Thanks to that, Felix’s face hardened terrifyingly. Why am I like this…… I’ve seen plenty of chests like this through the guys who went to the gym before!!

“To control power, it would be good to exercise hard and build stamina, right? Then, if I also get a firm chest……, no, body, I’ll recover quickly, right? Hahaha.”

“I don’t know about stamina, but your technique was good. Did you forget, at our first meeting you mercilessly knocked down me, the Second Prince of the Empire.”

“Huh!!”

I tried to change the subject…… but it was ruined. Was he still holding it in his heart?

“I’m…… sorry.”

“There are many things I want to ask about where you learned such things, but it wouldn’t be polite to pressure a patient.”

Looking at Felix’s still uncomfortable face, I had no choice but to seriously worry whether I had stepped on a death route landmine.

Really harsh…… Kervic is already trying to kill me, Felix is suspicious……

The only fortunate thing was that other people couldn’t hear this conversation in detail. Since the imperial palace had so many listening ears and watching eyes, it became the source of all rumors about me and Felix. Thanks to that, we had to be careful with our conversations and actions while being conscious of it.

Felix, who arrived at the separate palace, put me down in front of a certain door and began acting.

“This is the room where you’ll be staying. Come to think of it, you’re in trouble because your body is too weak. I’ll assign a dedicated physician to you, so don’t worry about anything and rest well for a while.”

“Your Highness, how could I dare to stay and take up space in the separate palace? I’ll just rest briefly and return to the Enchester mansion right away.”

“No, your body isn’t getting better because you’re staying in that cold mansion.”

“But…… thanks to Your Highness’s consideration, it’s not cold at all.”

I corrected my words at Felix’s emphasis. Our contract made the Enchester family prosperous too! Now there was no more covering windows with cloth scraps or shivering without firewood to light a fire.

“Even so, could it be warmer than a room in the separate palace? I sweat from the heat even in midwinter.”

“Th, that’s fine…… our house really isn’t cold anymore, you know?”

Anyone listening would think we had ondol heating installed. It’s not hot because of the power of the sun, is it?

Above all, knowing the baron couple’s personality, if they heard I was staying in the imperial palace because I was sick, there would be chaos, so I strongly denied it……

“Even after repairs it’s still like that, so the mansion is definitely the problem. Should we build a new one while we’re at it…… That’s right, it might be better to send the baron couple somewhere for a while too……”

“Yes, huh? What did you just say?”

“Haha. Did you mishear? It would be good to suggest they go recuperate somewhere warm. Since the baron seems curious about the mining industry, I should tell him to go on an inspection tour.”

‘Uh…… recuperation sounds good though?’

Though it was suspicious that he was showing kindness not in the contract terms, thinking of the Enchester couple who couldn’t get their bearings after suddenly becoming rich, I was grateful enough for Felix stepping up instead of me.

“Lady Marina, it would be good to select a maid to help you soon.”

“A maid for me! That’s excessive. Lecia is enough for me.”

“Hmm, is that so? Still, it would be good to assign a guard.”

Felix, who finished speaking briskly, squeezed my hand once tightly and turned around. The servants who watched this scene still had smiles they couldn’t erase from their lips. The public opinion within the palace where Felix stayed seemed firmly established. I could feel it just from how all those servants treated me warmly.

However Felix cooked it up, late at night, Lecia arrived at the imperial palace.

“Miss!! Are you alright? I heard you collapsed?”

“Lecia! I’m fine now. Were you very surprised?”

Thanks to being fully charged with the power of the sun, my condition was really good. However, Lecia still made a fuss.

“You’re already weak to the cold, and lately you’ve been visiting the imperial palace and getting exposed to cold wind…… What should we do!”

At Lecia’s words, I looked around at the other maids in the room. Though their faces were expressionless, they seemed to be paying attention to Lecia’s words. I opened my mouth while being conscious of them.

“I can’t dare disobey His Highness’s words…… But rather, I feel like hiding because I’m causing him trouble. Since my fever has gone down, shouldn’t I return to the mansion early tomorrow?”

“You might feel like you’ve recovered temporarily because of the medicine, but your body hasn’t fully recovered yet. You need to lie down for a few more days.”

One of the attendants caring for me quickly stopped me. The others were also looking at me with pitying eyes. I was relieved at the reaction based entirely on goodwill and nodded reluctantly. Everyone including Lecia sighed with relief and prepared warm tea for me.

“Weren’t my parents too surprised?”

“They worried a little, but thanks to His Highness Felix, they seemed quite relieved.”

“His Highness? Why?”

At my question, Lecia’s eyes sparkled as she answered brightly.

“Oh my! It’s a secret.”

“Huh?”

I questioned Lecia several times wondering if I had misheard, but the answer that came back was always that it was a secret. Though it was absurd, I didn’t have the energy to scold her, so I waved my hands dismissively.

And after about two days passed, while staying quietly holed up in Felix’s palace, evading with vague words, I was able to confirm what the ‘secret’ Lecia mentioned was through a gossip magazine.

[ Solium’s Cinderella Receives a Mansion as a Gift from Second Prince Felix! ]

[ Taking devoted care in the imperial palace for the Cinderella who lost her health due to poor family circumstances…… ]

“Mansion!? Gift?! Cinderella……?!”

I had already heard Felix’s bold promise to repair…… no, almost completely rebuild that damn crumbling Enchester mansion. However, I didn’t know he would proceed with the work so immediately. His ability to take action was truly terrifying.

What shocked me was that the gossip magazine was openly calling me ‘Cinderella’. Of course, they didn’t specifically mention ‘Enchester’ as my family name. However, it was obvious that my circumstances had spread not only to nobles in high society but even to commoners.

“No…… what is this!!”

However, my sharp shock was miserably crushed in front of Felix who came to charge.

“Is there a need to go back and forth to the imperial palace with difficulty during the contract period? And……”

Felix, who paused for a moment, squeezed my hand tightly and whispered softly.

“We have to keep the contracted terms. You asked me to take responsibility for your life.”

“Hiiik!!”

A sound of terror came out without me knowing. It was because his low voice alone reminded me of his brother, Kervic.

Perhaps because of my reaction, Felix hardened his face and moved away from me. Then, as if awkward, he lightly squeezed the hand he was holding again and tilted his head.

“……Were you startled?”

“No, that’s…… I had a bad thought.”

I tried to answer roughly while turning my head, but strangely Felix was persistent. As if he definitely wanted to meet my eyes, he kept following whichever way I shook my head.

Really, why is he like this, like someone who must dig out something!

“Excuse me, it would be nice if you could bring some cold water!”

I called an attendant who was waiting far away behind Felix’s broad back to get help from someone else. Felix kept his gaze fixed on my face.

“Yes. I’ll bring it right away.”

The attendant who hurriedly filled a glass cup with water came running to where Felix and I were. The problem occurred here.

— Thud!

— Crash!

“Aaah!!”

Felix suddenly let go of my hand too, stood up abruptly from his seat, and grabbed the collar of the attendant running straight toward his back!

“Kuk……!! Keu-euk!”

At the scream of the attendant whose collar was grabbed by Felix and the sound of the glass cup breaking, even the other attendants were greatly flustered.

I moved instinctively without thinking about dignity or anything else to stop Felix. It was because stopping people’s fights when I was a police officer was ingrained in my body like a habit.

“Felix, calm down and let go of this hand!”

I tried to grab and twist Felix’s arm to pull it away. However, it was insufficient to stop him when he was full of strength.

“……Felix!!”

“……!!”

Though I shouted several times in a low voice close to his ear, Felix only made a confused expression. The hand grabbing the attendant’s collar was still firmly clenched.

I, who was close to Felix, realized that he was sweating cold sweat. The power of the sun seemed to become unstable as well. Hot heat was circling around his body.

‘Is he angry at the attendant? No. This expression and reaction is……’

Having witnessed and stopped fights between neighborhood uncles and vacationers on the street several times, I could recognize what emotion was rising from Felix’s body.

He was…… afraid of something.

“Keo, keo-heuk!!”

The person whose collar was grabbed by Felix seemed to have his throat blocked as he breathed out with difficulty. I thought his throat might get strangled at this rate.

I realized we were in the middle of charging and tried to grab his hand.

“!!”

Felix’s gaze changed threateningly. While feeling his gaze, I tried to smile as if nothing was wrong.

The face of the attendant caught in Felix’s hand was flushed red from lack of breath. I had to change the atmosphere as much as possible.

“What are you…… doing? Let go and let’s talk.”

— Slowly

The power of water and the power of the sun resonated. And when she tried to speak to him calmly, Felix’s expression relaxed. He seemed to have come to his senses.

Instead of an answer to my question, what came back was the sound of roughly grinding teeth. I grabbed his hand more strongly. As our confrontation grew longer, Felix seemed to come to his senses and roughly released the hand grabbing the collar.

— Thud

“Cough, cough!!”