“The magicians are more cunning than last time, so the situation is not easy at all.”
Cassian turned to face me, leaning against the sink.
The sunlight streaming in from the kitchen window clearly illuminated the room, but it made it difficult to read his features.
“It's serious enough that I had to interrupt Rose's rare vacation.”
“I'm not talking about that.”
I furrowed my eyebrows as Cassian approached me with calm steps.
“So, what are you talking about?”
He was smiling reassuringly, as if he didn't understand what I meant.
But after watching him cloy for a year and a half, I was confident I wasn't wrong.
I also remembered how he looked when he was younger when his health improved, as he always stood up straight.
Instead of continuing the guessing game, she suddenly grabbed the hem of his shirt and lifted it up.
“My dear fiancée seducing me is something I am really happy about, but this is not the time—”
“How injured are you?”
I ignored his attempt to evade and stared at him resolutely.
Yesterday I was so nervous I didn't pay attention, but now I clearly saw signs of healing from a recent wound on his side, as a result of using the magic first aid kit.
Cassian sighed lightly and said:
“I'm fine, Rose.”
“If you were really okay, you would have told me about this yourf.”
Cassian rarely suffered injuries, and when he did, he would tell me about them to annoy me.
“Look, I was injured here during the duel.
Aren’t you supposed to put the prince’s seal here instead of me?”
Although he was exhausting his opponents to the point of exhaustion, he would come complaining of minor, barely visible wounds.
“You seem angry.”
He said that while smiling, which made me even more upset.
He's really an annoying person, even though I was worried about him.
When he noticed my frowning face, he pulled out a chair and sat quietly in front of me.
“I didn’t expect this from you, I don’t know if I should be happy or not.”
“Don't tell me you bet I wouldn't notice?”
“Do you think I'm a devil?”
“I think the people of the entire empire think so.”
The title of “Demon of the Winter Palace” was not just a rumor.
At least, his voice seemed to have returned to normal after it had been hoarse yesterday..
His deep, smooth voice, though attractive, particularly bothered me.
“You haven't been to the doctor, have you?”
"correct."
He admitted it easily, as if he realized that hiding it was no longer useful.
Why is he smiling like that?
I narrowed my eyes, but he started laughing loudly.
“I didn't want to show you anything ugly.”
“I'm not that weak.”
“I didn't mean you.”
Who then?
I looked at him suspiciously, but he answered indifferently:
“I can move normally, you know I spent a long time on the battlefield.”
So he knows how seriously injured he is?
So what is the benefit of doctors in the first place?
“…When we return to the capital, you should consult the palace doctor, okay?”
"Good."
I had no choice but to believe him.
Even when he was eleven, he had endured things on his own, so it was only natural that he would know how bad his injury was now.
“Did you rent this cabin just in case?”
“As expected of you, Rose.”
Most likely, Cassian was staying in one of the most luxurious inns in Ilium City..
“I heard that a popular inn in Ilium was robbed last night.”
One of the maids told me this when I was at the ducal villa.
“They want to get the cube you dismantled at any cost.”
“I told everyone at the Duchy Villa that we will return to the capital soon.”
"with me?"
I nodded my head...
Before coming to the hut, I deliberately went to the train station and booked first-class tickets for the capital, and kept the receipts as proof of the expenses.
“They will definitely be watching the train station.”
“Of course, so I asked Your Majesty’s knights to cooperate with us.”
I already knew how to communicate with the Hidden Knights.
This was a sign of Cassian's trust in me, or perhaps his desire to exploit me to the maximum.
I asked some knights who were physically similar to us to disguise ourves as us, walk around Ilium City as if they were on a date, and then take the train for us.
“I also spread the word among the palace servants, so they will be completely misled.”
Thanks to the knights' stealth skills, it was difficult for the wizards to determine whether they were after us or just bait.
Fortunately, Cassian had an excellent reputation among the knights.
He fought with them on the battlefields, and was the reason for saving many of them.
Although the Empress wished to control the entire knights of the Imperial Family, those who fought alongside Cassian were known for their strict loyalty.
'Even in the original story, none of the knights under his command betrayed him.'
But since I have greatly distorted the original story, I can no longer completely rely on its information.
'If they're planning to use Velma and me as bait in their trap, they at least have to abide by some rules, right?'
After everything they've done, it's unreasonable for them to expect me to simply follow the script of the original novel.
I sighed to myf as I explained to Cassian all the measures I had taken while he was asleep.
“I don't know how I would have handled things without you, Rose.”
After my report finished, Cassian sighed deeply.
“I didn’t say I would resign yet.”
I still have a large debt to pay, Your Highness.
Besides, starting a new business from scratch is a risky venture.
I'll start with something simple to start with then, keeping safety as the top priority
“But that means you'll quit one day.”
Does he want me to work with him forever?
This is not an acceptable option at all.
When I looked at him with disgust, he sighed again before getting up from his seat.
“I should take advantage of this opportunity you have given me, to keep you by my side a little longer.”
At the same moment, his hair color and features completely changed.
It is time to arrest the witches involved in smuggling banned substances.
“So, this is Velma’s cruise ship...”
Unlike the ship we had boarded a few days earlier, this luxurious ship was packed with guests and flashy decorations.
It was no surprise that it was so stunning, as it was a gift from Duke Lopez.
“Do you prefer this type of ship?”
“Honestly, although I would like to be generous in my judgement, I don’t like her.”
It was clear that the ship did not reflect Velma's taste at all.
It was left in the hands of agents to manage it for years, and was subjected to many modifications without its approval.
When I frowned after thinking about it, Cassian spoke in a sarcastic tone:
“You really seem to like Lady Wilhelmina.”
“That's true, but why do you suddenly say that?”
A feigned expression of sorrow appeared on his face, as if he was pretending to be sad.
'Here he is acting again.'
“After running it for five years, the agents made countless changes.”
“So, there must be embezzlement as well.”
"probably."
It was not difficult to guess the chaos that befell the ship's financial accounts.
Since Duchess Lopez collapsed here, the Duke and the younger sons did not care about her at all.
'Of course the agents sold the original furniture and replaced it with cheap shiny stuff, pocketing the difference.'
Not only that, but they must have used maintenance funds as well.
“Well, at least this is a good opportunity to give the ladies of the capital some gifts.”
“Since it is a rare opportunity, let us use it for other things.”
Cassian said with a cheerful smile as he got off the cart first.
He changed his appearance to an ordinary young man with light brown hair and undistinguished features, wearing an elegant but impractical uniform, similar to that of high-end servants.
Although his elegant posture didn't make him look like a servant at all, that was the only downside to his disguise.
As for me, I was wearing a disastrous dress that was part of my disturbing past.
When I first arrived in the capital, I went into a fancy clothing store and came out with an expensive but terrible dress that I had been tricked into buying.
It was a pale red dress with a large green ribbon, a completely incongruous combination.
They only sold it to me because they couldn't find anyone to buy it.
(That store ended up closed for tax evasion, by the way.)
'I never wanted to wear that dress again.'
But unfortunately, he had a practical job today..
In this form, I looked exactly like the daughter of one of the nouveaux riches, who lacked taste but loved to show off.
Even my hair had turned golden, and I had added some heavy makeup.
With this appearance, there was no chance that we would be recognized as the Second Prince and help him.
However, I was not at all happy about coming out like this.
“You uess servant!
When will you learn how to perform your role properly?!”
It was obvious that I would have to play the role of the arrogant rich girl...
“I'm sorry, ma'am!
Please, let me accompany you!”
Not bad, right?