“You should eat too, Master.”

“I can eat well on my own, so don’t worry about me, and just eat quickly.”

“Are you saying I’m an idiot who doesn’t know how to eat by myself?”

“Yes.”

I replied without thinking, then shook my head vigorously.

“No!”

Then I continued to place food in front of Seth and put a fork and spoon in his hand.

“Let’s eat now.”

Since I was genuinely concerned about this irritable Chancellor’s meal, I acted confidently.

“Right, if I don’t eat, you’ll say you won’t eat either.”

Seth, scooping soup with his spoon, seemed strangely pleased.

But Seth, that’s not it. I was going to eat even if you didn’t.

Seth took a bite, looked at me once, took another bite, and looked at me again, but he didn’t ask any particularly troublesome questions.

Thank goodness we’re sitting side by side.

If we were facing each other, I would have… eaten just fine despite that gaze.

“Master has gotten thinner too. Eat quickly.”

Seth pushed the plates I had placed in front of him towards me.

Come to think of it, how long has it been since I’ve eaten like this?

It’s not that I didn’t eat over there, but it was only as much as bird feed. It’s been quite a while since I’ve had such an elaborate meal.

Realizing this fact, my hand reaching for the food slowed down.

“Are you not eating because I just encouraged you to?”

“Huh?”

“‘Huh’? Master, aren’t you trusting His Highness the Crown Prince too much?”

Seth started to smile dangerously. Wait, I don’t even know what I answered.

“Do you think I can’t take you out of here?”

I flinched at the edge of Seth’s patience which showed momentarily.

“Master, do you still not know me that well?”

The crimson eyes shine sharply, as if the softened atmosphere until just now was a lie.

“Um, Seth.”

The crimson eyes looking at me were clearly revealing some intense emotion, but I couldn’t read it.

No, it’s so unexpected that I’m not sure if I’m reading it correctly.

“I’m listening.”

What should I say?

To you, who’s deeply hurt but doesn’t know how to say it hurts.

Seth, showing his emotions so nakedly, was unfamiliar, and I couldn’t dare to gauge what words to push out of my mouth.

So instead of words, I cupped his cheeks with both hands. Just like I did earlier.

“Doing this won’t…”

Seth gritted his teeth. But I could tell it wasn’t because he was angry or trying to threaten me.

Because the corners of his eyes had turned red.

“I…”

“It’s not that I’m not eating because you encouraged me. I just remembered something I had forgotten.”

“What is it?”

“I was in the middle of dieting.”

That’s not it.

“I can tell you’re lying, but I’ll pretend I didn’t notice.”

Hmph, how very generous of you!

…Yes, actually, I’m really grateful you’re letting it slide.

As I freshly recalled the completely unhinged Vilau, Seth seemed like such a big-hearted person.

We started eating again, and it was when we had almost emptied our plates.

“Hey, junior. Aren’t you being too carefree?”

My senior appeared through the door that had opened silently.

“Sen- Your Highness!”

Unlike me, who jumped up from my seat, Seth rose slowly. As if an annoying person had appeared.

“Welcome, Your Highness. The guest seemed bored, so I was entertaining her.”

“Yes, thanks to the Chancellor, I was able to have an in-depth conversation with Father.”

Is it just my imagination that I sense hostility in my senior’s words?

“From now on, I will attend to the guest, so the Chancellor may leave.”

My senior blatantly showed his annoyance to Seth’s face.

While his expression and tone were perfectly those of a polite Crown Prince addressing the Chancellor, the content of his words was like that, but what was this person doing to the shadow Chancellor?

As expected, Seth smiles brightly.

It roughly meant, ‘You’re dead tonight.’

“You can’t kill that person! You can’t drive them mad or disable them either!”

Seth rolled his eyes, avoiding my gaze.

“You promised me.”

When I grabbed his clothes and shook them, he finally looked at me again.

“I don’t like it, but fine.”

“Good boy.”

When I patted Seth’s head, his eyelashes fluttered.

My senior was leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed, staring at Seth and me, but he looked no different from usual.

Neither Seth, who openly says he wants to kill the Crown Prince to his face, nor my senior, who responds to this nonchalantly, are in their right minds.

Who made them like this?

Me.

“I’ll come again tomorrow.”

Seth, who lightly kissed my cheek, surprisingly retreated without resistance.

As Seth left the room, my senior closed the door. His attire had changed.

To a uniform befitting the Empire’s Crown Prince.

“Have you had dinner?”

“I’ve eaten.”

Without being invited, my senior sat in a chair and loosened his cravat as if tired.

“I found that I have a sibling I never had before.”

“Three younger sisters?”

“Yes. If I hadn’t heard it from you, I would have been shocked.”

Though his tone was light, there was a hint of bitterness, so I kept my mouth shut. I felt heavy-hearted, feeling like I had caused this.

My senior didn’t try to break the silence either. After staring into space for a moment, he stood up from the chair.

“It’s late today, so I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Alright.”

So when he said he was leaving, I was secretly relieved.

“This place is on the outskirts of the palace, so the chances of being seen by others are low, but just in case.”

I don’t want to be exposed to people’s gazes. If my senior doesn’t want to show me either…

I felt a strange feeling that I couldn’t explain. Is it because the environment has changed?

“Senior.”

“Yes?”

I was about to ask if he was pondering about me but stopped.

“Be careful on your way. Don’t get lost.”

“Haha, I’ve spent most of my life here as my home. I won’t forget just because I’ve been away for a few months.”

“That’s good then.”

My senior left too, and only silence settled in the room.

The bed was soft, and the blanket smelled fresh and clean. I could fall asleep quickly in this perfect sleeping environment.

I definitely fell asleep, so why is Seth in front of me? He played a nasty trick as he often did.

He strokes my collarbone with his fingertips, then gradually moves downward.

“Mmm, no. No.”

I tried to push Seth’s hand away and dropped my arm to the side. Something caught on my right fingertips, and I felt around.

Hmm, there’s something hard. It’s warm and feels just like someone’s muscle…

“Aah!”

There shouldn’t be anything there!

I tried to jump up in surprise, but someone wrapped their arms around my waist.

“It’s me.”

At the gentle whisper, I pressed hard near my heart and rolled my eyes to the side.

“Really, Master. You’ve forgotten everything.”

With words that I couldn’t tell whether they were reproach or not, my mouth was covered.

Please, is this necessary first thing in the morning?

Yes, it’s nice.

Apart from feeling pleased, curiosity arose.

“This is the palace, how did you get here?”

“There’s no place I can’t go.”

Though his tone was boastful, I couldn’t pick on it because it was Seth.

“The palace is where I work. Did you forget that too?”

Ah right, that’s true.

“Master, you seem to have forgotten me completely…”

As if reading my thoughts again, Seth twisted his lips and smiled.

This is a bit scary.

As I slowly tried to pull my body back, Seth sighed and hugged me. I buried my nose and sniffed because it smelled of the scent I liked, and only then did he smile.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes.”