* * *

“What? She returned this?”

“The Marquis’s servant passed it on, seems like it really was something sent by Your Highness.”

She was almost on the verge of tears, pleading to return it to the Crown Prince. Wondering what was going on, the aide clicked his tongue internally.

“No, why? Isn’t this necklace good enough to be liked?”

He thought she was embarrassed because she was given the necklace in person, but to actually return it.

Unable to understand, Callion got a pointed response from his aide.

“It might not be the necklace she doesn’t like but something else.”

It’s you. But the person in question was the Crown Prince who controlled his livelihood.

Trying to rephrase his thoughts, Callion laughed it off.

“Was the craftsmanship not that good?”

“Why would it be? If it were a gift from someone she liked, even a wilted rose would seem beautiful.”

Normally, the Crown Prince was incredibly observant, but the aide couldn’t understand why he couldn’t grasp this simple fact.

“Well, I think this level of craftsmanship would be appreciated by anyone.”

“Who’s the most famous craftsman these days?”

Regardless, Callion kept talking nonsense. It seemed he really intended to have it remade and gifted again.

The aide was about to say that Rosemary just doesn’t like you, but seeing Callion bumbling around was amusing, so he played along.

“It’s the craftsman from the jewelry store run by Lady Luna Peils.”

“So, wasn’t it good enough?”

Her best friend’s craftsman is the most renowned in the Empire. Rosemary probably sourced numerous gems from Luna’s jewelry store, so any ordinary craftsmanship wouldn’t be impressive.

“Alright. Prepare the carriage.”

“Yes? Where are you planning to go?”

“To Lady Peils’ jewelry store. I’ll buy the prettiest, most expensive, and biggest jewel there.”

It’s not about that, you fool. She just doesn’t like your very existence.

“Understood.”

He thought so, but the aide wasn’t going to discourage him from making a foolish move, especially since someone else would reprimand Callion for him.

Take this chance to really get rejected by the daughter of Marquis Vincent. He’ll have to follow and watch. Although they both had piles of work, this was a spectacle too good to miss.

* * *

“Excuse me… I’m sorry, but the lady refuses to meet you… She says you should leave…”

“What?”

A wrinkle formed between Callion’s brows at the apologetic tone of the Marquis’s servant.

“Why?”

“I… I don’t really know…”

-No, she just dislikes you. The servant, the aide, even the passing dog knew this fact, but no one could say it out loud.

“Are you here, Your Highness the Crown Prince?”

The butler appeared, realizing the servant was struggling. Usually, he would greet Callion first, but lately, the Crown Prince had visited frequently for seemingly minor matters, so he had been observing from a distance.

“Miss Rosemary is unwell and can’t come down. When she feels better, we’ll contact you.”

There’s no better excuse to shoo someone away than saying you’re ill. If she’s sick, what can one do? And not offering tea but asking him to leave due to her illness signified a clear rejection.

Only then did Callion realize Rosemary sincerely didn’t want to see him. He had removed all the gold plating she disliked and even gifted her flowers and jewels that women would supposedly love from novels.

“Then at least deliver this gift.”

He couldn’t just leave. He instructed the butler to give Rosemary the jewelry he brought.

“Understood.”

Even the butler couldn’t repeatedly turn him away, so he reluctantly took the gift and disappeared into the mansion.

He brought an incredibly expensive brooch; surely she would like it this time.

“I’m sorry, but she said she can’t accept it.”

For some reason, the butler returned with the brooch.

“What did you say?”

Seeing his shocked face, he wanted to force the brooch on Rosemary, but remembering her angrily asking to throw that weird guy out, he couldn’t.

“She said she will contact you once she feels better.”

Sadly, that day of feeling better might never come. Upon hearing the butler’s polite rejection, Callion asked:

“What’s making her sick?”

“She seems to have lost strength. With her busy days as the successor and all.”

Given how lively she usually was, it was a questionable excuse.

Realizing that pestering further would change nothing, Callion left the Marquis’s residence.

* * *

‘Finally, he’s gone. Thought he’d linger longer.’

Watching him discreetly from a window, Rosemary opened the previously closed window as Callion’s carriage grew distant.

‘Being sick really is the best excuse, huh? Should’ve used it sooner.’

Embarrassing as it was, Callion wasn’t the first to stubbornly pursue her.

There were men who even knelt, vowing to give their all for Rosemary, the heir to the house.

The last resort to deter them was to avoid meeting them entirely using sickness as an excuse.

“I even said I was sick, but almost no one kept asking to meet. Well, there were a few, but they soon got hurt by their pride and stopped coming. So, it was unlikely for Callion, who only had his honor and pride, to keep seeking me.”

That’s what Rosemary thought… but the next day, she heard that Callion had come again.

* * *

“He said to restore your strength and gave this.”

“What’s this?”

“It seems to be a medicinal herb.”

“…What?”

Why is the Crown Prince like this? Did he not realize that she was pretending to be sick?

Without realizing it, Rosemary checked outside the window. There, Callion, looking her way, waved enthusiastically.

At this point, she had to ask. She opened the window widely and shouted at him:

“Don’t you have any pride? You’re the Crown Prince!”

It would be normal for him to leave after she claimed to be sick. With this thought, she yelled. But the response was surprising.

“Thanks to it, the young lady finally talked to me.”

Callion laughed, saying it was like a scene from a novel. A novel? What novel? A confused Rosemary asked, and he candidly replied.

“A romance novel. I thought if I followed the actions of the male lead from the story, it might work. But as expected, it didn’t.”

“That’s not the case at all!”

How can the Crown Prince of a nation behave this way! An exasperated Rosemary made a groan.

“At least you seem lively enough. Want to go for a walk by the lake?” Callion casually asked. 

Since she appeared to be healthy, he believed it was his turn.

“The lake? A walk? I’m not in the mood for that. When I refuse, you should understand! Please leave! You’re really not my type.”

“So what type of man is to your liking? What’s wrong with me that I’m not your type? You even threw away the gold I gave you.”

Challenging her, Callion seemed determined to figure out her type.

Seeing this, Rosemary decided to set an impossible standard.

“I like men with stamina. For example, someone who can go around the entire garden of the Marquis’s mansion.”

The Marquis’s garden wasn’t of ordinary size. It was big enough that one would need to walk all day long to go around it. Expecting him to refuse, she was surprised when he agreed.

“That’s it?”

“Wait a minute, are you really going to do it?”

It’s obvious that’s a lie. It’s still summer, so stop it and just say no.

However, Callion began to run around the garden.

“Oh my God.”

A speechless Rosemary watched Callion running through the garden.

She thought he would give up halfway, but she couldn’t look away, fearing he might collapse in the garden.

Fortunately, he seemed to be in good shape, and a few hours later, he showed up under her window, wiping the sweat from his brow.

“So, am I to your liking now?”

His heavy breathing revealed how tough it was for him. But she wasn’t moved. Instead, she wondered why he went to such lengths.

“Why are you doing all this? Do you like me that much? I thought we weren’t that close?”

She thought they were just playing around. When she asked, Callion confessed that even he wasn’t sure why.

“I don’t know. But what’s certain is, seeing you put up these walls makes me want to break them down.”

Ah, seriously. This guy. Callion’s aide silently slapped his own chest in exasperation.

Why did you even read a romance novel? Even if you didn’t realize it, you should kneel and say you like her now.

But thanks to that, Rosemary felt at ease. She would’ve felt guilty if he had begged her with tears to meet him. That’s how she responded.

“Alright. You’ve met the minimum requirement of my liking. Congratulations.”

“Really? So, shall we take that walk now?”

“No. You’re too hasty. We need to move on to the next step.”

The next step? After all this hard work? A puzzled Callion looked at her as she continued.

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”

“No, who said I don’t want to?”

“Your Highness!”

Just say you don’t want to! She’s playing with you!

The aide cried out, but Callion was resolute.

Rosemary, seeing his determination, announced the next challenge with a smile.

“Actually, since I grew up as a successor, I never learned how to embroider. So, I really like a man who can embroider beautifully. Not on a handkerchief, but on a quilt.”