DGJVEE 09

The green eyes glimmering under the sunlight held too many emotions to easily decipher.

Without trying to interpret them, Abel casually took a seat beside him.

“…What is this?”

“Me? Didn’t I introduce myself before? I’m Abel Delaphion.”

“I’m not asking for your name.”

“Then what?”

“This isn’t a place for the likes of you to enter.”

“Is that so?”

Her round head tilted, and soft strands of hair cascaded over her left shoulder.

“Sorry, I have a bad memory.”

“Hah.”

“Is this area exclusive to the prince?”

“That’s…”

The lips that had coldly snapped shut now pressed into a firm line.

The detached palace was an implicitly “restricted” area for the First Prince, but technically, rights and authority belonged to the king.

So, the idea of a knight’s daughter trying to slap the prince for injuring someone was an absurd stretch.

‘But the king can do as he pleases.’

The prince knew that truth. And Abel, too, sensed the awkward silence.

‘He can’t say it.’

A prince who couldn’t even claim a single old building or garden as his own?

Instead of poking at that sore spot, Abel decided to get to the point.

“I’m sorry about last time.”

“…What?”

“It wasn’t really my fault… but because of me, um, yeah. You went through something unnecessary.”

She couldn’t exactly say, ‘Your dad’s personality is trash, and he took it out on you.’

At that roundabout apology, the prince’s stern forehead creased.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure. Anyway, I said I’d come back, so here I am.”

The prince tried to protect what little pride he had left, and Abel accepted that intention without resistance.

“Do you not understand what ‘get lost’ means?”

“Aw, don’t be so mean. Ta-da!”

With nowhere else to stash it, the package had remained in Abel’s hands the whole time.

Only after she spoke did the prince seem to notice it.

“What is that?”

“Saying sorry without anything feels insincere. So—an apology gift?”

“A gift?”

“Oh, I suppose I have nothing to be sorry for. Then, let’s call it a token of goodwill.”

The palm-sized package was placed into the prince’s hands.

And the gift Abel had labored for days to acquire—

Thud, plop, roll…

“Kyaaah!”

—was tossed straight to the ground.

‘That super high-grade artifact I couldn’t buy with a year’s allowance!’

Abel leapt up and dashed toward the direction the gift had been thrown.

Her painstaking effort, now lying in the dirt, was rolling around with dust clinging to it.

“Hey!”

“…Hey?”

“Hey, hey, how ruthless can you be?!”

Squeezing out all the vocabulary she could muster, Abel approached him in tears.

“You could’ve just said no! Why throw it like that…?”

“You’re the one who tried to dump something useless on me.”

“What do you mean useless?! I thought so hard about it before picking it out!”

“Thought hard?”

Abel brushed off the dirt on the wrapping and began to untie it with her small hands.

‘Why is this tied up so tight? You’d make a killing doing gift wrapping!’

Frustrated, she ripped the knot open and pulled out the artifact.

‘Phew, thank god.’

A green light blinked at the center of the round artifact—proof it hadn’t been used yet.

“Your Highness. This is a one-time use item. You should’ve handled it more carefully…”

“Why should I?”

“I mean…”

“How can I trust you?”

‘Well, he’s not wrong!’

What they lacked most between them was trust.

Abel had hoped the gift would bridge that gap, but instead, it only made him more suspicious. Total failure.

She understood it with her head—but her heart didn’t care.

“I worked so hard to get this, ugh…”

Recalling all those days she wandered along the riverbank at dawn, tears welled in her eyes.

‘I suffered for ten days just to buy this damn thing!’

Sweeping her jagged hair aside, Abel bowed her head.

“Guess today just wasn’t my day.”

“You…”

“Sorry for showing up uninvited.”

Her short, mismatched hair and scraped palms reflected in his cool green eyes.

Abel stood up cheerfully as if unaware of the scabs on her hands and knees.

“That’s a self-defense artifact. The warranty and manual are inside.”

“Self-defense?”

“It’s not dangerous. It’ll actually protect you from threats. I swear on what little honor I have. Well, I’ll be going now.”

His dry lips parted slightly.

While Abel tightened her bootlaces, for just a moment—

“I’ll come again!”

As if rejection were an unfamiliar concept, Abel waved cheerfully the entire way out, sneaking glances at the prince.

Her innocent smile was adorably angelic.

‘Ah—shit.’

At least… from the outside, anyway.

“Child, do you like it? You eat so well—it’s a pleasure to see.”

‘Yup, I’m totally about to throw up but it’s sooo good.’

“My son never seems to enjoy this sort of thing. What do you think?”

“I’ve heard the Second Prince is quite mature for his age.”

Ha ha, ho ho.

The drinks and desserts presented to the king were different from their very appearance.

The sovereign of a nation had stacked macarons and cookies before the knight’s daughter with a smile.

“What’s your favorite?”

“They’re all so good, I can’t choose!”

Ha ha.

‘Why am I even doing this?’

Having tea with the king—was, clearly, an accident.

‘Crap, what do I do now?’

Abel, who had failed to win the prince’s favor with her gift, was anxious.

‘What if I can’t even see him next time?’

Meeting the budding villain prince in that spot had been a stroke of luck.

If he shut himself up in his room, her slow infiltration strategy would be useless.

“Bell!”

“Huh? Dad! …Your Majesty?”

She never imagined she’d run into the king on his way to the greenhouse.

“Pardon me, Your Majesty. Bell, what are you doing here… What happened to your hair?”

“I wanted to try cutting it myself.”

“And your knees?”

“I wanted to become a firefly, so I rolled around a bit.”

“Where on earth were you rolling to get like this?”

“I rolled pretty hard. I’m fine!”

As the father and daughter bickered, the king, smiling warmly, made a suggestion.

“The weather is lovely. Will you really leave your child alone like this?”

“Well…”

“I’m not such a strict monarch. Let her come along.”

And so, here they were.

Dane, once flustered, had regained his calm.

He responded smoothly even to the king’s dry jokes, seeming used to such conversations.

Was the king’s job always this leisurely?

“I felt it before too—your daughter is quite spirited.”

“She’s so reckless that I worry.”

“Her brightness is charming. I never realized how much I’d regret not having a daughter.”

‘Then why didn’t you have one yourself?’

He seemed to find her quite adorable—but she couldn’t see fondly a man who’d slapped his own son.

‘Well, anyone human would find me adorable, so whatever.’

Personal feelings aside, gaining the king’s favor wasn’t a bad thing.

He was, after all, her father’s boss.

Abel cheerfully kicked her dangling feet and smiled sweetly.

‘He’s totally fallen for my charms.’

That sunny smile softened even the king’s usually stern eyes.

“Child, how did you come here without your father?”

“I walked.”

“Ha ha! All that distance?”

“Yes. I have the strong legs my father gave me.”

“Like father, like daughter! So, were you hoping to explore more?”

“No, it’s just… Dad…”

She was about to recite the excuse she’d prepared—but stopped herself.

‘Wait a sec.’

Faster than thought, her instincts kicked in.

‘Could this be a chance?’

She couldn’t keep pretending to be lost and accidentally stumbling into the detached palace forever.

She devised a new excuse on the spot and delivered it naturally.

“Last time, when you brought me along and I got lost, I remembered the garden I saw then.”

“A garden?”

“She means the one near the detached palace, Your Majesty.”

“Yes! The trees were so big and lush—it really stuck with me. It was so peaceful and lovely, I wanted to see it again!”

“Hmm…”

“Oh, was I not supposed to go there? I’m really sorry if I wasn’t allowed…”

“Mmm, no. It’s not that restricted. No need for such a sad face, child.”

“Really? Then… may I visit that place anytime?”

And while she’s at it, maybe cuddle your abandoned son a little too.

A request too bold for a knight’s daughter of common birth.

Dane turned pale and tried to stop his daughter.

“Abel! That’s too—”

“Dane, one moment.”

The king’s murky green eyes deepened, as if lost in thought.