“Lady Katarina, you have a visitor,” one of my servants told me.
Oh? It isn’t often that my servants come to inform me of visitors. Normally, my childhood friends came to hang around Claes Manor as if it were their second home. The servants didn’t usually go to the trouble of telling me when they arrived. Who on earth could it be? I wondered in bemusement, as I quickly got dressed and headed to the room where my visitor was said to be waiting for me. There I found the very person I had announced I was going to see today.
“Cezar, what brings you here?” I asked, so surprised that I forgot to give a proper greeting.
When Cezar saw my expression, his eyes narrowed.
“Yesterday, we didn’t have another chance to talk after being separated at the Ministry, but I couldn’t help but wonder if you were feeling all right. Are you?”
Yesterday, my loss of control over my Dark Magic—as well as the things that mystery man had said—had left me quite shaken.
So Cezar was concerned about me and came to check up on me. He’s so kind.
“Yes. I feel much better after a good night’s sleep.” Feeling all better after a hearty meal and a good night’s sleep was one of my special skills.
“Really? Glad to hear it,” said Cezar with a relieved expression, before asking, “How did your questioning go?”
“Let me see... Well, a couple of superiors I know very well asked me a lot of detailed questions,” I answered. Then I remembered admitting that—in the midst of our emergency—Cezar had bitten me on the nose. This was not only a blemish on my honor, but on Cezar’s as well, so I felt like I should tell him what I’d said. “Erm, well, during the meeting, I ended up having to explain what you did to startle me in order to bring me to my senses. Sorry about that,” I apologized.
“No, I was pretty sure they’d ask about that. I’m sorry for doing such a thing—though it was on the spur of the moment, during an emergency,” said Cezar, before bowing his head.
“Oh, but if you hadn’t saved me then, I don’t know what might have happened. I actually needed to thank you, so you shouldn’t apologize,” I insisted, waving my hand dismissively.
Cezar finally raised his head.
“It’s such a relief to hear you say that,” he said with a smile.
“Although, I was shocked when you brought your face so close to mine. I wasn’t sure what you would do,” I said, remembering the fateful moment.
Cezar grinned like a mischievous child.
“Could it be that you thought I was going to kiss you?”
“Eh? K-Kiss me?!”
Does he mean a kiss on the lips?! Eh? No way was I expecting that!
When Cezar saw how flustered I looked, he chuckled.
“You know, like this,” he said, before bringing his face close to mine. I froze. Now that his face was close to mine, I was shocked by just how elegant and sexy it was. His face had changed from mere moments ago when he was teasing me. Now his expression was serious. “Katarina, I—” he began.
But right after he opened his mouth, the door swung open with a bang. The person who’d thrown the door open stormed into the room, grabbed me by the shoulders, and pulled me toward themselves.
“Prince Cezar,” they said in a severe tone of voice, “can I ask you not to approach my fiancée so casually?”
This was harsh enough that, if someone had said it to me, I would have apologized immediately, but Cezar responded with an elegant greeting.
“Prince Jeord, what a surprise. I must thank you for your hospitality.”
“You are welcome,” Jeord said, his brow furrowed.
This sounded just barely like a greeting. However, when I considered that he was speaking to another royal, I realized that this might lead to some trouble. Normally, Jeord would never conduct himself this way.
“More importantly, Prince Cezar, what brings you to my fiancée’s home?”
“Ah, yesterday, Lady Katarina and I found ourselves caught up in an incident together, so I was worried how she was getting on, and came to pay her a visit.”
“Thank you so much for going to all that trouble. However, Katarina is my fiancée, so you may feel free to let me worry about her instead.”
Although Jeord’s hostility was on full display—which was rare for him—Cezar dealt with him without ever disrupting his own easygoing attitude.
“I see. But since we fought together yesterday, I could not help but worry. Moreover, I had something for which I wished to apologize.” Cezar then paused and turned to look at me, smiling as if to say, “Right?”
Eh? He wanted to apologize for something. Don’t tell me this is about him biting my nose?! If so, I want him to know I’m fine now.
“Erm, regarding that, I really am fine now. Please, Cezar, you forget about it too,” I said, waving my hand again.
It was not Cezar who responded, but Jeord. Still grasping my shoulders, he twitched as he spoke.
“Did you call him...Cezar?”
It was my turn to jump at his severe tone of voice. Oh, shoot. I was so flustered that I addressed him without his title, like I do when it’s just the two of us. Worried that Jeord was about to get angry with me for my impertinence, I was about to make some excuse.
But before I could open my mouth, Cezar answered for me.
“Don’t worry, I asked her to call me that. Lady Katarina and I have become quite friendly.”
After he said this, I felt Jeord’s grip on my shoulders tighten. Wondering why, I looked up at Jeord’s face to see his brows knitted, his expression even more severe than before. Normally, he always wore a princely smile, and made an effort not to let his true feelings show. It was simply out of the question for Jeord to reveal such agitation to any stranger, let alone a foreign royal.
I started to worry, and was about to say something, but this time it was Jeord who spoke before I could.
“When you talk of how friendly you are with Katarina, could you be referring to that thing you did with the aim of startling her?” said Jeord with a voice so icy that it chilled me to my core. I stood there with my mouth hanging open.