ITHMF 20

Chapter 20

“Why is that? Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

I wanted to ask what was wrong, but Kairaan’s expression was too terrible. His face, which was usually relaxed and gentle, had hardened so much that the atmosphere turned icy cold, making it impossible even to speak to him.

*Hmm, I should just stay quiet.*

I casually averted my gaze and looked back toward the flower carriage.

Even amidst all this, the selection was still ongoing. The carriage that had passed by so slowly had now completed one loop around the square and was reappearing.

“But when will they actually do the selection?”

“Soon, probably.”

The moment Kairaan finished speaking, the Crown Prince stepped down from the flower carriage.

Oh! Looks like they’re about to pick now.

I watched the Crown Prince’s movements with great interest. He chose a girl around his age as the Flower Goddess. As soon as he reached out his hand, the girl’s cheeks flushed red with joy, her face beaming with excitement.

“Waaaaah! Long live His Highness the Crown Prince! Long live the Flower Goddess!”

Following the thunderous cheers, I also clapped my hands. Then, once again, my eyes met the Crown Prince’s.

“Huh, this time it doesn’t seem like a mistake…”

I could dismiss it once as a coincidence, but twice was strange. There was no reason for him to look this way twice… Ah!

I turned to look at Kairaan standing beside me.

“Come to think of it, Kairaan, aren’t you close with the Crown Prince?”

“Well, to some extent. Why do you ask?”

“He’s been looking this way since earlier. We’ve made eye contact twice already.”

I whispered in a small voice, careful not to let anyone else overhear.

While Kairaan and I were talking, the flower carriage, having fulfilled its duty, was already making its way out of the square.

*Is it over just like that? That was less impressive than I thought.*

As I watched the carriage growing distant, Kairaan asked in a low voice.

“He was looking at you?”

“Probably not me—he was probably trying to look at you, and I just happened to be in the way, don’t you think?”

It made more sense that he was looking at his friend rather than a complete stranger like me, right? But he sure has good eyesight. How did he spot Kairaan here so quickly?

As I wondered about that, I looked at Kairaan’s unrealistically handsome face and understood.

*Hmm! If I had a face like that, I’d recognize him right away too.* As I nodded to myself, Kairaan slightly furrowed his brow.

“I told you not to take an interest… He’s coming to confirm it for himself, I see.”

Kairaan ran a hand through his hair as if he had a headache and muttered under his breath.

What did he say?

The surroundings were too noisy for me to hear him clearly. Just as I was about to ask again, unable to contain my curiosity, a knight approached and bowed politely.

“Lord Sepneun, I have a message for you.”

“What is it?”

His voice was as calm as ever, but the look Kairaan gave the knight was icy cold. The fact that he didn’t ask who it was suggested he was somewhat acquainted with this knight.

The knight, who seemed momentarily flustered, glanced briefly at me.

Huh? Why is he looking at me?

But before I could even feel bewildered, Kairaan stepped in front of me protectively. *Oh, feeling delicate like this is thrilling!* I’d never been protected like this before, so even in this serious situation, a playful feeling kept bubbling up inside me.

*No, I must hold back.*

Pressing my lips tight to stop them from twitching, I focused on the conversation.

“His Highness the Crown Prince has requested the presence of both of you.”

“Why us…”

As Kairaan frowned as if he’d expected this, the knight handed him a note. *What is it! Show me too!* Instinctively, I stood on my tiptoes to sneak a peek at the contents.

—

[Don’t you think we should have a proper, deep conversation between friends after so long? I’d like to be introduced to your new friend, so make sure to bring them along. That’s an order.]

—

*Oh, is that ‘new friend’ referring to me? I never thought the sub male lead would know about me!*

Filled with curiosity, I tried to read the note again, but Kairaan mercilessly crumpled it. He was about to throw it on the ground when I barely managed to stop him.

*No matter how much you dislike it, you shouldn’t do that with something the Crown Prince gave you!*

It was better not to let others see such disrespectful behavior.

Kairaan, who had flinched at my touch, stood still with my hand holding his. To smooth things over, I randomly started talking to the knight.

“Why do you think His Highness the Crown Prince called for me? I don’t even know him…”

“Um, I’m not sure. I’m just delivering what His Highness told me to…”

“Oh, I see. Haha.”

As awkward laughter filled the air, Kairaan gradually regained his composure. His expression didn’t change much, but the atmosphere around him had subtly shifted.

*This should be fine.* As I discreetly let go of Kairaan’s hand, the knight spoke up as if he’d been waiting.

“Then, please allow me to escort you.”

*It’s probably right to go, isn’t it?*

Still, it was the command of a nation’s Crown Prince, so it seemed best to obey.

I tugged Kairaan along and followed the knight. I’d expected him to refuse to go, but surprisingly, he came along obediently.

“Why do you dislike it so much?”

“Because I hate it when people only use sly tricks.”

*Well, that’s true.*

From the situation, it seemed the Crown Prince had wanted to see me for some time. The note specifically mentioned bringing the new friend, so that was clear. And Kairaan didn’t seem to want to show me off…

So now he was in a situation where he had to play along with this trick even though he knew it, and that was probably what he didn’t like.

“Still, since we’re going, let’s go with a happy heart!”

When I coaxed him gently, his mood seemed to improve a little, and Kairaan’s demeanor became much softer than before. Relieved, I followed the knight diligently until a luxurious carriage came into view.

*Oh! The seats look so plush.*

As soon as we boarded, the carriage set off toward our destination. Before long, we arrived at the Crown Prince’s villa.

“Wow, even the exterior is amazing.”

“The royals tend to like things flashy.”

I took in the villa’s building as I listened to Kairaan.

The building was so sparkling and grand that it was hard to believe it was just a villa. The outer walls were painted in a harmonious mix of white and blue, conveying the coolness of the sea, and the large statues adorned with jewels scattered throughout the garden were majestic, as if showing off the dignity of the royal family. The well-maintained, colorful flowers especially made me want to take a stroll.

The knight led us to the reception room and then left without hesitation.

The porcelain and ornaments placed as decorations clearly looked expensive. Just selling the items here would probably be enough to buy a decent mansion.

I was carefully touching the ornaments with my fingertip when I was startled by the door bursting open and turned my head.

“Ian! You came!”

“You… Since words don’t work, you’re resorting to orders now?”

“But if I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have come all the way here, would you?”

The person who appeared through the door was Payron d’Arheldia, the Crown Prince of the Arheldian Empire and the sub male lead of the original story.

I was mesmerized, staring at Payron and recalling the original description piece by piece.

Jet-black hair, eyes like inlaid rubies, and a finely sculpted nose and lips. Kairaan was also amazing, but this guy was even better in person!

*My eyes are truly blessed today.*

Payron smiled playfully and exchanged greetings with Kairaan. After staring intently at his grinning face, Kairaan let out a sigh.

Once they finished talking, Payron turned his gaze to me, as if he’d been waiting.

“So you’re Ian’s new friend?”

“Uh… Yeah. Ah, hi?”

Pulling myself together, I awkwardly waved my hand.

*Ah, should I have used formal speech?*

He probably sees me as an ordinary human. I realized belatedly after speaking. I’d already mentally maxed out my familiarity with him and ended up talking to him the same way I talked to Kairaan.

But Payron didn’t seem to care about that at all; he just stared at me with curious eyes.

*But isn’t he looking a little too close?* Just as I thought our eyes might cross, Kairaan stopped him.

“Don’t look so closely. You’re making her uncomfortable.”

“Oh, sorry. Were you uncomfortable? I was just trying to get a good look.”

Payron smiled sheepishly and extended his hand toward me. It seemed like he wanted to shake hands, so I instinctively took his hand. He then shook my arm up and down vigorously.

“Let me formally introduce myself. I’m Payron d’Arheldia. A friend of Kairaan’s.”

“Oh, I’m Serinel Admund.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, you too.”

“I’ve been really curious about you, so I’m glad I got to meet you like this. I used a bit of power since Ian absolutely seemed like he had no intention of introducing you. I hope I didn’t upset you?”

“Not at all. Don’t worry.”

“You’re quite generous, aren’t you?”

Payron grinned as he studied me. Then he guided us to a table set with a variety of desserts.

*Wow, they all look delicious!*

As I looked at the table with sparkling eyes, Payron gestured for us to eat.

“I prepared these for you. Eat as much as you like.”

“Thank you.”

After expressing my sincere gratitude, I pulled a nearby cake toward me. On top of the white cream cake were strawberries and peaches, my favorites.

I stabbed a strawberry with my fork and popped it straight into my mouth. The tangy burst of fruit juice made my whole body tingle.

*Well, he doesn’t seem to mind me speaking informally. Since he’s not saying anything. Still, should I ask to be polite?*

As I savored the fluffy cake, Kairaan asked flatly.

“So, why did you call us?”

“What do you mean, why? I called you because I wanted to get to know Serinel. And it’s been a while since I saw your face too.”

“Now that you’ve seen us, can we go?”

“As if I’d let you. No, why are you so desperate to hide her?”

Payron frowned slightly, as if he couldn’t understand.

*Hmm, that’s probably because I told him not to tell anyone he met me.* Since my identity was what it was, Kairaan seemed to be taking considerable precautions.

Kairaan let out a long sigh and seemed reluctant to say more. Payron grumbled about him stopping mid-sentence and then turned his head toward me.

*Hmm, that’s a look full of curiosity, isn’t it?*

Swallowing my cake, I waited for the impending question. Sure enough, Payron asked shortly after.

“I’m curious—how did you become friends with Ian?”

“We just became friends somehow. Kairaan visited me often.”

*To be precise, I went to the cave, but I decided to skip the details.* Come to think of it, Kairaan did come looking—though it was for the cave, not for me.

Hearing my words, Payron’s eyes widened in surprise.

“That’s unexpected. He’s not the type to invest that much interest in others. I had to really push to become his friend.”

The story of how they became friends was never properly covered in the original. It only mentioned briefly that Payron had approached him first.

Intrigued by this interesting story, I asked with sparkling eyes.

“He must have really liked you, then? Since you were the one who initiated the friendship?”

“Yeah, something like that? He’s straightforward, you know? It sounds cliché, but I liked his lack of pretense. But lately, I wish he’d flatter me a little. He’s brutally honest with me—or rather, he’s harsh.”

Payron sighed and shook his head. Kairaan scoffed as if he found it ridiculous. It was a cynical look he’d never shown me.

*Seeing them like this, they do seem to get along well in their own way?*

Watching the two who seemed to clash yet fit together, I held back my laughter.