Having spent her life being trained as the Saintess in the temple, she might be able to answer my questions.

The Saintess was still standing under the arch structure, showing me her back.

The distance between us wasn’t far, but the crowd served as an obstacle in that short space.

The sun was nearly set, and the fireworks were about to begin, so it was natural for the crowd to have grown even larger than before.

On top of that, my physical condition made it difficult to move quickly.

Although I knew the Saintess would remain in that spot until the Crown Prince arrived, I was anxious. To have even one more word with her, I needed to hurry.

But soon… I found myself unable to take another step.

“Excuse me!”

Someone grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

The sudden grip on my wrist startled me. There wasn’t supposed to be anyone here who would grab me like this.

I turned my head in shock to see who had stopped me.

“……Who are you?”

It was an unfamiliar man with strange eyes. Or perhaps we had met before? It was hard to tell since his face was partially covered.

“It’s me! Didn’t you come to see me?”

What in the world was he talking about?

The man was spouting absurd nonsense.

“I think you’ve got the wrong person.”

I tried to turn away from him, but he didn’t release his grip.

Why wasn’t he letting go when I’d already told him he had the wrong person? A sense of unease crept over me.

“I’m not the person you’re looking for. Let me go.”

“What do you mean you’re not? Didn’t we agree to meet here today?”

“That wasn’t me.”

I glared at him, and the man looked flustered, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. But even then, he didn’t let go of my arm.

“B-but you said you loved me last time, didn’t you? Was that all a lie?”

He still seemed convinced I was his lover. It was utterly ridiculous.

“Don’t act like you’re in some eternal romance when you can’t even recognize the face of the woman you supposedly love. Get lost.”

I snapped at him. For once, I didn’t have to worry about maintaining my dignity as a Duchess, and it felt liberating.

“I’m not the person you’re looking for. The person you’re looking for is somewhere around here, so pull yourself together and go find her.”

I had no time to waste, yet here he was, clinging to me.

For a moment, I wondered if he had been sent deliberately to interfere with me.

Who would want to stop me from approaching the Saintess? The Crown Prince? The priests?

Regardless, the man showed no signs of letting go, and I didn’t have the strength to shake him off.

“Let go! Let go!”

“You said you loved me!”

It was absurd that, on this special day, a complete stranger on the bridge would mistake me for his lover.

Growing increasingly worried that the Saintess might leave her spot, I struggled to free myself from the man.

And then it happened.

“Aaaagh!”

A sudden scream pierced my ears. It came from the man who had been holding me.

“What the hell are you?!”

The man shouted at someone who, like us, was cloaked in black robes. However… the newcomer wore a simple blue brooch on his chest.

‘The Crown Prince…?’

Given the timing, it wasn’t unreasonable to assume this was the Crown Prince, as he was supposed to meet the Saintess around now. The blue brooch further supported my guess.

Now that I looked more closely, his eyes bore a striking resemblance to the Crown Prince’s.

Realizing who he was, my eyes widened in shock, and I stood there dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, the Crown Prince had already subdued the man. At some point, he had twisted the man’s arm with ease.

“Argh!”

Even on this crowded bridge, where such an act could draw attention, the Crown Prince didn’t seem to care. It was typical of him to ignore others’ gazes.

“W-who the hell are you?!”

The man, still mistaking me for his lover, looked back and forth between me and the Crown Prince. His eyes were filled with shock, as if he had been betrayed in love.

“Get lost. Don’t bother me,” the Crown Prince said, waving him off dismissively.

“Stop mistaking random people for someone else, and leave before I make sure you can’t use that wrist again.”

What’s with this guy…?

I blinked at the Crown Prince, unable to make sense of the situation. While I was grateful for his help, his sudden intrusion left me bewildered.

Had he recognized me?

That question was soon answered.

After the man retreated, the Crown Prince turned to me and spoke.

“What brings you to a place like this, Madam? Today is a special day, after all.”

So he had recognized me.

“And what brings Your Highness to such a shabby place?”

“I’m unmarried and free to go wherever I please. But you, Madam, have a husband waiting for you at home, don’t you…?”

His eyes curved into a sly smile. In the original story, the Saintess found that smile seductive; to me, it was simply irritating.

What’s going on in that head of his?!

“I’m not here for any scandalous reason, if that’s what you’re implying.”

The Crown Prince didn’t seem to care about my answer. Instead, he gestured for us to move to a quieter spot, away from prying ears.

This wasn’t part of my plan.

I glanced toward the Saintess, but I had no choice but to follow him.

We moved to a less crowded corner, and the Crown Prince immediately began to speak.

“Your Grace, there must be only one reason for hiding your identity on such a day and standing on this romantic bridge. Ah, how pitiful my friend is. My friend despises festival fireworks so much that he must be staying home alone.”

This guy doesn’t believe me, does he?

“What a tragedy. To think that, decades after the place where his father and mother met, his wife would seek another man.”

The Crown Prince clicked his tongue, lamenting on behalf of his friend.

“I am not seeking another man. And what do you mean by ‘father and mother’?”

“Oh, don’t tell me you don’t know?”

The Crown Prince once again grinned unpleasantly, narrowing his eyes.

“Isn’t this the place where the Duke’s father secretly met the woman who would become the Duke’s mother, leaving his wife behind? At the moment the fireworks exploded, their love also blossomed on this bridge.”

Ah… I could somewhat understand why Kyron especially hated this fireworks festival.

“The Duke finds it horrifying that his parents’ relationship began as an affair, and yet here you are, seeking love in the same place. My goodness.”

He clicked his tongue and shook his head. No matter how much I explained that I wasn’t here for such a purpose, it seemed my words didn’t reach his ears.

Separate from the topic of Kyron, I was furious.

“For the last time, I didn’t come here for that reason. But I do know why Your Highness came here.”

“You claim to know my purpose?”

The Crown Prince seemed to enjoy thinking he alone held my secret, but that was a huge misunderstanding. In truth, I knew his secret perfectly well.

“I do.”

The Crown Prince’s gaze momentarily turned serious. He silently stared at me, seemingly trying to determine whether I truly understood his purpose.

“…You came to meet someone, didn’t you?”