* * *

“Rosemary, it’s me. Are you in there?”

Luna knocked on her door and asked. It was an odd situation, but given the circumstances, she couldn’t help but be cautious.

“Are you there? Not there?”

Receiving no answer, Luna made another attempt. But once again, there was no response. Sighing, she muttered to herself:

“It seems no one’s in. Well, since it’s my room, I’ll just go in.”

It was rather strange, but she had no choice. With that thought, Luna decided to open the door.

“…Rosemary.”

As expected, Rosemary was lying on the bed.

Seeing that Rosemary didn’t even lift her head when she entered, Luna felt a mix of emotions, thinking something serious might have happened.

She slowly approached the bed, sitting next to Rosemary. As Luna tried to comfort her by stroking her hair, a sudden interruption occurred.

“It’s okay…”

“Ahhhh!”

Suddenly, Rosemary screamed, tugging at her hair.

“How can I face the embarrassment?! Everyone saw that terrible scene! Ah!”

“…What?”

“All because of that damn prince! I was humiliated in front of everyone! And all the maids were there too!”

It seemed the serious situation Luna had imagined was just a misunderstanding. Rosemary cried out in frustration and embarrassment.

Half of her anger was directed at Callion. If she ever saw him again, she felt like she would slap him multiple times. She was in agony.

“So… you were just hiding here because you were embarrassed?”

Rosemary, realizing that there was no other reason for her distress, began to vent her anger even more. Luna felt somewhat disappointed.

She had been worried for a while. If anyone should feel embarrassed, it shouldn’t be Rosemary.

Hadn’t she decisively rejected Callion? The one who should be embarrassed was Callion, who had clung to Rosemary in front of everyone. Of course, he seemed unaffected.

“I thought there was some other reason. The maids said that you and the prince spent a lot of time together. It seems that was just a misunderstanding.”

Sitting beside her, Luna had thought maybe there was some kind of romantic drama. No, since Callion seemed to like Rosemary, maybe there was some truth to that romantic drama.

Either way, if it was just a simple confession and rejection, there wasn’t much to worry about. It didn’t seem like Rosemary had been forced to accept because of Callion’s power.

Luna felt relieved, but Rosemary shuddered at her response.

There seemed to be something else.

“It’s not that simple, is it?”

Rosemary hesitated before answering.

“No, it’s simple, but… there’s something I need to apologize to Lady Luna for…”

“To me?”

Suddenly? Luna was there to comfort her, but now she was hearing an apology? This caught her off guard.

Seeing Luna’s reaction, Rosemary closed her eyes and spilled the truth.

“The fact that His Highness and I met often is true…”

“What are you talking about?”

Luna was caught off guard by this unexpected turn of events.

There was something complicated going on. Luna waited for Rosemary to continue.

“I thought you had feelings for Crown Prince Callion…”

“…Me? Why would you think that?”

Unless she was out of her mind. The more Rosemary spoke, the more confused Luna became. Rosemary hurriedly explained her misconception.

“I misunderstood! You kept mentioning being interested in someone, and I assumed it was Crown Prince Callion. It would be strange to think that when you’re already dating someone else.”

“Ah…”

It was a logical misunderstanding. Luna blinked in surprise. After uttering those words, even Rosemary seemed taken aback.

“Come to think of it, who were you interested in back then?”

“Yes?!”

A prolonged silence followed Luna’s exaggerated reaction. Rosemary realized that Luna too had secrets.

“…How about we promise to forgive each other and spill everything?”

Luna had intended to bury her secrets forever. After a moment’s hesitation, she added one more condition.

“We promise never to tell anyone else.”

“Of course.”

It wasn’t a bad deal. Rosemary, being the talkative one, might spill the beans at any moment. But the cat was already out of the bag, so Luna couldn’t hide it anymore.

“Let’s play rock-paper-scissors to decide who goes first. Regardless of the content, let’s promise not to be shocked and not criticize it.”

Luna, who had a far more surprising secret than Rosemary, kept dragging the conversation. Oblivious to this, Rosemary nodded seriously.

And so, a short while later…

“What did you say?! You had a fake relationship with my older brother?! No, you hid this from me until now?!”

Rosemary showed the reaction she had expected. Luna, looking awkward, avoided her gaze and quietly looked at her.

“We agreed not to criticize each other…”

“Yes, but! There’s a limit! This secret is too big!”

Rosemary was taken aback by the unexpected secret. Compared to Luna’s secret, Rosemary’s was trivial.

Moreover, the misunderstanding happened because of Luna’s secret. If Luna hadn’t hidden her relationship with Antes, there would have been no misunderstanding.

“It wasn’t exactly a good meeting, but with such a beginning, my brother managed to win your heart.”

Rosemary exclaimed earnestly.

“Is it because of his face? Well, his face is decent. He’s tall, and he has the blood of Vincent, so it’s expected.”

“It’s not just because of the face. …Hmm, his face is handsome, but I also liked his personality. He was also good to my father.”

My God, what is this. Luna, who never used to praise Antes, suddenly started with the compliments, causing Rosemary to unintentionally furrow her brows.

Only then did Luna realize that she had inadvertently revealed a budding affection. She hurriedly changed the subject.

“Well, well. At least the misunderstanding is cleared. You won’t need to be tied to the Crown Prince anymore. Everything’s settled, right?”

“Yes, it is. Everything’s sorted out!”

Rosemary’s face brightened up at the thought of her regained freedom. It meant she no longer had to please Callion.

With nothing more to hide from Luna, she felt relieved. Before getting married and leaving for the Rodrian territory, Rosemary suggested a short trip and held Luna’s hand.

“We won’t see each other often in the future. I’ll be busier once I officially take on my title. Let’s go on a trip together, even if it’s just for a week.”

“Okay, let’s do that.”

The two, having shared their deepest secrets, smiled brightly.

* * *

“What?”

Antes entered the terrace where Callion was waiting. Despite the abrupt question, Callion responded without showing any annoyance.

“I have something to ask.”

“Ask quickly. I don’t want to be with you for long.”

Being alone on the terrace with him was almost unbearable, and he wanted to jump off it right away.

The only reason he stayed was because Luna told him to. If it wasn’t for Luna, he wouldn’t have cared at all. Trying to calm himself, Antes waited for Callion’s response.

“How on earth did you charm Lady Luna Peils?”

Hearing this, Antes clenched his fist. He couldn’t believe that he was asked this. He really wanted to slap Callion hard.

“Stop talking nonsense and get to the point.”

“That is the point. Lady Vincent hates me, so I’m asking. You couldn’t have won over Lady Luna Peils from the start, so I thought I’d learn from you.”

He wanted to argue, but he couldn’t. Antes’s glare made Callion realize he had correctly pinpointed their relationship.

“What do you want to learn? Do you really like that mutt?”

To others, she might seem a beautiful and wise heir to the Marquis, but to Antes, she was just an annoying family mate who spoke mean things.

He replied that he didn’t necessarily have any particular fondness for her.

“I don’t know if I like her, but I’d like her to like me. I want to keep seeing her. I thought about dating, but she reacts as if I’m her enemy, so what can I do?”

I have no choice but to learn from someone like you.

The conversation wasn’t long, but Antes was boiling with irritation. After finally getting rid of Fersen, what is this again?

The only good thing was, Callion also didn’t seem to want to interact with him for long.

As soon as he hears the answer, he will disappear without even saying goodbye. Antes thought about that and said something roughly.

“We had a good relationship from the beginning. So, you should read some romance novels. The male protagonists in those novels typically encompass women’s ideal types.”

In other words, he suggested learning from books instead of asking him. It wasn’t an entirely absurd answer.

Although romance novels might have some cringy parts, their protagonists don’t usually make blunders that drive women away.

But it was up to the reader to filter the content. Callion seemed like someone who wouldn’t be able to filter, but that wasn’t Antes’s problem.

After a brief chat, realizing the situation and Callion’s condition, Antes felt the need to leave.

As he was about to exit the terrace, Callion disappeared faster.

“…I didn’t expect you to thank me, but.”

What on earth is with him disappearing like the wind?

Once again cursing him for being an ungrateful jerk, Antes left the quiet terrace.