From what he had observed at salons and balls, she was every bit as much a schemer and a flirt as the king himself.

Her current aim appeared to be becoming crown princess.

Despite her family’s modest standing, she carried herself with confidence in her exceptional looks, and the more indifferent Andrea was, the bolder she became.

Trying to lead him by the hand into empty rooms, pressing her chest against him during dances, attempting every method available. He had privately been thinking she would be a perfect match for the king.

‘They’re the same age, and yet Raul is so hopelessly naive by comparison. Have I kept the boy too sheltered?’

He had wandered into the odd comparison between Raul and Lady Talbot and caught himself, then hummed inwardly.

‘Just wait, Lady Talbot. You’ll be my new stepmother before long.’

Having shown the king the semi-n*de portrait, his father’s flagging vigor would now surge back to life.

Nearly thirty years separated them, but Lady Talbot seemed to want honor, wealth, and power, while the king wanted a fresh young woman. A perfect arrangement.

And Andrea himself would be rid of the troublesome Blanc Ducal House and Queen Fabienne.

“Perfectly clean.”

Andrea lifted the bouquet he was holding and breathed in its fragrance as he murmured.

Then it struck him that he looked like some lovesick young fool carrying flowers to a sweetheart, and he stopped walking.

What? A sweetheart? Raul?

His brow furrowed. What a ridiculous thought to have.

But in the same instant, the boy’s mischievous expression surfaced in his mind uninvited.

That stubborn, back-talking face. Those lips that never stopped nagging about one thing or another……

He had to admit it was all endearing enough to make him want to tease the boy. And honestly, he wanted to see him right now.

‘Hah…… am I losing my mind?’

Deeply concerned about his own mental state, Andrea raked a hand through his hair.

But now that the thought had taken hold, other images kept following one after another.

The soft bounce of golden curls, small earlobes, the pale line of a neck.

He felt heat rising to his face and rubbed his jaw with his hand, flustered.

‘This is dangerous.’

What on earth was he thinking.

And then, cutting through it all, the conversation he had overheard a few days ago came back to him.

A refusal…… what exactly had been refused……

Had Parnelli confessed his feelings to Raul……?

He told himself it must have been something else entirely, but a nagging, unpleasant premonition kept raising its head and he could not push it down.

About to walk on, Andrea stopped dead in his tracks as though struck by lightning.

Could it be that he…… had feelings for Raul? The moment the sentence formed in his mind, a chill ran down his spine.

His whole body went cold. He stared at the bouquet in his hand for a moment, then raked his other hand through his hair.

No. That was impossible.

He simply cared for the boy the way one cares for a younger sibling, having kept him close for so long.

Scolding himself for raising such a dangerous question, he started walking again. His steps felt heavy.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

A few days later, he found himself with Roso and could not stop himself from asking.

“When did you first realize it?”

“Realize what?”

“That……”

Roso looked at Andrea with puzzled curiosity as he rubbed his index finger anxiously over his lips.

After several more false starts, Andrea finally let it out.

“That you were attracted to men.”

“Ah…… why are you asking like it’s such a grave matter?”

Roso, who had been cast out by his family but still threw himself into social life with enthusiasm, gave him a look that said he was making a big deal out of nothing.

Andrea kept his expression relatively neutral and pressed with quiet persistence.

“I’m just curious. When did you figure out your own inclinations, and with whom? When did you become certain?”

“Uh……”

The level of detail in the question made Roso flush slightly, and he grumbled.

“Good grief, why are you making this awkward? Fine, since you’re asking.”

Roso was simply thrilled to have his fateful past taken an interest in, and launched into an elaborate account.

“The first person who made my heart race was a classmate in the same course, but it never came to anything. After that I went to college, and there I felt something fated with my rhetoric professor. Fortunately the professor accepted my confession, and the two of us had quite the passionate affair in the dormitory……”

“Stop.”

A flick of Andrea’s finger cut off Roso’s rambling reminiscence, and he frowned.

If he and Roso were the same kind of person, he should have felt some resonance listening to this. So why did he feel only a faint, vague discomfort?

He happened to know who the rhetoric professor in question was. The moment he imagined Roso in a romance with that white-haired old man, his stomach turned.

He asked, unable to fully hide the irritation in his voice.

“A gap that large in age, and you could still call it a romance?”

Roso grinned and winked.

“In this world, they say it’s more romantic when there’s a gap between you that seems impossible to cross, whether that’s age or station.”

“So. What was it about that old man that drew you in? Or rather, what did that first feeling actually feel like?”

Roso looked at Andrea with growing bewilderment at the questions, so unlike anything he usually asked.

“Come on, Your Highness has had plenty of romances. We’re human too, we feel the same things. At some point, every little gesture, every expression starts to seem special, and your heart starts pounding, and before you know it everything about them looks unbearably dear. And once you reach that point, you can’t go without physical contact……”

“Stop.”

Edwin had slipped into the office at some point and was listening with one ear, and he let out a groan.

“I can picture you and that old professor embracing, so please stop talking.”

“Oh, come on. You’re the one who kept asking!”

Andrea’s expression had curdled, but he did not actually object.

He simply sat with his head tilted slightly, sunk in thought.

He could not connect the word ‘unbearably dear’ to that particular old professor no matter how he tried, but the moment he substituted Raul into that place, the feeling made immediate sense.

He was unsettled by that, and Roso was crowing on triumphantly.

“If someone commits a serious offense and you still want to forgive them, and on top of that you keep finding them endearing, it’s over.”

“What serious offense did that professor commit against you?”

Edwin asked this time.

“Oh, I was always a little hurt. It seemed like he was quietly seeing someone else on the side too, so……”

“Ugh, stop, stop.”

Edwin waved his hand in disgust and jeered, and Roso raged about why they kept asking if they were going to react like that.

While the two of them bickered, Andrea remained sunk in quiet thought.

His mind drifted to the image of Raul and Parnelli standing facing each other deep in the rear garden among the lavender fields.

Something hot and sour surged in his chest.

Surely not——!

Was this jealousy? Did he truly have feelings for Raul?

In the midst of the turmoil, a voice inside him rang out loud and clear, demanding he be honest with himself.

Shaken, Andrea slowly shook his head.

Surely not.

This was simply the affection of an older brother figure.

He pushed down the budding suspicion with effort.

Having someone like Roso around all the time was clearly affecting him.

“I’m leaving.”

He left Roso still embellishing his romantic history with theatrical flair and Edwin still jeering, and walked out of the office in a hurry.

But Nina followed him out.

“Your Highness, I’m sorry to catch you on your way out, but the final review of this week’s proof is needed.”

Andrea turned slowly and flicked his hand with a look of mild impatience.

“Handle it yourselves.”

“But it’s the article going after Marquis Karan’s embezzlement in earnest, so I’d really like you to review it.”

“Nina. I trust you.”

The short reply cut the conversation off, and Andrea turned and walked away with tired, long strides.

His head was tangled and his chest was unsettled, and he had no capacity left to read an article.

But he stopped abruptly and turned back to look at Nina.

“Didn’t you mention a new dessert shop opened at the crossroads recently? The one that’s been causing a craze among women.”

“Ah, yes. It’s called ‘Madeleine.'”

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

A short while later.

Andrea pulled his carriage to a stop in front of a shop with a sign reading ‘Madeleine’ and gave the order to his attendant.