For some reason, my words seemed to ease the Crown Prince’s tension. His eyes visibly softened.

“Anyone passing by could say as much.”

Perhaps he thought I was just throwing out words without knowing anything. A light chuckle escaped his lips.

This was before the temple had fallen. At this time, harboring feelings for the Saintess was considered a sin.

The Crown Prince did not easily let anyone discover his feelings for the Saintess. Few people in this land were aware of his heart.

“You must feel cornered, judging by how you’re pretending to know things you don’t…”

“The Saintess is waiting for you, Your Highness.”

For a moment, the Crown Prince froze. He became utterly still.

“Do you really think I would speak recklessly without knowing?”

“….”

“Your Highness holds the noble Saintess in your heart… That would certainly be quite the scandal.”

Seeing the ever-confident Crown Prince flustered like this gave me a subtle sense of victory.

“How… did you know? Don’t tell me Kyron told you?”

“My husband isn’t kind enough to share such things with me. He doesn’t tell me anything.”

There was no way Kyron would provide me with information about the Crown Prince.

“I came out to watch the fireworks, and I happened to see the Saintess over there. As you know, my husband hates fireworks, so I had to come out alone. While wandering around, I noticed a woman wearing a blue brooch. I realized she was the Saintess I had met before.”

“How…?”

“I recognized her eyes. You must have heard, but I encountered the Saintess not long ago at the Imperial Palace annex, so it wasn’t difficult to recognize her eyes.”

I directed my gaze to his brooch.

“It’s a brooch meant for the Saintess to recognize you, but it’s a bit disappointing that you naively assumed only the two of you would notice it.”

The control of the situation had long since shifted to me.

“While it’s not true that the Duchess came here for a secret meeting, it is true that the Crown Prince and the Saintess met here… What do you think would happen if that were revealed?”

I smiled softly, just as he had done earlier.

“…You know how to threaten people. I didn’t expect that.”

“Why would you misunderstand someone’s outing so carelessly, Your Highness?”

“Did you learn this from your husband?”

I came here to meet the Saintess, but I ended up running into the Crown Prince. Damn it.

Something felt like it was going off track.

Still, if I thought about it, the Crown Prince was more of an ally than an enemy. He was someone who could support my peaceful, golden-spoon life.

This was an unavoidable situation. I needed to change tactics.

“I’m not here to threaten you. I want to make a deal with Your Highness.”

The Crown Prince stared at me intently before finally speaking.

“…It really seems like you learned this from the Duke.”

He let out a hollow laugh.

“What kind of deal are you proposing?”

“I’ll help you advance your relationship with the Saintess. In return, Your Highness will help me.”

Perhaps this approach would be more effective than trying to persuade the Saintess unilaterally. After all, this was a negotiation, not a one-sided plea.

“What kind of help do you need?”

“I heard there are rumors circulating about me and the Saintess. Of course, they’re unfavorable to me.”

“I’ve heard those as well.”

Since he knew everything related to the Saintess, it was only natural that he was aware of the widespread rumors about me.

I nodded.

“Then you must already know what I want. Please clear up those rumors.”

“Ah, so the reason you came here in disguise today is because of those rumors?”

The Crown Prince was quick to catch on.

“There must have been another reason besides sightseeing for you to come to a place your husband dislikes.”

I admitted it honestly.

“Yes, that’s right. You figured it out quickly. I thought I had to take some action, and then I happened to run into Your Highness. How lucky for me.”

“I thought the Duchess wasn’t this kind of person.”

The Crown Prince muttered, seemingly baffled.

“True. I’ve been quite low-profile for a while.”

At my response, the Crown Prince looked at me with even more suspicion.

“Are you really the Duchess? I feel like I need to check your face properly.”

Without warning, the Crown Prince grabbed my mask and pulled it off. What a rude man.

After looking at my face, the Crown Prince finally nodded.

“You desire the Saintess, don’t you? My proposal doesn’t seem so bad, does it?”

“How would you help me, someone who isn’t even on good terms with her?”

“Well, I have something the Saintess wants.”

For some reason, the Saintess desires my divine power. Since I possess what she wants, I’m the one who can bring her to you.

“I’ll arrange a meeting between Your Highness and the Saintess.”

“A meeting? I can arrange that on my own.”

The Crown Prince shrugged and gestured toward the direction of the Saintess. He was implying that he had already managed to arrange today’s meeting with her.

He wasn’t going to give in easily.

I thought he’d jump at the chance to talk about the Saintess, but it seemed he still had some sense of discernment left.

“Helping the Duchess out of her predicament doesn’t seem like much of a benefit to me.”

“Your Highness must be desperate for just one meeting with the Saintess. Do you think you’ll be able to secure continuous meetings after today?”

“I’m confident I’ll make her mine.”

He had every reason to be confident. In fact, his intense obsession would drive the story forward in the future.

“I can make that process much smoother for you. I can lure the Saintess. And…”

I looked around. There couldn’t be any listening ears. Fortunately, I was in disguise, and the people around us were too busy seeking love to overhear our conversation.

“……Doesn’t the temple need to fall for Your Highness to take hold of the Saintess? If you use the current rumors to your advantage, you could accelerate the temple’s downfall.”

“…….”

The Crown Prince’s eyes widened slightly, clearly unprepared for such a statement to come out of my mouth.

“Rather, it would be better to steer the rumors in the direction that the Saintess’s divine power has weakened. That way, more people will begin to question the temple’s very existence, noticing the issues with her abilities.”

“……So you’re saying I should create rumors that could threaten the Saintess myself?”

“It’s not a threat. It’s just a baseless rumor. In any case, if the Saintess were to face direct danger, Your Highness would step in, wouldn’t you?”

“You speak as if you know me very well.”

“Your Highness is always at the center of attention, so I end up learning about you whether I want to or not.”

I deflected his question about how I knew his tendencies.

“Once this deal is finalized, I’ll step aside immediately, so go ahead and enjoy your secret meeting for today.”

Feel free to have your first kiss, too.

“After meeting the Saintess today, Your Highness will surely desire her even more starting tomorrow. At that point, I will approach the Saintess.”

In the original story, the Crown Prince suffers from an even more intense thirst for the Saintess after their first kiss.

Once the festival ends, the Saintess returns to the temple, making it difficult for him to meet her alone again.

I already knew exactly what the Crown Prince would want.

“You seem very confident.”

“As I mentioned, I currently have what the Saintess desires.”

“And why is it that you have it?”