Keeping the same pace, she bowed deeply. It was the gesture she should have made when she arrived.

“If I came across that way, please forgive me. It was the mistake of a foolish person caught off guard.”

Couldn’t things have ended there, with them riding horses side by side under the moonlight?

Exchanging simple acts of kindness, such as him offering her his coat when she was shivering in the cold?

She could have met him again by returning his coat. If she had given him a small gift in return and parted ways with fond memories, never to see him again, she could have smiled whenever she thought of him.

She could have proudly told Evelyn that she had once met a kind prince who saved her from drowning and helped her out of a difficult situation.

Yes, she had thought such things — arrogantly, even.

“Thank you very much. I’ve received a great favour. I truly don’t know how to repay such kindness.”

Perhaps her pride had been wounded because she had been seen at her lowest point.

She might have thought it was somehow unfair that the life she had sworn to protect with her very being could be saved so easily.

Still bowing her head, Henrietta laughed at herself again.

This was a debt she could never repay, no matter how long she lived.

There was no need to question this royal any further.

Once she had sorted through her thoughts, everything felt as though it had returned to its rightful place.

It wasn’t so hard anymore. All she had to do was express her gratitude for this unexpected fortune.

She straightened up from her deep bow.

Her gaze no longer wavered with confusion.

With genuine gratitude, Henrietta smiled calmly.

“Thanks to you, the people of Hangderhood were saved. They’ll all be grateful for your generosity, Your Highness.”

“…”

“Bishop Thomason will thank you separately, but I wanted to express my gratitude personally.”

“Are you finished?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked if you’ve said everything you want to say.”

“Oh. Yes, I’ve said what I needed to, so I’ll be going now.”

“No, I didn’t ask if you’ve said what you needed to say. I asked if you’ve said everything you wanted to.”

Hendrik looked at the woman, who nodded calmly. His gaze was now neutral and unreadable, free of sarcasm.

When their eyes met, Henrietta parted her lips slightly to speak. However, she soon pressed her lips together stubbornly, seemingly determined to follow her instincts.

“I’ve taken too much of Your Highness’s precious time already. I’m sorry.”

“Sit down.”

“…What?”

For a moment, Hendrik’s blue eyes gleamed with a sharp, icy light. The strangeness of it made Henrietta nearly step back by mistake.

“No, unless there’s something more you wish to say, I’ll just—”

“Sit down. That’s an order.”

Hendrik watched as Henrietta’s gray pupils clearly widened in surprise before narrowing again. He leaned back deeply into his chair.

Henrietta took a deep breath, her chest rising visibly.

Seeing her sit down as commanded, Hendrik crossed one leg over the other and slowly lowered his eyelids.

When his vivid blue eyes reappeared, they showed no discernible emotion — nothing that could be named.

“This is really quite convenient.”

“…What do you mean?”

“I think I’m starting to understand the Duke of Schutzman’s feelings a little.”

Henrietta fell silent at his cryptic words. After all, she had long since given up trying to understand him completely.

“Is this what you wanted? I issue commands and you, my subject, obey me.”

“I simply assumed that was how it should be.”

“You thank me for the enormous favour I granted you so generously. You nod along to everything I say, showing no hint of resistance. What’s next? Will you start offering prayers of gratitude to me morning and night?”

“If that’s what Your Highness commands.”

“Well, I don’t want that.”

“Pardon?”

“I said I don’t want that. I don’t want us to be in that kind of relationship.”

“Then I don’t know how else to make sense of this.”

“Make sense of what? That I helped you?”

“Yes, ordinary people don’t just help someone they have no connection to for no reason.”

Henrietta answered without a moment’s hesitation. This time, it was clear that her words came from impulse rather than careful thought.

She couldn’t say whether it was the command that had angered her, the way Hendrik kept dodging the point that had irritated her, or maybe both.

Either way, the sight of her snapping back, cheeks flushed with anger, was far more vivid—far more unforgettable—than if she had simply lowered her head in silence.

Of course, Hendrik had no intention of saying that out loud. He didn’t want to see her press her lips shut again.

“I might be trying to flirt with you, you know.”

Henrietta looked at him as though he were a precious jewel on display. When something is clearly too extravagant, desire cannot take root, no matter how much you want it.

“Is that so?”

“Well…”

“If that’s the case, then please stop. It’s not something I can handle.”

Henrietta, who had fallen briefly into a daze as if lost in thought, suddenly let out an incredulous laugh.

For someone who had supposedly received the prince’s great favour, it was an irreverent smile.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because it’s not worth crying over.”

“You said it didn’t make sense otherwise – my one-sided help.”

“Now that I think about it, maybe it’s not so hard to understand. Hangderhood is a major welfare organisation, and Your Highness needs to establish a firm foothold in the Empire.”

“That’s not it… that’s not the reason.”

Henrietta bit her lip hard. She had no idea what this man had been trying to say to her all along.

Even when she gave him a challenging look, Hendrik remained infuriatingly composed — he was so perfect that he seemed like a model from a textbook on how a gentleman should behave.

Even when sitting across from him, engaged in conversation, he felt utterly distant.

He was a breathtaking treasure; you couldn’t take your eyes off him. But if you mustered the courage to reach out to him, all you would ever feel is cold glass.

That was the kind of man he was.

“Then why… why are you doing this? Do you pity me?”

Finally, Henrietta voiced the question she hadn’t wanted to ask, bringing their meandering conversation to an end. Bitterly, she thought that this arrogant prince must want to see her stripped of all pride.

“No.”

The answer came so swiftly that there was no time to breathe.

Henrietta felt something rise sharply in her throat.

“Then why? Why do you keep helping me?”

Even as she snapped and demanded answers, Hendrik remained as calm as ever.

This time, however, he narrowed his eyes slightly, as though searching for an answer to something he’d never truly considered before.

“If you had to say goodbye to someone…”

For a moment, his blue eyes shone deeply. Something about the look in his eyes felt strangely familiar, leaving Henrietta speechless. It was a deep blue gaze—one that evoked the sea.

“I just wanted it to be on equal terms.”

‘Equal terms?’

Like the moment she was pulled out of the lake and back into the world, her breath suddenly rushed back in.
‘Was that really possible? To say goodbye to Robert on equal footing?’

The ordinary words that Hendrik had spoken now felt impossibly distant to Henrietta. Overwhelmed by an overwhelming sense of uncertainty, Henrietta shook her head slightly and frowned.

“That’s what I don’t understand—why would Your Highness care about something like that?”

“It’s about order.”

“Order?”

“First, go break up with him? We’ll talk after that.”

***

Once Henrietta had left, Hendrik stretched his legs out on the sofa. Leaning back, he gazed out of the window.

As the sun began to set, he saw the figure of a neat, composed woman walking away amid the fading light.

‘Combative’ might be a better word than ‘composed’.

As she shrank into the distance, a restless bluebird flew close to the exterior of the hotel, marking the transition from spring to summer.

Its wings were stretched wide, and under its vibrant teal feathers, a bright white pattern stood out distinctly.

It flew gracefully, but was most likely off to fight a territorial battle, most likely over a nest.

Whatever its true intentions, the scene was peaceful in its own way.

“I could be trying to flirt with you, you know?”

Cutting through Hendrik’s peace, William abruptly burst into the drawing room.

“What else did you say? First, go break up with him? We’ll talk after that?”

William shook his head, repeating Hendrik’s words in disbelief.

Hendrik glanced at him briefly, showing no visible reaction.

“Ha! For a second, I thought I was hearing things.”

“…”

“And what’s with that attitude? I just told you I’d heard everything — aren’t you at least going to act surprised?”

William clicked his tongue, as though he hadn’t expected an answer anyway, and strode over to Hendrik.

“I never knew Prince Hendrik was capable of talking that much.”

Hendrik looked up at the prince, raising his eyelids lazily, and gave a soft, dry laugh.

“And I never knew a prince of the realm had the hobby of eavesdropping like a rat.”

“Your words are rather harsh, like an angry child throwing a tantrum.”

With a thump, William sat down in the chair Henrietta had used.

Resting his elbows on the table, he propped his chin on his hand and glared at Hendrik for a moment.

Then he straightened up and rubbed his jaw thoughtfully with his thumb.

“You like her?”

Hendrik scoffed in disbelief at the blunt question, even letting out a short, incredulous laugh.

It was the kind of question only a pampered prince like William could ask so directly.

“I asked if you liked that woman.”

“It’s a relief you’re not the crown prince of the Huntingford Kingdom.”

“But that woman wasn’t wrong about a single thing. If that’s not the case, then none of this makes sense.”

“It seems like everyone’s confused today, especially about me.”

“You’re the one acting strangely. You started with the tea — when have you ever made tea in advance before?”