Chapter 32
Franz folded his arms with a look that said, Well, well, look at you. A playful smile lingered on his lips, making him look almost boyish.
“Where exactly am I supposed to be looking?”
“…Pardon?”
“No matter how I look at you, it’s only a slight improvement from your usual self. Were you expecting a compliment or something?”
Embarrassment flared, and Iella’s face heated up in an instant. She could feel it burning without needing to check a mirror.
“Ah… I-I must’ve been… mistaken.”
Unable to find a proper response, Iella mumbled vaguely and quickly turned back toward her desk.
Franz held back a laugh as he saw her face and ears turn crimson, as though painted with red watercolor. She was still about 98 percent short of satisfying his aesthetic standards, but at least she was no longer unbearable to look at—maybe that warranted a small compliment.
“You still have a long way to go, but you’re not painful to look at anymore, so have a little confidence. My standards are high, that’s all. The compliments you got today weren’t empty flattery.”
So… did that mean before, she was unbearable to look at?
Iella blinked blankly, unsure if she should take that as teasing or praise. Then, deciding that wallowing in self-pity wasn’t healthy, she chose to take his words at face value.
“Th-thank you.”
“No problem. But you weren’t late because you were too busy getting ready, right? So why were you late?”
Here it comes, she thought, lowering her head.
“It was… unavoidable.”
“Unavoidable?”
Franz regarded her face quietly and asked in an indifferent tone.
“I really, really hate excuses, but maybe if you tell me, I might understand.”
“Alright, let’s see if you do. You know Professor Thomas Tucker from History class, right?”
“…Ah.”
So that was it. He immediately guessed she was going to blame it on that overly talkative old man’s lecture.
“Today, the professor’s enthusiasm for teaching was off the charts. You know what I mean—it was one of those unstoppable situations. And then, when I rushed out to get a carriage, there weren’t any! By the time I finally found one, I was already late.”
Her eyes sent the silent plea, You understand, right?
Franz gave a small nod. “I see. I understand.”
“Right? Thank you, Your Highness.”
“But… late is still late.”
“Well, yes, but…”
“A promise is a promise. I can’t just give it back.”
Her bright, expectant eyes dimmed instantly.
“Your father said it was important because it was a coming-of-age gift, right? That’s really all it is?”
Franz pulled her notebook from the desk drawer.
Iella felt relieved at the sight of it. She had tied the leather strap in an unusual way, and it was still knotted exactly the same.
So he didn’t look inside after all.
“To be honest… that’s not all. It might be nothing to you, but my diary’s in there. So I can’t let anyone see it—and no one should see it.”
A diary didn’t have to be all writing, so technically she wasn’t lying.
“So it’s pretty important, then.”
“Yes. So please, give it back now.”
“Miss Clarence.”
“Yes?”
“I have a proposal. Something very important to me.”
His tone had turned serious, and Iella felt a sudden tension.
“I don’t want to live my life crammed into rules and expectations set by others. Of course, as a member of the royal family, I’ll fulfill my responsibilities and duties—but I want to keep control over my own life.”
“Ah… okay. But what does that have to do with—?”
Iella tilted her head, baffled as to why he was suddenly telling her this.
“Every citizen of Lapland knows how much His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen love each other.”
She nodded in agreement.
“Growing up watching them, I developed a dream about marriage. I swore to myself I’d marry for love, not politics.”
Iella nodded half-heartedly, wondering why he was giving her his life story.
“I don’t want my most important decision—my marriage—to be decided by someone else.”
“Why are you telling me this? You can marry whoever you want, can’t you?”
“In reality, no. Despite what I want, the royal elders are trying to arrange a political marriage for me.”
“Ah.”
It wasn’t surprising. Nobles often married for politics—so for royalty, it was practically guaranteed. The surprising part was that a prince wanted to marry for love.
“Even in an arranged marriage, love can grow, can’t it?”
“That’s not what I want.”
“That sounds tough. I hope you meet someone wonderful who can help you get through it. Now… my notebook—”
As Iella reached for it, Franz snatched it up a split second before she could.
“Until I meet that person, be my shield.”
“…What?”
What did he just say?
Her body froze at the sudden request. Shield?
“I think I misheard you. What did you just—?”
“You heard me right.”
They stood face to face, silently studying each other, until Iella spoke first.
“Why should I? No.”
So that was why he’d been rambling—he had an ulterior motive all along.
“Why not? I thought you’d like the idea.”
“Me?”
“You said you liked me. Here’s your chance to be my official lover—why wouldn’t you want that? Sure, it’s just an act, so maybe you’d be disappointed, but it’s not like there’s a downside.”
“I like you as a royal, yes, but… not in that way. Honestly, the only reason I followed you around was because I wanted to paint your portrait.”
She decided to get out of this situation with a half-truth.
“I knew you didn’t actually like me. I could see it in your eyes. I was just curious how long you’d keep up the lie. Glad you finally admitted it.”
Her stomach dropped at his words.
“…I’m sorry for lying.”
“You wanted to make money selling my portrait since there aren’t many of me, right?”
“No! It wasn’t like that. It was… academic curiosity! I swear, it wasn’t for profit.”
“Not sure I believe you. Stalking me, acting suspicious—it’s not just one or two things.”
The air grew tense. Iella swallowed hard, staring into his sharp gaze.
The truth was, he held all the power right now. If he wanted to cause trouble for her, there’d be no way out. She even feared he might dig into her real secrets. It felt like she’d tried to escape a fox, only to run into a tiger.
“Why me, though?”
“Because you don’t like me. If you did, that would be a problem. I can’t think of anyone more perfect for the role.”
“…So you’d forgive me?” she asked suspiciously.
“As long as you play your part well, I won’t bring up the wrongs you’ve done to me so far.”
“And if you do?”
“Then you’ll find out that when you think you’ve hit rock bottom, there’s actually a basement beneath it.”
The casual tone made her skin crawl. He was absolutely capable of it.
“Think of it this way—it’s not like you’ll lose anything. If rumors spread that you’re the woman the prince has his eye on, you’ll become the most sought-after bride in society.”
He made it sound like a generous favor. But to Iella, suddenly becoming the center of attention sounded exhausting. Sure, men might swarm her at first—but once the hype faded, would anyone really want to marry a woman who’d been tangled in a scandal with the prince?
This might not be as disadvantageous as I thought…
After a long silence, she asked again, just to be sure.
“You’re certain I won’t lose anything?”
“If you do, I’ll make it up to you. You like money, I have money—simple. We’ll both give and get what we want.”
“Money isn’t everything.”
“Hmm. Maybe not. But you still like it, right?”
“If you promise to protect my rights, I’ll accept.”
The corners of Franz’s mouth slowly curled upward.
“Deal. What rights?”
“No more threats. No digging into my secrets. And… don’t speak informally to me.”
“Hmm. I can agree to the first two, but not the last.”
“Why not?”
“From now on, we have to look like we’re close. Talking formally would seem suspicious.”
“Ah… I guess that’s true.”
“Good. Then I’ll speak comfortably to you, and you do the same to me.”
“Me too? But how can I—”
“It’s fine. If we’re going to fool everyone, we have to do it properly. And no more ‘Your Highness.’ Call me Franz.”
“…”
Iella hesitated.
“Go on. Say it.”
His expectant expression left her caught between the awkwardness of using his name and the awkwardness of refusing outright.
