“What did you wager?”

“Pardon?”

“What did you wager in return for breaking the contract that you’re protecting a mere demon like this?”

Even I, who was slow-witted, could sense that this was not a situation where I could make excuses.

They say an unlucky person will break their nose even if they fall backward, and here the Crown Prince had picked up my lost earring.

Resigned, I opened my mouth obediently.

“My hair…”

He frowned as if he had heard something strange, then laughed as if he couldn’t believe it.

“If I kill this demon, will you live bald for the rest of your life?”

Unlike my nervous self, he was very relaxed, teasing me nonchalantly.

“If that happens, Your Highness won’t have any hair left either, so you can look forward to it.”

“I don’t mind. There have been more than a few bald emperors.”

‘This bastard…?’

“Don’t glare at me too much. If not for me, Roengreen would have come by now.”

“What?”

“The one who picked up the earring was your esteemed holy knight. That rigid guy insisted on investigating, so I quickly intercepted it. Thanks to that, he thinks this vampire is my contractor.”

When he mentioned Gined, Janet struggled even more fiercely.

“How did you know this earring was mine? You didn’t investigate me, did you?”

“Hah, what do you take me for…? It’s obviously your taste. I even pierced my ear pretending it was mine.”

The Crown Prince showed his earlobe, where a scab had formed.

“Well, if you don’t want to explain, just tell me. If I return it to Roengreen now, he’ll investigate it.”

I gritted my teeth and forced a smile at him.

“Please sit down. I’ll explain everything. And let Janet go too.”

Only then did Pinion withdraw his sword. Janet, who had been trying to escape, reluctantly sat down under the Crown Prince’s fierce gaze.

I slowly explained the situation to him.

Of course, I heavily embellished the story and lied that I went to Enril’s lair to see if I could get Janet’s help.

“So that’s how it is. Well, if it’s the King of the Underworld’s will, we have no choice but to follow.”

The Crown Prince accepted without further questioning.

But judging by his frequent glances at Janet, it seemed he wasn’t convinced by my words but was interested in her abilities.

The Crown Prince and his knights had been overworked for months without proper rest.

In such a situation, it was understandable that he would be interested in Janet, who had considerable abilities.

“Don’t covet my subordinate. I have special orders for Janet.”

Reluctantly shifting his lingering gaze, the Crown Prince changed the subject.

“By the way, I was disappointed that I didn’t receive an invitation to your birthday this year. I sent a gift instead, did you like it?”

Like it, my foot.

I hadn’t even opened the gift he sent. I threw the whole box into the fireplace long ago.

“Yes, I liked it very much. Your taste is impeccable.”

“Judging by your face, it made excellent firewood.”

“…”

“Well, it’s up to you how you handle your gifts. But don’t you think you owe me for keeping your secret from your beloved holy knight?”

“…If you have a request, please tell me.”

“Come to the palace tomorrow afternoon. I’ll tell you then.”

“Can’t you just tell me here? There’s no reason for Your Highness and me to meet twice. We’re both busy people.”

“If it’s really bothersome, I have no choice but to tell Roengreen who this vampire’s real contractor is.”

Pinion stood up as if he had been waiting for this.

I urgently grabbed his sleeve.

“I will enter the palace tomorrow, Your Highness. Please grant me an audience!”

“If you insist.”

Pinion smiled beautifully, making my skin crawl.

***

The next day, I entered the palace to meet the Crown Prince.

Contrary to my worries about what tricks he might pull this time, we spent an unexpectedly ordinary time together.

We had dinner and tea while discussing the transcendent beings we had encountered, and before we knew it, it was time to go.

The Crown Prince personally escorted me out of the palace.

“I had a good time today.”

It was an annoyingly sincere remark, as if we had just gone on a date.

“Yes, well… I’m glad at least one of us had fun.”

We exchanged soulless pleasantries, and I parted ways with the Crown Prince.

When I felt a sharp gaze and turned around, I saw Ines standing there, staring intently at me.

We weren’t on friendly terms, and the timing was bad, so I tried to pass by pretending not to see her.

“Hello, Lou.”

However, for some reason, Ines approached and spoke to me first.

I reluctantly responded.

“Oh, Ines. How have you been? Did you come to see the Crown Prince?”

“I originally intended to… but I changed my mind.”

“I see. Well, I should be going now. See you next time.”

“If you don’t mind, could you spare a moment? I’d like to chat with you, it’s been a while.”

“What?”

‘Did she eat something wrong?’

“I know you don’t have good feelings toward me. But just this once, please. After all, we were quite close when we were young.”

That was true.

Ines and I, being of similar status and age, used to play together quite often when we were young.

The problem was that we had similar tastes in the opposite s*x.

Around the same time, we both fell for the same boy, and that was the end of our short-lived friendship.

In other words, I hadn’t been close to her since before I was ten years old.

I could guess what she wanted to talk about.

But there were onlookers, and I felt sorry for her bringing up such distant memories, so I decided to follow her.

In a spacious and luxurious palace guest room where she seemed to be staying, we sat awkwardly facing each other.

“Please give up on His Highness.”

As expected, Ines’s request was exactly what I had anticipated.

“What do you mean… Ines, you heard the oracle too. His Highness and I have no relationship anymore. I was here today purely for official business.”

“You have no idea how much I want to believe that, Lou.”

Ines continued, smiling bitterly.

“When you and the Crown Prince broke off your engagement, I felt like I was flying. I thought your position would be mine. But even as the seasons changed, I’m still in the background.”

“Well… Perhaps the imperial family thinks it’s inappropriate to bring in a new fiancée so soon after three months. Just wait a little longer.”

‘But why am I comforting her?’

It was more amusing and absurd than annoying.

“Anyway, I hope things work out for you.”

I was about to say I should leave when Ines suddenly knelt down and grabbed my skirt.

“Why, why are you doing this?”

“Lou. You must understand how I feel, having once loved him desperately. I don’t want to act so pathetically in front of another woman. Please, out of pity… Help me win His Highness’s heart, please. Any advice will do.”

Ines began to shed tears like chicken droppings.

Her desperate eyes reminded me of my past self, which made me feel awful.

But having experienced the same thing, I couldn’t just ignore her.

I sighed deeply, removing her hand that was gripping my clothes so tightly her bones showed.

“I’ll tell you just once, so listen carefully. His Highness’s type is… a beautiful woman with black hair and black eyes. Your hair is dark, so in a dim light, it could pass for black. You’re tall and slim, so you’re good on appearance. But his taste in personality is a bit tricky… In short, he likes someone who is kind yet proud, fragile enough to evoke a protective instinct, but also innocent and resilient in the face of difficulties. What else? Oh! I almost forgot something important. He also likes someone with good stamina.”

I listed all the traits of Lina that I remembered, yet Ines’s face twisted with anger.

“Are you mocking me?”

“Huh?”

“You insufferable girl. If you don’t want to help, just say so. What? Good stamina? You’re saying that because you know I embarrassed myself sneaking into His Highness’s bedroom, aren’t you?”

“What did you say? You did what…? Is that true…?”

Shocked by her revelation, my jaw dropped.

I thought she was naive, but she was bolder than I had imagined.

“Do you know how much that arrogant look of yours irritates me? Acting like you can have everything and let go whenever you want!”

“Hey, what do you mean I have everything, I— Ah!”

Suddenly, tea was splashed on my face. It was a new experience, getting hit with tea instead of splashing it.

“You’ll regret this. I’ll make sure of it!”

Ines, her face wetter than mine, shouted fiercely and stormed out of the room.