Diego helped her to her feet and then walked away. It was as if the play was over and he was leaving. Diego raised his hands as if to surrender.

“I’m sorry for making fun of you.”

“……You just apologized?”

Estella stared at Diego in surprise. She hadn’t expected him to admit fault. Diego meekly finished his explanation.

“I was just messing with you that day because I thought it would be fun to see how you would react to a teasing. I did it for fun, so there’s no excuse.”

As he said this, he lifted his eyes and glanced at Estella. Estella didn’t have much of a reaction. She wasn’t smiling, but she wasn’t frowning either. She had no idea what to make of it. Diego lifted his index finger and lightly scratched his cheek.

“Aren’t you going to be mad?”

Estella let out a sigh and couldn’t help but smile. It was because she realized that it was impossible to hate someone who was trying to apologize while being so charming. There would be no woman who could sustain her anger until the end when such a handsome man was being considerate. Besides, she wasn’t really that angry in the first place. Unlike normal parents, Estella didn’t really hate meeting and talking with Diego. It was the same with this funny dance lesson.

Estella said, relaxing her eyes.

“I can help you with the dance, if you want. Well, you mentioned that there would be additional compensation as well.”

“Since my apology is sincere, please ask for something in return. I’ll do what I can within my limits.”

“Then, how about Lady Adriana and…”

“Isn’t it a bit too sneaky to try to decide on something as significant as marriage based on a situation like this?”

Diego asked in disbelief, which made Estella laugh. It was a joke, even for her.

A favor. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t come up with anything. As Diego had said, this was not a reason to arrange Adriana’s marriage, and right now Estella had no other purpose than to help Adriana find stability. She had already succeeded in sending Diego to the royal ball at Adriana’s request.

“No, no such thing. Just give Cedric the gift you promised him earlier.”

“Is that all you need?”

“Little Duke.”

Estella called out to Diego in a low voice. Diego faced her leisurely, his hands in his pockets. Taking one slow breath, Estella cleared her throat and spoke.

“Lady Cecilia was very pleased when I gave her the gift you gave me earlier.”

“…….”

“I just wanted to tell you that.”

Diego looked at Estella, his face expressionless. After a moment, a weak laugh escaped from him.

“Miss Margaret really… you only think only of the children.”

Estella blinked her eyes in confusion. She didn’t know why he thought it was so strange for a tutor to meddle in the children’s education.

The smile faded from his lips, and Diego stretched out his hand toward her, his demeanor more subdued than before. With a theatrical air, he asked her to dance.

“Would you like to dance one more song?”

Estella started to reach for him, then stopped. There was one thing she couldn’t do to match his craziness.

“Even without music?”

“I’ll hum something for you.”

Diego replied in a jovial tone. Estella obediently laid her fingertips on his palm. By now, she was so used to holding his hand that she didn’t mind. He pulled her around the waist to hug her. For a moment, their noses were almost touching.

Instead of pulling back, she just looked up at him. I don’t know when I got so comfortable with him, she thought.

“What are you two doing……?”

The distant voice made Diego and Estella turn at the same time. The hall had high ceilings, effectively muffling the other person’s voice. It made Estella relive the fear she had felt earlier. Cedric’s appearance, reminiscent of a horror movie, was repeated this time.

Cedric stopped halfway up the stairs and watched them in horror. When both Diego and Estella remained silent, Cedric became more insistent.

“What do you two think you’re doing there!”

Estella stepped forward. She didn’t know what she was supposed to say, but she felt like she had to clear up the misunderstanding. She spoke urgently.

“Please don’t take this the wrong way. The Duke told me he’s not a good dancer, so I decided to teach him.”

She felt quite guilty about repeating the lie that the other person had told her. But Cedric was a member of Diego’s family, and he knew his brother better than Estella, who had only been in the mansion for two months, which meant he was already aware of the fact that Diego had mastered ballroom dancing to the point where he didn’t need dance lessons.

Cedric turned to Diego with a gaze that seemed to see him as a great conspirator. It was a reaction similar to when Diego plucked spring flowers from Cecilia. Cedric shouted with a betrayed expression on his face.

“Teacher…… you’re being deceived!”

Diego shrugged wordlessly. He had nothing to lose since Estella had been found out anyway. Although, of course, she wasn’t at all pleased to have his dance interrupted.

Despite Cedric’s fussing, she didn’t hear any footsteps nearby. Apparently, he’d told them to stay away so they wouldn’t be disturbed.

Diego looked tiredly up at the top of the stairs. Cecilia peeked out from the top, as if following Cedric. She had apparently overheard their conversation, but her reaction was different from her brother’s. Cecilia’s face lit up with recognition.

“I’m going to learn to dance!”

What a mess.

* * *

Lionel glanced at his watch, his face showing boredom. It was already nearing midnight. He had heard that Countess Avril, had entered the king’s chamber early in the evening, but there was no sign of her appearing at all.

Lionel counted again how many days had passed since Camilla’s entrance into the palace. The result was the same this time. He counted to seven fingers. That meant that Camilla must leave before midnight. Non-royal nobles were not allowed to stay in the palace for more than a week without a special excuse. It had been enacted by his great-grandmother, who had been troubled by her husband’s troubles with mistresses.

Lionel let out a long yawn and looked off into the distance. He was waiting for Camilla at a side door that led to the main palace. It was the one Camilla would have to go through to get from the king’s bedchamber to the carriage. There is a more plausible route, but it would require an extra ten minutes of walking. When you’re not being watched, you tend to think of efficiency over style.

Luckily, the other person showed up before Lionel could return to his bedroom in exhaustion. When he spotted Camila walking in the distance, he whistled in delight. The sight of Camila’s face had never failed to offend him, but today was different.

Camilla glanced over at Lionel and tried to walk right past him. Lionel stretched out his foot and blocked her path. His foot on the doorframe made a good obstacle. Camilla turned her head to stare at Lionel, and then, in a thin voice, she asked.

“What is it, my dear prince?”

“You’re finally catching on.”

Lionel replied in his usual sweet tone. Camilla laughed softly, covering her mouth.

“Considering the audacious whistling sound I heard, I thought it was some insolent fool harrassing a maiden. I never imagined it could be Your Royal Highness, the Crown Prince.”

“Well, to be honest, I had my doubts too, so I wanted to see your face and confirm. Whether the lady entering the chambers of a gentleman on such a daring night was indeed the Countess Avril I knew.”

The maid standing behind the Countess of Avril raised her head in protest. She seemed to be trying to stop Lionel’s insulting remark. Surely, even for a crown prince, Lionel’s demeanor was out of line.

However, Camilla, who sensed the situation, raised her hand to stop the maid. Camilla gestured for her to back off, and the maid, her shoulders hunched, backed away. Camilla’s icy gaze returned to Lionel.

“If I wander about at night, I will be blamed for my conduct, and if I meet in broad daylight, I will be accused of being consumed by passion day and night. Then what kind of response should I give.”

Lionel shrugged thoughtfully. Camilla wasn’t wrong. He was merely criticizing his father’s mistress out of habit. Lionel said in a rueful voice.

“Ah, it seems you have misunderstood my sincere concern. I merely offered those words as a reminder for you to be cautious in your actions.”

“I shall leave that advice for the young prince. Your Highness is still in the process of making decisions. Even the prince can’t ignore His Majesty’s calls, so how can I be different?”

Camilla replied proudly. If you’re going to curse, do it to your father. Normally, Lionel would have backed down, satisfied that he had ruined her mood. But this time, he had more tricks up his sleeve.

“When did I mention my father?”

Camila’s expression hardened at Lionel’s smirk. He wasn’t going to give her time to do the math on this one, so he continued.

“How is High Priest Delmer doing these days?”

The corners of Camilla’s eyes twitched slightly. She remained silent, simply staring at Lionel. Then she looked away, as if to avoid his gaze.

“I’m not sure why you’re asking me that.”

“Countess Avril, let’s not go off on a tangent.”

Lionel sighed tiredly. Slowly, he straightened his numb legs and stood to face Camilla. He crossed his arms and looked into Camila’s tense face. He’d already done his homework, but he still couldn’t believe it. He doesn’t know how she had the nerve to do this, much less the courage. Lionel muttered in disbelief.

“I can’t believe you’re going to leave my father behind and meet that bastard…….”

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. It’s almost time for me to retire, so please step aside.”
“If you don’t want to leave the palace and never return, then do as you wish.”

Lionel retorted in a cold voice. Not only did he stop at words, but he also stepped aside completely.

Even though he made way for her, Camila couldn’t help but stumble. She must have realized that Lionel was serious. That he wasn’t just speaking out of suspicion.

As if to prove it, Lionel pulled out the letter he’d shoved in his pocket. He grinned wryly and asked.

“Don’t you think you should be a little more selective about who you send on errands like this?”

Camilla fixed her gaze on the envelope, which was shaking slowly. It was handwritten and addressed to him. She hadn’t written her name, but the royal court is a place of tenacious people who recognize a person by their handwriting.