Chapter 106

I picked up the teapot and headed for the kitchen. I could’ve just called a maid, but I thought Princess Florin might need some time to gather her thoughts.

Sure, it was an era dominated by political marriages—but marrying someone chosen by an oracle? No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.

“Young Lady! What brings you all the way down here?”

The maid on night duty looked startled when she saw me walk into the kitchen. Though she offered to brew the tea herself, I told her I’d do it and sank into thought.

I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Princess Florin, having to live with someone she didn’t even know or accept. Still, if there was one thing I’d learned from that whole ordeal with the Crown Prince, it was this: don’t get involved in something you can’t take responsibility for until the end.

So I decided—I will treat her with sincerity for as long as she stays in our home.

After brewing the tea in the kitchen, I headed back to the room. It was late at night when the front door opened and Sasha walked in.

“Sasha, you’re just getting home?”

“Yeah. Work’s been piling up lately, so I’ve been pulling late nights. But…what the heck are you wearing?”

Having been swamped with noble council work since being dispatched to the border, Sasha had been working overtime every day lately. He frowned at my outfit.

“Vivi, didn’t Mother tell you to tone it down while we have a guest? And what is all this? A teapot?”

“Don’t you think these pants are cute?”

I proudly showed off the trousers to my brother. Sasha, who had been frowning, instantly recognized them.

“They look like traditional Gellang clothing.”

“Yeah. The princess gave them to me as a gift.”

“The princess did?”

“Yup. I’m planning to ask Andre’s Trading Company to find more tomorrow. These are the perfect pants I’ve always dreamed of.”

They were a world apart from the ones Sasha wore, which didn’t even fit my waist. Sasha looked exhausted and didn’t seem to have the energy for a long conversation.

“Do whatever you want. Anyway, where’s the princess?”

“She’s resting.”

“Oh yeah? Where?”

“In her room, of course.”

That’s when I missed something important: Sasha had left early in the morning and didn’t know that Princess Florin and I had swapped rooms. My twin brother had no idea that the Princess was resting in my room, but our conversation flowed naturally. Sasha, unsure whether to greet her now or not, hesitated. I gave him some advice.

“Do it tomorrow. She’s in pajamas, it’s too late at night, and… well, frankly, you look like you’ve been steamrolled by exhaustion.”

Sasha was indeed so tired that he kept pressing between his brows, as if trying to ease the strain from his eyes. He looked like he might collapse straight into bed, and no one would have found it strange.

“Yeah, I’ll do that. See you tomorrow—I’m heading up.”

“Okay, Sasha. Go get some good rest.”

After sending my registry-mate upstairs, I, too, made my way to the room.

It seemed like the night was finally winding down—but the real incident was just beginning.

When I returned to the room, the Princess was already asleep. It looked like she had tried to wait for me but had fallen asleep from exhaustion, slumped over in place.

I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should wake her, but in the end, I left her as she was. Anyone who’s ever been jolted awake from a deep sleep knows just how annoying it can be.

So I quietly left the room and headed for the guest room to finish the book I’d been reading.

The novel that Princess Florin and I had started reading after returning home was one Sasha had recently picked up. I had already finished it long ago, but rereading it brought back how fun it was, so I had taken it out again from Sasha’s room.

Naturally, I didn’t expect Sasha, who was always busy and exhausted, to be reading anything after work. Even if I had known, I probably would’ve insisted on finishing it first anyway.

Sipping warm tea, I leisurely read the book.

And then—an ear-piercing scream shattered the peace.

“Kyah! Kyaaah!!”

“W-what?!”

It was Princess Florin’s voice. She had been fast asleep just moments ago, and her sudden scream made me bolt into the hallway barefoot.

“What happened?!”

The whole household rushed to her room, startled by the commotion. My parents, clearly flustered, had come out in a hurry, probably awakened from sleep.

But the one who was truly panicking was someone else entirely. Compared to him, my parents looked downright composed.

“Princess!”

Others hesitated, unsure if it would be proper to enter the princess’s room without permission. But I didn’t think twice—I ran in immediately.

There I saw Princess Florin, wrapped tightly in the blankets, trying to hide herself completely.

And standing there, utterly speechless with panic, was none other than my one and only twin brother.

“I—I didn’t mean to, I thought—no, it’s not what it looks like—”

“KYAA! KYAA! KYAAAA!! AAAH!!”

Florin’s shrieks continued to pierce the air, drowning out my brother’s desperate, stammering attempts to explain.

* * *

“Mom, Dad, please go back to your room. I’ll take care of this.”

“But the princess seems really startled…”

“I said I’ve got this, okay? Don’t worry.”

Sasha stood there stammering, looking completely dumbfounded—a face I had never seen on him before. Unlike Princess Florin, who was visibly shaken and panicked, Sasha was eerily silent, too stunned to even speak.

“Princess, please try to calm down.”

“Lady Roha? Lady Roha, there was an intruder in the room… an intruder!”

Recognizing my face, Princess Florin immediately clung to me, crying out about the awful trespasser who had invaded her room.

“He suddenly came in and grabbed my ankle…!”

“No, I didn’t—I mean, that’s not—ugh. This is insane.”

My brother shut his eyes tightly, clearly lost on where to even begin explaining.

“Princess Florin, please calm down. This man is my brother.”

“Y-your brother? Lady Roha’s?”

“Yes. You met him at the Crown Princess’ appointment ceremony, remember? You chose him, didn’t you?”

The Princess, who was so shy she wore a veil in public, had clearly been traumatized. Waking up to find a strange man standing in the room? It was hard to imagine anything more terrifying or shocking.

And realistically, even though they had technically met, she had probably only seen his face once. She wasn’t obligated to remember unfamiliar faces.

Thankfully, Princess Florin seemed to calm down as I spoke. Still teary-eyed, she looked between Sasha and me, and only then did recognition seem to dawn on her face.

“Lord… Roha?”

“I greet you, Princess Florin of Gellang… I’m Alessandro of the Viscount Roha household.”

“…But why… are you here?”

That was what I wanted to know too.

“I thought this was my sister’s room… I came to retrieve something.”

He was being oddly vague—not like Sasha at all. Even Princess Florin seemed suspicious of his behavior.

“Even if it’s your sister’s room, you came to look for something at this hour of the night?”

“I saw her just a little while ago carrying a teapot upstairs. I assumed she was still awake… I had no idea the Princess would be sleeping in her room.”

“What were you trying to retrieve?”

“…What?”

“I asked what you were trying to retrieve.”

Princess Florin wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes as she pressed him again. Sasha’s long-winded excuse clearly didn’t convince her.

Sasha struggled to answer. But after committing such a major offense against a royal guest, there was only one path forward for him.

“…I came to borrow a book.”

“A book?”

“Yes.”

“What book?”

“Do I really have to tell you that too?”

Sasha’s tired voice was edged with irritation. I was about to step in, knowing exactly which book he had come for.

“Yes.”

But Princess Florin was quietly insistent. Though I’d thought of her as shy, she now showed the pride unique to those of royal blood.

“I came to this country as a guest. Is this how your country usually treats its guests?”

As expected from someone educated—being timid didn’t mean she couldn’t win an argument. Her words were crisp, leaving no room for evasion.

If we said this was how guests were treated, we’d come off as uncultured and rude. If we said it wasn’t, then Sasha would become an ill-mannered brute who barged into someone else’s room in the middle of the night.

It was the first time I’d seen Sasha cornered like this, and all I could do was look back and forth between him and the Princess, unsure how to intervene.

After a moment, Sasha finally addressed Princess Florin.

“…I came to borrow a novel.”

“A novel? What kind of novel?”

Sigh.

A sigh heavy enough to feel like a weight burst from his chest. But in the end, he had to be honest.

“A romance novel. Would you like the title, too?”

Has anyone ever pushed Sasha into a corner like this? Having to say the word “romance” clearly dented his pride.

Princess Florin was visibly flustered. As someone unaccustomed to men, it probably hadn’t even occurred to her that Sasha might have come to borrow a romance novel.

“A r-romance… novel?”

She stumbled over the words. Sasha, mistaking her reaction for mockery, gave a much colder response than usual.

“Why? Are men not allowed to read romance novels?”

“N-no! That’s not what I meant!”

Her voice, which had been so composed a moment ago, returned to its usual tone. As she stammered again, Sasha explained his position in a blunt tone, far from his usual relaxed manner.

“If I’d known this was your room, I wouldn’t have entered. The room was dark, so I didn’t realize it was you. I only intended to wake her—my sister—to ask where she put the book that was originally in my room.”

He’d seen me wearing the pants, so it made sense that, in the dark, he’d confused us just by silhouette.

“This was originally Vivi’s room as well. I sincerely apologize for my rudeness toward Your Highness. Please forgive me for the misunderstanding.”

“Ah, no… it’s not something to forgive, really…”

“Thank you. Then I’ll return to my room now.”

A chill seemed to blow through with his words. Sasha’s attitude was proper—but only just that. Polite, but utterly distant.