Chapter 7.1

“The princess is already resting inside.” Baroness Robert, whom he met in the hallway, left as soon as she delivered the news, looking suspiciously knowledgeable.

‘This is absurd! Everyone knew of the plan beforehand and conveniently forgot to inform me? Even Joseph!”

Kaon realized again that he had no one he could fully trust in this world.

He stared at the closed door, letting out a long sigh. He couldn’t stand like that forever, but he hardly had the courage to enter and face the princess.

His gaze turned to the nearest window for no particular reason other than to buy a little more time for himself, but he found himself unable to look away. Much like the situation Kaon was in, his reflection was ridiculous.

“What the hell happened to my head?”

It looked like a magpie’s nest. His habit of running fingers through his hair when something didn’t go as planned had struck again.

Kaon hurriedly began to comb the strands back into place.

Creak.

He looked back and found Alessia peeking out of the slightly open door.

“…”

“…”

His fingers were still in his hair, so he couldn’t pretend that he was just looking outside and not using the window as a makeshift mirror. Kaon lowered his hands awkwardly. He didn’t like nor make a habit of grooming himself in front of people, especially in front of ladies.

It couldn’t have looked good for a knight to be caught doing that. Also, it made him seem overly conscious of her. He wasn’t, but if she understood, it would be a big deal.

“Oh, so this one opens to the outside too. I entered from that one,” she said, smiling and pointing to the door on her left.

It wasn’t strange for a suite to have two doors, but the princess understandably didn’t know that given that she had just arrived.

He didn’t know if it was intentional or not, but whenever he felt at a loss for words, she always led the conversation, so Kaon was grateful.

Alessia didn’t stop there, as she pulled the door open and gestured to him. “Come on in. We’ll be sharing a room, right?” she said, bringing up the topic he had been agonizing over the entire time so very easily.

There were no signs of displeasure on her face. Rather, she looked so calm that she made Kaon’s nervousness seem strange.

“I think this one is your room. I’m sorry for entering it without asking for permission, I was wondering if both sides had the same structure. It’s the first time I’ve seen a room like this.”

“It’s okay to be curious. I don’t mind it.”

The two walked further into the room together. The way the place was arranged was very nice; it was obvious that a lot of care was put into it considering who the occupants would be. Kaon breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that there were separate bathrooms and a bed in each room.

He looked around absent-mindedly, then paused.

“Aren’t the curtains cute?”

“…I will ask for them to be replaced as soon as possible.”

Sky-blue lace hung from the top of the passage that connected their rooms, so thin and delicate that could still see the silhouettes of the furniture on the other side. A sorry excuse for curtains is what it was.

The atmosphere evoked by the flimsy fabric was strange.

“Princess,” Kaon, determined to get rid of the offending curtains, cautiously called out to Alessia.

‘I’m sorry you have to share a suite with me, and I know it’s going to be uncomfortable, but please feel free to stay here. Just treat it like you would a normal room.’

He had to open his mouth to at least say that much. Not as a Ferdinand, but as her fiancé.

“Prince? Prince Ferdinand? Prince Kaon Ferdinand?”

“…”

“Kaon?”

He jolted.

Alessia hummed his name several times, tilting her head slightly as she looked at him. “Shouldn’t we call each other a little more comfortably now? Even though we’re only engaged…” Her red eyes blinked slowly, as if eager for an answer.

Kaon knew he was supposed to say something, anything, but his mouth felt clumsy. The sound of her saying his name echoed in his head. The name he had heard all his life seemed unfamiliar to him at that moment.

‘Had my name ever sounded so soft? I don’t think so. No one had ever called me so gently before.’

“I apologize if that was rude. I just want to be a little closer…” She bit her lip, red coloring her cheeks.

“No, no, it wasn’t rude at all. I will also call you by your name, so it would be better if you continued calling me by mine,” Kaon reassured her, waving his hands around even as his eyes remained glued to her pale eyelashes.

Princess Alessia pressed her hands to her chest and sighed in relief.

If another person had done that, he would have thought that they were being too much. But in Alessia’s case, her movements suited her—they made her look adorable.