That she had genuinely been worried about whether he was angry — that was the thing that surprised him.
He had not thought she would concern herself so deeply. He had expected her, as she usually was, to toss the words out and not give them much further thought.
I don’t think I was actually angry then. Was that expression frightening to her?
Then again — most people showed some degree of wariness or unease around him as a matter of course. Judith, who met him every time with a smile and came willingly to his side, was the exception.
Axel had made a silent private note to be more careful — and then his eyes fell on the final postscript.
She wants me to look at a photo card full of repentance? What is there to see?
He checked the inside of the empty envelope once more and found a single photo card tucked within. He drew it out carefully, and an involuntary sound escaped him.
“…Hm.”
There, cradled in his palm, was Judith — eyes downcast and forlorn, making the most pitiful, woebegone expression imaginable.
And what was more — whatever she had done this time, the image was moving. It played on a loop of about three seconds, over and over again.
She stared straight ahead, then slowly, despondently, dropped her gaze. It was the image of a puppy caught in some mischief, doing its best to look sorry.
Before he knew it, Axel had pressed his hand over his mouth. There was a feeling in his chest — something feathery and unbearable — that he could not suppress.
How many times did it loop? At last his gaze tore away from the photo card, and he blinked, slightly dazed.
“…What on earth is this?”
Had she visited the mage tower and come back with some strange enchantment now? A spell to make it impossible to look away?
That was the only explanation. It couldn’t be that he, of all people, would react this way otherwise. Having firmly reached that conclusion — and reminding himself to ask her about it later — his eyes drifted back to the final lines of the letter.
She had asked for a reply.
A reply…
He sat with that for a moment. The letter had said she was coming tomorrow. And she had clearly been worried about whether he was truly still angry.
After brief deliberation, Axel dismissed the thought with cool decisiveness.
Let her spend the day fretting.
His mood had been swinging between heaven and earth over these past several days. It was only fair that she experience at least something similar.
Axel folded the letter carefully and tucked it into the inside of his coat. A satisfied smile settled at the corner of his mouth — one that had not appeared there in some time.
“I look forward to tomorrow.”
To anyone watching, it would have been an expression of such uncommon brightness that they might not have recognized him at all.
He could already picture it — her sneaking back to him, all careful glances and tentative steps.
“This will be interesting.”
But Axel did not know.
He did not know that this was his last smile.
That by the following day, his mood would plummet — past the earth, past the floor, past everything — to somewhere far below.
I had risen early, dressed, and was now inside a carriage on my way to the imperial palace.
It had been three whole days since I had last seen Axel.
My heart fluttered at the thought of seeing him again — but then the anxiety came and crowded it out. My expression, for once, went serious.
Surely he’s not still angry…?
I had thought that if I added a postscript asking for a reply, knowing his personality, he might actually write back — but unlike my expectations, nothing had arrived.
Because of that, I had spent the entire previous day planted in front of the mailbox.
Arms crossed, I sank into thought, tapping my fingers against my sleeve.
At this point, I could only imagine two possibilities.
First: Axel was angry enough that even my letter had done nothing. Second: my explanation about the Crown Prince had not landed.
Neither option looked particularly hopeful.
I let out a long, heavy sigh.
Of all things — I can’t believe running into the Crown Prince by coincidence made it into the papers. The feeling I’d had of being watched that day had been right after all. So there were paparazzi here too.
Thinking of the enormous headline splashed across the broadsheet, I felt my temperature rising all over again.
Even thinking about it again, it’s infuriating. How could someone write the word “smokescreen” with such brazen confidence? And what was that — her true love being the Crown Prince?
Was the way I looked at Axel truly invisible to everyone around me? The way my eyes went starry the moment he came into view — practically hearts leaping out of them?
If that wasn’t obvious, there was no explaining the headline.
Thanks to that completely baseless article, I even had to be careful about being seen near the Crown Prince.
As a close example of that: I had originally planned to meet the Crown Prince at his palace to exchange the item we’d negotiated, but because of that article, we’d been forced to change the meeting point to somewhere far more discreet.
This isn’t some spy film…
I exhaled deeply, one sigh after another.
There were ways to conduct the exchange without risking being seen together, certainly — but unfortunately, neither of us trusted the other that far.
One of us is definitely assuming the other is going to pull something, I thought to myself.
And I wasn’t denying it.
As a partner for fan appreciation, the Crown Prince was unquestionably ideal. As anything beyond that — not remotely. I had absolutely no idea what he was thinking most of the time. Without Axel as our common ground, we would never have crossed paths.
On top of that, my standing was lower than the Crown Prince’s — so if I were deceived, there would be nothing I could do but swallow my tears and move on.
I shook my head vigorously, tightening my fist.
That absolutely cannot happen!
I was still inwardly vowing that direct exchange was the only safe option for mutual security when the carriage came to a stop.
I breathed in slowly and stepped down with firm resolve. From this point on, I had to be careful not to do anything suspicious.
I walked at my usual pace and headed toward the location the Crown Prince had specified.
He had said the meeting spot was close to Axel’s office — close enough that I could arrive without drawing suspicion.
…There was a path here?
Following the hidden side route the Crown Prince had described, I turned and found a garden opening before me — and there, in the distance, was the Crown Prince, waving in my direction.
“I pay my respects, Your Imperial Highness.”
“Ah, the journey was no trouble, I hope. Please, sit.”
A dessert tray and tea had been prepared on the table. I glanced around, taking in my surroundings. Now that I thought about it, everything here was unfamiliar to me.
That was strange. Not a single servant was passing through. Did a place like this truly exist within the imperial palace?
The building visible across the way looked unused — every light within it dark. But for something supposedly abandoned, it was remarkably well-maintained.
I was still puzzling over this unfamiliar space when the Crown Prince broke the silence.
“So then…”
I turned to look at him. He was watching me with an expression curiously at odds with his usual manner — deeply serious, chin resting in one hand, like a man out of a crime drama.
“So then… you brought what we agreed on, didn’t you?”
I matched his gravity with equal solemnity and nodded.
“Of course.”
I lifted my merchant’s travel bag and presented it to him with conspiratorial discretion.
“Good. Then shall we see what we have.”
The Crown Prince produced a vision orb from somewhere and set it on the table. I reached into my bag and set Axel’s photo card down beside it.
A significant silence fell. We looked at each other cautiously.
It was the Crown Prince who spoke first.
“All that’s left is the exchange, as agreed. Isn’t that right, Lady Melberine?”
He reached out his hand toward the photo card — and I whisked it back with practiced speed. His eyes narrowed as they found mine.
I smiled brightly.
“Before we exchange — would you play the vision orb just once, Your Highness?”
