When I arrived home, a letter had come for me. The familiar handwriting felt unsettling. I checked the sender and sure enough, it was Thadeus. The letter’s contents contained no explanation—just a time and place written plainly.

“Come to Progreen Shopping District, Section 48, by 3 o’clock today…?”

I’d been to the shopping district more than once or twice, but the shops were so densely packed together that I couldn’t get a sense of where that was.

What could he possibly want? Could the words about having s*x whenever he wanted finally be becoming reality?

But I absolutely didn’t have the confidence to sleep with Thadeus while sober. That said, I also didn’t have the confidence to handle the aftermath of refusing him.

On top of that, guilt about Thadeus’s faceless fiancée kept pricking at my conscience. Unable to do this or that, I groaned and tore the letter I was holding clean in half.

“Ah, forget it. Whatever happens, happens!”

Tick-tock. Time flowed endlessly and before I knew it, the 3 o’clock Thadeus mentioned was approaching. In the meantime, all sorts of thoughts ran through my head.

Should I say I suddenly felt unwell? Or would it be better to say I was seriously injured? Or maybe I should say something major happened with the family?

No matter how plausible an excuse I made, Thadeus didn’t seem like he’d understand. Instead, he’d probably call me impudent and retaliate even harder. In the end, I screamed silently inside and bolted upright from my seat.

“Rachel, are you outside?”

“Yes, Miss.”

“Let’s go out. Our destination is Progreen Shopping District, Section 48.”

The place we arrived at—Progreen Shopping District, Section 48—was an utterly ordinary-looking slice cake shop. 

Worried it might be somewhere suspicious, I looked around from outside, but nothing seemed concerning. Rather, I was the one who looked strangest, pacing outside with eyes full of suspicion.

“Miss…?”

At my behavior, Rachel looked at me questioningly. Feeling awkward, I cleared my throat, pretending nothing was wrong.

“Ahem… Just checking something. I’ll go inside for a bit, so Rachel, wait here for me.”

“But…”

Perhaps because of what happened yesterday, Rachel seemed worried about being separated from me.

“It’ll be fine. I’m not going anywhere else. If anything happens, I’ll look for you first.”

Though her face still showed reluctance, she couldn’t insist further and nodded. I steadied my breathing once and entered the slice cake shop.

Thadeus sat in the furthest corner with his legs crossed. His glossy, flowing violet hair, his straight nose bridge, and his black eyes that created a deeply melancholic atmosphere—just looking at his exterior, he was impressive enough to forget he was truly a demonic person.

But how should I put it? Something felt out of place. The reason was probably that this place, decorated with cute pink accessories, didn’t suit him at all.

As I stood at a distance staring at Thadeus, he gestured for me to sit down. I hesitated with wary eyes before sitting at his table.

‘He’s not planning to have s*x here, is he? In a place with so many people…’

As I pressed my lips tightly shut, Thadeus looked at me and let out a hollow laugh. My heart jumped at his expression that said he knew exactly what I was thinking.

“What, do you think I’m some kind of animal?”

Not wanting to lose for no reason, I widened my eyes further, and he let out a long breath.

“Don’t think weird thoughts and just eat.”

At those words, the colorful slice cakes on the table caught my eye. Not only my favorite chocolate cake, but also fresh cream cake topped with fruit, strawberry cake, and various other types of cakes.

Of course, Thadeus and I weren’t on terms to laugh and chat while eating sweet cake, but pretending not to see the slice cakes in front of me wouldn’t be respectful to the cakes. I grabbed a fork and shoved a mouthful of cake into my mouth.

The chocolate flavor melting pleasantly on my tongue instantly blew away my gloomy mood. 

After eating frantically for a while, I remembered I still hadn’t heard why he called me here. I hastily wiped the cream from my mouth and asked him in a blunt voice.

“Why did you call me here?”

“Because there was a cake shop.”

What kind of nonsense was that? Then, watching me quietly, he picked up a fork for some reason. He stabbed it deep into the sweet chocolate cake, scooped up a large piece, and put it in his mouth.

“Ugh…”

As expected, Thadeus grimaced at the strong sweetness. Judging by how his expression showed no sign of relaxing, it must have been quite shocking. Watching this scene unfold before me, I felt like laughing.

“Why are you suddenly doing something you never do?”

“You were eating it so deliciously. I was curious what it tasted like.”

Why was this person who never cared what I did acting like this today? Was he sick somewhere? Or could he be facing his final days? Questions arose one after another, but that wasn’t what mattered.

“Now tell me the real reason. Why did you call me here?”

“I explained it just now.”

Who would believe he called me because there was a cake shop? At that moment, a smile appeared on Thadeus’s face. Feeling instinctively uneasy, I gripped the fork in my hand tightly.

“Do you want to do it here?”

“What…?”

“You want to, so you’re looking for a reason, aren’t you?”

How could such a shameless person exist? How could he say such things without a care about what others might hear? I glanced around and replied, pressing my voice down.

“No way! We’re not on terms to leisurely eat cake together in the first place, are we?”

“Then what are we?”

“That’s…”

“For childhood friends… we have pretty good s*xual compatibility, something like that?”

I almost punched Thadeus, who still wore a smile. Right in the philtrum between his nose and lips, to be exact.

He was doing this on purpose, knowing I’d be flustered. That fact made me angrier. Unable to actually throw the punch, I stabbed the innocent cake repeatedly with my fork.

“Let’s go if you’re done eating.”

“Where?”

“Somewhere better than here.”

When I showed no sign of getting up, Thadeus gently grasped my wrist. Having no choice, I pretended to give in and followed where he led.

The place I went with Thadeus was a bustling downtown area. I sometimes came downtown to hang out with Luina, but I usually went when there weren’t many people. Today, for whatever reason, there seemed to be more people than air.

Seeing me getting jostled here and there, Thadeus embraced me from behind with his whole body, like a hug. The scent of skin brushing my nose was stimulating, and the touching skin was hot like a burn. His shallow breaths kept tickling my ear.

Having no immunity to such things, my heart pounded like someone was hitting it with a club. Though we’d done more than this, strangely I felt more embarrassed than then. Without realizing it, I shrieked.

“Wh-why are you doing this? I can go by myself!”

“Sure you can.”

The more I tried to escape his embrace, the tighter he squeezed. His rock-hard upper body and tireless thighs pressed close. Meanwhile, Thadeus’s shameless member began slowly raising its head.

‘In a place with so many people! He’s crazy, really!’

Others might misunderstand if they saw. No, actually, even if they misunderstood, I’d have nothing to say. 

But I needed to confess my feelings to Schwein, so I couldn’t show such an immoral appearance. Moreover, Thadeus’s fiancée, wherever she might be, might be heartbroken by his frivolous behavior.

All sorts of thoughts flashed through my mind in an instant. Then suddenly Thadeus stopped walking. When I lifted my head in confusion, pink petals fluttered like snow in the blowing wind.

Just moments ago we’d been in a bustling downtown area, but now we stood before a brilliantly blooming Frea tree. It was a beautiful sight that left me unable to think. As I stared blankly at it, a low voice rang out.

“I heard this was famous.”

The Frea tree was commonly called the tree of promises. It was because of the saying that if you promised love before a tree blessed by the goddess Frea, that love would last a lifetime. As proof, when I looked around, it was indeed full of couples in love.

“You didn’t come to see this with me, did you?”

“Of course not.”

At the expected answer, I felt no particular emotion. If something this pretty existed, he should come see it with his fiancée. He probably just stopped because he was curious, seeing people gathered while passing by.

Then I spotted a familiar person standing in a flowerbed near the Frea tree. The owner of the golden hair sparkling like stars in the sunlight and blue eyes seemingly carved from rolling waves was none other than my prince, Schwein.

“Sch-Schwein…?”

How could we meet in a place like this? Was this what they called fate? Whether he heard my voice or not, his gaze that had been looking elsewhere turned toward us. He made a puzzled expression at seeing me and Thadeus together.

“Thadeus? And even Lady Clea Blanchet…?”

What position were we in right now? Coming to my senses, I realized I was still completely pressed against and embracing Thadeus. We looked like the couple of the century.

“Aaaaaah!”

I screamed like someone suddenly doused with cold water. I tried to remove Thadeus’s arm still wrapped around my neck, but it wouldn’t budge like a stone. Instead, it stuck even tighter, nearly choking me.

“Gack, kack! Hey. Let go. Won’t you let go?!”

At our appearance, Schwein smiled meaningfully. Soon the words flowing from his mouth contained the misunderstanding I least wanted.

“Don’t tell me… Thadeus’s fiancée is…”

At this rate, everything would end before I could properly convey my feelings to him. I hurriedly shouted.

“No!”

“Yes.”