ISTL CHAPTER 31

Anais was taken aback by Max’s playful smirk. She wanted to argue, but the moment his expression turned mischievous, her words caught in her throat.
Her ears were burning. The breath she hadn’t been able to catch properly since earlier was rising with increasing urgency. Flustered, she quickly moved aside, trying to escape his proximity.
Anais fled from the royal box as if in panic. She saw the audience leaving the theater, and the opposite royal box was empty. Roxane had likely already left.
Anais cleared her throat a few times, trying to regain her composure.
“I won’t ask about the handkerchief anymore. How did it go with Lady Bastian? Did you have a chance to talk?”
Seeing Anais’s flushed face, Max clicked his tongue.
“Hmm. Brienne, what am I going to do with you?”
“What?”
“Don’t you know it’s considered polite to watch the play quietly? What conversation are you talking about?”
“Then what exactly did you do?”
Was he aware of the cost she had incurred to create the scene of ‘Lady Bastian in sorrow and Prince Max comforting her’?
Anais struggled to suppress her rising frustration.
Oh, forget it. He must have said something…anything…
She fixed her gaze on Max’s lips, hoping for any clue. The smirk that seemed to provoke her finally gave way to words.
“There was something.”
Her annoyance flared up at his teasing, but Anais remembered something. There was a time when Max had acted according to her wishes at Maison Plante, but the process hadn’t always been straightforward. However, the results had been good.
At that moment, Max had appeared competent and charming, fully aware of how to use his influence, didn’t he?
Thinking this, Anais’s expression softened slightly.
In all her counseling experiences, she had only ever given advice from behind a desk, never witnessing firsthand how clients achieved their romantic goals. Just because clients thanked Lady Amour for her help didn’t mean they had followed her advice precisely.
In the real world, there would have been countless variables she hadn’t anticipated, and individuals would have acted according to their unique situations and circumstances to achieve their desires.
Her advice was just one of the “most probable methods” for handling a situation, not an absolute rule.
The same goes for Prince Max.
Although he did not follow the exact plan, thinking back to how he behaved that day, she was confident that he had left a good impression on Roxane this time as well.
Seeing Anaïs suddenly calm, Max narrowed his eyes.
“What’s with that expression?”
“What?”
Seeing Anaïs, who had been frowning seriously, suddenly smiling gently reminded Max of his grandmother, who would scold him thoroughly and then suddenly smile kindly.
Noting Anaïs’s resemblance to Queen Elise, Max felt uneasy about the sudden shift in mood and asked.
“Why are you suddenly smiling so deviously?”
“Deviously? I just decided to trust you.”
“What? Trust?”
Anaïs’s shy smile at Max’s confused reaction prompted her to explain further.
“I realized I was too concerned with minor details.”
“What do you mean…”
“It’s as if I momentarily forgot that you’re a very charming and impressive person. And considering it’s Lady Bastien, I’m sure you handled the situation appropriately. Am I right?”
“……You might as well just insult me.”
“What?”
“Never mind. Nothing.”
Max, shocked by the incident with Joslaine, shot Anaïs a displeased look. How could she speak so boldly and unashamedly?
“It doesn’t matter that you didn’t hand over the handkerchief or wipe away tears. What’s important is that we watched this play together.”
Of course, the most crucial part of the play was its tragic climax, and at that point, he wasn’t next to Roxane but was instead arguing with her.
‘If we watched 70% of it together, isn’t that almost the same as having seen it all?’
Almost the same. Yes, almost the same. Anaïs consoled herself with this logic.
By the time the two of them bickered their way out of the theater, the hall was empty. Anaïs was still disappointed that she hadn’t seen the end of the play because of the uninvited guest, and she looked back at the stage several times.
The sun had set quite late, so it was still bright outside.
‘Should I go straight to the palace?’
Judging that she had enough time to report today’s events to the queen, Anaïs thought of taking Max’s carriage. Since their destinations were the same, she planned to save money, be comfortable, and achieve two goals with one action.
It was at this moment, when she was about to speak to Max, that she raised her head.
“……?”
Anaïs nearly bumped her forehead into Max’s broad back as he abruptly stopped walking. Though she managed to avoid stamping her forehead onto his broad back, she couldn’t help but kick his heel by accident.
Expecting a thunderous scolding, she flinched her eyes shut, but instead, it was surprisingly quiet. Anaïs slowly opened her eyes. Max’s back remained rigid and unmoving. What was he looking at that made him freeze like this?
Anaïs then realized that he had stopped because something was blocking his path. She also noticed that the attention of the crowd around the grand theater was focused on them.
‘Why is everyone looking like that?’
Seeing the various expressions of surprise, shock, and bewilderment on people’s faces, Anaïs felt puzzled. She glanced past Max and immediately covered her mouth.
‘Lady Bastien!’
Anaïs’s eyes widened in disbelief. The person blocking Max’s path was none other than Roxane de Bastien.
Had she been waiting for the prince to emerge the entire time, despite disappearing right after the curtain fell? There was no other explanation.
“I was worried when you suddenly disappeared earlier. I didn’t realize you were still at the theater.”
It was Roxane who broke the silence between the two who had been quiet for a while.
‘Your Majesty the Queen Mother.’
Oh my. Look at this. Didn’t I say that creating a connection between them was the priority?
Anaïs’s face broke into a triumphant smile. The troubled events from inside the grand theater quickly faded from her consciousness.
‘Heh, yes. This is it. This is the romance.’
Anaïs cast a pleased glance over Max’s shoulder.
“I’m glad.”
Roxane smiled as radiantly as the sunlight. Her brilliant smile nearly made Anaïs open her mouth in awe.
“Oh, I had an urgent matter to attend to.”
However, what came out of Max’s mouth was an absurdly indifferent response. Anaïs clicked her tongue in disappointment.
How could he remain so composed and indifferent despite having feelings for her? Anaïs found his ability to hide his emotions admirable. How could one be so embarrassed that they could hide their feelings so well? Truly, he was so calm and patient that the title of “reckless” seemed laughable.
“But…”
Roxane peered over Max’s shoulder with a curious gaze. Her intelligent and kind hazel eyes fixed on Anaïs.
Anaïs stepped aside from Max’s back to face her. It was the first time she was directly confronting the Marchioness of Bastien.
I’ve heard a lot about you. Uh… mainly from those who are enamored with you.
Anaïs mentally set aside her admiration for Roxane’s stunning beauty and greeted her.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you properly, Lady Bastien. I’m Anaïs from the Brienne family.”
“Oh!”
Roxane placed a finger at her mouth in thought, then suddenly exclaimed as if she had just remembered something.
“You must be the lady who became the Queen Mother’s new assistant.”
Roxane, still smiling, turned her attention back to Max and asked.
“Was the lady behind you what His Majesty’s urgent business was about?”