Camouflaged outside the balcony, Max watched as Jubelian received letters from the maid. He swallowed nervously as the lady opened the unsealed envelope. Truthfully, he had no clue how she would react, but he hoped that she would come to her senses and start looking for him right away. Nevertheless, Jubelian remained indifferent as she read and stored his letter inside a drawer. Max wondered if she was not feeling well or was irritated for an unknown reason, but the lady left the room with a wide smile on her face when she was called to lunch.

'Does she value food more than my letter?' Max sulked. He, however, decided that was not true given the time they had spent together. She was bound to think of him soon! This conviction led Max to watch her throughout the day. To his disappointment, the lady spent the day lounging around until she eventually went to bed. During the day, she had looked in peace as if she had completely forgotten about the letter.

Her hair disheveled, the lady slept with her body sprawled out. Even so, Max couldn't help but think she was charming. He watched her with a relaxed expression for a moment until he realized she had not reacted to his message at all.

'She did not even realize my absence,' he concluded. Suddenly feeling restless, Max regretted sending the letter in the first place. He could have been spending time with her now if he hadn't! Max recalled what Victor had said.

"You won't visit her as often and stop listening to everything she asks for! Only then, she will realize how precious Your Highness is."

Max couldn't believe he had fallen for a measly trick. Jubelian hadn't even thought about him the whole day. Resent toward his good-for-nothing subordinate grew as Max realized the consequences of his rash action. He decided to return to the palace.

"What brings you here?" a voice interrogated just then. Max turned around at the sudden inquiry. It was his master who had appeared without notice. He was now staring at Max in his close vicinity. Was this proof that his master was still superior? At this rate, it was going to be impossible to triumph over him in a duel. Max became lost in thought for a moment before wondering why his tutor had even addressed him.

'It must be that he is here to send me away after seeing me linger near her bedroom.' Already anxious, Max didn't want to quarrel with his master. Furrowing his eyebrows, he responded, "I was just about to go—"

"If you haven't anything more important to attend to, come with me. We'll have tea," his master suggested.

Max narrowed his eyes. He couldn't figure out what this was about. With doubtful eyes, he watched as his teacher made his way to the entrance of the mansion. Slowly, Max followed.

***

Ever since beginning the contractual relationship with Jubelian, Max had never engaged in a one-to-one conversation with his master. It seemed the long hiatus was only adding to the awkward atmosphere.

'Does he even have anything to discuss with me?' Max thought nervously.

Clink! His master set his teacup on the set and asked, "How is the tea?"

"It's suitable. I don't mind flavored tea."

"How interesting it is to see you, who always favored coffee over tea, to say that you don't mind it."

Max agreed, but instead of verbalizing his concurrence, he simply took another sip of tea. As he relished the warm beverage, he couldn't help but think about Jubelian. He sighed, agonizing over his decision to send a foolishly written letter. His mind was drawing a blank on what to do next.