deeply engrossed Raylin—her mind racing like a blinkered racehorse—failed to realize that part.

Just moments ago, she had been in a lighthearted mood, but now it had completely sunk.

It was deeply unpleasant to think that Aiger saw her as someone who pried into others’ secrets.

Raylin ran her tongue over the inside of her mouth, which felt as rough as if she had swallowed sand, then opened her lips.

“Hello, Your Highness. It’s a surprise to see you here.”

Aiger, who had not taken his eyes off her since entering, straightened his posture and slowly approached.

“I always seem to find you in the most unexpected places.”

He reached out toward Raylin’s mask.

The deep blue of a winter sky met the fresh green of spring.

Facing only each other, Aiger grasped the edge of her mask and lightly removed it.

Raylin, who had been staring at him unwaveringly, asked,

“What exactly are you here to do?”

If he truly mistook her for such a shallow, intrusive person, she would confront it head-on.

At the sharpness in her voice, Aiger slowly closed and reopened his eyes before replying.

“That’s not why I was displeased.”

His answer didn’t fit the flow of their conversation at all, but it felt as if he had read her mind.

Letting out a faint sigh, he gestured toward Kertan.

Dismissed, Kertan left the room at an almost imperceptible speed and immediately came face-to-face with a scarred man who had been waiting outside, his face pale.

Swallowing hard, the man grabbed Kertan’s arm tightly and whispered,

“I don’t know who that person is, but you were right—we nearly got into serious trouble.”

Still slightly damp with sweat, he subtly wiped his back as he followed behind Kertan, who was already walking ahead.

“Man, I only realized after we left that all I could tell His Highness was ‘That person has arrived.’ By then, it was too late to go back, so that’s all I said.”

He shivered and continued,

“You know how His Highness’s eyes are normally a deep blue? For a moment, they darkened so much they looked completely black. After that, trying to keep up with him was—”

Kertan didn’t respond and simply walked on in silence.

And back in the room, only Raylin and Aiger remained.

The silence was neither comfortable nor uncomfortable, but eventually, Raylin broke it.

“How did you know what I was thinking?”

Aiger answered as if it were no great feat.

“What do you mean?”

“That you misunderstood, thinking I pried into your affairs through Kertan…”

“As I said before, that’s not it. And also—”

Aiger gazed down at her, his eyes lingering on the barely noticeable furrow of her brow, before adding,

“You express more through your expressions than you realize. Your gaze and tone as well.”

“So you’re saying I lack even the basic refinement expected of a noble.”

Raylin grumbled, and Aiger let out a brief chuckle.

“If you insist.”

She had expected him to deny it at least once, but instead, he simply nodded without hesitation.

Glaring at him, Raylin let out a deep sigh before speaking again.

“In any case, I’ve never pried into Your Highness’s affairs. I’m not that shallow—”

“I never thought of you that way.”

Before she could even finish, Aiger leaned slightly toward her and spoke.

“What?”

“I mean, even if you did dig into what I do, I wouldn’t think you are shallow for it.”

Raylin’s chest suddenly felt chaotic.

Her heart pounded as if it had become a war drum, and without realizing it, she pressed a hand against her chest as she asked,

“Then… does that mean it’s okay for me to know what you’re doing? Of course, I wouldn’t deliberately ask—”

“You can ask if you want.”

In fact, he would prefer that.

For a fleeting moment, an unexpected thought crossed Aiger’s mind, and his gaze wavered ever so slightly.

Prefer it? Why?

Most of what he did required secrecy.

Even as the Crown Prince, many of his official duties involved a certain level of confidentiality.

And the work he did to oppose the Emperor—who ceaselessly reached out to destroy him both politically and physically—was, of course, even more secretive.

Even a passing monkey would know that the fewer people aware of a secret, the better.

So why did the thought of Raylin knowing his affairs feel… preferable?

“No, I mean, it’s better if you—”

Just as Aiger was beginning to feel disoriented, so too was Raylin.

It wasn’t just some grand secret—well, it was, but even so, the way he had phrased it…

What he said wasn’t just about his “work.”

It sounded as if he was allowing her to unravel Aiger himself.

Her heart, already racing, refused to settle.

That realization only added to her confusion.

She didn’t love Aiger. She didn’t even like him.

Of course, she felt a certain level of human affection.

She sympathized with him and wished for him not to meet the same miserable fate as in her past life.

No, more than wishing—she was fully determined to ensure he wouldn’t.

But she could swear, with complete sincerity, that she did not see him as a man.

They were engaged, yes, but only for political reasons. That was all, and it would remain that way…

Would it? Truly?

Something in her heart suddenly tilted its head and asked the question.

Raylin had no name for it.

And just as the confusion between Aiger and Raylin reached its peak, with the tension between them swelling to the breaking point—

Knock, knock.

The two, who had been so immersed in their own world that it felt as if only they existed, simultaneously turned their heads toward the door.

“Your Highness, the target has appeared.”

At the sound of a man’s exceedingly cautious voice, Aiger brushed back the strands of hair that had fallen over his forehead and replied.

“Come in.”

“E-Excuse me.”

A scarred man, whose massive frame resembled that of a bear, entered with surprising lightness. Once inside, he carefully placed both hands over his stomach and spoke.

“We have secured the ledger. Since Your Highness said you would decide the target’s fate, I had no choice but to report immediately.”

As per Kertan’s instructions, he did his best to avoid looking in Raylin’s direction.

Silky platinum hair, intelligent emerald-green eyes, and a clear, unblemished face—something one would never expect to see in a casino where the night’s games were in full swing.

So, this must be her!

‘His Highness has been paying such close attention… Has spring finally come for him?’