“Omen.”

A peculiarly friendly tone called his name.

“Your Highness, the ……Crown Prince.”

Omen’s icy expression lifted, and a smile appeared on his face.

“What are you doing here?”

He looks a little afraid.

A somewhat wary look.

One corner of Omen’s mouth twitches upward at the sight of the frail crown prince.

“Brother told me they were already on their way home, so I saw them off.”

“Is that so?”

The crown prince has no power.

Omen was convinced of that hypothesis.

Every time he touches Flotty, how can he not feel the power that emanates from Denver?

“Let’s go inside. They’ll be waiting for us.”

“There will be no nobles waiting for me, Your Majesty.”

Which makes hovering around Flotty all the more enjoyable.

Not to mention Denver’s reaction.

Flotty too.

Omen mulled over the haunting image of Flotty’s face.

He didn’t expect her to flip his script.

That woman always comes up with something different.

Never realizing how much it amused him.

“Omen, don’t talk like that. As I said…….”

Omen looked at the crown prince standing in front of him.

An empty-shell crown prince with no power.

He was born to the resuscitated empress, and he had golden eyes.

He had earned the right to be emperor.

“Your Majesty, why do you look at me like that? I’m the only one who knows my subject.”

What’s with those eyes?

Omen ran a hand over the corner of his red eye.

If only he had a golden eyeball here.

The empire would be his.

“Ha, I don’t have the strength to deal with you today.”

Not this weak crown prince, but in his hands.

“I’ll go in first.”

“As you wish, Your Highness.”

Omen bowed his head in acknowledgment.

The crown prince walks away.

Alone in the hallway, Omen ran a hand through his neatly swept-back hair.

“Flotty…….”

That woman appeared, so he couldn’t get loose.

Very, very annoyingly.

“That was fun for a moment.”

Now she’s interesting, but she keeps getting in the way.

“How do I kill her?”

The corners of Omen’s mouth twitched upward.

* * *

“I’m bored…….”

I clenched my jaw and muttered, looking out the window.

‘I’m so bored here.’

No smartphones, no TV, no computers.

I’m tired of reading books.

I liked the peacefulness of an uneventful day, but I was also bored.

The Grand Duke is in his office at the Imperial Palace, and he’s busy with work.

“Is there anything to do…….”

I patted a potted flower absentmindedly.

“You look relaxed.”

The Grand Duke surprised me by appearing without knocking today.

“Ha… you surprised me.”

“There’s nothing to be surprised about in this mansion.”

Because of you, you.

How can I not be surprised when you show up unannounced and unexpected?

“Aren’t you busy?”

I sweep my hand across my surprised chest and return my gaze to the window.

It’s a stupidly nice day.

“I was thinking about taking a trip.”

“You’re …… going on a trip?”

The Grand Duke looked away unnecessarily.

“Suddenly? Where? With whom? Aren’t you busy with work?”

I asked with the speed of a rapid-fire cannon.

The Grand Duke, who had been averting his eyes to a distant mountain, burst out laughing.

“Anywhere. With you. I’m not busy.”

He answered my questions one by one.

‘Traveling…….’

I don’t know what the wind was blowing.

Each time, he would get up before dawn and leave the bedroom, claiming to be busy.

“After all your hard work.”

“…Well, it’s good because I’m bored with nothing to do, but…….”

“Good, but?”

“Are you sure we can go?”

“If you go, we’ll go.”

The Grand Duke replied nonchalantly.

I thought leaving the house was a real hassle.

But being stuck in a place without internet is terrible.

That’s why the Grand Duke’s offer to travel is so welcome.

“You don’t want to?”

The Grand Duke asks, as if he’s reading my mind.

“Of course not, I love it!”

I reply with a beaming smile, and he smiles back.

* * *

“Wow…….”

Is this the ocean?

I held on tightly to my hat to keep it from blowing off in the breeze.

We had raced out of the capital and onto a secluded beach.

The ocean was very different from what I was used to seeing in real life.

First of all, it was beautiful.

It was blue and green.

The sunlight breaking through the crystal clear waters couldn’t have been more beautiful.

I stared at the ocean in awe, mesmerized.

‘I hadn’t seen the ocean in a long time…….’

As a child, I held my mom’s hand and went to the sea.

That’s all I remember.

“Flotty.”

The Grand Duke holds out his hand to me.

“Where are we going?”

He takes my hand and leads me across the beach to a large ship.

It looked like something out of a movie.

“Isn’t this…?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”

Eh?

I thought this was our destination.

Apparently not.

I take the Grand Duke’s hand and climb aboard the large ship.

We reach the edge of the deck, and I feel like I’m standing in the middle of the ocean.

“Ah, it’s nice.”

“Do you like it already?”

“Yes. I’ve only been in mansions and palaces.”

“That makes me want to apologize.”

“I didn’t mean for you to.”

We bantered back and forth.

In the meantime, the large vessel cut through the water.

A cool breeze blew across my face.

“You look happy.”

Leaning against the railing, the Grand Duke’s hair blew in the breeze.

He looked quite, quite, handsome.

“Where are we going now? Are we going to an island or something?”

“Something like that.”

Wow, a real island.

I remembered going to Jeju Island as a student on a school trip.

It hadn’t been a fun trip for a friendless me.

“Is it pretty?”

I asked if the island was pretty.

Of course it’s pretty enough for him to choose it as a travel destination, right?

The Grand Duke stared at me for a moment, speechless.

At that moment, my hat flew off my head in the wind.

“Oh, my hat!”

I reach out to catch it before it flies further, but all I can find is air.

My off-center body tilted forward, following my flailing hand.

‘I’m falling!’

Something’s going to break, and it’s going to break hard.

As I squinted in anticipation of my fall, a familiar scent wafted through the air.

“Ah…….”

“…….”

“T, thank you.”

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me to my feet.

Thankfully, I didn’t fall.

I fell into the Grand Duke’s arms, much to the amusement of those on deck.

‘Ugh, embarrassing.’

I squirmed to get away from him.

But the Grand Duke won’t let go.

His gaze remains fixed on me.

“It’s beautiful.”

“…….”

“To the point that I can’t stop thinking about it.”

Even though I know he just answered my question about whether the island is pretty.

My dumbfounded face flushes apple red.

“I, I see, I’m looking forward to it.”

That’s why I didn’t make eye contact with him anymore.

The Grand Duke released me from his embrace with an odd smile.

‘What a mess.’

He’s the reason I’m blushing like this.

He spoke to me like that, at such close range, with such a face.

That’s why my face looks like this.

I stare at the white foamy water and catch my breath.

“Have you ever traveled?”

“Uh, yeah, a couple times, though I never liked it.”

I see.

The Grand Duke’s words were drowned out by the sound of the waves.

“I was wondering.”

I speak up, trying to get out of this awkward situation I’ve created for myself.

The Grand Duke glances down at me.

“How do you know the island is beautiful?”

“…….”

“Who did you come here with before?”

The question was asked out of pure curiosity.

I mean, it’s not like I was asking him if he’d been with another woman before.

It wasn’t a probing question at all.

‘But why does the Grand Duke look like…….’

His slightly parted lips showed that he was puzzled.

“What is this reaction?”

I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this.

I grabbed the railing and slid to the side.

I was a little closer to the Grand Duke.

“Who were you here with?”

The Grand Duke’s dumbfounded expression amused me.

I narrowed my eyes and deliberately carved a frown into my brow.

I barely held back the giggles that threatened to escape.

“It’s not like that.”

“It’s not what?”

I leaned in a little closer.

“Tell me who you’re here with.”

The Grand Duke’s lost gaze was amusing.

The way his pursed lips said nothing.

“You were with someone other than me, weren’t you?”

I drive a wedge into the joke.

I knew, and he knew, that whoever the Grand Duke had been on the island with before had nothing to do with me.

We were just a couple in a contract marriage.

His reaction was amusing, and I felt good.

That was it.

But if I’d known this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have pranked him.

“Flotty, don’t get me wrong. I’m here……”

He floundered, about to respond to my prank,

The boat, unable to overcome the sudden rough seas, momentarily tipped over on its side

Tsuk.

‘Tsuk?’

And then disaster struck.

Something warm and wet touched my lips.

I saw the Grand Duke’s eyes flicker.

I must have been, too.

‘Crazy…….’

In the face of such a catastrophe, it was inevitable.