“Right. No one would be foolish enough to scar the face of a ducal princess…”

Suddenly, the Crown Prince’s face contorted. It seemed he had come to the same conclusion as I did.

“Could it be that brat’s wound?”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I roughly rubbed the spot where his hand had touched with the back of my hand.

Fortunately, he had already finished his treatment, so no additional wounds were inflicted on me.

I could tolerate Iscallion, but bringing in this bastard’s wound was absolutely unacceptable.

“You should have taken it easy. You’re not kids, it’s childish. Leon is two years younger than Your Highness.”

“You seem to care a lot about that brat. Forget Roengreen, now I’m even pushed aside by that brat?”

“Of course. Leon and Your Highness aren’t even comparable.”

“You really have no eye for men.”

“You haven’t exactly helped me develop one.”

“I can’t stand to see my fiancée of ten years getting tangled up with some random guy. Once you fall, you can’t think straight like a fool.”

“I know I’m a fool better than anyone, so you don’t have to say it.”

If I were smart and clever, I would have already ensnared one of the male leads and lived a worry-free life.

Another sigh escaped me.

I glanced up at the Crown Prince. He was still looking down at me arrogantly.

“What do you do when you feel like a fool, Your Highness?”

“You just have to accept that you’re a fool.”

I expected him to say he never thought such things, but surprisingly, he didn’t. It made him seem more human, and my annoyance subsided a bit.

Pinion knelt on one knee and lowered his gaze.

He firmly tucked the robe that had slipped off. His fingers brushed against my neck and chin.

Awkwardly, I shrank my neck and hastily asked,

“When do you feel like a fool?”

“Every time I face you.”

A strange atmosphere flowed. With even my limited experience, I could predict what would happen next.

I like Iscallion. And I don’t like Pinion.

How repulsive would a kiss with a man I dislike be?

His delicate and beautiful hand carefully wrapped around my nape. Unlike the somewhat hasty Iscallion, he approached slowly, as if he was giving me time to escape.

When our lips met, I tightly closed my eyes.

The Crown Prince didn’t rush. At first, he simply pressed his lips against mine, teasingly.

At some point, I realized I had been holding my breath, and I gasped for air. His tongue slipped in through the slightly parted gap.

The light kiss suddenly turned deep and passionate. Startled by how serious it had become, I opened my eyes. Noticing me, Pinion held me tighter, preventing any escape.

The heartbeat pounding through our chests transmitted directly to me. Experiencing this for the first time, my tongue kept retreating, but he persistently pursued it.

As if I had sprinted at full speed, my body temperature rose, and I felt drained of strength. When I gave up even the slightest resistance, Pinion indulged himself to his heart’s content.

Just when everything felt unbearably overwhelming, he slowly pulled away.

Even after our lips parted, Pinion kept his eyes closed for a moment. His wet lips looked incredibly sensual. Thinking about what had moistened those lips made my already flushed face burn even more.

Pinion slowly opened his eyes.

It had been a long time since I’d seen his eyes this close. There was no mockery or disdain in them.

Pinion smiled bitterly.

“Every night, I kill you in my dreams, and when I wake up in the morning, I’m grateful that you’re alive. Compared to that, admitting I’m a fool is nothing.”

“……”

“I now understand what I did wrong to you. But if you forgive me, I swear I won’t make the same mistake again.”

His white, beautiful face shimmered enchantingly in the light seeping from the banquet hall. Even I, who hated him, couldn’t deny his stunning beauty.

For a moment, I felt like I had returned to my childhood when I first fell for him.

The very pretty boy who, despite being cold, kept glancing at me had now overlapped with the man’s face.

“Pin…”

I murmured,  enchanted.

Pinion smiled joyfully instead of getting angry and crying like he did that day.

“Yes, Lou.”

I was too young to calculate the background surrounding us, so I purely loved him with all my heart.

I could confidently say it was true love, without a trace of falsehood, from beginning to end.

How did I feel when I loved him? Just looking at him made my chest swell with tears, seeing the women around him made me angry, but his one excuse would dissolve all my grievances. I could confidently call those feelings true love.

But the thoughts didn’t last long.

The belated confession only brought back temporary memories, and soon, they quietly subsided as if nothing had happened. The heat that had been burning also cooled down.

I casually threw it out there without any expectation.

“I love you.”

The Crown Prince’s eyes crumbled mercilessly.

Unlike when dealing with Iscallion and Gined, lies flowed too easily in front of him.

And, of course, nothing happened.

Lina’s condition was mutual love.

The Crown Prince must have noticed my lie. Contrary to my expectation that he would get angry, he smiled even more deeply.

“I’m ecstatic.”

Even if it was a lie.

The latter part of the sentence was almost inaudible.

Then I suddenly realized. The strange unease I had been feeling all this time.

The kisses with Pinion and Iscallion were ultimately no different in that they didn’t stir any intense emotions.

Now I finally understood what that unsettling feeling was.

I didn’t love the male leads.

I hated Pinion, admired Gined, and cherished Iscallion.

All three emotions resembled love but were not love. It was almost absurd that I realized this only now.

‘Then what have I been doing all this time?’

“What’s wrong?”

Pinion, sensing my agitation, asked. In his purple eyes, I saw my confused self.

I pushed him away. And before he could grab me, I fled the scene.

* * *

Iscallion hid behind a tree, watching the entire scene of Lou and Pinion kissing.

His rational mind commanded him to turn his back and leave, but his feet felt rooted to the ground.

When their lips perfectly overlapped, Iscallion unconsciously clenched his fist.

Lou was not proactive, but she didn’t push the Crown Prince away either. She just naturally accepted the Crown Prince’s kiss.

Iscallion recalled the moment his lips touched hers. Even the brief, barely-there contact was stimulating enough for him.

But now he realized it could be more passionate and intense.

What he had done with Lou was nothing more than child’s play.

Lou hated the Crown Prince, but she was also very familiar with him. Even to Iscallion, they seemed like a well-matched pair.

Every time, Iscallion was reminded of the ten years between them that he didn’t know about. It was unbearably irritating.

Perhaps they had already shared such acts many times.

He had heard numerous times about Lady Dronay’s unusual affection for the Crown Prince.

When the hellish moment ended, and the two finally separated, Lou, who had avoided his gaze after the kiss, now looked straight into his eyes.

“I love you.”

The words Iscallion most wanted to hear from Lou, she said to another man. That was more shocking than seeing her kiss another man.

So, Iscallion didn’t notice how empty Lou’s voice was.

Unbearable anger and sadness engulfed him.

But he had no right to be angry. Lou hadn’t responded to his confession, so they were nothing to each other.

He didn’t even know who he was angry with.

Was it Lou, who had spurned his feelings, the Crown Prince who had seduced her, or himself for failing to win her love?

While he was lost in confusion, Lou pushed Pinion away, stood up abruptly, and ran off somewhere. Instinctively, Iscallion tried to follow her.

But before he could take a step, the Crown Prince approached him.

“Didn’t anyone teach you that spying on a tryst is impolite, Count? Or rather, you’re not a Count, are you?”

The Crown Prince asked meaningfully, glaring coldly at Iscallion.

The Crown Prince had already noticed there was something suspicious about Count Philip.

He just couldn’t figure out what it was, but now he had a vague idea.

“Mind your own business.”

“I’d like to, but as the Crown Prince, I can’t just overlook a Pontosian running wild in the capital of the empire.”

Pinion glanced in the direction Lou had disappeared.

“Does Lou know your true identity?”

“She has done nothing wrong.”

“Well, it’s obvious even without asking. She may look tough, but she’s soft inside, so she would have easily fallen for your whining and lies. That naive Lou.”

Iscallion was deeply annoyed by the Crown Prince calling Lou by her name. He wanted to cut out his slick tongue. He barely suppressed the impulse.

“Shut up and move.”

But the Crown Prince showed no intention of complying.

“Since there’s no one around, how about settling the score we left unfinished last time?”

And he even provoked him first.

Iscallion decided to vent his pent-up rage on him. This time, there were no stuffy holy knights to intervene.

“Not a bad idea.”