# 40
Dante continued to carefully watch Harold as he spoke clearly.
“Your Highness, will you really let the culprit who dared to impersonate the Duchess go unpunished?”
“Don't worry. I'll take care of it, so stop worrying about it.”
“…”
For a brief moment, Dante's cute, puppy-like eyes narrowed sharply.
In contrast, Harold tilted his head slightly, a wry smile on the side of his lips.
"Why? Do you have anything else you want to say to me?"
“…No, I don’t.”
Dante denied it, but his reddish-orange eyes sparkled, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
I felt that their conversation had ended, so I decided to intervene to change the atmosphere.
“Young Master Dante, I am really glad that we were able to meet.”
"Indeed! It must be divine intervention! Oh, have you tried the chicken skewers yet? I heard they are a must at the festival!"
"Yes, I tried it. I heard the same thing and tried it. It was delicious. Not only me – Harold enjoyed it too."
“…Your Highness enjoyed it?”
Dante's eyes widened in surprise.
“Yes, Harold did.”
I couldn't help but smile lightly at his reaction, I felt so attuned.
Nobles typically avoided street food, considering it unclean, and Harold, in particular, was a bit of a germaphobe due to his emphasis on health.
In fact, he had never even drunk wine before our marriage.
But Harold ate street food like chicken skewers and enjoyed it.
Was it because he felt reassured by having me, his therapist, around?
I looked at Harold.
Noticing my gaze, Harold's eyes met mine.
“You said that food tastes better when it is shared with someone.”
That's what I told him when I encouraged him to try wine.
“Wait...did you eat chicken skewers because of me?”
“It was delicious.”
So, it was really because of me…?
I felt unexpectedly emotional, and I covered my mouth with my hand.
Harold's eyes lowered slightly, and soon, a sweet voice reached my ears.
“Your recommendations never disappoint.”
“H-Really?”
“Maybe our tastes match.”
"maybe!"
“How about we make it a habit to eat out together regularly? I don’t usually eat out, so this would be a first with you.”
"This sounds great! Let's go together! I'll find a lot of cool places for us to try!"
His praise made my heart flutter with excitement.
I quickly began compiling a mental list of the best restaurants from Diana's memories.
Remembering how many foods Harold couldn't eat because of his healthy habits, I became even more motivated.
“Only with me.”
“Huh?”
Deep in thought, I didn't catch his words clearly and asked for clarification, but Dante interrupted before Harold could repeat his words.
“Haha, you two seem to get along well.”
Oh no.
I froze in astonishment.
Dante was not a quiet or unremarkable person, but for a moment, I completely forgot that he existed.
While I stuttered in embarrassment, Dante smiled brightly, his dimples deepening as he proposed.
“Since we met like this, why don't we explore the festival together from now on?”
“Of course. We agreed to spend the festival together.”
I calmed myself down and agreed.
Then I turned to Harold, wondering what he had said earlier.
“…”
Harold's eyes, fixed on Dante, were ice cold.
Even though his gaze was not directed at me, a shiver ran down the back of my neck.
But as if I had imagined it, Harold soon smiled welcomingly at Dante.
“Well, for now, going together doesn't seem so bad.”
"Haha! Thanks for welcoming me, both of you!"
Dante beamed happily, like a puppy wagging his tail, while Harold maintained his smile.
Seeing them seemingly getting along made me feel at ease.
“Diana, aren’t you thirsty?”
“Actually, I was thinking the same thing. Shall we go get something to drink?”
Diana responded enthusiastically to Harold's suggestion.
After eating chicken skewers and walking around, I was thirsty.
"No. You've been walking for a long time, so your legs must be tired. Stay here and rest with the knights. Dante and I will go get drinks."
Diana's round eyes widened.
She wasn't tired at all, thanks to her divine powers, so why would he say something like that?
She opened her mouth to speak, but aware of the others around her, she chose not to express her confusion.
“That's a good idea, Your Highness. The Duchess and the knights can rest while we get drinks.”
Dante's reddish-orange eyes lowered gently as he encouraged her to stay and rest.
Diana glanced back and forth between the two men, hesitating.
'Would it really be a good idea to send them together?'
Remembering how Harold had not been fond of Dante in the past, she felt uncomfortable, but Harold had not clashed with him even once during today's festival.
“Okay. You two go.”
After a brief moment of thought, Diana decided to trust that nothing would go wrong.
"Let's go."
The two men set off to get drinks, heading deeper and deeper into a deserted alley.
Dante, staring at Harold's intimidatingly broad back, finally took a look around.
The alley was narrow, barely wide enough for a grown man to fully extend his arms.
The only light was coming from the moon above, casting an eerie atmosphere.
Returning his gaze to Harold, Dante asked: “Your Highness, are you sure there is a store that sells drinks this way? All I see is trash rolling around.”
Suddenly, Harold turned around.
Dante instinctively backed away, feeling the dangerous intent directed at his throat.
“W-What’s happening all of a sudden...!”
He waved his arms wildly as he stared at the dagger in Harold's hand.
Harold, on the other hand, fixed a sharp gaze on him, his lips moving slowly.
“So, that clumsy performance of yours was just an act, wasn't it, Prince Andrew?”
Dante's movements, which had been clumsy and exaggerated, became precise and efficient as he dodged.
His quick reactions and instinctive defense of vital points were proof that he was not as clumsy as he seemed.
"Prince? What are you talking about...! The dodge was just luck! Please, lower the dagger...!"
Dante had not finished his sentence before Harold's dagger flew towards his vital point again.
"Calm down! Isn't this a little too much? What if you actually hurt me with that thing?"
Harold swung the dagger again, and Dante tilted his head to narrowly dodge it.
His stumbling shadow wavered for a moment before coming to rest.
“Do you think I would do this without being sure?”
“…”
Leaning against the wall, Dante fell silent.
Realizing that further denial would not work against Harold's certainty, he ran his large hand over his face.
"I thought I did a good job of imitating my younger self. Wasn't it convincing?"
His soft, puppy-like eyes turned hard and determined.
But despite his calm expression, his mind was racing.
Up until now, he thought Harold would at most express jealousy or ask why he was attending the festival with Diana.
If he had known that Harold was aware of everything, he would not have followed him so lightly.
When did Harold find out?
Dante clenched his fists tightly.
His dark eyes moved slowly, searching for any openings in Harold.
Harold, aware of the wary look, calmly put his dagger back in its sheath.
“I know you pretended to be miserable to manipulate my wife into inviting you to the festival.”
“I had no bad intentions. It's just that the information I gathered is very different from what I heard. Since she is close to Ms. Meier, I wanted to keep a close eye on her. Surely you know how important Ms. Meier is to me, Your Highness.”
“This in itself is bad faith.”
“…”
A cold wind blew between them.
Dante finally raised his hands in surrender.
“I will be more careful in the future.”
In order to succeed in inheriting the throne, he had to remain the foolish and incompetent son.
This was the only way to prevent the Emperor from getting angry and ruining his plans.
“Tell the Duchess you have urgent business and had to leave early.”
Finally, Harold returned his entire dagger.
“I apologize for my earlier insolence. I officially welcome you to the empire, Your Highness. May glory be with the future sun.”
The man who was brandishing a dagger filled with killing intent moments ago was no longer there.
Watching Harold play the role of loyal follower, Dante let out a hollow laugh.
"…Thanks."
“By the way, this is a gift.”
Harold handed Dante a small folded piece of paper.
"What is this?"
Dante unfolded the paper to find a name and address written on it.
“Didn't one of your deaf servants disappear from the Marquis's estate? That's his real name.”
"What? It can't be...but before I accepted him, I investigated his background thoroughly. He had no connection to the royal family."
"You can confirm the rest yourself. If you go to the address on that note, you'll find it there."
“…”
"I'm glad I was able to deliver this gift. I'll be leaving now, Your Highness."
With a slight bow, Harold left the alley.
Only after Harold's shadow had completely disappeared did Dante let out a breath, somewhere between a laugh and a sigh.
At that moment, a shadow appeared, dissolving into the vision – it was one of his guards.
“Is it okay to let the Duke go like this? He can use this information to negotiate with the Emperor.”
“As long as I don’t ignore his warning, it will be fine. The Duke is not some mysterious power player. Even without the Emperor, he is strong enough to get almost everything he wants on his own.”
Ignoring Harold's warning now would be like poking an angry eagle's nest.
And not just any eagle's nest – but a hornet's nest.
Looking at the note, Dante clicked his tongue.
Although it seemed like a gift, it was actually a thinly veiled warning.
I told him not to pursue Harold's past behavior and to proceed with caution.
If Dante had been stubborn and refused to back down, who knows where the servant mentioned in that note would have ended up?
Adjusting his glasses, Dante reminded himself that it all started from his curiosity about Diana.
“That's a hellish way to show jealousy.”
So much so that he wasn't sure if he could even call it jealousy.