He was playing cheap and dirty. Max inwardly insulted his master, swearing that he must grow stronger than him.
"I won't let you live if you do anything to my daughter today," Regis warned. Then, he disappeared into thin air.
Did that mean he wouldn’t be at the mansion? Max had felt insulted at first, but now he was strangely excited.
After changing into clean clothes, Max headed to the Floyen mansion, but he realized something as he grew closer to the estate. He frowned. A carriage?
His mood grew foul the moment he spotted the Elios household seal. It was a rose surrounded by thorns. Reminded of the hypocritical duchy that claimed to be righteous, Max cursed. That damn fox. What did he want from Jubelian this time? Murderous thoughts slowly engulfed him, but he eventually managed to regain his sanity.
They should have been in the drawing-room. With that in mind, Max quickly headed to the side of the building where the window to the drawing-room was located. He peered in and saw Jubelian and Frederich having tea.
"Because you’re so angry, I have no choice but to offer the Flower of the Underworld’s Goddess to you," Frederich said, suggesting a confession.
Max gritted his teeth. The man must have had a death wish.
"Lord Elios, we’ve only met a few times. How could you suddenly say to me something only committed lovers discuss with each other? Frankly, I find this absurd.”
Max nodded in agreement.
She's right. I’m her lover, he silently groused. How dare he talk nonsense like that...
The crown prince began to brainstorm ideas on how to slaughter the nobleman upon hearing the flirtatious words that followed. Fortunately, Jubelian refused the sweet talk without hesitation.
"I'm sorry, Lord Elios. Unfortunately, I am not interested in you."
Max felt his mood improve; he was proud that she was so resolute in her decision. Catching glimpses of his precious lover, Max smiled.
"I understand. This is why I want to take the time to show my strengths."
"There is no need."
"There’s no use. I’ve already made up my mind."
Displeased by his continued efforts despite her refusal, Jubelian was now frowning, but even her exasperated face looked lovely in Max's eyes. The problem, however, was that he wasn’t the only one who found her charming.
"I’ll see you at the hunting competition then, my love."
Max's sense of reasoning evaporated once he heard those last words. ‘My love’? What an utter bastard. He sent Frederich a death glare as he left the drawing room.
Then, he turned his attention to Jubelian and inhaled sharply. She was sighing deeply, anguish etched on her face. Why did she look so troubled? Could she have been swayed by his words?
Max came to a decision: Fredrich, you won't be able to confess because I'm going to win the hunting contest.
Frederich soon left the mansion looking pleased. Max watched as the nobleman strode elegantly to his carriage. Once he was out of sight, Max headed to the entrance of the Floyen mansion.
"Oh, what a surprise to see you here!"
Perhaps it was because of Frederich's visit, but the maid seemed slightly bewildered as she greeted Max. Realizing this, he was now thoroughly irritated. However, he knew he would receive a scolding from Jubelian if he vented his anger out on the maid.
"Take me to your lady,” he instructed.
Once he reached the door to the drawing room, he swallowed nervously. Not only had he witnessed what had happened, but it had also been a while since they had last met. He was excited and nervous at the same time.
She would be glad to see him, Max thought, anticipating her arrival. He was different from that fox.
"Lady Floyen, there’s another guest here to see you,” the maid announced.
Afterward, the door opened, and Max quickly scanned Jubelian’s expression. However, she didn’t welcome him as he had expected. She seemed rather down, and Max felt his heart shatter.
How come? He was once again reminded of the anguished expression on her face. Was she truly swayed by his words?
"Oh, hello, Max.” She greeted him with a smile. "Please, come in.”
Her voice was as sweet as usual, so Max felt his mood improve again. However, such a feeling only lasted for a moment. Her initial reaction continued to bother him, and the jealous child inside him wanted an explanation.
"You seemed somewhat angry just now... Did something happen?" he asked carefully.
"N-No? Nothing happened.”
She was feigning ignorance.
Suppressing the rising anxiety within him, he asked again. "Come on, what happened? Tell me what's wrong, Jubelian.”
There was a moment of hesitation before she blushed. "Well... It's because I haven't seen you for so long,” she said.
Max knew she was lying to avoid a complicated conversation. Nevertheless, her charming expression made him forgive everything. He quickly took her into his arms, and his crimson eyes soon lit up.
Now that it had come to this, he had no choice but to win the hunting competition.
Holding me in his arms, he plopped down onto the couch once we entered my room. We were a little too close for comfort, so I tried to get out of his arms, but it was no use since he only hugged me tighter.
"What's wrong?” he whispered in my ear. "You don’t like this?"
"That... That's not it..."
His fingers slowly climbed up my back, gently caressing the back of my neck, and I shivered. It would have been fine if it ended there, but the heat from the tips of his fingers ignited a fire in my body. I felt my face grow red. Embarrassed, I tried to push him away by his chest.
"Max, don't—" I began. However, he grabbed me by the wrists.
"What happened to your hands?" he asked.
His question reminded me of an important thing I had forgotten about.
"Oh, I finished embroidering the handkerchief for you!" I exclaimed.
"Your fingers became like this because of the embroidery?"
He sighed. I examined my hands, and they were covered in small wounds from constantly pricking myself with the needle. I was somewhat self-conscious of the wounds because they served as proof of my insufficient sewing skills.
I kept my mouth shut. He brought his lips close to my fingers.
"If I had known you were going to get hurt like this, I wouldn't have asked you for the embroidery,” he said.
It was strange. Was he feeling sorry for something as small as this? Suppressing a smile, I looked at him. Unlike before, he looked apologetic, as if he was blaming himself for what happened to my hands.
"Don't worry about it,” I consoled him. "I did it because I wanted to."