Chapter – 32
As we smiled at each other, Samuel approached us.
“It seems the misunderstanding at the hunting grounds has been resolved, Your Highness.”
“Thanks to you, young lord.”
Even after the dance ended, Kalision didn’t remove the hand wrapped around my waist.
Samuel’s gaze landed on that hand, and his handsome lips curved into a satisfied smile.
He remained beside us and asked again,
“By the way, wasn’t there a lunar eclipse last night?”
At that moment, Vivian walked over with sharp, clicking steps, as if she couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Oh, I read an article about the lunar eclipse as well. I do hope the observatory reopens soon so we can visit.”
“Oh? Did everyone want to see the eclipse?”
Kalision smiled gently, yet held my shoulder in a subtly defensive manner.
While Vivian struggled to pretend she hadn’t noticed, the crown prince continued in an unconcerned voice.
“If I’d known earlier, I would have invited everyone. I ended up spending time alone without realizing. April really loves the stars, you see.”
Everyone’s expressions—including Vivian’s—shifted at once, and Samuel asked again, as if confirming,
“You watched the lunar eclipse together? I heard it was observed quite late at night…”
“It was close to midnight.”
Even as he answered, Kalision’s gaze stayed fixed solely on me.
“After the moon turned red, we made a wish together. Isn’t that right, April?”
Wow. What a wicked man.
Meeting Vivian’s sharp glare, I forced my twitching eyes into a smile.
“That’s right. His Highness wished for me to remain happy here in the imperial palace.”
“In the imperial palace…” someone echoed.
Kalision repeated it once more.
“In the imperial palace. By my side, happily.”
The moment his lips touched my cheek, I was so startled I nearly shoved him away.
Thankfully, Kalision tightly grasped my hand, preventing that disaster.
Vivian Hillaise staggered back. She hurried away as if she’d forgotten even to greet the crown prince.
Samuel and Nina congratulated us with bright smiles.
“Congratulations, you two. You’ve become lovers!”
“Congratulations!”
After that, everyone crowded around us, offering their greetings.
“My goodness, I never thought His Highness would make a decision before the banquet even ended!”
“Well, that’s because the princess is exceptionally beautiful!”
I couldn’t run away because Kalision was gripping my wrist, and just like that, I became the crown prince’s official lover.
With the hand he wasn’t holding, I clenched my fist so tightly that later I found nail marks pressed into my thin glove.
“Come to my carriage.”
Near the end of the banquet, Kalision said this.
There were still many eyes watching.
The smile on his handsome face was sweet as sugar, but to me—who’d been under constant scrutiny—it was a suggestion I loathed enough to faint.
“Your Highness, must you be so conspicuous—”
Isn’t it enough to satisfy you only when you act like this?!
Kalision cut me off before I could finish my quiet complaint.
“Yes, I want to be conspicuous. I have a reason to be.”
Ha, of course you do.
So I waited calmly until the banquet completely dispersed before finally standing up.
If he wanted to draw attention, that was his problem. I just wanted to shake off even a few gazes.
In truth, my room was right here in the main palace where the banquet was held…
Yet I deliberately went out into the garden and approached the crown prince’s carriage standing tall there.
As if he’d been waiting, the escort knight opened the carriage door and ushered me inside.
Then he stepped far back, clearly showing he had no intention of listening.
I swallowed a quiet sigh and looked at the man sitting across from me.
“What now?”
Kalision gave a short laugh, apparently amused by my sudden change in attitude. Then he immediately wiped the ticklish smile from his face.
And boldly revealed that he’d been watching me.
“What were you doing all day, holed up in your room?”
Compared to that, my attitude change was nothing.
How could someone switch their gaze so easily, like changing clothes? I’d already experienced Kalision’s transformations once before, yet it was still shocking.
“I slept. You kept me up all night yesterday, didn’t you?”
Kalision tilted his head at my answer.
“Hm, did I? That sounds like it could be misunderstood if someone heard it.”
What nonsense, you libertine?
I stared at him in disbelief, mouth open, then quickly closed it.
I—I couldn’t let it show that I was a total novice and get dragged into tricks like that.
I really had just taken a nap!
“D-Don’t say ridiculous things! Who’s listening here?! If I stayed up all night, what else would I do the next day? The hunt is still nearly ten days away, and you told me to just attend banquets until then!”
But when no reply came, I finally realized it.
The crown prince didn’t trust the contract I’d signed with him.
That was why he felt the need to watch me—and why he was curious about what I’d been doing all day.
I glared at his expressionless face.
“Ah, you could abandon me anytime, couldn’t you? You’ve learned about the conspiracy, twenty thousand crowns mean nothing—wouldn’t it be enough to stab your uncle in the back?”
He didn’t even bother to deny it.
“Unfortunately, I can’t. Even knowing that you could abandon me at any time, I still can’t. The lives of someone insignificant like me and my friend can be toyed with by you or your uncle whenever you feel like it, can’t they?”
“I see it differently.”
He countered lazily, a beat late.
“What you want isn’t your life or money—it’s your friend’s life. As long as you save that child, you don’t care whose hand you take. On the other hand, if I lose your hand, I might lose my life.”
Only then did I understand his words.
If I hadn’t guessed who the client was, it would’ve been different—but I believed Archduke Artsen was the one behind the request.
That’s why Kalision couldn’t ignore the possibility that I might reveal our contract to prove loyalty to the client.
Both his contract and the archduke’s request involved Millicent’s life, so from Kalision’s perspective, it wouldn’t be strange for me to betray him again.
However, unlike the archduke’s request to bring him the crown prince’s life, Kalision hadn’t directly demanded the archduke’s life. If so, my choice wouldn’t change.
Still, there was no way Kalision would believe my excuse that, after deceiving him all this time, I actually cared about his life.
As I hesitated, Kalision spoke first.
“So I’m going to tell you one thing you seem to have overlooked.”
I only blinked, and he continued explaining.
“The contract you made with my uncle ends on the day of the hunt. But our contract has no time limit.”
I asked in shock,
“What? Once you save Millicent, won’t the archduke’s crimes naturally be exposed?”
“…No. You said the magical commission document you received was burned. I don’t have clear grounds to invade my uncle’s territory, so I’ll have to secretly take the child away.”
What do you mean?
Doesn’t a crown prince even have that level of authority?
As I frowned at the unexpected revelation, Kalision calmly added,
“And you’re my lover. How could the ‘Morning Star of Yustini’ abandon her lover after only ten days? It would be far stranger if I were the one being dumped in ten days.”
Wow. Even if it’s technically true, it’s infuriating.
Before my speechless stare, he smiled brightly.
“When Millicent Subia is taken away, my uncle’s commission will automatically be void. He’ll have lost his collateral. But since your contract document is gone, if you pretend not to know, he’ll try to hide that fact from you for a while. In other words, even after losing his collateral, he’ll blackmail you and try to get what he wants.”
Frowning deeply, I asked,
“You’re telling me to just play along and pretend to be fooled? Why should I do that?”
