Chapter 5. The Villa of House Lopez

“The Imperial Consort intervened.”

“Yes…… No matter what, only the second young master Zamoti will be sacrificed.”

I couldn’t help but grumble.

I had planned to drain half of House Zamoti’s fortune with this.

‘His Majesty will be disappointed.’

That snake was always desperate to fatten the national treasury.

While secretly lining his own pockets too.

“We didn’t not expect this, Rose.”

“That’s true.”

The Imperial Consort wouldn’t leave a stain on her family over something this minor.

She probably already broke dozens of teacups just over the second young master of Zamoti being cut off.

“When the report reaches His Majesty, another wonderful drama will be staged in the Rose Palace.”

“Yes. They’ll have to keep the second young master alive.”

While I felt somewhat deflated, Cassian already wore an unbothered expression.

Surely I wasn’t the only one who was serious?

“I didn’t have high expectations from the start.”

“……Your Highness, please stop reading my mind.”

“I thought you were showing it to me?”

Cassian spoke leisurely while writing the final page of the report.

“Rose only hides her expressions from others besides me.”

“……Not just from you.”

I attempted a meaningless rebellion.

“Outside of Saliche’s territory, I mean.”

And my annoying superior who knew me too well never let me win.

Well, if he gave in over something like this, that would be creepy in its own way.

“—More importantly, Rose.”

After defending against one major incident and even dealing damage to the opponent,

Cassian casually brushed aside the ‘exhibition incident’ with those words.

I wasn’t particularly disappointed either.

If the Imperial Consort was someone who could be cut down this easily, the protagonists in the original story wouldn’t have struggled so much despite their lack of cunning.

‘Still, it’s a gain just seeing the duke’s fortune leak away here and there trying to clean this up.’

Getting squeezed by Princess Alexis, and now squandering money to handle this incident.

It was satisfying to see House Zamoti’s vast fortune increasingly likely to dry up.

Maybe then the Imperial Consort would stop wasting teacups too.

“Yes.”

Anyway, I answered while showing a slight hint of defiance.

“Pfft.”

“Your Highness seems very happy just looking at my face.”

“I’m a bit hurt that you only realized this now, may I?”

At Cassian’s immediate response, I deliberately furrowed my brow even more.

This person.

“And here I brought a story that you will absolutely love, Rose.”

“……A story I’ll love?”

I immediately tensed at Cassian’s words.

Usually when he said things like this, it meant increased allowance, in other words, an insane amount of additional work.

“Don’t be so wary, Rose. This time I’m truly not deceiving you.”

So you’re aware that you’re a con artist.

Though I wanted to avoid being arrested for insulting the imperial family, I only answered weakly in my mind.

Of course, seeing that crooked smile on Cassian’s face, he probably read my thoughts again.

“I’m really hurt, when I was going to give you a vacation.”

“……What?”

Did I just hear things?

“Is there perhaps some new work called ‘vacation’ these days? Or is it another way of saying thank you?”

“No, you heard correctly. Actually, I’ve wanted to give it for a while now. Though you don’t seem to believe it, even from before.”

Cassian spoke while perfectly catching every intention expressed in my face as I listened.

“Tomorrow marks the start of the weekend, so maybe no work over the weekend and Monday off?”

When I raised this perfectly reasonable question, Cassian burst out laughing again.

After signing the bottom of the report one last time and closing it, he rose leisurely from his seat.

“No, I mean you can really take next week off.”

A long vacation……?

To me, who couldn’t even take regular summer and winter vacations like others and was happy with just 3-day weekends…..

He’s giving me a whole 9 days of vacation……?

I lost my words at this impossible miracle happening under Cassian.

“I’m very tempted to withdraw my statement.”

“No!”

I desperately shouted to protect my precious vacation.

Who knows when I’d get to rest like this again.

“But how?”

My troublesome mouth moved on its own, too curious about the reason for this impossible long vacation.

After calling a page to deliver instructions about distributing our day’s work to each department, Cassian perched on my desk and stared at me intently.

“I thought you’d leave work right away when I told you.”

“What if something comes up that needs cleaning up and I have to come in during the vacation?”

“I can handle it.”

“……What?”

I stared blankly at Cassian at his unexpected words.

For the past year, there hadn’t been a single holiday where Cassian and I didn’t overlap.

“Does that mean you’ll work on holidays again?”

He almost always did that, actually.

“I’m not on vacation, Rose.”

“……What?”

“I would be very happy if my lovely fiancée expressed a desire to spend the vacation together.”

“That’s not it.”

“How cold.”

At my reflexive answer, Cassian just smiled as always, without showing the slightest hint of hurt.

“The timing just works out. Thanks to the kingdom’s delegation visiting, we finished most of our diplomatic work for the first half of the year in the first quarter.”

“That’s true.”

Instead, I had to work overtime voluntarily, going back and forth between Princess Alexis and Cassian.

“And since we have some time until the next audit, and the exhibition is going well, I think I can manage for a week by myself.”

At his kind and methodical explanation, I silently watched Cassian for a moment.

“Why?”

He asked with a gentle smile.

“I’m worried you might overwork yourself.”

“That’s what I always make you do anyway, Rose.”

Cassian carefully stroked the ends of my hair with his fingertips, saying he at least had that much conscience.

“Don’t worry and enjoy your rest. You are my precious assistant after all.”

What is he, really?

Rather than when he calls himself my fiancé with all sorts of embellishments that make me cringe,

This moment feels more tender somehow.

So I…

“I won’t run away easily, Your Highness.”

I spoke to Cassian with as much goodwill as I could muster.

At my words, his hand that had been habitually stroking my hair stopped for a moment.

His eyes deepened briefly before regaining their composure as he smiled.

“Yes, I’ll try to understand it exactly as you meant it.”

What other meaning could there be besides what I meant……

Of course, my superior never read these kinds of thoughts.

*

On the third day of my precious vacation.

Somehow I found myself eight hours by carriage from the capital, where I had been lazily lounging in my sweet home.

And with…..

“Um, um. Do you… like the room?”

Lady Wilhelmina Lopez.

“Oh, yes. Very much.”

“Of course, you would. After how much I stressed about preparing it.”

“What?”

“Nothing! There’s no way you wouldn’t like our villa, famous for its beauty!”

I heard you say you stressed about it though.

I tried to retrace my memories.

It was probably around noon.

Delighted with my rare vacation, I had been devouring all the new novels I’d accumulated but hadn’t had time to read.

Naturally, I didn’t pay attention to when the sun rose or set.

I probably fell asleep long after dawn, and since there was no urgent business, I had planned to sleep in until the afternoon.

My maid Joan was diligent, and knowing that I was actually quite lazy and happy with my reversed day-night schedule, she rarely woke me up.

Though sometimes when I slept too late, she would kindly wake me with the fragrant smell of my favorite stew simmering in the kitchen.

But today, Joan urgently threw open my bedroom door and woke me after only an hour or two of sleep.

Saying there was a guest.

Yes, that guest.

‘How can the Third Prince’s assistant and fiancée be so lazy!’

It was Lady Wilhelmina.

Come to think of it, I think I greeted Wilhelmina not at the entrance but in my room…..

“Are you still not fully awake? You seemed fine when you woke up and ate well during mealtime.”

At least I remembered diligently spooning food into my mouth even while half-asleep, thinking I should properly eat in-flight meals, no, meals while traveling.

“Are you very tired? Did I force you to come too suddenly?”

While I was organizing my thoughts, Wilhelmina’s dejected voice pierced my ears.

No, no. I can’t disappoint Wilma!

Slap!

I raised my hands and slapped both my cheeks to wake myself up.

Wilma quickly grabbed my hands.

“W-what are you doing!”

“Waking myself u—”

“You don’t need to apologize like this! Do I look like such a terrible person to you?”

“Of course not—”

“When I heard you finally got a long vacation because you were always busy with Prince Cassian, I brought you here hoping to spend time together, but to think I’ve already hurt your feelings!”

Th-that’s not it, my lady.

For some reason, it became very difficult to explain seeing her desperate face that looked ready to cry at any moment.