Writing it down and saying it out loud were different.
'Did you really not notice?'
Lucius studied Emily's expression. Judging by her innocent eyes, she seemed genuinely unsure of her purpose in coming here.
If he was going to confess, he wanted to do it with style, not in a half-assed way. Lucius decided to wait for another opportunity.
“It’s nothing, I’ll just send it again later.”
'Isn't that something very important?'
Emily looked puzzled. Why bother writing another letter when you can just say it now? But she couldn't nitpick at the royal family's words.
“Or can I see the letter I sent you?”
Lucius shook his head again.
“I didn’t bring it, but that’s nothing special. It just said that I was invited to the mansion.”
The more she thought about it, the stranger it became.
It was difficult to guess whether the letter had even arrived at the mansion, whether someone had intercepted it and sent a false reply, and above all, what the culprit's intentions were.
"I'm sorry for making you go by in vain. I will definitely find the culprit."
“Yes, I’ll look into it, so let me know when you find out what’s going on.”
From Lucius's perspective, he was grateful to the culprit who had given him another chance to contact her, but he still felt uneasy without knowing their intentions.
“But I saw earlier that you were personally selecting the flowers to decorate the vase.”
The flowers Emily had collected were placed neatly at the end of the table.
"Oh, I'm bored being home alone. I just started arranging flowers."
Gardening is a much more physically demanding job than you might think, so she's long since relinquished that responsibility to a gardener. Instead, she finds that small-scale flower arrangements are more suited to her needs.
“Really? Is your husband very busy?”
“Yes, I guess he has a lot of work to do.”
Lucius's expression hardened as he heard Killian's story.
When he was learning about Emily, he couldn't help but hear about Killian.
A nobleman with a mafia background? Lucius couldn't stand the thought of such a shallow person marrying Emily for money. It felt like he'd arrived too late and lost the Princess to a villain.
“If you’re bored, you can come play at the palace.”
Since he was not the Empress and would likely be treated like a government official if she entered the palace at the invitation of the Crown Prince, Emily nodded vaguely and immediately changed the subject.
And on the very day they were talking, Killian had just returned home to the mansion early.
Alvin opened his mouth seriously as he received Killian's long frock coat and hat.
“Your Grace, I have something to tell you.”
“What’s going on?”
“His Highness the Crown Prince is here now.”
Killian's face instantly turned cold.
“Why here?”
“You said you came at the madam’s invitation...”
He couldn't wait any longer for Alvin's explanation.
“Tell me where they are right now.”
Killian spoke to him urgently.
“Yes? Yes! In the greenhouse in the flower garden...”
As soon as Alvin finished speaking, Killian left for the greenhouse. It felt like a storm had passed in an instant.
“But I was going to tell you that it was an unknown invitation, but you left.”
Alvin, feeling anxious that something might happen, scratched his head and hurriedly followed behind.
Lucius and Emily were having a longer conversation than expected.
That was thanks to Lucius's constant supply of topics. Emily, who had never been outside the Vancent Empire, found Lucius's travel stories incredibly fascinating.
“Hearing you say that, I really have to go to Robert.”
Robert was the birthplace of all fashions and a cultural powerhouse. Anyone with even the slightest interest in art would undoubtedly want to visit.
At Emily's words, a faint smile appeared on Lucius' lips.
“If you go to Robert, I can guide you.”
"Yes?"
That's when Emily smiled awkwardly and tried to refuse.
“Your Highness, there is no need to do that.”
Killian was entering the greenhouse with a cold face.
Emily jumped to her feet, startled by his arrival at this hour. Alvin followed, panting.
Killian was originally a man of few expressions of emotion. Since his parents' deaths, he had never been truly angry at anyone, nor had he ever smiled.
But there was clearly anger in his eyes as he looked at the Crown Prince.
Angry? Why?
It was possible to feel jealous or angry at the sight of two people together, but Alvin felt that a deeper, darker emotion was a bit excessive.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness, the Crown Prince, but I would like you to return to the palace now.”
Killian's attitude towards the Crown Prince was quite rude.
Even in an era where imperial power was weak, the royal family was still the royal family. His words and actions made Emily and Alvin fidget more and more.
As expected, Lucius stood up from his seat, unable to hide his displeasure.
“I don’t remember ever being greeted by the Marquis.”
“I will give it to you properly when we meet in an official setting.”
“Then, Your Highness, I will escort you to the entrance.”
But Killian wasn't the type to just sit by and watch.
"Alvin, you see him off instead."
'Did you really not notice?'
Lucius studied Emily's expression. Judging by her innocent eyes, she seemed genuinely unsure of her purpose in coming here.
If he was going to confess, he wanted to do it with style, not in a half-assed way. Lucius decided to wait for another opportunity.
“It’s nothing, I’ll just send it again later.”
'Isn't that something very important?'
Emily looked puzzled. Why bother writing another letter when you can just say it now? But she couldn't nitpick at the royal family's words.
“Or can I see the letter I sent you?”
Lucius shook his head again.
“I didn’t bring it, but that’s nothing special. It just said that I was invited to the mansion.”
The more she thought about it, the stranger it became.
It was difficult to guess whether the letter had even arrived at the mansion, whether someone had intercepted it and sent a false reply, and above all, what the culprit's intentions were.
"I'm sorry for making you go by in vain. I will definitely find the culprit."
“Yes, I’ll look into it, so let me know when you find out what’s going on.”
From Lucius's perspective, he was grateful to the culprit who had given him another chance to contact her, but he still felt uneasy without knowing their intentions.
“But I saw earlier that you were personally selecting the flowers to decorate the vase.”
The flowers Emily had collected were placed neatly at the end of the table.
"Oh, I'm bored being home alone. I just started arranging flowers."
Gardening is a much more physically demanding job than you might think, so she's long since relinquished that responsibility to a gardener. Instead, she finds that small-scale flower arrangements are more suited to her needs.
“Really? Is your husband very busy?”
“Yes, I guess he has a lot of work to do.”
Lucius's expression hardened as he heard Killian's story.
When he was learning about Emily, he couldn't help but hear about Killian.
A nobleman with a mafia background? Lucius couldn't stand the thought of such a shallow person marrying Emily for money. It felt like he'd arrived too late and lost the Princess to a villain.
“If you’re bored, you can come play at the palace.”
Since he was not the Empress and would likely be treated like a government official if she entered the palace at the invitation of the Crown Prince, Emily nodded vaguely and immediately changed the subject.
And on the very day they were talking, Killian had just returned home to the mansion early.
Alvin opened his mouth seriously as he received Killian's long frock coat and hat.
“Your Grace, I have something to tell you.”
“What’s going on?”
“His Highness the Crown Prince is here now.”
Killian's face instantly turned cold.
“Why here?”
“You said you came at the madam’s invitation...”
He couldn't wait any longer for Alvin's explanation.
“Tell me where they are right now.”
Killian spoke to him urgently.
“Yes? Yes! In the greenhouse in the flower garden...”
As soon as Alvin finished speaking, Killian left for the greenhouse. It felt like a storm had passed in an instant.
“But I was going to tell you that it was an unknown invitation, but you left.”
Alvin, feeling anxious that something might happen, scratched his head and hurriedly followed behind.
***
Lucius and Emily were having a longer conversation than expected.
That was thanks to Lucius's constant supply of topics. Emily, who had never been outside the Vancent Empire, found Lucius's travel stories incredibly fascinating.
“Hearing you say that, I really have to go to Robert.”
Robert was the birthplace of all fashions and a cultural powerhouse. Anyone with even the slightest interest in art would undoubtedly want to visit.
At Emily's words, a faint smile appeared on Lucius' lips.
“If you go to Robert, I can guide you.”
"Yes?"
That's when Emily smiled awkwardly and tried to refuse.
“Your Highness, there is no need to do that.”
Killian was entering the greenhouse with a cold face.
Emily jumped to her feet, startled by his arrival at this hour. Alvin followed, panting.
Killian was originally a man of few expressions of emotion. Since his parents' deaths, he had never been truly angry at anyone, nor had he ever smiled.
But there was clearly anger in his eyes as he looked at the Crown Prince.
Angry? Why?
It was possible to feel jealous or angry at the sight of two people together, but Alvin felt that a deeper, darker emotion was a bit excessive.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness, the Crown Prince, but I would like you to return to the palace now.”
Killian's attitude towards the Crown Prince was quite rude.
Even in an era where imperial power was weak, the royal family was still the royal family. His words and actions made Emily and Alvin fidget more and more.
As expected, Lucius stood up from his seat, unable to hide his displeasure.
“I don’t remember ever being greeted by the Marquis.”
“I will give it to you properly when we meet in an official setting.”
Killian once again firmly dismissed them. To break the tense standoff between them, Emily reluctantly stepped forward.
But Killian wasn't the type to just sit by and watch.
"Alvin, you see him off instead."
"All right."
Alvin, sweating profusely, cautiously approached Lucius.
“Your Highness, I will escort you.”
“It’s a shame it’s only for a short while, but I’ll take my leave now.”
And as if trying to scratch Killian's insides, he kissed the back of Emily's hand one last time and followed Alvin out.
Everyone left, and he looked at Emily with a cold gaze.
“You should be a little more careful with your actions.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s like inviting a strange man over to your house and flirting with him.”
Emily, whose only crime was entertaining the unexpected visit of the Crown Prince, was so resentful that she almost died.
“You said I was being sarcastic?”
“Especially.”
Killian continued speaking stiffly, without taking his gaze off hers.
“The opponent is the Crown Prince of the Robert Empire, who was rumored to be a debaucher.”
Alvin, who had just returned from seeing Lucius off, hurriedly approached Killian to clear up the misunderstanding.
“Your Grace, this invitation is for His Highness...”
“Alvin, since when have you been able to interrupt me whenever I speak?”
Alvin sweatdropped as he looked back and forth between Killian and Emily.
Emily, too, was afraid of Killian. Few people could project such an intimidating aura against a Crown Prince.
'I forgot for a moment because of his friendly attitude, but he's a mafia.'
But it felt resentful to just back down like that. Emily suppressed her fear and continued speaking calmly.
"I'm disappointed in you, Your Grace. You don't even bother to listen to what I have to say, and you haven't even bothered to listen to Alvin's explanation."
Alvin looked at Emily with a surprised expression. He had never seen anyone criticize Killian to his face.
The lady he thought was only weak and warm was surprisingly not that weak and was secretly strong.
“Let me be clear: I never invited His Highness the Crown Prince.”
At those words, Killian sighed heavily and opened his mouth.
“Then how did the Crown Prince come here?”
“I don’t know that either. His Highness came here after receiving a forged invitation that someone claimed was written by me.”
Killian bit his lip, wondering who he had done something like that to.
“I’ll find out who did it.”
But Emily wasn't happy to hear that.
“No, it’s my job, so I’ll take care of it.”
After finishing speaking, Emily turned around and went to her room.
She snapped at Killian for not apologizing for misunderstanding her, but her heart was still pounding before she closed the door, feeling like she had messed up a bit with the mafia boss.
“Ugh! I'm not your subordinate, I'm your wife—so what?”
It was Emily who was pretending to be strong by shouting into the empty air for no reason.
“Your Grace...”
After Emily left and the two men were alone, Alvin cautiously called out to him.
Although he tried to hide his expression as much as possible, Alvin, who had been watching him from the side for a long time, could tell that Killian was regretting it.
“Alvin, why didn’t you look at it properly earlier?”
"Yes?"
Alvin's eyes widened at the sudden spark.
“You should have clearly stated that she never invited the Crown Prince.”
I've been trying so hard to convey that truth to you all this time! If only he hadn't been the boss, he'd have given him a pat on the head.
Killian also knew that he was taking his anger out on Alvin for nothing.
But he bit his lip hard, feeling like he would explode if he didn't blame someone. He could taste the pungent smell of blood.
But this time, Alvin had no intention of helping Killian. Problems between men and women tend to get more complicated when someone interferes.
“Go now and tell your wife that you were wrong.”
“...I’m tired, so take a bath first.”
Killian also knew that he had to go to Emily and apologize.
But judging by her expression from earlier, it seemed like nothing he said would make her feel better. Besides, Killian wasn't accustomed to apologies.
He didn't dare to face Emily, who was so angry at him.
Alvin glanced at Killian as if he was feeling pitiful, then went back into the mansion alone to get some bath water.
'Ugh. Master, you need to control your temper a bit, too. You always act like this when you get involved with your wife...'
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