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Chapter : 28
“Are you going to keep staring like that?”
“…No.”
At the crown prince’s low voice, I hurriedly turned away.
And spun my brain like mad.
Seriously… he really came here to buy clothes?
How could that make sense?
Pretending to examine formalwear, I snuck glances at the crown prince.
What the— he’s reading it just fine.
Sitting cross-legged and reading a fashion paper, bathed in the warm afternoon backlight—
he looked like he’d stepped out of a magazine shoot.
And yet…
He looks… awkward.
It should have been a flawless picture, so what felt so off?
Then I figured it out.
I’ve never seen him read a fashion magazine.
Since we married—no, even before—we had never spent leisure time together.
He had never shown me a single glimpse of his everyday life.
His attendants would know his hobbies better than I do.
Nevia would know even more than that.
His lover wouldn’t just know his hobbies and daily habits—
she would share them with him.
Because she’s his lover.
The moment I pictured the crown prince’s mistress, the brief fog of sentiment snapped into icy clarity.
That’s irrelevant right now! Focus!
If I followed his order to “just continue what you were doing,”
I’d help the duke choose his ceremonial clothes,
while the crown prince sat and waited with a brochure or whatever.
The problem was—
so long as the crown prince sat on that sofa,
he could see everything I did with the duke.
I was going to use this to actually get closer to him, but… wait. Where did all of the prince’s guards go?
I went pale.
Of course he didn’t come alone—the imperial guards were surely stationed outside.
And if word spread that the crown prince, the archduke, and I were all together?
The gossip rags would swarm like rabid wolves.
My hard-earned date with the duke—ruined!
“Whew…”
A headache crashed over me, but I couldn’t show a thing.
That damned crown prince would use it to insist I return to the palace for my “health.”
What do I do?
While I agonized, a crash thundered from the fitting room.
“Why are you touching me like that?! Begone, you degenerate fiend!!”
“…”
I fell silent, then made a decision.
Great. I’ll use this as my excuse and run!
“It seems His Grace will take some time to change. If Your Highness insists on staying, we will simply take our leave and—”
“No.”
The low voice filled the room.
I turned. He still gazed at the fashion paper, voice level.
“Rettier, you may leave, but the Archduke will remain.”
“…What do you mean?”
“I intend to see for myself whether the archduke is a suitable business partner for my wife.”
“…What?”
“Another man may notice things you overlook. Don’t you agree?”
With that, he lowered the paper and cast an icy glance at the clothes I held.
“So don’t mind me, Rettier. Continue.”
“…”
Cold sweat coated my palms.
How could someone sitting lower than me glare down at me like that?
So he’s openly saying he’s here to monitor us!
…Was he suspicious of me?!
I hid my sweaty hands beneath the table and scrambled for a plan.
I was going to befriend the duke while the crown prince was distracted—but he’s already suspicious.
I was in serious danger.
Sure, chatting casually with him was fine now,
but once the duke reappeared, I wouldn’t have time to think.
If the duke does anything unexpected, I’ll panic, lose control, and next thing I know I’ll be dragged back to the palace.
But if I ran now—when he’d said he wanted to see—it’d only look worse!
“…”
After much thought, I finally spoke.
“…But showing up without notice is a little troublesome. Next time, could you tell me beforehand?”
“A troublesome visit.”
He murmured, eyes briefly closing before flipping another page.
“Come to think of it, you insisted I return to the palace earlier as well.”
“…I did.”
“Is there perhaps a reason I shouldn’t be here?”
His eyes pressed into me. I ground my teeth silently.
Of course there is. Isn’t it obvious?
You cheated, and now you’re barging into your wife’s love-life project!
But I couldn’t say that.
I feigned innocence.
“Not at all. I was simply surprised to see Your Highness choosing your own clothes. I worried you might accidentally buy something unfashionable. But since you’re reading a fashion paper, I see you’re quite interested in the field… I suppose I worried for nothing. And also…”
I paused deliberately to provoke curiosity, then whispered,
“…It’s a little disappointing, I suppose.”
“Disappointing?”
He lifted his head sharply—enough to make me flinch.
Wh-why are your eyes open that wide?!
His half-lidded, jaded eyes were suddenly stark white, fully open.
“Um…”
I stammered only a moment before pressing on.
“Well… after our wedding we were both so busy. Even after Your Highness returned triumphant from war, I couldn’t do anything for you personally…”
“…”
“If we were an ordinary married couple—not the empire’s future—maybe we would do different things together. In a place like this.”
He froze mid-page turn.
I seized the moment and scanned him.
And discovered something unexpected.
He’s a little… messy today.
Unlike his usual perfect grooming—always maintained by several attendants—something was off.
I tilted my head.
“And now that I look—Your Highness’s cufflinks are missing.”
He checked.
“…So they are.”
He nodded, unbothered.
“I’ve been too busy lately.”
“Mm.”
I nodded mildly.
Right. He called for sick leave for me, so he must be handling all the palace affairs I set down.
And of course—he was busy with his romance.
Fine.
I made up my mind completely.
If I can’t escape your surveillance—then I’ll sabotage your romance too.
“Since this is the first time we’ve met outside the palace after marrying… may I buy you a small gift to commemorate it? If you don’t mind, shall we look around together?”
There’s no way he can refuse.
He’d want to maintain the appearance of marital goodwill.
But…
“A fine idea. I was just getting bored.”
He rose immediately and extended a hand.
“…”
“Let’s go.”
“…Yes.”
I stared for a moment, then took his hand with a smile.
My smile was fake—my thoughts were not.
When Lady Khalid hears about this, those two will tear each other apart.
And if they fight, they better fight like rabid dogs.
After that, we browsed the boutique together.
I sneaked a glance at him.
He’s pretending to be relaxed, even now?
His lips curved lazily—he even looked amused.
Because he successfully ruined my date.
Suppressing the churn of annoyance, I pointed at a silver cufflink set.
“I believe that would suit Your Highness.”
“Put it on me.”
He raised his sleeve.
“…”
I hesitated—but fitted the cufflink onto him.
“It’s crooked. Again.”
Ask your mistress to do it, you jerk!
Grinding my teeth, I struggled.
It had slipped in easily—but pulling it back out to re-align was torture.
“You’re hopeless.”
Just one punch. One punch…
Steam was building in my head when—
“Crown Princess!!”
“…!”
I dropped the cufflink instinctively.
“Your Grace… the Archduke?”
Haloed in the shop lighting, the northern archduke sprinted toward us.
