~Chapter 27~
“But there’s a condition.”
Caspar leaned forward, smiling with his eyes curved in a way that looked almost pretty, his voice full of confidence.
Was he trying to charm her, or did he have some other goal?
Floria always found his boldness confusing.
This was the posture he always took when making a deal.
This man really likes making deals, she thought.
She braced herself—how absurd would the condition be this time?
The moment he leaned in over the table, Floria instinctively leaned back.
Maybe he found her caution amusing, because he looked her over slowly and chuckled under his breath.
The condition he finally gave was…
“Introduce the prince to that girl. That’s my condition.”
It was so random—and surprisingly simple.
“If you do that, I’ll protect her from Shade. She won’t lose a single drop of holy power.”
Apparently, he had given up on remembering Rose’s name.
Floria’s eyelids twitched slightly, and he caught it. He sat back in his chair again.
“So His Highness has taken a liking to our Rose?”
“Yes. And I think she likes him too.”
He tilted his head, looking at her like it was obvious she already knew.
“Yes, probably… that’s true.”
“I think it’s a good deal for you, too. Right now, the prince calls her name every day, longing for her.”
“…Aha.”
Really? longing already?
She knew Aster had fallen for Rose at first sight, but this was ridiculous.
Then again, maybe Caspar was exaggerating. Aster might have just mumbled, “I want to see Rose,” and Caspar blew it up into ‘pining in agony.’
Well, I was planning to bring them together earlier than in the original story anyway, she thought.
She had been worried about how to make them meet, but this would work out perfectly—Rose’s holy power would be safe, and her “matchmaking project” could finally begin.
The only odd thing was…
Is Caspar on the emperor’s side?
The day she saw him at the cake shop, she’d been too flustered to think about it deeply.
But a duke personally meeting a young prince and even celebrating his birthday… that meant he was close to the imperial family.
Strange. In the original story, the Ponhas dukedom was barely even mentioned…
When she first met Caspar, she hadn’t even known who he was—she had guessed from the crest on his carriage.
But if he was close enough to the prince to celebrate his birthday, why hadn’t the original story said anything?
Floria looked at him quietly.
Lounging back with one leg crossed, his posture was casual—borderline improper—but he was clearly confident she’d agree to his proposal.
Such a strange man.
He’d never been properly mentioned in the original, yet kept getting tangled up with the story’s characters.
He openly admitted to being a former slave, threatened the High Priest without hesitation, stormed into a slave auction house, and smashed the place up.
Completely self-willed and unpredictable.
There were more and more things she wanted to ask him, but they weren’t the kind of questions she could ask outright—so she let them pile up in her head.
“Alright. I accept the condition.”
She answered neatly, deciding not to ask anything else for now.
He smiled like he’d known she would agree. A small flicker of resistance stirred in her, but she swallowed it down.
“Good. Then we can have a double date soon.”
“…What? Double date?”
Her delayed reaction made her blink rapidly.
A double date? As in two couples together?
Where on earth did he even learn that phrase?
But Caspar didn’t seem pleased with her reaction—his brow twitched noticeably.
While waiting for her reply, he straightened from his nearly reclining position.
“Yes. Didn’t I confess to you the first time we met?”
“…Excuse me?”
“What, you’ve already forgotten? I thought it was obvious we were dating.”
“Ehhh?!”
What was he even saying?!
They’d only met about two months ago.
She’d thought she was getting used to his bizarre comments, but clearly, she wasn’t.
“So, all this time, you weren’t even dating me, yet you agreed to my proposals, went on dates, took walks with me like today…”
“That’s not—”
Half of those were basically forced!
She bit back the complaint.
When a duke made a request, to a commoner it was practically a command—and he’d even bribed her with a week’s vacation.
Now he was twisting it like this? That was just fraud.
Seeing her bewildered expression, Caspar let out a loud, exaggerated sigh, clearly for her to hear.
“Ah, so that’s how it is. This must be what they call ‘stringing someone along.’ I never thought I’d be the one experiencing it.”
Please, stop.
He even drooped his eyes and pouted like he was hurt.
She hadn’t thought he could make such an expression—his sharp, handsome features didn’t suit it at all.
It just made him look… unhinged.
He’s definitely a flirt. No doubt about it.
How else could he say things like this so casually?
That expression had probably been used to charm more than a few women.
Thinking that way actually cleared up a lot of mysteries—like why a duke with nothing to gain kept showing up to see her so often.
…Guess I’m just another fish in his pond.
Having recovered her calm, she clenched her fist under the table. She resolved not to indulge whatever he said next.
“It’s almost six. We could have dinner together—”
“Ah! I promised Rose I’d have dinner with her tonight. I’m late! I have to go, Your Grace!”
The instant he mentioned dinner, Floria shot to her feet.
Cutting off a duke mid-sentence was rude, but if she stayed, he’d probably pull out some mysterious dessert from who-knows-where, insist on tea time, and then declare again that they were dating.
Better to escape quickly.
“See you next time, Your Grace!”
To be safe, she poked her head back in before closing the door to give a polite farewell—just in case he might get angry at her abrupt departure.
Bang—!
But to Caspar, it was a cold exit.
He sat there feeling the faint breeze she’d left behind, staring at the door that had shut so quickly.
“…”
It was almost like he was glaring at the poor door, though he wasn’t entirely sure why he was irritated—or why he felt so… off.
“Come out.”
That irritation turned on the unwanted guest in the garden.
Despite being told to stay far away, Shade had apparently been lurking nearby to eavesdrop.
For a spirit capable of taking human form, hiding his presence was difficult—but useless against Caspar.
Shade appeared reluctantly.
“Caspar, you got dumped.”
Even while trying to be cautious, he couldn’t resist the cheeky remark.
Caspar’s dangerous gaze landed on him immediately.
