"Oh, you have already... woken up, King of the Dead."

Noticing Tie’s gaze, Ardiana faltered.

And Papa muttered mockingly again:

"Why are you stuttering?"

"Quiet! You really...!"

Watching Papa and Ardiana, Tie thought:

'This is a romance drama...?'

Countless dramas she had watched with the grandmother from Room 107 and the aunt from Room 203 surfaced in her memory.

'Oh my, look at them arguing, how cute! So cute!'

'Ah, youth...'

Usually, in the first episode of a drama, a man and a woman who are completely different meet, then argue for no reason and start constantly being around each other.

Just like Papa and the princess right now.

And then—

'By episode eight, they always kiss!'

Curiosity lit up in Tie’s eyes again.

Meanwhile, across from her, the conversation between Tesetan and Ardiana continued.

"It seems you are quite confident in your appearance? Judging by your reaction, the answer was not what you expected."

"Y-you... you are far more rude than I expected! And besides, your own face is not exactly something to be judging others with."

Tesetan turned lazily.

With a faint smile, he leaned slightly closer to Ardiana. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Really? I am told quite often that I am handsome."

"What...!"

Ardiana’s face flushed again.

Her gaze wavered.

Tesetan’s face was so close it seemed like it might touch hers at any moment.

Unlike her, he looked at her completely calmly.

The corners of his lips curved into a smile that could confuse anyone.

Ardiana swallowed without realizing it.

Her heart thudded dully.

In the dim light, his eyes seemed deeper and darker than usual.

She had lived for many years in the shadow of the imperial palace, and there had been men around her.

But none of them had ever behaved like this toward her.

No.

Could this simply be called boldness?

Trickery, skill, or... outright audacity...

'I am told quite often that I am handsome.'

Tesetan’s words echoed in her mind again, and her thoughts began to unravel.

Ardiana unconsciously parted her lips.

'How can someone say that about himself...'

But she could not deny it.

Beneath sharp brows—a deep, cold gaze.

Even standing still, he filled the space.

And those strong legs, standing far too close...

'What am I even thinking!'

Ardiana shut her eyes tightly and opened them again.

But Tesetan’s unreal beauty had not disappeared.

'...I need to think about something else.'

She recalled what she had long known about his background.

Tesetan Veronio—the fourth son of the Luminel family.

Which meant he was the son of Eleanor, called the most beautiful woman in the Empire, and Valentis.

So his appearance, bordering on unreal, was no surprise...

"......"

Ardiana suddenly realized she was thinking about his face again.

She froze.

Tesetan ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) let out a quiet chuckle.

"See? You cannot take your eyes off me either."

His gaze slid to her lips, visible beneath the mask.

"And you cannot close your lips either."

Ardiana quickly covered her face and leaned back.

Tesetan crossed his arms and watched calmly.

Ardiana stared at him in shock.

'Caught.'

He had completely drawn her into his game.

She flushed and clenched her teeth.

"...Pervert."

Tesetan gave a short laugh.

Ardiana flushed even deeper.

"Do you try to seduce every woman? I did not think you were this wild even in that regard! How can you say such things with such a calm face...!"

Tesetan laughed louder this time.

His eyes narrowed softly as he looked at her intently.

"That is disappointing. If you knew how serious I am, you would not say that."

"What?"

"But it seems you thought I was trying to seduce you, Chairperson?"

Ardiana parted her lips beneath the mask.

Tesetan continued:

"But I do not seduce just anyone."

"......"

"You can remember that."

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall.

Ardiana stared at him, stunned.

After a few seconds, she deliberately turned away.

Suddenly, she felt a gaze.

The King of the Dead was looking straight at her.

Ardiana felt her face heat again and glared at Tesetan’s profile in annoyance.

'Pervert, barbarian...! And someone was watching us too...!'

Flustered, she pulled her hood lower.

"Good work."

Basto patted the shoulder of the fighter who had led the horses from the relay point to the destination.

"It was nothing! I will go help set up the tents!"

The fighter bowed respectfully and ran off.

Basto had just turned around.

"...Oh, excuse me."

Stepping out of the wagon, the Chairperson of the Association accidentally bumped into him and hurriedly bowed.

For some reason, she immediately left, almost running, toward where her tent was being set up.

Tesetan appeared behind her at a leisurely pace.

"Strategy meeting tomorrow?"

Basto nodded.

"Yes."

Tesetan waved his hand and walked away.

Basto watched him go.

At that moment, Bale, who had climbed down from the wagon carrying Tie, said quietly:

"Basto. Something is going on between them."

Basto frowned.

Bale nodded toward the man and woman walking in opposite directions.

"I am serious. Did you not notice on the way?"

"Notice what."

"The Chairperson is deliberately avoiding looking at him. Before the relay point, she looked out the window and talked with us."

"......"

"But after that—not a word. Her face is red, and she is not taking off her hood."

Basto narrowed his eyes.

"And that Tesetan—why is he smirking all the time? Did they talk while we were gone?"

Bale suddenly fell silent.

And looked at Tie.

"Brat. Did you see or hear anything?"

"Huh?"

Tie lifted her head.

And answered readily:

"I saw!"

"You saw? What exactly!"

Tie scratched her head and looked at Bale.

"Well... the deputy squad leader and the Chairperson—they were... being cute."

"What were they doing?"

"Being cute!"

Bale frowned.

"What does that mean."

"Huh?"

"What does ‘being cute’ mean?"

Tie grabbed Bale’s shoulders unhappily and shook him.

"Like... arguing nicely!"

"They were arguing?!"

"Not like that! Nicely!"

"What nonsense. How can there be a nice argument?"

Tie puffed her cheeks and sighed.

It seemed she had given up.

The girl turned her head toward Tesetan and Ardiana.

They were standing by a tent that was not yet fully set up.

Papa looked as calm as usual.

Ardiana, on the other hand, seemed slightly tense.

"Bale! Over here!"

In the distance, Nordix was calling the squad.

"Ah! Coming!"

Bale headed over.

Tie, sitting in his arms, kept watching Papa and Ardiana until the very end.

That same evening, before sleep.

"Squad Leader! Allerik! Crazy news! Crazy news!"

Ribia burst into the tent where Tesetan, Allerik, and Viktor were.

"Ha..."

Allerik, who had been changing, hurriedly turned away.

But Ribia did not care—she flopped onto his bed.

"Do you know who I just talked to?"

No one answered, but Ribia continued enthusiastically:

"The Chairperson! Can you believe it—she suggested we stay in the same tent!"

Tesetan, who had been tending to his weapon, slightly raised his head.