The tea party progressed pleasantly. The castle chefs outdid themselves with the desserts. Everything tasted heavenly. The snacks Izid bought from his homeland also were unique and delicious.

The best way to get acquainted with someone was to eat good food together and it worked.

I was very curious about Genoa and its policies. When I asked Izid about them, he answered me easily to my surprise.

“The king questioned Ludia and he was able to confirm the truth about what happened. The result was… Coronel got what he deserved. Only the king could have made such a drastic decision, and he did.”

I asked him, “I heard that Prince Coronel’s mother was the king’s first wife. I thought perhaps she wouldn’t have let it happen.”

He smiled bitterly. “True. The first wife and all of her children stood in front of the king’s chambers and protested in tears, but… the king wouldn’t change his mind. As for Ludia, this whole thing must have been too traumatic for her. She voluntarily gave herself to the temple of Rusae.”

Rusae was the goddess of the desert and widely worshiped by the Genoan people. A princess would enter the temple only if she lost her value as a royal member or she wanted to escape her life.

I could understand how shocking it must have been to see her own brother murder their aunt. Not to mention, at the king’s insistence, she confessed the truth and caused the death of her brother.

Since the king’s first wife protested so strongly against it, the king couldn’t order anyone to carry out the execution. In the end, the king himself brought out his royal sword and killed his son.

It was a tragic story, but I didn’t feel emotional about it.

Liliana paled at the story while I didn’t. It was strange how more accustomed she was of the ways in this cruel world, yet she reacted more than I did.

I had changed too much. I had become an unemotional robot.

I knew this was necessary, but I couldn’t help but feel bitter about it.

Just then, he walked in. Among all the pretty flowers, he was the most beautiful of them all.

He smiled when he saw me. “Bina.”

***

Fortunately, the tea party was a huge success.

Every guest behaved respectfully, and we were able to carry pleasant conversations during the entire time. In fact, we were all disappointed when it was time to leave. This was the first time I arrived in this world where I had such a satisfying and comfortable public event.

The main purpose of this small party was to create an environment where Prince Izid and Lucretius could meet informally and safely. During the meeting, Lucretius casually offered the Prince to meet in private, and Izid bowed happily.

I knew Genoa and Cransia will keep their peace for now. The political tension we briefly had was blamed on the dowager empress and Prince Coronel.

Now that both of them were dead, everything would be okay.

After the tea party, Lucretius and I walked back to my bedroom through the garden. We talked about the party and discussed politics.

We walked together as usual, but there was one thing different than before.

We were walking with our arms linked together. We looked like a loving couple.

It took me a while to realize that we were holding each other as we walked. The feel of him near me felt so natural that it stunned me.

I blushed and started to slowly pull my arm away. I knew this was ridiculous. We had already slept together, yet why was I being shy all of a sudden?

I couldn’t help it though. When I almost had my hand freed, Lucretius quickly grabbed it again.

“Huh!”

He grinned playfully and whispered, “Why are you so shy suddenly, my wife?”

When his face got close to mine, I suddenly remembered that night. He was still sick at the time and, therefore, was very warm with fever.

I remembered the heat and blushed. He grinned even wider and quickly lifted me.

“Gya!”

He laughed naughtily as I hugged his neck for balance.

I shouted at him, “Y, you scared me! Let me down! Your wound will reopen!”

He shook his head.

“No, I feel fine.”

“You… I mean, your highness!”

I noticed my maids and servants following from behind, so I made sure to address him properly.

He whispered to me firmly yet sweetly, “If you don’t let me carry you like this to your bedroom, I won’t let you sleep at all tonight. I don’t care what Lowson says!”

“…”

I had no choice, but to stay still. I didn’t want him to hurt himself again.

In the end, he got what he wanted. He did carry me in his arms all the way.

***

“If I knew this would be such a problem, I wouldn’t have lied that I was pregnant.”

I sighed as I looked at the mountain of gifts on my bedroom table. They were congratulatory presents from all over the nation.

The news of my fake pregnancy spread like a wildfire, and for many days now, people had sent me gifts. They were, in fact, mostly bribes disguised as gifts.

I was told there were many more presents other than the ones piled in my room. My maids had to go through them and give me only those from important figures.

Lucretius chuckled quietly and picked up one of the boxes.

“This… is from Countess Ilan.”

It was a silver rattle.

Lucretius rang it a few times just to tease me. The clear sound echoed as if it was laughing at me.

I sighed deeply as Lucretius asked, “May I suggest a solution?”

“A solution?”

I took the rattle from him and put it back into the box. Did he come up with a good idea to fix this? The only thing I could think of was to announce that I miscarried again.

Lucretius gave me his hand.

“Hmm?”

When I looked confused, he grabbed my hands and pulled me towards him.

He brought my hand to his lips and licked my palm.

“…!”

He then roughly squeezed my wrist and whispered, “We can make a baby right now. A month or two of time difference won’t be an issue. This is the best solution.”

He then winked at me confidently.

I became speechless at first but quickly recovered. I smiled brightly and reached out. His wound has healed a lot, but when I saw him this morning, it still looked raw.

I poked his chest hard.

“Gyaa!”

Lucretius fell back onto my bed and tried to hide his pained groan.

“…! It’s all healed now!”

I laughed at his lie. The sutures were still in place, and he still had more recovery to go through.

He was talking nonsense!

I was getting ready to go to bed when Lucretius asked me seductively, “Are you really going to go to sleep?”

This man was so persistent.

I nodded. “It’s night, so we need to sleep, of course. What else is there to do?”

Lucretius came to where I was sitting and took my brush from me.

He started to slowly brush my hair and asked, “Isn’t it a bit too early to go to bed?”

It was true, so I agreed. We just had dinner and it was early in the evening still.

I knew what he was implying, and I decided to go along for a while. I would keep him hopeful until the last minute, then… BAM! Cut him right off!

To be honest, I liked playing games with him. I liked teasing him.

He continued knowingly, “Then why don’t you have a good time with me?” He was so obvious.

I narrowed my eyes and smiled. “Good time? What kind of good time?”

He traced my shoulder slowly and seductively. His voice was so sensual I could feel it sticking to my skin like a caress.

“A memorable time… with me.”

I knew very well what he meant, but I went along with it.

“Just the two of us?”

He nodded emphatically. “Exactly.”

I finally gave him an evil smile and slapped his hand away from my shoulder.

I then loudly reprimanded him, “No way! Why are you so horny!?”

Lucretius feigned ignorance and asked innocently, “Horny? What do you mean? I meant we should sneak around the castle just by ourselves without our servants. I thought you might like it.”

“S, sneak around…?”

“I was thinking about a secret date, but horny? What were you imagining?”

“…”

He said to me disappointedly, “I think YOU are the one who is horny.”

“…”

I wanted to disappear.

This… this man was too devious. I was no match for him.

He did this on purpose! I am not horny at all!

… Or was I…