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Chapter 9
When I leaned over the terrace railing and looked down, I could see Lucas oppa and his group gathered about half a block away.
“Oh, so that’s where it was? I knew it—there’s a fight!”
“What do you mean? Huh? Isn’t that your brother over there?”
Rosa unni followed my gaze down the street and gasped.
“You’re right. Huh, hm. Why is he down there?”
I pulled back from the terrace and crouched slightly.
Well, whatever the process was, as long as the goal was achieved, that’s all that matters.
But before I could enjoy that small victory, Rosa unni stood up as if she had found an excuse to escape the awkward atmosphere.
“I’ll go check what’s going on. I’ll be right back, Sir Theo—no, Sir Theodor.”
I grabbed the hem of Rosa’s dress desperately.
“It’s over. I-I’m sure it’s nothing serious. Just stay here…”
“Can’t you see that? Sir Adrian’s covered in blood! And those people bowing to Lucas oppa—don’t you want to know what that’s about?”
“Why do you have to find out, unni? Don’t go! Ugh…”
And so I was left sitting across from the man named Theodor, waiting for my sister to return.
Theodor stroked his chin and smiled faintly.
“Was this all part of Your Highness’s plan?”
“What? You mean this tea meeting?”
“Not that. I mean, sending Prince Lucas—because you anticipated that Sir Adrian might get hurt.”
What is this man? How could he be so sharp?
My wariness toward him began to spike.
By now, you might’ve guessed—my divine power doesn’t allow me to see Giselle’s past or my own future.
So I never imagined I’d meet a man with the eyes of a top predator.
If I had known, I would’ve prepared countermeasures—or avoided him entirely, like I did with Adrian’s incident today.
But how did he figure out that I had acted with knowledge of the future?
Theodor set his teacup down and crossed his long legs.
“You’re not denying it. Judging from your expression, I’m correct—and also, you don’t seem to like me very much, do you?”
“How about a career change? You’d make a fortune as a fortune teller.”
“I don’t know what that means, but even without any special power, Your Highness is quite easy to read.”
“Me? That’s the first time I’ve heard that!”
I frowned, but a chill ran down my spine at how easily he had seen through my act. I’d heard of people immune to divine energy—was he one of them?
“I’m a businessman,” he said smoothly. “So all sorts of rumors pass through my ears. The ones about His Majesty’s youngest daughter are no exception. But even aside from that, I say you’ve changed because I remember our first meeting—brief as it was.”
I shrugged exaggeratedly.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Theodor met my eyes with a seasoned smile.
A naïve woman might have melted under that look and begged for his affection—but not me.
“As you know, royal marriages are thoroughly calculated. When my relationship with Princess Rosa ended, I understood that. Had I met those expectations, I’d be sitting here as your brother-in-law.”
So, his marriage to my sister didn’t happen because—for whatever reason—he didn’t fit the royal family’s calculations?
Then now, since I’m considered the family’s troublemaker, our statuses are about equal?
“Princess Giselle once held onto the man she loved for a long time,” he continued. “But you suddenly let that go so easily. I’m curious—what made you change your heart? And why did you worry about Sir Adrian getting hurt this time?”
I scoffed, irritation creeping in.
“I don’t like having this kind of talk with someone I barely know. And why would I worry about Sir Adrian? He doesn’t even like me. You didn’t expect this situation either, did you, Sir Theodor? So why don’t we just end this here and save each other’s time?”
“Is that so? Perhaps I didn’t know what to expect when I came here, but now, I find myself intrigued. I want to get to know you.”
What the heck? Was he a bulldozer in human form? Did my sister actually consider marrying this man?
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s date, Your Highness.”
I was speechless.
Excuse me, we’ve known each other for thirty minutes! We just exchanged names!
I shook my head furiously.
“You do know I hit my head recently, right? My sister told you I’m… weird. Like, really weird.”
He smiled with the kind of confidence that bordered on arrogance.
“I can handle it.”
A shiver ran down my spine. I jumped to my feet.
“I said no!”
I didn’t want to be rude for my sister’s sake, but this man was too much.
Not only was it terrifying that he had deduced my secret so easily, but I also had the uneasy feeling that he resented our family because his engagement with Rosa had been broken off.
I bent my knees in a polite bow.
“I have something to attend to, so I’ll take my leave.”
I grabbed Rosa’s bag and hurried away.
When I looked back from the staircase, Theodor was still smiling at me.
What a creepy man.
I was just about to leave the bakery when Rosa came in through the door.
“What the—why are you coming out?”
“Unni, your husband’s going to be late tonight. Don’t start a fight when he comes home—just forgive him. He’s your baby’s father.”
“What are you talking about? After what he pulled, I should half kill him! Anyway, why did you come out?”
“Unni, not marrying that man was divine luck. You dodged a bullet.”
“What are you saying? Theodor’s a good person. Father didn’t like him because of his status, that’s all. But he’s not the kind of man you ‘run away’ from.”
I shook my head violently, shuddering.
“I don’t care. He’s too much for me—just keep him away from me. And I said forgive your husband. If you don’t, your baby will be born cross-eyed!”
“You little brat!”
Rosa glanced toward the second floor.
“I should at least go say goodbye, right?”
“No, just leave.”
“Re-really?”
Seeing her slightly flushed face, I squinted suspiciously.
“Don’t tell me you still have feelings for him?”
“Of course not! That was just a silly fling.”
“Good. Then let’s go.”
Though she looked reluctant, Rosa followed me out onto the street.
Just then, our escort knight approached.
I asked her,
“By the way, what happened with oppa?”
“Don’t tell me you knew and sent him there?”
“What? Me?”
“I heard you begged him to buy some of that brewery’s special beer.”
“Oh, that. Anyway—how’s Adrian?”
“What do you think? You saw it yourself. If Lucas oppa and his knights hadn’t shown up, he’d have been torn to shreds.”
Adrian frowned as he struggled to sit up in bed.
For days, the aftereffects of that night had kept him confined to his estate.
Thankfully, his injuries weren’t severe, and his body had mostly recovered—but his mind was more crowded than ever.
He regretted what had happened, yet didn’t.
He regretted drinking too much, losing control, and getting beaten senseless by men beneath him—but he didn’t regret not holding back against those who had dared to speak Giselle’s name with filthy mouths.
The day they agreed to break up, Giselle had told him not to drink too much during the national holiday.
He had forgotten her warning.
He didn’t know how she could have foreseen it, but unlike his useless concern about her eating vegetables, her warning had actually saved him.
If Prince Lucas hadn’t arrived that night, Adrian—drunk out of his mind—wouldn’t have stood a chance.
Even Hugo, strong and burly as he was, couldn’t have fought off dozens of jackals barehanded.
When Lucas arrived with his knights and barked an order, the crowd recognized the prince and immediately dispersed, ending the fight.
Adrian’s pride crumbled once the alcohol wore off, yet he felt an odd comfort knowing Giselle had sent Lucas.
When she was young, Giselle had been quiet and shy.
As she grew, that timidness sometimes annoyed him.
When the king forced him to marry her despite his dislike of pressure, it became even harder to look her in the eye.
He couldn’t recall exactly when that changed—when he began to notice her differently.
Prince Lucas had told Princess Rosa that Giselle had stubbornly insisted on getting that particular craft beer from that tavern that night.
It felt as though she’d sent him there to protect Adrian.
If it were him, he could never have worried about someone who had rejected him for so long.
Adrian jumped up from bed and began preparing to enter the palace.
There were too many things he wanted to ask.
