Odelia closed the door and, upon seeing her reflection in the mirror, swallowed a "hic" scream. "Is this thing charged with electricity?" She sighed, running her hands through her hair, which had swollen like a lion's fur.
"Why on earth did you come here so early in the morning?
The maids who came in to help change clothes moved busily and exchanged glances with each other.
"Oh, Lady Odelia. I guess you didn't notice because you went to bed early last night."
"Yes?"
As Odelia blinked, another maid added:
"His Highness Calix slept here yesterday."
"Yes?!"
When Odelia looked at the maids with a bewildered expression, they smiled slyly. The maids, though a bit rough, were polite and gentle, and they quickly warmed to their young lady.
Did you sleep in the guest room?
"So, that's what happened...?"
One of the maids approached, holding a dress hanging on a hanger.
"How about this pink dress today?"
"Isn't this color too lovely for me to wear?"
When Odelia waved her hand, unable to hide her awkward expression, the maids all laughed.
"This is the color of Lady Odelia's cheeks right now~."
Odelia glanced at the mirror, confirmed that her cheeks were indeed flushed redder than the pink dress, and covered her face with both hands.
Then, feeling a gaze on her, Odelia turned her head in embarrassment. One of the maids gasped.
"Why are you like that? Do you have anything to say?
When Odelia asked, the maid hesitated for a moment and then slightly shook her head.
"I... no, it's nothing, Lady Odelia. I'll help you get back to your normal clothes."
Last night, she happened to see His Highness Calix coming out of Lady Odelia's room. She couldn't bring herself to say that.
If Lady Odelia truly didn't know, what on earth was His Highness doing in her room? The mere thought of it felt like an impure deed, so the maid decided not to say anything.
And Odelia had no way of knowing that she was having such worries.
After changing into her uniform, Odelia headed back to the dining room, where Calix and the Grand Duchess were waiting for her as usual. Perhaps because it was her first time having a meal with Calix like this so early in the morning, her heart felt a subtle pounding.
Odelia, pretending nothing happened, spoke cautiously to Calix.
"I heard you were sleeping in the guest room. You don't wake me up."
Calix put down his glass and answered calmly.
"You seem to be sleeping so soundly that you wouldn't even notice if someone carried you. I feel bad for you snoring, so how can I wake you up?"
"I snored, I snored?!"
The Grand Duchess's expression hardened slightly as she stared at Calix. However, Odelia, too dull to grasp the implications of his words, seemed unable to grasp them. Watching her, the Grand Duchess unconsciously shook her head.
Calix laughed heartily and continued to tease Odelia.
"It was ringing in the hallway."
"Don't joke around, Your Highness...!"
Just as Odelia was speaking in protest, the butler appeared holding a newspaper. The Grand Duchess accepted it, swallowed it, and then her expression hardened slightly.
A newspaper headline reported the brutal deaths of two children of a Count who had been robbed. Next to their small portraits was a series of sentences emphasizing the horror of the incident.
"Oh my goodness, how could something so unpleasant happen in the middle of the social season...?"
The Grand Duchess clicked her tongue and put the newspaper down. Odelia tilted her head and asked.
"Is something wrong, ma'am?"
"I heard that the Count's two sons were robbed. They were attacked on their way out of a social club. Oh my god, how could they have died so gruesomely?"
The Grand Duchess shook her head and looked at the newspaper again. Odelia, without thinking, picked up the article and began reading.
[ The incident is believed to have occurred around midnight last night, and the eldest and second sons of the Count family were attacked by an unknown assailant on their way out of a social club.
The scene was quite gruesome, with the victims found with severe injuries, particularly to their faces. Numerous stab wounds were also confirmed.
Judging by the fact that all valuables were missing from the bodies, it appears to have been the work of a robber, but the most peculiar thing is that the center of both victims' bodies had been severed. ]
Odelia held her breath. The illustrations in the article were refined, but the devastation depicted in the text was beyond imagination.
"What kind of crazy things are happening..."
The moment she muttered softly, as if to herself, the door to the mansion burst open. Cedric, seemingly running at full speed, barely able to straighten his clothes, gasped for breath as he entered.
"Gasp... Gasp..."
His shirt was tucked in, his hair disheveled, and his face pale. His eyes, as he gazed at Odelia, shook wildly.
Odelia jumped up from her seat and approached Cedric.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you sweating so much in the morning? Did you run all the way here?"
Cedric took a deep breath and quickly grabbed both of Odelia's hands.
"Odelia, me...!"
As Cedric spoke, Calix, sitting inside the restaurant, entered his field of vision. The moment he saw the group, Cedric fell silent.
“What are you?”
When Odelia tilted her head and asked, Cedric let out a small breath.
'Ah. So this is Your Highness's way.'
It wasn't a simple realization. He felt a sense of oppression and helplessness sinking deep into his stomach.
Last night, when the Crown Prince grabbed him by the collar in the carriage, the moment came back vividly. That was the first time he realized that there are people who can break someone's will without using harsh words.
That silence, the power of his fingertips, and the presence that overwhelmed everything without a single command were still quietly weighing down on him for the first time.
After staring blankly at one spot for a moment, Cedric soon forced a smile.
"No. I just ran here, and I'm a little thirsty, haha..."
"You must be thirsty after running all this way. Come on, let's go in."
Odelia laughed in disbelief and led Cedric to the restaurant.
Upon entering the restaurant, Cedric bowed politely to the Grand Duchess and Calix. Calix greeted him with his usual calm demeanor.
From that moment on, Cedric's gaze was fixed on Calix, who was sitting across the table. Cedric was catching his breath and was lost in thought.
'Did you have someone do it? Or did you do it yourself? You don't care? How can you eat breakfast so calmly after reading that cruel article...?'
No matter what, how could he have such a calm expression when someone died? The look in his eyes as he looked at Calix had gone beyond restraint and was now slowly beginning to take on the color of fear.
However, whether he knew of those gazes or not, Calix continued eating with Odelia with his usual calm expression.
Cedric spoke to Odelia, pretending to be calm as he reached out to pick up some bread.
"Odelia, did you see the article too?"
"That's what you're talking about? Oh, I saw it. It was crazy, cutting the center... It's a bit extreme to call it just robbery; it seems like a grudge."
Calix smiled and pushed a basket of bread towards Cedric.
"If it's a grudge, what kind of grudge do you think it is?"
Odelia hesitated for a moment, then answered with a slightly embarrassed expression.
"Well... I guess cutting off the center of a man is a problem related to women, isn't it?"
Calix laughed.
"I think so too."
Then he continued speaking, looking straight at Cedric.
"Cedric, luckily, you don't have any bruises on your face."
"Huh...?"
The conversation naturally shifted from the murder to Cedric's complexion. Odelia peered intently at his face.
He looked like he was really different from everyone else, with distinct, if not blemishes, visible here and there on his face. Startled, she grabbed his face and bit him.
"What is this wound?"
Cedric blinked in confusion.
"Huh? No, this is just..."
"You. Who did you fight with?"
Cedric quickly denied it, waving his hand.
"Fight? Who's going to fight?!"
Looking closely at the sight, Odelia turned her head towards Calix.
"Your Highness, I think you know something."
At that, Calix simply shrugged his shoulders, his face expressionless. Odelia grabbed Cedric's face again and pressed him.
"What? Who the hell were you fighting?!"
Cedric slumped his shoulders as if he could no longer hide it.
"I, I just got into a fight with some vagrants...! I, that's right, Your Highness?!"
His eyes held a clear sense of surrender. It was a resignation to silent compliance.
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