TYLSA 14

Chapter 14

…Found him!

“Oh, no, that’s not what I meant.”

“I-I’m so sorry.”

I quickly tried to get up to break free from this embarrassing situation.

“Whoa!”

“Oh dear.”

My body couldn’t keep up with my flustered mind. The man caught my wobbling hand, helping me barely regain my balance.

“Thank you…”

“Don’t mention it.”

He replied as he too sat up. Like me, he was wearing the mask given out at the entrance, so I couldn’t make out his face, but…

‘That blonde hair.’

It was the deep golden blonde that, in *The Prince’s Place*, was described as a color only the imperial family could possess.

‘But why is the timer still decreasing?’

The time limit in the corner of my vision still hadn’t disappeared.

‘Anyway.’

Since wearing a mask was a signal not to recognize someone, I pretended not to know and simply apologized.

“I’m truly sorry. Are you alright?”

The man’s eyes curved slightly behind his mask.

“I’m fine. This is nothing.”

I couldn’t believe it. People who say “I’m fine, just go ahead” after a car accident are usually the scariest ones.

“If you experience any issues with your leg, please don’t hesitate to contact the House of Rozenheyer. We’ll do our best to take care of it.”

“Haha, what an amusing thing to—”

*Say*, the Crown Prince was about to finish his sentence when—

*Thud, crash!*

A sound of something hitting the library door rang out!

‘What was that?’

Just as we exchanged instinctive glances of confusion—

“Ohhh, darling…”

A coquettish woman’s voice seeped through the crack in the door!

“Oh dear.”

At the same time, the quick-thinking Crown Prince grabbed me and swiftly pulled us behind the bookshelf to hide.

Simultaneously, the door burst open with a *bang*!

“Oh, honestly, darling! What if someone heard us?!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. There’s no way anyone would be all the way out here.”

There was. Two of them, in fact.

I shot the Crown Prince a look that said, ‘What do we do?’ He shrugged helplessly, looking just as flustered.

To assess the situation, I peered through the gap between the books on the shelf.

‘Ah, those people…’

It was the couple I’d seen earlier in the corridor on my way here.

‘So that’s why characters who weren’t in the original event showed up—it was because of me…’

It seemed they had come here looking for a secluded spot after being discovered by me earlier.

“…What do you think we should do?”

“!”

Goodness, that startled me.

A low whisper came from so close that it made me jump.

I turned my head with a start to find the Crown Prince bending down to my height, looking out at the room as well.

Then, catching my eye, he flashed me a grin.

The Crown Prince mouthed silently:

‘Ac-com-plice.’

He pointed once at me, once at himself.

“Pfft.”

I barely managed to stifle the laughter that nearly burst out.

“!”

But the sound of laughter, escaping in the quiet room, reached the ears of one of the couple.

The woman pushed away the man who was trying to rush at her and said:

“Darling, darling. Wait. I think someone’s here.”

“What?”

I clamped my mouth shut and rolled my eyes at the Crown Prince.

‘What now?’

My eyes asked the question, and the Crown Prince made a patting motion as if to reassure me.

Then, clenching his fist in front of his lips:

“Ahem, hmph.”

He cleared his throat loudly and rapped his knuckles on the bookshelf.

Naturally, the couple startled and jerked in surprise.

“Oh my, oh my. I don’t know about this. There really is someone here!”

“W-wait, I’m coming too!”

Just as they had arrived, they scrambled and fled out the door in a flash.

“Phew.”

I finally let out the breath I’d been holding and leaned against the bookshelf.

Then, I happened to meet the Crown Prince’s golden eyes.

“…Heh.”

“Hmph.”

For some reason, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Hahaha, haha!”

We didn’t hold back the laughter that burst out, clutching our stomachs for a good while.

“…Really, the world has all sorts of things happen.”

“Indeed it does.”

After the laughter subsided, we exchanged languid glances.

I casually extended my hand and said:

“As you probably know, I’m Yuri Elrose.”

The Crown Prince grinned, took my hand, and pressed a kiss to it.

‘…I was going for a handshake.’

“Adrian Casis, as you probably know as well.”

At the same time, a clear, sweet chime and a ding-dong sound rang out together.

—

<system> You have found ‘that guest’!

<system> You have encountered the Crown Prince, ‘Adrian Casis’!

<system> Under Adrian’s influence, the hidden talents ‘Eloquence’ and ‘Charm’ have manifested!

<system> As a reward for finding that guest, Eloquence increases by 10 and Charm increases by 10.

—

The time limit in the corner of my vision finally disappeared.

‘Ah, right!’

I finally remembered what I’d completely forgotten—that this event concluded and the talents manifested at the moment of ‘receiving a hand kiss from Adrian.’

‘A roundabout way, but I made it to Seoul after all.’

“I didn’t know Your Highness would be here.”

“I didn’t know the lady would come looking for me here.”

“Oh, I was on an errand.”

“An errand?”

“Yes. The Marchioness of Chiantique told me that if I found a guest lazing about, I should say this to them.”

“The Marchioness…?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

I grinned, thinking to myself.

Surely this was the perfect mischievous yet friendly line to start a friendship.

“Your godmother would have said you shouldn’t be lazing around like this, wouldn’t she?”

“…”

The Crown Prince stared at me blankly for a moment. Then, after a beat:

“…Ha, haha, hahahaha!”

…With a chime, he burst into loud laughter.

“No, I apologize. I didn’t realize I had unwittingly joined a game of hide and seek.”

“It’s fine. It wasn’t a game between Your Highness and me, but between the Marchioness and me.”

“Ah, so I was merely the pawn in that game.”

“I’m sorry to say it, but yes.”

At my reply, the Crown Prince burst out laughing once more, finding it utterly amusing.

“I apologize. You speak so wittily that I keep laughing.”

“It’s alright. You don’t need to apologize for laughter that comes naturally.”

I also liked making people laugh, so I smiled warmly without any offense.

“…”

The Crown Prince’s gaze as he looked down at me had grown somewhat gentler.

‘Uh-oh.’

Just as I thought that look might be a bit dangerous—

“Oh, dear.”

Suddenly, the Crown Prince’s smile faded slightly. He took out his pocket watch and checked the time.

“Is it time for you to go?”

“The godmother you mentioned dislikes it when people break their appointments…”

The Crown Prince made an exaggerated groaning sound. I couldn’t help but let out a puff of laughter.

“Then you should be on your way.”

“…Yes, I suppose so.”

The Crown Prince nodded, then said, “Ah,” and asked:

“Shall I escort you on the way out?”

“No, I’m fine. I’m planning to laze around now.”

“Pfft, understood.”

Having succeeded in making the Crown Prince laugh one last time, I waved lightly to see him off.

And as soon as he left…

‘Status window!’

It had been a while since I’d seen it, and the status window had changed like this:

—

<Name: Yuri Elrose>

<True Name: Justienne Lysir Ellaha Rozenheyer>

<Titles: Little Mage, Temporary Apprentice of the Magic Tower Master, Novice Negotiator>

Fame: 50

Mana: 85/1000

Intelligence: 73/1000

Eloquence: 30/1000

Charm: 20/1000

—

…Still a long way to go.

‘Still, this isn’t bad. I’ve already awakened two talents.’

Not bad at all, not bad.

‘Now, this time, the Relationship window.’

With a flutter, the translucent page turned and the Relationship window appeared.

I found the Crown Prince’s name at the very bottom of the familiar messages.

—

Adrian: “What an interesting young lady.”

—

A single line that made me feel proud of how often I’d made him laugh.

‘Since he’s naturally kind-hearted by nature, his impression of me wasn’t bad from the start.’

Compared to those who had been annoyed or said they didn’t want to talk to me from the beginning.

After killing some time, I headed back to the hall where the salon was in full swing.

“During the Muwatan the Great era, the great literary figure Mr. Belob said this: Human thought and emotion can be expressed through the art of language, the supreme…”

But even though I’d deliberately taken my time returning, it seemed pointless—the great literary figure was still delivering his passionate speech.

Many people were nodding along with “Hmm,” and “I see,” trying to seem cultured, but if you looked closely, quite a few were dozing off.

I tried to slip in unnoticed through the back, grabbing a glass of lemonade from the table.

I planned to lean against the wall and sip my lemonade to pass the time, but…

“Oh my, miss! There you are!”

The Marchioness of Chiantique’s bright voice caught my footstep just as I was about to head to the wall with my lemonade.

“Come, come. Quickly, this way.”

‘Oh no…’

I, who had been trying to retreat to the back, was led by the Marchioness’s hand to a seat in the very front row.

“You succeeded perfectly in our little bet. I’d almost want to ask you your secret.”

“How did you…?”

How did she know I’d found the Crown Prince?

Sensing my confusion, the Marchioness pointed to the opposite front row.

At the tip of her finger sat a distinguished-looking elderly lady sitting upright, and beside her…

‘Huh?’

The Crown Prince, wearing a slightly awkward smile, was subtly waving a hand in my direction, hidden from others’ view.