* * *

‘No, this can’t be happening.’

I thought as I looked at the person in front of me. The deity of this world… It was clear that they either hated me or they were perverts!

“Greetings to His Highness, the Crown Prince, and Lady Dayworth…”

“We don’t need such formal greetings between us. We’re close like old friends.”

“That’s right. Why would we need formalities between us?”

“Yes… It’s been a while since we last met, Your Highness, Lady.”

Of all times, why now?!

Just when Dylan mentioned they would be a little late, I hastily greeted the knights and tried to escape the palace. However, the Crown Prince who had left the palace returned.

…And he was with Lily Dayworth.

Of all times to run into each other.

If they acted familiarly toward me, naturally, everyone’s attention would be drawn to them. I thought to myself, with the corners of my mouth turned up.

Ah, please don’t pretend to be close to me…

Sigh…

While I had intended to leave immediately, I ended up being dragged by Lily, who held both of my hands, into the Crown Prince’s palace. Even though I told her that I would greet her formally next time, she insisted that there was no need for such a pretense between us.

…And I was dragged unwillingly, complaining.

Lily seemed to have greatly, very greatly, built up her stamina over the past year. She was incredibly strong, really…

“If we had come a little later, we would have missed the tea time with Dame Love. It’s a good thing we left right away.”

“That’s right. I wanted to hear your story.”

Ugh… I had to force a smile in front of the piled-up snacks that appeared in an instant. Judging by the amount, it seemed like we could enjoy tea time for at least three hours. Despite the fact that I worked hard to avoid them, in the end, I came all the way to the Crown Prince’s palace.

“I heard from the other knights that you returned to the capital a few days ago.”

“Yes.”

“Though I didn’t know anything about it! How could you do that between us? You didn’t even want to see me?”

Lily expressed her resentment to me.

“O-of course, I wanted to see you.”

I tried to sneak my hand out of Lily’s grasp, but she held it tightly again. Although her face was kind and pitiful, her strength was incredibly overwhelming.

“Really, you didn’t contact me at all! You said you would contact me as soon as you settled down!”

“Ahaha… That’s because settling down wasn’t easy, so…”

I tried to slip my hand out again, but this time, she held it tighter and stronger.

“Is a friend nothing to you? If you had contacted me, I would have been helpful no matter what! And by the way, you left without leaving any contact information. I’m really upset!”

As Lily’s eyes filled with tears in a resentful state, I panicked and tried to comfort her. I couldn’t become the villainess who made the female lead cry in front of the male lead.

Look! The Crown Prince was glaring at me already when I just blinked my eyes!

“L-Lady! I’ll do it, I’ll contact you! I even prepared a proper gift and wanted to enjoy tea time with you for a long, long time!”

At those words, Lily opened her eyes wide, with tears still welling up.

“…Really?”

“O-of course! Actually, the first thing that came to my mind was you!”

Let’s do it, social life.

Finally, with a smile that seemed to please Lily, she wiped off the tears. The female lead clearly possessed the ability to shed tears at will.

Anyway, I survived the crisis of death and secretly wiped away my cold sweat.

“Because it’s Dame Love’s words, I’ll believe you. Have you been well during this time?”

“Yes. I’ve been really busy setting up a new business. How about you? In my opinion, both of you are still looking good.”

It wasn’t just empty words.

They were much more elegant and beautiful, probably because they didn’t have any adversity or interference, especially Lily Dayworth. Even though I didn’t know if it was a female lead’s buff, she was sparkling. She was wearing the large pink diamond necklace and earrings that I saw in the original story.

Originally, she would have been kidnapped on the day she received that gift. It was also an event that soured the relationship between Prince Jed and Kairos.

Now that there was no longer a need for it, I could comfortably look at it.

Sniff, I knew getting the slush fund was a bad idea.

Regrets I had forgotten came rushing back. Lily’s expression softened noticeably as she heard my words.

“Is that so? Dame Love, it seems like you’ve got a lot of good things happening in nearly a year. You’ve become so beautiful that my eyes are almost blinded. I suppose His Highness sees it, too, right?”

“Huh? I only see you.”

“….”

In that moment, I had to desperately hold back a frown to form on my face. I had to endure it no matter what. Suppress… Ha! Suppress… Ha!

They were blindly in love.

Suppress…! Suppress…!

They had to be fine for my happy ending.

Suppress…. Suppress…

Meanwhile, Lily’s eyes were welling up. And yet, her cheeks blushed in a mischievous way. Oh no, don’t look at me like that.

I should leave quickly.

“Hahaha! You two look really good together.”

“Do we?”

The Prince smiled widely, seemingly in a good mood.

“Of course, why not?”

I had an impulse to hide the corners of my lips, which threatened to be down in a frown, though I had to keep my hands clasped together to be polite.

However, this wasn’t the right time… It was not appropriate to be so cheerful right now due to the recent incident. After all, the Prince and Lily had been fighting the monster who had taken down the stone wall before they got back to the palace, and besides, they’d gone off to check on the location themselves.

Then, I met Jed’s gaze.

His eyes had suddenly become firm, and his smile only raised the corners of his mouth slightly, instantly calming the atmosphere. Even though I didn’t know if it was the male lead’s buff, he had a way of controlling the atmosphere with just one expression, making me think of my husband.

“I heard on the way here that you did something big today. I tried not to talk about work, yet I have to acknowledge your excellence.”

Oh no, if anyone heard, they would think I did it all alone.

At the thought, I clapped my hands immediately.

It was not good to hear the Prince’s praise in front of others. If I get caught, I would be the only one at a disadvantage.

“I was just there for a moment. I didn’t do anything, I was just wandering around in the back.”

“Is that so? Dylan said he helped find the new illusionist. You truly are an indispensable talent here.”

I reluctantly agreed inwardly.

‘Dylan… I’ll keep an eye on you.’

I couldn’t believe Dylan just walked right up to him and threatened me. This was a threat! If he wanted to help me, he should have kept it from him no matter what I did, or at least said I didn’t do anything!

“No! Dylan just exaggerated. I was too busy rolling around to do anything. It’s been a year, and I’ve become… weak! Ahaha! I guess I wasn’t cut out to be a knight.”

“That’s not true. You’re too humble for your abilities.”

“That’s right. Dame Love has that side.”

“You’re a truly precious talent. Someone who should work for the kingdom more than anyone else. As you said, while I’m here, you should consider rejoining the Knight Order…”

I slapped my thigh and changed the subject. Even though it worked in changing the topic, Jed and Lily’s expressions darkened slightly.

“First, the injured are focusing on their recovery. It may take some time to rebuild the collapsed walls.”

“Ah… I see. What about tracking the monster?”

I hadn’t heard any news yet whether they had entered the capital or returned as they were.

According to Dylan, the appearance of the monster that broke the wall was completely different from the one that attacked the palace, so if that were true, two new follower monsters appeared in the capital in just one day.

“Fortunately, they couldn’t get inside. It seems the temporary protective barrier we set up when the wall collapsed worked well. It couldn’t prevent physical damage, but we managed to drive the monster away.”

“Ah, that’s really fortunate.”

“With the increasing appearance of monsters and sudden incidents like today, I’m worried. For now, we plan to conduct a thorough inspection of the palace and its surroundings.”

Lily subtly suggested that it would be a good idea. Indeed, she had no flaws as a female lead. While she was the female lead, she still treated me with respect and took care of me.

“There are rumors of a group that worships evil, so we plan to investigate that as well. It seems there are discreet gatherings of individuals.”

“Huh? A group that worships evil?”

—