Max was frustrated because his swordsmanship had not progressed for several days despite training day and night. On top of that, he had not seen Jubelian. He struggled to block her out of his mind—telling himself winning against his master was priority. Nevertheless, her lovely appearance continued to linger before him. Some days, he thought he was going mad and seeing hallucinations.

His stubbornness gradually faded as he began to rationalize his longing for her. 'Does it even matter what her ideal type is if I can't meet her?' he frequently wondered. Unable to stand the separation, Max ended up running out of his hiding place and sprinting nonstop to the Floyen mansion. About to enter through the window as usual, he remembered what Jubelian had said previously.

"Can't you just come in through the door like a normal person?"

He headed to the front door immediately. There would be nothing stopping him since it was still daytime.

"Oh, hello there! It's wonderful to see you." It was one of Jubelian's maids who greeted him with a bright expression. Nonetheless, the distressed Max couldn't smile back. He deemed it unreasonable to be kind to anyone other than Jubelian.

"Take me to her," he muttered in a low voice.

* * *

Count Herend was the late empress' extended family. Combining my knowledge regarding the content of the original writing with my current situation, I was able to make an educated guess.

'Per the late empress' request, Yuri must be running the crown prince's information guild which was mentioned in the novel.' I contemplated whether I should go and pay a visit for more information but was reminded of something that I needed to do right away—Rose's letter. After removing the wax seal, I opened and read the writing on the parchment. I soon hardened my face.

'She must be… joking with me.' Unable to believe what I read, I stood frozen in the middle of my room.

That was when Merilyn called with a lively voice, "My lady, you have a visitor."

I hurriedly hid the letter in the drawer of my desk. "Okay, I'll be right out." Derrick usually called for more formal visitors. Knowing that it was Merilyn who called me, I gauged it would be a friend of mine. Deciding to ask who it was first, I opened my door. I was in my comfortable clothes as I had been lounging around. "Merilyn, who's—" I was rendered speechless once I realized the identity of my visitor. His sharp jawline was more chiseled than before—it seemed he had been troubled with his duties; perhaps he hadn't eaten well for the past few days. His clothes, which were more disheveled than usual, and his tired eyes added to his decadent aura. Meeting my eyes, he smiled. My heart began pounding.

"Jubelian, I missed—" he began.

Bang! I closed the door before he could finish speaking as I just realized something. 'W-what is he doing? Why didn't he tell me he would be visiting?' I had opened the door thinking it would only be Merilyn there. I was dressed in whatever I had lying around—it wasn't even one of the pretty chemises that I wore from time to time.

'Thank the heavens I at least washed my face this morning,' I sighed as I decided to change into acceptable attire. Calming my startled heart, I headed to my closet. That was when I heard a familiar noise coming from the window. I stiffened in response. When I slowly turned around, I saw that Max was standing on the balcony with pity-inducing eyes. I shrunk at such a sight as I hadn't been aware that he could wear such an expression. Sighing, I headed to the balcony.