Chapter 17
But then, all of a sudden, he grabbed her shoulder and caught the end of her scarf with one hand.
“May I?”
He looked straight into Siena’s eyes, as if asking for her permission.
When she didn’t stop him, he gently pulled on the end of the scarf. It loosened smoothly, and in an instant her neck was exposed.
‘Ah!’
Siena quickly raised her hand to cover her neck.
However, Dandelion softly took her hand and lowered it.
When he saw the red marks and the small wound, he pressed his lips together for a moment, then carefully brushed his fingers around the injured area.
“Does it hurt?”
“……”
Every time his hand touched her skin, it burned as if she’d been scalded.
When she flinched, he startled and quickly pulled his hand away. It seemed he hadn’t realized just how close he had gotten.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay.”
It’s not because it hurts.
“Who did this to you?”
“There is someone. Some dog—”
“A dog?”
“……”
“If you need help—”
Siena shook her head firmly.
Dealing with that bastard had to be her responsibility, no matter what.
‘Just you wait.’
Pierre, it looks like you’ll need to roll around quite a bit. I’ll make you pay for everything Siena has endured until now—every last bit of it.
Motivation surged within her in a way that wasn’t like her at all, but the wall of reality was always heavy.
‘But what can I even do?’
Pierre was already the crown prince. Unlike Siena, who hadn’t received a proper education, he had undergone harsh early training through his maternal family. On top of that, he was a perfectionist—if something wasn’t perfect, he preferred to destroy it outright.
As a result, despite his terrible temper, he had grown into the man he was now: fairly impressive swordsmanship, fairly impressive political ability, and even a dazzling appearance worthy of the next king.
Honestly, she was no match for him.
Siena had no real support base, nor did she have any desire to become king.
She simply wanted to give him a small but satisfying taste of revenge.
‘Hmm. An overwork-to-death ending is absolutely out of the question. Absolutely. Absolutely not.’
She wanted to live long and happily ever after.
That was the ending she wished for.
“Haa…”
With his cheat-like status as the king’s son and the wealthiest family in the kingdom as his maternal relatives, could someone like him even have a weakness…
‘…Eleanor?’
Siena’s lips parted slightly. It was a habit she had when thinking.
She felt it.
That thrilling tension and pull—like the moment just before hooking a massive catch.
What Pierre wanted most was undoubtedly the throne and Eleanor.
‘No way. It’s not like I could seduce the female lead—’
Wait.
Siena’s eyes narrowed, and her straight eyebrows twitched.
“…Is there really no way?”
As her thoughts spiraled wildly, Dandelion called out to her.
“Siena?”
“Oh, sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment.”
Thankfully, Dandelion didn’t press her further.
Instead, he lifted the basket beside him.
“I brought this so we could eat together.”
“…Oh.”
“You said you like sweet things.”
“Yes! I do. Very much.”
An unexpected gift from him.
Inside the basket were strawberry sandwiches.
“Oh, aren’t these from the pâtisserie in front of the plaza clock tower? I heard they only sell fifty a day…”
“Yes. I heard it’s a sandwich that’s popular in the capital these days.”
In Stern, where trends changed as quickly as the wind, popular items at shops in busy districts were constantly replaced.
Among them, the pâtisserie Floretta had survived and struck it big.
Thick, soft bread filled with light cream and mascarpone cheese, fresh fruit, and a secret ingredient.
It was a combination that couldn’t possibly taste bad.
‘In the original story, this was a snack Pierre and Eleanor liked too. Didn’t they say Eleanor loved strawberries?’
She remembered that it had been summer, and Pierre had gone out of his way to obtain precious summer strawberries for her.
‘Hmph. How devoted of him.’
In any case, fruit-filled sandwiches really were trendy. Anna had mentioned that they appeared without fail at aristocratic tea parties these days.
And that Floretta in front of the clock tower was the original—and the best.
It looked simple, but depending on the ingredients and method, the taste varied dramatically. There were even rumors that prestigious families had tried to monopolize the pâtissier or buy the shop outright.
However, the craftsman-like pâtissier rejected them all and chose to uphold the principle of limited production and limited sales.
“I heard there’s always a long line there.”
Don’t tell me you stood in line to buy these?
He smiled awkwardly, clearly embarrassed.
“Thank you. I was actually craving something sweet.”
With a happy expression, Siena took a big bite of the sandwich.
The sweetness spread through her mouth, and she quickly smiled.
“Siena.”
She turned her head at his call.
“Just a moment.”
“Huh?”
His finger lightly brushed across her lips.
Siena froze on the spot.
“There’s cream…”
“Oh.”
