Prologue
“Now we should go home.”
“Huh? Uh-huh…”
“We agreed that we’d go home and greet them properly.”
Edwin smiled brightly at Dana.
Golden hair that looked as if it had been brushed with honey, gently curved eyes, a sharp nose, and a firm jawline…
Today, his beauty shone even brighter.
He’s handsome again today…
“You like my face that much?”
Edwin’s innocent question shattered Dana’s wandering thoughts.
“I do… No, that’s not what I meant!”
Dana opened the window of the moving carriage.
Yes, she had simply been too slow to notice, but there had been plenty of strange things.
A suspiciously fast trial schedule.
The newlywed home filled with flowers that looked as if the Imperial Palace’s garden had been transplanted 그대로.
Edwin’s innate elegance and composure, as if he had been born with them.
How unusually close he seemed to the Minister of Magic.
…But still, how could her husband be a prince?!
Could she really call that enormous Imperial Palace “home”?
Just a little more—she needed just a bit more time to prepare her heart!
“Haha… Edwin, maybe not today…”
“That won’t do, Dana.”
He spoke with a gentle smile lingering at the corners of his lips.
“You promised you would accept me completely.”
“……”
“You’ve been mine from the moment I first saw you.”
Dana froze. The gaze fixed on her was overflowing with obsession.
Dana Hartwin worked in the Potion Management Department of the Magic Ministry’s Healing Magic Bureau.
It sounded grand, but in truth, she was a low-level worker who made stamina recovery potions.
Today as always, she checked potion inventory and added labels. The work was simple—it was just the overwhelming workload that was the problem.
Coming from an insignificant family, she managed to get a job at the Ministry thanks to a year of grueling labor in the monster-filled northern region.
Her suffering matched the high pay she’d earned.
Perhaps knowing this, the kingdom automatically placed anyone who had served more than a year in the monster subjugation units into a related department. Dana had been accepted this way.
The interview was weird though…
The interviewers asked the usual formal questions. The whole thing felt like a formality—the job was already hers.
It happened right after she answered the final question.
“Do you happen to have a poem you like?”
It was the interviewer who had bothered her from the start—
the silent man sitting behind a curtain at the back.
“Yes, I do.”
Dana answered without hesitation, thinking of the poet she liked.
And then—
“……”
The man behind the curtain said nothing.
That was how Dana was hired, and she worked diligently for over a year—
so diligently she even worked overtime and weekends.
All for the extra pay.
Dana Hartwin was the official pushover of the Potion Management Department.
A pushover who survived on cheap sandwiches and still couldn’t stop her family’s excessive spending.
All of this was exposed thanks to her older brother, Jamie.
When she refused to give him money for his business, he came to her workplace and caused a scene—along with their mother.
“You earn plenty, but you can’t even support your only brother’s business? Is it because of the last loan? Or the one before that?”
“Honestly, why are you so cold to your own family?”
Seeing the pair dressed in flashy clothes and jewelry, all the employees clicked their tongues.
Even now, thinking about that day made her face burn with embarrassment.
A coworker spoke to her as she fanned her hot cheeks.
“Dana, it’s lunchtime. You’re going to eat another fountain-side sandwich, right?”
Dana gave an awkward smile. At this point, there was nothing left to hide.
“See you later.”
While her coworkers headed to a nice nearby restaurant, she sat by the fountain.
It was quiet and empty during lunch. She liked the silence.
When she inhaled deeply, the trees in the gardens behind her carried a refreshing scent.
Being surrounded by nature always gave her energy.
Dana soon took out her cheap sandwich. The ham and vegetables inside were obviously past their expiration date.
“How much is this month’s loan interest again…”
She muttered while taking a bite.
Right then, the fountain began spraying water on the hour.
The clear sound of water echoed behind her.
It helped clear her head a little.
When she turned and looked at her reflection, dark circles sat beneath her blue eyes.
Her black hair fluttered softly in the breeze.
Dana played with the water’s surface.
“My peaceful workplace, as always…”
“Should I kill him…”
A chilling voice broke the peace from the opposite side of the fountain.
What? Murder talk at her sacred workplace?!
She froze in place.
A large shadow fell over her alongside the sound of footsteps.
Dana stiffly raised her head. Her eyes met the man’s.
“Huh?”
He wasn’t some thuggish brute.
If anything, he looked like a golden-haired angel.
His sharp nose stood tall against his flawless skin.
Contrary to his gentle eyes, his seductive red lips suited him dangerously well.
“….”
“….”
They held eye contact for several seconds. His vivid red eyes captured her gaze entirely.
His voice broke the silence.
“…It seems today is my lucky day.”
He followed it with a bright smile—so sweet it seemed it could melt.
Dana stood dazed for a moment.
He set down the book in his hand and chuckled.
“Is there something on my face?”
“Ah— I’m sorry!”
She’d stared too boldly. Dana fidgeted awkwardly before speaking.
“I only stared because… well… you said you were going to kill someone…”
“Ah, it’s nothing. There’s just someone who keeps making me wait.”
He thinks that’s nothing?!
But with that smile, she almost believed him.
“I see! Nothing serious! Then I’ll get going—sorry again!”
Dana hurried to leave but accidentally knocked his book into the fountain.
No!
Before she could grab it, the book fell into the water.
She quickly retrieved it and shook off the water, but the soaked book was beyond saving.
“I’m so sorry, really! I’ll compensate you!”
“No need.”
He waved dismissively.
His heart seemed as kind as his face. Dana nodded as though enchanted, then handed him the book.
Her eyes widened when she saw the cover: it was Shane’s poetry collection.
“Oh? I like this poetry book too!”
“I know.”
Know what?
When Dana blinked in confusion, he gently brushed aside her bangs.
Droplets must have gotten on her hair when she shook the book.
“Oh…! Not many people know this poet… Nice to meet someone who does!”
She beamed brightly—a clear, spring-sunshine smile.
“….”
The man froze. His vivid red eyes trembled.
Unconsciously, he reached out toward her cheek.
Dana blinked at the unexpected gesture.
Their faces slowly drew closer.
In a low voice, he murmured,
“There’s something I want to say…”
Gulp. Dana swallowed nervously.
Just then—
“There you are!”
Someone appeared from afar. Startled, Dana quickly stepped back.
The voice belonged to the Minister of Magic’s secretary.
He wasn’t her direct superior, but he definitely outranked Dana.
I can’t let a superior see me during my precious lunch break.
Dana swiftly stepped away and said to the man:
“Sorry for disturbing you. I’ll go now!”
“Wait—”
Before he could stop her, she was gone.
As she hurried away, his lingering words replayed in her mind.
What was that just now?
A thumping heartbeat, a flushed face…
A strange, ticklish feeling in her chest.
Whether he knew or not, the golden-haired angelic-looking man—Edwin—kept his gaze fixed on her for a long time.
Meanwhile, the secretary approached and spoke respectfully.
“I greet Your Highness, the Third Prince. I’ve come to escort you—”
“You really have no sense.”
They had finally met again after so long.
The man smiled faintly, and the secretary flinched.
When the Third Prince, Edwin Hedron, smiled brightly, it was practically a death omen.
Fortunately, he walked past the secretary, Paul.
“Has Dana Hartwin been doing well?”
“Yes, as you just saw.”
Paul remembered the low-ranked worker well.
She was the talent personally chosen by the Third Prince—though even without his influence, her résumé was strong enough.
“Then allow me to guide you to the Minister.”
Paul bowed low and led him.
The Third Prince was an unpredictable man.
A tyrant would have been easier; he was a madman who could leap in any direction at any moment.
Edwin hummed cheerfully behind him.
Oblivious to how pale Paul had turned.
