Meanwhile, Letier, who had carefully taken a seat at the end of the table, was momentarily distracted by the food in front of her.
As soon as King Peres and Dante finished their brief greetings, she reached out and picked up a familiar eggplant dish.
She was so hungry that she was about to make an embarrassing noise.
“Ahem, hello?”
Just as she was about to take a big bite, a man across from her spoke.
Letier quickly closed her wide-open mouth and straightened her posture.
“Oh, hello.”
When she finally looked at his face, she saw a man with nicely tanned skin smiling at her with a curious expression.
Unable to hold back his smile, he spoke again.
“Ah, I’m sorry. You must’ve been really hungry.”
“No, it’s fine. What is it?”
So, are you going to talk to me or not…?
Letier grumbled inwardly but forced a smile.
“I thought I’d introduce myself since we’ll likely be seeing each other often. May I?”
“Of course.”
He had a bright personality that matched his easy smile.
Letier gave a polite, positive answer, and he casually extended his hand.
“I’m Sion Hayward. I currently serve as a scribe in the Eustian royal palace.”
“Nice to meet you, Sion. I’m Letier of the Lenever family. I’m here as the prince’s skincare specialist.”
Letier reached out and shook his large hand.
With his eyes curved into a smile, he gently shook her hand up and down.
“So you’re a skincare specialist. Honestly, when I saw you arrive with the prince, I thought you might be royalty I didn’t know about.”
“Oh, no, not at all.”
Letier shook her head, feeling like she kept getting misunderstood.
“As a specialist… What kind of treatments do you usually perform?”
“Oh, I make cosmetic products. I treat the skin by applying helpful products directly to it.”
“Oho… Then you must be very knowledgeable about ingredients.”
Letting go of her hand naturally, he picked up his utensils and continued the conversation.
He had a talent for chatting comfortably without awkwardness.
Letier picked up the fork she had used earlier and responded.
“I am quite interested in that area. Honestly, that’s why I was really looking forward to visiting Eustian.”
“If you have time later, would you like to join me for a walk through the capital’s commercial district? The subjugation just ended this year, so the markets are flooded with new ingredients.”
“Really?”
It was a very tempting offer.
She had followed the prince all the way to Eustian hoping for a meaningful assignment, but in the carriage, he hadn’t seemed to have anything important planned for her.
She had been feeling restless and disappointed, so having someone offer to guide her so willingly was a great opportunity not to waste time or disturb the busy prince.
Sion smiled broadly again, meeting Letier’s sparkling eyes.
“Of course. I’m thrilled to finally have your attention.”
“I’m sorry?”
When Letier looked puzzled, Sion answered without hesitation.
“I’ve actually been keeping an eye on you. My original seat was more central, but I slowly made my way here to sit closer to you.”
He showed no sign of embarrassment—only confidence.
Letier blinked in surprise, unsure how to respond.
“Ah, did I make you uncomfortable?”
“A little…”
“I’ll restrain myself.”
With a grin that didn’t match the word “restraint,” Sion pulled a dish of food toward her.
“This is roasted duck, a specialty of the Eustian Kingdom. It’s slow-cooked at low temperatures to stay moist and tender. You must try it.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Out of courtesy, Letier picked up a knife and did her best to cut off a duck leg to place on her own plate.
Sion watched her with a pleased look, then began eating himself.
Sion…
Was he attracted to her?
Letier glanced at Sion, who was tearing into the duck leg across from her.
With his thick neck and muscular arms, his overall build made him look more like a knight than a scribe.
She looked at his large hand, which seemed strong enough to crush a pen with one finger, and suddenly remembered what Lucy had said.
“Pay attention to their eyes—their gaze!”
His gaze…!
Letier quickly looked into his dark eyes.
From across the table, he met her gaze and smiled again, his eyes narrowing.
Was it intense? Deep?
She wasn’t sure, but it definitely seemed like there was some intent behind it.
“What are you staring at? Do I have something on my face?”
Sion asked teasingly.
Letier quickly shook her head.
“If it’s too hard to cut, would you like me to help?”
He noticed the plate in front of her and reached out.
He probably thought she was struggling to cut the duck.
Letier stared blankly as he took her plate.
Sion leaned in much closer than necessary before backing away.
In her ears, Lucy’s voice rang again.
“They’ll try to get closer whenever they can!”
Gasp—that’s it?
“If it feels like this is it—it is!”
This is it!
Letier stared at Sion seriously as he sliced the duck leg.
That meant Sion definitely had romantic feelings for her.
So Lucy was right—there really was no confusion…
And with that realization, Letier unknowingly turned to look toward the center of the table—where Dante was seated.
Then… the prince…
“Ah.”
Letier let out a small gasp when she met Dante’s smoldering red eyes.
He was resting his chin on his hand, staring at her with clear displeasure.
His expression was cold and unfamiliar.
“Uh… uh…?”
Why… why is he looking at me like that?
Letier, flustered, couldn’t take her eyes off the prince, who was glaring straight at her.
He tapped his index finger slowly on the table.
“…..”
Letier stared at Dante, who very clearly looked upset, unsure of what to do.
“The prince’s eyes definitely aren’t romantic or deep…!”
Those eyes were clearly full of anger!
Lucy! What do I do?!
Dante, still glaring at Letier, shifted his attention to Sion, who was now wrestling with the duck on her plate.
That guy who had been circling Letier with that silly grin.
The one who crept his way to the end of the table and sat right next to her.
The guy who immediately started talking to her with his intentions plainly written on his face, getting on Dante’s nerves.
“Your Highness?”
Right next to him, Rubia’s voice spoke.
Still glaring at Sion, Dante responded.
“Yeah.”
“Do you like the food?”
“Eustian cuisine is always excellent.”
“You say that without even tasting it.”
Finally, Dante looked away from the fool sweating bullets to impress Letier.
Reuters’s nagging about treating her well echoed in his mind.
“Sorry. That was a lazy answer.”
Rubia, unfazed, picked up her knife and began slicing her steak.
“It’s obvious your mind’s elsewhere. Try to be more discreet—there are other people here.”
Dante frowned deeply and looked at her.
Rubia, still expressionless, continued.
“Do you think I enjoy pretending to be in love with someone I don’t care about? Let’s just do this properly, for both our sakes.”
“..…”
“There’s not much time left, anyway.”
Dante sighed softly and looked down at his plate.
That’s right—this puppet-show of an engagement would soon come to an end.
The only irritating part was having to watch that leech stick to Letier until then.
****
“A toast!”
After the main course had ended, the dishes on the square table were replaced with beautifully arranged snacks and fruits.
Letier quietly watched as the palace attendants walked around the table, pouring traditional liquor into the glasses in front of the guests.
The evening banquet was nearing its end.
‘Once I drink this, I can go back to my room.’
Letier picked up her filled glass and looked toward where King Peres, the Crown Prince, and Princess Rubia were seated.
Perhaps he’d already had a drink or two during the meal, as King Peres’s face was noticeably flushed. He raised his glass high.
“To the Trillante Empire’s visit to our homeland!”
“Welcome!”
“Welcome!”
As if rehearsed, everyone began clinking their glasses with those around them.
She watched as Princess Rubia lightly tapped her glass against Crown Prince Dante’s and said something to him with a gentle smile.
The princess had a look in her eyes that was unmistakably deep and intense—there was no room for misunderstanding.
Letier quietly stared at the back of Dante’s head, unable to see his face as he was turned toward the princess.
Was the prince making the same expression as the princess?
“Therapist! A toast with me, please!”
Just then, Sion called out to her from across the table.
Thanks to that, Letier was finally able to pull her gaze away from the two.
Wearing a polite social smile, Letier clinked her glass with Sion’s.
“Whoa? Are you really going to drink all of that at once?”
Sion’s surprised voice rang out.
She had only meant to wet her throat before heading back, but perhaps because of the churning in her stomach, she had ended up gulping down the strong liquor without thinking.
