WHYMCF 19

Chapter 19

As she gradually got the hang of using her power, several days passed in the blink of an eye.

Lizbet had been training in the garden as usual and was taking a short break when she realized the sun had already begun to set.

On a small table nearby was a pretty basket of cookies the maids had left for her.

“Still not working today.”

Lizbet picked up a small almond cookie from the basket and popped it into her mouth, staring at the handkerchief in her hand.

Today she had been practicing with that handkerchief.

She had been trying to move her divine power with the wish, “I hope this handkerchief tears.”
But the divine power refused to cooperate.

What am I missing?

Just as Lizbet glared at the handkerchief—

A gentle breeze suddenly snatched it from her hand.

And in an instant, it flew over the garden wall.

“Huh?”

The whole thing happened so quickly that Lizbet blinked in confusion.

But the handkerchief was already gone.

“My handkerchief…”

She muttered helplessly and glanced over the wall with a sigh.

It probably didn’t fly too far, right?

To retrieve it, Lizbet walked out of the mansion grounds.

After greeting the gatekeeper lightly, she followed the wall as sunlight poured down around her.

Eventually, she spotted the pale pink handkerchief lying beneath a large tree.

And a man picking it up.

“…Max?”

At Lizbet’s hesitant call, the man turned his head.

His teal eyes, similar to the color of leaves, sparkled.

The handkerchief in his hand had a small tear along the edge—probably snagged on a branch.

Her wish had technically come true.

“Oh, hi.”

Hearing her voice, Noah gave her an awkward smile.

“Is this yours?”

He lightly waved the handkerchief. When Lizbet nodded, he scratched his head with an embarrassed expression.

His face practically said, “I didn’t plan to get caught like this…”

Lizbet couldn’t help laughing.

“What are you doing in front of my house?”

Pretending to be casual, Noah answered,

“Uh… I suddenly thought of you and wondered if you were around here. Anyway… you’re not hurt anywhere, right?”

Ah. He must have seen the newspaper article about me.

He was a more diligent and meddlesome prince than she expected.

Lizbet quietly swallowed a smile.

His teal eyes shone brightly in the sunlight.

“Yeah, I’m not hurt.”

“…Really?”

“My little brother put medicine on it.”

“Ah.”

Realizing what she meant, Noah nodded blankly.

Then his expression twisted into a frown.

Ah, now he’s probably thinking he came here for nothing.

Lizbet giggled as if she could read his thoughts. Hearing that, Noah frowned even deeper.

Soon he said his goodbyes quickly.

“Really? Then that’s good. I’ll get going.”

“Wait, Max.”

Since he had come all the way here, she couldn’t just let him leave.

With a hint of mischief, Lizbet reached out and grabbed his arm.

Her skin, warm from the sunlight, met his cool body temperature.

Noah frowned and looked back and forth between her hand on his arm and her face. His lips parted as if he wanted to ask something, but no words came out.

Instead, Lizbet spoke like she was giving an order.

“Grab my wrist.”

“What?”

“I said grab my wrist.”

“….”

Though puzzled, Noah grabbed her wrist.

And the moment he did—

A dull pain struck him, and he lost consciousness.

How much time had passed?

Noah woke up in a luxurious room.

A sweet fragrance filled his nose.

“Ugh…”

Still feeling the lingering pain in his head, Noah rubbed his forehead and sat up.

Hearing him groan, Lizbet quickly set down the pen she had been holding and hurried over to the sofa where he lay.

“You’re awake?”

“Hey, what the—”

“Sorry. I messed up controlling my strength.”

Her voice sounded a little too shameless, but apparently that was the explanation.

Noah let out a dry laugh and looked around.

Lizbet also glanced around the room.

Does it look a bit luxurious?

There weren’t many extravagant pieces of furniture, but maybe it looked that way to Noah. She just hoped he didn’t get a negative impression.

Lizbet waited nervously for his judgment, but fortunately he only asked,

“Is this your room?”

“Yeah. You can just call me the Lady of Armierosha now.”

Noah glanced at her and shrugged.

“So now you want me to properly call you ‘Lady’?”

“That’s not necessary…”

“Good. I wasn’t planning to.”

His shamelessness was about equal to hers, which made Lizbet laugh in disbelief.

Grinning in response, Noah continued,

“Anyway, what did you do to me?”

“Well… I’m developing a technique.”

“What kind?”

“A kind of… self-defense technique?”

Hearing that, Noah sighed.

“So I got knocked out by divine power?”

When it came to the Armierosha family, divine power was the first thing anyone thought of.

Lizbet nodded sheepishly.

“Yeah…”

“At least it’s not embarrassing to say I fainted from heatstroke.”

Noah scratched his head.

Lizbet apologized again, but Noah waved his hand as if telling her to stop.

“Well, it’s definitely better than saying I passed out from heat. Still… that’s one impressive self-defense technique.”

“Really?”

“Knocking someone out just by touching them? Sounds effective enough.”

As Noah muttered in resignation, Lizbet’s face brightened instantly.

It felt like he was acknowledging her effort.

Seeing her expression, Noah quickly cleared his throat.

But Lizbet didn’t notice and murmured excitedly,

“I’m glad I finally got the hang of it.”

“…Didn’t you just say you couldn’t control the strength?”

Noah muttered awkwardly, then added quietly,

“Still better than something half-baked.”

Lizbet smiled brightly at that.

Noah glanced at her again before hesitating.

“But you… if you’re the Lady of Armierosha…”

Did he have another reason for coming besides checking on her?

Lizbet looked at him curiously as he trailed off.

“What about me?”

“I was wondering… if you attend imperial events or things like that.”

“…If it’s that, Father or my younger brother usually go instead. My sister is with the knight order. And since I just broke off my engagement with the First Prince, I don’t get many invitations anyway…”

“Thought so.”

Noah nodded thoughtfully.

For some reason, there seemed to be a hint of relief on his face.

Lizbet stared at him in confusion.

Soon Noah shook his head.

“Well, you seem fine now, so I’ll get going.”

“You fainted because of me. At least let me—”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.”

Shaking off Lizbet’s attempt to stop him, Noah headed toward the door.

But before he could open it, someone opened it from the other side.

“Sister, did that person wake up?”

Once again, Lizbet could tell exactly what Noah was thinking.

This is insane.

She turned her gaze and saw Claude standing in the doorway, his pupils shaking violently as soon as he spotted Noah.

Come to think of it, Claude goes to the imperial palace often. He’s probably seen Noah’s face plenty of times.

So he must have recognized him instantly.

And Noah, of course, too.

This wasn’t a situation she had intended, but it had become interesting.

Lizbet smiled brightly as she looked between the two of them.

* * *

Claude Armierosha.

The youngest candidate for a court priest.

Naturally, Noah had met Claude at the imperial palace before and recognized his face.

This is insane.

Thinking exactly what Lizbet had predicted, Noah looked back and forth between the two pairs of identical pink eyes.

Every time Lizbet called him “Max,” Claude’s pupils trembled slightly.

And Noah knew Claude’s personality very well.

Right now, the boy was probably experiencing intense internal conflict.

Seriously, who would’ve thought I’d end up in the Lady’s bedroom like this?!

Feeling unfairly trapped in this situation, Noah could only swallow his complicated emotions.