Even if he’s been through battlefields, did he do all his own dishes?

Of course, while my mind wandered, my mouth faithfully continued the report.

“So Lady Wilhelmina is the owner of the pleasure boat……”

After hearing part of my report, Cassian finished organizing the clean dishes and shook his wet hands as he fell into thought.

As I quietly watched Cassian’s back, I noticed something off.

‘His posture seems a bit awkward compared to usual?’

He usually showed off his inhumanly perfect core muscles to others’ envy.

But today especially—

“……Your Highness.”

“What is it, Rose?”

I should have noticed earlier. His appearance yesterday when he came without a shirt, and this cottage that showed no signs of living…

“How serious is your condition right now?”

“The mages are being more cunning than last time, so it is difficult.”

Cassian turned around to face me, leaning against the sink.

Unfortunately, the light streaming in from the kitchen window made it hard to read his expression.

“It must be serious enough to interrupt your rare vacation.”

“Not that.”

When I frowned, Cassian leisurely approached me from the kitchen.

“Then?”

His smile was so relaxed I almost doubted what I had seen.

However, the chance that I, who had watched him for a year and a half, was wrong was too low.

Especially when I now recalled his young self whose posture had become straight as his condition improved.

Instead of playing twenty questions with him—

“—Rose.”

I grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it up.

“While I appreciate my lovely fiancée’s seduction, now isn’t the time—”

“How badly are you injured?”

I ignored Cassian’s evasive nonsense and asked.

I hadn’t noticed yesterday in my hurry to look away from embarrassment, but now I could see it clearly.

The distinctive sealing marks from the magical emergency kit faintly visible on his side.

A low sigh escaped from him.

“I’m fine, Rose.”

“If you were really fine, you would have told me.”

Though Cassian rarely got injured in the first place, he would deliberately tell me about minor wounds just to tease me.

‘Look, I blocked wrong during training and it’s red here. Rose, will you stamp the prince’s seal for me?’

While he had driven his training partner to near exhaustion, he had handed me the prince’s seal that he hated touching over a barely visible scratch—I still remembered it.

“You seem angry.”

Why are you smiling while saying that?

He’s really irritating, considering others are worried.

Seeing my sulky face, Cassian pulled a chair close to sit down and spoke.

“I’m not sure whether to be happy or not that my prediction was wrong.”

“Don’t tell me you made a bet on whether I would notice?”

“Aren’t you seeing me as too much of a demon?”

“The whole empire probably thinks so.”

Being the famous Demon of the Winter Palace and all.

Judging by his way with words, at least his mouth was perfectly fine.

With his monstrous recovery ability, even the rough voice from yesterday had completely disappeared.

It was his usual soft and low voice that sounded somewhat irritating to me—which was unnecessarily pleasant as always.

“You didn’t see a doctor at all, did you?”

“No.”

Perhaps thinking there was no point in hiding it further, he answered honestly.

What’s making him smile so brightly?

When I narrowed my eyes, he even let out an audible laugh.

“I just didn’t want to show you anything unsightly.”

“I’m not that weak-hearted.”

“I wasn’t worried about that.”

If not that, then what?

When I looked at him suspiciously, Cassian spoke as if it was no big deal.

“I can move without much trouble, you know how long I’ve been on battlefields.”

So you’re saying you can judge whether it’s a dangerous wound or not?

Then what are doctors for?

“……Promise you’ll call the palace physician when we return to the capital?”

“I will.”

Though thinking that, I ended up deliberately overlooking it this time too.

Since he had endured well even at the young age of eleven, I had to believe those words.

*

“Did you rent this cottage just in case?”

“As expected of you, Rose.”

Cassian had probably been staying at one of the well-established accommodations in downtown Ilium.

“I heard there was a break-in at Ilium’s most famous lodging building last night.”

That’s what a maid had worriedly told me when I was at the Duke’s villa.

“They must want to get their hands on the cube you solved yesterday.”

“I told the villa I’m returning to the capital.”

“With me?”

I nodded.

Before coming to the cottage, I had deliberately stopped by the train station and bought first-class tickets to the capital.

I even showed him the receipt I had gotten for later expense documentation.

“So some will surely follow us to the train station.”

“They’ll notice quickly if the seats are empty.”

“Of course I requested cooperation from Your Highness’s knights.”

I had known how to call the hidden knights for a while.

That was Cassian’s proof of trust in me, or rather, proof he intended to work me hard.

I asked knights of similar build to disguise themselves as me and Cassian, date around downtown Ilium, then board the train.

‘I also spread the word among the villa servants, ensuring the flow of information is completely blocked.’

Since they were knights, they would be good at avoiding tails while following my plan thoroughly, making it hard for the mages to tell if they were us or knights.

Fortunately or unfortunately, while Cassian had no luck with administrative subordinates, it was different with knights.

Having fought together on battlefields, and with Second Prince Cassian being the one who had saved as many of their lives as possible, it was natural. Though the Imperial Consort wanted to control the entire Imperial Knight Order, those who had fought alongside Cassian were famous for their integrity.

‘Even in the original story, not a single traitor emerged from the knight order Cassian commanded.’

Well, of course I couldn’t fully trust the content of the original story that I had messed up in various ways.

‘If they tried to trap me and Wilma, the original story should at least maintain that much.’

If it had any conscience, it should understand my destroying the original content, considering the massive debt it had placed on our family.

Trying to force the position of protagonist back on me when I was going to give it up due to lack of ability…

While internally venting complaints toward a god whose existence I couldn’t even confirm, I explained one by one the measures I had taken while he slept.

“I really don’t know how I’d work without you, Rose.”

When the report finished, Cassian sighed deeply and spoke, musing.

“I haven’t said a word about resigning.”

I still have many debts to repay, Your Highness.

And I’m too cautious to start a business recklessly.

As a safety-first person, I’ll definitely start with multiple jobs.

“That means you’ll resign someday.”

So I should spend my whole life buried in work by Your Highness’s side?

What a horrible thing to say.

When I looked at him glumly, Cassian let out a shallow sigh and stood up.

“I’ll have to make good use of this opportunity you’ve prepared, if only to keep you by my side longer.”

At the same time, Cassian’s face and hair color changed.

It was time to catch the mages involved in illegal drug trafficking.

*

“So that’s Wilma’s pleasure boat……”

Unlike where Cassian and I had been a few days ago, this dock was quite crowded with people and stood out with fancy decorations.

Befitting a gift from Duke Lopez, it was more splendid and larger than the one we had ridden before.

“Do you prefer that one?”

“Though I’d like to speak well of my friend’s boat……”

To be honest, I didn’t.

They said it had been left to a managing agent and neglected, and indeed, Wilma’s refined taste wasn’t visible anywhere on the pleasure boat.

When I frowned, Cassian spoke, looking regretful.

“You really do like Lady Wilhelmina too much, Rose.”

“That’s true, but why suddenly?”

At my words, Cassian put on a noticeably bitter expression.

He’s acting again.

“I heard they arbitrarily changed the interior several times after the agent took over for five years.”

“Then there must have been embezzlement too.”

“Probably.”

Even without checking the books, I could clearly see how sloppy it would be.

Since it was the pleasure boat where the Lopez’s Grand Madam had collapsed, neither the Duke nor the young duke and lords below would have paid any attention.

‘The agent must have excitedly sold off all the expensive furniture and replaced them with things that only look fancy on the outside.’

They surely not only lied about the price difference but also skimmed a lot off the operating costs.

“We can prepare gifts for the ladies in the capital.”

“Might as well, while we’re at it.”

Cassian got out of the carriage first with a pleased expression.

He was disguised with light brown hair and a relatively ordinary face, wearing a decorative rather than practical suit that many footmen wore.

Though his natural posture was a slight flaw that made him not quite look like a servant.

I was wearing my old, black, embarrassing dress that I had stuffed between luggage while packing in a hurry.