Chapter 29
Knock, knock, knock—
“Secretary Shanael, are you awake?”
Hassel’s voice came from outside the door.
I weakly rose from bed and walked over, still in my nightclothes with only a coat thrown over my shoulders. I opened the door just a little and bowed politely.
“Yes— I was already awake.”
When I replied faintly, Hassel looked at me with concern.
“I’ll ask the innkeeper to set aside breakfast for you. Please sleep a little longer.”
“No, I should get up. It’s not every day I get free time…”
“But it seems the bed wasn’t very comfortable for you.”
“The bed was fine… but something else was uncomfortable.”
“I see. Well, what’s your plan for the morning? His Highness is preparing for an inspection, so I suppose…”
Hassel trailed off.
He didn’t need to finish—I knew exactly what he meant. The Crown Prince would be trailing after me like a goldfish following its own waste.
“Ahem… I’ll tell His Highness you’re too tired and need more rest.”
“Thank you. I also need some time to gather my thoughts.”
“Then please rest well.”
After closing the door, I went back to bed.
The reason I hadn’t slept last night wasn’t because of mice scurrying on the ceiling or the hard mattress.
It was because of the Crown Prince.
Jereon had insisted on sleeping in the room next to mine. In the end, the inn had been cleared of all other guests, and the Sky Knights stood guard in the hallway.
And before bed, the Crown Prince himself had come to my room—saying he wanted to bid me goodnight. To spare him the embarrassment of greeting me in front of the knights, I’d invited him inside.
That much, I’d expected.
“It’s my turn to greet you, isn’t it?”
His face leaned closer, and I instinctively closed my eyes, thinking he’d give a quick kiss on my cheek or forehead and be on his way.
But suddenly, I felt a twinge of danger.
I snapped my eyes open—and saw Jereon’s face tilted at a certain angle, in a certain position. This… this was exactly the pose for a kiss on the lips!
I quickly raised my hand to cover my mouth.
His expression twisted in displeasure.
“What’s this, all of a sudden?”
“Not on the lips!”
“…What do you take me for?”
His voice carried an air of wounded pride, but under the candlelight, I could see a flicker of embarrassment—like a thief caught red-handed.
“Fine then, tell me where I’m allowed.”
“Alright.”
He twirled a pointing finger above my face like a spinning roulette wheel. When it landed pointing directly at my lips, I protested.
“I told you, not the lips.”
“Look closely—I’m pointing at the cheek right next to them.”
“It really is the cheek, right?”
“Of course.”
I shut my eyes again as his cool, clean scent reached me. My heart pounded.
His breath came so close it almost brushed my lips.
Then—at last—I felt it on my cheek.
Relieved, I relaxed… until he tilted his head, and the edge of his lips brushed mine ever so slightly.
“It touched!”
“I didn’t notice.”
Oh, he noticed. But he played innocent.
When he left the room, I could only stand there, hand covering my lips. He’d kissed my forehead, eyes, even nose before and I’d felt nothing—but this was different.
I’d sworn to protect my lips, but my guard had been broken from the side. The tiny contact had thrown me into a panic. Every time I tried to sleep afterward, my lips tingled, keeping me awake.
With heavy eyelids, I reached for the pocket watch on my bedside table, wound it, and checked the time.
“The performance starts at one, right?”
It was only 8 a.m.—plenty of time.
I decided to nap and wake refreshed for the show.
“Shanael, I’m going to check out the drapery shop Zeck mentioned yesterday. Is there only one on this street?”
“As far as I know, yes.”
“Let’s go see if it really sells for such cheap prices.”
The Crown Prince, disguised as a hunter, held a crossbow in one hand. Even without it, anyone could tell from the head-to-toe animal pelts—bear-fur trousers, snakeskin belt, sheepskin vest, a hunting cap with raccoon tail, boots trimmed with rabbit fur, and pheasant-feather arrows—that he was a walking zoo.
Beside him, Hassel was equally overdressed—scruffy beard, wolf pelt under one arm—looking more like a mountain bandit than a hunter.
Their “disguise” was so over-the-top they actually drew attention in the market.
At the drapery shop, several real hunters were present—none nearly so flamboyant.
“Oh, look at that.”
“Wow, they even wear it like that.”
Ignoring the murmurs, Jereon burst through the door.
The shopkeeper, startled by their extravagant entrance, looked up from his abacus.
Hassel strode up with a bandit’s swagger.
“Shopkeeper, I’ve come to sell wolf pelts.”
He dropped the pelt onto a nearby table.
“Well now, not wolf-hunting season and you’ve brought this many? You must be from another kingdom.”
“No, caught them last year.”
“I see. The hides are clean—just small holes from arrows.”
“How much will you pay?”
“Impatient, aren’t we? This much, I can give you 2 gold.”
At that, Jereon stepped forward and slammed his fist on the counter.
“Are you joking? Woven together, this much hide is worth at least 10 gold. And you offer 2?”
“Ahem. If you don’t believe me, try the east market. They won’t give more either.”
“Really?”
The shopkeeper waved them toward the door.
“If you’re not selling, get out. You’re shedding fur all over the place.”
I swallowed hard, worried for the man.
If only he knew the “customer” he’d just insulted was the Crown Prince. But revealing that during an inspection was strictly forbidden—and dangerous.
Surprisingly, Jereon said nothing until we were far enough from the shop.
“The east market was the same. Zeck was right—they’ve fixed prices.”
“It seems so. Certain goods are not allowed to be price-fixed.”
“I didn’t expect them to slash prices this much. So they only raise them when government inspectors visit…”
“Shall I order an immediate crackdown?”
“No. This is just part of it. We’ll need a full-scale undercover investigation into all restricted goods.”
“Understood.”
I had thought inspections meant riding past and saying, ‘Investigate that, check this.’
But no—here was the Crown Prince, in disguise, putting on a show. And he was good at it.
Still, I couldn’t admire his acting for long. My performance time was drawing near, and I grew anxious.
Why drag me along? I don’t need to be here!
I’d woken late—around 11 a.m.—and was about to eat the breakfast Hassel had saved me when Jereon burst in wearing that ridiculous hunter getup.
“After you eat, come down. We’ll visit a bookstore and I’ll treat you to something delicious.”
“That’s kind of you, but I’d rather go alone.”
“It’s better with me—you won’t have to spend anything.”
“I appreciate it, but I can manage—”
“So that thing you said yesterday… was it a lie?”
“What lie? I just didn’t want to trouble you.”
“Then come when you’re ready.”
And so, I hatched a plan:
At the bookstore, I’d take ages pretending to choose a book, boring him enough that he’d leave me there to continue his inspection. Once he was gone, I’d slip off to the performance. Afterward, I’d return directly to the palace. Even if we missed each other, he couldn’t scold me for being safely back.
Perfect.
As we walked, a bookstore sign came into view.
“Oh! A bookstore. I wonder what’s new… Maybe the sequel to The Widow’s Perilous Romance? I’m dying to read it.”
Jereon glanced over from his conversation with Hassel.
“We can stop there before the south-side drapery shop.”
“I’ll wait here. The doorway’s too narrow to bring the wolf pelt inside…”
“Alright.”
But of course, Jereon still followed me inside—looking thoroughly bored.
Good. That meant my plan might just work.
