The next day, Edwin was preparing to leave for work, holding a picnic basket as usual. Inside was a packed meal, enchanted with a preservation spell.
Before stepping out of his room, he stood in front of a large mirror, carefully adjusting his hair.
Noticing his unusual concern with his appearance, the servants exchanged curious glances.
At that moment, Edwin’s two older brothers barged into his room—First Prince Johannes and Second Prince Harry.
“Edwin, I heard you’ve been heading to the Ministry of Magic lately.”
“What’s our little brother up to?”
Edwin turned to them with a serious expression.
“W-What’s wrong? Why are you looking at us like that?”
They swallowed nervously. Their youngest brother always smiled, even when he was angry.
However, Edwin naturally exuded an intimidating aura.
Because of this, despite being his older brothers, Johannes and Harry had never been able to raise their voices at him.
They exchanged uncertain glances and whispered to each other.
“Did we… come at the wrong time?”
“I don’t know… He’s scary.”
Their tension was broken when Edwin suddenly spoke.
“How do I look? Am I handsome?”
“……….”
“….……”
Did he really just ask that?
As his brothers stood there in stunned silence, Edwin pointed at his own face.
“I’m asking if I look good—good enough to make any woman fall for me.”
Did he seriously want them to evaluate his looks?
Johannes was the first to nod.
“Of course, you look great. You’ve always had the best face since we were kids.”
“Yeah, you’re a lunatic, but among the three of us, you’re definitely the prettiest.”
Both Johannes and Harry were quite handsome themselves, but Edwin’s radiant beauty was undeniably superior.
Hearing this, Edwin let out a deep sigh.
“Obviously.”
“………”
“………”
“That should go without saying.”
He clicked his tongue in frustration.
“I’m asking if I look better than usual today.”
His brothers quickly nodded.
“Then that’s all I needed to hear. Get out.”
Without hesitation, Edwin pushed past them.
As they watched him walk away, Harry wrinkled his nose.
“Johannes, am I crazy, or does Edwin smell like flowers?”
“I… think he does.”
A lunatic and flowers.
That was a dangerous combination.
***
At the Ministry of Magic, Edwin was greeted by a familiar voice.
Standing in front of the Potion Management Division, Dana was speaking to Kira with an apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry, Kira. You went through all that trouble for me…”
“It’s fine. Blind dates can always be replaced.”
“Thanks for understanding.”
Hearing those words, Edwin’s expression softened.
“But are you sure you’re okay? You’re… not planning to return to your family, are you?”
“No. I just have something to think about.”
Dana’s face turned slightly red as she spoke.
Seeing that, Edwin’s heart started pounding wildly.
The fact that Dana prioritized him over anything else made him endlessly happy.
Just as he was savoring the sweet feeling—
“What are you doing just standing there?”
Someone poked his back.
It was Rayton.
He jabbed Edwin with a tightly rolled stack of documents.
“Good morning.”
Edwin greeted indifferently.
However, Rayton—already in a bad mood about work—wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries.
“What’s so good about it?”
Edwin tilted his head in confusion. Was that a question?
Despite feeling annoyed, he decided to answer sincerely as the new guy.
“Well, for starters, the weather is nice. And—”
“Did I ask about that?”
Without waiting for an answer, Rayton stormed into the office.
Toni immediately stood up and poured him a cup of tea, eager to soothe their superior’s bad mood.
Meanwhile, Edwin sat down next to Dana, unconcerned.
“Good morning, Senior.”
He greeted her with a warm smile.
“Good morning.”
Dana replied softly.
A pleasant fragrance surrounded her—the aroma of warm sunlight and wildflowers.
Even though they wore the same perfume, her scent was overwhelmingly addictive.
While Edwin was completely absorbed in Dana’s presence, Rayton sighed from across the room.
With a tired look, he addressed the group.
“You all know that every three months, the Potion Management Division goes on a business trip to the Imperial Palace, right?”
Everyone averted their gaze.
It was an unavoidable duty—medical teams were regularly assigned to visit the local knight orders.
But from the employees’ perspective, these trips were nothing but exhausting and unrewarding.
Rayton continued.
“This time, it’s the Rune Knights.”
At the mention of ‘Rune,’ Toni’s eyes widened in alarm.
The Rune Knights—an infamous order under the third prince, known as the Empire’s biggest troublemakers!
Feigning busyness, Toni started scribbling furiously with his fountain pen.
Of course, it was nothing but meaningless doodles.
Kira, on the other hand, pretended to pick up a fallen paper and stayed hidden under her desk.
Surveying his cowardly subordinates with a disapproving look, a wicked smirk crept onto Rayton’s face.
His gaze landed on Edwin.
“Hey, rookie!”
“Yes, sir.”
“You’re going. Take your mentor with you.”
With that, Rayton snickered at Edwin.
“Understood.”
Edwin’s calm response made Rayton frown.
He’s a better guy than I thought, Edwin mused.
After all, Rayton had just handed him more alone time with Dana.
But watching Edwin’s oddly cheerful expression only soured Rayton’s mood further.
Why is he smiling now?
Anyway, Rayton didn’t like the new recruit.
What was so amusing about traveling all the way to the northern regions and suffering through the harsh conditions? Annoyed, Rayton deliberately raised his voice.
“Stick to the budget! No overspending!”
“Understood. Should we leave first thing tomorrow?”
Dana’s question prompted a nod from Rayton.
With the personnel decided, everyone silently returned to work.
The only sound echoing through the quiet office was the faint scratching of fountain pens.
Meanwhile, Edwin was growing increasingly irritated by a particular gaze.
Should I just gouge his eyes out?
It was Toni, sitting across from Dana.
His persistent stare suggested he had something to say, and his longing, almost desperate expression grated on Edwin’s nerves.
During the lunch break, just as Edwin was about to call Dana over while holding a picnic basket—
“Dana, can we talk for a moment?”
As expected, Toni approached her.
“What is it?”
“Just give me a minute.”
Dana glanced at Edwin, signaling for him to wait a moment.
While the rest of the staff left the office for lunch, Edwin was left alone.
What a lousy feeling.
The idea of someone else taking Dana away from him was absolutely infuriating.
Then, from just beyond the wall, he heard Dana’s voice.
“Let’s just talk here.”
Fortunately, they hadn’t gone far. The two of them stood in the hallway, having their conversation.
Listening through walls was an easy task for Edwin.
Toni exaggerated his concern with an overly sympathetic tone.
“Dana, do you even realize how tough this trip is going to be? The snow in the northern regions probably hasn’t even melted yet!”
“I suppose that’s true.”
“And it’s the Rune Knights! That order is full of lunatics!”
“They’re people too, Toni. People who defend us from monsters.”
“I’m just worried about you…”
Look at him, Edwin smirked cynically.
When Rayton brought up the business trip, Toni wouldn’t even meet his eyes. But now, here he was, pretending to care.
Toni kept talking.
“There are plenty of other people who could go instead of you.”
“Are you volunteering to go in my place, senior?”
“Well… what about Kira…?”
“You’re not worried about Kira?”
Dana’s cold tone made Toni sigh.
“To be honest… you probably already realize this… but it’s not just concern.”
“What do you mean?”
When Dana gave him a confused look, Toni cleared his throat awkwardly.
“I know I’m probably a bit much for you. Maybe out of your league.”
“…..…”
“But I like you. You’re pretty and hardworking.”
Is this… a confession?
Dana’s face froze instantly, but Toni, oblivious to her discomfort, kept rambling.
“We could have the wedding this month. Five kids sounds like a good number.”
He’s already planned that far ahead?
With a look of disbelief, Dana cut him off.
“I refuse.”
“My mother would—wait, what?”
No matter how desperate he was to get married, this was going too far.
Toni was always busy flattering Rayton or commenting on the appearance of female colleagues.
Spending time with him felt like her ears were rotting away.
Toni’s expression twisted with disbelief.
“Are you rejecting me because you’re embarrassed?”
“No, senior. You’re simply not my type.”
“Then what is your type?!”
He asked so quickly that Dana blurted out the first thing that came to mind just to shut him down.
Without thinking, an image of Edwin popped into her head—always kind and attentive to her.
“A younger man with blonde hair.”
“…What?”
Toni, the red-haired older man, blinked in confusion.
“Are you kidding me?”
“I’m not joking,” Dana replied firmly.
At that moment, Edwin emerged from the office with a bright smile.
“Senior, it’s time for lunch.”
Without sparing Toni a glance, Edwin gently took Dana’s hand and led her away.
“Oh… uh… okay…”
Caught off guard, Dana let herself be pulled along.
Just as Toni opened his mouth to yell after them, Edwin turned back.
His crimson eyes gleamed coldly—an eerie, lightning-like intensity flashing in his gaze.
It was the first time Toni had felt such murderous intent.
The words died in his throat.
