“Uh?”
“So…”
‘How am I supposed to tell him that seeing his face makes my heart flutter, so could he please wear a hood or something?’
In the end, I fumbled and just asked about his week.
“How was your week?”
‘Oh, that came out in a really weird tone.’
Still, it was a decent quick save.
I silently praised myself while waiting for Everett’s reply.
“Nothing much happened…”
As our eyes met, Everett scratched his cheek and gave a faint smile.
“He always says nothing happened.”
I grumbled just loud enough for Everett to hear.
He had become better than before but was still quite reserved.
I was the one who usually asked this and that to such a quiet man.
Especially, “What did you do last week?” was a question I’d been asking since our second exhibition.
And his answer was always the same.
This was the third time I asked, and for the third time, he replied, “Nothing much happened…”
I was feeling a bit miffed.
‘Doesn’t he know how to make small talk?’
I tried to act mature, considering our eight-year age gap, but my lips pouted involuntarily.
Meanwhile, Everett tried to keep the conversation going in his own way by asking me a question.
“And you?”
He sounded completely unaware of why I might be upset.
‘That’s the third time I’ve heard that too.’
“I didn’t have anything special happen either.”
‘It’s not like I have exciting stories every day.’
I straightened up from leaning forward and crossed my arms.
Taking the most defensive posture possible.
In other words, trying to distance myself from Everett as much as I could.
I made it obvious by pushing my chair back and adjusting my posture, and in response, Everett leaned his upper body slightly closer to me.
“Miss Diaz?”
He seemed puzzled that I, who usually would start sharing my day after his “Nothing much happened…”, was now keeping my mouth shut.
After a moment of thought, Everett cautiously spoke.
“Now that I think about it, perhaps no day is truly uneventful.”
Then he glanced at me sideways, as if checking for my reaction.
‘Too late for that—you get a C+.’
Still, seeing this man, who probably never had to read social cues in his life, constantly trying to gauge my mood made me feel a bit sympathetic.
“Is that so?”
I uncrossed my arms and nodded slightly, and Everett’s face brightened in an instant.
“Yes.”
I subtly pulled my chair back closer.
‘This is your chance for a retake. There won’t be a third time.’
‘At least talk about how the summer roses bloomed in the inner palace garden, or how you had dinner with your fellow knights—something like that.’
I gave Everett a pointed look, urging him to continue.
Receiving the cue, he slowly began to speak.
“So, this week…”
But being not very talkative, he seemed to struggle to find a suitable topic for casual conversation.
I encouraged him with silence and a smile.
Finally, Everett’s slightly furrowed brow smoothed out.
He seemed to have thought of an appropriate anecdote.
“Come to think of it…”
Everett began in a flat tone, as if reading a report.
“There was a second negotiation for adjusting the reparations with Bellot, but it fell through. I was hoping to wrap it up this time, but things have gotten a bit troublesome.”
His tone matched the conversation topic he had finally come up with.
‘Wait? This isn’t what I was hoping for.’
The scale of his story was vastly different from the small talk I was expecting, and my eyes widened.
‘With Bellot?’
Excuse me?
‘Wait a minute, is this something I’m allowed to hear?’
Even at a glance, it sounded like confidential diplomatic information that a low-ranking palace official shouldn’t be privy to.
“W-wait a moment.”
I hurriedly stopped Everett.
Just as he was about to share more national affairs under the guise of his daily life, Everett paused.
“Why?”
He looked genuinely confused as to why I was stopping him.
“Isn’t this classified information?”
I whispered to Everett, glancing at the firmly closed door for good measure.
‘In the palace, one must be careful with ears and eyes.’
He had been working there much longer than I had.
Seeing me so frightened, Everett laughed.
“Surely not.”
Everett chuckled playfully.
“Um, this is the official stance, not just your personal opinion, right?”
Even though Everett’s answer left no room for doubt, I confirmed once more.
“It’s the official position of the Empire.”
Everett replied casually with a slight smile.
“Well, that’s a relief then.”
Only then could I sigh in relief.
“You scared me.”
I complained, collapsing onto the table.
My heart was pounding rapidly, but for a different reason now.
Everett laughed out loud.
“I can’t tell if you’re brave or timid.”
Then he teased me mischievously.
“I prefer to live quietly and for a long time,” I grumbled, still lying on the table.
“It seems the news hasn’t reached the outer palace yet, but everyone working in the inner palace knows about it. It’s no secret.”
Everett explained, as if to soothe me.
“That’s reassuring.”
I felt somewhat relieved, but Everett, perhaps reminded of the failed negotiations with Bellot while talking to me, added with a scowl.
“The Crown Princess is quite troublesome.”
At this point, Everett’s expression hardened a bit.
“She’s supposed to be a guest, but she’s causing such a stir that it’s impossible for rumors not to spread.”
His last words were muttered under his breath, but his diction was so clear that I heard every word.
I checked once more to make sure the door was properly closed, surprised by Everett’s blunt words.
‘No matter that she’s foreign royalty, can he speak about the Crown Princess like this?’
Seeing my uneasy expression, Everett belatedly added honorifics.
“I mean, Her Highness the Crown Princess.”
Using honorifics for the Crown Princess seemed truly awkward for Everett.
As if he’d never used respectful language for anyone before.
‘Well, knights are known for their rough speech.’
Especially since Bellot had been at war with us until recently, it wasn’t surprising that he harbored some resentment.
‘It’s not like I used polite language when talking about Donovan with Connie.’
Perhaps his casual speech was a sign that he felt comfortable around me.
I had already come to terms with it, but Everett, seeing my silence, seemed to think he’d made a mistake and tried to change the subject.
“So, what else happened?”
He rolled his eyes, looking like he just wanted to fill the silence.
I squinted my eyes and smiled at Everett.
“So, what kind of trouble has the Crown Princess been causing?”
I wanted to tease Everett.
Perhaps sensing my intent, Everett exaggeratedly shook his head.
I laughed out loud at his deliberately serious expression.
But Everett wasn’t the type to just take it lying down.
Pretending not to notice the playful tone underlying about 70% of my question, he continued the conversation.
He gave the impression that while he didn’t want to talk about work on a precious weekend, he would answer since I asked.
“She tried to organize a charity fundraiser targeting the nobility, but when that didn’t work, she went to the temple to request aid workers—things like that.”
“Oh.”
‘She’s quite bold.’
Indeed, it was inappropriate behavior, especially in a foreign country we’d been at war with until recently.
As I pursed my lips in a small ‘O’ of surprise, Everett laughed along.
Perhaps amused by my reaction, Everett shared a few more anecdotes about the Crown Princess.
“The reparations negotiation fell through because she was so persistently troublesome.”
His brow furrowed again, perhaps recalling the headache he’d left behind at the office.
“She keeps saying that the Empire’s grace is as vast as the sea, but only in words.”
Everett clicked his tongue lightly.
“Isn’t the Crown Princess pro-Empire?”
Everett smirked as if he’d heard a really funny joke.
“She’s still Bellotian at heart. She sided with the Empire only because they were doomed if they didn’t surrender.”
It seemed there were more detailed behind-the-scenes stories not covered in newspaper columns.
“Well, the Empire needed to maintain the current royal family of Bellot, so we extended a hand.”
At this moment, Everett seemed more like a strategist than a knight.
“I heard that in the reparations negotiation, if we took the originally agreed amount, half of Bellot’s population would starve, so discussions are ongoing.”
I found myself getting serious too.
“That’s right. But we can’t be too lenient, which is causing problems. Relations aren’t good.”
Everett summarized the situation in one sentence.
“Bellot was the main force in the coalition army against us, after all.”
Everett nodded, smiling as if looking at a diligent student.
“Instead of the grains and other goods we’re supposed to receive, we’ll have to accept something else. But they’re practically bankrupt except for the King’s crown.”
“Then can’t we just take the crown?”
“What?”
It was a lighthearted comment, but Everett’s eyes widened.
As if asking if I wasn’t being too harsh.
