"M-mother!" The royal princess stared at her mother with a bewildered expression, but that didn't stop her abusive words.

"Am I wrong? I wouldn't have had to suffer like this if you were born a boy in the first place!"

Beatrice unconsciously bit the inside of her mouth. 'A boy, a boy!' She was upset and filled with sorrow, if she could, then she would have yelled right then and there. 'Why did you give birth to me if you were going to treat me like this?' She felt as if her insides were burning. But the only thing she could do was clench her fists, thinking that if she was able to overcome this crisis, then her mother would love her. "Mother, what if I ruined Maximillian's banquet?" she spit out.

The empress, who was in the middle of her tantrum, stopped and raised an eyebrow at her words. "What? How?"

"Think about who was in charge of the internal affairs of this palace while that idiot Maximillian was on the battlefield. The person who took responsibility would be one of the maids anyway, so there's no reason for us to get blamed," Beatrice said softly.

The ends of the empress' mouth began to curl up at Beatrice's words. "My lovely Bea, you're right. I'm positive that we'll be able to spoil this banquet." As if she had calmed down, the empress went back to being a benevolent mother.

The royal princess showed a crooked smile. "Yes, so that the nobles who care so much about appearances will find fault with him."

* * *

"It's so sweet."

Perhaps it was because this was his first time eating a strawberry cake in a while, but his expression looked better than before. "Yes, it's sweet and delicious," I agreed. He chuckled as if he was feeling much better. I smiled as I looked at him, then asked the question that had been on my mind. "So, how have you been?" Based on what he said, he had spent about two months on the battlefield. I was worried that he was hurt somewhere or was suffering from trauma caused by the war.

However, he only gave a nonchalant answer. "Good." Still, his eyes held a serious look to them, so I replied seriously as well.

"Really?"

"Yes, I've gained a lot from the war," he nodded. I became relieved as I saw that his face had become slightly relaxed, thinking that he had at least made a lot of money while away.

"I'm glad."

At my answer, he gently looked at me and asked, "What about you?"

"What?"

When I asked back, he speared a strawberry with his fork and clarified, "I'm asking how you've been."

I gave him a brief summary of what had happened while he was gone. His expression remained indifferent through the parts about the tea tasting parties, but subtly changed when I mentioned my father.

"You're saying that… Master is encouraging you to dress up for the crown prince's banquet?"

"Yes," I said with a deep sigh.

He propped his chin on his hand as he stared at me. "So, what kind of dress did you get?" he asked.

It was strange. I didn't know why, but it was embarrassing to look straight in his eyes for some reason. 'Is it because it's been a while since I've seen him?' I lowered my eyes and stared at the teacup as I started to feel lighter when not looking at him. "Ah, well, I went to the dress shop and heard that everyone was ordering colorful dresses."

"So?"

"So I chose a color that would be as unnoticeable as possible."

"And what color is that?"

"Pink beige."

"It would go well with black," he mumbled quietly under his breath.

"What?" I asked back at his unexpected remark. I didn't know what was going through his mind, but he had a mischievous look on his face.

"The crown prince might wear black armor and ask you to be his very first dance partner."

I was getting annoyed at him saying whatever just because it wasn't his problem, but managed to remain calm, not wanting to get upset over a trivial matter like this. "I'll never be caught because I'm going to hide."

"I see," he said with a smirk, "that's a good idea."

My eyes widened as he suddenly started reaching his hand out to me. He brushed his index finger across my lips. When he pulled back, I noticed some white cream on his finger. It was only then that I realized I was eating with cream on my mouth. 'Ah, I've made a mistake…'

At that moment, he teased, "It'd be better that way, since you won't be showing him your clumsy side like this."

'I know I'm clumsy, but how could he lecture me like that right in front of me?' "Stop making fun of…" I decided to speak up about what he had done, but lost my train of thought as I became astonished by the sight of him licking his index finger that had just touched my lips. 'W-what? Why is he licking that?' I was about to point out his strange behavior, but became tongue-tied when his gaze, fierce as if he were observing his prey, caught mine. I soon heard a somewhat threatening voice.

"So, make sure to hide well and stay out of his sight."