She had seen all of this and remained completely unmoved…… and yet she had gone red in the face over a mere kiss today……

Was there a chance?

After sending her out of the palace, he had asked her once.

Why had she touched his body so thoroughly under the guise of ‘massage.’

She had made excuses, saying she needed to feel the muscles to draw them more precisely…… but because of that, he had……

“Ngh.”

Something surged sharply and painfully, hardening him to the point of aching.

Breathing ragged, Andrea began to move his hand slowly.

He pulled his silk trousers all the way down, took hold of the proud, jutting length, and began stroking upward.

In his mind, he pictured a small, pale hand holding it in the past.

The fierce veins stood out instantly, and the size of it swelled further.

“Hnn.”

Andrea groaned, the bridge of his nose creasing.

When he had believed she was a young man, he had at least been able to tell himself this unsettling feeling was ’emotional affection,’ but the moment he learned she was a woman, a raw, animal want had surged up in him. That settled it. He was unmistakably heterosexual.

Hah, d*mn……

How could he be this worked up……

Cursing under his breath, Andrea’s expression turned savage as he lifted his hips.

The thought that Riley had seen everything about him, knew all of it, had deceived him and yet stayed by his side all along, was unbearably arousing.

She hid herself from me while watching everything of mine……

Slick.

A wet sound had begun to slip from his fist as it moved up and down.

What on earth was she thinking all those times she bathed me.

The more outrageous it felt, the larger the arousal grew.

Those perfectly clear, guileless eyes, and she had taken in this fine thing of mine.

She may have been observing it to sell, but she had observed it thoroughly. Every part of it.

At that thought, blood rushed to Andrea’s length until it felt ready to burst, and the head swelled as though something might tear free at any moment.

For a fleeting, foolish moment, he thought something absurd.

A childish regret that he had not been able to show her this, fierce and unashamed as it was.

His head had clearly gone somewhere strange, but that was the honest desire.

I’ve gone mad.

It did not take much longer. The movement of Andrea’s hand grew rough, a vein standing out along his neck.

The burning want spilled over right there in his hand.

Pale fl*id surged and ran down over the fist gripping him, and a sharp, musky scent spread through the room.

Andrea stared at it blankly, wiped the drops that had reached the bridge of his nose with his other hand, and fell asleep right there, drained of all strength.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

“I’ll leave it with you, then.”

Nina set the topic and summary for this week’s feature article on the table and lifted her teacup for a sip.

Her gaze remained on Riley.

She studied this woman carefully, the one who had apparently served in the crown prince’s palace under the false name ‘Raul.’

Everyone at the Daily Minerve knew what Riley had been caught doing and what her true identity was.

The culprit behind the n*de portraits of His Highness turned out to be this very woman, his own personal attendant.

They knew she had been dismissed from the palace because of it and was now living here.

So Nina could not help the dislike that rose in her.

This woman is a criminal.

She could not understand why His Highness refused to punish this serious offender and kept her close instead.

And now she was even being made a member of the Minerve, taking on the role of illustrator……

Which was why Nina herself had to come to this house every week and deliver the draft of the article she had written.

She had once asked, ‘What if Miss Riley came to the office instead?’

The only reply she received was a cold ‘You go.’

Was he designating her as someone beneath Riley?

She had even tried asking whether he was keeping Riley unpunished simply to exploit her skill.

‘Your Highness, there are many artists among the private association painters with that level of ability. You could easily hire someone else……’

But even that suggestion was cut off without ceremony.

‘That’s enough. Give Riley work. Riley is now an official member of the Minerve.’

She disliked having another outsider brought in like this, but Nina had no choice and kept coming to this house to hand over the draft of the article to be published the following week.

Of course, Riley had a natural wit beyond her drawing ability, and she grasped what Nina was trying to say with ease, showing a near-genius talent for cutting straight to the core of Nina’s political critiques.

The popularity of Riley’s illustrations, which drew both sympathy and laughter, was rising steadily, to the point where the Minerve was considering secretly opening a branch in a provincial town.

Naturally, the nobles targeted by the Minerve found their standing weakened as their corruption and vulnerabilities were exposed one by one.

In contrast, Andrea was building his fortress of power stronger with each passing day.

But something bothers me.

Nina glanced with uneasy eyes at this Riley, this con artist of a woman with her polished clothes and manner.

“I’ll come back for your illustration in three days.”

“Yes! I’ll have it ready, Nina! I hope this one causes a stir too. I actually remember Count Meshulan’s face quite well from seeing him from a distance at a banquet.”

“Right.”

Nina responded coolly to Riley’s enthusiastic words and rose from her seat.

“Then I’ll be going.”

“Oh, already?”

Riley had wanted to talk more and grow closer to Nina, her collaborator, but every meeting ended this briefly.

Like a covert operation.

Well, I suppose it is a covert operation.

Riley tilted her head.

She had heard that the parliamentary faction nobles were burning to find the location of the Daily Minerve’s headquarters and identify those involved.

Best to be careful.

But Nina, about to leave, stopped short at the entrance to the sitting room.

A familiar jacket was hanging on the coat rack by the door.

The jacket was made of the finest fabric, and the royal crest was embroidered on the chest in gold thread. It was Andrea’s.

Nina’s brow furrowed before she could stop it.

Noticing, Riley looked awkward and murmured to herself.

“Oh! I forgot to put that away.”

Riley took the jacket down and began brushing it off and wrapping it in cardboard with the ease of someone doing something they had done a hundred times.

Watching her, Nina suddenly understood why she always left this house in a bad mood.

It was not so much that she was treated as beneath this con artist woman. It was that Andrea’s belongings were always turning up here.

It felt like visiting the home of His Highness’s mistress. Nina looked around the charming, well-appointed house and thought to herself.

This woman is ruining the crown prince.

For reasons she could not name, this woman seemed to hold a great deal of influence over His Highness.

Thinking of Andrea lately, unusually idle and sometimes wearing a vacant expression, Nina curled her hand into a fist.

The sense of camaraderie she felt in attacking their enemies alongside Andrea was something she wore like a badge of pride.

And this woman seemed to render all of that, and her own loyal devotion, utterly meaningless. Nina found her deeply unpleasant.

Beyond that, her instincts told her that a close confidant who created vulnerabilities right at His Highness’s side was more dangerous than someone like Queen Fabienne, who had plotted openly. All the more so when that confidant was a woman.

He should be more careful now that the great enemy has been defeated and he’s let his guard down……

Nina turned and walked out, biting her lip, her eyes darkening with worry.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

After Nina left, Riley was about to start on her illustration work right away.

But just then, the maid Nancy came to tell her an unfamiliar visitor had arrived.

Andrea came and went so freely by now that Nancy no longer even announced him, just rang the bell. So who could it be?

Seeing Riley’s puzzled expression, Nancy quickly added.

“I haven’t let them in yet, since I don’t know them…… but it’s raining quite heavily.”

Riley slipped past the young maid, who was worrying about her manners, and looked out through the front door, and got a shock.

Standing in front of the porch, soaked through by the pouring rain, was none other than Parnelli Radonel.

She was baffled.

Riley stood there blinking, at a loss for words, and then had no choice but to come down to the entrance.

She confirmed the unwelcome visitor and immediately frowned as she asked.

“How did you find this place?”

Riley guided him under the eave where he would at least catch less rain, and Parnelli wiped the rainwater running down his pale face and admitted.

“I heard from the head attendant at Eli Palace. He gave me the address as well.”